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

[Stewa646]

Thank you . Do you happen to know if they are all sharing buses (BW, BC and YC)? Are we likely to get a full bus in the morning?

For my trip May 21-30 Y&B shared a bus, and BW had its own. I will say I must have been unlucky for my trip as for my days at AK and MK we had issues with the BW bus picking us up at the parks. One time it took 35 minutes, while the other took 50 and it still hadn't showed up so we just went back into the park instead of a mid day break. For both these instances the yacht and beach club (which had its stop right next to ours) bus showed up 2 and 3 times respectively so it was more on time during our trip(obviously this all is luck of the draw depending on the day lol)

As for full busses, we didn't rope drop in the morning but took the bus from BW probably about 15 minutes after each opening and they were not full and right on time for us.

 

[DoBug]

For my trip May 21-30 Y&B shared a bus, and BW had its own. I will say I must have been unlucky for my trip as for my days at AK and MK we had issues with the BW bus picking us up at the parks. One time it took 35 minutes, while the other took 50 and it still hadn't showed up so we just went back into the park instead of a mid day break. For both these instances the yacht and beach club (which had its stop right next to ours) bus showed up 2 and 3 times respectively so it was more on time during our trip(obviously this all is luck of the draw depending on the day lol)

As for full busses, we didn't rope drop in the morning but took the bus from BW probably about 15 minutes after each opening and they were not full and right on time for us.

Thank you very much. Seems unlikely the BW bus would be full at 6:30 am but maybe other people are crazy too!
I guess getting back from the park you could take the BC/YC if it came first depending on where the stops are relative to the BW stop.

 

[AUDramaQueen]

Thank you very much. Seems unlikely the BW bus would be full at 6:30 am but maybe other people are crazy too!
I guess getting back from the park you could take the BC/YC if it came first depending on where the stops are relative to the BW stop.

You should be fine at 6:30 for the BW bus, but around 7 the Magic Kingdom bus did start getting full for an 8am open. Not sure about YC/BC. This was in late May before they opened more rooms so things may be different now.

When we were leaving the parks during the day, we did just hang back and took whatever bus came first since their pick up spots are right next to each other. The walk doesn't seem that much longer from YC/BC to me. Their bus stops are right outside the lobby to the right as you are walking out.

Park closing is a little different since there are so many people in line. You sort of have to choose a line. The longest wait we had for anything (attraction, food, etc) was the wait for the BW bus at MK close.

 

[The13thLetter]

if you use the app they have a draw tool. It's easier to do it on a tablet, you just draw a tight circle around the Boardwalk area and the app finds you hotels within that circle. Make sure the circle is small because if you make it too big it will find the hotels in the Bonnet Creek area such as the JW Marriott and the Wyndham. Plus I always check out what the resort fee is, Swan and Dolphin is $39.

I ended up doing it and got the Dolphin so I'm all in for $1380 plus $275 in resort fees for 7 nights. I'm pleased with that.

I just tried this today but it said no hotels. i wonder if its booked for my dates or i keep drawing my circle wrong lolol.

 

[emmabelle]

I just tried this today but it said no hotels. i wonder if its booked for my dates or i keep drawing my circle wrong lolol.

Maybe they didn’t have inventory? I get the hint that I booked here before so I can check if you give me the dates

 

[loves to dive]

Does anyone know anything about the Premium Larger Room? That is what it is listed as on the web site but I know the pictures are not of an actual room. My son, his SO and little baby girl (will be 5 months old by the time we go) want to go with me in Sept. I can get an AoA suite for just about the same price as this Dolphin room. The AoA suite has two bathrooms and a door to the bedroom, which is nice but someone (probably me) is going to have to sleep either on the sofa bed or the pull down bed and we will either have to bus or drive to all the parks. My son will not do the sky liner. I love the Dolphin and stay there just about every trip, his SO has never been to Epcot and I know with the little one there will be lots of trips back to the room to get out of the heat so being able to walk or boat from two parks is a big deal. I can't seem to find any real pictures of the room other than what Dolphin has posted on their site.

 

[Tom_E_D]

I just tried this today but it said no hotels. i wonder if its booked for my dates or i keep drawing my circle wrong lolol.

Hotwire just isn't showing much lately, and has been glitchy with what does show up. It has been noticed in the Priceline Express Deals thread by several people: https://www.disboards.com/threads/priceline-express-deals.3598657/page-370#post-63057992

 

[hsmamato2]

I'm maybe overthinking the whole pool situtation....in the past,I'd always loved S/D b/c the pool area was huge,and usually not so crowded b/c of all the space and choices..... does anyone else think that's going to be VERY different after the reserve opens? I have a sinking feeling it's gonna be a lot busier after that,since they only seem to be putting in a minimal pool over there.....

