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

[RachelTori]

We just booked a van from Tiffany Towncar yesterday for June. From what I have read, cut you roundtrip price in half and give 20% on that amount each way. Are you using a grocery stop on your way to the s/d? We are and will probably tip a little more on that way for the convenience. Also, I'm sure your aware of it but you pay the full amount when you are picked up at the airport, so you are just paying a tip on your way back.

I also have a question. Our return flight leaves at 5:05 pm and they scheduled our pickup for 3pm. Does that allow for enough time for our flight? Or should I call and have them move the time up?

Anyone else having problems with disboard pages loading up today? I've had trouble with the pages loading, and have had to try a few minutes later to visit this thread. It's not uncommon for me to have this problem, but not like it's been today.

The 3pm pickup should be fine, especially if you've already checked-in and printed your boarding passes from the hotel, but that would be a little too-close-for-comfort for me! JMO but I would ask for an earlier pickup (2:30?). If you're checking luggage, you might have to wait in a line at the airport and clearing Security can sometimes be slow. I'd rather get to the airport with time to kill, rather than making a mad dash to get to the gate.

YES on the page loading problem yesterday!!

 

[Phlip]

The 3pm pickup should be fine, especially if you've already checked-in and printed your boarding passes from the hotel, but that would be a little too-close-for-comfort for me! JMO but I would ask for an earlier pickup (2:30?). If you're checking luggage, you might have to wait in a line at the airport and clearing Security can sometimes be slow. I'd rather get to the airport with time to kill, rather than making a mad dash to get to the gate.

YES on the page loading problem yesterday!!

Ditto the slow page loading thing-but for me today!

Now I'm wondering If we should cancel the rental car (great deal though-233.00 for a crossover) and do a car service. Hmmm...

 

[mikegood2]

Ditto the slow page loading thing-but for me today!

Now I'm wondering If we should cancel the rental car (great deal though-233.00 for a crossover) and do a car service. Hmmm...

Hmm. Have had no problem with it today, but then again have not been on the site much either.

That is a good price for your rental. I guess it depends on how much you think you can use it. If you are staying at the s/d you also need to take the daily parking fee into consideration. If you don't think you'd get a lot of use out of it, I would definatly look into the car service. For us, it is actually cheaper (before tip) than the shuttle. The grocery stop made the decision for us and should also come in handy. My sister-in-law, is already thinking about not having to bring diapers, and get them on the stop instead.

 

[chell]

Hi guys, 10 days out for me! I booked a towncar with Tiffany Towncar Services, and from the research I've done you tip 20%, correct? So I was wondering if you take the roundtrip price and cut it in half and tip that each way (because I assume you won't have the same driver), or is it 20% of the whole roundtrip fare each way? Thanks for your help...we've always used ME and want to make sure I give our driver the appropriate amount

I arrive the day after you. Hope you have an awesome trip!

 

[rw_hadley]

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36676047&postcount=2791

We weren't the only ones who had trouble with the A/C then! We were at the Swan a couple of weeks ago, and found the room to be so cold, we usually just turned the A/C off for a while, since we couldn't get it to be warmer.

 

[lissiesmum]

We just booked a van from Tiffany Towncar yesterday for June. From what I have read, cut you roundtrip price in half and give 20% on that amount each way. Are you using a grocery stop on your way to the s/d? We are and will probably tip a little more on that way for the convenience. Also, I'm sure your aware of it but you pay the full amount when you are picked up at the airport, so you are just paying a tip on your way back.

Hi Mike! Thanks for the info! Makes sense to me...we are definitely doing a grocery stop, so will add a little extra for going out of the way I'm actually making a list right now of items we'll want to get so we don't spend too much time walking around the grocery store aimlessly How do you pay in full when you're picked up? I thought us giving credit card number was the payment??? Do we have to bring cash to pay the driver?

I arrive the day after you. Hope you have an awesome trip!

Thanks, Michelle I hope you enjoy as well. I am really excited to try the Dolphin this year...have spent some $$$$ the past few years at the Poly and would love to fall in love with the Dolphin to save money every year!

Okay, now a few questions for you veterans: From the time you are greeted at the baggage claim, a grocery stop and drive to the Dolphin with a towncar, approx how much time does it take from baggage claim to the hotel? We have dinner reservations at the Beach Club and I'm wondering if I might not have allowed enough time for ourselves. How long is it to walk from Dolphin to the Beach Club? I'm sure I'm going to have a hundred questions between now and Friday so please bare with me!

 

[Swan4Me]

From the door of the dolphin maybe 8 minutes

 

[lissiesmum]

From the door of the dolphin maybe 8 minutes

oh, okay, that's not too bad. Now I just need to see how long from the airport to the Dolphin Thanks for the info!

 

[Swan4Me]

I would allow 2 hours- but lots of variables
time of day, time at grocery etc

 

[mikegood2]

Hi Mike! Thanks for the info! Makes sense to me...we are definitely doing a grocery stop, so will add a little extra for going out of the way I'm actually making a list right now of items we'll want to get so we don't spend too much time walking around the grocery store aimlessly How do you pay in full when you're picked up? I thought us giving credit card number was the payment??? Do we have to bring cash to pay the driver?

I thought the same thing, but the card you gave them was to hold/make the reservation, but I'm sure you can use that card to make your payment. I think the woman I made the reservation with listed cash, traveler's checks or credit card. We will definitely make our shopping list in advance, maybe even get a few items like diapers to save some room packing. Have a feeling that the 30 minutes will go very quickly. Haven't looked yet, but it's possible that Publix may have a store layout online?

