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

[luvallprincesses]

We had a Prime Now delivery to ASMovies when the system was just beginning and we couldn't find our delivery. Bell services said they didn't receive it, Amazon customer service said it was delivered to the correct address; when I called at 6 am the next morning it had arrived to bell services with no story of what had happened. Amazon credited us $20 for the problem. I was hoping to hear better reports now that it's been awhile. Meeting the person directly seems to be a good idea.

 

[chris benton]

Howdy again -
Listen, I'm a Swan fan - looking for feedback. Anyone stayed at Saratoga Springs that can give me a few pros / cons besides the obvious:

SSR - can get the dining plan
SSR - MDE or DME whichever way you say it

Swolphin - WALK to Epcot, DHS

The real reason I ask is because Costco has added SSR as a DW package option. It seems to be about 300.00 more than Swan for the dates I'm looking at. I assume that for US, Swolphin is the better way to go. We wouldn't get our $ worth out of the dining plan, so that doesn't matter, uber back and forth to MCO is about 80.00 total, and we can pick our own time to go. We'll spend a decent amt of time at DHS and Epcot, so the proximity for us is HUGE. Nothing like being in your room with a scoop of Ample Hills 10 minutes after illuminations is over. Can anyone shed some light on why SSR would be "better?"

 

[JerseyJanice]

@chris benton Does the $300 more include the dining plan? If it does, I would say SSR may be worth it.

If not, stick with The Swan. As they say--location, location, location. SSR is about as far from the parks as you can get while still staying on site. It's huge too. Might even have an internal bus service.

The time and aggravation you will spend getting to and from the parks and SSR versus the ease of transport at the Swan make the choice obvious unless that $300 covers your meals.

 

[SwanVT2]

I just received an email where if you sign up for Uber and link your account to SPG, you get your first ride free through March 1, 2018, plus can earn SPG points with Uber rides. Pretty cool! Only problem is I have had trouble linking the accounts. When I am on Starwood's website about Uber and I click "link accounts" it does not work. It can't find the webpage

 

[RachelTori]

@chris benton Does the $300 more include the dining plan? If it does, I would say SSR may be worth it.

If not, stick with The Swan. As they say--location, location, location. SSR is about as far from the parks as you can get while still staying on site. It's huge too. Might even have an internal bus service.

The time and aggravation you will spend getting to and from the parks and SSR versus the ease of transport at the Swan make the choice obvious unless that $300 covers your meals.

Howdy again -
Listen, I'm a Swan fan - looking for feedback. Anyone stayed at Saratoga Springs that can give me a few pros / cons besides the obvious:

SSR - can get the dining plan
SSR - MDE or DME whichever way you say it

Swolphin - WALK to Epcot, DHS

The real reason I ask is because Costco has added SSR as a DW package option. It seems to be about 300.00 more than Swan for the dates I'm looking at. I assume that for US, Swolphin is the better way to go. We wouldn't get our $ worth out of the dining plan, so that doesn't matter, uber back and forth to MCO is about 80.00 total, and we can pick our own time to go. We'll spend a decent amt of time at DHS and Epcot, so the proximity for us is HUGE. Nothing like being in your room with a scoop of Ample Hills 10 minutes after illuminations is over. Can anyone shed some light on why SSR would be "better?"

I'm going to chime in! We own DVC at SSR and love the resort! There is an internal shuttle - the bus that eventually goes to Disney Springs. It's an easy walk from SSR to DS.

I am SPG Gold - just can't seem to hit Platinum (!) - and I love both Swan and Dolphin!

If your vacation will involve lots of Epcot and DHS, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind you should book Swan! Even with the loss of DME, the dining plan and the ability to charge to your room -- the location can't be beat!

 

[pillow]

Howdy again -
Listen, I'm a Swan fan - looking for feedback. Anyone stayed at Saratoga Springs that can give me a few pros / cons besides the obvious:

SSR - can get the dining plan
SSR - MDE or DME whichever way you say it

Swolphin - WALK to Epcot, DHS

The real reason I ask is because Costco has added SSR as a DW package option. It seems to be about 300.00 more than Swan for the dates I'm looking at. I assume that for US, Swolphin is the better way to go. We wouldn't get our $ worth out of the dining plan, so that doesn't matter, uber back and forth to MCO is about 80.00 total, and we can pick our own time to go. We'll spend a decent amt of time at DHS and Epcot, so the proximity for us is HUGE. Nothing like being in your room with a scoop of Ample Hills 10 minutes after illuminations is over. Can anyone shed some light on why SSR would be "better?"

We have a small DVC contract with SSR as our home resort. We've stayed but aren't fans. Its just too far away from everything. And the resort is too huge I think. I agree with your thinking - Swan/Dolphin location can't be beat, and if it costs less, it would be a no brainer for me.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Howdy again -
Listen, I'm a Swan fan - looking for feedback. Anyone stayed at Saratoga Springs that can give me a few pros / cons besides the obvious:

SSR - can get the dining plan
SSR - MDE or DME whichever way you say it

Swolphin - WALK to Epcot, DHS

The real reason I ask is because Costco has added SSR as a DW package option. It seems to be about 300.00 more than Swan for the dates I'm looking at. I assume that for US, Swolphin is the better way to go. We wouldn't get our $ worth out of the dining plan, so that doesn't matter, uber back and forth to MCO is about 80.00 total, and we can pick our own time to go. We'll spend a decent amt of time at DHS and Epcot, so the proximity for us is HUGE. Nothing like being in your room with a scoop of Ample Hills 10 minutes after illuminations is over. Can anyone shed some light on why SSR would be "better?"

