The *NEW* SWAN & DOLPHIN RESORT Thread ~ April 2009 ~ Please read Post #1!

[Poohlovr]

We absolutely love the Epcot resort area. Our last 3 trips have been at the BC and YC (last 2). It is by far our favorite area of all of WDW.

Our dilemma is this. We are planning a trip to WDW in June of 2011 for our 20 year wedding anniversary. After going over prices we realize that we just can't swing the YC/BC again, which stinks but it is what it is.

We have never considered the Swan or Dolphin in the past because it wasn't an official WDW resort. We love to charge back to the room while there just for the convenience of it all.

Now I know that the S/D do have some of the benefits of the WDW resorts like that transportation and obviously the location.

I guess my question is whether folks think it's best to stay at the S/D and not have all of the WDW benefits available to us, or should we stay at a moderate instead? We would give up our favorite location for really just the opportunity to charge back to the room from what I can tell.

I am also curious as to what other WDW benefits we would not be privy to if we stay at the S/D? Not clear on if we can add the dining plan or how the park tickets would work.

Guess I just need a lot of help in the benefits of staying at the S/D vs. what we would lose out on.

Any and all help is greatly apprciated!!

Jay

Totally agree with NancyIL-I would never choose (or not choose) a resort based on whether or not I could charge with my room card.

You said that the Epcot area is your favorite.

So, basically, you have your choice of a deluxe in your favorite area or a moderate only accessible by bus to your favorite area, both in pretty much the same price range.

No brainer to me.

My favorite--Dolphin when grandkids are with us; Swan if not. However, in July, we are at the Swan with the kids.

 

[LuvEeyore]

I am wondering if Parking at WDW parks is free to Swan and Dolphin guests?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yes, parking in park lots is free.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Thanks for the info Dan. With the Nurse rates S/D prices are hard to beat but with the parking fee at the S/D I hate to pay to get into the parks as well.

 

[fairyfan]

Hi all,

I wish I could read through the many pages of this thread, but unfortunately I don't have the time right now - need to make a decision pretty quick. I don't care about charging to a KTTW card. I've had one every time I've been to Disney and never used it to charge with. I don't do DDP either. I love the Disney resorts but the beds can be uncomfortable and the chances of getting a king, slim. It seems with this the beds are great and you can guarantee a king.

I just noticed the great rates at S/D and am thinking of changing my ressie to one of the two. It will be just my husband and I traveling to Disney.

If anyone could answer my questions, I would really appreciate it.

1. I see that the Dolphin has Epcot Fireworks view rooms. Can you not see the fireworks from the Swan? Can you see them from the beach?

2. Which is closer to the boardwalk and Yacht and Beach Clubs?

3. Do either have Quick service for breakfast or a place to grab coffee in the morning?

4. Do they both have pool bars or just the Dolphin?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Poohlovr]

Hi all,

I wish I could read through the many pages of this thread, but unfortunately I don't have the time right now - need to make a decision pretty quick. I don't care about charging to a KTTW card. I've had one every time I've been to Disney and never used it to charge with. I don't do DDP either. I love the Disney resorts but the beds can be uncomfortable and the chances of getting a king, slim. It seems with this the beds are great and you can guarantee a king.

I just noticed the great rates at S/D and am thinking of changing my ressie to one of the two. It will be just my husband and I traveling to Disney.

If anyone could answer my questions, I would really appreciate it.

1. I see that the Dolphin has Epcot Fireworks view rooms. Can you not see the fireworks from the Swan? Can you see them from the beach?

There are a few rooms at the Swan with Epcot fireworks view. The very first time we stayed at the Swan (Way back when they were on Priceline) we were upgraded to one of them.
2. Which is closer to the boardwalk and Yacht and Beach Clubs?

It's a toss-up. You exit the back of the hotels onto the same walkway.


3. Do either have Quick service for breakfast or a place to grab coffee in the morning?

The Dolphin has Picabu and the Java bar (a coffee bar with pastries) is in the Swan.

4. Do they both have pool bars or just the Dolphin?
The Swan has the Splash Grill; the Dolphin has the Cabana Bar and Beach Club.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Keep in mind that the resources for each "wing" is only a very short walk from one to the other. Actually, depending on the room location in the Dolphin, the Swan may be closer to some restaurants in the Dolphin than some rooms in the Dolphin.

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[fairyfan]

Thanks so much for the information. My ressie is at the Poly, but this is almost 1000.00 less and seems really nice for the price. We spend alot of time at Epcot and eat at alot of the World Showcase restaurants and my DH loves the ESPN zone. It's a tough decision although the $$$ difference is big.
Do you have to have a fireworks room to see the fireworks or can you see them from the beach?

 

[PolyAddict]

Thanks so much for the information. My ressie is at the Poly, but this is almost 1000.00 less and seems really nice for the price. We spend alot of time at Epcot and eat at alot of the World Showcase restaurants and my DH loves the ESPN zone. It's a tough decision although the $$$ difference is big.
Do you have to have a fireworks room to see the fireworks or can you see them from the beach?

This is why we tryed the Swan in 2008. We could stay there for $1300 less than our Poly reservation.Don't get me wrong, we LOVE the POLY. I am soooo glad we tryed it because we just fell in love with this area. Starting around our 2008 trip we started spening more time at Epcot/DHS so this worked out well for us.

 

[Needafix]

Thanks so much for the information. My ressie is at the Poly, but this is almost 1000.00 less and seems really nice for the price. We spend alot of time at Epcot and eat at alot of the World Showcase restaurants and my DH loves the ESPN zone. It's a tough decision although the $$$ difference is big.
Do you have to have a fireworks room to see the fireworks or can you see them from the beach?

