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

[SteveH]

Hello! I am thinking about staying at the Dolphin or Swan for the first time. Years ago they offered a teacher's discount but I wasn't a teacher, do I didn't pay attention. Now I am a teacher and would love to know more! Does anyone know how good it is compared to AAA ? We are thinking of a trip a week before X-mas in 2021.

IMHO the teacher rate isn't that great, but it's always work checking.
I pulled up some rates for Dec 2020, the rates don't make a lot of sense to be honest, I didn't take a look at room variances but just compaing the Govt rate to AA shows the AAA rate it better. I'd say give them a call once they get closer to the booking window, or at least August, you can read some info here on their teacher rates.

December 1
Standard $241
Govt Rate $246
AAA Rate $234

Dec 26
Standard $ 360
Govt Rate $379
AAA Rate $360

 

[MarBee]

IMHO the teacher rate isn't that great, but it's always work checking.
I pulled up some rates for Dec 2020, the rates don't make a lot of sense to be honest, I didn't take a look at room variances but just compaing the Govt rate to AA shows the AAA rate it better. I'd say give them a call once they get closer to the booking window, or at least August, you can read some info here on their teacher rates.

December 1
Standard $241
Govt Rate $246
AAA Rate $234

Dec 26
Standard $ 360
Govt Rate $379
AAA Rate $360

Agreed. I’ve priced out the teacher discount more times than I can count, and I’ve never found anything more than a couple bucks a night off of the price. Sometimes it’s even been more than the member rate. With that being said, some people swear they’ve gotten great discounts using it, so YMMV.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Friendship Boats and Sassagoula Boats
Friendship and Sassagoula boats are not yet in service.

 

[shoreward]

IMHO the teacher rate isn't that great, but it's always work checking.
I pulled up some rates for Dec 2020, the rates don't make a lot of sense to be honest, I didn't take a look at room variances but just compaing the Govt rate to AA shows the AAA rate it better. I'd say give them a call once they get closer to the booking window, or at least August, you can read some info here on their teacher rates.

December 1
Standard $241
Govt Rate $246
AAA Rate $234

Dec 26
Standard $ 360
Govt Rate $379
AAA Rate $360

Interesting that the government rate is the highest. I wonder how often government employees traveling on official business are automatically booked at the government rate, without comparing against other available rates.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Interesting that the government rate is the highest. I wonder how often government employees traveling on official business are automatically booked at the government rate, without comparing against other available rates.

Probably often. I know when I used to travel for business, corporate rates at many hotel chains were often higher than other readily available rates.

 

[Dave006]

Interesting that the government rate is the highest. I wonder how often government employees traveling on official business are automatically booked at the government rate, without comparing against other available rates.

The government rates are negotiated rates based on the region of the country that are below the hotel rack rate. Yes they are often not the lowest rate available as indicated above in the thread. Please that none of the rates listed by @SteveH are rack rates.

However the "lowest" available rate is only available to fill rooms while the government rate is always available up to a fixed number of rooms.

Dave

 

[kristenabelle]

Spending 4th socially distanced and solo.. it's been over 72 hours, and Disney tech is telling me I need a "Disney" reservation number, and I need to call the Dolphin and get it...good times!

EDIT: And now the Sheraton is telling me because the Dolphin is closed, there's nothing they can help me with until July 29th. Clearly a first world problem for a trip that might not even happen, but still. C'mon, universe. Gimme a break.

 

[Dave006]

Sorry that you not off to a good start toward your Dolphin vacation. But it may be possible to still get what you need to link your reservation. Did you make your reservation with Disney, Marriott, or a third party?

You might be able to find your reservation number to link in MDE by looking up your information on the Marriott site using this link.

https://www.marriott.com/reservation/lookupReservation.mi
Another option is to wait until Monday and call the Dolphin directly at 407-934-4000 and ask for in-house reservations. The Swan & Dolphin are both open and hosting the MLS teams until July 29th.

Dave

 

[shoreward]

Spending 4th socially distanced and solo.. it's been over 72 hours, and Disney tech is telling me I need a "Disney" reservation number, and I need to call the Dolphin and get it...good times!

EDIT: And now the Sheraton is telling me because the Dolphin is closed, there's nothing they can help me with until July 29th. Clearly a first world problem for a trip that might not even happen, but still. C'mon, universe. Gimme a break.

Did you book directly through Marriott? If so, you already have the confirmation number to link to MDE.

Try calling the Swan/Dolphin reservation line on Sunday or Monday - posted hours for onsite reservations are noted as every day, but I don't know about the holiday weekend. They can resubmit your confirmation number to Disney. Tel 888-828-8850

Sometimes, I will "edit" my reservation by making a small change, such as my expected arrival time. That will send me a new emailed confirmation. It also seems that this small change will refresh the reservation, as I will usually be able to link to MDE within the following day or two.

I can't guaranty that the "edit" process will work for you, but it's worth a try.

