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

[pepperandchips]

QUick questions for a Dolphin newbie, do they charge the resort/parking fees for your entire stay when you check in or out?

In my experience they charge everything on your room folio (parking charges, resort fee, any room charges you've made at the restaurants, etc) in the early morning hours of your check out day to the card you put down at check in. I'm sure you could ask them to charge it in a different way if you needed it done differently.

 

[SteveH]

SteveH--What floor were you on? It looks like you are in the same room I was during my trip, or maybe a floor up. Loved the view, but the room had a strong mildew smell when we first entered. Luckily I had a small febreeze and sprayed the carpet down, which fixed the problem.

We were in 444, no mildew smell at all in our room. It was nice to leave the blinds open and fall asleep, was a very quiet area only a few people walking along the backside of the boardwalk .

 

[MarBee]

We were in 444, no mildew smell at all in our room. It was nice to leave the blinds open and fall asleep, was a very quiet area only a few people walking along the backside of the boardwalk .

Seeing mildew has me in a panic. I read a few reviews on TripAdvisor complaining of that. DS is an asthmatic and this will be a trigger for him. (Our last Swan stay included a visit to the ER for us and I need to avoid that again!)
Is there a specific room to avoid or request that doesn’t have a mildew issue?

 

[ckelly14]

QUick questions for a Dolphin newbie, do they charge the resort/parking fees for your entire stay when you check in or out?

Also is it only the accessible rooms that have the walk in showers?

You only put a one night deposit down, then they charge the balance at check-out.

No, all the King rooms now have a (small) walk in shower.

The walk in showers in the "parlor" area of the grand suites are the best. Very spacious.

The only rooms that currently have a tub/shower combo are the doubles.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Do you get any discounts at some of the casual/quick eateries in Dolphin (like Picaubu, FOuntain or Fuel) with SPG prefferred guest card?
Just curious as we will be eating breakfast for two mornings here

I only know of AAA discount at the casuals.

 

[chris benton]

Dolphin Room cfg question:

I think I might be out of luck with getting a room at Swan for next trip (booked solid.)

Is there a room setup difference at Dolphin for King vs two Dbls? Like the bathroom cfg at Swan for 2 queen vs King?

 

[SteveH]

Is there a specific room to avoid or request that doesn’t have a mildew issue?

I'm not much help, I've never had a mildew odor issue in any of our rooms. If I were you I'd let them know, well in advance, of the allergy then go check out the room yourself. That's not fool proof but a good way to check it out.

I think I might be out of luck with getting a room at Swan for next trip (booked solid.)

Have you checked Costco Travel?

 

[LuvAriel]

Enjoy your first to the Swan.


https://swandolphin.com/pdf/Resort_Report.pdf

https://www.swandolphin.com/holidayplace/index.html

Thanks so much for this information!!

 

[MarBee]

I'm not much help, I've never had a mildew odor issue in any of our rooms. If I were you I'd let them know, well in advance, of the allergy then go check out the room yourself. That's not fool proof but a good way to check it out.


Have you checked Costco Travel?

Thanks! I’m hoping the mildew issue is gone with the refurb? Does anyone know?

 

[Animal]

Thanks! I’m hoping the mildew issue is gone with the refurb? Does anyone know?

Pre refurb, I totally understand complaints about room smells. We avoided S/D for several years because the rooms were dated. We have been at the Swan three times since the refurb in three different room configurations. All smelled great. One approach would be to checkin, and if your nose notices a problem, immediately ask for a different room. With the refurb I would think it unlikely you will have issues.

 

[anita46]

Stayed at the Swan and Dolphin many times as well as the other EPCOT hotels...no a mildew smell yet... HOWEVER no such luck at the POLY - both times we stayed there we had to switch rooms. Guess it could be said that at any given time any of the hotels are going to have this problem....but once they are made aware of the issue they can be judged on how efficiently they react to resolve the problem.

 

[chris benton]

I'm not much help, I've never had a mildew odor issue in any of our rooms. If I were you I'd let them know, well in advance, of the allergy then go check out the room yourself. That's not fool proof but a good way to check it out.


Have you checked Costco Travel?

I've essentially only checked Costco travel. Looks like Swan dates are hard to find. Dolphin dates are still available. A few weeks ago, I saw the option to choose Swan when searching, now, only Dolphin.

 

[SteveH]

I've essentially only checked Costco travel. Looks like Swan dates are hard to find. Dolphin dates are still available. A few weeks ago, I saw the option to choose Swan when searching, now, only Dolphin.

You might check on www.starwoodhotels.com too, in my case the hotel showed a few nights with no availability but I was able to book through Costco. Plus never hurts to call too, 888.828.8850

 

[DisLaw]

Hard to beat this post! Enjoy.

Here is the link again, to put it on a more current page. It is on the S/D website, click Home on the upper left and then VIP Concierge Services in the lower right.

https://swandolphin.com/


http://swandolphinconcierge.com/

Thank you so much for this! I submitted a request and can't wait for our trip

 

[bettymae1121]

Just read that Dolphin doesn’t qualify for the 180+10 ADR benefit. True? Shouldn’t be that big of a deal, right? We are going at a pretty busy time.

