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

[ckelly14]

I'm sure this has been discussed, but I wonder what dining venues will be open Aug 3-8?

 

[mommy2mrb]

Hello. Thinking of staying over Christmas 2021. Have Marriott points and AAA that should help me save some $$

my DD and I so don’t need anything fancy. We don’t spend much time at resorts. Is there a big difference in the two? Or just book whatever gives me a good rate.

thanks!

 

[jennypenny]

Dolphin will have 2 doubles, the Swan 2 queens. The Dolphin is closer to the pool, the Swan is quieter and a tad closer to the boardwalk.

 

[SteveH]

Swan has Queen Beds, Dolphin has full beds
Swan has 2 sinks one in the shower/toilet area and one by the closet, Dolphin has 1 sink

 

[Shula]

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.

Thank you, that was a good video of the pools!

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

Hello. Thinking of staying over Christmas 2021. Have Marriott points and AAA that should help me save some $$

my DD and I so don’t need anything fancy. We don’t spend much time at resorts. Is there a big difference in the two? Or just book whatever gives me a good rate.

thanks!

With 2 people sleeping in different beds, the double beds vs queen beds probably doesnt matter as much. The Dolphin is closer to the pool and has the better restaurants. The Swan is closer to the Boardwalk and if walking closer to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. If taking the boat, they are both the same distance.

When my wife and i go alone, we greatly prefer the Dolphin. When the boys are with us, we stay at the Swan for the bigger beds.

 

[chris benton]

Staying at Dolphin for 2 nights Aug 28 ...
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.

With only a few days, you'll only scratch the surface.

Like sushi? You'll want to target Kimonos. It's not the best sushi in the world, by any means. What it is for me is this:
For simple nigiri and simple maki, it's about as good as your local neighborhood joint, but the kicker is: it's about the same price. So Wallyworld, Hotel + Sushi - you'd expect to be paying an arm and a leg, but imo, this place, all in all - BARGAIN!

If you are pool people, discuss your room selection with the concierge. We are pool people, and we want the rooms closest to the pool. The steps add up between parks and walks to the pool. We want to go to the pool every day, at least once - usually multiple. The steps add up after a few days if you are busy. At Dolphin, we request the 1300 room series. Those have sliding patio doors that lead out to the walkway to the DOlphin pool complex. That room series has some great other location perks, too.

The pools:
The Swan pool is usually quiet, and it's across the way from the Dolphin pool complex.
The Dolphin's pools are pretty much awesome.
The Spring Pool is a smallish round pool in between the Dolphin lap pool, and the "Grotto" pool. It's shallow. The first time I was there, it was kept EXTREMELY warm. Like just shy of hot tub warm. The second time I was there, it was not heated. I asked a few of the workers in the pool area (teenagers that didn't give a flying F - I'm not mad at them, they are just teenagers, it's what they do - I was a teenager, too) they looked at me like I had three heads when I asked them if the Spring Pool was supposed to be heated. The spring pool is like 3 feet max depth if I had to guess, maybe less.

My preferred spot for the pools is BEHIND the GRotto waterfall. There is a seating area with bathrooms, and a water fountain. In the video that's posted upthread, pay attention at the 1:25 mark - that's THE SPOT, right there! Shaded, bathrooms, chairs, there's a small area of the pool itself behind the waterfall. That waterfall is also a good shoulder massage if you can take it. Some parts of it are pretty hard.

Sandwiches at FUEL are another gem, imo. Don't balk at the price. Get a hot sub. For the price, at Wallyworld, in a hotel - again, the quality is there for the price. Another bargain, imo. If Fuel still has the Froyo station, and they have the Pineapple flavor - it might remind you of a Dole Whip if you are a fan. I'd do asandwich at fuel and froyo, and eat at their tables instead of doing a sit down at The Fountain. The fountain is decent enough, but, imo, Fuel's sandwiches are a step above, and Fountain is a weird setup - it's walled off by short walls kind of in the middle of a hotel walkways. It's like eating a sit down meal in an airport. I just like Fuel much more for quality and price. Both are totally casual.

Dolphin also has King rooms with sofa sleepers. I wouldn't do the Doubles.

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

The Spring Pool is a smallish round pool in between the Dolphin lap pool, and the "Grotto" pool. It's shallow. The first time I was there, it was kept EXTREMELY warm. Like just shy of hot tub warm. The second time I was there, it was not heated.

My preferred spot for the pools is BEHIND the GRotto waterfall. There is a seating area with bathrooms, and a water fountain. In the video that's posted upthread, pay attention at the 1:25 mark - that's THE SPOT, right there! Shaded, bathrooms, chairs, there's a small area of the pool itself behind the waterfall.

We have had the same experience with the Spring pool. My assumption was that it just gets that hot naturally, because its relatively small and has no shade on it at any time of the day. So from May-September the water temperature is uncomfortably hot.

