Walt Disney World SWAN, DOLPHIN & SWAN RESERVE RESORTS Information & Questions

[luvallprincesses]

I don't know but it's completely sold out on Thursday Nov 30 as well. Really goofs me up using the "stay the 5th night free" when using points for that week.

 

[Atinsley22]

I don't know but it's completely sold out on Thursday Nov 30 as well. Really goofs me up using the "stay the 5th night free" when using points for that week.

Exactly my issue. I think we'd really enjoy the central location and ability to go back and forth easily.

 

[luvallprincesses]

Exactly my issue. I think we'd really enjoy the central location and ability to go back and forth easily.

We're going for 10 days so at least I can book my first 5 on points getting the 5th free. Then need to transfer to another resort for the last 5 nights. Hoping I can grab free dining for those 5 at least.

 

[cet13]

Our dates were also sold out for months, though I was able to get the sold out dates through Costco. We are visiting in May, and I just got extra nights through the hotel (my Costco room is refundable and I wanted to be able to have the fifth night free with points/ use my spg elite benefits). I'd also recommend checking the rates after you book. Ours is now nearly $70 less per night.

 

[mc-hokie]

Recently returned from our first trip to S/D. We were at POFQ for 2 nights and moved to the Swan on Easter Sunday, 4/16. We were there for 5 nights. I'm appreciative of all I've learned here, so let me know if I can answer any questions. A few thougths:
-I chose the Swan over the Dolphin for the beds and renovations. My wife said that next time she'd prefer the Dolphin as the amenities we used most were more convenient there (laundry, closer to pool, Fountain, Picabu to name a few)
-Room was great...comfortable and very clean. 7th floor (room 791) end of hall with balcony...great view of TOT and HS fireworks, also EE was visible and the mountains of Pandora.
-We did EP 2 days and HS one...easy walk or boat ride.
-7am EMH at Magic Kingdom on Thur. 4/20...the bus was pushing it to get there on time. We were at the stop by 6:00 and a bus had not come. It was about 6:25 for the first bus. We made it through security but they had already begun letting people in by the time we arrived, right about 7am. I wish the bus was a bit earlier.
-Garden Grove b'fast buffet was great. I am Marriott/SPG platinum and received free cont. b'fast but could upgrade to full buffet for $6 each. We really enjoyed the 2 full breakfasts we had there.
-Kids loved the Grotto Pool, but thought the water slide was weak compared to others (mainly Poly & POFQ)
-We hadn't stayed on/near the boardwalk, but will definitely do so again. Great area!

Happy to answer any questions.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks for the feedback, mc, sounds like a fun trip.

 

[Volatica]

We just changed our reservation to the Dolphin (instead of the Swan) in a "premium studio" room because the floorplan I saw online had a big walk in closet that would fit the baby's crib. He has to have it dark and has to be in a room separate from us or he won't sleep. I told the reservationist that that was the reason I was book this particular room, and he laughed but said that's what everyone does in this room type. He said the crib fits right in there. Well, I was trying to look up the room layout to show my husband and two different layouts under the same name showed up on Google images. One has a big walk in closet that is separate from the bathroom, and the closet shows a door. The other has a partition (not a wall) down the center, and the closet seems smaller, is right next to the bathroom, and does not seem to have a door. I called and was assured that the room I booked had both the partition (which I could care less about) and a large closet with a door. Can anyone assure me that the room I booked was the type I'm looking for. I want a walk in closet big enough to put the crib in that has a door. That's really what I care about. Thank you Swan and Dolphin veterans! This is my first time staying. I'm excited and anxious.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I myself can not see where a walkin closet is.

http://swandolphin.com/accommodations/dolphin_deluxe_family_room.html

 

[Volatica]

I myself can not see where a walkin closet is.

http://swandolphin.com/accommodations/dolphin_deluxe_family_room.html

I agree. That's why I'm anxious. When I called and asked about a room with an appropriate space, the reservationist told me that room would work well and "people put cribs in the closet all the time." He's the one who actually suggested it. He also said that the room came with a wet bar. I see this floorplan online, which is also labeled "premium studio" and matches his description in most regards: http://www.intercot.com/resorts/disney/dolphin/image/premiumstudio.gif

Which clearly has a walk in closet, and a wet bark, but doesn't have the dividing wall. I could care less about the dividing wall. What I want is the closet that the guy was talking about. I just can't think of a way to guarantee that I've booked the correct type of room. Should I call and talk to a supervisor to be certain?

