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

[snappy]

I think I will have to go to Cabana Bar for a drink and/or some food, just to get my Grotto Pool fix.

Love their drinks. Especially the one with mulled fruit.

 

[Jerry2]

We are 90% sure we will be renting tomorrow too!

We'll be there in a few weeks and we WILL be renting one. That looks great!

Even without the cabanas it's nice that there are chairs available in the middle of the day. So many Disney Resorts have no chairs available all day. The pool gets overwhelmed by "towel droppers" early in the AM. You know... the people that put towels down on chairs so they will be available several hours later when they are ready for a pool break.


This is our first trip to the S&D but more and more I have a feeling that it won't be our last.

 

[katherine52478]

Wait a minute... does the Cabana Bar honor TIW for just a regular bar tab?! That would be amazing

I didn’t ask about the bar itself, but when I was renting the cabana, I asked about discounts such as Passholder or TIW and he said yes. My server had no idea what TIW was when I went to pay but he went back to check with his manager and he came back with our discount. Doesn’t hurt to try!

 

[katherine52478]

This is our first trip to the S&D but more and more I have a feeling that it won't be our last.

I’ve always stayed “onsite” (Poly, Beach Club, Bay Lake Towers). This is my second trip this year so we picked the Dolphin since we had enough points for 6 nights. We are so happy here and have already decided that we will be staying here next year. It is the perfect balance of Disney and a vacation resort. We have an 11 year old so we don’t need too much “Disney Magic” anymore and we like the blend of families and adults/conference attendees.

 

[chris benton]

I’ve always stayed “onsite” (Poly, Beach Club, Bay Lake Towers). This is my second trip this year so we picked the Dolphin since we had enough points for 6 nights. We are so happy here and have already decided that we will be staying here next year. It is the perfect balance of Disney and a vacation resort. We have an 11 year old so we don’t need too much “Disney Magic” anymore and we like the blend of families and adults/conference attendees.

Have you walked to Epcot yet?
Ample Hills, if you can.
It's a bit of a nicer walk than mk to cr. Costs a bit less as well, too.

 

[ginny65]

It was $100 for 4 hours (we did 10 am-2 pm) and $150 for “full day” which is 9 am-6 pm. I am charging it to my room and they said they will give me a bill at the end of the rental which will include the food and drinks we got. He did say we will get the TIW discount for all of it.

We had to go to the Cabana Bar to rent. We called concierge and she had no idea who we would call to book so I just ran down yesterday and asked.

Can you rent these in advance? Or do we have to wait to check in?

 

[Jerry2]

We're a little bummed out that the Friendship Boat dock will be closed for two weeks starting next Monday 5/7.

We were looking forward to having them pull up to our doorstep.

 

[Dan Murphy]

We're a little bummed out that the Friendship Boat dock will be closed for two weeks starting next Monday 5/7.

We were looking forward to having them pull up to our doorstep.

Remember the boats will be there, just not to HS. Walk or bus to HS

 

[Jerry2]

Remember the boats will be there, just not to HS. Walk or bus to HS

Oh, I heard that the Swan dock will be closed for 14 days? I could be wrong. I know that they are going to be working on the bridges, and the entire job may take a while.

 

[ginny65]

I believe boats are still running to EPCOT. I think they are working on the bridge that crosses over the waterway towards DHS.

 

[ginny65]

It is actually a pleasant walk to DHS in the morning and back from DHS in the evening. Mid-day during the summer might not be so pleasant. I would recommend having a water bottle and perhaps a spray fan handy.

 

[katherine52478]

Can you rent these in advance? Or do we have to wait to check in?

According to their website (https://www.swandolphin.com/activities/pool-cabanas.html) you can call to reserve in advance. I tried calling that number though and only got a busy signal.

 

[katherine52478]

Have you walked to Epcot yet?
Ample Hills, if you can.
It's a bit of a nicer walk than mk to cr. Costs a bit less as well, too.

Yes, we’ve take that walk to Epcot a few times! Not quite as nice as when I stayed at the Beach Club but definitely doable. We are heading out to HS shortly so we will attempt that walk as well.

 

[katherine52478]

My trip later this month is at BWV. I would love to book a cabana for an afternoon at the pool. If only pool hopping were allowed...

It looks like you can book it even if you aren’t staying here! At least according to their website (https://www.swandolphin.com/activities/pool-cabanas.html)

 

[Jerry2]

It is actually a pleasant walk to DHS in the morning and back from DHS in the evening. Mid-day during the summer might not be so pleasant. I would recommend having a water bottle and perhaps a spray fan handy.

We've walked from DHS to EPCOT. It isn't bad at all. According to Google maps the walking path is 0.8 miles from DHS to the Swan and only 1.2 miles from DHS all the way to EPCOT.

 

[ginny65]

It looks like you can book it even if you aren’t staying here! At least according to their website (https://www.swandolphin.com/activities/pool-cabanas.html)

I imagine this would cause a lot of overcrowding. I would hate to be staying there and not get a chair due to extra people coming over to us the pool.

 

[katherine52478]

I imagine this would cause a lot of overcrowding. I would hate to be staying there and not get a chair due to extra people coming over to us the pool.

They weren’t checking room keys at all. Only if you needed towels... then you needed to present your room key.

It really wasn’t crowded at all the two days we were there. I think because a lot of people were staying there for conferences and were busy during the day.

 

[hedberg1661]

I didn’t ask about the bar itself, but when I was renting the cabana, I asked about discounts such as Passholder or TIW and he said yes. My server had no idea what TIW was when I went to pay but he went back to check with his manager and he came back with our discount. Doesn’t hurt to try!

Yes they take TIW and AAA discounts.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I’m fairly certain that only the Studios dock will be down starting on 5/7 and lasting about 6 weeks. You can still take the boat to Epcot and the resorts in between.

A bus will be running between the resorts and the Studios. The only thing that you will lose out on is the ability to travel between the International Gateway and the Studios. You can take a bus from the Studios to the front of Epcot.

 

[Jerry2]

I’m fairly certain that only the Studios dock will be down starting on 5/7 and lasting about 6 weeks. You can still take the boat to Epcot and the resorts in between.

A bus will be running between the resorts and the Studios. The only thing that you will lose out on is the ability to travel between the International Gateway and the Studios. You can take a bus from the Studios to the front of Epcot.

Well that's good news.