 

[rja142]

Trip report for my family's stay at Dolphin May 28-June 2. 2 adults and 3 children ages 3, 7, 10. This was our family's first stay at Swan & Dolphin.

First thing of note is that we were told ahead of time that they'd give us a room with king bed and sleeper sofa because those are the only rooms large enough to accommodate a cot. Instead they gave us a room with 2 double beds. There was still enough room for the cot next to the sliding door to the balcony. Having a balcony was fantastic. It allowed the adults to sit and chat at night after the kids went to bed. Plus it provided a place to hang clothing to dry.

We requested a high floor with a view of the lake. We got room 8030, which gave us a great view of the Swan, plus Hollywood Studios off in the distance. It was pretty neat to see Tower of Terror and Galaxy's Edge lit up at night. The next time we stay I will request an odd numbered room with a lake view because that would put us on the side that overlooks Epcot.

Room. My wife and I loved the room. It had a bright, clean feel and was very comfortable. There was a small fridge, speedy wifi, and plenty of drawer space.

Resort. To me the resort felt like it would fit well in Las Vegas. It's a massive campus with many restaurants and pool areas. My kids loved the pool but my wife and I did not. The pool area was just too sprawling to keep eyes on three children all the time.

We booked our stay through Costco Travel. Perks with that included free kids meals with purchase of adult meals. We did not use that but it would have been valid at:
Breakfast: Garden Grove, Java, Fuel
Lunch: Cabana, Java, Fuel
Dinner: Il Mulino, The Fountain

Another perk was free parking at the parks. Both times we drove to a park, the booth attendant wasn't quite sure that we were supposed to receive free parking by showing our Dolphin room key, but they ultimately did let us park for free.

Transportation. The ability to walk to Hollywood Studios and Epcot is by far my favorite benefit of this resort. It is such an easy walk for a fit family with a stroller. To get to Magic Kingdom we walked over to Yacht Club to take their bus. Again, this was an easy walk.

Visiting other resorts. We had three different experiences driving to other Disney resorts during this visit. I'm sure your mileage may vary with this but here's our experience. We drove to Contemporary for breakfast at Chef Mickey's. We told the booth attendant that we had reservations, he asked our name and looked us up to confirm. We tried visiting Wilderness Lodge because we wanted to see it. The booth attendant there denied us entry. At the Poly we placed a mobile food order, and the booth attendant let us in with no problem. Lesson learned: if you want to visit a resort, place a mobile food order.

I'm sure I've missed a lot of important little details but there's my not-so-quick summary. If you have specific questions about booking through Costco Travel or anything else, I'll try my best to answer them. This photo is from our balcony.

 

[rangerxenos]

Trip report for my family's stay at Dolphin May 28-June 2. 2 adults and 3 children ages 3, 7, 10. This was our family's first stay at Swan & Dolphin.

First thing of note is that we were told ahead of time that they'd give us a room with king bed and sleeper sofa because those are the only rooms large enough to accommodate a cot. Instead they gave us a room with 2 double beds. There was still enough room for the cot next to the sliding door to the balcony. Having a balcony was fantastic. It allowed the adults to sit and chat at night after the kids went to bed. Plus it provided a place to hang clothing to dry.

We requested a high floor with a view of the lake. We got room 8030, which gave us a great view of the Swan, plus Hollywood Studios off in the distance. It was pretty neat to see Tower of Terror and Galaxy's Edge lit up at night. The next time we stay I will request an odd numbered room with a lake view because that would put us on the side that overlooks Epcot.

Room. My wife and I loved the room. It had a bright, clean feel and was very comfortable. There was a small fridge, speedy wifi, and plenty of drawer space.

Resort. To me the resort felt like it would fit well in Las Vegas. It's a massive campus with many restaurants and pool areas. My kids loved the pool but my wife and I did not. The pool area was just too sprawling to keep eyes on three children all the time.

We booked our stay through Costco Travel. Perks with that included free kids meals with purchase of adult meals. We did not use that but it would have been valid at:
Breakfast: Garden Grove, Java, Fuel
Lunch: Cabana, Java, Fuel
Dinner: Il Mulino, The Fountain

Another perk was free parking at the parks. Both times we drove to a park, the booth attendant wasn't quite sure that we were supposed to receive free parking by showing our Dolphin room key, but they ultimately did let us park for free.

Transportation. The ability to walk to Hollywood Studios and Epcot is by far my favorite benefit of this resort. It is such an easy walk for a fit family with a stroller. To get to Magic Kingdom we walked over to Yacht Club to take their bus. Again, this was an easy walk.

