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

[Nabas]

Checking in at the Swan on May 11. I will post about pool construction, but I have no idea how to post photos, so no pictures. I'm not thrilled about the cheerleaders at the Swan, and haven't come across them at either the Swan or Dolphin before. I have been on flights to Orlando with them though. They were a pretty raucous bunch on the plane. I'm hoping that they are better behaved at the hotel.

You can just copy and paste a photo.

 

[yorkieteacher]

Can anyone who is there now or has been recently that can verify whether or not the arcade/game room is open?

 

[virk4]

Do the restaurants at Swan and Dolphin accept Disney gift cards for payment?

no

 

[moesy4]

It was worth a try. But, if you were satisfied when you bought the package, you should still be satisfied. You are still getting a room upgrade to a resort view.

The Costco travel packages are always good.

Haha that was what my husband said...I am a serial planner and always booking for better deals, so I am kicking myself for not noticing there was a refundable rate. On the plus side though, it is keeping me from stressing about it or booking for better plans when I was happy with what I had. I was very happy with the deal we got!

 

[ckelly14]

Okay, so just to clarify you booked 3 rooms and the parlor?

Do you know if you could just book one room with 2 queens and the parlor? Is there a website for seeing all the different room combinations?

Thanks a ton for this info!

I booked one 2 Queen and 1 King (2 rooms) and a parlor. https://swandolphin.com has information about the suites but is not comprehensive. I believe most parlors (if not all) connect to a King and a 2 Queen room, so you can definitely book a room with 2 Queens and a parlor, or a King and a parlor. I'm just not sure if any of the suites connect to 2 double rooms or 2 King rooms.

Someone earlier was posting about the Governor's and Presidential suites, but I was told those were reserved for conventions (I tried!). Not sure if there is really much difference at the Swan between the grand Suite and the Executive suite (besides being slightly bigger)

 

[Gitelfor]

I booked one 2 Queen and 1 King (2 rooms) and a parlor. https://swandolphin.com has information about the suites but is not comprehensive. I believe most parlors (if not all) connect to a King and a 2 Queen room, so you can definitely book a room with 2 Queens and a parlor, or a King and a parlor. I'm just not sure if any of the suites connect to 2 double rooms or 2 King rooms.

Someone earlier was posting about the Governor's and Presidential suites, but I was told those were reserved for conventions (I tried!). Not sure if there is really much difference at the Swan between the grand Suite and the Executive suite (besides being slightly bigger)

The Swan Executive Suite’s conference/dining table seats six, while the conference/dining table in the Grand Suite seats eight.

Swan Grand Suite
Swan Executive Suite

 

[ckelly14]

The Swan Executive Suite’s conference/dining table seats six, while the conference/dining table in the Deluxe Suite seats eight.

Swan Deluxe Suite
Swan Executive Suite

Hmmm. I booked a Grand Suite and under the description it says :

• Swan - Conference Table for Six

which is the same for the executive suite.

Maybe it is 8 at the Dolphin?

 

[jenmsmith]

I’m taking a last-minute, solo, three-night trip to WDW this weekend. Currently I have a double-double with balcony booked at the Dolphin (kings don’t qualify for the passholder rate). It’s $95 more to stay in a queen-queen at the Swan. I do plan on relaxing in the room and reading on the balcony. Should I pay more and stay at the Swan? Or are the rooms and views comparable?

 

[hedberg1661]

Can anyone who is there now or has been recently that can verify whether or not the arcade/game room is open?

It was open when I was there in March.

 

[Gitelfor]

Hmmm. I booked a Grand Suite and under the description it says :

• Swan - Conference Table for Six

which is the same for the executive suite.

Maybe it is 8 at the Dolphin?

I have stayed in a Queen/Queen Grand Suite at the Swan, and it had the 8-seat conference table.

Scroll through this page for the Swan Grand Suite; there are multiple pictures showing the 8-seat conference table. The room layout shown in the photos was the same layout as in my Grand Suite.

I wonder if they reversed the Swan and Dolphin tags, noting the Dolphin layout as the Swan in the floor plans.

