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

[Usty]

I keep coming back as all my research tells me that this will be the right choice for our family.

1. So, I won't get magic bands (but can buy separately) what will we get to enter the park, regular tickets etc?
2. No magical express ( i heard it can take an hour or more, so we won't use it anyways as private shuttle will get us in 30 min).

Am I missing anything else?

My kids and 2 and 5, do they have fun stuff in the pools? Arcade/stores in the lobby?
Is pre-pay a good idea, that seems to be the lowest prices.

For November dates I am seeing $270 average, is this decent price? or can I do better?

Even if you get magic bands, you won't be able to charge things back to the room. I still think they're convenient for photopass, park entry and fastpasses. But yes, you'd get a ticket card with RFID that you could tap to enter parks and redeem fastpasses.

As far as cost - if you're a Costco member - I'd check their travel site to see if the package is available on the dates you're looking for. I was able to get a resort view room at the Dolphin for $244 a night including taxes and resort fees for end of September/first week of October. They make you buy park tickets with the package and the cheapest rate is also 100% non-refundable - but you can pay more to make the hotel piece refundable. We paid an extra $15 a night to have that option. The Disney tickets never lose their value and you could move them to another date/time (and pay the difference if there is one) if your trip did have issues.

 

[crvetter]

They make you buy park tickets with the package

If you call Costco they will waive the ticket requirement usually (never had a problem I have an AP so I can still book here through Costco) by simply stating that you already have tickets purchased. Though I would suggest trying that only before you actually buy the external tickets. Though Costco doesn’t mark up the tickets in anyway (so there would still be the small savings on tickets at Undercover Tourist for example).

Am I missing anything else?

The only thing missing is be aware that the bed sizes are different between the two resorts (doubles vs queens). But overall you get most benefits of a Disney Resort guest (60 day FP, EMH, WDW transpo, 180+10 day ADR, etc) the only real things you don’t get are free Magicbands, room charging, and Magical Express (perhaps I missed a few).

 

[Trackstar4400]

I keep coming back as all my research tells me that this will be the right choice for our family.

1. So, I won't get magic bands (but can buy separately) what will we get to enter the park, regular tickets etc?
2. No magical express ( i heard it can take an hour or more, so we won't use it anyways as private shuttle will get us in 30 min).

Am I missing anything else?

My kids and 2 and 5, do they have fun stuff in the pools? Arcade/stores in the lobby?
Is pre-pay a good idea, that seems to be the lowest prices.

For November dates I am seeing $270 average, is this decent price? or can I do better?

You can buy magic bands and link them to your tix. We found this helpful for park entry and fastpasses. We used transportation set up right through the Swan and Dolphin. It was awesome and I would highly recommend. The driver met us at the airport, stopped at the store for us and we were at the hotel within 45 minutes or so (including the stop) . Not sure about the price. It seems pretty good. My kids were 6 and 3 last summer when we were there and they loved the pools (there is a little waterslide) There is also an arcade at the Dolphin and plenty to do on the BW.

 

[Dave006]

I keep coming back as all my research tells me that this will be the right choice for our family.

1. So, I won't get magic bands (but can buy separately) what will we get to enter the park, regular tickets etc?
2. No magical express ( i heard it can take an hour or more, so we won't use it anyways as private shuttle will get us in 30 min).

Am I missing anything else?

You also can't charge back to your room from any Disney location. You can't use Disney Gift cards. There is also a ($30 + tax) manditory resort fee per day. The Swan is about 1/2 the size of the Dolphin and has Queen beds vs Double beds in the Dolphin. Both have a dedicated Disney desk staffed by Disney CMs for any tickets, basic Magic Bands, dining or other reservations.

My kids and 2 and 5, do they have fun stuff in the pools? Arcade/stores in the lobby?
Is pre-pay a good idea, that seems to be the lowest prices.

For November dates I am seeing $270 average, is this decent price? or can I do better?

