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

[TheyCallMeStacey]

I'm almost in the window to book my May 2022 trip...I think next Wednesday will work from my calculations....can't wait! Got a Bonvoy credit card to get the last few thousand points I may need to book so I'm ready!

You may want to look now - i calculated my day to book but i was pleasantly surprised that i could do it early

 

[maui2k5]

I’ll answer #2 with my opinion. I believe YC/BC is nicer than Dolphin. If they were the same price, I’d go with the Disney hotel every time. However, I don’t think YC is so much nicer than Dolphin that I’d pay $100 more a night for it, especially if the sleeping configurations work better for you there. They’re essentially the same location, and they’re both amazing resorts. I’d save the money if I were you.

Switched to the Dolphin today and saved $140 per night for a 500sf Premium Double Suite vs Yacht Club. Not complaining!

 

[mickey916]

You may want to look now - i calculated my day to book but i was pleasantly surprised that i could do it early

That's funny. I had calculated it originally as 5/28 but then yesterday it looked like it's 5/26...I will take another look!

 

[rja142]

Just to follow up on this for anyone else curious about Costco packages for S&D with tickets...I called Costco Travel and spoke to an amazing rep (Jeremiah) who knew the answer to every question I had.

Confirming what I thought, when you book a refundable package with tickets through Costco, you do NOT get the ticket portion refunded if you have to cancel. It is treated like a credit with Disney and you need to work with Disney directly to rebook tickets for a later date, pay the difference, etc. The price you pay up front for a refundable rate is basically the ticket cost and a small hotel deposit (that part is refundable).

Also, as far as changing your tickets after booking, yes like you said it would have to be done through Costco and not Disney since they are essentially the ones buying your tickets for you. The rep said they basically cancel your tickets (and like you said, you lose your park reservations) and then purchase the new tickets for you and charge you the difference.

I was curious about that because we were not planning on paying for anything until August, so I'm looking to spend as little as possible right now since it wasn't in our budget for this part of the year haha. If I can save the difference between 5-day hoppers and 3-day base ($605) and just change my tickets later, that helps a lot. And it appears that I can.

Thank you for that explanation. I am on hold with Costco Travel right now attempting to confirm the same information for my own trip. I have a 5 night trip at S&D next week that I booked through Costco Travel. I purchased the modified room option for flexible cancelation. When I view my reservation today, it's showing me that my non-refundable value is $2,208.60 and my refundable value is $1,271.94. This looks correct to me, as the refundable value would correspond to the resort cost and the non-refundable value is close to the cost of park tickets (3 days + park hopper for 2 adult, 3 children). One new question that I'm seeking to ask Costco Travel is whether it's possible to cancel the first night of my trip without disrupting the entire reservation package.

 

[supamaki]

Just tried to reserve a pool chair using the ResortPass page that S&D link from their website. Seems like there’s no availability through the rest of the year, I’m assuming this is an error, as there’s plenty of cabanas available.


For anyone who has been there lately, is there currently a way to reserve pool chairs in advance? Thanks

The cabana and chair rental was run through the main pool bar at the Grotto pool, but I also saw signs with a QR code on the plexiglass shields at the front desk of The Swan. I'm not sure if that code was a direct link to rent or not though.

 

[VeronicaZS]

Is true that the S&D buses only drop off at the TTC for MK? If so, is it ideal/possible to sneak over to one of the nearby resorts in the morning and use their buses?

We were there May 7-9 and only walked to the BW on our MK day because of the TTC issue. We used the Swalphin buses and boats all other days and found them to be very efficient.
On May 8 we got to the bus stop around 8am, posted time for the MK bus was 8:14, there was barely anyone in line. The estimate went up to 8:19 but the bus ultimately showed up at 8:14. My first picture in the HUB was at 8:35.

 

[rja142]

Thank you for that explanation. I am on hold with Costco Travel right now attempting to confirm the same information for my own trip. I have a 5 night trip at S&D next week that I booked through Costco Travel. I purchased the modified room option for flexible cancelation. When I view my reservation today, it's showing me that my non-refundable value is $2,208.60 and my refundable value is $1,271.94. This looks correct to me, as the refundable value would correspond to the resort cost and the non-refundable value is close to the cost of park tickets (3 days + park hopper for 2 adult, 3 children). One new question that I'm seeking to ask Costco Travel is whether it's possible to cancel the first night of my trip without disrupting the entire reservation package.

To follow up, the agent said that on Costco's end they cannot cancel one night of a trip. They'd have to cancel and rebook the whole thing. If I wanted, they would reach out to the resort to tell them that we'd be checking in a day late, but I would still be responsible for the cost of the night that we weren't there.
As Turk said, the Costco Travel agent I spoke with verified that the value of our Disney park passes would remain on our account and that Disney would honor that value. However, he added a couple of interesting notes that I did not anticipate:

1. If we cancel the trip, Costco Travel retains the value of our Disney park passes in their name, not ours. When we are ready to re-book, we'd have to do it through Costco Travel. This really stinks, because by my calculations, the park pass value that Costco Travel retains is face value (i.e., not a discounted rate). If it's not discounted, I would think I should be able to take the tickets with me.
2. Costco Travel is willing to submit a request on our behalf to Disney for a full refund of our park pass value. He said it's ultimately up to Disney whether grant that or not. I'm curious about whether anyone's experienced that and been issued a full refund.

 

[maui2k5]

Curious since Marriott took over, how often any of you have gotten upgraded upon check-in at the Swan or Dolphin? If you have, what did you get upgraded from and what did you get upgraded to? We are Gold and just curious as to how they accommodate Gold members nowadays.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

We are here now staying at Swan, really enjoying it. Have a standard room on the sixth floor. With a standard view I usually expect to look at a parking lot but this has a nice view of the Dolphin and points beyond. Rooms are very clean, quiet and nicely appointed. Beds are divine! No daily housekeeping but easy to just text a request if you need something replenished.