Enjoy your trip , and please let us know how you enjoyed your trip when you return. Also, would appreciate it if you let us know how you liked Tiffany Towncars and the Publix store.

 

[lissiesmum]

I thought the same thing, but the card you gave them was to hold/make the reservation, but I'm sure you can use that card to make your payment. I think the woman I made the reservation with listed cash, traveler's checks or credit card. We will definitely make our shopping list in advance, maybe even get a few items like diapers to save some room packing. Have a feeling that the 30 minutes will go very quickly. Haven't looked yet, but it's possible that Publix may have a store layout online?

Enjoy your trip , and please let us know how you enjoyed your trip when you return. Also, would appreciate it if you let us know how you liked Tiffany Towncars and the Publix store.

Thanks for the idea of looking for the layout online I'm thinking of that old game show where people had an alotted amount of time to gather up items from within the store and running like crazy to find the food before the time was up...and thinking, if I don't know exactly what I want and where it is, that might be me! I will definitely come back here and report back with a review, lots of pictures, restaurant reviews, and answer any questions any of y'all might have. If anyone has anything they want to know before I leave, ask away now and I'll be sure to research while we're there! And I'll also let you know about Tiffany and that whole experience. Based on your previous question, I'm going to call and up my pickup time as well. 2 hours does not seem like enough time to arrive at the gate with some breathing room. I know last year we spent a good 45 minutes waiting to get through security alone!

 

[chell]

Thanks, Michelle I hope you enjoy as well. I am really excited to try the Dolphin this year...have spent some $$$$ the past few years at the Poly and would love to fall in love with the Dolphin to save money every year!

We LOVE the Dolphin & the Swan. We've stayed at the Swan the most and so I'm a bit more partial to it. But they are lovely resorts!

How much time are you allowing from the airport to the resort?

 

[lissiesmum]

We LOVE the Dolphin & the Swan. We've stayed at the Swan the most and so I'm a bit more partial to it. But they are lovely resorts!

How much time are you allowing from the airport to the resort?

I was thinking between an hour and a half to two hours? I'm going to try to be quick in the grocery store. I ended up canceling our dining reservations because I don't want to be stressing out about making it when I should be enjoying just being there and taking in the resort and exploring So we're just going to stroll into Epcot and eat wherever we can...probably Tangereine Cafe in Morocco...I love their Schwarma platters! We'll have the rest of the week to enjoy our dining reservations

Just need to add a P.S. after seeing my ticker! 5 more days! Wow, I really need to get packing here!

 

[lissiesmum]

Hi guys! I'm in full last minute planning mode right now (instead of packing mode!) I asked this question earlier about the direction of the friendship boats and how the buses pick up from the neighboring hotels...and only found the answer to the boat directions. Can someone please confirm where the Dolphin gets picked up between the Swan, BW, and Y&BC? It's going to be so busy because of Easter so if the Dolphin is the last hotel picked up, I was wondering if it might be to our benefit to walk over to another resort first? Does bus route vary by park?

Also, all the parks are opening early for Easter week. On Saturday, the MK is opening at 7 am...what time will the first bus be running to get there? What time should we be at the bus stop? Getting up at 5 am doesn't sound like too much fun our first full day in the World, but I want to make sure we can ride something before the masses arrive!

 

[MyTalula]

Yeah!!! We're going back, just booked the Dolphin Feb 11, 2012 for 7 nights!!! So great to start planning again!!!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Get packing, Kim. And, MyTalula, sounds great, start the
planning.

As for boats...

Epcot>BW>Y&BC>S/D>Studios, and then in reverse.

As for buses, Dolphin is always after the Swan, before Y&BC.

For a 7AM opening, I would say buses will be running no later than 6, maybe even 5:30.

 

[mikegood2]

7am EMH! 8am EMH's are already too early for me! With the time difference in Florida, my body is going to be telling me it's an hour earlier, and my body and early mornings just don't go together.

Looking at the June schedule, all the EMH's are at 8am (7am my time). Are they likely to stay at that time or do they sometime change when the dates get closer? It may sound silly, but getting up at 6am is probably my biggest consern for the vacation.

 

[Music City Mama]

7am EMH! 8am EMH's are already too early for me! With the time difference in Florida, my body is going to be telling me it's an hour earlier, and my body and early mornings just don't go together.

Looking at the June schedule, all the EMH's are at 8am (7am my time). Are they likely to stay at that time or do they sometime change when the dates get closer? It may sound silly, but getting up at 6am is probably my biggest consern for the vacation.

Mike -- I could be mistaken, but I think they only do the 7:00 EMH during REALLY busy times (i.e., Easter, etc.) -- I don't recall any earlier than 8:00 EMH last June.

 

[TaraPA]

Mike I agree with the above poster- 7am EMH openings are reserved only for very busy times of year. Last month when it was crazy packed with crowd levels of 9 & 10 for spring break they didn't even go to 7am EMHs. They did extend some park openings & closing, but no 7am!

 

[NancyIL]

As for buses, Dolphin is always after the Swan, before Y&BC.

For a 7AM opening, I would say buses will be running no later than 6, maybe even 5:30.

Most of the times I've been there, the Yacht and Beach Club have had their own bus. The bus stops are usually Boardwalk, Swan, then Dolphin.

**By the way - I'll be at the Swan one week from today!