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

[HeiHei2018]

Any advice for using the pools on our departure day? We will leave luggage at bell services for morning park time and would put all swim items in a bag that we would retrieve midday. I assume we will still be able to check out towels with room key? And that bell services will not care if we check bag out, then back in a few hours later as long as we tip? Is there a better way or something I am forgetting?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Any advice for using the pools on our departure day? We will leave luggage at bell services for morning park time and would put all swim items in a bag that we would retrieve midday. I assume we will still be able to check out towels with room key? And that bell services will not care if we check bag out, then back in a few hours later as long as we tip? Is there a better way or something I am forgetting?

Sounds fine to me.

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

Any advice for using the pools on our departure day? We will leave luggage at bell services for morning park time and would put all swim items in a bag that we would retrieve midday. I assume we will still be able to check out towels with room key? And that bell services will not care if we check bag out, then back in a few hours later as long as we tip? Is there a better way or something I am forgetting?

There are lockers to use in the gym that if I remember correctly, you can create your own combination to lock them, and a nice shower area if needed.

 

[Tess]

There are lockers to use in the gym that if I remember correctly, you can create your own combination to lock them, and a nice shower area if needed.

Yes, store your swim gear in the locker rooms at the fitness center and retrieve when you are ready. Your room key will still give you towel access.

 

[Jillfo]

Yes, store your swim gear in the locker rooms at the fitness center and retrieve when you are ready. Your room key will still give you towel access.

Is a room key needed to get into the fitness center? The key may not work if they've already checked out.

 

[HerRoyalHighness]

We just had a wonderful stay split between the Swan and the Reserve

Swan: Fine. No ants or bugs. Clean. Maybe the grout area on the tile had a sealant at some point and that is coming off in a couple spots but if you're not looking for it you probably wouldn't notice it. Extra/replacement stuff was promptly delivered. Con: toilet paper

Swan Reserve: Really nice. Better TP than the Swan. Extra/replacement stuff was promptly delivered. The view from our room was OUTSTANDING (12th floor, 300's even numbers) Cons: the airflow in the bathroom was non-existent. Things (towels, wet socks) do not dry. We had a signature suite and this applied to towels in both the toilet/sink area and the shower/sink area. The a/c...in the bedroom area you could put it on, say, 71 and then it shows the current temp in the room. Would still be running when it said the room was at 67. The living area seemed to work better. Only thing that REALLY was overlooked was the towel hooks. As I said, nothing dried in there so your towels would still be damp the next day.

But I would not hesitate at all to stay there again. This is a great hotel and we appreciate the elegance of it over primary/bright colors and characters.

View from the Swan Reserve room.

 

[Dan Murphy]

We just had a wonderful stay split between the Swan and the Reserve

Swan: Fine. No ants or bugs. Clean. Maybe the grout area on the tile had a sealant at some point and that is coming off in a couple spots but if you're not looking for it you probably wouldn't notice it. Extra/replacement stuff was promptly delivered. Con: toilet paper

Swan Reserve: Really nice. Better TP than the Swan. Extra/replacement stuff was promptly delivered. The view from our room was OUTSTANDING (12th floor, 300's even numbers) Cons: the airflow in the bathroom was non-existent. Things (towels, wet socks) do not dry. We had a signature suite and this applied to towels in both the toilet/sink area and the shower/sink area. The a/c...in the bedroom area you could put it on, say, 71 and then it shows the current temp in the room. Would still be running when it said the room was at 67. The living area seemed to work better. Only thing that REALLY was overlooked was the towel hooks. As I said, nothing dried in there so your towels would still be damp the next day.

But I would not hesitate at all to stay there again. This is a great hotel and we appreciate the elegance of it over primary/bright colors and characters.

View from the Swan Reserve room.


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Thanks for the review, HRH. What a great view!!

 

[georgina]

Is a room key needed to get into the fitness center? The key may not work if they've already checked out.

Honestly don't remember if we needed our card, but we had no problem using the fitness area at the Swan after check out to shower and change (after swimming) before heading to the airport mid-afternoon. The swan quiet pool is right in front of the fitness area and towels were there without needing a card.

 

[Meglen]

Honestly don't remember if we needed our card, but we had no problem using the fitness area at the Swan after check out to shower and change (after swimming) before heading to the airport mid-afternoon. The swan quiet pool is right in front of the fitness area and towels were there without needing a card.

does the dolphin have a fitness center?

 

[Dan Murphy]

does the dolphin have a fitness center?

Yes it does.

https://swandolphin.com/feedback/health/

 

[klemsaba]

I'll tell you... this laundry room situation sucks though.

Just got back from a 5 night stay at the Swan and did laundry at 6am Tuesday morning. Had the facility to myself and relaxed on the couch catching up on YouTube videos for an hour. Glad I didn’t have to deal with the issues others had.

Overall we had a great stay at the Swan.

 

[disneyworld19]

Have there been changes to grocery delivery at the Swan? I know you used to have to meet/accept the delivery but I see that now garden grocer delivers.

