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

[glamdring269]

@ glamdring269
I love the Epcot Resorts, and stayed at BW or BC for years. One year I realized I could try the Swan for half the price for that trip. Tried it, and loved it. I know everyone loves SAB...I do too, but I REALLY love my lounge chair behind the waterfall at the Grotto Pool! As an adult, I also appreciate the excellent cocktails, many including fresh squeezed juices as opposed to a mix, and the really great dining options.
Kind of hate to rave too much, because people are different, and I still love BW & BC, but my first choice is the Swan & Dolphin now.

SAB looks pretty awesome but for whatever reason we rarely even use the pool. We'll definitely partake in the excellent cocktails though.

Just FYI, I think all of you have done a great job talking me into team Swolphin. Have no doubt my wife will be on board as well!

 

[SteveH]

Just FYI, I think all of you have done a great job talking me into team Swolphin. Have no doubt my wife will be on board as well!

Dan will show you the secret socially distanced handshake
We're all waiting for the S/D kickback, but so far it's a no go.
Hope you have a great stay and you come away feeling great about it too.

 

[lotsohugginbear]

I love Swan and Dolphin for a four -five night trip. Only drawback I can think of that might not have been mentioned is no Dining Plan. I'm not a huge dining plan guest, but I have booked the free dining bounce back on occasion. We frequently do Swan and Dolphin split stays. My current fav: Swan and Saratoga Springs. I hate bussing to Disney Springs so this split is best of both worlds.

 

[SteveH]

...As an adult, I also appreciate the excellent cocktails, many including fresh squeezed juices as opposed to a mix, and the really great dining options...

This is a big pet peeve of mine. As I've gotten deep into the tiki community, once you get into using fresh you can totally tell when it's a mix or prebottled lime juice. I've been making my own Orgeat syrup and it's crazy how much better it is.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Dan will show you the secret socially distanced handshake

https://ohmy.disney.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2014/09/Linguini-Remy-high-five-Ratatouille.gif

 

[MarBee]

Just found another amazing perk that I didn't realize when first looking at Swolphin... teacher discount! Fully understand that offer can come and go by the minute but if it's in play it basically covers the resort fees. We'd be traveling during the traditional teacher travel times so I imagine our room price will be a little more on the upper $ side. Alas, no $85/night room pricing likely in our future!

Okay, I reeeeeally don’t want to be Debbie Downer, but the teacher discount is pretty much non-existent. I know they say there’s one, but I’ve tried for years and years, and the best I could come up with was $5 off a night. Again, I still think S/D will be great for you but just wanted you to have all of your facts in front of you.

 

[pepperandchips]

Okay, I reeeeeally don’t want to be Debbie Downer, but the teacher discount is pretty much non-existent. I know they say there’s one, but I’ve tried for years and years, and the best I could come up with was $5 off a night. Again, I still think S/D will be great for you but just wanted you to have all of your facts in front of you.

Shhh! Don’t give away the secrets! Next you’re going to be telling people that the Dolphin sculptures actually look like a mahi mahi.

 

[shoreward]

Okay, I reeeeeally don’t want to be Debbie Downer, but the teacher discount is pretty much non-existent. I know they say there’s one, but I’ve tried for years and years, and the best I could come up with was $5 off a night. Again, I still think S/D will be great for you but just wanted you to have all of your facts in front of you.

That “great” teachers’ discount seemed nothing more than a token offering, with the 5% savings; I believe the nurses’ discount was the same. However, here is what it now says about the teachers’ discount:

In appreciation for all that you do, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort would like to offer you a very special room rate for your next vacation to the most magical place in the world...the Walt Disney World® Resort! Take advantage of savings up to 25 % off our regular rates at time of booking. For Reservations: Contact us at 1-888-828-8850 and ask for promotional code TEACHERS RATE or when booking online, make sure Promotional Code ZTC appears in the Corporate/Promo code box. Valid teacher or school issued ID required at check-in to receive this offer.

It states “up to” 25% off of rack rates; I did not try it out to see if the 25% savings is available for most dates, or not.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Agreed! I’m looking forward to staying there again (hopefully) soon!
And even though I am a Disney Bubble person, S/D is my absolute favorite Christmas time resort. Even if I could get a deluxe Disney hotel cheaper, I would stay here for the holidays.

So coincidentally my favorite Christmas resort prior to the Dolphin was POFQ! We’ve stayed there a few times at Christmas bc I loved it. This year I had a conference at the Dolphin at Christmas time so we took advantage of the conference rate to stay there then. I was fully prepared to be disappointed bc two of my favorite things are Christmas and Disney. I kept preparing my family that it would be different this year and not to get too excited. Well, I was right - I was different, and it was AMAZING!
The lobby was decorated nicely, but the best parts were the Christmas music they piped in throughout the pool area- a mix of new and old classics- and every night the walkway was lit up in red and green lights that “danced” along with the Christmas music being played. We actually skipped Epcot one night just to do the Boardwalk and watch the light show.
Totally staying here again at the holidays!

