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

[Dan Murphy]

I found a recent room service menu for the Swan/Dolphin on-line and saw that steel cut oatmeal is available. I don’t know whether they serve it at Picabu or Fuel, but you could order it in room.

I looked at Deb's site, no oatmeal at Picabu or Fuel. It is available at Fresh, along with grits. I have had both at Fresh, excellent!

http://allears.net/dining/menu/

 

[simonmunro]

Does anyone know which Dolphin room types have walk in showers?

 

[JerseyJanice]

I thought I read here that you were allowed to book a room on points even if your account was shy by some of the points needed. Am I crazy, or is this correct?

I believe I read that you can buy points here. Try searching in the thread for points or SPG.

 

[100acreHiker]

I looked at Deb's site, no oatmeal at Picabu or Fuel. It is available at Fresh, along with grits. I have had both at Fresh, excellent!

http://allears.net/dining/menu/

Thanks-- I saw a couple of trip advisor reviews at Picabu that say they had oatmeal and even a photo but it's definitely not on the menu. I know at Boardwalk Baker (we usually stay at BWI) they have oatmeal but don't list it on the menu. Wondering if that's the case here. Worst case senario, we stop at Boardwalk Bakery on our way to Epcot.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I looked at Deb's site, no oatmeal at Picabu or Fuel. It is available at Fresh, along with grits. I have had both at Fresh, excellent!

http://allears.net/dining/menu/

Oh, they do sound good, and I’m sure you can get it to go.

 

[momto4obkids]

Oh my gosh, you guys are so awesome! I just got the Swan for my July 4-6 trip. Going specifically for the Epcot fireworks, and planning to hit HS on the 5th, so the location is perfect. I had already booked Animal Kingdom Lodge with Passholder rate, but this is saving me about $100/night!

That was my exact plan!! lol I had AKL booked with the passholder rate, then decided to check for the Swan or Dolphin July 4th to 7th and got the Swan! Will be at Epcot fireworks and HS on the 5th also!

 

[ckelly14]

Does anyone know which Dolphin room types have walk in showers?

The King rooms and the parlor portion of the executive suites have walk in showers.

 

[ImprovGal]

I looked at Deb's site, no oatmeal at Picabu or Fuel. It is available at Fresh, along with grits. I have had both at Fresh, excellent!

http://allears.net/dining/menu/

As of Wednesday, Picabu had both oatmeal and grits available. Note that both are prepared with more than just water. The oatmeal has some sugar and possibly milk in it. I got the grits and added cheese and butter, but as I was stirring I realized they already had some sort of butter or cream already in there.

 

[Dan Murphy]

As of Wednesday, Picabu had both oatmeal and grits available.

Thanks IG. Good news.

 

[teacher31]

So I took a leap and tried Hotwire for our stay at the Dolphin before our cruise for my 50th birthday. Score! I booked one night first and then when I saw I got it, clicked the link to add two days. Unbelievable. Thanks to those who shared this deal!!!

 

[Dave006]

Score! I booked one night first and then when I saw I got it, clicked the link to add two days. Unbelievable. Thanks to those who shared this deal!!!

Just to add some Hot rate deal detail(s) for those that don't want to take the less than 1% chance on getting the wrong Hotel on Hotwire. Just book 1 day to limit your risk. Once you commit to a Hot rate, you can make changes to your "reservation" once. You can add up to 6 days before your initial stay's start date or up to 6 days after your initial stay's end date. You can also add an additional room to your reservation.

Note: Your original reservation will remain unchanged. Additional nights are booked as a new reservation, so you’ll have two bookings at your hotel with separate Hotwire confirmation numbers and credit card charges.

Dave

 

[sjlogghe]

If you are a day visitor and do not have a door key card, as mentioned earlier, there will be a $23 charge. You sometimes can get a parking credit voucher from the signature restaurants and the Garden Grove, for 3 hours free parking.