 

[cet13]

Recently returned from our first trip to S/D. We were at POFQ for 2 nights and moved to the Swan on Easter Sunday, 4/16. We were there for 5 nights. I'm appreciative of all I've learned here, so let me know if I can answer any questions. A few thougths:
-I chose the Swan over the Dolphin for the beds and renovations. My wife said that next time she'd prefer the Dolphin as the amenities we used most were more convenient there (laundry, closer to pool, Fountain, Picabu to name a few)
-Room was great...comfortable and very clean. 7th floor (room 791) end of hall with balcony...great view of TOT and HS fireworks, also EE was visible and the mountains of Pandora.
-We did EP 2 days and HS one...easy walk or boat ride.
-7am EMH at Magic Kingdom on Thur. 4/20...the bus was pushing it to get there on time. We were at the stop by 6:00 and a bus had not come. It was about 6:25 for the first bus. We made it through security but they had already begun letting people in by the time we arrived, right about 7am. I wish the bus was a bit earlier.
-Garden Grove b'fast buffet was great. I am Marriott/SPG platinum and received free cont. b'fast but could upgrade to full buffet for $6 each. We really enjoyed the 2 full breakfasts we had there.
-Kids loved the Grotto Pool, but thought the water slide was weak compared to others (mainly Poly & POFQ)
-We hadn't stayed on/near the boardwalk, but will definitely do so again. Great area!

Happy to answer any questions.

Sounds like a good trip! Were you able to get a platinum upgrade?

 

[mrsdaly]

I agree. That's why I'm anxious. When I called and asked about a room with an appropriate space, the reservationist told me that room would work well and "people put cribs in the closet all the time." He's the one who actually suggested it. He also said that the room came with a wet bar. I see this floorplan online, which is also labeled "premium studio" and matches his description in most regards: http://www.intercot.com/resorts/disney/dolphin/image/premiumstudio.gif

Which clearly has a walk in closet, and a wet bark, but doesn't have the dividing wall. I could care less about the dividing wall. What I want is the closet that the guy was talking about. I just can't think of a way to guarantee that I've booked the correct type of room. Should I call and talk to a supervisor to be certain?

I believe the walk-in closet is the area in the bottom of your photo on the right (right by the second sink) however it doesn't appear to have a door on this floorplan, which might be before the renovations were complete. I actually found a video tour (bad and the room is sooo messy) that shows (very quickly at around 1:00 and again at 1:12) what this space is. It didn't have a door on the video, but it also was prior to renovations.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

My goal is to use Marriott points for an upcoming stay at the swan. I am wondering if anyone knows how many points to upgrade to a grand deluxe room or deluxe family suite. we would be there for about 6 or 7 nights.

 

[chris benton]

Recently returned from our first trip to S/D. We were at POFQ for 2 nights and moved to the Swan on Easter Sunday, 4/16. We were there for 5 nights. I'm appreciative of all I've learned here, so let me know if I can answer any questions. A few thougths:
-I chose the Swan over the Dolphin for the beds and renovations. My wife said that next time she'd prefer the Dolphin as the amenities we used most were more convenient there (laundry, closer to pool, Fountain, Picabu to name a few)
-Room was great...comfortable and very clean. 7th floor (room 791) end of hall with balcony...great view of TOT and HS fireworks, also EE was visible and the mountains of Pandora.
-We did EP 2 days and HS one...easy walk or boat ride.
-7am EMH at Magic Kingdom on Thur. 4/20...the bus was pushing it to get there on time. We were at the stop by 6:00 and a bus had not come. It was about 6:25 for the first bus. We made it through security but they had already begun letting people in by the time we arrived, right about 7am. I wish the bus was a bit earlier.
-Garden Grove b'fast buffet was great. I am Marriott/SPG platinum and received free cont. b'fast but could upgrade to full buffet for $6 each. We really enjoyed the 2 full breakfasts we had there.
-Kids loved the Grotto Pool, but thought the water slide was weak compared to others (mainly Poly & POFQ)
-We hadn't stayed on/near the boardwalk, but will definitely do so again. Great area!