I booked my ADR's for my stay next month back in November. I did not get the 180+10 but I was able to book at the 180 for each day of my trip. So every day I got up at Zero Dark Thirty to book the corresponding trip day's ADR. I scored all the ones I wanted for the times I wanted, including CRT and BoG. For example, the first day of our trip we wanted ADR's for was 4/22, the 180 mark was 10/24 so on 10/24 I booked my ADR's for 4/22 and only 4/22. Then the next day, 10/25 I could book ADR's for 4/23 and only 4/23. And so on. Actually I only got up super early for the really hard to get ones (like CRT and BoG), the rest I took my chances and booked right after getting up for the day at my normal time -that said late April isn't a super busy time either.

 

[JJ2017]

I booked my ADR's for my stay next month back in November. I did not get the 180+10 but I was able to book at the 180 for each day of my trip. So every day I got up at Zero Dark Thirty to book the corresponding trip day's ADR. I scored all the ones I wanted for the times I wanted, including CRT and BoG. For example, the first day of our trip we wanted ADR's for was 4/22, the 180 mark was 10/24 so on 10/24 I booked my ADR's for 4/22 and only 4/22. Then the next day, 10/25 I could book ADR's for 4/23 and only 4/23. And so on. Actually I only got up super early for the really hard to get ones (like CRT and BoG), the rest I took my chances and booked right after getting up for the day at my normal time -that said late April isn't a super busy time either.

Thanks! This will be the first time we are not doing the Disney Dining Plan (since we are staying at Dolphin). Because of that, we aren't planning many ADRs. We will want two harder to get ones, but I have learned my lesson that many ADRs pop up the days leading right up to the trip, even the night before.

 

[Lou'sMommy]

I am new to this thread since we are planning our first stay at the Swan for this coming June. I booked through Costco and was very excited to try this new (for us) resort. Since then my enthusiasm has dimmed since I am unable to link our resort reservation to MDE. We booked on February 23 and despite three calls to Disney ((407) 939-1947), I still can't link my reservation. When I talk to Disney they just say they will work on it and let me know when it is working. So far I haven't heard a thing.

Do any of you have an idea of what I should try next?

Thanks for your help!

 

[shoreward]

I am new to this thread since we are planning our first stay at the Swan for this coming June. I booked through Costco and was very excited to try this new (for us) resort. Since then my enthusiasm has dimmed since I am unable to link our resort reservation to MDE. We booked on February 23 and despite three calls to Disney ((407) 939-1947), I still can't link my reservation. When I talk to Disney they just say they will work on it and let me know when it is working. So far I haven't heard a thing.

Do any of you have an idea of what I should try next?

Thanks for your help!

This problem is not unusual. You have several options to try to rectify.

You can call the resort at 888-828-8850 and confirm that you have the DISNEY confirmation number; they can resend the number to Disney. It should take no more than a couple of days, if that will work with MDE.

Try adding a zero in front of the Swan's confirmation number in the MDE confirmation number enter space.

Or, the last time, I called Disney web support, which did a great job in resolving the issue, after weeks with no luck. They can be reached at (407) 939-4357.

 

[vicb]

I am new to this thread since we are planning our first stay at the Swan for this coming June. I booked through Costco and was very excited to try this new (for us) resort. Since then my enthusiasm has dimmed since I am unable to link our resort reservation to MDE. We booked on February 23 and despite three calls to Disney ((407) 939-1947), I still can't link my reservation. When I talk to Disney they just say they will work on it and let me know when it is working. So far I haven't heard a thing.

Do any of you have an idea of what I should try next?

Thanks for your help!

Ugh, this was me as well. However in hindsight I think my problem was trying to link it too quickly before all the reservation #'s populated in Disney's system. Anyway your problem sounds different but what I did was call Dolphin directly and ask for their specific confirmation # which is different than the # Costco gives you. Then I called guest services and had several frustrating agents but was finally "escalated" to a supervisor who had it handled in a couple of hours. If you have tried these steps I think calling the web support # shoreward posted above is good advice. Also do a search of "costco travel" within this thread and read all the other suggestions which I found helpful. Good luck and keep us posted. You will love the resort once this gets worked out, it is a great location. My trip is in May, make sure you get this resolved before your 60 day FP window opens!!

 

[vicb]

I have a couple of pool questions.... have stayed twice before but never used the pools .. I know lame! (well we did TL instead) Anyway we have two half days scheduled out for pool time for our upcoming May trip. I ate once at the pool bar on arrival day (great tip on this thread) so I know there is a pool bar on the Dolphin side... is there wait service around the pool area (Dolphin and themed pool) or do you have to go up to the bar yourself? Also I assume there are towels for hotel guest, do you have to get them from a pool hut or are there bins of towels? Planned our half days in morning (first FPs around 3pm) so we hope to be at the pool 10-2ish, hopefully won't be too crowded, we'll be heading out when the afternoon breakers coming in. One trip we tried to hit the pool around 4pm and never found a single chair!