Dang, $23?!? That's expensive! We're at CBR. So I know it's not far - I just have a thing with having my own car with me. I get anxious about having to wait on things and wasting my vacation time! Ha. I guess I will look into other options. Bummer. Thanks for the info!

 

[Dave006]

For reference: The Overnight parking fee is $13 per night at Value resorts, $19 at Moderate resorts and $24 at Deluxe and Deluxe Villa resorts as of 3/21/2018.

Dave

 

[Dan Murphy]

For reference: The Overnight parking fee is $13 per night at Value resorts, $19 at Moderate resorts and $24 at Deluxe and Deluxe Villa resorts as of 3/21/2018.

Dave

It looks like S/D wanted to price itself $1 less than the other onsite deluxe resorts for self park, equal on valet.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...tion-questions.3264274/page-285#post-59081476

 

[pepperandchips]

I posted a tutorial on facebook for my friends who asked me for tips on the Swan/Dolphin booking on Hotwire using the Hot Rate blind deal. If anyone is interested I'm posting it in a spoiler below to conserve thread viewing space. I hope the images worked, if not just click them to see my screen grabs.

Spoiler: How to Book Hotwire Deal

Step one: search your desired dates (I searched "Walt Disney World" but you can also do Orlando. Filter down in the "area" box to "Walt Disney World - Bonnet Creek"


Step two: Filter "Star Rating" to "Four Stars"


Step three: check in your browser window for the number of trip advisor reviews for the Swan and Dolphin (or just one or the other if you are adamant about which one you want to stay at, I found availability at one or the other for all of the dates that I searched but never both). In Chrome on my computer the Dolphin shows 5051 reviews, the Swan shows 4908 reviews. I understand from friends that this could vary by browser so just check on yours and take note of the exact number of reviews


Step four: using your "find" function in your browser window (mine works to press the control button and letter key "f") then type in the number you took note of in step three. My browser shows 5051 revews for the Dolphin, so I searched 5051. You can see this yields two results in the find function - one is for the Hot Rate blind deal for the Dolphin, the other is the outright Dolphin result (the one listing it at $217 per night). Click on the Hot Rate blind deal matching the search result for the number of trip advisor listings


Step five: confirm the result that you clicked on has the $32 resort fee and matches the amenities for the Swan or Dolphin, based on which number you used to search. The dead giveaway for the Dolphin is that they have a "bed choice" option for two full beds, which is unusual in Orlando. It should NOT list free parking. The other four star hotel that showed up in my search listings is probably the Hilton Bonnet Creek based on the number of trip advisor reviews matching - these show queen beds so you don't want to book that one if you are trying to get the Dolphin.


Step six: hold your breath and book. There should not be a chance of getting something else as long as you confirmed that the number of trip advisor reviews is the same!

I did this twice on Sunday morning and got two rooms at the Dolphin. We absolutely love the Dolphin but my fiance and I booked a king room because we don't like the double beds, but I would still stay there if that was the only room choice.

Self parking is $23/night (I think, based on above posts), the resort fee is $32/night, so if you are driving add another $55 to the rate you see. But $142 all in for the Dolphin is a CRAZY good deal at this peak travel time, I am posting a screen shot of the Disney resorts, this is LESS than a Disney VALUE resort! Does not include magical express transfers, so figure in that cost of a Mears Shuttle or Uber if you are flying.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I posted a tutorial on facebook for my friends who asked me for tips on the Swan/Dolphin booking on Hotwire using the Hot Rate blind deal. If anyone is interested I'm posting it in a spoiler below to conserve thread viewing space. I hope the images worked, if not just click them to see my screen grabs.

