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

[wilma-bride]

I know this particular question was brought up many pages ago but I could not find an answer to it.
We (3 people) are staying at Dolphin from December 30th-January 2nd and were hoping we could use the Boardwalk resort airline check-in station. This will allow us to drop our bags off early so we can hit the parks and just go straight to the airport.(We will have a rental car)
I realize that S/D does not offer this but wanted to know if anyone has done this in the past?

Thanks

I doubt you are able to do this if you aren't staying at Boardwalk.

 

[Roborn]

I doubt you are able to do this if you aren't staying at Boardwalk.

Okay. Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[patty57]

I know this particular question was brought up many pages ago but I could not find an answer to it.
We (3 people) are staying at Dolphin from December 30th-January 2nd and were hoping we could use the Boardwalk resort airline check-in station. This will allow us to drop our bags off early so we can hit the parks and just go straight to the airport.(We will have a rental car)
I realize that S/D does not offer this but wanted to know if anyone has done this in the past?

Thanks

As Wilma-bride said, probably not because you aren't staying at BW. Also, the Swan/Dolphin aren't WDW resorts, so that would most likely work against you as well. Since you have a rental car, you should be just fine keeping your luggage locked up in the car, so you can still go to a park and head to the airport from there.

 

[ckelly14]

10,000 for your trip, or 10,000 per night? My understanding is that suites were double, at least, the points per night, while alcove rooms were somewhere around 11,000 or 12,000 per night, which winds up being about an extra 10,000 for a week.

10,000 per night. We were recently told that suite upgrades on points are not available, period.

 

[crostorfer]

We stayed at the Swan 10/10-10/12.

First, the positives. I don't have a single negative thing to say about the common areas. The grounds are beautiful, the location is superb, the pool is absolutely amazing, (better than most Disney deluxe pools by a mile), and the restaurant selection is outstanding. We had a wonderful breakfast at Fresh, I will absolutely eat there again, should we choose to return to WDW property. For the price point, (we booked at a military discount that included 50% off food and beverage as well), I could not possibly have done better at any other Disney World resort. The ability to walk to both EPCOT and DHS is a massive bonus. The bus service to the other parks was adequate, and better than our experience last spring at the Wilderness Lodge.

Now the negatives. Don't expect to get wait service by the pool. It was there, but they were SEVERELY understaffed and overwhelmed. They would walk past you 5 times with trays of drinks, and if you tried to flag them down they'd ignore you. I counted 3 waiters in the entire pool area, and if you've been there, you know that is a HUGE pool area, between the grotto pool, beach, and the lap pool.

Now, as for my room I blame myself. I should have booked an upgraded category. We were put in the west wing, room 372. The hallway outside of the room, and the room itself, were straight out of 1986. The doorways were all dinged up, and the carpet was worn. It looked very much like a cheap motel. The room wasn't awful, although the bathroom needed some serious love, there were cracks and water stains on the ceiling, and it was so tiny that the door barely cleared the toilet. The view, however, was abysmal. Once again, I should have known better, but I didn't realize just how horribly hideous that rusty orange rooftop is. Couldn't they have done SOMETHING to cover that? Everyone on the west wing has to look down on that roof, it's terrible. I didn't throw a fit, because honestly, we spent very little time there, and like I said, it's my fault for not booking a different room category.

We would absolutely stay there again after the room renovations are complete, and in an EPCOT view room.

 

[SA mom]

We booked an Alcove Room on points on our trip this past July. I believe we paid 11,000 points per night. We were upgraded to a Junior Suite. I couldn't really tell a different between a Jr. Suite and the Alcove, but this one did have a true wet bar. In our last Alcove Room, there was no wet bar. The only sink was in the bathroom. Having that extra sink was very convenient.

 

[ownedby3]

Did anyone buy the Magic Bands and do they sell them in the gift shop at the hotel? I wasn't planning on spending the extra money but with 2 little kids under the age of 4, I feel like it's a no brainier in terms of me not losing the tickets, memory maker card, etc and it will help me be more organized and one less thing for me to keep track of. Thoughts?

 

[ckelly14]

Did anyone buy the Magic Bands and do they sell them in the gift shop at the hotel? I wasn't planning on spending the extra money but with 2 little kids under the age of 4, I feel like it's a no brainier in terms of me not losing the tickets, memory maker card, etc and it will help me be more organized and one less thing for me to keep track of. Thoughts?

I thought it was worth it for the cost. My kids thought they were cool. They will be worth more when you are able to link a credit card, since paying with it was super convenient.

Pretty cheap for a souvenir.

 

[ownedby3]

I thought it was worth it for the cost. My kids thought they were cool. They will be worth more when you are able to link a credit card, since paying with it was super convenient.

Pretty cheap for a souvenir.

Did you buy them at S&D?

