The **New** Swan and Dolphin Resort thread ~ April 2012 ~ Please read post #1
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RaySharpton
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When I left Friday, December 20, 2013, the Swan and Dolphin Resort staff were still at their designated locations arranging FastPasses.
patty57
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Thanks Ray. Did you hear anything about ending the test, or changes to what is presently available as far as FP+?
How do the FP+ selections made at the Swan/Dolphin "get" on your ticket? we are using old tickets from various former trips, some of which are non-expiry and we'll only be using one day... will this screw up future FP+ linking when we use these same tix again in six months?
Or would we be better off just buying new tix for this stay?
Also, can you buy 1 day/1 park tix at the Swan, or should I get them in advance?
Or would we be better off just buying new tix for this stay?
Also, can you buy 1 day/1 park tix at the Swan, or should I get them in advance?
Dan Murphy
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I think you need to get your old ticket switched over to an RFID plastic ticket. And I would think you can get that done at the Swan's Disney counter. Same for the 1 day. I would call the resort/Disney desk to confirm.
And thanks for the shout out, Laura. Hope I am there too.
And thanks for the shout out, Laura. Hope I am there too.
hsmamato2
<font color=magenta>Tink in Training-Good Girl,Bad
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aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh
every time I get an update to this thread,I just think "I WANT TO GO BACK NOW!" funny,it doesn't even matter what the comments are at the moment......am I addicted? (don't answer that!
)
every time I get an update to this thread,I just think "I WANT TO GO BACK NOW!" funny,it doesn't even matter what the comments are at the moment......am I addicted? (don't answer that!)
ckelly14
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The original bulletin says it will be available for stays through Jan 12.
RaySharpton
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Yes, when I logged onto the Swan Resort computer wireless page, this link lead to the following pdf. page with S/D Fastpass information.
http://www.swandolphin.com/res_email/fastpass.pdf
The maps won't copy and paste from the pdf. file, but they show the four park's map below the above and the location of each kiosk.
SingingMom
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We are staying smack in the middle of that time frame. Last year during that time we really didn't need FP most days anyway! ;-). "SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
Dan Murphy
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Both are charged additionally.
Dis_Yoda
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We're home from a lovely 2 night stay at the Swan. We had originally booked the cheapest king room available but were upgraded to a pool view w/ balcony.
We were able to reserve our FastPass+ prior to the visit but as we have annual passes and have used MagicBands on our prior 2 trips, I'm sure thats one of the reasons why we had early access. Good thing to know was that the fastpass+ were able to be read off of our annual passes. They had kiosks for Swan/Dolphin guests at both of the parks we went to by the entrance.
Even going during the busiest time of the year - it wasn't bad. We did Hollywood Studios & EPCOT yesterday. Valet was quick & we were given a number to text message when we went to pick up our car but we kinda forgot that this morning at 6AM when we were leaving.
We were able to reserve our FastPass+ prior to the visit but as we have annual passes and have used MagicBands on our prior 2 trips, I'm sure thats one of the reasons why we had early access. Good thing to know was that the fastpass+ were able to be read off of our annual passes. They had kiosks for Swan/Dolphin guests at both of the parks we went to by the entrance.
Even going during the busiest time of the year - it wasn't bad. We did Hollywood Studios & EPCOT yesterday. Valet was quick & we were given a number to text message when we went to pick up our car but we kinda forgot that this morning at 6AM when we were leaving.
disneygrandma
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We're thinking of staying at either the Swan or the Dolphin for part of our trip in June. There are so many bad reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp, that I'm wondering if that's a good idea. I've been reading some of this thread, and I'm still wondering what to do. Most of this has to do with the condition of the rooms, cleanliness, and service.
I read a post on a page or so back, that brought up something that I just couldn't believe, and I wanted to clarify it. The poster said that she wasn't allowed to park in front to check-in and unload. She said that unless you're parking with a valet, that you would have to drive to the self-park lot, park, and then drag all your stuff back to the hotel from there. At a hotel this size, I can understand Bell Services wanting to unload your car and put everything on a rack. We're totally fine with that. I'm wondering if that is the case at the Swan/Dolphin.....or is it truly only if you use valet for parking that you can unload as the poster described?
A related question concerns valet parking, and if you have a handicapped parking permit. At many hotels, if you have a handicap permit, the valet parking is free. Of course, we always tip. What's the situation at Swan/Dolphin for handicapped parking?
Thanks for any info you can provide on this.
I read a post on a page or so back, that brought up something that I just couldn't believe, and I wanted to clarify it. The poster said that she wasn't allowed to park in front to check-in and unload. She said that unless you're parking with a valet, that you would have to drive to the self-park lot, park, and then drag all your stuff back to the hotel from there. At a hotel this size, I can understand Bell Services wanting to unload your car and put everything on a rack. We're totally fine with that. I'm wondering if that is the case at the Swan/Dolphin.....or is it truly only if you use valet for parking that you can unload as the poster described?
