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

[Best Aunt]

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.

My thought is that each time a Disney resort is refurbished, the rooms seem to be decorated with fewer Disney touches. So the magic you might be envisioning at a Disney resort might not even be there anymore.

I think the Dolphin might seem to have less Disney magic because the lobby area is huge, so that's a big non-Disney space. I think the Swan lobby area is so small, you're less likely to notice.

I personally would choose any hotel in the Epcot resort area over a hotel elsewhere.

 

[mickey916]

My thought is that each time a Disney resort is refurbished, the rooms seem to be decorated with fewer Disney touches. So the magic you might be envisioning at a Disney resort might not even be there anymore.

Exactly! As a mentioned earlier, we've now changed our plans to a split stay between the Swan and the Contemporary. I was showing my sons (who are in their twenties) some room tours and they both remarked how surprised they were that the Contemporary rooms seemed to have very few noticeable "Disney touches"...they expected it of the Swan but thought the Contemporary room would be more "Disney-themed"(however they thought both locations look really nice).

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Pretty unannounced fireworks testing view from what appears to be S/D last night.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1364055108586242050

 

[duder92]

We are staying at the Swan next month. When parking at the parks, does the magic band linked to your room stay allow you to park, or do they also need to see your room key?

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

We are staying at the Swan next month. When parking at the parks, does the magic band linked to your room stay allow you to park, or do they also need to see your room key?

Maybe someone else can confirm this, but I'm fairly certain that you need to pay for parking at the parks when staying at the Swolphin.

 

[Dan Murphy]

you need to pay for parking at the parks when staying at the Swolphin.

No. Free park parking is a S/D benefit.

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

Maybe someone else can confirm this, but I'm fairly certain that you need to pay for parking at the parks when staying at the Swolphin.

Sorry for the confusion. I see the first page of this thread says that you get free parking. However, when i went to the official Disney website, it said that only WDW resort guests get free parking, and included a listing of all WDW resorts, that did not include the Swolphin. So now i really am not sure.

 

[Dan Murphy]

We are staying at the Swan next month. When parking at the parks, does the magic band linked to your room stay allow you to park, or do they also need to see your room key?

Your MB is not linked to you S/D room. I have never driven to a park, but do think you would show your room card.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Sorry for the confusion. I see the first page of this thread says that you get free parking. However, when i went to the official Disney website, it said that only WDW resort guests get free parking, and included a listing of all WDW resorts, that did not include the Swolphin. So now i really am not sure.

www.swandolphin.com/aboutus/benefits.html

 

[Olaf Myfrenzargay]

Suggest calling the hotel directly. Since run by a real hotel chain, you can actually get through quickly.

 

[SwanVT2]

When will Feb. 2022 bookings get released for these hotels?

 

[Gitelfor]

No. Free park parking is a S/D benefit.

Your MB is not linked to you S/D room. I have never driven to a park, but do think you would show your room card.

From Swan/Dolphin site:

Guests who choose to drive their own car to the Walt Disney World Theme Parks will receive free parking just by showing your Disney resort hotel room key!

 

[RunWI1265]

I thought I'd pass along my booking experience in case anyone is in the same shoes. We are traveling with our kids (2 & 4) and we like to have separate sleeping areas because they still nap during the day. Plus we don't like to feel cramped. We originally booked (Dolphin) a Premium Deluxe King room which is a King divided by a partition + sleeper sofa and dining table. I started to worry because I don't know if my kids will sleep well together in the same bed so I was going to look into booking two rooms trying to stay at the same all-in rate or only slightly more. I called and decided on a Deluxe King alcove room + a standard double which she combined as a suite, so only one resort fee. We did lose the small dining table, but that's okay. The overall square footage of the two rooms combined is much bigger and everyone will have their own bed. Cost ended up tacking on only $42/night ($408 total/night on an AP discount). This is still more than my husband would prefer to pay, but AOA is currently $391 without being able to walk to any parks. He doesn't like that price either though, so...

This will be our first stay at S&D and I'm excited to check it out. I did check to see the rate for BWV 1-bedroom as it would help being able to catch MDE from the airport but it is $500+ a night. I will say I don't love the booking process and not being able to see all room arrangements/prices online. It's hard to know what the actual price is. And the person I was speaking to kept telling me the nightly room rate, then the room rate with all taxes & fees, then the total price. Lots of numbers to scribble down. But she was very helpful. Last thing to add, the more economical option would be to book two regular rooms with hopes they would be connected but she said she can't guarantee they would connect. I'm not sure the likelihood of separation but I didn't want to chance it.

 

[ckelly14]

When will Feb. 2022 bookings get released for these hotels?

