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

oceanmarina said:
Hi two quick questions,

Where is the best pizza in the swan/dolphin? ( doesn’t have to be fancy/ flatbread, it’s for my teen who lives on pizza on vacation. Just the best spot for pizza in the resort.)

Also where can you get soft serve ice cream in the swan/dolphin?

Thanks for any feedback, Marina
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On my last trip, the pizza at the Swan Reserve was very good. You can order during the day at the pool bar, Tangerine, and at night you can order from the lobby bar, Stir. It was very good with fresh quality ingredients and had about 6 slices. I think it cost approximately $20 for the basic Margherita pizza.
 
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TheDailyMoo said:
Superfluous post here but I still can't get over how great the Swan was and how I really think it contributed so much in making our trip a few weeks ago so magical. I loved the whole Epcot resorts area but I think if I had paid double or triple what I paid to stay at one of the Disney ones I'm not sure I would've had the intrinsic satisfaction that I do knowing I wasn't ripped off. I absolutely think the Disney hotels there are gorgeous but I can't ever see myself paying close to rack rate for them when the Swan gave me such good feels. It felt like I was at a Caribbean or Floridian seaside resort...minus the beach of course. Being so pleasantly surprised by what I thought were "conference" hotels definitely upped the value quotient in my mind for what is such an expensive trip to begin with.
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You are absolutely correct, Moo. We are staying at the Swan 8/1-8/12 for 11 nights. We are paying $242 a night while the EPCOT Disney Resorts are $500 and more. For 3-4 thousand less we are staying at a deluxe resort with the best beds, all the convenience of an EPCOT resort and what we believe is just a better hotel. We were last at the Swan in 2019 at the time they were redoing the gift shop and building Java. Also the pool bar foods at Swan & Dolphin are so much better than what the Disney Resort pool bars offer.

Also some of the advantages the Disney Resorts had over S&D are gone. Everyone now has to find transportation to and from the airport, because free Magical Express is gone.

So happy to hear you had such a great trip.
 
brockash said:
Thoughts?...We originally booked 3 rooms at Dolphin as it was cheaper. Swan is now a tiny bit cheaper (overall about $50/room total). Would you switch?

We have 2 King balcony rooms and 1 double/queen balcony. The double/queen only has 2 ppl. sleeping in it total, so the smaller beds are not really an issue. The 2 sinks and shower wand (young girls- easier to shower with) we would prefer, which is at Swan. However, not sure if it's worth not having as many/many at all? quick service food options with potentially shorter hrs???

It does seem walking to the parks from Swan would be a bit shorter as we would already be on the "right" side of the bridge. It also seems a lot easier to navigate Swan.

Honestly, our most important concern is we would really like to have 1 of the Kings and the double/queen connecting, so not sure if there is a higher likelihood at 1 of the resorts.

Also, during my dates Dolphin is sold out. - It seems to be some kind of conference, as for many many days there was plenty of availability and then overnight one day there was 0. (Going 2nd week of Aug.)

We've never stayed at either, so just trying to get personal opinions of preferences and thoughts on our specific situation/wants etc.

Tia for any insight!
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I would probably switch if you get the same room types. The bathrooms at the Swan are typically much larger than the ones at the Dolphin. And yes, the Swan is much easier to get around. I always seem to get a bit turned around at the Dolphin.
 
That simply means that Orbitz has a block of rooms and that Marriott is currently out of room inventory.

Since Swan, Dolphin and the Reserve room inventory levels change from time to time based on Conference schedules. Often they release any extra rooms from the blocks of rooms if the conference does not sell all the rooms held.

Dave
 
I couldn’t understand why My Disney Experience wouldn’t let me order magic bands for my upcoming Swan trip next month, I called yesterday and they put me through to the internet help desk who told me the Dolphin/Swan guests are not entitled to order magic bands (when you get them with the luggage tags). We always get a new set through Disney before our trips.

I was really bummed about this. I know everyone is excited about the new magic band plus bands that are coming out , but honestly they seem very bulky to me and I like the options of different characters: themed magic bands on the regular magic bands.

The annoying thing is, on shop Disney there is very limited inventory on them. So I guess we will just use an old set.