Poly is also my favorite, but for the price difference, it's a no brainer, so we make sure we visit the Poly for meals occasionally. We just got back from a stay at BC and regretted we weren't at Dolphin. We ended up eating at Picabu's 3 times. Great variety, fresh and tasty. BC didn't fit our food needs at all.

Even though our BC room was basically steps from Epcot, we found ourselves walking to Picabu's for Bfast, then heading into Epcot or reverse for dinner or ice cream, so the location of BC over Dolphin didn't help us much at all.

 

[Poohlovr]

Thanks so much for the information. My ressie is at the Poly, but this is almost 1000.00 less and seems really nice for the price. We spend alot of time at Epcot and eat at alot of the World Showcase restaurants and my DH loves the ESPN zone. It's a tough decision although the $$$ difference is big.
Do you have to have a fireworks room to see the fireworks or can you see them from the beach?

I don't think that you could see them from the beach. I never tried, but all of the fireworks view rooms are on higher floors, so I don't think watching them from the beach would do much good.

Like I said, though, I never tried, so I could be wrong.

 

[Zuzu03]

Thanks so much for the information. My ressie is at the Poly, but this is almost 1000.00 less and seems really nice for the price. We spend alot of time at Epcot and eat at alot of the World Showcase restaurants and my DH loves the ESPN zone. It's a tough decision although the $$$ difference is big.
Do you have to have a fireworks room to see the fireworks or can you see them from the beach?

DD's fave is the Poly and I love the Dolphin so we're splitting our next trip! I had a room on the ground floor with a patio and I saw the higher fireworks every night. It was really nice!

 

[NancyIL]

Poly is also my favorite, but for the price difference, it's a no brainer, so we make sure we visit the Poly for meals occasionally. We just got back from a stay at BC and regretted we weren't at Dolphin. We ended up eating at Picabu's 3 times. Great variety, fresh and tasty. BC didn't fit our food needs at all.

Even though our BC room was basically steps from Epcot, we found ourselves walking to Picabu's for Bfast, then heading into Epcot or reverse for dinner or ice cream, so the location of BC over Dolphin didn't help us much at all.

I love staying at the Swan, but I rarely eat at S/D restaurants. I'm not fond of Picabu's breakfast food - especially the scrambled eggs. I would rather eat the snacks I bring with me and wait until I'm in a park to eat something more. Fresh, on the other hand, is wonderful when you want a big breakfast.

 

[starhitter21]

My family of 8 booked an "executive" suite in the middle of June using the S/D website using the code suites2. I'm hoping that $275 is a good rate for that. Has anyone stayed in an executive suite and could give me any information or pictures? We have never stayed at the S/D or any DELUXE resort for that matter. Will we be dissatisfied? Thanks!

 

[NancyIL]

My family of 8 booked an "executive" suite in the middle of June using the S/D website using the code suites2. I'm hoping that $275 is a good rate for that. Has anyone stayed in an executive suite and could give me any information or pictures? We have never stayed at the S/D or any DELUXE resort for that matter. Will we be dissatisfied? Thanks!

That's a GREAT rate for an executive suite! Regular guest rooms sometimes cost $275/night or more. Enjoy!

 

[Piper]

Resies made----check
Airline tickets bought.....check
Gad vouchers in hand.....well, we have 6 of 7---hope my nephew really mailed his project!

 

[Needafix]

I love staying at the Swan, but I rarely eat at S/D restaurants. I'm not fond of Picabu's breakfast food - especially the scrambled eggs. I would rather eat the snacks I bring with me and wait until I'm in a park to eat something more. Fresh, on the other hand, is wonderful when you want a big breakfast.

NancyIL - That's funny b/c the one thing we all found fantastic was their scrambled eggs. I wasn't even going to have anything to eat until I tried DS's, then I had to get my own. We even went back for their scrambled eggs, bacon and roasted potatoes for our last meal at Disney b/4 we got ME (we did really want Tonga Toast, but there wasn't time to get there and back )

Normally we usually bring bfast snacks also, but since this was only a 4 day trip, we decided it wouldn't really be worth it.

 

[DisDee]

We just booked the Dolphin for $119.00 per night for our stay over Labor Day weekend. It was a limited time offer for Entertainment Book members. I am thrilled to be staying here for the first time. The only park we plan to visit is Epcot as we are going on a cruise out of Port Canaveral and just couldn't be that close without a quick visit to WDW. I only wish we had more time to enjoy the resort.

 

[NancyIL]

We just booked the Dolphin for $119.00 per night for our stay over Labor Day weekend. It was a limited time offer for Entertainment Book members. I am thrilled to be staying here for the first time. The only park we plan to visit is Epcot as we are going on a cruise out of Port Canaveral and just couldn't be that close without a quick visit to WDW. I only wish we had more time to enjoy the resort.

That's a fabulous rate! I hope you'll love staying there as much as many of us here do.

 

[Poohlovr]

We just booked the Dolphin for $119.00 per night for our stay over Labor Day weekend. It was a limited time offer for Entertainment Book members. I am thrilled to be staying here for the first time. The only park we plan to visit is Epcot as we are going on a cruise out of Port Canaveral and just couldn't be that close without a quick visit to WDW. I only wish we had more time to enjoy the resort.

That really is a great rate. I hope you enjoy the resort as much as we do.

 

[lissiesmum]

I was just reading on another thread about someone asking about the grotto pool for little ones...and someone mentioned the pool is shallower over to the right of the waterfall. Can anyone confirm exactly how shallow? I'd love for DD to be able to wade around in the pool