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

[Swan4Me]

Have been reading this thread for months-lots of tips here

I joined the Starwood Points when making my ressie-reserved the cheapest room at the Swan-but could only get 2 queens-we wanted a king.

Got upgraded to the 11th floor-King!
The room across from us was a suite -and had a PIANO (because we heard someone playing it)

And the week we were there-all the TV's on our floor got upgraded to the largest flat screen I've seen in a hotel-the tech said the perfectly nice flatscreens the rooms had were being moved to the Dolphin as some still had the old time TV's

A couple nights the Convention folks were a bit rowdy at the various bars-we had drinks at a few of them-but besides that had a great stay

Added- got free parking-the clerk never added to our bill-and the gate was open when we left (at 5am in the dark)

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

How do I find out what conventions and attendence numbers are scheduled during my planned dates?

 

[teacher31]

Just had to share how excited I am to be staying back at the Dolphin soon! We had FD at POR and have decided to give it up for our favorite resort. Helps we got a great rate to make it comparable, too. I can't wait!

 

[TaraPA]

Can anyone tell me if the Swan/Dolphin hands out the birthday and 1st visit pins like the other resort hotels do?

Yes I just got a Birthday & I'm Celebrating pin there last week at the Disney ticket desk in the Swan, not at check-in.

 

[SRUAlmn]

And the week we were there-all the TV's on our floor got upgraded to the largest flat screen I've seen in a hotel-the tech said the perfectly nice flatscreens the rooms had were being moved to the Dolphin as some still had the old time TV's

That is so good to know! I know it's lame, we're not even in our rooms that much, but those old TVs were a drawback for us Hopefully they'll have these BIG flatscreens in all the rooms at both resorts soon

 

[rgrutland]

Ok, here's the info on the Easter weekend activities! I wrote it on a little piece of paper and misplaced it for a bit! I'm surprised they haven't posted it yet on the website! This info was given to me over the phone from a rep at the Dolphin...hopefully it's accurate

Friday, April 22

4:00 pool activities
6-10 caricatures
7-9 pictures with the Easter Bunny $10.00 and arts and crafts
8:00 glow in the dark egg hunt

Saturday, April 23

11-5 Paddleboats $15 for half hour
11-6 hair braiding
12-5 DJ at the pool, games, arts and crafts
6-10 caricatures
8:00 glow in the dark volleyball game
730-830 campfire with smores

Easter Sunday

7-10 Easter basket deliveries by the Easter Bunny. Call ahead to schedule a visit. Baskets start at $70
11-5 paddleboats available again
11-6 hair braiding
12:00 Easter Egg hunt #1
12-5 DJ/pool activities
1230 make your own snowcones
4:00 easter egg hunt #2
6-10 caricatures
730-830 campfire with smores

Sounds like a lot of fun!

You ROCK!!! Thank you!!!
So excited that they will have egg hunts...we are driving from MD and will be at the resort super early on Sunday so we are going to take it easy, hope for an early check-in (probbably won't get it) and hang out at the pool. So at least the kids will be busy with some of these activities. I had been looking at the website, but nothing yet! I am working on putting together our own easter baskets (dont' need a $70 one!) so hopefully they will still deliver these to the room when we finally get it!
Thanks again!

 

[TaraPA]

Does Picabu still offer a AAA discount? Do you remember the amount?

Yes, I just used it this morning, it's 20% as everyone else stated.

 

[TaraPA]

We're looking forward to staying at the Swan next month! Just a quick question--do they include bottles of mouthwash with the soap & shampoo, and if so, what kind? Thanks.

No mouthwash, just bar soap, shampoo, conditioner & body lotion.

 

[TaraPA]

Sorry to jump on your question....do they still do the Bath & Body Works toiletries? (We haven't been there since 2007)

No, they switched to Shine By Bliss a few years back. While it's a high end spa brand, I liked the Bath & Body Works products much better!

 

[TaraPA]

That is so good to know! I know it's lame, we're not even in our rooms that much, but those old TVs were a drawback for us Hopefully they'll have these BIG flatscreens in all the rooms at both resorts soon

Our stay 2 weeks ago in a Swan Executive Suite had 2 different TV's - the 2 regular rooms attached to the suite each had large flat screens (tabletop) - but the parlor room of the suite had a HUGE one! Our stay at The Dolphin that ended today had the same flat screen as the regular rooms at The Swan. It was a very large TV for the room.

 

[pigletto]

So I just peeked into this thread out of curiosity.. and then checked Priceline.
149 a night for my dates! That's way more affordable than I imagined The Swan or Dolphin to be!

Oh dear.. I may end up changing my reservation again
You can't beat that location for that price!!!

 

[TaraPA]

Ok sorry for all the individual posts above, I'm sooo exhausted from our trip & trying to convince a tween & a teen that seriously it was a poor decision to start their 12 pages of homework plus writing assigments TONIGHT & it's already 9:30pm......

