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

[Dan Murphy]

Dan,
What website was the 2016 offers posted on...?
Thanks,
Anita

Those were from a S/D email update that comes like once a month that I am subscribed to.

 

[anita46]

Was there a URL on the card?

 

[Dan Murphy]

None, other that the regular S/D website, http://swandolphin.com and an 'unsubscribe' link.

 

[Lauren Strittmatter]

Since I am stopping by the S/D before my room is ready and before I head to the parks, will they give me a blank room key so I can park at the AK parking lot for free?

 

[toni nicole]

This may be a sort of odd or weird question, but couldn't find the info anywhere else. DBF and I are headed to the Dolphin for four days for our four year anniversary. I am trying to schedule as much down time as possible in the resort since I'm splurging instead of staying at our usual values, long afternoon breaks, and sleeping staying until checkout our last day. I'd love to have a resort day but with AP blacked out for winter break and school starting the day after our trip, it couldn't happen /: but I digress, I was wondering if the TV's have an HDMI port to plug laptops or game consoles into, I read it's a 32 inch flat screen, which is exactly what I have and it is equipped with this, but was curious if the Dolphin's TV's had this. I heard people bring dvd players, but all we have is the console or laptop.

 

[toni nicole]

Also, we are having breakfast here at Fresh Mediterranean, does anyone know how much per person it is for the buffet? Also what do you guys suggest, the buffet or an entree from here.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Looks like you'll be there exactly when we are... and we're doing a very similar trip, very laid back & low key. We are going to EPCOT for a couple of days since it isn't Disney to hubby without Soarin .. so we're hitting that park the last day it's running before it's refurb. Hope you have a wonderful anniversary trip

 

[Dan Murphy]

I was wondering if the TV's have an HDMI port to plug laptops or game consoles into,

Also, we are having breakfast here at Fresh Mediterranean, does anyone know how much per person it is for the buffet? Also what do you guys suggest, the buffet or an entree from here.

Happy Anniversary, Toni.

As for the HDMI, I am almost sure they do. But if you don;t get a 'for sure' answer here, I would call and ask to talk to the maintenance department. They would know for sure.

And here is the menu and prices for Fresh. I always get the buffet. I think most items that are an entree is on the buffet. If you ordered an entree, coffee and juice, it is about the same price. Waffles, pancakes, eggs, omelettes are all made to order. It is an excellent restaurant choice. If either of you happen to have AAA, there is a 20% discount.

http://allears.net/dining/menu/fresh-mediterranean-market/breakfast

Enjoy your trip.

 

[toni nicole]

Happy Anniversary, Toni.

As for the HDMI, I am almost sure they do. But if you don;t get a 'for sure' answer here, I would call and ask to talk to the maintenance department. They would know for sure.

And here is the menu and prices for Fresh. I always get the buffet. I think most items that are an entree is on the buffet. If you ordered an entree, coffee and juice, it is about the same price. Waffles, pancakes, eggs, omelettes are all made to order. It is an excellent restaurant choice. If either of you happen to have AAA, there is a 20% discount.

http://allears.net/dining/menu/fresh-mediterranean-market/breakfast

Enjoy your trip.

Thanks so much for the info! Yes I am a AAA member, that's great

 

[toni nicole]

Can someone just confirm that the buffet comes with juice or coffee, that is what I think I am reading

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yes, juice {fresh squeezed if I recall} and coffee are included.

 

[Donald - my hero]

I have a slightly bizarre question (perhaps because I'M bizarre??) Is there anywhere that we'll be able to cash traveller's cheques? Trying to figure out the best way to deal with this stupid crazy exchange rate right now and avoid the foreign transaction fee credit card companies charge as well. We're thinking this would allow us to have the huge hit up front and not need to carry huge amounts of cash around. When we get home we'll just dump it back into the bank. Thoughts?

