Walt Disney World SWAN, DOLPHIN & SWAN RESERVE RESORTS Information & Questions

Side question @RachelTori and @LYSE. Sounds like both you and your spouse have an SPG acct.

I've wondered, if we could open an spg amex card for DH and earn credit on mine for sharing and earn the bonuses again on his.

I did get him a card on my acct, but I don't remember putting in his social or anything (although I very well might have, it's prob been a year and a half).

Didn't know if one of you, or someone else, had done this?
I am planning on getting the card at some point, I'm not an AU on my wife's card though..but I don't think it matters as she's signed up for cards while being an AU on my account for that same card before.

I have the Amex platinum which gets me Gold status at spg..but she has the SPG card..so she always xfers me the points and we pay on her card...it's kinda overdue I have my own spg card :-)
 
Side question @RachelTori and @LYSE. Sounds like both you and your spouse have an SPG acct.

I've wondered, if we could open an spg amex card for DH and earn credit on mine for sharing and earn the bonuses again on his.

I did get him a card on my acct, but I don't remember putting in his social or anything (although I very well might have, it's prob been a year and a half).

Didn't know if one of you, or someone else, had done this?
Send him a referral, you get 7500 points for referral, he gets 25k points (or current bonus)
 
Sorry SM=secure message. Once logged into credit card account or hotel website, you can usually send secure messages.
ETA AMEX does not have SM, but Chase does & have emailed/messaged Starwood also

Ah, thanks. That makes sense now. Work kept me busy today, so I didn't get a chance to call. But I will tomorrow. Fingers crossed I can get the upgrade and all the reservation details are squared away with MDE!

And, thanks for the welcome. These boards are very helpful!
 
I'm back with another question. What do most folks do the first evening they arrive? Our flight lands at MCO at 3 p.m., and we are planning on carrying on our luggage and using a car service/Uber to get to the Swan -- hoping to be settled in and ready to explore by 5 p.m. Since Epcot and HS are so nearby, do you hop over there in the evening? (I have heard that Epcot on a Saturday night is not quite kid-friendly anymore with the number of people "drinking around the world" and bachelorette parties and the like at the WS). Or do you explore the Boardwalk area or Disney Springs? It'll be me, my DH and DD (7 years old), and we are getting Parkhopper tix. Staying 6 nights and don't want to over-schedule (it is vacation, after all!) but I'm realizing it is harder to fit everything in that I wanted (especially since we've got a day at Universal; DD is a Harry Potter buff).

Also, how easy is it to plan on Epcot WS for dinner after spending the day in another park? I'm planning any ADRs we'll need since the 180 day mark is approaching!

Thanks again for for your wise suggestions!
 
I'm back with another question. What do most folks do the first evening they arrive?

Also, how easy is it to plan on Epcot WS for dinner after spending the day in another park? I'm planning any ADRs we'll need since the 180 day mark is approaching!

Thanks again for for your wise suggestions![/QUOTE

It's easy to hop around all over the place from these 2 hotels, so stopping back at your hotel after one park and heading to epcot later is super easy, whether you walk or boat.
In addition, I probably wouldn't waste a whole days ticket at 5 pm the first night. Some options are as you said disney spring, there's mini golf, eating dinner at a boardwalk hotel and just exploring around there to be ready for a good early start the next morning.
 
Does the Swan charge parking if we are only coming onsite for an ADR? We have an ADR for Garden Grove but are staying at ASMo
 
I'm back with another question. What do most folks do the first evening they arrive? Our flight lands at MCO at 3 p.m., and we are planning on carrying on our luggage and using a car service/Uber to get to the Swan -- hoping to be settled in and ready to explore by 5 p.m. Since Epcot and HS are so nearby, do you hop over there in the evening? (I have heard that Epcot on a Saturday night is not quite kid-friendly anymore with the number of people "drinking around the world" and bachelorette parties and the like at the WS). Or do you explore the Boardwalk area or Disney Springs? It'll be me, my DH and DD (7 years old), and we are getting Parkhopper tix. Staying 6 nights and don't want to over-schedule (it is vacation, after all!) but I'm realizing it is harder to fit everything in that I wanted (especially since we've got a day at Universal; DD is a Harry Potter buff).

Also, how easy is it to plan on Epcot WS for dinner after spending the day in another park? I'm planning any ADRs we'll need since the 180 day mark is approaching!

Thanks again for for your wise suggestions!
It's not a lot of extra $ once you get past 5 or so days to add on a day, and it's one of those things, where, if you decide you're up for it, you can go to the park and then pay at guest services to add another day onto your pass (it shouldn't affect any existing fps, either), just be sure you do it after your magic band has been scanned for entry, in case you paid less than the current rate (it's called price bridging). It really is super easy to get to the parks (esp., Epcot, but even HS isn't too bad of a walk - on the way back you will probably want to take the boat - but that's super easy too). I would say don't overplan for the first day - maybe plan on winging it and grabbing a quick service at Epcot and Illuminations - I wouldn't make a dinner reservation...and if you can fit in a ride, that's a bonus.
 
@CarolinaBlue99 You are not going encounter hoards of drinkers at Epcot except maybe during weekends at the fall Food & Wine Festival. Reports about out-of-control drunken crowds at Epcot are grossly exaggerated.
Totally agree. We were at F&W last fall with DS, then 7. I read those reports and found none of it true. We were there Thurs-Sunday and essentially ate dinner at F&W each night. No issues.
As for what to do, consider a dinner ressie, maybe a character meal, to get in the spirit. Or just pool time.
Unless you already have your tickets and have a ticket for first day, then I say parks! (We are Park people, have never done a 'resort day.' But our next trip we have 4 day hoppers, so either arrival day or departure day will be a resort day. Planning pool & dinner which we've never done)
 
Thanks for the insights, @mrsdaly @CyndiLouWho @JerseyJanice and @DJFan88!

Yeah, with the current two days "free" deal on ParkSavers it's practically nothing to go from 5 day PH tix to 7 day PH tix, so I'd already been planning on the 7 day PH tix to have flexibility (trying to strike a balance between planning and going with the flow). I'd really like to wander over to the WC after we arrive to check out the F&G food booths and IllumiNations - might also see if I can snag a FEA FP for that evening. That's probably the only "reservation" I'd make. Not sure yet whether we'll be "park people" since this is our first trip. ;) I am building in afternoon breaks back at the Swolphin since I think all three of us will need them!
 
I'm back with another question. What do most folks do the first evening they arrive? Our flight lands at MCO at 3 p.m., and we are planning on carrying on our luggage and using a car service/Uber to get to the Swan -- hoping to be settled in and ready to explore by 5 p.m. Since Epcot and HS are so nearby, do you hop over there in the evening? (I have heard that Epcot on a Saturday night is not quite kid-friendly anymore with the number of people "drinking around the world" and bachelorette parties and the like at the WS). Or do you explore the Boardwalk area or Disney Springs? It'll be me, my DH and DD (7 years old), and we are getting Parkhopper tix. Staying 6 nights and don't want to over-schedule (it is vacation, after all!) but I'm realizing it is harder to fit everything in that I wanted (especially since we've got a day at Universal; DD is a Harry Potter buff).

Also, how easy is it to plan on Epcot WS for dinner after spending the day in another park? I'm planning any ADRs we'll need since the 180 day mark is approaching!

Thanks again for for your wise suggestions!

I work nights, so I'm usually exhausted the day I arrive due to not being used to getting up so early. I usually take a nap and then eat at a resort. Last time, I went to Fort Wilderness and ate at Trail's End, then explored a bit. It was a very relaxing way to start my trip. I took the bus to MK and then the boat to FW, which was very enjoyable too.
 
Don't forget to check your rates regularly on Westin or Starwood website (if they are changeable). My rates at the Swan have come down over $40 a night from when I first booked 4 months ago. (Anther $8 a night this week alone). I'll be there starting 8/24
 
I just checked my stay dates, and my rate went down. Do I simply call and ask to readjust the rate or do I cancel and rebook? Thanks for any help!
 
[QUOTE="123Dis4Me, post: 58028972, member: 389231"Do I simply call and ask to readjust the rate or do I cancel and rebook?[/QUOTE]
It was super easy. I called Westin to change it so I could keep the same reservation number. It was already in my MDE account I couldn't figure out how to do a rate change on westin dot com, without having to cancel and rebook. Maybe someone else knows!?

I'm definitely not an expert, but I am obsessive about this stuff. If you did do a cancel/rebook on line, I would always do the rebook first before canceling the old one. Just in case the rate happened to change over that time.
 
Thanks for the insights, @mrsdaly @CyndiLouWho @JerseyJanice and @DJFan88!

Yeah, with the current two days "free" deal on ParkSavers it's practically nothing to go from 5 day PH tix to 7 day PH tix, so I'd already been planning on the 7 day PH tix to have flexibility (trying to strike a balance between planning and going with the flow). I'd really like to wander over to the WC after we arrive to check out the F&G food booths and IllumiNations - might also see if I can snag a FEA FP for that evening. That's probably the only "reservation" I'd make. Not sure yet whether we'll be "park people" since this is our first trip. ;) I am building in afternoon breaks back at the Swolphin since I think all three of us will need them!
On our first two trips with kids, we went in January, and we were more "park people." They were also shorter, 5 night trips and it wasn't warm enough to swim. The last trip was in September, and we were there 7 nights. We went from just a toddler the first trip to a 7 month old and 4 year old the September trip. We planned every afternoon at the resort and one "resort day" where we visited MK in the evening for fireworks. It was by far our most enjoyable trip. The afternoons at the Dolphin pool were really a highlight. The waterslide was my son's favorite (we stayed at AK for the first night and he liked the pool at the Dolphin better). We also found the resort pool to not be crowded at all (but then again, we were there in September). From now on we will plan pool/rest time every day. It makes for a much better and relaxing trip... makes it really feel like vacation.
 

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