Question…
If it’s school vacay and race weekend you could actually be out of luck but if it’s also a convention they say room blocks for those get released at the 30 day mark.
I booked directly through Marriott in May and after we checked in, our reservation dropped from MDE, not sure about booking through Disney.
Yes, I booked through Disney and my reservation dropped once before arrival. No issues during my stay.
I used Instacart for liquor when there and it worked like a charm. Fast easy delivery and meetup in the lobby and paid liquor store prices instead of inflated gift shop or restaurant pricing for wine and liquor. Just an option.
As far as breakfast I love that SR delivers the continental breakfast for two to your room, a feature Swan does not offer.
Thank you - this is very helpful when leaving in the morning, as well! If we are mostly using ride-share, is there much benefit to staying at the Swan?
Here is the list from Fuel at Dolphin
Thank you!
Thanks, Hanna, for the very detailed review on the S/D/AK bus service. Sounds like a winner. Much appreciated.Here right now at Dolphin and just a quick summary on our AK bus experience! We got to the Dolphin bus stop at 9:32 and an AK bus arrived at 9:58. Actually it may have arrived a few minutes earlier but an MK bus was there since 9:48 trying and failing to load a scooter and it blocked the other bus. A DS bus also came at like 9:33 and only one person got on haha. Anyways the people waiting figured out an AK bus was behind the MK bus and the driver came out and said he was going to AK and had us load behind the MK bus, there’s really only one “loading zone” so we kinda chuckled to each other that Disney drivers would never let us load in a non designated area for safety, well we were glad Mears drivers don’t have this rule as we had been waiting a while! The driver then backed up the bus to leave since the MK bus was still there, again something a Disney bus driver would never do
We went straight to AK and from the bus leaving the Dolphin bus stop to stepping off the bus at AK was 16 min. You get dropped off right by the rideshares, the opposite side of the entrance than the Disney buses (when you exit AK go left instead of right). There’s a little covered sitting area shared by other buses like the Four Seasons. It’s nice to have seating! There are signs for Swan and Dolphin too which is the first parking spot (3). It was a little confusing because the driver said when you come back, remember spot 3. I’m not sure why they don’t just say come back to where you are now! Because we thought maybe he meant stop 3 on the Disney bus side. Nope, pick up and drop off are the same spot.
On our way out of AK back to Dolphin we got to the bus stop and waited all of 3 minutes, amazing timing! A few people got off and said the driver said to tell people the bus was for Swan/Dolphin/Reserve. The buses are NOT marked nor did it say AK. But the bus looked the same as the one we took to the park so we recognized it before it even pulled into the spot.
The bus pulled up at 3:38, a few parties loaded with us but not very many, and we were off. We made it back to Swan by 3:51 and Dolphin by 3:53. Very slick.
Sorry this is long but hope this is helpful to anyone wondering about the buses! It would take us at least 10 minutes to walk to the Boardwalk or Yacht buses so we decided just using the Dolphin AK bus would be fine. This is our first non-Disney resort stay and this was a good bus first impression so far! Just wish buses were labeled better. The AK spot was excellent, just as close as the closest Disney bus (maybe even closer) and way closer than the far Disney buses. Plus seating! There’s no order or lining up though so not sure if it works as well if things are busy, the Mears coach buses fit a lot of people though so maybe it’s a non issue.
Thank you so much for your report. I haven't stayed at the Dolphin since before the pandemic closure, so have not taken buses from the resort to the parks. It sounds like from your post that the only one we need to worry about really is Magic Kingdom.Here right now at Dolphin and just a quick summary on our AK bus experience! We got to the Dolphin bus stop at 9:32 and an AK bus arrived at 9:58. Actually it may have arrived a few minutes earlier but an MK bus was there since 9:48 trying and failing to load a scooter and it blocked the other bus. A DS bus also came at like 9:33 and only one person got on haha. Anyways the people waiting figured out an AK bus was behind the MK bus and the driver came out and said he was going to AK and had us load behind the MK bus, there’s really only one “loading zone” so we kinda chuckled to each other that Disney drivers would never let us load in a non designated area for safety, well we were glad Mears drivers don’t have this rule as we had been waiting a while! The driver then backed up the bus to leave since the MK bus was still there, again something a Disney bus driver would never do
We went straight to AK and from the bus leaving the Dolphin bus stop to stepping off the bus at AK was 16 min. You get dropped off right by the rideshares, the opposite side of the entrance than the Disney buses (when you exit AK go left instead of right). There’s a little covered sitting area shared by other buses like the Four Seasons. It’s nice to have seating! There are signs for Swan and Dolphin too which is the first parking spot (3). It was a little confusing because the driver said when you come back, remember spot 3. I’m not sure why they don’t just say come back to where you are now! Because we thought maybe he meant stop 3 on the Disney bus side. Nope, pick up and drop off are the same spot.
On our way out of AK back to Dolphin we got to the bus stop and waited all of 3 minutes, amazing timing! A few people got off and said the driver said to tell people the bus was for Swan/Dolphin/Reserve. The buses are NOT marked nor did it say AK. But the bus looked the same as the one we took to the park so we recognized it before it even pulled into the spot.
The bus pulled up at 3:38, a few parties loaded with us but not very many, and we were off. We made it back to Swan by 3:51 and Dolphin by 3:53. Very slick.
Sorry this is long but hope this is helpful to anyone wondering about the buses! It would take us at least 10 minutes to walk to the Boardwalk or Yacht buses so we decided just using the Dolphin AK bus would be fine. This is our first non-Disney resort stay and this was a good bus first impression so far! Just wish buses were labeled better. The AK spot was excellent, just as close as the closest Disney bus (maybe even closer) and way closer than the far Disney buses. Plus seating! There’s no order or lining up though so not sure if it works as well if things are busy, the Mears coach buses fit a lot of people though so maybe it’s a non issue.
They do not have a monitor with times, at least not that we saw, someone can feel free to correct me if we missed it. Just a TV showing which type of transportation to use per park but no times listed sadly.
