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

[SteveH]

@maxiesmom LOL at your sherpa comment, I felt the same way trying to get from Picabu to the Dolphin bus area earlier this year. Glad you had a good stay, and I agree about the Dolphin.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

My cancelled Swan reservations are no longer listed in MDE, but neither are some previously-listed and still valid Swan reservations.

Logging back in, I was just able to successfully re-link some deleted Swan bookings. Other confirmations come up with error message, though previously linked, before removed.

Update: All of the reservations that I just added back are now missing again!

I think the website and app are kind of wonky right now. I looked on the app and see my res but it says Swan res for 3 people, then lists 2. So I went to the website and I could see DH, DS and myself listed with tickets linked, only DH is not in the room at Swan, so I clicked over to look at my friends and family list. Went back to the main page, it said it couldn’t access my res right now. Refreshed the page and now it says error check back later.

 

[SteveH]

The MDE is truly a great idea that has been horribly implemented and supported. I know it has to be amazingly complex, but it seems like a beast that is out of control.

 

[partigus]

1. You can't book a standard room at either the Swan or Dolphin for 5. You will need to select one of the 2 types of Family rooms at the Dolphin: Deluxe Alcove Room or Dolphin Premium Studio. For the Swan it would need to be a Deluxe Alcove Room or a Suite.

2. Since the merger with Marriott, you will need to check directly with Marriott / SPG for suite upgrade credits.

3. Correct the Swan / Dolphin don't utilize MBs for room access or resort charging. However, you can bring your own, purchase them at the Swan / Dolphin or at Disney and use them for Disney park access. Both hotels have a Disney desk with actual Disney Cast Members that can assist with tickets, the purchase of the standard color MBs or activating ticket vouchers. Both gift shops also have additional Disney MBs for purchase.

Dave

Not sure when things changed...We've stayed several times- most recently June of 2016...As a family of 5 they will not let us book in the Swan - even though the bigger beds would help- but HAVE let us book at th Dolphin. We booked a family suite at the Dolphin once, but switched when we got a deal on Club Level at the Boardwalk (also wasn't on points).

 

[chris benton]

@maxiesmom LOL at your sherpa comment, I felt the same way trying to get from Picabu to the Dolphin bus area earlier this year. Glad you had a good stay, and I agree about the Dolphin.

Trust me, i walked around that Dolphin level feeling hopeless a few times, but, I'm good now.

What's funny, is that there's an escalator just a few steps from Picabu's seating area with a sign that reads, "To Disney busses"

I'm more into the pools than the views, I don't think I would stay at any other rooms than the ones near the fitness center.

Also, when looking for our room for the first time, we noticed that the words "guest rooms" suddenly was missing from their signage after turning the picabu corner. Those rooms by the fitness center are like the Bermuda Triangle, i guess.

 

[snappy]

Trust me, i walked around that Dolphin level feeling hopeless a few times, but, I'm good now.

What's funny, is that there's an escalator just a few steps from Picabu's seating area with a sign that reads, "To Disney busses"

I'm more into the pools than the views, I don't think I would stay at any other rooms than the ones near the fitness center.

Also, when looking for our room for the first time, we noticed that the words "guest rooms" suddenly was missing from their signage after turning the picabu corner. Those rooms by the fitness center are like the Bermuda Triangle, i guess.

I have stayed at the Dolphin many times at this point. I have my sea legs now. It helps to have more than a 1 or 2 days to get your bearings in my opinion. I have also booked different categories and stayed on different floors, only once though without a balcony. Maybe having status with SPG helped. Not sure what to expect with Marriott but that’s ok. I like the Dolphin and the swan, both the price, the views from the Dolphin multiple times, and all the free point stays I have been fortunate to have. Bathroom configuration doesn’t bother me at the Dolphin. All but 1 of the bathrooms was plenty large enough. It seems not all bathrooms at the Dolphin are created equal! We tried out the Happy hour at the blue zoo on the advice of another couple we met up with at the Belle Vue lounge at. The happy hour ticked all the boxes. Ps: order the happy hour food, you won’t regret it.

 

[1GoldenSun]

Not sure when things changed...We've stayed several times- most recently June of 2016...As a family of 5 they will not let us book in the Swan - even though the bigger beds would help- but HAVE let us book at th Dolphin. We booked a family suite at the Dolphin once, but switched when we got a deal on Club Level at the Boardwalk (also wasn't on points).

I thought you could book five at the Dolphin because with the smaller beds there is enough room for a rollaway. I was told once by a Swolphin CM (wait, are they called CMs at the Swolphin?) that if I wanted a rollaway I would need to book Dolphin because most of the rooms at the Swan couldn't accommodate one.