 

[patty57]

Big thanks to the posters mentioning the Swan/Dolphin AP discount. I had a senior rate at the Dolphin for Dec. 13-18, and just changed it to the Swan for less money with the AP rate.

 

[kristenabelle]

Did you book directly through Marriott? If so, you already have the confirmation number to link to MDE.

Try calling the Swan/Dolphin reservation line on Sunday or Monday - posted hours for onsite reservations are noted as every day, but I don't know about the holiday weekend. They can resubmit your confirmation number to Disney. Tel 888-828-8850

Sometimes, I will "edit" my reservation by making a small change, such as my expected arrival time. That will send me a new emailed confirmation. It also seems that this small change will refresh the reservation, as I will usually be able to link to MDE within the following day or two.

I can't guaranty that the "edit" process will work for you, but it's worth a try.

thanks for the tips! I booked directly through Marriott/Sheraton, and got an 8 digit confirmation, all numbers. One of the CMs I spoke with said that number wasn’t a “Disney” reservation number, and I’d have to wait for them to send me one. I’ll try reaching out to the Dolphin directly again, yesterday they sent me to central reservations since no one is onsite at the moment. But I appreciate your help!

edit: THANK YOU! That number got me straight to a person, who kindly said he’d help reset my reservation # and I should be able to try again in 2 days. Thanks so much!

 

[shoreward]

thanks for the tips! I booked directly through Marriott/Sheraton, and got an 8 digit confirmation, all numbers. One of the CMs I spoke with said that number wasn’t a “Disney” reservation number, and I’d have to wait for them to send me one. I’ll try reaching out to the Dolphin directly again, yesterday they sent me to central reservations since no one is onsite at the moment. But I appreciate your help!

edit: THANK YOU! That number got me straight to a person, who kindly said he’d help reset my reservation # and I should be able to try again in 2 days. Thanks so much!

So glad you were able to reach someone who knew what they were doing! You might even try linking to MDE tomorrow (Monday), as the data transfer to Disney occurs overnight (again, since it's a holiday weekend, it might take until Tuesday).

 

[Shula]

Staying at Dolphin for 2 nights Aug 28 with the AP rate. This is our first stay there and I am so excited to try it. We usually stay at POR but this year we're celebrating our 25th anniversary so rented points (before Covid) with split stays at BLT then BWV. We have stayed at BC & BWI so already know we love the Epcot resort area but can't justify paying those rates again, hoping we love Swolphin!
I'd love any personal tips for things to check out. Also curious what's the difference between the pools in the main area? I have no idea what a "springs pool" is.

 

[ckelly14]

I booked a Dolphin trip the first week of August. Not sure if I am going, but I do think this provides a unique opportunity to experience parks at a fraction of their normal attendance. Booked at a rate of $159 per night, which is the lowest I have seen for years without a discount code. I believe I will use this cash rate instead of 200000 points for 5 nights...

 

[melissalovesfigment]

I did a quick search and can't seem to find anything. Does anyone have a picture of the kiddie pool? Anyone ever used the "kids club"? We will be staying for the first time at the end of August with our 2 and 4 year olds. We had a 2 bedroom villa booked at Beach Club Villas but the price of the Swan was too good to pass up. $123 per night with AP discount!

 

[jennypenny]

I did a quick search and can't seem to find anything. Does anyone have a picture of the kiddie pool? Anyone ever used the "kids club"? We will be staying for the first time at the end of August with our 2 and 4 year olds. We had a 2 bedroom villa booked at Beach Club Villas but the price of the Swan was too good to pass up. $123 per night with AP discount!

https://**************.net/wp-conte...Swan-and-Dolphin-from-**************.net_.jpg

 

[MarBee]

I did a quick search and can't seem to find anything. Does anyone have a picture of the kiddie pool? Anyone ever used the "kids club"? We will be staying for the first time at the end of August with our 2 and 4 year olds. We had a 2 bedroom villa booked at Beach Club Villas but the price of the Swan was too good to pass up. $123 per night with AP discount!

We have not used the kids club at the Dolphin, but here is a picture of the kiddie pool. Just scroll down towards the bottom to see it. It also shows some nice pics of the other pools.

https://**************.net/2015/08/25/the-pools-at-the-disney-world-swan-and-dolphin/

 

[Dan Murphy]

Also curious what's the difference between the pools in the main area? I have no idea what a "springs pool" is.

Here is a good video from Denise's Mousesteps site.

As for the pools, the main pool area, Grotto, etc, are roughly equidistant from either the Swan or Dolphin. The two lap pools are near each of their respective hotels. Not sure what the 'springs pool' is.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Anyone ever used the "kids club"? We will be staying for the first time at the end of August with our 2 and 4 year olds.

Seems I read somewhere that Camp Dolphin will be closed. Not positive on that. I would call the resort to confirm.

 

[SteveH]

Here is the photo from that site, the kids pool