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

[Dan Murphy]

easiest (fastest) way

If DS is Disney Springs, for those two parameters, probably Uber/Lyft

 

[staceychev]

Were you able to link your reservation in MDE? Mine is still not linking.

I was able to link my reservation (made through Expedia) in MDE about 2 days after I made the reservation.

 

[happ]

I was able to link my reservation (made through Expedia) in MDE about 2 days after I made the reservation.

Thanks. Maybe I should call Disney again. I booked direct through Marriot.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

Just out of curiosity, how does booking with points work for the Swan/Dolphin? If you use points, do you still pay the resort fees? If you're Elite with Bonvoy (Platinum) are you seeing any upgrades when you've used points and/or cash?

We have a free night certificate that is expiring this summer....

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Just out of curiosity, how does booking with points work for the Swan/Dolphin? If you use points, do you still pay the resort fees? If you're Elite with Bonvoy (Platinum) are you seeing any upgrades when you've used points and/or cash?

We have a free night certificate that is expiring this summer....

Yes - you still have to pay the resort fee. Upgrade will be subject to availability. I’m Marriott gold with a little over a million points and they upgraded us to a room with a balcony, 4th floor with a view towards the BW/Epcot back in January. I’d imagine the low occupancy helped with that.

 

[mommy2mrb]

Just out of curiosity, how does booking with points work for the Swan/Dolphin? If you use points, do you still pay the resort fees? If you're Elite with Bonvoy (Platinum) are you seeing any upgrades when you've used points and/or cash?

We have a free night certificate that is expiring this summer....

Yes. I just booked two nights with points and my total due at check in is the resort fee x2 plus a little bit of tax.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

Thank you @mommy2mrb and @SouthFayetteFan !

 

[CarolynFH]

I did a search in this thread but still not sure of the answers to my questions in the current COVID environment, so:
1) Does Il Mulino give the Tables in Wonderland discount? It seems that it used to but isn't clear whether it still does or not.
2) If we're driving our own car and want to park at the Swan, does Il Mulino validate for free parking? Or will we have to pay $29 to park our car for the meal?

 

[Dan Murphy]

I did a search in this thread but still not sure of the answers to my questions in the current COVID environment, so:
1) Does Il Mulino give the Tables in Wonderland discount? It seems that it used to but isn't clear whether it still does or not.
2) If we're driving our own car and want to park at the Swan, does Il Mulino validate for free parking? Or will we have to pay $29 to park our car for the meal?

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/restaurants/tables-in-wonderland-restaurants/
Il Molino takes TiW.

The signature, at least in the past, have validated parking for daily parkers who are eating there. I would ask the maitre de before you seat.

 

[CarolynFH]

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/restaurants/tables-in-wonderland-restaurants/
Il Molino takes TiW.

The signature, at least in the past, have validated parking for daily parkers who are eating there. I would ask the maitre de before you seat.

Thanks!

 

[EpcotPhoenician]

Silly question, but does staying at Swan/Dolphin ruin some of the magic? I'm debating between Coronado and Dolphin at the moment. I don't care much about Magical Express, and wouldn't mind walking to Yacht Club to use their bus service to Magic Kingdom. As a solo traveler, the King rooms look excellent here.

 

[dznylvr68]

Silly question, but does staying at Swan/Dolphin ruin some of the magic? I'm debating between Coronado and Dolphin at the moment. I don't care much about Magical Express, and wouldn't mind walking to Yacht Club to use their bus service to Magic Kingdom. As a solo traveler, the King rooms look excellent here.

Personally, I would say it doesn't ruin the magic at all.
We've stayed at the S/D probably 5-6 times in the past and recently stayed at the YC/BC in Oct 2019 and found no major difference in the magic. Maybe we missed something but we found that the ability to walk to Epcot, BW, and DHS made it just as enjoyable as YC/BC.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Silly question, but does staying at Swan/Dolphin ruin some of the magic? I'm debating between Coronado and Dolphin at the moment. I don't care much about Magical Express, and wouldn't mind walking to Yacht Club to use their bus service to Magic Kingdom. As a solo traveler, the King rooms look excellent here.

