The **New** Swan and Dolphin Resort thread ~ September 2010 ~ Please read post #1

[Music City Mama]

Thank you! Could you possible tell me what kind of food/snacks they serve? My daughter was asking about that, it's kind of a deal breaker for her. She is kind of a chicken nuggets or bust kind of girl.

They take them to Picabu for dinner. There are 4 or 5 kids' meals to choose from (you tell them at check in what your child will be having): chicken nuggets (your DD is in luck!), hot dog, mac 'n cheese, hamburger, and I think something else.

I don't think they get any other snacks. They take them to dinner between 7:00 - 8:00. So not only do you get up to two hours of complimentary child care (with your receipt showing your entree(s) purchase), but your child(ren) eat dinner for free. Pretty good deal!

 

[kevallen]

I have wanted to go to WDW with the family for the longest time (having never there myself...) and just had an opportunity "drop into my lap". I will be attending a conference at the Dolphin over Thanksgiving 2011. I plan to take the kiddos (6 & 7 yo) and DH. Right now, the problem is trying to sort out the many room options.

The conference has offered "Standard Room" rates of $169 per night (which they tell me includes the Resort fee but not the taxes).
My DH is a teacher, and according to the link from the Dolphin there are "Limited view" rooms for $149 per night (plus resort fee and taxes).
We also have the Entertainment book, I joined the free SPG, and would consider AAA membership if it would help cut costs.

How limited is the "limited view"? What is the "standard view" (since I don't see that jargon elsewhere). We plan to be in EPCOT on Friday (and they have EMH that night), so would probably watch the fireworks from there or the boardwalk.

My kids are pretty well behaved (IMHO) and I'd like a quieter sleep area, so is there a benefit to booking through the conference versus SPG versus the teacher rate as far as room placement within the hotel?

Any advice? TIA!

I know some of the experts on this thread will be able to tell you the difference between the limited view and standard view, but I'm not sure it will matter that much to you.

You have never been to WDW and the fact that you are going to watch Illuminations at Epcot means that you wont be watching the show from your room and probably won't spend a whole lot of time in your room other than sleeping. So, I would try to get the teachers rate and enjoy $20 on other things.

You are wise in joining SPG and looking for all the discounts, but, in my opinion, either $169 or $149 over Thanksgiving is a really good rate. You all will be blown away by the fun your family will have. Good Luck!

 

[N_Phoenix]

I have wanted to go to WDW with the family for the longest time (having never there myself...) and just had an opportunity "drop into my lap". I will be attending a conference at the Dolphin over Thanksgiving 2011. I plan to take the kiddos (6 & 7 yo) and DH. Right now, the problem is trying to sort out the many room options.

Welcome! I'll be there at the same time and I was really hoping there wouldn't be a conference over Thanksgiving but I guess there are. I guess the hotel will be packed regardless.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

They take them to Picabu for dinner. There are 4 or 5 kids' meals to choose from (you tell them at check in what your child will be having): chicken nuggets (your DD is in luck!), hot dog, mac 'n cheese, hamburger, and I think something else.

I don't think they get any other snacks. They take them to dinner between 7:00 - 8:00. So not only do you get up to two hours of complimentary child care (with your receipt showing your entree(s) purchase), but your child(ren) eat dinner for free. Pretty good deal!

I actually e-mailed Dolphin because I heard (from these boards) they take the kids out of the Dolphin Club area which scares me that they are walking around with kids they don't know (my kids tend to not stay with the pack!). Anyway, they said they do not take them out of the Club Dolphin area.

So now I don't know which is correct. Do they take them to Picabu or not? Anyone have recent experience?

 

[Dan Murphy]

<------------- so as you can see, newbie here,....

Welcome to the dis, HT.

Thank you so much Dan. Does this include the bar/restaurant by the grotto pool too?

I am looking at my mug....every restaurant or snack area in both S and D is listed on the mug. And yes, Cabana and Splash are both listed.

 

[Music City Mama]

I actually e-mailed Dolphin because I heard (from these boards) they take the kids out of the Dolphin Club area which scares me that they are walking around with kids they don't know (my kids tend to not stay with the pack!). Anyway, they said they do not take them out of the Club Dolphin area.