Anyway....just back from The Dolphin. As I wrote before I left, we had room 9131 in the West Tower, 2 doors from the elevator that goes down to Daisy's Garden/Disney bus service on level 3, and right down to Picabu/laundry/arcade/pool on level 1. This was very convenient, but I did hear the elevator "ding" throughout the night. I have no idea what room category this is - we booked standard. I don't know if DH got a Starwood upgrade or not. It had a view of the sand area at The Swan & DHS. I'll post pics tomorrow.

I do know the hotel was booked to capacity because I aked to pay for an upgrade to a Deluxe Alcove room or Junior Suite or anything larger than what we had & she said they had no rooms available. There were 5 conferences just at The Dolphin while we were there. After sharing a 2BR Executive Suite with 5 adults 2 weeks ago, our standard room with 2 double beds for our family of 4 felt soooo cramped! I was willing to pay to get anything bigger!

2 interesting events (no fault of The S/D) went on - Friday morning the hotel had no power from midnight til 5am - it was a planned test of their emergency generators required by the state. No power in guest rooms, no elevators, etc. No A/C which was my worry - our room felt stuffy & humid if we weren't running the A/C at all times. They left a glow stick in every room & that did provide enough light for emergencies. I did wake up at one point around 3am & noticed how silent it was without the AC or fan running. But all was well til we got up the next morning! Another day the fire alarm went off & they evacuated the hotel. Of course we were rushing to get back to the room after spending an hour at the pool because we needed to shower & change for our House of Blues reservation in DTD. They wouldn't let anyone back in the hotel for about 30 min. Luckily I was able to call HOB from my vell & pushed back our ressie.

Someone asked about the pool before I left - 2 weeks ago the water temp was on the cool side - this week it was warm water. The temps were about 10 degrees hotter this week, I don't know if that's the reason for the warmer pool temp or not. We used the pool twice, once around 3pm & the next time around 5pm - both times the pool area was very full - I'd say 90% full. We had to search for empty chairs both times, and I've never had to do that before! The Cabana Bar was closed one of the afternoons for a private event.

The boat dock at YC/BC did re-open as of Saturday. It was actually nice when it was closed, the Friendship boats ran continously - no wait time in between at all since they only serviced S/D and BW!

 

[fitzgra]

Will be at Dolphin in June for 6 ngihts with 2 DGD...3yrs and 1 yr.
Can you reserve bed rails and a crib or pack n play?

Thanks

 

[Ramsfan28]

Will be at Dolphin in June for 6 ngihts with 2 DGD...3yrs and 1 yr.
Can you reserve bed rails and a crib or pack n play?

Thanks

Yes.

I would call the hotel directly and make sure the request is noted on your reservation.

 

[LexiC123]

How do I find out what conventions and attendence numbers are scheduled during my planned dates?

I usually just google "Orlando conventions + the month and year of my trip". Sometimes, I throw in "dolphin" to get more specific information.

So I just peeked into this thread out of curiosity.. and then checked Priceline.
149 a night for my dates! That's way more affordable than I imagined The Swan or Dolphin to be!

Oh dear.. I may end up changing my reservation again
You can't beat that location for that price!!!

Haha...welcome to the dark side! It really is hard to beat what you get for the money at the S/D.

I mean, I adore the Beach Club, but it's so hard to justify spending $75-$100 more a night (and that's with a 40% discount!) for accommodations in the same location.

Ok sorry for all the individual posts above, I'm sooo exhausted from our trip & trying to convince a tween & a teen that seriously it was a poor decision to start their 12 pages of homework plus writing assigments TONIGHT & it's already 9:30pm......

Anyway....just back from The Dolphin. As I wrote before I left, we had room 9131 in the West Tower, 2 doors from the elevator that goes down to Daisy's Garden/Disney bus service on level 3, and right down to Picabu/laundry/arcade/pool on level 1. This was very convenient, but I did hear the elevator "ding" throughout the night. I have no idea what room category this is - we booked standard. I don't know if DH got a Starwood upgrade or not. It had a view of the sand area at The Swan & DHS. I'll post pics tomorrow.

I do know the hotel was booked to capacity because I aked to pay for an upgrade to a Deluxe Alcove room or Junior Suite or anything larger than what we had & she said they had no rooms available. There were 5 conferences just at The Dolphin while we were there. After sharing a 2BR Executive Suite with 5 adults 2 weeks ago, our standard room with 2 double beds for our family of 4 felt soooo cramped! I was willing to pay to get anything bigger!