 

[disneyworld19]

Also, we’ve had a lot of success with room requests through TP, any Experience with the best way to make a request?

 

[MamaJessie]

DH and kids just back from Swan. They liked the hotel overall. Booked a 'resort view' room and did not get the side facing Dolphin, got the opposite side, nbd but next time I think I would book a standard view and save the money (I think it was around $20/night difference.) Got a good deal with AP and they did not charge the extra person charge. It was $300/night all in.

Everything was clean and housekeeping was ok but they needed some items on two nights and housekeeping did not arrive. Sent two text messages the first time, both times receiving a text that said, 'yes, we are on our way' but never showed. Tried again next evening and again no response. Finally resorted to self-serve via the linen closet. I think the problem was requesting things in the evening. After a certain hour the housekeepers are -gone-.

Booked through Marriott and did not have any problems linking room to MDE and no problems accessing the parks at early or late hours.

Thanks for all the tips and advice here, this is a great thread

One night at 10:30 we received a supply of towels we didn't request. I sent a message in app so they knew there was someone waiting on towels that didn't get them. Maybe we got your towels

 

[MamaJessie]

We returned on 5/31 from a long weekend trip at the Dolphin resort. Location was great, staff nice, room tidy, we liked the daily housekeeping. A lot of my issues were pool related. Pools were not clean, one of the hot tubs was down the entire time and the other two had barely functional jets. Do they normally not have life guards or is that a staff shortage thing?
With the AP discount I would definitely stay again sometime, but probably when we go to Disney during cooler months and pools aren't a priority.

Oh one other thing that I wasn't expecting, the park/DS shuttle drivers hinting about tips. I am not saying I am even adverse to it, but I was out of tip money pretty quickly between the daily housekeeping and the fact that we couldn't use the luggage cart (so an employee needed to deliver our items and bring them back down at the end), it just wasn't something I even considered.

 

[blahblah18]

What is the best way to get from Swan to Magic Kingdom for rope drop?
- Swan's bus to TTC?
- walk to one of the adjacent 'official' Disney hotels, and try to get on their bus that goes all the way to MK entrance?
- Uber to TTC?

(I've read through this and other threads, and it seems like option 2 - getting an official bus from one of the neighboring Disney resorts - can be tough. Long lines, and occasional challenges from guests 'sneaking in' from other hotels?)

 

[CeeCee101]

Minnie Vans?

 

[blahblah18]

First time visitor, so Injust heard about Minnie Vans and their upcoming restart. If it works, it does sound like an ideal option.

Realistically, what would availability be like for Minnie vans … on a Saturday morning, before rope drop, during the July 4 weekend? Is it relatively easy to to get one whenever you want one? Or is it low availability and high demand?

 

[SteveH]

Have there been changes to grocery delivery at the Swan? I know you used to have to meet/accept the delivery but I see that now garden grocer delivers.

Yes there was a significant change a while back, You can see the info on the Business Center page
Delivery of Packages For Our Guests
Please note the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin accepts packages for our guests, however we are unable to accommodate any deliveries that require refrigeration of any kind.

Bottom of that same page you can click to open the PDF Package Shipping & Handling Information while most of it deals with shipping it also has the key bit of info (and change).

GROCERY DELIVERIES (Amazon, Instacart, Shipt, etc.):
Guests are encouraged to schedule grocery deliveries when they will be available to receive items from the delivery driver. When guests are not present to receive deliveries from the delivery driver, grocery items will be held at Bell Services until picked up or delivery is requested by the guest. Refrigeration iqs not provided. The Resort is not responsible for damaged or unusable perishable items.

Also, we’ve had a lot of success with room requests through TP, any Experience with the best way to make a request?

When booking Swan Dolphin keep in mind "that you get what you pay for" - the view rooms, balconies, etc are options when booking, asking for a free upgrade doesn't generally work - but never hurts to try. But if you book a no-view room assume that's what you'll get. From my experience and reading others when you ask upon check-in they usually give you an option to upgrade.. but with a fee.

Email does not appear to be working well, your best bet is to download the Swan Dolphin Mobile App click on I'm on property then use the "Text Us!" option - as the text number may change I don't directly link to it.

 

[SteveH]

What is the best way to get from Swan to Magic Kingdom for rope drop?
- Swan's bus to TTC?
- walk to one of the adjacent 'official' Disney hotels, and try to get on their bus that goes all the way to MK entrance?
- Uber to TTC?

(I've read through this and other threads, and it seems like option 2 - getting an official bus from one of the neighboring Disney resorts - can be tough. Long lines, and occasional challenges from guests 'sneaking in' from other hotels?)

I can't say I've heard anyone in this thread say they've been "challenged" - long lines yes, but not challenged. As posted sometime ago, Disney touts the use of the bus system and other transportation options for ALL GUESTS. This post from April 2021 may help. So far I've seen no reports that Disney is asking for any resort ID to use the bus. This search on rope drop might help, look for the most recent post.