A related question concerns valet parking, and if you have a handicapped parking permit. At many hotels, if you have a handicap permit, the valet parking is free. Of course, we always tip. What's the situation at Swan/Dolphin for handicapped parking?
Thanks for any info you can provide on this.
hsmamato2
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hmmm when we stayed there last November (Dolphin) we didn't ask permission to unload our stuff.... both times,we were returning a rental car,and it had to be unloaded,we weren't parking at all. So we just pulled up (out of the way of the doors) and took our stuff out,and brought it to our room. Then we left the covered area- I think they want you to use the bellservices, but we didn't.
Dan Murphy
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Not sure about handicap question but on the other, I have had a rental car on every trip (25+) to the Swan/Dolphin except one. Every time I have parked at the main entrance to unload, and check in. Very often, I have even gone to my room before retrieving car to park in self park lot. Valets would just pull the car up a bit to make the entrance clear for more guests arriving. Never a problem.
cgattis
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We've also never had an issue unloading in front and then using self-parking. I've often looked at TripAdvisor reviews for places I've stayed, and I find them to be much more negative than my experiences. That may not always be true, but I've mostly stopped looking at it, based on my own experience.
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At the Swolphin there is no consideration at all to those with a handicap permit. They charge full price for either self or valet parking.
jcb
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We were told we could not we could not park in the front of the Dolphin even to check-in, much less unload. This was around 5:30 on Thursday, December 5. As it turns out, our reservation had been moved to the Swan (we had a split stay). We just self-parked at the Swan without even trying the loading area there so I can't say whether the Swan had the same rule. We always found a self-parking spot at the Swan fairly close so it wasn't a hassle for us.
Being told we could not leave the car in the loading area while we checked-in was was irritating but I also knew that the Swan/Dolphin was booked solid with conventions that weekend (MLB's winter meetings for one) so I took a deep breath and got over my irritation. We also arrived smack in the middle of the heaviest check-in time. If I recall the previous post their stay at the Dolphin was more in the middle of December. I've stayed at the Swan and Dolphin many times (including in May of this year) and this was the first time I've been told we had to go straight to self-parking to check-in or unload. I thought my wife's solution was quite smart for, while I went into the Dolphin, she just pulled the car up to the open area that is just outside of the covered area.
As to trip advisor, you have to give many of the reviews a healthy grain of salt. Many people use it to vent, a lot of the posts derive from unrealistic expectations. I set up a google alert for one (non-Disney) hotel we enjoy going to about twice a year. As it turns out, most of the alerts I get are from trip advisor reports. It is not unusual to get a glowing post and a sharply critical post in the same email. Sometimes I agree with the critical posts (when they are about the crappy but expensive food, for example) but many times (though not always) the critical posts reflect more about the guest than the hotel (some folks really do get upset because a 500 room resort hotel somehow "failed" to reserve them a rocking chair by the great hall fireplace).
In both of our 2013 stays, the rooms were in good working order and were quite clean. We are pretty low maintenance but could not have had nicer service from the front desk or the housekeepers. The only thing I noticed was that a section of the carpet in the hallway near our room appeared to be pretty worn. I think the Swan was in the process of replacing the carpet in the hallway, however, because the worn section of carpet was completely different from the other carpet in the hallway.
Being told we could not leave the car in the loading area while we checked-in was was irritating but I also knew that the Swan/Dolphin was booked solid with conventions that weekend (MLB's winter meetings for one) so I took a deep breath and got over my irritation. We also arrived smack in the middle of the heaviest check-in time. If I recall the previous post their stay at the Dolphin was more in the middle of December. I've stayed at the Swan and Dolphin many times (including in May of this year) and this was the first time I've been told we had to go straight to self-parking to check-in or unload. I thought my wife's solution was quite smart for, while I went into the Dolphin, she just pulled the car up to the open area that is just outside of the covered area.
As to trip advisor, you have to give many of the reviews a healthy grain of salt. Many people use it to vent, a lot of the posts derive from unrealistic expectations. I set up a google alert for one (non-Disney) hotel we enjoy going to about twice a year. As it turns out, most of the alerts I get are from trip advisor reports. It is not unusual to get a glowing post and a sharply critical post in the same email. Sometimes I agree with the critical posts (when they are about the crappy but expensive food, for example) but many times (though not always) the critical posts reflect more about the guest than the hotel (some folks really do get upset because a 500 room resort hotel somehow "failed" to reserve them a rocking chair by the great hall fireplace).
In both of our 2013 stays, the rooms were in good working order and were quite clean. We are pretty low maintenance but could not have had nicer service from the front desk or the housekeepers. The only thing I noticed was that a section of the carpet in the hallway near our room appeared to be pretty worn. I think the Swan was in the process of replacing the carpet in the hallway, however, because the worn section of carpet was completely different from the other carpet in the hallway.
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