Visiting other resorts. We had three different experiences driving to other Disney resorts during this visit. I'm sure your mileage may vary with this but here's our experience. We drove to Contemporary for breakfast at Chef Mickey's. We told the booth attendant that we had reservations, he asked our name and looked us up to confirm. We tried visiting Wilderness Lodge because we wanted to see it. The booth attendant there denied us entry. At the Poly we placed a mobile food order, and the booth attendant let us in with no problem. Lesson learned: if you want to visit a resort, place a mobile food order.

I'm sure I've missed a lot of important little details but there's my not-so-quick summary. If you have specific questions about booking through Costco Travel or anything else, I'll try my best to answer them. This photo is from our balcony.

I have been hearing complaints that self parking is a hike to the hotels. I currently have a reservation at Swan for December, did you find the parking that far of a walk?

 

[rja142]

I have been hearing complaints that self parking is a hike to the hotels. I currently have a reservation at Swan for December, did you find the parking that far of a walk?

During the daytime, there was no trouble whatsoever finding parking spots in the self-parking lot. The self-parking lot is literally right next to the valet lot. When parking at night, the closer of the self-parking lots was full but the next one over had plenty of spaces. The difference in walking distance was maybe 100 yards. I know it's all relative, but when walking all day at the parks, walking 100 extra yards from a parking lot doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

 

[bryana]

Checking out of Dolphin today. Have been here since Sunday morning and really enjoyed the stay. We were up on the 8th floor on the West end with a view of the walkway between the two buildings.

I got to the pool around 10 and there were plenty of chairs available but families are really starting to file in now so it seems a lot of people are targeting about 10:30 for their pool mornings. The cabanas look really nice and if I come for a longer trip here in the future, I’m definitely going to consider booking one. I like that they are doing the mobile order right to your chair. It doesn’t open for another half hour so can’t attest yet to how quick the service is. I’m hoping it’ll be quicker than Sapphire Falls was on Saturday; it took an hour to get a drink delivered.

This is the last of the boardwalk area resorts that I’ve stayed at, and you really just can’t beat the location here, especially as an adult without children who’s primary focus is usually Epcot. Even on trips where I hit all 4 parks, I just really love being able to hop to Epcot at the end of a day for a drink and snack in World Showcase and then walking back to the hotel.

 

[Gitelfor]

Boo Bash for Swan_Dolphin guests

 

[SteveH]

I'm maybe overthinking the whole pool situtation....in the past,I'd always loved S/D b/c the pool area was huge,and usually not so crowded b/c of all the space and choices..... does anyone else think that's going to be VERY different after the reserve opens? I have a sinking feeling it's gonna be a lot busier after that,since they only seem to be putting in a minimal pool over there.....

If/when things get back to normal and you see more conventions at the 3 proporties I think that the Grotto pool impact will be a lot less then it is now with out the conventions/conferences. This is one of the things I liked about Coronado and S/D - those at the convetions are doing their thing and they don't hit the buses en mass until later afternoons. While some families come, vast majority don't. I guess will will tell what it looks like, but I don't think it will be bad, how many really want to traipse across the road.

Visiting other resorts. We had three different experiences driving to other Disney resorts during this visit. I'm sure your mileage may vary with this but here's our experience. We drove to Contemporary for breakfast at Chef Mickey's. We told the booth attendant that we had reservations, he asked our name and looked us up to confirm. We tried visiting Wilderness Lodge because we wanted to see it. The booth attendant there denied us entry. At the Poly we placed a mobile food order, and the booth attendant let us in with no problem. Lesson learned: if you want to visit a resort, place a mobile food order.

Great report, thank you. We used Costco a few years ago, I think they get some really good rooms as part of their packages. You had a great view IMHO.

What you ran into with visiting the resorts is the current norm, need to use Disney transportation or have an ADR or Mobile order - and in the mornings they have been denying mobile orders to non-guests. Sad you didn't get to see Wilderness Lodge it's one of my favs to visit.

 

[The13thLetter]

Maybe they didn’t have inventory? I get the hint that I booked here before so I can check if you give me the dates

That would be awesome if you dont mind. 8/21-8/28, 2 adults, 1 child. thanks!

 

[hedberg1661]

I'm maybe overthinking the whole pool situtation....in the past,I'd always loved S/D b/c the pool area was huge,and usually not so crowded b/c of all the space and choices..... does anyone else think that's going to be VERY different after the reserve opens? I have a sinking feeling it's gonna be a lot busier after that,since they only seem to be putting in a minimal pool over there.....

