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

[SteveH]

@hedberg1661 funny you meniton the water, my wife just checked into Marriott property and they saw her cpap bag and told her they had water available.

 

[champagne&disney]

I also wonder if Bonvoy status has something to do with it. I am Titanium and my friend was nothing. Just something to ponder.

When I stayed at the SR 3 weeks ago, I got daily housekeeping. I’m a Titanium so maybe they are doing it for loyalty members.

 

[JayMass]

I believe that is correct. I've heard stories of uber being turned away at the Contemporary without a dining reservation.

Hmm, that does make sense. I did this back in August around 3 or 4 in the afternoon without issue, however. Must have gotten lucky--didn't realize Disney frowned on this practice but I get why they would want to discourage it.

 

[BillFromCT]

As a point of data, I did online check in yesterday (Thursday) for my Dolphin stay that starts tomorrow (Saturday). My reservation has been attached to MDE for months. This morning it was gone. I had to relink it.

 

[SteveH]

Hmm, that does make sense. I did this back in August around 3 or 4 in the afternoon without issue, however. Must have gotten lucky--didn't realize Disney frowned on this practice but I get why they would want to discourage it.

Some other discussions about this being expanded to even Moderate resorts. Makes me wonder if they are seeing off site guests trying to get into the Moderates for a "meal" then using the bus services from there. I totally understand it being enforced around MK hotels and even around Epcot, but AK and Moderates doesn't seem to make as much sense.

 

[stitchfan18]

I booked a Swan Reserve room on points, so of course that is a traditional room. I emailed to inquire about the possibility of an upgrade since we are 4 full grown humans (2 teens) and was offered a Queen Suite for $100/night. The rep said it is 2 queen beds in one room and an additional space. I can’t find any photos of what a Queen Suite is online. I’m wondering about the extra space…living room or table area? Can anyone guide me to what this Queen Suite is?

Can I ask what email address you sent your upgrade question to? We ended up booking the Swan Reserve on points after we couldn’t get a 1 bedroom at the Boardwalk DVC rental. I’d love to check & see if this is an option for our dates as well!

 

[jbaysingar]

Does anyone have experience booking Swalphin (or has it become Swalphserve now? ) through Disney Travel? In the MDE website/app our reservation has no way to change the reservation or pay our balance due - only a phone number saying "call to make changes." So I'm assuming that this is normal for Swalphin reservations through Disney, and that we have to call Disney Travel to make our final payment, add Genie+, etc. I'm also interested to hear what anyone's experience has been with adding Genie+ to an existing Swalphin reservation (I know it has to be for all the days of our stay; I'm just curious about the process/timing).

We normally book through Costco or directly through Marriott (if there's a good enough deal), so this is our first time booking through Disney Travel and our final payment due date is coming up soon, and I just want to verify the process.

 

[virk4]

You can call the reservation # on their website and ask if an upgrade is available. If it is, they will tell you what's available and how much $. I just did it for a reservation. Good luck....it's a great property.

 

[mickey916]

You can call the reservation # on their website and ask if an upgrade is available. If it is, they will tell you what's available and how much $. I just did it for a reservation. Good luck....it's a great property.

That's interesting. I called a few weeks ago and asked about upgrading and I was told they'd note my reservation and there was no guarantee but I could inquire upon check-in...I spent a long time on hold and it was very difficult to get to in-house reservations and in the end, even though I asked if I was speaking to in-house reservations and they said yes, I wasn't sure that was true....I was never given a cost or option to upgrade then.

 

[lfcfan]

Can I ask what email address you sent your upgrade question to? We ended up booking the Swan Reserve on points after we couldn’t get a 1 bedroom at the Boardwalk DVC rental. I’d love to check & see if this is an option for our dates as well!

Yes, same question. We have a 3 night stay in May on certificates, and would love to inquire about paying for an upgrade. We are traveling with our college age son. Phone attempts have been challenging. What email address did you use? Thanks, and hope you have a great trip!

 

[longhorn]

We will be staying at the Swan for the first time for Spring Break. Part of our group really wants to go to Typhoon Lagoon. Is there a bus that heads there now that it has reopened? I don’t see it referenced on the Swan App.

 

[SteveH]

@longhorn getting to the water parks is a challenge, best option is Uber/Lyft/Taxi to find out how to navigate you can pull up your MDE app and use Get Directions. Oddly enough on Disney's Transportation Page you can see what a pain it is to get to Blizzard Beach but they still show that Typhoon Lagoon is closed

 

[luvallprincesses]

Can I ask what email address you sent your upgrade question to? We ended up booking the Swan Reserve on points after we couldn’t get a 1 bedroom at the Boardwalk DVC rental. I’d love to check & see if this is an option for our dates as well!

