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

[JimJohnson]

I've noticed rates are cheaper on weekends and holidays. This is the norm everywhere for a convention hotel or a hotel in a big city. Since I was looking for a Wed to Monday reservation I found rates on several weekends in May and June to be under 225.00 and some weekends under 200.00. Mon-Wed nights seem to be the most expensive most likely due to a convention. With the popularity of the Food and Wine and the fact that it starts late August or early September, I can see where deals would be few and far between that time of year. My rate through Costco is 217.00 and that includes the resort fee.

So you just buy an annual Costco membership and anyone can get the 217 rate?

 

[CJN]

I have a late dinner reservation ( 8:50 ) at Teppan Edo. The boats I assume will not be running that late. Would there be a bus to the Dolphin at the main entrance?

The boats will stop running an hour after the park closes but the buses will run until the park is empty. Yes, from the main entrance.

We usually just walk back to Swan/Dolphin if the boats have stopped. Or sometimes even if they haven’t.

 

[SMRT-1]

I booked the Dolphin through Costco. How do I link it to MDE? The Costco confirmation doesn’t work.

We booked out upcoming May trip through Costco, and the Costco confirmation worked for us to link to MDE. It can take a few days for the Swan/Dolphin's reservation systems to sync up with Disney, so you might just need to wait. If that doesn't work, you can call the Dolphin and get the hotel's confirmation number for your reservation and try that.

Also something to note is that, even though it's a package, the tickets are added to MDE separately. The Costco confirmation number only linked the hotel reservation in MDE. Costco sent us an email with a separate ticket code that needed to be redeemed in MDE.

 

[JimJohnson]

Is there any way to see what a costco swan trip would cost before purchasing a costco membership?

 

[Gary2T]

I have a late dinner reservation ( 8:50 ) at Teppan Edo. The boats I assume will not be running that late. Would there be a bus to the Dolphin at the main entrance?

If you can’t catch a boat, might as well walk from the Dolphin. The walk from the EPCOT bus lot to Japan is almost identical to the walk from the Dolphin. It’s within about 1/10 mile depending on where you start from.

 

[SMRT-1]

Is there any way to see what a costco swan trip would cost before purchasing a costco membership?

https://www.costcotravel.com/Specialty/Disney/Walt-Disney-World
You shouldn't need to login until it's time to purchase, so you should be able to select the Swan/Dolphin package, and configure all the options without a membership. The price is displayed in the top right, and updates as you change the options.

Also note that flights are optional, so if you'd prefer to book the flights on your own, and just use Costco for hotel & tickets, you can uncheck "Include flights with your package."

 

[JimJohnson]

https://www.costcotravel.com/Specialty/Disney/Walt-Disney-World
You shouldn't need to login until it's time to purchase, so you should be able to select the Swan/Dolphin package, and configure all the options without a membership. The price is displayed in the top right, and updates as you change the options.

Also note that flights are optional, so if you'd prefer to book the flights on your own, and just use Costco for hotel & tickets, you can uncheck "Include flights with your package."

Thanks. Looks like I'd be saving about $250 for a 5 night package. Pretty decent.

 

[hereforthechurros]

We switched over to Swan since it was about $30 less. Not sure it matters but glad the Swan looks to be smaller.

Question though - does Swan/Dolphin do room ready text or alert you on the app? Wondering how to know when the room is ready besides going to the front desk.

 

[SMRT-1]

Question though - does Swan/Dolphin do room ready text or alert you on the app? Wondering how to know when the room is ready besides going to the front desk.

When we were last there in 2016, they took our cell number when we checked in, and sent us a text when the room was ready.

 

[JJ2017]

So this talk about Costco got me thinking.......you may or not remember my "issue." There are NO standard rooms available at Dolphin to book for my dates through the Dolphin/Marriott website - only Alcoves and higher. However, I priced out a Costco package and my dates are available for standard rooms. Any insight into this? Anything I can do about it without booking through Costco?

 

[SteveH]

@JJ2017 My take is that Costco buys rooms in bulk and they are shown as "sold" in the system, at some point I would think Costco releases unsold rooms back to S/D. Now the question is what happens to those rooms, are they reservable or do those rooms find their way to the auction sites. Regardless I don't think you can get those rooms until they released, that is assuming they don't sell them all.

 

[jennypenny]

IIRC they are released @60 days out

 

[shoreward]

So this talk about Costco got me thinking.......you may or not remember my "issue." There are NO standard rooms available at Dolphin to book for my dates through the Dolphin/Marriott website - only Alcoves and higher. However, I priced out a Costco package and my dates are available for standard rooms. Any insight into this? Anything I can do about it without booking through Costco?

If you find no availability through Marriott, you can try looking at OTAs such as Orbitz, Priceline, Kayak, etc., as they sometimes have blocks of rooms. I have found this to be true for Disney resorts, but not really sure about non-Disney properties. If you find a room through one of those booking channels, be sure to search for a promo code to apply to your booking, before completing a reservation; you may be able to get anywhere between 5%-16% discount.

 

[Ariel1080]

If you can’t catch a boat, might as well walk from the Dolphin. The walk from the EPCOT bus lot to Japan is almost identical to the walk from the Dolphin. It’s within about 1/10 mile depending on where you start from.

Thank you! How long of a walk do you think it is, from Japan to the Dolphin? I'm just worried for my mother, wondering if I should get a wheelchair for her that day.

 

[SteveH]

@Ariel1080 According to google maps it's .9 miles to the Japan Pavilion.

 

[shoreward]

Thank you! How long of a walk do you think it is, from Japan to the Dolphin? I'm just worried for my mother, wondering if I should get a wheelchair for her that day.

Though the distance between the two points may not be that far, be aware that there will be an incline going over the bridge to/from EPCOT's International Gateway.

 

[nolawave]

I have a split stay coming up, 4 days at Yacht Club, 3 days at Dolphin. Will I be able to make Fastpasses for entire 7 days at the beginning of the YC reservation? I have done a split stay and been able to make FP for entire trip before but both were Disney hotels.

 

[Dan Murphy]

@Ariel1080 According to google maps it's .9 miles to the Japan Pavilion.

That's what I come up with also.

 

[ckelly14]

I have a split stay coming up, 4 days at Yacht Club, 3 days at Dolphin. Will I be able to make Fastpasses for entire 7 days at the beginning of the YC reservation? I have done a split stay and been able to make FP for entire trip before but both were Disney hotels.

yes, for the whole 7 days, 60 days prior to check in

 

[Ariel1080]

Thank you everyone!