 

[Dan Murphy]

I would think that the front desk could cash traveler's checks. I have not used those in many, many years, so not 100% sure.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Us either Dan .. open to other suggestions for cash! Other trips we've been able to charge everything *extra* and then paid it off in one shot the night before checking out. Since this isn't an option this time I'm trying to figure out my best bet. We have a US savings account that we normally add to whenever the exchange rate is good but since this is a very spur of the moment trip and we spent our 30th in Disney last year there's maybe 200.00 in there. That ain't gonna cut it for a full week :O

 

[hawaiiangal]

Actually that changed about 3-4 weeks ago. YC/BC, Boardwalk and Swan/Dolphin now each have their own.

I am currently on the bus to Magic Kingdom from Dolphin. I was at the bus stop at 6:40am. MK bus arrived at 7am promptly and we then proceeded to Yacht Club, then Beach Club, then Boardwalk Inn!! Not happy about that as I had heard here that Swan/Dolphin now had a dedicated bus for MK. It's now 7:32 and we just got here, barely in time for Welcome Show (typing in bag check line). So I of course asked the bus driver if this is normal and she told me that the first bus of the day will make all those resort stops. She said if I waited for the second bus I would have come direct. Would have been nice to know before I got on.
Anyway, inside now just in time for the Welcome Show in 5 minutes.
I understand that bus driver information is not always reliable but wanted to let you all know what she said, and you might want to ask before getting on the first bus of the day....

 

[OKW Lover]

I think the reality of the bus route schedule is based on the expected loads at the various resorts/parks at specific times of day.

 

[RachelTori]

Attempting to set the bus record straight: "Swan/Dolphin/Boardwalk" and "Yacht & Beach Club" are the 2 separate buses -- when they are running 2 buses due to peak times or high crowds. There are times and parks where there will only be one bus running for all 5 resorts. The system usually works well - yes, there are times when it doesn't, but this is the way they've been doing it for years.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Hi all - just back from our first stay at the Swan. It was a 2-night, last minute trip (had to see the Osborne Lights before they retired!). Our stay was wonderful and I just wanted to share a few thoughts since this thread was so helpful in our planning.

We arrived around 11 on Saturday morning and were thrilled that our room was ready. I love the renovated rooms-everything seemed very crisp and clean. There are lots of extra holiday activities going on right now (they gave us a brochure with a schedule at check-in). I wish we'd had more time to take advantage of the offerings but we did enjoy the chocolate display and meeting Santa on the causeway.

We only used the buses a couple of times this trip. On Sunday morning we caught the 7 a.m. to MK for our BOG breakfast. It was a shared bus for Swan/Dolphin/BW/BC and YC but we still managed to get there around 7:30. The bus was just pulling away as we got down to the stop but the very kind driver waited and let us on, which we so very much appreciated (the bus was empty so I think that's why he was able to). On Monday we took the bus to Disney Springs and it took about 45 minutes between stopping at all five resorts and Typhoon Lagoon. For the way home we opted to take a cab from the Marketplace area, which due to construction requires a bit of a walk over the overpasses and to the Sun Trust Bank across the street, which is the temporary waiting area for cabs. It was still worth it to get back to the resort so quickly as we were trying to maximize our afternoon before heading to the airport.

The only meal we ate at the Swan/Dolphin was a late night snack at Picabu on Sunday night (we'd had a 3:30 "dinner" for the CP package so we were hungry again after visiting the Osborne Lights). Picabu was a godsend because it was really hard to find any food after about 11 p.m. that wasn't just sweets.

Thanks to all on this thread who provide so great information!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hi all - just back from our first stay at the Swan.

Welcome home. Sounds like a great trip. And yes, I agree on Picabu, a great 24 hour spot. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[sharona]

We just returned from a 5 night stay at the Dolphin. Loved it! Would stay there again in a heartbeat. Some random info from our stay

We were on 9th floor with a balcony overlooking the resort - just a few rooms from the elevators. There was some construction going on on floor 9 in the other wing. We saw them but never heard them, even on our sleep in day. Our room (not yet renovated) was just fine. No issues with the room, beds, bathroom or balcony. Beds were super comfortable. The rollaway was also not an issue - there was plenty of room for it in the corner by the balcony door. We've traveled as a family of 5 many times and had no problems with privacy or personal space. The balcony helped a lot in that regard - making the room seem bigger and giving a space to get away from everyone if needed. We had originally planned to use an air mattress for my nephew since we were already paying the 5th person charge of $25/night we didn't want to also pay the $25/night rollaway charge. When checking in the bellman offered to get us the rollaway at no charge. In the end we weren't charged for either of these things. On check out, the only charges we had were the resort fees (the room was paid for with SPG points).