So now I don't know which is correct. Do they take them to Picabu or not? Anyone have recent experience?

They probably meant that they do not take them out of the actual Dolphin resort. They most certainly do take them to Picabu -- which is right down the hall from Camp Dophin -- same floor, same side of the building/resort. There are adults in charge of them, so I don't think you need to worry about your kids running off. If it makes you feel any better, when we were there less than 2 months ago (recent enough? ), there were 4 kids there that night (2 of them were mine).

 

[becky11]

Thank you! Could you possible tell me what kind of food/snacks they serve? My daughter was asking about that, it's kind of a deal breaker for her. She is kind of a chicken nuggets or bust kind of girl.

They take them over to Picabu and I'm quite positive they have chicken nuggets there. My daughter's the same way.

 

[becky11]

They probably meant that they do not take them out of the actual Dolphin resort. They most certainly do take them to Picabu -- which is right down the hall from Camp Dophin -- same floor, same side of the building/resort. There are adults in charge of them, so I don't think you need to worry about your kids running off. If it makes you feel any better, when we were there less than 2 months ago (recent enough? ), there were 4 kids there that night (2 of them were mine).

Yeah, it's right down the hall, maybe even a couple of doors down. But they never set foot outside of the Dolphin hotel itself. It's quite safe, even if there are more than a few kids. I think the night my daughter was there, there might have been 8-10 kids. She still had a blast.

 

[hannahinwales]

Welcome to the dis, HT.

I am looking at my mug....every restaurant or snack area in both S and D is listed on the mug. And yes, Cabana and Splash are both listed.

Thats brilliant, thank you so much Dan!

 

[Rustysmom]

We checked in yesterday and got a lovely view of some roofs and air conditioning untils. Oh well, I guess that's what you get when you book a Travelocity deal.

I might be weird but I thought the beds at the Royal Pacific were more comfortable than the beds here.

Other than that, it's nice and I would stay here again.

 

[LexiC123]

We checked in yesterday and got a lovely view of some roofs and air conditioning untils. Oh well, I guess that's what you get when you book a Travelocity deal.

I might be weird but I thought the beds at the Royal Pacific were more comfortable than the beds here.

Other than that, it's nice and I would stay here again.

If a view is important to you, I would call and ask if something better than a roof view is available. I've found them to be very accommodating to requests, depending on how booked the hotel is.

Either way, I hope you and your family have a great time in the parks.

 

[N_Phoenix]

If a view is important to you, I would call and ask if something better than a roof view is available. I've found them to be very accommodating to requests, depending on how booked the hotel is.

Either way, I hope you and your family have a great time in the parks.

Keep in mind, most hotels it depends on how you book also. Booking through a 3rd party site is usually treated differently along with not earning points. The swan/dolphin seems very accommodating so you probably won't have issues but I wouldn't expect to be treated the same as someone who booked through the hotel.

 

[Mouseteacher]

We moved to our new room yesterday...alcove suite with balcony in the east wing-great view! Gotta love the S/D in doing everything to help its guests.

 

[AKbabe]

As of yesterday, after 2 fabulous days at the Contemporary, we're now happily situated at the Dolphin. I had requested a higher floor, but since we have a split stay, the only way we could do that would be to move during our vacation. They offered us a lower floor so that we wouldn't have to move, promising the room had a partial view of Epcot, but when I went into the room, it was on the opposite side of the hallway! Clearly not possible to see ANY of Epcot. As luck would have it, the fabulous bellman was arriving with our luggage and called the room controller for us and requested another room right across the hallway and made sure we would not have to move during our stay!

So we have a decent view of the Boardwalk area/Epcot, or at least as much as you can see from the 2nd floor

I also wanted to share something in case it helps anyone. I thought I had read that while the Dolphin will transfer your luggage to a Disney resort, Disney won't transfer your luggage to the Dolphin (I did a search, but couldn't find it and have no time to read back through this whole thread to see if this is where I read it) so I had planned to get a taxi and do it myself. Apparently, Disney WILL transfer your luggage to the Dolphin for you, as they did it for me from the Contemporary. That saved me some taxi fare and allowed us to just head to DD for the day and for lunch.