For behind the waterfall, while i like the shade, there is a constant mist back there and the ground is always wet all over. Very easy to slip back there if you arent careful and any bags you put on the ground will get wet. In addition, with the restrooms back there, people are always coming and going past you. The combination of all those factors has always led us to sit somewhere else.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Keep in mind that the Grotto pool complex is relatively equidistant from both resorts....unless you ask for and get a room on the west end of the Dolphin. Then a bit closer, actually measured in feet (or meters if it happens to be). If you are in the middle, or worse, in the east end of the Dolphin, you can be a hike away from the common pool area. So, if pools are a big item on your desired items, and you are in the Dolphin, make sure to ask for a room in the west end, preferably lowest floor. The respective lap pools are close to each of their hotels.

 

[Dave006]

Hello. Thinking of staying over Christmas 2021. Have Marriott points and AAA that should help me save some $$

my DD and I so don’t need anything fancy. We don’t spend much time at resorts. Is there a big difference in the two? Or just book whatever gives me a good rate.

thanks!

Quite a few good comments but a couple of items that are often overlooked: the Swan is about 1/2 the size of the Dolphin. Also the park buses stop at the Swan first and then at the Dolphin.

Dave

 

[Shula]

With only a few days, you'll only scratch the surface.

Like sushi? You'll want to target Kimonos. It's not the best sushi in the world, by any means. What it is for me is this:
For simple nigiri and simple maki, it's about as good as your local neighborhood joint, but the kicker is: it's about the same price. So Wallyworld, Hotel + Sushi - you'd expect to be paying an arm and a leg, but imo, this place, all in all - BARGAIN!

If you are pool people, discuss your room selection with the concierge. We are pool people, and we want the rooms closest to the pool. The steps add up between parks and walks to the pool. We want to go to the pool every day, at least once - usually multiple. The steps add up after a few days if you are busy. At Dolphin, we request the 1300 room series. Those have sliding patio doors that lead out to the walkway to the DOlphin pool complex. That room series has some great other location perks, too.

The pools:
The Swan pool is usually quiet, and it's across the way from the Dolphin pool complex.
The Dolphin's pools are pretty much awesome.
The Spring Pool is a smallish round pool in between the Dolphin lap pool, and the "Grotto" pool. It's shallow. The first time I was there, it was kept EXTREMELY warm. Like just shy of hot tub warm. The second time I was there, it was not heated. I asked a few of the workers in the pool area (teenagers that didn't give a flying F - I'm not mad at them, they are just teenagers, it's what they do - I was a teenager, too) they looked at me like I had three heads when I asked them if the Spring Pool was supposed to be heated. The spring pool is like 3 feet max depth if I had to guess, maybe less.

My preferred spot for the pools is BEHIND the GRotto waterfall. There is a seating area with bathrooms, and a water fountain. In the video that's posted upthread, pay attention at the 1:25 mark - that's THE SPOT, right there! Shaded, bathrooms, chairs, there's a small area of the pool itself behind the waterfall. That waterfall is also a good shoulder massage if you can take it. Some parts of it are pretty hard.

Sandwiches at FUEL are another gem, imo. Don't balk at the price. Get a hot sub. For the price, at Wallyworld, in a hotel - again, the quality is there for the price. Another bargain, imo. If Fuel still has the Froyo station, and they have the Pineapple flavor - it might remind you of a Dole Whip if you are a fan. I'd do asandwich at fuel and froyo, and eat at their tables instead of doing a sit down at The Fountain. The fountain is decent enough, but, imo, Fuel's sandwiches are a step above, and Fountain is a weird setup - it's walled off by short walls kind of in the middle of a hotel walkways. It's like eating a sit down meal in an airport. I just like Fuel much more for quality and price. Both are totally casual.

Dolphin also has King rooms with sofa sleepers. I wouldn't do the Doubles.

Thank you for all this info!!! I know we will skip Kimono's but will definitely hit Fuel. Yes we are pool people and plan to spend a lot of time there in those short 2 days. I will check with concierge if our room appears to be a long ways away. We booked resort view with balcony and I have no idea if those are close? Our plan is to hang out at the resort during the day and visit F & W in the evenings.

 

[Dan Murphy]

The Swan pool is usually quiet, and it's across the way from the Dolphin pool complex.
The Dolphin's pools are pretty much awesome.

Both of the resorts have their own lap pool. The lap pools can be used by any guest of either hotel.

The pools that you refer to as 'the Dolphin's pools' are not assigned to either hotel, the Dolphin or the Swan. The main pools, not the Dolphin's pools nor the Swan's pools, are pretty much equidistant between the two and available to any guest. See aerial view below. Those main pools, which includes the Grotto, can be seen as 4 separate pools clustered together. The two lap pools are close to their respective hotels.

https://goo.gl/maps/TwgmUN3DhrfMXro87

 

[mommy2mrb]

Appreciate all the info and tips!!!

 

[Candycane83]

I booked an alcove room at the Dolphin for Christmas thinking I could do Club FPs but since that is out the window now, I wonder what would be the best type of room to book... are the balcony rooms convenient? From pictures I saw, they look far from the lobby? Or any rooms that would be nice to see the theme park?