Housekeeping - the first morning I ran back up to the room after breakfast (about 830am) and our room was already cleaned!!!! Wow. Unfortunately, that was the only day they cleaned our room before 3pm. Once day she came and knocked at 4 and we were showering and getting ready to head back out so the night crew came in while we were at dinner. I will say though that the woman who was assigned to our room during the day was super nice and helpful when she saw us return and hadn't done our room yet she hurried over with clean towels and offers to get us anything we needed. When they did clean, they did a great job, no complaints. All in all, we were happy with the housekeeping services.

Restaurants - We ate at Fresh the first morning. Overpriced is the word the comes to mind. Most of the group had the buffet. My mistake, I confused Picabu and Fresh and by the time we realized it we were already seated and drinking our coffee... Picabu was great for a quick bite or a late night snack. The pizza was not bad - no slices so we had to get the whole pie. Much better than the hockey rink quality pizza served at the place on the Boardwalk. We spent most of our time in the parks so didn't have a chance to try any of the other restaurants.

Pools - For December we had Spring type weather with 80s during the day and 60s at night. The kids swam just about every day, the pools were warm and they enjoyed going from one pool to the next. We adults used the hot tubs. The pools were pretty empty, especially at night. 9pm is a bit early to close a pool at a resort but it was helpful in getting the kids back up to the room.

Transportation - We rented a mini van from National @ MCO and returned it using the National service at the hotel. Dropped it off with the valet on check in. Easy as pie, cheaper than a shuttle or car service for 5 people and we had control of our stops for snacks, water and sunblock plus a quick lunch along the way. Also no parking charge while we were there. We did the same for our return. I picked up the keys from the National desk in the lobby and the valet brought it around and loaded it up. Drove it straight to the airport and dropped it off after dropping family and bags at the curb. Total cost of both 1 day/1 way mini van rentals was $108.

We took the bus to MK the afternoon of our arrival. It took about 20 minutes including the wait for the bus. DHS we took the boat both ways on Friday. No issues going over in the morning about 9:00 but coming back at 8pm was at least a 40 minute wait for a boat. We didn't make the cut off for the first full boat then 2 boats came and dropped off but didn't pick anyone up!!! Lots of boos from the 150+ people in the boat queue. I really felt bad for the ones who didn't make it onto the boat that finally came as their wait was easily over an hour. EPCOT we were tired so took the boat over and then walked back. It's interesting how the CMs try to convince you to walk instead of taking the boat ride because it's "at least 15 minutes longer". For us, it was a nice 15 minute rest. For our return that night we walked both ways due to a long line at the boat dock and a big crowd after the fireworks. AK we had an early breakfast ADR so we called to the valet for a taxi/car. It was waiting when we got downstairs and was about $20 + tip. Worth it. On the way home from AK, two of us took the bus and the other 3 went on a 2nd safari ride and then took a taxi. They arrived less than 1/2 hour after we did. Wilderness lodge for our dinner ADR we took a taxi to the lodge (again about $20 + tip and very quick) then the boat to MK after dinner. Waited about 20 minutes for the boat to arrive. There was quite a big line waiting by the time it arrived and not everyone fit so some were left to wait even longer for the next one.. Took the bus back to the Dolphin from MK 2 late nights (12am Christmas party and 12am regular park close) and both times the bus was pretty painless. One night it stopped at the Swan first and the other it stopped at the Dolphin first. Not sure why the different route.

All in all, we had a great trip and really enjoyed the Dolphin. The location was stellar and every single person we dealt with was pleasant and friendly and helpful. If I can answer any questions, just let me know.