You have all done a great job on selling me on Christmas at the S&D. I was worried it might not measure up to a Disney resort at that time of year but it looks great! We are hoping to go in 2022 so a bit of a way off but it's nice to plan. Loved the dancing lights

 

[Erica Ladd]

I’m a substitute teacher. Do you think the discount would work for me???

 

[SteveH]

I’m a substitute teacher. Do you think the discount would work for me???

Hi Erica, do you have a school district ID? or any type of documentation you can show? I think anything would work, but if you want to make 100% certain give them at quick call at 407.934.4000. I can't imagine they would care, but hard to say.

 

[Erica Ladd]

No official badge but I believe I have my certificate . I was a full time teacher in my former life lol

 

[KristaZ]

Okay, I reeeeeally don’t want to be Debbie Downer, but the teacher discount is pretty much non-existent. I know they say there’s one, but I’ve tried for years and years, and the best I could come up with was $5 off a night. Again, I still think S/D will be great for you but just wanted you to have all of your facts in front of you.

The teacher discount is actually pretty decent right now - for the dates I'm going it was around $50 less a night than the cheapest rate - we ended up using the passholder discount because it was slightly more of a discount - about an additional $10/night.

 

[Ahabart]

We are heading down the first full week of October and I have been watching the rates at S/D just to see if something better than our $169 rate shows up. Dolphin has been coming up higher for the last little bit, but now it is completely unavailable until Nov 21. Looks like the bartender was correct that they were shutting it down. I'm bummed as I was hoping that we would have some Dolphin dining options on our trip. Oh well!

 

[Dave006]

Hey @Ahabart thanks for the updates. It is very interesting that the Marriott reservation system has no availability after Saturday, Sept. 12 until Nov. 21 as @Ahabart indicated above this is not a positive development.

It looks like maybe the Dolphin winds down and closes after Labor Day week and no reopening until the Saturday before Thanksgiving week at this point.

Dave

 

[armerida]

Hey @Ahabart thanks for the updates. It is very interesting that the Marriott reservation system has no availability after Saturday, Sept. 12 until Nov. 21 as @Ahabart indicated above this is not a positive development.

It looks like maybe the Dolphin winds down and closes after Labor Day week and no reopening until the Saturday before Thanksgiving week at this point.

Dave

I just booked a reservation for Shula’s for September 6th and they had times for Friday the 4th - Sunday the 6th, nothing before or after those dates.

Just for fun, I checked Bluezoo as well; they show reservations from starting Friday the 4th - Saturday the 12th and then beginning Sunday the 13th, there’s a message that they are closed and to visit on a Friday or Saturday...wonder if the bartender is correct...the slide attendant told me he heard they would open just on weekends and close mid-week. That seems really strange too!

 

[hedberg1661]

I just booked a reservation for Shula’s for September 6th and they had times for Friday the 4th - Sunday the 6th, nothing before or after those dates.

Just for fun, I checked Bluezoo as well; they show reservations from starting Friday the 4th - Saturday the 12th and then beginning Sunday the 13th, there’s a message that they are closed and to visit on a Friday or Saturday...wonder if the bartender is correct...the slide attendant told me he heard they would open just on weekends and close mid-week. That seems really strange too!
View attachment 522014

I agree, that would be strange to open only part of the time. I would understand if they just decided to close say the entire East Wing of rooms or something like that. To me, the dining at the Dolphin is certainly something I will miss. Glad it is "currently" all back open when I am slated to go in December.

 

[SteveH]

I wonder if things may reverse course and the Dolphin might stay open after "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that the state would support a move by theme parks to increase capacity at their attractions."

I can see the restaurant being open on the weekends, that's when the locals would have more time anyway, and most restaurant make their money Thur-Sun anyway.

 

[armerida]

I wonder if things may reverse course and the Dolphin might stay open after "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that the state would support a move by theme parks to increase capacity at their attractions."

Hmm that would be cool but I definitely don’t think they should increase capacity! Epcot this past Sunday felt like a regular day and people were not distancing. Hollywood was busy with long waits pretty much all day bc of lack of stage shows to help with the crowds. AK could handle more people but then you couldn’t re-ride FoP over and over, bypassing the queue

 

[Ahabart]

I wonder if things may reverse course and the Dolphin might stay open after "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that the state would support a move by theme parks to increase capacity at their attractions."

I can see the restaurant being open on the weekends, that's when the locals would have more time anyway, and most restaurant make their money Thur-Sun anyway.

I'm not sure. The problem doesn't seem to be one of capacity as most parks have availability. If parks were filling up every day and AP's couldn't find dates to attend, that might have more of an impact? It seems to me that they are pulling back Dolphin's availability based on lack of reservations more so than park capacity. With that said, I could just be misunderstanding and there could be a push for theme parks to be able to increase capacity.