We only have four in our family, and I much prefer the bathrooms at the Swan, but it's more important to my daughter and me that we not have to share a bed!

 

[DuaneHaas]

We have a 10 night reservation at the Swan in May. Today marks 180 days and I was able to make dining reservations all the way out to our last day. So 180+10 ADR is confirmed working for me. Absolutely perfect times for everything too!

 

[maxiesmom]

I thought you could book five at the Dolphin because with the smaller beds there is enough room for a rollaway. I was told once by a Swolphin CM (wait, are they called CMs at the Swolphin?) that if I wanted a rollaway I would need to book Dolphin because most of the rooms at the Swan couldn't accommodate one.

We only have four in our family, and I much prefer the bathrooms at the Swan, but it's more important to my daughter and me that we not have to share a bed!

Would she not sleep on an air mattress? That way you could have your own sleeping spaces and the larger bathroom.

 

[USER1456]

I just tried to book the dolphin for august 2019 and a lot of the month is showing as sold out which is odd because August is usually a slow month. Can this be true or maybe all the available rooms are not released yet to book?

 

[shoreward]

I just tried to book the dolphin for august 2019 and a lot of the month is showing as sold out which is odd because August is usually a sloay only bem (mw month. Can this be true or maybe all the available rooms are not released yet to book?

You should be able to book 350 days in advance (I believe that is from your check-out date). Starwood used to accept bookings up to about 550 days in advace, but that was changed when Marriott came into the picture.

I would try checking with in-house reservations (888.828.8850). There may be a large group or convention booked at that time.

 

[SteveH]

I just tried to book the dolphin for august 2019 and a lot of the month is showing as sold out which is odd because August is usually a slow month. Can this be true or maybe all the available rooms are not released yet to book?

Checking the availability calendar for Dolphin shows its booked 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 28 and 29. Swan is only booked 19 and 20th.

Are you going to Marriott.com to book?

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Checking the availability calendar for Dolphin shows its booked 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 28 and 29. Swan is only booked 19 and 20th.

Are you going to Marriott.com to book?

If you search for dates inclusive of sold out dates, it will show unavailable as well. So a search for 5-11 will not be available. Dolphin hosts a lot more conferences than Swan also.

 

[JJ2017]

Dolphin Trip Report:

We just returned from a 5 night stay at Dolphin. We also stayed at a room category that qualified for CL FPs, so you might have seen my review on the CL FP board.

We booked two rooms – all on SPG points – way back in August 2017 – well before the merger.

You also might remember the frantic posts I made right before our trip about Marriott emailing us stating that we didn’t have enough points for our stay, which resulted in an over 2 hour call with Marriott with absolutely no resolution. After trying to get a firm answer from Marriott, I called Dolphin and they assured me that all was fine with our reservation. Long story short, everything was fine, no issues at check in, and we had an AMAZING stay. The issue just is with reservations made on points prior to the merger. I am told to ignore the insufficient points emails (although they are scary!)

King Alcove Deluxe with connecting Double Bed Room with balcony. The King Alcove itself was very spacious. We had room 7063 for the Alcove and it connected to 7071 with the double (or the other way around – can’t remember). East Wing. At first, we were a bit annoyed that the rooms were literally right off the elevator, but that proved to be SO convenient. Our view was of the Boardwalk sign/area. Absolutely beautiful. Those two rooms together provided the space our family enjoys and the fact we had two bathrooms (double bed rooms had a tub for the kids and the Alcove had a stall shower) and three total sinks was amazing. ***Since we used points, we had to pay a $90 upcharge fee to turn these two rooms into what they call a “suite.” However, there was then only 1 daily resort charge.

We opted to have the rooms cleaned each day and they did a wonderful job. Everything was re-stocked and cleaned while we were at the parks.

Due to DH Platinum status, we opted for the breakfast vouchers. We never had time to sit and eat so we didn’t upgrade for the $8. We only used the vouchers on two mornings and I used the to-go option at Fresh. It was nice – checked in with the hostess, marked everything down that we wanted, and someone packed it all up for us. Very easy.

Kids had a blast at the recreation areas. Pool was great for them, they did a treasure hunt in the pool one day, my son loved playing basketball and volleyball on the beach. DD enjoyed the water slide 1,000 times. Drinks/food service at the pool was super easy. We never got around to paddle boats or s’mores. We had the kids signed up for babysitting at Camp Dolphin and they really wanted to go, but we opted for more family time.

One day we grabbed snacks/drinks at Fuel and took them up to the balcony for a little happy hour. I could sit and look at that view all day long.