We did take the bus to MK from the Yacht Club. Walked over and Got on the first bus which was at about 6:50 AM, MK opened the turnstiles at 7:15 and some of the rides started up at 7:30. We rode Pirates, then walked next door to Jungle cruise which wasn’t open yet so walked to Big Thunder which was open. For those going soon under this current capacity and protocol, highly recommend setting the alarm clock and getting this early jump. And be aware that bus capacity currently is greatly reduced. By 10 AM the crowds were in and lines much longer since some attractions aren’t open or are still at reduced capacity. Even People Mover had a 20+ minute line mid day, have never seen that before! Other than that have taken the friendship boats or driven as we have a car.

 

[SteveH]

Curious since Marriott took over, how often any of you have gotten upgraded upon check-in at the Swan or Dolphin? If you have, what did you get upgraded from and what did you get upgraded to? We are Gold and just curious as to how they accommodate Gold members nowadays.

I remember some great upgrades under SPG - now not so much. They may offer to upgrade but at Gold status there is probably a cost associated. Gold really is a pretty basic level as far as Marriott is conerned. The auto upgrades start at Platinum these days. My recomendation is if you want a certain level of room you best to book that and not hope for an upgrade.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

Curious since Marriott took over, how often any of you have gotten upgraded upon check-in at the Swan or Dolphin? If you have, what did you get upgraded from and what did you get upgraded to? We are Gold and just curious as to how they accommodate Gold members nowadays.

Last time we were there we were platinum elite and got a view upgrade. I'm gold now, but working toward platinum

 

[lauritagoddess]

Deluxe alcove rooms at the Dolphin, what kind of view do they have if any? We have a double/double booked if that makes a difference. Thx!

 

[AUDramaQueen]

Is the Swan/Dolphin Animal Kingdom bus let in at the same time as the Disney resort busses or is it held with the cars?

 

[Turk February]

To follow up, the agent said that on Costco's end they cannot cancel one night of a trip. They'd have to cancel and rebook the whole thing. If I wanted, they would reach out to the resort to tell them that we'd be checking in a day late, but I would still be responsible for the cost of the night that we weren't there.
As Turk said, the Costco Travel agent I spoke with verified that the value of our Disney park passes would remain on our account and that Disney would honor that value. However, he added a couple of interesting notes that I did not anticipate:

1. If we cancel the trip, Costco Travel retains the value of our Disney park passes in their name, not ours. When we are ready to re-book, we'd have to do it through Costco Travel. This really stinks, because by my calculations, the park pass value that Costco Travel retains is face value (i.e., not a discounted rate). If it's not discounted, I would think I should be able to take the tickets with me.
2. Costco Travel is willing to submit a request on our behalf to Disney for a full refund of our park pass value. He said it's ultimately up to Disney whether grant that or not. I'm curious about whether anyone's experienced that and been issued a full refund.

My calculations when I was running the numbers before booking showed a slight discount on the tickets compared to what I would have paid directly through Disney. I guess it makes sense that they retain the value of the tickets in their name since they are the ones buying the tickets from Disney after you book. That is not how my Costco rep explained it to me, but we all know how you can get 5 different answers from 5 different reps.

 

[loves to dive]

Is the Swan/Dolphin Animal Kingdom bus let in at the same time as the Disney resort busses or is it held with the cars?

I did not do rope drop but was there right at official park opening. The bus has to take the car lanes, not the Disney bus lanes so I would assume that the answer is it is held with the cars. I was kind of shocked the first time I rode it because I was so used to the Disney buses just going through and we were having to wait until cars went through and paid.

 

[epicot]

I did not do rope drop but was there right at official park opening. The bus has to take the car lanes, not the Disney bus lanes so I would assume that the answer is it is held with the cars. I was kind of shocked the first time I rode it because I was so used to the Disney buses just going through and we were having to wait until cars went through and paid.

That’s really disappointing indeed. So I guess the only way to for sure make rope drop at MK or AK is to catch a nearby Disney bus.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

Quick question since there have been some recent changes....do guests of the SwanAndDolphin get complimentary parking at the Disney parks?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Quick question since there have been some recent changes....do guests of the SwanAndDolphin get complimentary parking at the Disney parks?

Yes

 

[magickingdomprincess]

We have a 2 night stay booked in a standard view room at the Swan on 6/4 - 6/6 before we move over to BLT for 4 nights. So excited to try the Swan out! We stayed at the Dolphin probably 15 years ago but haven't been back since because we have DVC.

I also have an adults only 4 night trip booked for Oct at the Swan with my mom and uncle. We've stayed at BCV and BWV previously for F&W but we're using Bonvoy points for 2 nights plus we got a great rate for the other 2 nights so it's a very reasonable price!

I've really been enjoying keeping up with this thread and hearing about everyone's experiences so thanks everyone for posting! I do have a question - I'm wondering what would be a good room request to put in for our standard room? Also any suggestions on the best way to put a request in? Thanks!

 

[mickey+minnie91]

Many S/D guests have, some noted some signs over at YC/BC saying the buses were for resort guests only. But there is a great FAQ page from WDW stating that Disney transportation is for all guests, Q. I’m not staying at a Disney Resort hotel. Can I use the monorails, buses and boats to get around Walt Disney World Resort?

Thank you for sharing this! I was thinking of walking to the Boardwalk from Swan to use the buses but was feeling a little guilty by not staying there. Now seeing this, I have no concern