Happy to answer any questions.

I'm a fan of Swolphin, but haven't stayed anywhere else except for the Poly a lifetime ago, so I can't compare anything else, really. How would you rate your limited time at POFQ (or any other resort) vs Swan?
Did you eat at any other restaurants besides GG?
I was there in November, do they have an arrival display for the buses yet? (I would LOVE that, and I heard that "most" other resorts have them now, but that's just hearsay.)

For the buses: My advice to others would be to use Uber if you want to be somewhere at a hard time. The price is borderline awesome, and it takes all worries away.

 

[Volatica]

I believe the walk-in closet is the area in the bottom of your photo on the right (right by the second sink) however it doesn't appear to have a door on this floorplan, which might be before the renovations were complete. I actually found a video tour (bad and the room is sooo messy) that shows (very quickly at around 1:00 and again at 1:12) what this space is. It didn't have a door on the video, but it also was prior to renovations.

Thanks for that. Maybe the floor plan is just out of date. I messaged a customer service rep and showed her both versions of the floor plan I found. She forwarded the issue to a "specialized department" because she couldn't give me a definitive answer. I am patiently awaiting an email. I feel silly, but as much money as we are spending, I want to make sure it's right so that we aren't up all night and/or keeping our neighbors up all night.

 

[mikegood2]

Thanks for that. Maybe the floor plan is just out of date. I messaged a customer service rep and showed her both versions of the floor plan I found. She forwarded the issue to a "specialized department" because she couldn't give me a definitive answer. I am patiently awaiting an email. I feel silly, but as much money as we are spending, I want to make sure it's right so that we aren't up all night and/or keeping our neighbors up all night.

I think messaging the service rep was a good idea, hopefully they get back too you soon with a definitive answer. Also, don't feel silly contacting them, if the layout you saw was the reason you chose the a Premium studio than better to figure it out now than have to deal with potential issues when you arrive.

We also found that finding "accurate" room layouts to the suites/studios difficult in the past. Between the differences in rooms between the Swan and the Dolphin and renovations every couple years, I'm not sure if they have one specific layout.

We stayed in Executive Suites at the Dolphin, in 2011 and 2013, and the room layouts were definitely not the same. Luckily both rooms worked out great for us and we prefered certain aspects of both of them. In 2011 the room portion was a handicap accessible room, so it had a wetbar/kitchenette area and walk in closet. In 2013 the wet bar/kitchenette was in the suite room (my room) and the room was a standard room. Funny story, we really liked the wetbar/kitchenette area on our second stay and wished we had one on our first stay. 2 or 3 days into that stay we realized that we did have one on our first stay, but that was where we kept my nieces crib, so we were not able to use it.

Sadly, because of the Dolphin renovations, no executive suites were available for our stay in June, so we had to book at another resort this year. Not looking forward to staying at a value resort this summer because I think those executive suites really spoiled us.

 

[mommajo143]

Thankful for this thread - we booked a room@ CBR but the more we crunch numbers the more I'm thinking we may need to look at other options to see how we may be enable to trim costs. Does anyone know if you get the 0% on Disney Visa booking @ Swan / Dolphin?

 

[luvallprincesses]

Has anyone had bell services transfer luggage from a Disney resort to Swolphin for a split stay? We have 5 nights at Wilderness Lodge followed by 5 nights at Swan.

 

[dansdad]

Has anyone had bell services transfer luggage from a Disney resort to Swolphin for a split stay? We have 5 nights at Wilderness Lodge followed by 5 nights at Swan.

Yup. No issues whatsoever. Just don't expect your luggage to be available until late afternoon.

 

[SwanVT2]

Our trip after next will be with brother in law and his wife. We will have 4 adults and our daughter, who will be 7 at the time. We would want separate bedrooms for adult couples with our daughter in our room with her own bed or sleeper sofa. What should we look into for swan or dolphin suites. They do not post their costs online. Does anyone know their price range? Thank you!

 

[rlessig]

Has anyone purchased one of these dining cards??? We booked our trip through Costco last December for this November. Now they announced disounted Disney Dining Cards and it peaked our interest! I love being able to prepay!

https://redirect.viglink.com/?forma...ou-book-a-walt-disney-world-vacation-package/