Between the 2 hotels there are quiet / lap pools and the Groto pool with a slide and a kids playground. They have Swan boats (paddle boats that are included in the resort fee). Nightly Campfire and S'mores (include in resort fee). The Dolphin has a Game room that is open 6 AM - 11 PM and it is a short walk to the YC / BC Arcade across the lake (5-7 min walk).

Currently pre-pay is the lowest listed pricing but make sure you understand the restriction if your plans change for any reason. The Swan / Dolphin are now part of the Marriott reservation system that uses dynamic pricing which can make pricing swing widely for any given day/week. Depending on when in Nov. that you are looking at the $270 is good as the regular pricing is $400-600. You might look at AAA pricing even if you don't have a AAA Card (just need one at actual Check-in).

I attached a PDF file that has an overview of the Swan / Dolphin and includes an example of the Daily Activites around the resort.

Dave

 

[lorilclevelandrn]

Super excited to stay @ Swan for 1st time. We added one night to the beginning of our vacation and snagged it on Priceline Express for $94.

Do I now call Disney Wholesale Dept to add my children?

Thank u in advance!

 

[Dave006]

Officially Priceline owns your reservation and you should ask them to contact Disney to update your reservation. However, I would suggest you call Disney Wholesale department at 407-939-7671 to add your two children.

Dave

 

[lorilclevelandrn]

Thanks Dave!

 

[BattyKoda]

Yes, unfortunately this happens fairly regularly. It’s usually to accommodate convention events that are utilizing the space.

I was wondering if you could expand on "fairly regularly"... we are debating switching to the Dolphin but my wife is now concerned about the potential of the pool being closed while we are there (we are planning a pool day for our entire last day and we have a late file out so that would def affect our plans). Is this something that we should actually be concerned about?

Is there any way to find out what, if any, conventions are at the Swolphin ahead of time?

 

[pepperandchips]

I was wondering if you could expand on "fairly regularly"... we are debating switching to the Dolphin but my wife is now concerned about the potential of the pool being closed while we are there (we are planning a pool day for our entire last day and we have a late file out so that would def affect our plans). Is this something that we should actually be concerned about?

Is there any way to find out what, if any, conventions are at the Swolphin ahead of time?

My experiences are anecdotal at best but I have seen others report this too. I’ve actually never seen the entire pool area closed (just certain parts) and there were sandwich boards up at least a day in advance on the walkway to the pool at the Dolphin notifying guests of the closure. If you check with the resort at check in they should know whether there are any planned pool closures due to events.

Someone else may come along with a better idea about checking for conventions but the only way I know to do it is by googling your date with something like “convention Swan Dolphin Disney Orlando, FL” and see if anything pops up. That’s how I found out that we were there alongside the massive Gartner convention once.

 

[BattyKoda]

My experiences are anecdotal at best but I have seen others report this too. I’ve actually never seen the entire pool area closed (just certain parts) and there were sandwich boards up at least a day in advance on the walkway to the pool at the Dolphin notifying guests of the closure. If you check with the resort at check in they should know whether there are any planned pool closures due to events.

Someone else may come along with a better idea about checking for conventions but the only way I know to do it is by googling your date with something like “convention Swan Dolphin Disney Orlando, FL” and see if anything pops up. That’s how I found out that we were there alongside the massive Gartner convention once.

Thank you for the reply, I appreciate it.

I had googled it earlier, but left out the word "schedule" (D'oh!).

For those interested in checking for scheduled Conventions in Orlando: Convention Schedules It lists Dates and hotels for conventions, as well as the name of the convention which you can then google and possibly find the itinerary.

 

[happ]

I was wondering if you could expand on "fairly regularly"... we are debating switching to the Dolphin but my wife is now concerned about the potential of the pool being closed while we are there (we are planning a pool day for our entire last day and we have a late file out so that would def affect our plans). Is this something that we should actually be concerned about?

Is there any way to find out what, if any, conventions are at the Swolphin ahead of time?

