Evening Magic Hours for Deluxe Guests Only

[mom2rtk]

Agree. I see some moderates priced more than Swan and Dolphin and they don't get it. I read a poster here
said they are paying 500 a night on Art of Animation suite and they aren't getting the evening hours either.

The price of an AoA suite buys double the room. That's why it's higher.

 

[jujubiee4]

Regardless I understand that. I have a gran destino tower /split stay with boardwalk. The tower wont qualify
as it is a moderate but im paying more than Swan. My inlaws book Port Orleans Royal room at 400 bucks
a night but that won't qualify because it is a moderate? Yet Swan can be booked AAA for 300. So this
is their answer to stay more on site ? To shaft their moderates that are DISNEY OWNED. And this is coming
from someone with a ton of Marriott points. Might as well move the reservation there and save money since
it is the same extra hours and use the difference we would have been paying for paid fast passes.

 

[Nabas]

I've been catching up on this thread and was a few pages back and it sounds like folks are talking about the Swan/Dolphin being added to the Early Morning entry when this thread is about the Evening hours for the Deluxe hotels....or am I reading these posts incorrectly?

Where is the new wording on the webpage from Disney about adding the S&D??

S&D also are being added to Extended Evening Theme Park Hours.

It's been confirmed by highly reliable website.

 

[Nabas]

For comparison, I checked rates for a Sunday-to-Wednesday stay mid-August.

The Dolphin is offering a AAA rate of $180 per night:



This is quite a bit less than Disney's Moderate Resorts for those same nights, even with a Summer Discount:



With Disney's Magical Express ending, it will be interesting to see what this does to Disney's Moderate Resort's business.

 

[New Mouse]

Pretty sure Disney is contractually obligated to Swan and Dolphin for a lot of the perks.

 

[jujubiee4]

You should see the Nov Dec rates!

 

[HashberryOTG]

$20 doesn't seem like quite a bit less to me. However, if you're pinching pennies I get it. Some trips I save every penny! It also doesn't say what view the Disney resorts are, but I do assume for that price is the same type, a standard/no view. I considered changing my Nov reservations to S&D after watching the conversation here, but the prices for our dates are no where near the $180, one of our days isn't available at all in a cheaper room, and I didn't like the fact that I have to pay fully up front and it's non-refundable and cannot be changed in order to get the lowest price. That was the deal breaker for me. It would have been about $100 less than my deluxe (deluxe, not even a moderate) resort booking per day, would be missing one of those days, and no changing my mind about any of it. It turned out to not be a good choice for me, but I do understand many times they're a huge savings.

 

[jujubiee4]

$20 doesn't seem like quite a bit less to me. However, if you're pinching pennies I get it. Some trips I save every penny! It also doesn't say what view the Disney resorts are, but I do assume for that price is the same type, a standard/no view. I considered changing my Nov reservations to S&D after watching the conversation here, but the prices for our dates are no where near the $180, one of our days isn't available at all in a cheaper room, and I didn't like the fact that I have to pay fully up front and it's non-refundable and cannot be changed in order to get the lowest price. That was the deal breaker for me. It would have been about $100 less than my deluxe (deluxe, not even a moderate) resort booking per day, would be missing one of those days, and no changing my mind about any of it. It turned out to not be a good choice for me, but I do understand many times they're a huge savings.

Yes it can be. One of my friends is going the same time we are in Dec but she booked months
ago and paying 300 or less a night total for Swan. I haven't stayed there but the room looks bigger than
some of Disney other deluxe rooms.

 

[cp1116]

For comparison, I checked rates for a Sunday-to-Wednesday stay mid-August.

The Dolphin is offering a AAA rate of $180 per night:

View attachment 590128

This is quite a bit less than Disney's Moderate Resorts for those same nights, even with a Summer Discount:

View attachment 590129

With Disney's Magical Express ending, it will be interesting to see what this does to Disney's Moderate Resort's business.

Once you add on the resort fee, it’s more like $212/night plus tax at dolphin

 

[Nabas]

$20 doesn't seem like quite a bit less to me. However, if you're pinching pennies I get it. Some trips I save every penny! It also doesn't say what view the Disney resorts are, but I do assume for that price is the same type, a standard/no view. I considered changing my Nov reservations to S&D after watching the conversation here, but the prices for our dates are no where near the $180, one of our days isn't available at all in a cheaper room, and I didn't like the fact that I have to pay fully up front and it's non-refundable and cannot be changed in order to get the lowest price. That was the deal breaker for me. It would have been about $100 less than my deluxe (deluxe, not even a moderate) resort booking per day, would be missing one of those days, and no changing my mind about any of it. It turned out to not be a good choice for me, but I do understand many times they're a huge savings.

The Swan & Dolphin are extremely popular for Food & Wine Festival.

Check out the rates at the Boardwalk and Yacht & Beach Club for those nights.

In recent years, we've stayed for as little as $127 per night (!!!) at the Dolphin and $141 per night at the Swan. The S&D use variable pricing, meaning you can get some really good rates if you try booking 3-6 weeks before.

