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

[hedberg1661]

Looking at a trip next year... noticed Resort Fees are now showing as $35 a night. Maybe that's to get them back on the Disney Transportation?

Unfortunately, they have had those resort fees for some time now.

 

[cgattis]

Unfortunately, they have had those resort fees for some time now.

Yep, but even with the fee, I’m still a full $200 less per night than AoA for my dates and can walk to two parks. I love the Disney resorts, but man that’s hard to turn down!

 

[mickey916]

Yep, but even with the fee, I’m still a full $200 less per night than AoA for my dates and can walk to two parks. I love the Disney resorts, but man that’s hard to turn down!

That's what made me switch too from AoA to the Swan (and then I found out my husband had enough points to stay for "free", except for the resort fees that is).

 

[cgattis]

That's what made me switch too from AoA to the Swan (and then I found out my husband had enough points to stay for "free", except for the resort fees that is).

Nice!! I just found out I have enough points to cover my Maui trip too! Isn’t that a fun find?!? Better than the quarters I sometimes find in the washing machine and put in my “vacation jar” LOL

 

[moesy4]

We are flying in late on a Wednesday and staying at a cheap hotel before heading to the Dolphin for 3 nights. Do we need to check in before heading to a park to get free parking?

 

[reylas]

So I have a question. Staying at the Swan in July, but I have not stayed there since Mears took over the buses. I know that they drop off at the TTC for MK, but everyone is saying walk to YC and catch a Disney bus. Is it really that much better? Seems like a decent walk from Swan to YC. Is that walk better than having to ride the monorail/boat from TTC? I have never done Swan this way before so I want to know before we try it.

Is it really better to walk to YC vs ride monorail/boat from TTC?

 

[sophy1996]

We are flying in late on a Wednesday and staying at a cheap hotel before heading to the Dolphin for 3 nights. Do we need to check in before heading to a park to get free parking?

We showed our Swan room key at parking, so I would say yes.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Is it really better to walk to YC vs ride monorail/boat from TTC?

I think the main advantage with using Disney buses would be a possible earlier entry yo the park at park opening time. Walking distances are probably about the same.

 

[JayMass]

So I have a question. Staying at the Swan in July, but I have not stayed there since Mears took over the buses. I know that they drop off at the TTC for MK, but everyone is saying walk to YC and catch a Disney bus. Is it really that much better? Seems like a decent walk from Swan to YC. Is that walk better than having to ride the monorail/boat from TTC? I have never done Swan this way before so I want to know before we try it.

Is it really better to walk to YC vs ride monorail/boat from TTC?

I'm staying at the Swan in August and I'm planning to walk to YC for the Disney bus to MK. I pretty much hate the TTC. It's like a fake-out to me, hey you're at the Magic Kingdom, well actually no you're not, just kidding! I feel like the walk is better than standing in line for the monorail/boat.

 

[Dave006]

Do we need to check in before heading to a park to get free parking?

You need to show a room key at the Park parking as @sophy1996 indicated or have your MB scanned that has your Swan or Dolphin reservation linked in MDE.

Check-in should quick and easy early in the morning, your room may not be ready but you can drop your bags with Bell Services (it is too hot to leave items in the car during the day this time of year).

You will also be setup for a text message when your room is ready later in the day so that you can figure that into your plans.

Dave

 

[jimrpa]

So I have a question. Staying at the Swan in July, but I have not stayed there since Mears took over the buses. I know that they drop off at the TTC for MK, but everyone is saying walk to YC and catch a Disney bus. Is it really that much better? Seems like a decent walk from Swan to YC. Is that walk better than having to ride the monorail/boat from TTC? I have never done Swan this way before so I want to know before we try it.

Is it really better to walk to YC vs ride monorail/boat from TTC?

You have a choice of walking at one end or the other. You can walk from Swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve to Boardwalk or Yacht Club and catch a Disney bus (I’m not sure how many inter-resort stops the Disney bus makes) and go straight to MK. Or you can take the Swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve bus to TTC and walk to MK if you prefer not to take the boat or monorail. The walk is about 20 minutes, so a bit longer than the walk to either Boardwalk or Yacht Club, but you do get to see Grand Floridian and Poly, which can be nice. Personally, I think everyone overthinks this.

 

[Dan Murphy]

walk to MK if you prefer not to take the boat or monorail. The walk is about 20 minutes, so a bit longer than the walk to either Boardwalk or Yacht Club, but you do get to see Grand Floridian and Poly, which can be nice.

Walkway may still be closed. I have not seen that it has reopened.

www.disboards.com/threads/walt-disney-world-swan-dolphin-resorts-information-questions.3264274/post-63115882

 

[moesy4]

You need to show a room key at the Park parking as @sophy1996 indicated or have your MB scanned that has your Swan or Dolphin reservation linked in MDE.

