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

[SteveH]

@armerida I agree with @Dave006 I think I'd mix it up and ditch the elevators.

 

[vital]

Good morning! How different is the Swan than the Dolphin? I've stayed at the Dolphin before, but right now the Swan is significantly cheaper than the Dolphin for a trip in December with the Nurse rate. Is there a reason for this that I should worry about?

If some miracle happens and Disney opens Extra Magic Hours in December will I still be able to do them staying at the Swan?

 

[MarBee]

Good morning! How different is the Swan than the Dolphin? I've stayed at the Dolphin before, but right now the Swan is significantly cheaper than the Dolphin for a trip in December with the Nurse rate. Is there a reason for this that I should worry about?

If some miracle happens and Disney opens Extra Magic Hours in December will I still be able to do them staying at the Swan?

I actually like the Swan rooms better but the overall hotel at the Dolphin better. Swan has queen beds instead of the full beds at Dolphin, and Swan has an extra vanity outside of the bathroom. It’s slightly quieter in the common areas than the Dolphin. And although I like the Dolphin hotel part better (nicer lobby, more food options, etc), it really doesn’t make that much of a difference since you can walk from the Swan lobby to the Dolphin lobby in a minute. You’ll love the Swan!
Also you will qualify for EMH if they have them, but bring your room key with you. That’s how you show you’re a guest at S/D and qualify.

 

[vital]

I actually like the Swan rooms better but the overall hotel at the Dolphin better. Swan has queen beds instead of the full beds at Dolphin, and Swan has an extra vanity outside of the bathroom. It’s slightly quieter in the common areas than the Dolphin. And although I like the Dolphin hotel part better (nicer lobby, more food options, etc), it really doesn’t make that much of a difference since you can walk from the Swan lobby to the Dolphin lobby in a minute. You’ll love the Swan!
Also you will qualify for EMH if they have them, but bring your room key with you. That’s how you show you’re a guest at S/D and qualify.

Thank you! It's my big 5-0 birthday and since the Caribbean is a no-go we're going to WDW. I'm trying to decide between Swan and BWV studio. We were going to try for Jambo or Kadani Savanna view, but no bueno for my dates in December. We plan on spending the most time at EPCOT and HS and the Swan/Dolphin is so convenient it's hard to pass up.

We have our magic bands from trips past and if I'm understanding correctly we won't be able to charge purchases to the bands if we stay at the Swan? What if we link a card to the tickets only?

 

[MarBee]

Thank you! It's my big 5-0 birthday and since the Caribbean is a no-go we're going to WDW. I'm trying to decide between Swan and BWV studio. We were going to try for Jambo or Kadani Savanna view, but no bueno for my dates in December. We plan on spending the most time at EPCOT and HS and the Swan/Dolphin is so convenient it's hard to pass up.

We have our magic bands from trips past and if I'm understanding correctly we won't be able to charge purchases to the bands if we stay at the Swan? What if we link a card to the tickets only?

Happy birthday! Yes, just use your old magic bands (or you can buy a new one) for anything in the parks or on Disney property. However, you can’t use them at S/D at all.
Also, I loooooove this resort in December. I’m a big Christmas fan, so if you are too, you’ll love it!

 

[pepperandchips]

What if we link a card to the tickets only?

Just to clarify, if you are asking about linking a credit card, there’s no way to do this. Your magic band is just a key that reads your Disney account. If you’re staying at a WDW owned resort, there’s a room folio that can be accessed with that key/magic band. Without the room folio, there’s nothing to charge to.

To have payment close at hand I usually either keep a CC in the plastic pouch of my lanyard (sandwiched in between other cards that don’t have a CC number on them) or I will get a Disney gift card for my incidentals and hole punch a corner and put it on one of the many wrist bungees I’ve saved from Epcot festival gift cards over the years.

You can use your Swan room key at the food and merchandise outlets at the Swan and Dolphin to charge back to your room folio. If you are a Bonvoy member you’ll get points for those charges.

 

[Dave006]

Good morning! How different is the Swan than the Dolphin? I've stayed at the Dolphin before, but right now the Swan is significantly cheaper than the Dolphin for a trip in December with the Nurse rate.

To add to the great feedback from @MarBee one of the biggest features for us is that the Swan is 1/2 the size of the Dolphin. Just easier to navigate. The rooms also offer a little different bedding options. Swan has 2 Queens while Dolphin has 2 Doubles. They both of course have Kings if you book one.

Also we are not exactly sure the Dolphin will be open. Right now the Dolphin is scheduled to close after Labor day week and is not scheduled to reopen until Nov. 22nd at this point.

Dave

 

[vital]

To add to the great feedback from @MarBee one of the biggest features for us is that the Swan is 1/2 the size of the Dolphin. Just easier to navigate. The rooms also offer a little different bedding options. Swan has 2 Queens while Dolphin has 2 Doubles. They both of course have Kings if you book one.

Also we are not exactly sure the Dolphin will be open. Right now the Dolphin is scheduled to close after Labor day week and is not scheduled to reopen until Nov. 22nd at this point.

Dave

YIKES! Is there any chance the Swan will close and stay closed? I can book a BWV Deluxe Studio for same dates, but it's $500 more. I'd pay it if I knew the Swan could close. I just don't want to be scrambling for leftovers right before we leave.

 

[MarBee]

YIKES! Is there any chance the Swan will close and stay closed? I can book a BWV Deluxe Studio for same dates, but it's $500 more. I'd pay it if I knew the Swan could close. I just don't want to be scrambling for leftovers right before we leave.