I'm not sure knowing the conventions will actually tell you if the pool will potentially close. These are convention hotels. There was a convention during my stay in April and the pool did not close. Other than seeing attendees when we passed through the lobby, it had absolutely no effect on our stay at all. You could try calling the resort to see if they can offer a better idea about pool closures.

 

[hedberg1661]

I was wondering if you could expand on "fairly regularly"... we are debating switching to the Dolphin but my wife is now concerned about the potential of the pool being closed while we are there (we are planning a pool day for our entire last day and we have a late file out so that would def affect our plans). Is this something that we should actually be concerned about?

Is there any way to find out what, if any, conventions are at the Swolphin ahead of time?

I have not been able to tell when or if this will occur. This has happened to me twice and it is certainly not ideal. You are paying to use their full facilities and when they shut down part of them to up charge someone else they are basically denying you this service that you paid for. Perhaps my thought process is too simplistic but that's just how I feel. Regardless, I wouldn't say changing everything if there is a chance of this occurring on your trip.

 

[BattyKoda]

You are paying to use their full facilities and when they shut down part of them to up charge someone else they are basically denying you this service that you paid for.

That's exactly how I would feel if it happened to us.

But I think being aware that it could happen helps... It wasn't really anything that I had thought of until I read about it. But, as others have said, asking when we get there should help... having 6 days to prepare is better than finding out about it the day before.

Now I just have to find a rate that I'm comfortable enough paying

 

[pattyw]

We just returned from a fabulous stay at the Swan 5/23-5/27. We loved everything about the hotel!! We paid 1/2 of what a deluxe Disney resort would cost, we accrued Marriott points- and we were under the double points promotion still!! The staff was stellar!! so friendly and accommodating!!




Here's a few pics from our room: 2Q balcony room:

 

[snappy]

We just returned from a fabulous stay at the Swan 5/23-5/27. We loved everything about the hotel!! We paid 1/2 of what a deluxe Disney resort would cost, we accrued Marriott points- and we were under the double points promotion still!! The staff was stellar!! so friendly and accommodating!!


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Here's a few pics from our room: 2Q balcony room:

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[SteveH]

A few pages back somebody posted about the pool area being closed and management less then understanding and compensating for the lost day. The problem is if you plan a pool day and they don't tell you well in advance that can day can be blown.

IMHO S/D needs to provide a decent level of compensation to anyone displaced because of their choice to rent a facility that was paid for. As guests are required to pay their Resort fee which pool access is part of the package. Since the Resort Fee is required this is a form of a contract for use of the amenities. If they choose to deny me the right to use those facilities I should be compensated. But just returning my Resort fee isn't enough since you can't just easily swap your pool day with a park day due to FastPass & ADR arrangements.

I love S/D, but I equally loath resort fees, and this is one of the reasons to hate them. They really need to do a better job of advaned warning and reasonable accommodations.

 

[snappy]

Beautiful photos! We had to reschedule our May stay at the Dolphin. Your post reminds me how much I love swandolphin.

 

[SteveH]

@pattyw looks great! Thank you for sharing.

 

[hedberg1661]

A few pages back somebody posted about the pool area being closed and management less then understanding and compensating for the lost day. The problem is if you plan a pool day and they don't tell you well in advance that can day can be blown.

IMHO S/D needs to provide a decent level of compensation to anyone displaced because of their choice to rent a facility that was paid for. As guests are required to pay their Resort fee which pool access is part of the package. Since the Resort Fee is required this is a form of a contract for use of the amenities. If they choose to deny me the right to use those facilities I should be compensated. But just returning my Resort fee isn't enough since you can't just easily swap your pool day with a park day due to FastPass & ADR arrangements.

I love S/D, but I equally loath resort fees, and this is one of the reasons to hate them. They really need to do a better job of advaned warning and reasonable accommodations.

I agree. They do need to do a better job of communicating the shut down and compensating accordingly.

 

[sdkraemer]

When using prime now, what address does everyone put to deliver to the swan resort, 1200 Epcot Resorts Blvd, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830? Then just add a note on the order to meet in the Swan lobby?