To give some context to this response: we had our first stay at the Swan last month. Previously we were very familiar with this resort area having stayed at BC once and YC twice on our annual trips prior 3 years as well as visiting the area to dine often. We've also experienced numerous other Disney resorts such as GF, CR, Poly, CBR, POR, CSR, Pop, & All stars.

On day 1, of our trip, I would say that it felt a little different to us and the magic wasn't there...yet. BUT it's also hard for me to give a fair comparison because we weren't using DME (which is soon going away), and of course our first trip post-COVID. By day 2 or 3, we settled into it and I'd say it provided an acceptable level of "magic" if you will. By the end of the trip I was very happy with the property and will certainly be returning - I think it just took us time to adjust to it not being a "Disney" resort.

IF all things were equal, I would probably still prefer YC to Swan because there's just something about that resort (but things aren't equal as Disney's prices are so quick to remind me). It could not match the YC water view room that we are used to, but you can't beat the price! And that savings can be be put to much better use in other ways on our trip.

I would also easily prefer Swan over any non-deluxe Disney resort. Location is our #1 priority when it comes to resorts these days though, so if your #1 priority is something different, you might look at this situation differently than me.

 

[fly girl]

Thanks. Maybe I should call Disney again. I booked direct through Marriot.

I was able to link my reservation I made through Marriott online to MDE. I actually did it through the website not the app.

When in My Plans, hit "link reservation" under Resort Hotel. Enter the 8 digit reservation number from Marriott and you last name. Hope it works for you!

 

[Dan Murphy]

does staying at Swan/Dolphin ruin some of the magic?

For me, not in the least. I have stayed at the Polynesian and Port Orleans as Dixie landings. They are all unique. With S/D in the middle of the Epcot resort area, walking to Epcot and the Studios, plenty of magic for me,

 

[NothingClever]

Silly question, but does staying at Swan/Dolphin ruin some of the magic? I'm debating between Coronado and Dolphin at the moment. I don't care much about Magical Express, and wouldn't mind walking to Yacht Club to use their bus service to Magic Kingdom. As a solo traveler, the King rooms look excellent here.

I actually think it does ruin the magic. We've stayed here numerous times (and will continue to do so) because it is an enormous value based upon its location and amenities, but I've never gotten the "Disney" feeling here. Customer service has been poor more often than not and there really are not many references to Disney characters around the property. At the end of the day it just feels like a Westin or Sheraton hotel. I'm shocked more people don't stay here, though, because it is a very nice resort in an ideal location for a fraction of the cost of a deluxe resort.

 

[bizeemom4]

Silly question, but does staying at Swan/Dolphin ruin some of the magic? I'm debating between Coronado and Dolphin at the moment. I don't care much about Magical Express, and wouldn't mind walking to Yacht Club to use their bus service to Magic Kingdom. As a solo traveler, the King rooms look excellent here.

The thousands of dollars left in available credit after checking out of Dolphin vs YC is more than magical to me. Plus with the Marriott points you earn and the deluxe amenities for less than the price of the Coronado standard rooms, it's so much more than magical. I don't miss the magical sound of suitcases being dragged by on the concrete exteriors of the value/mods either.

 

[bizeemom4]

Just out of curiosity, how does booking with points work for the Swan/Dolphin? If you use points, do you still pay the resort fees? If you're Elite with Bonvoy (Platinum) are you seeing any upgrades when you've used points and/or cash?

We have a free night certificate that is expiring this summer....

I always received a nice upgrade as a platinum, along with the free character breakfast at the Garden Grove. This year, we are staying as downgraded to gold. I'm very curious to see if we receive upgrades or not. I know we lose the breakfast benefit since we are no longer platinums. :-(

 

[chris benton]

Silly question, but does staying at Swan/Dolphin ruin some of the magic?

I'll take the price, location, beds, Kimonos, Grotto pool, and Fuel over any "magic" that Walt wants to sell me. But, that's just me.

 

[maxiesmom]

Silly question, but does staying at Swan/Dolphin ruin some of the magic? I'm debating between Coronado and Dolphin at the moment. I don't care much about Magical Express, and wouldn't mind walking to Yacht Club to use their bus service to Magic Kingdom. As a solo traveler, the King rooms look excellent here.

Location, location, location. As someone who also loves CSR, go with the Dolphin. CSR is a beautiful resort, but you simply cannot beat being able to walk or boat to 2 different parks. That is pretty darned magical to me.