In all honesty, given everything going on, it’s possible Swan or BWV could be closed in December. If the resorts are closed, chances are the parks will be too. However, with BWV, if it closes but other properties are open, you’d be moved to a comparable resort. I don’t honestly think there are other comparable Marriott resorts in the area to S/D, because although there are other beautiful resorts in Orlando, there are no others with this location or Disney perks.

To be safe, if you can swing it, I’d maybe book both hotels for now and cancel the other one as it gets closer and we know more

 

[vital]

In all honesty, given everything going on, it’s possible Swan or BWV could be closed in December. If the resorts are closed, chances are the parks will be too. However, with BWV, if it closes but other properties are open, you’d be moved to a comparable resort. I don’t honestly think there are other comparable Marriott resorts in the area to S/D, because although there are other beautiful resorts in Orlando, there are no others with this location or Disney perks.

To be safe, if you can swing it, I’d maybe book both hotels for now and cancel the other one as it gets closer and we know more

So frustrating! I'm kind of afraid that if a miracle happens and things start to open up then and I wait to book I'll be out of luck finding a room with a decent price. UGH

 

[SteveH]

I just don't see S/D closing both hotels unless Disney shuts down again. The smaller foot print of Swan means it needs less staff to operate, if demand warrants (like Labor Day) they will open the Dolphin again, but for awhile I think you'll see the Swan being open.

 

[mykidsrock76]

Has anyone booked a package at the Swan or Dolphin thru Costco? Right now their price for our March trip is significantly less than booking thru either Disney or the hotel directly? Were you able to add your resort and tickets in MDE? Were there any headaches that occurred booking thru a third party? We’ve always stayed on property booking directly with Disney but if we can save $1K we’d really like to!

 

[SteveH]

@mykidsrock76 yes, we used Costco for our last Swan trip in 2018, really had no problems at all. Took bit to get MDE linked but after that it was all good to go. The room we had was great, two windows over looking the water way between Swan & Boardwalk. We would have used them again but the rates for our Feb 2020 trip were to high for what I was wiling to pay. Plus since with have the Costco Visa and Exec membership we got a very nice rebate from the trip.

 

[mykidsrock76]

@mykidsrock76 yes, we used Costco for our last Swan trip in 2018, really had no problems at all. Took bit to get MDE linked but after that it was all good to go. The room we had was great, two windows over looking the water way between Swan & Boardwalk. We would have used them again but the rates for our Feb 2020 trip were to high for what I was wiling to pay. Plus since with have the Costco Visa and Exec membership we got a very nice rebate from the trip.

Thank you for the fast response! I don’t like that a portion is non-refundable, I’m assuming because it includes park tickets, but from how I read it the date can be changed as long as we’re more than 5 days out from arrival. Worst case is March doesn’t work so we change the date. We too are executive members, so we’ll get some rewards on it.

 

[vital]

I bit the bullet and booked! Since we can cancel with no penalty until early December I figured I'd better lock into the nurse discount while it was available. Comparing booking through Marriott with nurse discount and Disney I saved $749 I'd be crazy to pass that up! I booked room with Marriott and tickets through WDW.

 

[SMRT-1]

Thank you for the fast response! I don’t like that a portion is non-refundable, I’m assuming because it includes park tickets, but from how I read it the date can be changed as long as we’re more than 5 days out from arrival. Worst case is March doesn’t work so we change the date. We too are executive members, so we’ll get some rewards on it.

We had similar feelings about the non-refundable ticket costs when booking our May 2021 trip.

We booked our May 2020 trip through Costco, and used Costco again to re-book for December 2020 when May got cancelled (we were able to get a full refund because Disney was allowing refunds on tickets that got cancelled). After a few months passed and December started to seem questionable, we booked for May 2021 once sales opened up, but this time through Disney - partly because Costco wasn't offering 2021 packages yet, but mostly because everything was so uncertain that we didn't want to commit to another set of non-refundable tickets, and the $200 deposit with Disney vs. paying for the whole ticket portion upfront through Costco meant less cash outlay, so the better flexibility of Disney vs Costco seemed worth the higher price.

If we get closer to December and decide for sure that we're not comfortable going, we might re-book May through Costco, or if the Marriott room-only prices drop enough, book a room direct and just use our December tickets in May.

 

[armerida]

Just a quick update regarding the Dolphin’s reopening....I just spoke to Guest relations at the Swan (not the general Marriott customer service #) and they confirmed that the Dolphin will be opening for Labor Day weekend and then closing again. I wanted to make sure before I cancelled my Swan reservation. Hopefully that’s accurate and I don’t get moved to some other Marriott property last minute!

 

[armerida]

To follow up - I emailed the lovely room controller who hooked us up for our August trip and she said yes, they are happy to report that they have been working all week getting rooms ready for Labor Day weekend. Just cancelled Swan and asked her about a ground floor pool wing room at Dolphin. Does anyone happen to know if there are any King rooms in that area?

 

[kja4876]

How long did it take for the Swan to take your deposit out of your account? I booked yesterday at the passholder rate, it was a good deal but the deposit was more than one night's price.

 

[vital]

How long did it take for the Swan to take your deposit out of your account? I booked yesterday at the passholder rate, it was a good deal but the deposit was more than one night's price.

I booked yesterday and my deposit still hasn't been taken out. Maybe because my trip isn't until December.