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

[parkhopmom]

Does anyone have any photos of the view from an Epcot view room at the Dolphin? Trying to decide what view to get.

Done early morning or evening, so not the best light...

 

[MomofDisneyLoversx3]

Kte 28-
Thank you so much. I have been apprehensive to try the Dolphin because I felt it was more suited to adults. Knowing you have been going for years makes (and loving it) makes me feel better.
I think we will skip personal pantry and jut grab some snacks on the way from the airport. Sad that there are no cabanas.
How are the bus waits? I would like to not rent a car as we can walk to two parks.

Heather

 

[ownedby3]

HI everyone, we are staying at the Dolphin for the 1st time Nov. 18 - 23rd - actually this is our first trip with my little girls but I am a former cast member (circa 1996) so I am more excited then they are! DH has a conference and me, my kids and mom are tagging along.

I booked 1 standard room for my mom with an Senior Citizens Rate and a Family/Alcove Room for us. Has anyone stayed in the alcove room? I chose it because it has a pull out couch for my 3 year old and space for a crib for my 2 year old. Reviews of that room would be great!

 

[hsmamato2]

oooo love those pics.... I am starting to get excited about our fall trip....I loved the Dolphin last fall, and the pools,oh,the pools! My ds decided that Disney resort pools pale in comparison the the pool area at S/D...I agree (except for stormalong bay) Is personal pantry expensive? Just wondering about milk prices

 

[kte28]

Kte 28-
Thank you so much. I have been apprehensive to try the Dolphin because I felt it was more suited to adults. Knowing you have been going for years makes (and loving it) makes me feel better.
I think we will skip personal pantry and jut grab some snacks on the way from the airport. Sad that there are no cabanas.
How are the bus waits? I would like to not rent a car as we can walk to two parks.

Heather

Yes I highly recommend it! It is a big draw to conventions at times, but there is no shortage of children. Over by the grotto pool I mentioned before there is usually a dj and every so often he will round up the kids for silly pool games and such. They usually also have one of those hair wrapping stations that young girls like to have done.

Bus waits are probably about 15-20 minutes maybe. I've never felt they were too infrequent to interfere with my day or plans.

We also, just grab snacks en route from the airport. We usualy hire Florida Town Car. Very reasonably priced. And if you pay an extra $10, they will include a half hour stop at a grocery store. We pick up some crackers, nuts, chips, and granola bars. We'll also pick up a styrafoam cooler that we stock with bottles of water and wine.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Personal Pantry

http://www.swandolphin.com/accommodations/pantry.html

http://www.swandolphin.com/pantry/pantry_menu.pdf

 

[MomofDisneyLoversx3]

I am not sure how I make FP+ reservations with a S/D reservation though I was told I could. Any tips?

 

[dansdad]

I am not sure how I make FP+ reservations with a S/D reservation though I was told I could. Any tips?

I believe the first thing you need to do is have your S/D reservation and tickets linked to your MDE account.

 

[SA mom]

HI everyone, we are staying at the Dolphin for the 1st time Nov. 18 - 23rd - actually this is our first trip with my little girls but I am a former cast member (circa 1996) so I am more excited then they are! DH has a conference and me, my kids and mom are tagging along.

I booked 1 standard room for my mom with an Senior Citizens Rate and a Family/Alcove Room for us. Has anyone stayed in the alcove room? I chose it because it has a pull out couch for my 3 year old and space for a crib for my 2 year old. Reviews of that room would be great!

We stayed in the Alcove Room in 2010 and have it booked for our July visit. It is wonderful. Lots of extra room. The pull out was not all that comfy, so we put the mattress on the floor and our twins (9-years-old at the time) slept there. My sister-in-law had a rollaway bed and it was also a heavenly bed. There was still lots of room. I will note, that for 5 of us, we had to be pretty quick in the bathroom.

Ask to see if they have a fireworks view available. It is a great way to end the day.

You're going to have a wonderful time!

 

[Dan Murphy]

I am not sure how I make FP+ reservations with a S/D reservation though I was told I could. Any tips?

I believe the first thing you need to do is have your S/D reservation and tickets linked to your MDE account.

As dansdad said here, link your S/D reservation number (9 digits long) to your MDE account. If you already have your tickets linked, you should be all set to book FP+, 60 days ahead of time.

 

[coley444]

I just booked the Dolphin for Memorial Day weekend 2015!

They were only able to give me 5/21 - 5/24 and 5/24 - 5/25 because of availability issues.

Will this cause a headache for me in MDE when I try to eventually book my FP+?

If I buy 5 day tickets and link my MDE to the first Dolphin reservation will I be able to book FP+ for 5/25 when my FP+ window opens?

How bout my ADRs and BOG FP+?

It's a little confusing

 

[mkg9]

I am not sure how I make FP+ reservations with a S/D reservation though I was told I could. Any tips?

We had some issues with this for our upcoming trip in July. We made our Swan reservation on the phone, and MDE showed only a reservation for two adults (so we couldn't make plans for our 2 adult/2 kid group). After a few hours on the phone with both Swan and Disney, Swan added two child "placeholder" reservations to our account, and MDE linked those with our children's accounts. So, my tip is to verify with Swan that they have your reservation including all members of your party before linking to MDE!

Luckily, we caught this in time to be able to still make our FP+ and dining reservations before everything was booked!

 

[patty57]

Wow...another resort fee increase up to $23 per day! They're getting a little too frequent.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Wow...another resort fee increase up to $23 per day! They're getting a little too frequent.

Still shows $20 on the S/D website.

http://www.swandolphin.com/feedback/reserve.html

http://www.swandolphin.com/offers/terms.html

 

[patty57]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/resorts/SwanDolphin/sdmainpage.htm#rsp

This is under the updates part of the main page. Hopefully, I linked it correctly.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I just called. Yep, $23, raised today.

 

[LexiC123]

Wow...another resort fee increase up to $23 per day! They're getting a little too frequent.

You're right...it seems like this is the third one in the past year. And to think it was only $10 as recently as 2011!

 

[RachelTori]

I wonder why the frequent increases in Resort Fee.

I'm glad I have my September & December reservations booked already! In the past, they've honored the resort fee that was in affect at the time of booking.

 

[patty57]

I wonder why the frequent increases in Resort Fee.

I'm wondering the same thing. This is at least the second one in the past calendar year. I'm trying to remember if it might be the third?

 

[SingingMom]

I adore the Dolphin and it is always our first resort of choice. But, why keep increasing the resort fee? Wifi is free in most hotels today. Most if not all people have cell phones, so don't need local or long distance. Gym? Not so much use on vacation. What else is the resort fee giving the guest?

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards