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

[amalone1013]

Good Morning,

I booked the Swan for this Sunday last week and my card has still not been charged the deposit. Is that normal? Also, is there laundry facilities at the Swan?

Thanks

I booked about 2.5 weeks out last month and was never charged the deposit. I've never booked far out with cash so I cant compare to that. I dknt know why it's like that

 

[PolyAddict]

We arrive Sunday!!! I forgot to ask about coffee. What kind of coffee pots are in the rooms? Also, where can I grab a quick cup?

Thanks

 

[Tess]

We arrive Sunday!!! I forgot to ask about coffee. What kind of coffee pots are in the rooms? Also, where can I grab a quick cup?

Thanks

Single serve Starbucks pods/pot. Not sure whether you are Swan or Dolphin. At Swan there is a coffee bar in the area near the restaurants and exit to the causeway. At Dolphin, there is a coffee bar/quick serve in the lobby and Picabu on the lower level.

 

[Dan Murphy]

We arrive Sunday!!! I forgot to ask about coffee. What kind of coffee pots are in the rooms? Also, where can I grab a quick cup?

Thanks

Enjoy your trip and enjoy your in-room Starbucks. If you run low, just ask housekeeping for additional.

 

[PolyAddict]

Single serve Starbucks pods/pot. Not sure whether you are Swan or Dolphin. At Swan there is a coffee bar in the area near the restaurants and exit to the causeway. At Dolphin, there is a coffee bar/quick serve in the lobby and Picabu on the lower level.

Thank you! We are in the Swan.

 

[PolyAddict]

Enjoy your trip and enjoy your in-room Starbucks. If you run low, just ask housekeeping for additional.

Thanks!

 

[thor369]

Has anyone stayed over the 4th of July holiday weekend? Is this a good resort with toddlers? Pool? Is there a splash pad?Food etc?

 

[baler31]

Review to follow. Have stayed at the Dolphin quite a bit recently. We usually reserve a premium studio with a king connected to a 2 double room.

 

[SteveH]

Has anyone stayed over the 4th of July holiday weekend? Is this a good resort with toddlers? Pool? Is there a splash pad?Food etc?

Here is a good article about the pools and all the features.
Pools of the Swan & Dolphin

 

[Dave006]

We arrive Sunday!!! I forgot to ask about coffee. What kind of coffee pots are in the rooms? Also, where can I grab a quick cup?

Thanks

The coffee pot is a single serve drip Mr Coffee. You will have a few paper coffee cups with lids. The provided coffee is filter packets of Pike Place Medium Roast by Starbucks, you should receive 2 regular and 2 decaf foil packages that should be replaced daily. In addition you can always get additional supplies from housekeeping.

@Tess covered the closest locations for a quick cup within the resort complex. In addition you can also grab a cup on the way to Epcot by stopping at the Bakery on the boardwalk as you walk to Epcot.

Dave

 

[MyOnlyHope]

My husband and I are considering staying at the Swan or Dolphin for two nights in October as part of a Food & Wine/Star Wars short trip we’re adding on to a trip to Universal for Halloween Horror Nights. Since our trip is solely focused on Epcot and DHS, the Swan and Dolphin seem like GREAT options. Being able to walk to DHS for the extra extra magic hours seems like the best possible thing. Are there any deals I should wait to book for (we have AAA and husband is a Marriott rewards member)? Does it really matter for the view versus no view rooms if we won’t be spending much time in the room itself? Basically any advice on booking the room would be helpful. I read through the first post entirely but want to be sure I’m not missing anything.

 

[SteveH]

@MyOnlyHope the view only depends on you. If you don't care about fireworks from your room or sitting in yoru room then the upgrade is nice. We're the type to be more out in the parks so while it's nice I'm not sure I'd pay for the Fireworks upgrade personally. That said if you go through this thread (yes lots to go through unless you search) there are some really awful non-view rooms, over looking roof tops, etc. If I were paying full price I would decline a room like that. It would be fine if it was getting a Priceline deal though. As far as standard rates, your best deals are the AAA rate or if you prepay. Personally, I wouldn't prepay, keep you reservation and note your deadline to cancel. Then keep and eye on things like Hotwire or Priceline. As deals like that start to get picked up this group usually gets active with people sharing about the deals. But with Star Wars its a huge unknown what wil happen, or not happen on deals. We're on teh watch for Feb 2020 but so far the prices are not looking very attractive. Depending on your husbands status with Marriott you might be entited to various upgrades, but without knowing what his status its hard to say.

 

[hedberg1661]

My husband and I are considering staying at the Swan or Dolphin for two nights in October as part of a Food & Wine/Star Wars short trip we’re adding on to a trip to Universal for Halloween Horror Nights. Since our trip is solely focused on Epcot and DHS, the Swan and Dolphin seem like GREAT options. Being able to walk to DHS for the extra extra magic hours seems like the best possible thing. Are there any deals I should wait to book for (we have AAA and husband is a Marriott rewards member)? Does it really matter for the view versus no view rooms if we won’t be spending much time in the room itself? Basically any advice on booking the room would be helpful. I read through the first post entirely but want to be sure I’m not missing anything.