That's interesting. I called a few weeks ago and asked about upgrading and I was told they'd note my reservation and there was no guarantee but I could inquire upon check-in...I spent a long time on hold and it was very difficult to get to in-house reservations and in the end, even though I asked if I was speaking to in-house reservations and they said yes, I wasn't sure that was true....I was never given a cost or option to upgrade then.

Yes, same question. We have a 3 night stay in May on certificates, and would love to inquire about paying for an upgrade. We are traveling with our college age son. Phone attempts have been challenging. What email address did you use? Thanks, and hope you have a great trip!

I received the nice “we look forward to your upcoming stay, let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you” email 10 days prior to check in. I responded to that email. The email address is specifically for the Swan Reserve, not the Swan or Dolphin, as you can see in the email address: ReserveWelcome@swandolphin.com. But I expect they may not be so willing to consider offering upgrades until it is that close to check in, when they haven’t sold the suites in advance. Marriott reps have always suggested inquiring around a week in advance, they are more willing to offer upgrades at that time as they are assigning rooms. Additionally, I am currently a Gold Marriott member.

 

[longhorn]

@longhorn getting to the water parks is a challenge, best option is Uber/Lyft/Taxi to find out how to navigate you can pull up your MDE app and use Get Directions. Oddly enough on Disney's Transportation Page you can see what a pain it is to get to Blizzard Beach but they still show that Typhoon Lagoon is closed

Thank you @SteveH. Was hoping there was transportation so I thought I would ask but figured it might be an Uber/Lyft/Taxi situation.

 

[stitchfan18]

I received the nice “we look forward to your upcoming stay, let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you” email 10 days prior to check in. I responded to that email. The email address is specifically for the Swan Reserve, not the Swan or Dolphin, as you can see in the email address: ReserveWelcome@swandolphin.com. But I expect they may not be so willing to consider offering upgrades until it is that close to check in, when they haven’t sold the suites in advance. Marriott reps have always suggested inquiring around a week in advance, they are more willing to offer upgrades at that time as they are assigning rooms. Additionally, I am currently a Gold Marriott member.

Yes, same question. We have a 3 night stay in May on certificates, and would love to inquire about paying for an upgrade. We are traveling with our college age son. Phone attempts have been challenging. What email address did you use? Thanks, and hope you have a great trip!

That makes sense that they may be more eager to offer paid upgrades closer to travel. We are platinum elite, so I know we stand a chance of a possible free upgrade, but we’ll be there for a runDisney weekend & I know all the resorts are typically at capacity then. I did fill out the email form on their website last night & received a response this morning asking for my phone number so they could have the reservations department reach out on the phone. I’ll report back once I chat with them!

 

[FireflyFi]

Hopefully this isn't too off topic, but what restaurants in the Swan / Dolphin / Boardwalk area are peoples faves for a nice sit down breakfast? Want an easy morning on our first day. We'll be at the Dolphin, but don't mind going anywhere else that's walkable.

 

[pigletgirl]

Hopefully this isn't too off topic, but what restaurants in the Swan / Dolphin / Boardwalk area are peoples faves for a nice sit down breakfast? Want an easy morning on our first day. We'll be at the Dolphin, but don't mind going anywhere else that's walkable.

Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk!

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

Hopefully this isn't too off topic, but what restaurants in the Swan / Dolphin / Boardwalk area are peoples faves for a nice sit down breakfast? Want an easy morning on our first day. We'll be at the Dolphin, but don't mind going anywhere else that's walkable.

Despite being a rope dropper, I always have breakfast at least one day at Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk (usually on my Epcot morning).

This is their breakfast pizza - could easily feed two and it's only $14.00! Here's their menu: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/boardwalk/trattoria-al-forno/menus/

 

[BillFromCT]

Checked into the Dolphin this afternoon. Front desk asked if I wanted daily housekeeping, which included “tightening the bed” and refreshing supplies.

 

[desl10]

We are getting ready to book the dolphin for my family of 5. (3 kids) However, I am still kinda on the fence. We are using points for the room so we have other options but the appeal here is the extra evening hours and location of the Dolphin. Can anyone give me some recent stay feedback on the standard rooms? Were they clean? Some other sites say it’s not the cleanest rooms, mold, bugs….. etc but I know this board can give me true feedback.