Hi everyone,
We are trying to book a vacation for DW around the epcot resorts, but it looks like everything is booked up the weeks we want to go. We did find a reservation for the Swan and I was curious if anyone has any opinions on staying there. We have only stayed at true disney properties before so we dont have any experience with either of these resorts. Thanks!
I’m staying at the Dolphin in late March / early April, first time. I chose it because:
We stayed recently at the Reserve. A couple quick things to know:
when I started trying to make advanced dining reservations, I could only do it for the first day. Turns out I had to have Disney link the full reservation, and i took about 4 1/2 hours on hold before I could get a Disney person to do it.
It was improperly linked again when I tried to make Genie+ reservations the first morning. That, however, I was able to link properly in the app myself - just had to enter the confirmation #. But it took important minutes.
The bus to MK doesn’t go to the front gates like all the buses from true Disney resorts. It drops you at the transportation center, to be avoided at all costs. Good idea from another thread here is to walk to Yacht and Beach club and grab the bus there.
It is, however SUPER easy to get to Epcot and HS, the same as anywhere else to get to AK.
D h and I stayed at the swan December 2020. Although it’s not overload Disney it’s still very nice. The beds were comfortable the rooms were clean and well-appointed. The walk different from Epcot or HS is negligible in reality but the boat transport is also so convenient. I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again. I didn’t care for the dining especially the breakfast options. But you’re so close to so many other places I’m sure you’ll find something that you like. We did not use their bus transportation. It didn’t seem to be that frequent although others that stayed there right after us had a different experience. We went to the bus stop at YC and BW. I much preferred YC including their Quick Service breakfast options. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
I’m a huge fan of the food, amenities, location, and pools.
If you are a Costco member, and you are looking for a package, you might want to check their travel site. They also have packages for the DIsney managed resorts as well.
I check Swolphin availability/cost first before checking the Disney run resorts, because Swolphin is right for our fam. Just an opinion. I assumed they were ghetto, so I booked my first stay there with trepidation. I was completely wrong - very nice resorts. It doesn’t have all of the hidden Mickeys, or Disney Characters all over the place,so, if that’s something you are looking for, please be warned of that. It has plenty of Disney for us - Disney gift shops, and Disney Planning Desks - but that’s all I need. The parks and boardwalk are enough Disney for me.
A few of the main differences between the two:
Swan - Smaller, seemingly quieter.
Dolphin - much bigger, and you might notice that it’s “busier.” Dolphin’s main floor can be kind of a maze, but it’s actually easy to figure out
Standard rooms are two doubles at Dolphin, and two queens at Swan. Of course, both have variations on these rooms. I normally stay at a King room with a sleeper at Dolphin.
The resorts share a pool complex, which, in general is closer to Dolphin. Swan has it’s own pool, and it’s nice as hell, but the big pool complex is fantastic, and from Swan it’s just a 2 minute walk. BUT, even so, if you are pool people, I’d suggest trying to get a room close to the pool at Dolphin. Just a preference. We go to the pool every day, so our pref is to be close to it. The resorts are just a short walk from each other, there’s even a connecting walkway that is a straight shot - probably a 2 minute walk, which seems more like 15 seconds if you play “spot the lizards.”
The restaurants are very good - I like to say they are very good because they are not Disney run. Kimonos is an absolute hidden gem, imo. So is Fuel.
The Disboards site has a massive thread on everything Swolphin. You can find video reviews of the restaurants and the resort all over YouTube as well.
I love the Swan and Dolphin, have stayed at both quite a few times. They aren’t Disney enough for some, but neither are their prices! The location and food options are great.
This is what really makes this a great spot. Value/low moderate pricing but nicer (IMO) hotel.
Love the Swan and Dolphin. It’s so convenient to the HS and Epcot and you can use the YC and Boardwalk buses to MK. The pools are great too. And the price is RIGHT, cheapest and easiest way to get the deluxe hotel benefits.
I stayed at the Swan for the first time in October. I had the possibility of being able to add a Disney day to a Tampa work trip. Hotels were getting full, so I booked a refundable night there. My trip was confirmed the week before my Disney day. There was no other rooms available at Disney, and my Disney TA recommended I just go ahead and buy my park ticket directly from Disney. I was able to make my park reservation without a problem.
I really loved the hotel, and the price was 1/2 of what Yacht or Beach would have been. It was very nice. I was able to order room service breakfast to be delivered to my room when I wanted to wake up. I ate breakfast in bed and it was such a treat.
I used the hotel shuttle to get to Animal Kingdom. I had to wait 20 minutes but it was easy and awesome.
We are doing a Disney day before our Starcruiser trip, and I asked my Disney TA to book a package at Swan along with tickets. She did, and I could see the hotel in MDE. I could not see the park tickets and it would not let me make park reservations. My TA had to call and they had to add something to my account in order to let me make a park reservation. I was also unable to see any G+ information - the person helping my TA said it should be fine when we got there. I got nervous, and had my TA cancel the Swan reservation and just book us at BC. (I can see g+ info in my account with the new reservation that wasn’t there before.)
Swan/Dolphin are a great value for a Crescent Lake hotel. Once your step outside, it’s all Disney.
We’re thinking of booking there for the first few days of our stay.
I must admit to being a bit nervous with stories of the reservations dropping off MDE and not being able to book ILLs at 7am, even reservations not being recognised for early entry etc. Mostly those could be resolved but the idea of not being able to book Rise is worrying. Hopefully it’ll have been sorted out one way or the other (like ILLs being shelved).
Yeah get that cleared up at GS/Swalphin front desk the night before.
We stayed in December 21 and checked at the desk the day before that everything was linked correctly. Also make sure your credit card is up to date in your my Disney experience. All went well for our first park which was Hs and we got to ride Rise!
Is there any difference for linking for booking Swolphin thru Disney site vs. through Marriott and linking tickets purchased separately?
For us it wasn’t. We booked through Marriott and then added our reservation # in MDE and it worked smoothly. Tix through undercover tourist.