 

[Dan Murphy]

I booked an alcove room at the Dolphin for Christmas thinking I could do Club FPs but since that is out the window now, I wonder what would be the best type of room to book... are the balcony rooms convenient? From pictures I saw, they look far from the lobby? Or any rooms that would be nice to see the theme park?

Well, as far as theme park views, not much to see now, as no evening fireworks from any of the parks. Other than the fireworks, you can see Spaceship Earth and Tower of Terror, depending on a west or east room/view. But sort of once you see them, not too much more too see. Not sure where that will be at end of December though. I expect still no fireworks then. As for balconies, unless you are really into balconies, I don't find them of much value. They are small, barely enough room for the two small chairs and small table.

The alcoves would be far from the elevators, yes. They are located at the corners of each floor.

https://goo.gl/maps/Wmvywj9XTEfi5GfNA

 

[chris benton]

We have had the same experience with the Spring pool. My assumption was that it just gets that hot naturally, because its relatively small and has no shade on it at any time of the day. So from May-September the water temperature is uncomfortably hot.

For behind the waterfall, while i like the shade, there is a constant mist back there and the ground is always wet all over. Very easy to slip back there if you arent careful and any bags you put on the ground will get wet. In addition, with the restrooms back there, people are always coming and going past you. The combination of all those factors has always led us to sit somewhere else.

Noted about the area behind the Grotto. We travel light to the pools, and only bring a small cooler bag with a few drinks, and a few pool toys. I actually like that mist - but I can see how others would not, and yes, the ground will have wet spots. I actually had a pretty bad slip walking back to the room in a fantastically crazy storm - not behind the grotto, but on the walkway outside of the entrance near the Dolphin gym. One of the hotel guests actually came out of their room through their sliding doors to see if I needed help. I'm not old or brittle, either. I just had old flip flops that had NO grip left on the bottom, and I had the cooler bag, an open can and a few towels. I was just not thinking, and walking quickly in an almost blinding downpour. Anyway, it was such a bad fall I was sure I was going to be in an er for tearing something. My wife ran out of our room's sliding door, too. That was my "pixie dust" for that trip - just a few small scratches. Back to the other point of foot traffic for the bathrooms behind the grotto. We've only gone in very early November - usually we're the only ppl there.

And also @Dan Murphy -
In general, yes, the pools can be equidistant from rooms in either hotel, and they are shared amenities. But if anyone wants to be closest to the pool complex, the row of rooms at the Dolphin, which I believe are 1300 series, are where I would assume are the closest. I worded it poorly upthread. I like the Swan room cfg better, but for convenience of the pools, which is more important to me, those specific Dolphin rooms are my choice. I realized about 3 days into my first Swan stay, that walking across the way to get to those pools got old. Now, that could have just as easily happened if I was at Dolphin in a room further away from the pools. But, we stayed at Dolphin, and asked the concierge to give us options closest to the pools, and he asked a few questions about possible pool noise from people, and grotto waterfall noise. Then he seemed pretty enthusiastic about getting us into one of those 1300 series rooms with sliding doors and a patio just a few steps from the walkway that leads to the pools. For us - best room ever.

 

[patty57]

Sitting behind the waterfall at the Grotto Pool is a little slice of heaven.

 

[Candycane83]

Well, as far as theme park views, not much to see now, as no evening fireworks from any of the parks. Other than the fireworks, you can see Spaceship Earth and Tower of Terror, depending on a west or east room/view. But sort of once you see them, not too much more too see. Not sure where that will be at end of December though. I expect still no fireworks then. As for balconies, unless you are really into balconies, I don't find them of much value. They are small, barely enough room for the two small chairs and small table.

The alcoves would be far from the elevators, yes. They are located at the corners of each floor.

https://goo.gl/maps/Wmvywj9XTEfi5GfNA

Thanks so much @Dan Murphy ! I guess I’ll just do a traditional room instead... no point for right now I guess...

 

[Dan Murphy]

In general, yes, the pools can be equidistant from rooms in either hotel, and they are shared amenities. But if anyone wants to be closest to the pool complex, the row of rooms at the Dolphin, which I believe are 1300 series, are where I would assume are the closest. I worded it poorly upthread. I like the Swan room cfg better, but for convenience of the pools, which is more important to me, those specific Dolphin rooms are my choice. I realized about 3 days into my first Swan stay, that walking across the way to get to those pools got old. Now, that could have just as easily happened if I was at Dolphin in a room further away from the pools. But, we stayed at Dolphin, and asked the concierge to give us options closest to the pools, and he asked a few questions about possible pool noise from people, and grotto waterfall noise. Then he seemed pretty enthusiastic about getting us into one of those 1300 series rooms with sliding doors and a patio just a few steps from the walkway that leads to the pools. For us - best room ever.

That is very true, Chris. If you are a pool person or family, those Dolphin first floor rooms right near the pool are great. Excellent access to the pool area.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks so much @Dan Murphy ! I guess I’ll just do a traditional room instead... no point for right now I guess...

Use the savings for a nice lunch or maybe dinner each day.