Just wanted to post this in case it helps anyone!! If I read that backwards, please disregard!

 

[vicb]

We checked in yesterday and got a lovely view of some roofs and air conditioning untils. Oh well, I guess that's what you get when you book a Travelocity deal.

I might be weird but I thought the beds at the Royal Pacific were more comfortable than the beds here.

Other than that, it's nice and I would stay here again.

If a view is important to you, I would call and ask if something better than a roof view is available. I've found them to be very accommodating to requests, depending on how booked the hotel is.

Either way, I hope you and your family have a great time in the parks.

I originally had booked a "limited view" room for my Easter week 2012 but the fear of being stuck with just this kind of view drove me to change my ressie to a "resort view" and I booked with S/D not travelocity. I figured the week I was going there would be no openings to be upgraded for free so I just paid up. I was ok with my price for that week, half the cost of a deluxe Disney resort and now I haven't seen that same rate available since I booked it. I keep checking in case the rates go down but perhaps they won't for Easter week.

 

[msvlg]

What is the difference between a 2 bedroom executive suite and a 2 bedroom grand suite? Is it just a conference table? Is the grand suite more expensive, is it any nicer than the executive suite?
If you have stayed in both which do you prefer and why? Thanks!

 

[Rustysmom]

If a view is important to you, I would call and ask if something better than a roof view is available. I've found them to be very accommodating to requests, depending on how booked the hotel is.

Either way, I hope you and your family have a great time in the parks.

We already unpacked and even if they had another room, I don't feel like packing and unpacking again. It's ok, it would have been nice to have a better view, but it turns out we aren't spending much time in the room anyway. Next time I know better.

 

[lilsydney]

Leaving tomorrow a.m. for the SWAN!!! first time and cannot wait. We have reservations for dinner tomorrow are the Garden Grill (thanks to those of you for the tip about restaurants.com!!)
This is a character dinner correct? Who are the characters? I have searched high and low and dont see anything related to this. Also- I booked reservations for 6 as some local friends in FL were going to join us for the day and are now not coming. Should I call back today and tell them only 3 or will it be fine to have a smaller group show up?
thanks all

 

[Mouseteacher]

Leaving tomorrow a.m. for the SWAN!!! first time and cannot wait. We have reservations for dinner tomorrow are the Garden Grill (thanks to those of you for the tip about restaurants.com!!)
This is a character dinner correct? Who are the characters? I have searched high and low and dont see anything related to this. Also- I booked reservations for 6 as some local friends in FL were going to join us for the day and are now not coming. Should I call back today and tell them only 3 or will it be fine to have a smaller group show up?
thanks all

I walked by the Garden Grille windows yesterday on my way back from the pool and saw Pluto posing with a family.

 

[ImprovGal]

What is the difference between a 2 bedroom executive suite and a 2 bedroom grand suite? Is it just a conference table? Is the grand suite more expensive, is it any nicer than the executive suite?
If you have stayed in both which do you prefer and why? Thanks!

I don't have any pricing comparisons for executive vs. grand, but I've been upgraded to both types of suites at both the Swan and Dolphin in the past. Layouts vary, not just Swan vs. Dolphin but within each resort as well. My most recent upgrade was at the Dolphin to an executive suite on the 3rd floor. That parlor had a Murphy bed as well as sofa bed, a couple of chairs, a small table (maybe for 2) and the first suite parlor I've encountered that actually had the wired ethernet port AT THE DESK. Usually I find it next to the tv. A month and 1/2 prior I had been at the Swan and was assigned an executive suite on a higher floor that had a larger table (maybe for 6), and sofa bed, some chairs, desk, etc. I think it may have been smaller than the Dolphin one, but am a bit fuzzy as both stays were only for 1 night each.

Grand suite parlors were larger than the executive parlors with larger conference tables (seating 8-10) as well as having more chairs.