ETA - A guest who recently stayed in a Swan Grand Suite posted a review, which mentioned a conference table with six chairs, not eight. I wonder if two chairs were removed due to social distancing. My pre-pandemic stay had the eight chairs, shown in the photos.

 

[SteveH]

I’m taking a last-minute, solo, three-night trip to WDW this weekend. Currently I have a double-double with balcony booked at the Dolphin (kings don’t qualify for the passholder rate). It’s $95 more to stay in a queen-queen at the Swan. I do plan on relaxing in the room and reading on the balcony. Should I pay more and stay at the Swan? Or are the rooms and views comparable?

The rooms at the Swan have a second sink (one with the shower/toilet other by the closet) the Dolphin is the largest of the rooms at 360 sq ft while the Swan is 340 sq ft. It's really a toss up they both have good view rooms and what they call as no view rooms with a balcony I think you get a better view. Both now have the Westin Heavenly Beds. I think you stand a better chance of a good view room at the Dolphin just because there are more rooms 1500+ at the Dolphin and about half of that at the Swan.

 

[ckelly14]

I’m taking a last-minute, solo, three-night trip to WDW this weekend. Currently I have a double-double with balcony booked at the Dolphin (kings don’t qualify for the passholder rate). It’s $95 more to stay in a queen-queen at the Swan. I do plan on relaxing in the room and reading on the balcony. Should I pay more and stay at the Swan? Or are the rooms and views comparable?

The Swan seems to be the favorite around here due to the Queen beds and the separate sink in the bathroom. I always stayed at the Dolphin in the past due to the previous configuration of suites (extra murphy bed) and 24 hour access to coffee (Picabu), but since they change the suites I'm staying at the Swan the next visit.

 

[blrem]

Update on Swan/Dolphin Cabanas and Lounge Beds. Called today (407) 934-2158) and was told they are no longer taking lounge chair reservations - it's purely first come first serve. Was also told Cabanas for our dates of Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5 were $300 and that were NO half day rates allowable. When I tried to book one for Saturday, June 5th I was then told they were sorry but realized they were sold out completely! I ended up booking for our arrival date on June 4th. Interesting note is that I told her we wouldn't be checking in until 2pm since our flight didn't arrive until noon and she said she could give me $100 off then and allow us to have it from 2pm - 6pm instead of the full day for $300 (now why wasn't a half day option available in the first place?)! She said it wouldn't allow her to list the price of $200 in the computer but she put it in her notes and to ignore the approx $319 price with tax in my email confirmation and they will honor the $200 instead.

All in all it seems cabanas and lounge chairs are in short supply, like everything else it seems these days, and you need to book super early and expect rapidly rising prices. Anyone else have a similar encounter? Can anyone shed light on getting a lounge chair on a Saturday lately? We have a Cape May breakfast Saturday morning at 10:45am then wanted to go to pool at Dolphin the rest of the day since our park tickets don't start until Sunday. Since cabanas are already sold out that Saturday I'm wondering if we won't be able to get a chair around noon after our breakfast ressie either. Any ideas on what else we could do Saturday (I've heard warning advising staying away from Disney Springs right now on Friday night and Saturdays)? All thoughts appreciated! It's just my DD (27) and myself.

 

[SteveH]

@blerm - Thanks for the updates. I thought the Cabana price was raised to $300 a while back so when others said it was $200 I figured they lowered the rates - guess not. I think Disney prices for full day are $249 so seems S/D is within reason here.

As for your Saturday visit it's going to be so hard to say what to expect, as things keep changing so much and so fast. The earlier you arrive the better I'd think. Looking at the rates for the 4th/5th looks pretty good so may its not going to be jam packed. Best of luck!

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

Update on Swan/Dolphin Cabanas and Lounge Beds. Called today (407) 934-2158) and was told they are no longer taking lounge chair reservations - it's purely first come first serve. Was also told Cabanas for our dates of Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5 were $300 and that were NO half day rates allowable. When I tried to book one for Saturday, June 5th I was then told they were sorry but realized they were sold out completely! I ended up booking for our arrival date on June 4th. Interesting note is that I told her we wouldn't be checking in until 2pm since our flight didn't arrive until noon and she said she could give me $100 off then and allow us to have it from 2pm - 6pm instead of the full day for $300 (now why wasn't a half day option available in the first place?)! She said it wouldn't allow her to list the price of $200 in the computer but she put it in her notes and to ignore the approx $319 price with tax in my email confirmation and they will honor the $200 instead.