Booking is already available the first 2 weeks of Feb. Usually they open one year out.

 

[Jedimike]

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.

This is what I'm facing now as well. I can get a CSR Tower room "in the bubble" vs. a room at the Swan or Dolphin -- FOR EXACTLY THE SAME PRICE. For 9 days in the middle of June, family of four. I'll be driving from Texas, so will have my truck with me, but having a hard time deciding between the newer, Gran Destino Tower room, kinda isolated in the resort, vs. the older, pseudo-Disney room at Swolphin, but within walking distance to Epcot and DHS. Help me decide !!! I've stayed in the Dolphin before for a work trip, and my family has done BC and YC plenty of times, so the appeal of CSR is that it is something different...but for the same price (Passholder Discount), I think I'm crazy for even considering CSR over Swan.

 

[Gitelfor]

If you will be staying at the Swan or Dolphin between now and April and are a Bonvoy member, register to earn double points and double Elite nights thru 04/27/2021:

Registration for Bonvoy bonus 2021

 

[ckelly14]

This is what I'm facing now as well. I can get a CSR Tower room "in the bubble" vs. a room at the Swan or Dolphin -- FOR EXACTLY THE SAME PRICE. For 9 days in the middle of June, family of four. I'll be driving from Texas, so will have my truck with me, but having a hard time deciding between the newer, Gran Destino Tower room, kinda isolated in the resort, vs. the older, pseudo-Disney room at Swolphin, but within walking distance to Epcot and DHS. Help me decide !!! I've stayed in the Dolphin before for a work trip, and my family has done BC and YC plenty of times, so the appeal of CSR is that it is something different...but for the same price (Passholder Discount), I think I'm crazy for even considering CSR over Swan.

I haven't stayed at the Gran Destino but I have heard good things. If you are getting prices in the S&D range, you must have received a good deal. Every time I looked the prices were outrageous.

I know you want advice, but it is such a personal decision. Yes, walking to the parks is a great option and is one of the reasons we stay in the Epcot resorts area, there's also many more dining options within walking distance. Location, location, location is my vote..

 

[hedberg1661]

If you will be staying at the Swan or Dolphin between now and April and are a Bonvoy member, register to earn double points and double Elite nights thru 04/27/2021:

Registration for Bonvoy bonus 2021

With this promotion alone, I will already meet my status requirements for the year.

 

[WDWOswald]

We just booked a full week at the swan April 8-15th! We have stayed many places but this is our "white whale" and somehow over the past 10+ years and 20+ trips we have never stayed there. It was hard to pass up a Priceline deal I found for $159 for a room at the Swan along with a $50 off code. Including the resort fee we are paying $220/night which I think is a very solid deal for a hotel with such a sublime location.

Anyways! I have so many questions!

First of all- how is the room cleaning situation with covid? Do they clean every day if you request?

Second- Is there a place I can see menus and prices of the "quick service" options at the swan and dolphin for breakfast and lunch?

Third- Our Priceline deal was for a "standard" room so I have no idea what they will give us. Which would you prefer- a King and the pullout couch or two queens? It will be my wife, myself, and our six year old son.

Fourth- Can I request a view? I know when you book directly you can pay for a certain category, but with this "standard" reservation what might be a good request to mention at check in?

Fifth- Is doing laundry at the Dolphin a huge pain if you are bringing it over from the swan? Seems like a pretty miserable solution.

Sixth- How is the bus to Disney Springs? Are we better off taking a Disney Springs bus from the boardwalk or beach club?

 

[SteveH]

@WDWOswald Congrats on your trip!
First of all you want to download the Marriott App while you may not earn points or night stays its a good communication tool. Also, you want to download the Swan/Dolphin App that is the best place to learn about the restaurants open, hours and menus., click 'On Property' to see what's open. As of yet there's not a big benefit to linking your Swan reservation with you MDE, but here are some tips on doing that.

As for the room, you can ask for anything but knowing Kings are generally in short supply you will probably get two queens. You can ask for a view, but with the Priceline room you'll will probably only get a view if you pay for an upgrade or you just get lucky. Since the hotel isn't booked to the max you stand a decent chance of getting a good room out of the gate. This is where I think checking-in in person has the benefit of being able to ask if there are any upgrades.

From what you can read here the room cleaning is every 4th day, not every day so you'll be making your own bed - part of why I'd go for the two queens myself. Yeah laundry at the Dolphin is a bummer, I'd pack up stuff in luggage and roll it on on over. We haven't done laundry in years and at the time we stayed at the Dolphin.

Enjoy your trip! As you have time you may want to go back through the last 10-20 pages, lots of good recent info in this thread.