Split stay? Unless there is a minimum stay, maybe a night or 2 at SSR, then on to Swolphin. You get ME from airport, new MagicBands if you need them, then transfer and take Uber back to airport.

 

[pinkxray]

I've tried starting from the beginning of the threat but some of the info is outdated.
Hope you don't mind a few questions that are probably somewhere in here.

1. Im pretty sure you still get the 60 advance for fast passes but do you get the ability book the 180 plus 10 for dining?
2. Is the fridge empty? I feel like years ago it was more like a minibar? Need to be able to store milk and snacks for the kids

Thanks!

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

1. Im pretty sure you still get the 60 advance for fast passes but do you get the ability book the 180 plus 10 for dining?

I believe the dining is just 180 NOT plus 10, having read through this thread for a while

 

[pinkxray]

I believe the dining is just 180 NOT plus 10, having read through this thread for a while

Thanks. I have read through a lot of the thread and never saw it mentioned. Bummer.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

Thanks. I have read through a lot of the thread and never saw it mentioned. Bummer.

A few pages back there was this post....it's hard to read through all 191 pages

60 days for FP and 180 days for dining BUT, you do not get the +10. You will need to make each dining reservation at its 180 day mark for the duration of your stay. That said, I have sometimes been able to make all of my dining at 180 days and sometimes not--luck of the draw I guess or failure of Disney IT. Shocking I know.

 

[Tess]

I've tried starting from the beginning of the threat but some of the info is outdated.
Hope you don't mind a few questions that are probably somewhere in here.

1. Im pretty sure you still get the 60 advance for fast passes but do you get the ability book the 180 plus 10 for dining?
2. Is the fridge empty? I feel like years ago it was more like a minibar? Need to be able to store milk and snacks for the kids

Thanks!

Standard upright (not cube) dorm-style fridge that holds a good amount of items. Around the same time as my post referenced above, I indicated how much we had in ours. The only items in the refrigerators now may be extra bottled water.

 

[shoreward]

Standard upright (not cube) dorm-style fridge that holds a good amount of items. Around the same time as my post referenced above, I indicated how much we had in ours. The only items in the refrigerators now may be extra bottled water.

Yes - there are two bottles of water in fridge and two on nightstand.

 

[Auntof2]

I've tried starting from the beginning of the threat but some of the info is outdated.
Hope you don't mind a few questions that are probably somewhere in here.

1. Im pretty sure you still get the 60 advance for fast passes but do you get the ability book the 180 plus 10 for dining?
2. Is the fridge empty? I feel like years ago it was more like a minibar? Need to be able to store milk and snacks for the kids

Thanks!

It is still 60 days for fast pass but it is not automatic if you book through Starwood as opposed to through the Disney site. I just went through this several days ago, where I booked via Starwood and had to call to have the rooms linked to MDE. I was assured that the 60 day window would open up and it did not. I then got a rep on the phone who tried to tell me I had to cancel and rebook through Disney (which is not correct), she finally escalated to IT support who fixed it pretty quickly.

 

[Tess]

It is still 60 days for fast pass but it is not automatic if you book through Starwood as opposed to through the Disney site. I just went through this several days ago, where I booked via Starwood and had to call to have the rooms linked to MDE. I was assured that the 60 day window would open up and it did not. I then got a rep on the phone who tried to tell me I had to cancel and rebook through Disney (which is not correct), she finally escalated to IT support who fixed it pretty quickly.

When booking you have to be sure all guests are listed (named) on the reservation and that information is sent to Disney. When it is properly linked, you will see all members of your party listed in MDE. If not, you are not properly linked even though the reservation may show in MDE.

 

[Auntof2]

When booking you have to be sure all guests are listed (named) on the reservation and that information is sent to Disney. When it is properly linked, you will see all members of your party listed in MDE. If not, you are not properly linked even though the reservation may show in MDE.

We had the appropriate number of guests and correct names and still had a problem. The names appeared correctly on the MDE site (after discussions with customer service) and the 60 day window only appeared as 30 on days 60 and 59.

 

[Clare Voince]

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip in February.. I usually don't know this far in advance that I'm going, so I have more time to plan this time around. Since I usually book closer to my dates, the rates for the Dolphin are usually discounted by the time I book, but they still seem a little high for Feb. Should I book now to lock in my dates and try to re-book if the rates go down, or just wait and see if the rates go down before I book? I don't have plans to eat at any difficult to get ADRs, so I don't feel the need to start making them at 180 days.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I've tried starting from the beginning of the threat but some of the info is outdated.

Do you know if any of the information in the OP is outdated? I try to make sure it is current, so always reading and listening to see if updates are needed.

Is the fridge empty? I feel like years ago it was more like a minibar?

It is now a regular fridge, no minibar anymore.

 

[ckelly14]

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip in February.. I usually don't know this far in advance that I'm going, so I have more time to plan this time around. Since I usually book closer to my dates, the rates for the Dolphin are usually discounted by the time I book, but they still seem a little high for Feb. Should I book now to lock in my dates and try to re-book if the rates go down, or just wait and see if the rates go down before I book? I don't have plans to eat at any difficult to get ADRs, so I don't feel the need to start making them at 180 days.

As you may have read, there are a number of conventions at the S&D. I found this makes it somewhat difficult to predict availability. I would highly recommend booking now and "tweaking" your reservation as time goes on.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Should I book now to lock in my dates and try to re-book if the rates go down,

This is what I would do. Get a reservation and work on it over the coming months.