2 interesting events (no fault of The S/D) went on - Friday morning the hotel had no power from midnight til 5am - it was a planned test of their emergency generators required by the state. No power in guest rooms, no elevators, etc. No A/C which was my worry - our room felt stuffy & humid if we weren't running the A/C at all times. They left a glow stick in every room & that did provide enough light for emergencies. I did wake up at one point around 3am & noticed how silent it was without the AC or fan running. But all was well til we got up the next morning! Another day the fire alarm went off & they evacuated the hotel. Of course we were rushing to get back to the room after spending an hour at the pool because we needed to shower & change for our House of Blues reservation in DTD. They wouldn't let anyone back in the hotel for about 30 min. Luckily I was able to call HOB from my vell & pushed back our ressie.

Someone asked about the pool before I left - 2 weeks ago the water temp was on the cool side - this week it was warm water. The temps were about 10 degrees hotter this week, I don't know if that's the reason for the warmer pool temp or not. We used the pool twice, once around 3pm & the next time around 5pm - both times the pool area was very full - I'd say 90% full. We had to search for empty chairs both times, and I've never had to do that before! The Cabana Bar was closed one of the afternoons for a private event.

The boat dock at YC/BC did re-open as of Saturday. It was actually nice when it was closed, the Friendship boats ran continously - no wait time in between at all since they only serviced S/D and BW!

Hey...welcome back, Tara! Nice to hear that the crowds were a bit sparser for this trip.

Sorry about those glitches you experienced. I'm kinda surprised that they schedule those tests at such a busy time of year, unless it's something they do multiple times a year. I can't even imagine how uncomfortable a room without A/C would be during August and September...yuk!

 

[estherhead]

We were there for both the electrical outage and the evacuation. I, too, woke up during the power outage and it was rather nice to have no white noise and no little blinking lights/clocks/etc. We had a 2 bedroom executive suite and I did not notice the stuffiness at all.

I had run over to the Boardwalk while my family had all gone to our room. When I got back I was not allowed in. I sat down with all the other masses outside the lobby & texted my sister to see where they were and they were in the room! The west wing rooms had not been evacuated and the elevators were working. So needless to say, I walked around the building and entered a different door and went right up to my room. So for us, it was only a very tiny inconvenience.

In the few moments I was sitting there, though, I did have to laugh as a lady walking through pondered why there were so many people outside and decided we were waiting for a bus. This absolutely cracked me up since it was the boat dock, not a road at all. How on earth would a bus get to us?

We had a GREAT time and all agreed we'd stay there again in a heartbeat.

 

[Scott MC]

I have not see the Swan or Dolphin come up on Priceline in awhile! Congrats on getting it. What are your dates? Starwood used to upgrade even with Priceline but the policy changed a few years ago and they no longer add the perks to Priceline stays. However it does not hurt to ask for an upgrade upon check in. I would suggest having the Swan moving your luggage to the Boardwalk. Then just walking over from the Swan.

I see your asking if ME will drop you off a few days early, that I have no idea about...I would call and try to set up ME with Disney and see what they say when you give them your arrival times and flights etc.

Our dates are a very quick 2 weekend nights in mid-August

As far as asking for an upgrade....


Hush yo' mouth!


There are plenty on these boards who frown upon that. I for one don't see the big deal. The worst the CM can say is "no."

 

[MOM POPPINS]

The Swan and Dolphhin give out upgrades a lot more than Disney owned resorts!

 

[LexiC123]

The Swan and Dolphin give out upgrades a lot more than Disney owned resorts!

And we love them for it!

I'm 2-for-2 with upgrades over the past two years...once with the Swan, once with the Dolphin. I'm hoping for lightning to strike for a third time this fall, but it's not a big deal if it doesn't. When at Disney, it's all good!

Have been reading this thread for months-lots of tips here

I joined the Starwood Points when making my ressie-reserved the cheapest room at the Swan-but could only get 2 queens-we wanted a king.

Got upgraded to the 11th floor-King!
The room across from us was a suite -and had a PIANO (because we heard someone playing it)

And the week we were there-all the TV's on our floor got upgraded to the largest flat screen I've seen in a hotel-the tech said the perfectly nice flatscreens the rooms had were being moved to the Dolphin as some still had the old time TV's

A couple nights the Convention folks were a bit rowdy at the various bars-we had drinks at a few of them-but besides that had a great stay

Added- got free parking-the clerk never added to our bill-and the gate was open when we left (at 5am in the dark)

Free parking AND an upgrade...now that's what I call some Disney magic!

 

[Scott MC]

The Swan and Dolphhin give out upgrades a lot more than Disney owned resorts!

That's great to know, but looking at the location of the Swan and the surrounding geography, I can't help but wonder if there IS a bad view.
If you're in the "front" of the building, you overlook the back of BWV and Hollywood Studios. The "back" of the building faces the Dolphin, the Epcot resort loop and Epcot itself. I don't see how there can be a bad view...or am I wrong?

Also....is there turn-down service that can be requested?