We walked each and every time to Epcot and HS. The first time we walked to HS, we were definitely annoyed by the extra construction and re-route to the main gates (although we have nothing to compare it to, this was our first time doing the walk). That day the boat passed us so we regretted walking. But we did the walk on one other day and no boats ever came in our direction so it was the right choice. The walk back after Fantasmic was crazy congested at the bus area – but we were happy to walk back at that point and not stand in the bus lines. The walk to Epcot was a breeze.

We ubered it when we went to AK. We took the bus back and forth on one of our MK days and used a Minnie Van on our other MK day (although the bus beat us in both directions, so it was a waste of money).

All in all, we are completely in love with Dolphin. I’ve been there on a girls trip, a me and hubby only trip and now a family trip, and can’t imagine staying at a better location for our family. We have BLT and AKL villas to compare it to, and I think Dolphin certainly wins!

 

[snappy]

Dolphin Trip Report:

We just returned from a 5 night stay at Dolphin. We also stayed at a room category that qualified for CL FPs, so you might have seen my review on the CL FP board.

We booked two rooms – all on SPG points – way back in August 2017 – well before the merger.

You also might remember the frantic posts I made right before our trip about Marriott emailing us stating that we didn’t have enough points for our stay, which resulted in an over 2 hour call with Marriott with absolutely no resolution. After trying to get a firm answer from Marriott, I called Dolphin and they assured me that all was fine with our reservation. Long story short, everything was fine, no issues at check in, and we had an AMAZING stay. The issue just is with reservations made on points prior to the merger. I am told to ignore the insufficient points emails (although they are scary!)

King Alcove Deluxe with connecting Double Bed Room with balcony. The King Alcove itself was very spacious. We had room 7063 for the Alcove and it connected to 7071 with the double (or the other way around – can’t remember). East Wing. At first, we were a bit annoyed that the rooms were literally right off the elevator, but that proved to be SO convenient. Our view was of the Boardwalk sign/area. Absolutely beautiful. Those two rooms together provided the space our family enjoys and the fact we had two bathrooms (double bed rooms had a tub for the kids and the Alcove had a stall shower) and three total sinks was amazing. ***Since we used points, we had to pay a $90 upcharge fee to turn these two rooms into what they call a “suite.” However, there was then only 1 daily resort charge.

We opted to have the rooms cleaned each day and they did a wonderful job. Everything was re-stocked and cleaned while we were at the parks.

Due to DH Platinum status, we opted for the breakfast vouchers. We never had time to sit and eat so we didn’t upgrade for the $8. We only used the vouchers on two mornings and I used the to-go option at Fresh. It was nice – checked in with the hostess, marked everything down that we wanted, and someone packed it all up for us. Very easy.

Kids had a blast at the recreation areas. Pool was great for them, they did a treasure hunt in the pool one day, my son loved playing basketball and volleyball on the beach. DD enjoyed the water slide 1,000 times. Drinks/food service at the pool was super easy. We never got around to paddle boats or s’mores. We had the kids signed up for babysitting at Camp Dolphin and they really wanted to go, but we opted for more family time.

One day we grabbed snacks/drinks at Fuel and took them up to the balcony for a little happy hour. I could sit and look at that view all day long.

We walked each and every time to Epcot and HS. The first time we walked to HS, we were definitely annoyed by the extra construction and re-route to the main gates (although we have nothing to compare it to, this was our first time doing the walk). That day the boat passed us so we regretted walking. But we did the walk on one other day and no boats ever came in our direction so it was the right choice. The walk back after Fantasmic was crazy congested at the bus area – but we were happy to walk back at that point and not stand in the bus lines. The walk to Epcot was a breeze.

We ubered it when we went to AK. We took the bus back and forth on one of our MK days and used a Minnie Van on our other MK day (although the bus beat us in both directions, so it was a waste of money).

All in all, we are completely in love with Dolphin. I’ve been there on a girls trip, a me and hubby only trip and now a family trip, and can’t imagine staying at a better location for our family. We have BLT and AKL villas to compare it to, and I think Dolphin certainly wins!

Great, detailed report! Glad all went well! Thanks for posting. I have had amazing views at the Dolphin too. I like the high floors.

 

[SteveH]

@JJ2017 Thanks for the trip report, sounds like all worked out. Thanks for taking the time to share!

 

[JJ2017]

@JJ2017 Thanks for the trip report, sounds like all worked out. Thanks for taking the time to share!

Of course! This board is so wonderful and between all the options at Dolphin, you guys really helped me out!

