swan room, pay for club level and request lower nicer balcony?

[#1hockeymom]

Hello, I am about to book this year's vacation to the world! I have been all over the boards and it looks like what I would like to do is to book a concierge level room but I want the cl privileges and the nicer balcony resort view (view of epcot/fireworks please!!! ) room. Should I book the room through dreams
unlimited at the club level and then contact the swan directly about which room area I'd like?? or do it in reverse? (book balcony/resort view). There is only a ten dollar a day price difference between the rooms using dreams unlimited.

I lost the link to the "great" rooms. Please someone direct me to the great view room list!

My other option is using the teacher discount and getting the standard room for 129.00. I want this trip to be very special for my family and I and I really want the view to be gorgeous, so the "standard" idea scares me, although the money saved sounds great!

One more question:
Can you purchase the ultimate park hopper pass before we leave on the trip, even though we will be staying at the Swan and not Disney?

Thank you in advance, you guys are great!

Debbie (#1 hockeymom)

 

[jruj]

Dear Debbie

We just returned from the Swan. We booked with DU at the $129 rate. Here is what we did. Booked with DU since they had the only availability for our stay. We joined SPG and got the starwood AmEx for the points. Called the Swan to request Club Level upgrade if available. When we checked, Front Desk stated they were "only" able to upgade us to a newly renovated balcony room. I then asked if we could use SPG points for Club access. I was able to get club benefits for 1250 points per night.

We had room 530. Two queen beds, balcony, nonsmoking room, overlooking Boardwalk resort and limited Epcot view.

Our boys loved the club. Mama T was great with the kids. Breakfast was always very good. We would also go to the club in the evening for sodas and cookies. The boys would always take a cookie back to the room to enjoy during the Epcot Firewooks.

From our experience with DU, I believe you probably should fill out the room request form. State in the comment section what type of room you would like and then see what price they can get for you. They were very helpful.

Good Luck and enjoy your trip.
Jim

 

[SueEllen]

One more question:
Can you purchase the ultimate park hopper pass before we leave on the trip, even though we will be staying at the Swan and not Disney?

No, the ultimate park hopper is only available in advance with the Swan & Dolphin if you book a package. I believe you might be able to purchase it separately at the Swan or Dolphin at a separate desk after you check in--but it is not done at check in since that is a Disney Resort pass.


Sue Ellen

 

[glo]

In Dec 2002 we got a Ultimate park hopper plus pass for the length of the stay we were at the Swan and Dolphin. We did not have a package and bought it at the Disney desk at the Swan

 

[jaygatz]

Hi #1HockeyMom,

I would be interested to know what price you are being quoted for the CL, if you don't mind sharing. I think that you can book this with the teacher's discount on the SPG site for around $160-170. We booked a suite w/ discount for $189.00 w/ teacher's discount. Anyway, just wondering if there was a better deal out there.

 

[#1hockeymom]

Thank you for all the replies to my post!

Jim>>Thanks to Jim for sharing his room number, as that helps with the "view" selection! I talked to both my kids and they decided they would rather have a queen bed to share than a sofa sleeper, so the king/sofa bed idea is out.

Jaygatz>> What is the configuration on your suite? Does anyone know what the "lowest price" suite is where there is a separate sleeping area? I have looked everywhere for the room configs but to no avail. Since I am paying more than the usual "teacher discount" rate I am hoping to move up to a suite if possible. I paid 199.00 for club level. When I put in the teacher discount for anything but standard room the price quoted was more than for just no discount. Since I couldn't get into disney moderates, this looked like a good alternative and I am sure we'll all enjoy our stay.

Glo and SueEllen>> I had heard or thought I read that you could buy tickets in the lobby. I hope that is the case. I am trying to put one less thing, and that is a big thing, on my credit card right now! I hope glo's post is still in effect at the Swan!

My daughter is 17 and my son is 9 so any information regarding length of walk to boardwalk/ the pools/ etc would be greatly appreciated. They keep asking me questions and all I can do is show them the pictures I have found online!

Once again, many thanks!
Debbie

 

[Athena]

Hockeymom: We are going to the Swan in June as well. I booked through DreamsUnlimited and got CL for $179/night.

https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/sd/sd1.cfm

Where is says "Check for Discounts", leave it at "None", as this is the best price.

I have the exact same concerns as you, and I didn't want to risk not getting Club privileges. That's why I went ahead and booked the CL room and hopefully we'll get an upgrade to a nice view. Maybe we'll see you there!

 

[#1hockeymom]

Athena>> Thank you for your post. I did the exact same thing last night. I was afraid to NOT book as my airfares were changing as the week went on. I booked club level at 179, not 199 as my previous post said! *told hubby 199 as that included taxes and all he cared about was the bottom line!*

We will be there the 23-28, in a club level room hopefully with a great view! I do love my balconies, though, and might have to beg and plead for a lower room just to have the ability to open a window and step out!

I am guessing that the renovation are done at the Swan or will be done the end of June. Has anyone heard differently?

Debbie

 

[Athena]

I'm sure I've seen a very recent post saying that the 12th floor renos are currently underway. Glo maybe? There seems to be so many conflicting reports, but hopefully everything will be completed by the time we arrive. I want one of those HeavenlyBeds!

We'll be at the Swan until the 18th. Too bad we won't be able to meet up. That would have been fun! Hope you get a great balcony!

 

[#1hockeymom]

I just posted, once again to the wrong board! To make a long story short, my vacation plans just fell apart. I posted it on the resort boards. Here is the link. I am very upset over all of this! I spent two days of my vacation glued to the computer boards making my decison, and now it all falls apart!

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=361556