Personally, if you don't plan on spending much time in the room the view won't matter. I would recommend looking at having your husband log in with his Marriott account and look for the AAA rate. Depending on his status with Marriott you may even get upgraded. Based on your itinerary I think you chose the perfect spot. Enjoy!

 

[Dave006]

My husband and I are considering staying at the Swan or Dolphin for two nights in October as part of a Food & Wine/Star Wars short trip

Just a quick note about Oct. 20-24 at the Swan / Dolphin. The resort is booked for the Gartner IT Symposium/XPO.

Are there any deals I should wait to book for (we have AAA and husband is a Marriott rewards member)? Does it really matter for the view versus no view rooms if we won’t be spending much time in the room itself? Basically any advice on booking the room would be helpful. I read through the first post entirely but want to be sure I’m not missing anything

Now that the Swan / Dolphin are integrated into the Marriott reservation system, they use dynamic pricing for rooms which has caused the room rates to swing widely depending on active booking on any date. As @SteveH indicated above the AAA rate may provide a discount if rooms are available at up to a 15% discount but Marriott is currently pushing a Pre-pay "Member" rate as the lowest available which is about $20-$30 lower per night than the lowest AAA rate.

We always book the room view that we would be happy with depending on our Disney plans. Depending on how busy the resorts are we have received various upgrades at check-in. Many times for free and on occasion for a low fee of $20 to move from "no view" to a "resort view" or even a "resort view" with a balcony. It never hurts to ask at check-in.

Hotwire / Priceline may be an option but with SWGE opening with only Smugglers Run and the Rise of the Resistance (second ride) coming online sometime in Oct-Dec time-frame there may not be any great discounts.

Dave

 

[hedberg1661]

Just a quick note about Oct. 20-24 at the Swan / Dolphin. The resort is booked for the Gartner IT Symposium/XPO.

This is great information to know. Is there somewhere on the interwebs you are getting this info? I think anyone who has stayed at the Swalphin before knows that Conventions can either be almost invisible or can sometimes take over certain areas of the resort. Knowing this information when you are booking would be helpful.

 

[Tess]

This is great information to know. Is there somewhere on the interwebs you are getting this info? I think anyone who has stayed at the Swalphin before knows that Conventions can either be almost invisible or can sometimes take over certain areas of the resort. Knowing this information when you are booking would be helpful.

The Gartner Symposium is late this year. It has always been held when we are there in the early part of October. Happy not to contend with that this year! Gartner takes up far more than the Swan/Dolphin--there are attendees at all the EPCOT and MK resorts as well. Massive conference although unless you are hanging around the resorts, you would never know it was happening.

 

[MyOnlyHope]

Thanks so much everyone!! Won’t be there over those dates thankfully. I’ll probably have him log in via his Marriott account and book it at the AAA rate and then keep an eye on discount sites, great suggestion!

 

[Dave006]

This is great information to know. Is there somewhere on the interwebs you are getting this info? I think anyone who has stayed at the Swalphin before knows that Conventions can either be almost invisible or can sometimes take over certain areas of the resort. Knowing this information when you are booking would be helpful.

While most conventions don't impact the whole of the Swan / Dolphin, they do often block off parts of the resort for private events with very little advanced notice. Examples: pools, bars, and courtyards.

The Gartner IT Symposium/XPO is well know and has been at the Swan / Dolphin for many years. It is a Sunday-Thursday mega event that occurs every year, usually the second or third week of Oct. with about 9-10 thousand attendees. The conference this year is offering group priced Disney tickets for Oct. 13-31 for attendees and family members.

The Swan / Dolphin currently has a web page that shows value days vs sold out days through April 2020. We just don't know if they will keep it updated. Note that some of the "value" days may not be very cheap due to the dynamic pricing model now in use.

Link: https://www.swandolphin.com/value-days/

Also the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend is Oct. 31 - Nov. 3.

Dave

 

[SteveH]

@Dave006 thanks for sharing the value days link, pretty much confirms what I've been pricing out. February 2020 sucks for deals. I know it's a big convention season for other areas. I attend a conference in Feb every year because it gets those from the NE out during the winter so makes sense for SD too.

@MyOnlyHope the other thing to check out is if your are a Costco member check pricing with Costco Travel.

 

[thor369]

I keep coming back as all my research tells me that this will be the right choice for our family.

1. So, I won't get magic bands (but can buy separately) what will we get to enter the park, regular tickets etc?
2. No magical express ( i heard it can take an hour or more, so we won't use it anyways as private shuttle will get us in 30 min).

Am I missing anything else?

My kids and 2 and 5, do they have fun stuff in the pools? Arcade/stores in the lobby?
Is pre-pay a good idea, that seems to be the lowest prices.

For November dates I am seeing $270 average, is this decent price? or can I do better?