 

[vicb]

Did anyone buy the Magic Bands and do they sell them in the gift shop at the hotel? I wasn't planning on spending the extra money but with 2 little kids under the age of 4, I feel like it's a no brainier in terms of me not losing the tickets, memory maker card, etc and it will help me be more organized and one less thing for me to keep track of. Thoughts?

We bought them in May when we stayed at Dolphin. At that point they were only being sold in the parks, we got them in HS on our arrival evening when we went for eve. emh. Had no problems at all and found them to be handy to use. We are two adults and had our 18 and 22 year old "kids" with us and they were pretty excited to buy them.... served as a souvenir of sorts. We had purchased our tickets from Undercover Tourist and had no problems linking them over to MB. Good luck.

 

[ownedby3]

We bought them in May when we stayed at Dolphin. At that point they were only being sold in the parks, we got them in HS on our arrival evening when we went for eve. emh. Had no problems at all and found them to be handy to use. We are two adults and had our 18 and 22 year old "kids" with us and they were pretty excited to buy them.... served as a souvenir of sorts. We had purchased our tickets from Undercover Tourist and had no problems linking them over to MB. Good luck.

Thank you! When you purchase them from the counter does everything automatically link to the band while you are there? It looks like they can only be purchased in parks and DTD

 

[vicb]

Thank you! When you purchase them from the counter does everything automatically link to the band while you are there? It looks like they can only be purchased in parks and DTD

We bought ours in one of the bigger gift shops in HS and the check out person knew just what to do, it only took a few minutes for all four of us. I didn't have the photo pass things so I don't know about that, sorry.

 

[Tess]

Did anyone buy the Magic Bands and do they sell them in the gift shop at the hotel? I wasn't planning on spending the extra money but with 2 little kids under the age of 4, I feel like it's a no brainier in terms of me not losing the tickets, memory maker card, etc and it will help me be more organized and one less thing for me to keep track of. Thoughts?

They have them in both Swan and Dolphin Disney gift stores and everywhere else at Disney World as well.

 

[moonlitelace]

Was able to link my Dolphin stay to my MDE account!! This will be my first time staying there as we're using our points from our offsite timeshare

Peggy

 

[luvmarypoppins]

A few questions since we are planning a december trip

1. Is the Swan bus stop renovation completed yet?

2. We are booking some of the trip with dh ff miles and the rest we will pay for at the Swan. For dh ff miles, it says -yielded rates and doesnt list a room type. Anyone know what this means?

I would like to have the same type of room etc, so hopefully we would not have to change rooms and just keep it a continuing reservation etc.

3. Our dates will probably be Dec.9-16. How is the pool then? Has anyone swam this time of year?

 

[ownedby3]

They have them in both Swan and Dolphin Disney gift stores and everywhere else at Disney World as well.

This made my day - the little things in life!!

 

[tuckerkeys]

Hi everyone - just back from another amazing food & wine Disney trip

I had to split my stay between the swan & Dolphin due to the last 2 nights at the swan not being available. No big deal, However……

The room the dolphin put me in, room 7148 was horrible! It looked directly out onto the convention center rooftop and there were vent fans right in front of the window. At approx. 3;17 am I was woken up with the smell of bacon, sausage and greesy food all throughout the room. I know for some this may be heavenly, but for me it was gross! I drifted in & out of sleep until we finally woke up at 6am. There is a convention center kitchen right under this whole area.
I got my mug & went down to picabo and when I opened the door to the hallway, the entire hallway smelled even worse than my room! It was disgusting. The dolphin had no problem moving us into a new room, this time on the east side with a balcony for fresh air, but this wasn't needed.
Anyway, now I know never to take a 7th floor room on the convention center side of the building!

 

[ssllkk]

Seen by other posts, they were able to alcove rooms for 11,000 points a night. when i call, they say you can't stay in alcove rooms on points, for 11,000 points a night you get a balcony room. looking to stay at dolphin. How were you able to get alcove rooms for 11,000 points a night?

 

[wen8jr]

Regarding SPG points and booking, it seems to vary depending on who you talk to. I called and was told I could not use extra points to upgrade the room choice at all...after they spoke to a manager this is what I was told.

But I was happy in the end as upon arrival at the Swan w/out asking they upgraded us complimentary to a renovated room w/ balcony. Room was ready and we arrived before noon - so great vibes all the way around.

We were very happy with this resort, the transportation & the proximity to Boardwalk, HS & Epcot can't be beat.

 

[astronautmom]

We are about to do a Disney cruise out of PC and just accrued enough starwood points to book a night at the Dolphin pre-cruise. I'm working my way through this thread, but can anyone tell me what the crowds and activities are like in early November? Is it considered off season? (It's too early for Thanksgiving break.) I'm wondering if there will be the pool DJ, entertainment on the boardwalk, and other things I've seen mentioned on this thread, or if that's just for the summer. Thanks!