My family and I will be in Disney from Christmas-New Year’s and I am looking for some input from fellow devotees:
Dolphin - We are staying at the Dolphin and it feels like the amount of pixie dust that lands on that resort varies over time. Two questions:
(a) EMH - Do Dolphin guests get access to the early opening of the parks? Likewise, is the Dolphin considered a WDW Deluxe resort for purposes of access to extended evening hours in the parks?
(b) Magic Bands - Is there any point to buying magic bands or are people just using the passes on their smart phones? My recollection is that staying at the Dolphin, you cannot use your magic band as a payment method or to open hotel room doors. Let me know your thoughts and please feel free to correct me if my assumptions are wrong.
Tours - Have in-park tours already resumed/are they expected to resume in WDW by December? Those tours, like KTTK, can be super-helpful when visiting a busy park.
I’m also trying to decide between Dolphin and Beach Club for around that time but haven’t been able to find out about the extras either.
I haven’t heard of the tours resuming yet (that I can remember off hand), other than the private VIP tours. There’s a number on the website you can call to ask if they’ve started to resume normal tours and in what capacity.
We have stayed at the Dolphin and Swan multiple times. Love the location, and the price is fantastic in comparison to the Disney resorts in that area. As of right now, it is not confirmed that early opening will be included. The Swan/Dolphin were left off the lists published by Disney, even though the Disney Springs hotels were included. Some CMs are saying it was an oversight, but at this point it is unknown whether they will get early entry.
It also appears they will not get the evening hours, that is only for Disney deluxe hotels, and the Swan/Dolphin are Marriott. Makes sense when you look at the price difference. I think this is one way for Disney to push back against the cheaper prices for staying at the Swan/Dolphin. I have to admit, we go in a few weeks and I have both Dolphin and Beach Club reserved for the same dates to keep my options open while they keep announcing new things. Beach Club is more than double the cost of the Dolphin (even with resort fees and a rollaway added in). I can see why Disney wants us to stop booking there and book a Disney deluxe resort.
As for Magic bands, we just take old bands. You don’t need them for anything other than admission these days. If I didn’t have any old bands, I would probably just use the thing on your smartphone.
No tours at this time have restarted, except VIP tours.
We just switched from YC to The Swan for October for a big price difference, although I think that I am going to cancel.
What I found out was that because I booked through Disney, I would be able to make ADRs at 60 days for up to 10 days.
Yes, there should be early morning entry for Swan/Dolphin guests.
No, not eligible for evening EMH.
Please let me know what perks you actually get. I have The Swan booked for April and I don’t want any surprises unless they work out in my favor.
Regarding early entry I had one CM tell me yes, Swan and Dolphin were included. On another phone call when I asked again, the next CM told me there wasn’t going to be early entry for anyone. I told her, yes there is. She checked and told me, no not Swan and Dolphin. I asked to speak to a supervisor who told me that the 2nd CM must have misunderstood the question??? The supervisor “confirmed” yes, early entry for Swan/Dolphin.
This is why I am nervous about my Swan reservation for next year. Or for October, if I was going to keep it.
I am under the impression that swan and dolphin aren’t owned by Disney (maybe Marriott). We went there a few years ago with nothing but our magic band to pay for dinner. Had to hoof it back to beach club for wallet. Maybe things have changed. I would be very surprised if they were considered a Disney deluxe resort, but I have been wrong before!
This is why you should book both the Swan, and a Disney hotel as well that you know 100 percent will give you the perks you want (whether that is AM EMH only, or AM and PM). I will eventually cancel either the Dolphin or the Beach Club, but not until we are closer and I know for sure we won’t lose something by staying at the Dolphin. Room only stays can be cancelled up to 6 days before the stay. I am happy to make choices earlier, when Disney stops springing things on us last minute. You can’t trust that just because today there is no FPP, doesn’t mean tomorrow there won’t be FPP for deluxe stays (in which case we will stay at BC instead of the cheaper Dolphin).
I am going to be on hold but I will cancel my October reservation which is at The Swam. Disneyland, here I come.
Going to change my January reservation for me, DS, and DH to YC if available, April trip with 2 rooms to POFQ, and late November/early December 2022 when I can book that, to YC.
Following this as well. I have a Dolphin reservation for early November. I just made an alternate reservation at Port Orleans just in case. Would truly appreciate if anyone will be at the Swan or Dolphin in October would report back.
Disneyland announced they are going to go ahead with the full Oogie Boogie party too, as opposed to the limited options WDW is doing. I did it 2 years ago, it was fun!
I also have Dolphin and POFQ double-booked for a long weekend in December. I wouldn’t be surprised if Swan/Dolphin get added on to the list, otherwise maybe the exorbitant price they are charging too (like Disney) for December will go down when the cancellations come rolling in. I can’t imagine it’s not being negotiated if they don’t already have early access.
As someone who is also double-booked because of the uncertainties, I predict bargains for some people starting maybe this fall for a month or two out. There has to be a LOT of people on the fence about on or off-site, and are double-booked. The question is, will it be mainly the on or off site that people cancel.