Spoiler: How to Book Hotwire Deal

Step one: search your desired dates (I searched "Walt Disney World" but you can also do Orlando. Filter down in the "area" box to "Walt Disney World - Bonnet Creek"
View attachment 316964

Step two: Filter "Star Rating" to "Four Stars"
View attachment 316965

Step three: check in your browser window for the number of trip advisor reviews for the Swan and Dolphin (or just one or the other if you are adamant about which one you want to stay at, I found availability at one or the other for all of the dates that I searched but never both). In Chrome on my computer the Dolphin shows 5051 reviews, the Swan shows 4908 reviews. I understand from friends that this could vary by browser so just check on yours and take note of the exact number of reviews
View attachment 316966

Step four: using your "find" function in your browser window (mine works to press the control button and letter key "f") then type in the number you took note of in step three. My browser shows 5051 revews for the Dolphin, so I searched 5051. You can see this yields two results in the find function - one is for the Hot Rate blind deal for the Dolphin, the other is the outright Dolphin result (the one listing it at $217 per night). Click on the Hot Rate blind deal matching the search result for the number of trip advisor listings
View attachment 316967

Step five: confirm the result that you clicked on has the $32 resort fee and matches the amenities for the Swan or Dolphin, based on which number you used to search. The dead giveaway for the Dolphin is that they have a "bed choice" option for two full beds, which is unusual in Orlando. It should NOT list free parking. The other four star hotel that showed up in my search listings is probably the Hilton Bonnet Creek based on the number of trip advisor reviews matching - these show queen beds so you don't want to book that one if you are trying to get the Dolphin.
View attachment 316968

Step six: hold your breath and book. There should not be a chance of getting something else as long as you confirmed that the number of trip advisor reviews is the same!

I did this twice on Sunday morning and got two rooms at the Dolphin. We absolutely love the Dolphin but my fiance and I booked a king room because we don't like the double beds, but I would still stay there if that was the only room choice.

Self parking is $23/night (I think, based on above posts), the resort fee is $32/night, so if you are driving add another $55 to the rate you see. But $142 all in for the Dolphin is a CRAZY good deal at this peak travel time, I am posting a screen shot of the Disney resorts, this is LESS than a Disney VALUE resort! Does not include magical express transfers, so figure in that cost of a Mears Shuttle or Uber if you are flying.
View attachment 316969

That's great, p&c. Thanks for all that work, very helpful.

 

[pepperandchips]

That's great, p&c. Thanks for all that work, very helpful.

I'm always trying to spread the Swan Dolphin love! I figured since I already did all the legwork to put it on facebook, if just one person found it helpful here it would be worth it to repost. Thanks for all your hard work keeping this thread going with great info, Dan!

 

[Bree]

Just to add some Hot rate deal detail(s) for those that don't want to take the less than 1% chance on getting the wrong Hotel on Hotwire. Just book 1 day to limit your risk. Once you commit to a Hot rate, you can make changes to your "reservation" once. You can add up to 6 days before your initial stay's start date or up to 6 days after your initial stay's end date. You can also add an additional room to your reservation.

Note: Your original reservation will remain unchanged. Additional nights are booked as a new reservation, so you’ll have two bookings at your hotel with separate Hotwire confirmation numbers and credit card charges.

Dave

I can only add 3 days before or after my reservation.

 

[BlueFairy]

Is anyone else having trouble booking for 2019? Since the new booking window was announced, I waited until finally this week our dates are open at 12,000 per night in March at Swan. I tried all day yesterday and then again today via spg.com. 2 different computers. I cannot get past where you enter the credit card number. It kicks me back to the same page every time without completing a reservation. Would love to know it's not just me . . .

 

[shoreward]

Is anyone else having trouble booking for 2019? Since the new booking window was announced, I waited until finally this week our dates are open at 12,000 per night in March at Swan. I tried all day yesterday and then again today via spg.com. 2 different computers. I cannot get past where you enter the credit card number. It kicks me back to the same page every time without completing a reservation. Would love to know it's not just me . . .

Marriott is making a major announcement this afternoon regarding the Marriott/Starwood merger and what is supposed to include changes to their loyalty program. That could be why you are having issues. Have you tried calling?