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

[Paulines]

Ok, the ant problem(s) is giving me the willies.
After several plan changes, we are looking forward to being at the Dolphin September 1-7th! Hopefully sans any !
Just a heads-up to those going August/September that there’s a promo going on where you get 25% off a second room. We’re paying $440.00 for 2 resort view balcony rooms (2 beds as king was more $).
Is that a decent deal??????

Also, DH is a big guy, not fat, just big and has a bad back. How are the full sized beds?

 

[SteveH]

Also, DH is a big guy, not fat, just big and has a bad back. How are the full sized beds?

I can't speak to the Dolphin directly as our last stay was at the Swan but I found their beds to be very comfortable. I can sleep on anything but for a good restful pain free sleep I need a good mattress and I had no pain or issues at all. As far as I know they still offer the Starwood Heavenly Beds, which were pretty amazing.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Also, DH is a big guy, not fat, just big and has a bad back. How are the full sized beds?

I concur with Steve above. I'm a big guy and the beds are great. Wish I had one here at home. 🛏

 

[Paulines]

Good to know, thank you both. It’s been at least 15 years since last at the Dolphin and was hoping the beds were still comfy!

 

[Dan Murphy]

How are the full sized beds?

I do have to add that I am only familiar with the king size beds at the Swan. I am pretty sure all the beds are the same construction, just different sizes.

 

[Ngwira]

Just booked a two night stay at the Swan for food and wine, MNSSHP and Galaxy's Edge Preview. Any tips for me? We usually stay on property at the Grand Floridian. I refuse to pay $800 a night so $207 a night (AAA rate) plus resort fee it is!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Just booked a two night stay at the Swan for food and wine, MNSSHP and Galaxy's Edge Preview. Any tips for me? We usually stay on property at the Grand Floridian. I refuse to pay $800 a night so $207 a night (AAA rate) plus resort fee it is!

No tips, but you will love the Swan, especially during the Food and Wine and Star Wars. Walk or boat to both parks.

$800?

 

[SteveH]

@Ngwira you got a good rate at 207/night, if I could get that rate for next Feb I'd stay there in a heartbeat. Deluxe room at a moderate level price. Proximaty to boardwalk, Epcot and DHS make it an unbeatable deal. Congrats!

 

[Ngwira]

@Ngwira you got a good rate at 207/night, if I could get that rate for next Feb I'd stay there in a heartbeat. Deluxe room at a moderate level price. Proximaty to boardwalk, Epcot and DHS make it an unbeatable deal. Congrats!

Thank you. I thought that was good so I snapped it up. Excited for our stay.

 

[chris benton]

Also, DH is a big guy, not fat, just big and has a bad back. How are the full sized beds?

No idea what the price difference is, but although the beds are awesome, if a full sized bed is questionable, really consider the king size. Big guy + bad back + WDW + lack of decent sleep / decent sleeping arrangement. Just speaking for myself, but for the money I shell out at Wallyworld, I don't compromise on a bed, but I will also freely admit that if I don't get 6.5 hours of good sleep, your day might not be magical if you catch me at the wrong time.

 

[Ngwira]

Took less than 24 hours but I linked my Swan stay to MDE so I can book my fast passes in August.

 

[Paulines]

No idea what the price difference is, but although the beds are awesome, if a full sized bed is questionable, really consider the king size. Big guy + bad back + WDW + lack of decent sleep / decent sleeping arrangement. Just speaking for myself, but for the money I shell out at Wallyworld, I don't compromise on a bed, but I will also freely admit that if I don't get 6.5 hours of good sleep, your day might not be magical if you catch me at the wrong time.

LOL, I hear you, and thank you!

 

[Ngwira]

Just booked our first ever stay at the Swan for October! Just spending two nights there while we visit for Food & Wine and Galaxy’s Edge before heading to Universal for Halloween Horror Nights. I am very excited to have found this thread, because we plan to take advantage of the EEMH for Galaxy’s Edge and being able to just walk from the Swan is absolutely amazing. We couldn’t afford one of the Disney properties in that area.

Omg...we are doing the exact same thing.

 

[Love_the_Mouse]

@PolyAddict I've been watching the prices for S/D for Feb 2020 since they were released, they have not gone down. There appears to be some type of large conference at the Dolphin. Rooms are running full price. The discounts will probably come when those rooms are released back to the hotel for booking, 60 days is generally a good rule of thumb. But the large conference I'm going to in July 17 just released rooms back on June 26th. I was able to move from the conference hotel to another right next door and save some $.

As much as I wanted to stay at S/D for our Feb 2020 trip I decided to book at POFQ as I just couldn't see paying $400-500 a night. With the increase in point values using my points there didn't make sense either. Time will tell if they are able to fill the rooms for the conference and/or Galaxy's Edge. If you can wait to see if prices drop you might be in a good position.

What do you mean by "rooms are released back to the hotel for booking" ? Both the Swan and Dolphin have sold out days in the middle of my stay in November. I really want to stay there. Is there a chance these sold out dates will eventually open up and I'll be able to book my stay?

 

[SteveH]

@Love_the_Mouse when a conference books the hotel they offer the rooms to the conference attendees based on anticiapted attendance. If not all the rooms are reserved, which is normal they release them back to the hotel to rent out. That window varies, but there are usually a couple of cut off dates. For a November stay my guess is that by middle of October, if not sooner, they will be released and then the S/D will try to book those rooms. They can do this through their own channels (website) or they will work with something like Priceline to sell the rooms at a discount. For deep discounts you generally won't find offers from the hotel itself as they want to maintain price integrity. Before the Marriott take over it seemed that SPG was better about offering some great deals. Just keep checking, but I'd have an alternate plan to be safe.

 

[TeamSy]

Kind of a weird question lol... does the swan have removable spray shower heads? Our 2 year old no longer likes it when water sprays on her head so if not I'll have to bring her bath cup to rinse but I'm trying to pack light lol.

 

[SteveH]

@TeamSy I don't recall them being removable and looking at a couple of online photos I don't see any either, unless you get a accessible room.

 

[jennypenny]

The shower has a wand/shower head combo. IIRC you can set the spray to wand only ... that should do the trick if you point the wand towards the wall.

 

[SteveH]

The shower has a wand/shower head combo. IIRC you can set the spray to wand only ... that should do the trick if you point the wand towards the wall.

You are right. I thought I had this shower at another hotel I stayed at, but your right I do remember it. It was an amazing shower. I know these were originally a Westin (Swan) thing, but have they put them in the Dolphin too? It does seem that Marriott has begun to eliminate the variance in the S/D rooms.

 

[jennypenny]

I'm not sure if the Dolphin has them. We always stay at the Swan.