I wonder why Disney excludes swan:dolphin guests from ordering magic bands on MDE pre trip? :confused:
 
oceanmarina said:
I couldn’t understand why My Disney Experience wouldn’t let me order magic bands for my upcoming Swan trip next month, I called yesterday and they put me through to the internet help desk who told me the Dolphin/Swan guests are not entitled to order magic bands (when you get them with the luggage tags). We always get a new set through Disney before our trips.

I was really bummed about this. I know everyone is excited about the new magic band plus bands that are coming out , but honestly they seem very bulky to me and I like the options of different characters: themed magic bands on the regular magic bands.

The annoying thing is, on shop Disney there is very limited inventory on them. So I guess we will just use an old set.

I wonder why Disney excludes swan:dolphin guests from ordering magic bands on MDE pre trip? :confused:
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Well, 2 of the big uses for Magic Bands are:
a) Opening the door to your hotel room, if you are staying at a Disney-owned hotel.
b) Charging items to your hotel room, if you are staying at a Disney-owned hotel.

You can't use a Magic Band for either of those things when you are staying at Swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve.

Also, if you are staying at a Disney-owned hotel, the pre-order lets you buy the Magic Bands at a discount. Perhaps Disney wants to keep this as a perk for people staying at Disney-owned hotels.

If you want to use your Magic Bands for other purposes (entering the parks, entering the Lightning Lanes, ride photos, Photospass photos), you can take Magic Bands from a prior trip to get started, and buy new ones when you get there. You would go into MDE and add the new Magic Bands after you purchase them. You can have more than 1 Magic Band per person active at one time. (OP might know all this.) I believe people have previously posted that you can buy Magic Bands in the Swan and Dolphin gift shops as well as in the gift shop on the BoardWalk, but I haven't been recently so I can't speak from personal experience.
 
Speaking of charging to rooms...

I know that you cannot use MBs for charging at the S/D resorts, and some S/D restaurants will not accept Disney Gift Cards.... but.... If you get a "room key card" can you charge back to your room with that at restaurants, and then use the gift cards to pay off your charges before submission to credit card the final night?
 
Does anyone know what merchandise locations are Disney operated at the Swan/Dolphin?

“Can I use the Disney Gift Card at the Walt Disney World® Swan & Dolphin resorts and hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd?

The Disney Gift Card is redeemable only at the Disney owned and operated merchandise locations and Disney Planning Centers within the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin.”
 
jlundeen said:
Speaking of charging to rooms...

I know that you cannot use MBs for charging at the S/D resorts, and some S/D restaurants will not accept Disney Gift Cards.... but.... If you get a "room key card" can you charge back to your room with that at restaurants, and then use the gift cards to pay off your charges before submission to credit card the final night?
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Yes

I have changed my now struck through yes answer to a NO answer. I misunderstood the above question from @jlundeen . The answer to the question is, NO, Disney gift cards can not be used at S/D/R other than at the two Disney stores located at S/D.
 
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Grankm21 said:
Does anyone know what merchandise locations are Disney operated at the Swan/Dolphin?

“Can I use the Disney Gift Card at the Walt Disney World® Swan & Dolphin resorts and hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd?

The Disney Gift Card is redeemable only at the Disney owned and operated merchandise locations and Disney Planning Centers within the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin.”
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https://swandolphin.com/activities/disney-resort-shopping/

Disney Cabanas at the Swan

Disney Gift Shop at the Dolphin
 
jlundeen said:
Just catching up on the complimentary bottled water discussion. Looked my my reservation for December and under the room description (click on photo) this is what I see

View attachment 687538
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I don't see that under mine, what does it say the resort fee is? Curious if that has changed since you booked. I have 2 nights on points in Dec, my confirmation email says $35/nt but now online under my reservation it says $45 ($40 + tax)
 
georgina said:
I don't see that under mine, what does it say the resort fee is? Curious if that has changed since you booked. I have 2 nights on points in Dec, my confirmation email says $35/nt but now online under my reservation it says $45 ($40 + tax)
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here's what it says about resort fee. I booked through a third party and had to pay in full except for the fee...refundable room

1658718654983.png
 
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