I think when conventions return you will see less people using the pool since many of the rooms will be taken up by the business/convention folks. Right now, you have a bunch of people who haven't vacationed in a year and are truly coming for the Disney aspect and not because a convention was there and being at Disney is the bonus.

 

[The13thLetter]

Hotwire just isn't showing much lately, and has been glitchy with what does show up. It has been noticed in the Priceline Express Deals thread by several people: https://www.disboards.com/threads/priceline-express-deals.3598657/page-370#post-63057992

yeah it seemed to keep erroring out. ill just keep trying. and thanks for that thread link, i didnt know that was in here.

 

[hedberg1661]

Just checked in today! We are in a very nice room with a view of the lake, an L shaped fold out sofa and two sinks. I know this was mentioned on here recently - the bath products are not what I was expecting. It’s now Le Grand Bain, citron and vetiver.

The have been Le Grand Bain at the Dolphin for quite some time. I actually like the product but it certainly isn't as good as the H2O+ product you get at the neighboring Disney hotels.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I'm maybe overthinking the whole pool situtation....in the past,I'd always loved S/D b/c the pool area was huge,and usually not so crowded b/c of all the space and choices..... does anyone else think that's going to be VERY different after the reserve opens? I have a sinking feeling it's gonna be a lot busier after that,since they only seem to be putting in a minimal pool over there.....

As said above by Steve and hedberg, I agree. Once the conventions get rolling again there will be less use of the pools, at least in the daytime hours.

Trip report for my family's stay at Dolphin May 28-June 2. 2 adults and 3 children ages 3, 7, 10. This was our family's first stay at Swan & Dolphin.

First thing of note is that we were told ahead of time that they'd give us a room with king bed and sleeper sofa because those are the only rooms large enough to accommodate a cot. Instead they gave us a room with 2 double beds. There was still enough room for the cot next to the sliding door to the balcony. Having a balcony was fantastic. It allowed the adults to sit and chat at night after the kids went to bed. Plus it provided a place to hang clothing to dry.

We requested a high floor with a view of the lake. We got room 8030, which gave us a great view of the Swan, plus Hollywood Studios off in the distance. It was pretty neat to see Tower of Terror and Galaxy's Edge lit up at night. The next time we stay I will request an odd numbered room with a lake view because that would put us on the side that overlooks Epcot.

Room. My wife and I loved the room. It had a bright, clean feel and was very comfortable. There was a small fridge, speedy wifi, and plenty of drawer space.

Resort. To me the resort felt like it would fit well in Las Vegas. It's a massive campus with many restaurants and pool areas. My kids loved the pool but my wife and I did not. The pool area was just too sprawling to keep eyes on three children all the time.

We booked our stay through Costco Travel. Perks with that included free kids meals with purchase of adult meals. We did not use that but it would have been valid at:
Breakfast: Garden Grove, Java, Fuel
Lunch: Cabana, Java, Fuel
Dinner: Il Mulino, The Fountain

Another perk was free parking at the parks. Both times we drove to a park, the booth attendant wasn't quite sure that we were supposed to receive free parking by showing our Dolphin room key, but they ultimately did let us park for free.

Transportation. The ability to walk to Hollywood Studios and Epcot is by far my favorite benefit of this resort. It is such an easy walk for a fit family with a stroller. To get to Magic Kingdom we walked over to Yacht Club to take their bus. Again, this was an easy walk.

Visiting other resorts. We had three different experiences driving to other Disney resorts during this visit. I'm sure your mileage may vary with this but here's our experience. We drove to Contemporary for breakfast at Chef Mickey's. We told the booth attendant that we had reservations, he asked our name and looked us up to confirm. We tried visiting Wilderness Lodge because we wanted to see it. The booth attendant there denied us entry. At the Poly we placed a mobile food order, and the booth attendant let us in with no problem. Lesson learned: if you want to visit a resort, place a mobile food order.

I'm sure I've missed a lot of important little details but there's my not-so-quick summary. If you have specific questions about booking through Costco Travel or anything else, I'll try my best to answer them. This photo is from our balcony.

Thanks much, rja. Very thorough and helpful update and report. Much appreciated.

I have been hearing complaints that self parking is a hike to the hotels. I currently have a reservation at Swan for December, did you find the parking that far of a walk?

When I was better able to walk the Disney miles, I had no problem with the parking distance. A few years, when it was much less costly, I did valet. In recent years, no car.

 

[emmabelle]

That would be awesome if you dont mind. 8/21-8/28, 2 adults, 1 child. thanks!

I don’t see the Swan or Dolphin for those dates. But they could show up in the coming weeks.