 

[chris benton]

Dolphin Trip Report:



We walked each and every time to Epcot and HS. The first time we walked to HS, we were definitely annoyed by the extra construction and re-route to the main gates (although we have nothing to compare it to, this was our first time doing the walk). That day the boat passed us so we regretted walking. But we did the walk on one other day and no boats ever came in our direction so it was the right choice. The walk back after Fantasmic was crazy congested at the bus area – but we were happy to walk back at that point and not stand in the bus lines. The walk to Epcot was a breeze.

I only walked to HS once during our stay 10/31-11/6, and boated or ubered the other few times. The extra zig zagging near the construction was just annoying for the added steps. I'd GUESS that the boats are running earlier than 'usual" if anyone cares. I saw boats going as early as 7:15 and 7:45. The hotel workers and Disney Desk have always told me that the boats start running at 8am - tho you can probably get a different answer to every question from each CM throughout WDW. One phone CM at their transportation help desk told me that the best way to get to Swolphin from Hoop De Doo was to rent a car from Alamo. Another told me to use Disney's Magical Express.

 

[Dan Murphy]

That's great, JJ!!! Sounds like a wonderful trip. Good to hear all worked out with the points and checkin.

Your trip report makes me want to be there again.

Dolphin Trip Report:

We just returned from a 5 night stay at Dolphin. We also stayed at a room category that qualified for CL FPs, so you might have seen my review on the CL FP board.

We booked two rooms – all on SPG points – way back in August 2017 – well before the merger.

You also might remember the frantic posts I made right before our trip about Marriott emailing us stating that we didn’t have enough points for our stay, which resulted in an over 2 hour call with Marriott with absolutely no resolution. After trying to get a firm answer from Marriott, I called Dolphin and they assured me that all was fine with our reservation. Long story short, everything was fine, no issues at check in, and we had an AMAZING stay. The issue just is with reservations made on points prior to the merger. I am told to ignore the insufficient points emails (although they are scary!)

King Alcove Deluxe with connecting Double Bed Room with balcony. The King Alcove itself was very spacious. We had room 7063 for the Alcove and it connected to 7071 with the double (or the other way around – can’t remember). East Wing. At first, we were a bit annoyed that the rooms were literally right off the elevator, but that proved to be SO convenient. Our view was of the Boardwalk sign/area. Absolutely beautiful. Those two rooms together provided the space our family enjoys and the fact we had two bathrooms (double bed rooms had a tub for the kids and the Alcove had a stall shower) and three total sinks was amazing. ***Since we used points, we had to pay a $90 upcharge fee to turn these two rooms into what they call a “suite.” However, there was then only 1 daily resort charge.

We opted to have the rooms cleaned each day and they did a wonderful job. Everything was re-stocked and cleaned while we were at the parks.

Due to DH Platinum status, we opted for the breakfast vouchers. We never had time to sit and eat so we didn’t upgrade for the $8. We only used the vouchers on two mornings and I used the to-go option at Fresh. It was nice – checked in with the hostess, marked everything down that we wanted, and someone packed it all up for us. Very easy.

Kids had a blast at the recreation areas. Pool was great for them, they did a treasure hunt in the pool one day, my son loved playing basketball and volleyball on the beach. DD enjoyed the water slide 1,000 times. Drinks/food service at the pool was super easy. We never got around to paddle boats or s’mores. We had the kids signed up for babysitting at Camp Dolphin and they really wanted to go, but we opted for more family time.

One day we grabbed snacks/drinks at Fuel and took them up to the balcony for a little happy hour. I could sit and look at that view all day long.

We walked each and every time to Epcot and HS. The first time we walked to HS, we were definitely annoyed by the extra construction and re-route to the main gates (although we have nothing to compare it to, this was our first time doing the walk). That day the boat passed us so we regretted walking. But we did the walk on one other day and no boats ever came in our direction so it was the right choice. The walk back after Fantasmic was crazy congested at the bus area – but we were happy to walk back at that point and not stand in the bus lines. The walk to Epcot was a breeze.

We ubered it when we went to AK. We took the bus back and forth on one of our MK days and used a Minnie Van on our other MK day (although the bus beat us in both directions, so it was a waste of money).

All in all, we are completely in love with Dolphin. I’ve been there on a girls trip, a me and hubby only trip and now a family trip, and can’t imagine staying at a better location for our family. We have BLT and AKL villas to compare it to, and I think Dolphin certainly wins!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Well I am trying to plan a little getaway for dh and I. looking at dates Nov. 28-Dec. 4 and call me sticker shocked by the prices.

our last trip was May and I know this is a busy holiday time but $457 for a room at the Swan, wowsa

The Swan is sold out one night so we will probably split with the Dolphin to save money on that very expensive night too.