But never during Food & Wine Festival.

For 3 nights in early November, here's what I found for the Dolphin. $261 per night for a room that's going to get you Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. (And put you within walking distance of Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Or you can take the boat to both.)



Here's what Disney is offering for those same nights:



In other words, you have to pay $435 per night for those same Extended Evening Theme Park Hours.

That's a difference of $174 per night.

 

[Meglen]

idk in june 2022 S/D is over 400 a night after taxes and fees. Seems on par with deluxe resorts

 

[Meglen]

Ends up being 420$ a night with fees. even tho its listed 338 a night.

 

[Nabas]

Yes it can be. One of my friends is going the same time we are in Dec but she booked months
ago and paying 300 or less a night total for Swan. I haven't stayed there but the room looks bigger than
some of Disney other deluxe rooms.

We are DVC members but also try lots of different hotels, including Disney's Value and Moderate Resorts.

The rooms at the Swan are very nice and crisp. Here's the room from our most recent stay at the Swan:



And here's the room from our last-week stay at the Riviera:

 

[Nabas]

idk in june 2022 S/D is over 400 a night after taxes and fees. Seems on par with deluxe resorts

The Swan & Dolphin use variable pricing. We never book their more than 8 weeks out and score some fantastic rates.

Typically, we book somewhere else months in advance as a fallback, and then watch for Swan & Dolphin discounts as our arrival date approaches.

 

[jujubiee4]

The Swan & Dolphin use variable pricing. We never book their more than 8 weeks out and score some fantastic rates.

Typically, we book somewhere else months in advance as a fallback, and then watch for Swan & Dolphin discounts as our arrival date approaches.

Yes same here. If you can be flexible with your schedule you can get great rates. With ME disappearing
next year....I mean might as well save. Just made a 3 night tentative booking at Swan next year before a cruise because it is cheaper than our planned Disney deluxe stay. Don't forget you Marriott members
out there with good status. You could get upgraded. My friend booked the cheapest standard room and
got upgraded to a junior suite with beautiful view.

 

[Heather07438]

We are DVC members but also try lots of different hotels, including Disney's Value and Moderate Resorts.

The rooms at the Swan are very nice and crisp. Here's the room from our most recent stay at the Swan:

View attachment 590137

And here's the room from our last-week stay at the Riviera:

View attachment 590140

Riviera looks nice! And the layout is quite an improvement between putting drawers under the bed, having the table separate from the single sleeper, and the couch/murphy bed. DVC did a great job.

Swan is good too. Does the job, especially if you get it at a good price. The location is great and with getting the perks too, it's a solid room for sure.

 

[jujubiee4]

We are DVC members but also try lots of different hotels, including Disney's Value and Moderate Resorts.

The rooms at the Swan are very nice and crisp. Here's the room from our most recent stay at the Swan:

View attachment 590137

And here's the room from our last-week stay at the Riviera:

View attachment 590140

I love this look. Does it sleep 2 only?

 

[Nabas]

I love this look. Does it sleep 2 only?

The Swan sleeps 4, the Riviera normally sleeps 5. (The Riviera also has a "Tower" room that only sleeps 2.)

Both will get you Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. Come next year, neither will have Disney's Magic Express.

The Riviera gets you on the Skyliner to Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The Swan gets you within walking distance of those 2 theme parks, or you can take a boat.

In an earlier post, @Meglen mentioned a June 21-28, 2022 trip. I took a look at rates for those dates.

The Swan's rate is $422 per night (taxes & fees included).

The Riviera's rate is $730 per night (taxes included).

As we get closer, both rates will almost certainly will drop.

 

[J-Dog]

I still don't get it. Those prices are crazy! I didn't understand why anyone would stay on-site pre-pandemic - now with less perks, I can't fathom it.

We're staying off-site for 12 nights at a 6-bedroom, 3200 sq.ft. house. Even factoring in a rental car and gas - it's still going to cost about 25% less than even a moderate resort would at the same time of year. We will save at least $2K compared to a deluxe. For a MUCH bigger accommodation.

And we're missing out on potential evening EMH, 30-minute early entry, free transportation, and pretty much nothing else.

 

[jujubiee4]

I still don't get it. Those prices are crazy! I didn't understand why anyone would stay on-site pre-pandemic - now with less perks, I can't fathom it.

We're staying off-site for 12 nights at a 6-bedroom, 3200 sq.ft. house. Even factoring in a rental car and gas - it's still going to cost about 25% less than even a moderate resort would at the same time of year. We will save at least $2K compared to a deluxe. For a MUCH bigger accommodation.

And we're missing out on potential evening EMH, 30-minute early entry, free transportation, and pretty much nothing else.

Yeah the prices are crazy. I completely forgot about the fast pass situation. For now im going to hold on
to my Disney reservation to see what they offer for onsite guests. If nothing then might as well stay
somewhere else. If paid fast passes are really coming you can save a lot of money to get them if you
wanted.

For the prices there should be better incentives to stay onsite. The REAL onsite.