Resort Thread Walt Disney World SWAN, DOLPHIN & SWAN RESERVE Resorts

[kylenne]

The boats are for leisurely returns post midday break or if you don’t care about what time you get there. They are absolutely not for Early Entry. They don’t run early enough and they’re too slow. You should frankly already be at the gate going through security by the time the boats start running if you’re serious about EE.

The notion of “step saving” is absurd to me when staying at a Crescent Lake resort because the entire selling point of them to me is being able to walk to Epcot and HS. Walking is always going to be the single best way to get to a theme park for rope drop because it’s the only form of transportation under your complete control, and you aren’t reliant on timetables or schedules. And at Epcot and HS specifically the walking advantage is tremendous. Being able to arrive before the Skyliner starts running and dumping hordes of people at the gates is huge. At Epcot it can mean the difference between knocking out 2 of 4 headliners before official park open with semi-reasonable posted waits still at the other 2 or barely getting in 1. I was the literal first person in line for Epcot security last Monday walking over from Swan and was in the first load at Remy, which meant I was first off and walked straight onto Frozen. At HS especially if you intend on hitting Slinky or Rise getting there before the Skyliner masses is critical if you don’t want to potentially waste your whole EE time in lines.

Bluntly, from an EE master: being front of pack is how you get the most out of EE and walking is the single easiest and best way to do that. If you’re not going to walk imo you might as well save your money and just stay at a cheaper resort on the Skyliner or elsewhere altogether. If you want to save your feet that’s what midday breaks back at the resort are for (and work very well!).

 

[sconnell]

I was the literal first person in line for Epcot security last Monday walking over from Swan and was in the first load at Remy, which meant I was first off and walked straight onto Frozen. At HS especially if you intend on hitting Slinky or Rise getting there before the Skyliner masses is critical if you don’t want to potentially waste your whole EE time in lines.

Bluntly, from an EE master: being front of pack is how you get the most out of EE and walking is the single easiest and best way to do that. If you’re not going to walk imo you might as well save your money and just stay at a cheaper resort on the Skyliner or elsewhere altogether. If you want to save your feet that’s what midday breaks back at the resort are for (and work very well!).

That's a good perspective. What time do you leave Swan to get to Ep and HS?

"Saving steps" because I have some neuropathy from unexpected nerve damage from a surgery. Sometimes I'm good, sometimes I'm not. So absurd to one is just planning for contingencies for others. To explain why Dolphin, we're only doing Epcot and HS this trip and I'm staying on Bonvoy points and like the area. I get to take advantage of on-site benefits like early Lightning Lane passes and EE while using my points/free nights.

 

[Disneydawg74]

That's a good perspective. What time do you leave Swan to get to Ep and HS?

"Saving steps" because I have some neuropathy from unexpected nerve damage from a surgery. Sometimes I'm good, sometimes I'm not. So absurd to one is just planning for contingencies for others. To explain why Dolphin, we're only doing Epcot and HS this trip and I'm staying on Bonvoy points and like the area. I get to take advantage of on-site benefits like early Lightning Lane passes and EE while using my points/free nights.

I have neuropathy from chemotherapy and find that rope drop doesn’t work for me. I’m too slow and the thundering herd isn’t always cognizant of how they run over slow pokes. We do ride the boats to EPCOT for EE, but are never front of the pack.