Check-in should quick and easy early in the morning, your room may not be ready but you can drop your bags with Bell Services (it is too hot to leave items in the car during the day this time of year).

You will also be setup for a text message when your room is ready later in the day so that you can figure that into your plans.

Dave

We have Magic Bands and our reservation is in MDE, so that would be enough?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1408977751202217985

 

[blbrodger1]

We just got back from the Dolphin. I was traveling with my two college age daughters, so we were looking for a little bit of extra space. I booked the "1 king bed, sofabed, premium deluxe suite, limited view" which ended up having an incredible view of Tower of Terror. There was plenty of space to spread out. In addition to the separate bedroom with a king size bed and desk, there was a large living area with a queen sofabed, chair, and dining table and chairs for 4. It was a beautiful room.

Video of the room:

I did the online check in through Marriott, but never got a text/key/alert, so I checked in through the regular line.

We walked to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios and park hopped to the Magic Kingdom. Returning from the MK, we took the bus to the Boardwalk and walked to the Dolphin. Since we had a car, we drove to Animal Kingdom to get there early. We did use Dolphin transportation to get to Disney Springs and it was a Mears bus that had seating like the Magical Express...very nice.

There was NO housekeeping service at all, but we asked for water bottles every day. I mean, if we're paying the resort fee, the least we can get was some water, right?

The night before we checked out, a very large group of teens, probably high school age, checked into the resort and made their presence known. I'm a high school teacher and have a very high tolerance to teenagers and children, in general, but this group was the most ill-behaved group I've ever experienced. (I've been at Disney/Dolphin with cheerleaders, dancers, band kids, and Brazilian chanting 15 year olds and they are angels compared to this brood.) The group was noisy, slamming doors and running up and down the hallways. Bless any regular guests in the hotel right now.

At 11:15, the fire alarm was pulled and an announcement was going off in the hotel about having to evacuate the building. The evacuation process was not good and the stairwells were full, complicated by the large number of children who thought the fire alarm was fun. I wonder how someone with mobility issues would leave the building in a fire emergency. We were on the west side, but walked around to the front of the building, thinking that it would be a better place to get information about when it was safe to re-enter the building. We were not outside for long, but no information was provided about the alarm, whether it was a false alarm, fire in a kitchen, etc...I really think that a mass text message or sign should have been posted to notify people about the situation.

In all, I love the Dolphin, but am looking forward to the return of housekeeping, especially for longer stays and am disappointed by the lack of communication during and after the building had to be evacuated.

 

[SteveH]

@blbrodger1 thanks for your review! I totally get the challenge of house keeping, staffing shortage and all, but like you it's a big deal. I'm more understanding as long as rates are lower and making up for it, but once rates go up that would be different. I do hope you shared your experience with the group of teens with management, if not please take the time to. Like you we're pretty understanding with groups having worked around kids and been part of music groups for years. But bad behavior like that is flat out unacceptable. While the kids are to blame the leadership let it happen. \

 

[blbrodger1]

@blbrodger1 thanks for your review! I totally get the challenge of house keeping, staffing shortage and all, but like you it's a big deal. I'm more understanding as long as rates are lower and making up for it, but once rates go up that would be different. I do hope you shared your experience with the group of teens with management, if not please take the time to. Like you we're pretty understanding with groups having worked around kids and been part of music groups for years. But bad behavior like that is flat out unacceptable. While the kids are to blame the leadership let it happen. \

I don't blame the hotel at all for the behavior of the group, I do plan to craft a letter to the organization that organized the event. All of the children were wearing t-shirts with the organization's name on it, so it's easy to find. You know it's bad when your college aged daughters comment on the behavior and actually looked up the organization to find out who is sponsoring this nonsense. My one daughter commented that the behavior of the group gave her second hand embarrassment.

 

[cgattis]

am disappointed by the lack of communication during and after the building had to be evacuated.

We got evacuated from Aulani one night and it was a similarly unorganized situation. (I did give feedback about that at the time.). Not that it was any worse than any other hotel/condo where we’ve been in the same situation, but I guess I just expected Disney—knowing how many children are typically in their hotels—would do a little better.

 

[deltadisney]

Are there any first floor room types that you can enter directly in the room from the outside? If so, what is the name of the room type and is this a specific request or just luck of the draw if you get the first floor? Thanks so much!

 

[Meglen]

Are there any first floor room types that you can enter directly in the room from the outside? If so, what is the name of the room type and is this a specific request or just luck of the draw if you get the first floor? Thanks so much!

I didn't think they had any. But this would be interesting to know if they do.