All in all it seems cabanas and lounge chairs are in short supply, like everything else it seems these days, and you need to book super early and expect rapidly rising prices. Anyone else have a similar encounter? Can anyone shed light on getting a lounge chair on a Saturday lately? We have a Cape May breakfast Saturday morning at 10:45am then wanted to go to pool at Dolphin the rest of the day since our park tickets don't start until Sunday. Since cabanas are already sold out that Saturday I'm wondering if we won't be able to get a chair around noon after our breakfast ressie either. Any ideas on what else we could do Saturday (I've heard warning advising staying away from Disney Springs right now on Friday night and Saturdays)? All thoughts appreciated! It's just my DD (27) and myself.

I was just at the Swan this past weekend and although we weren't swimming we walked through all the pool areas on Saturday late morning/early afternoon and there was not a single empty chair or cabana to be found. Kind of expected that on a Saturday as that has seemed par for the course on most Saturdays at WDW resorts with it being a major check-in/check-out day. There also doesn't appear to be any distancing, particularly at the Grotto pool; although there are signs stating the loungers are 6 feet apart for safety they were all just lined up in rows all around the pool.

We stayed in Disney-owned resorts prior to the weekend stay at the Swan and the difference in perceived safety measures is night and day. There are maskless people all over S&D inside and out and no one said a word to them whereas masking was pretty well enforced at the WDW-owned resorts we stayed at.

I stayed in king bed balcony alcove room and it, along with the hotel in general, was looking pretty tired and worn. I've never seen hallway carpets so worn, there was trash in the hallway when we checked in and that same trash was still there when we checked out 2 days later. It's priced about $100 per night too high at this point imo.

 

[CJN]

@blerm - Thanks for the updates. I thought the Cabana price was raised to $300 a while back so when others said it was $200 I figured they lowered the rates - guess not. I think Disney prices for full day are $249 so seems S/D is within reason here.

It apparently varies. I posted a few pages back about checking rates during my dates of 11/24/21-12/5/21. Thanksgiving weekend is listed on their booking site at $400/day, mid-week is $200/day, the following weekend is $300/day. I like the sound of $200 but not sure I’ll like the weather at that time of year to want an entire pool day.

 

[SteveH]

@CJN I guess flexible pricing makes sense, just like the hotel rates, but $400 WOW just WOW!

 

[SteveH]

...I've never seen hallway carpets so worn, there was trash in the hallway when we checked in and that same trash was still there when we checked out 2 days later...

The carpet gets that a lot and I can't speak to it's current state, but on our last visit I got down to check it out and like others have said it's part of the design - but a bad design. But it really was clean. Trash in the hall is unacceptable.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

The carpet gets that a lot and I can't speak to it's current state, but on our last visit I got down to check it out and like others have said it's part of the design - but a bad design. But it really was clean. Trash in the hall is unacceptable.

It was definitely not intentional design. It was badly worn only in the most heavily trafficked areas. Everything about the resort was very tired looking. We had come from Bay Lake Tower and a refurbed Saratoga room so the difference was stark.

 

[Gitelfor]

The carpet gets that a lot and I can't speak to it's current state, but on our last visit I got down to check it out and like others have said it's part of the design - but a bad design. But it really was clean. Trash in the hall is unacceptable.

The worn carpet comments have been made, since shortly after the carpet was installed. If you follow the pattern repeat of the carpet, you readily notice that it’s the design; it’s generally not wearing out. The faded out look runs down the center of the hallways, with the saturated colors next to the walls. I was there shortly after the carpet was installed, and that was how it looked, then.

When I was there about two years ago, I did notice an area in my hallway where the carpet was rippled, and I reported it to management. With all of the rolling traffic, between the housekeeping carts and luggage, the carpet can stretch,
depending on installation method.