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

[Meglen]

Can i link a Dolphin hotel reservation to a ticket only reservation in MDE?

Yes

 

[melking23]

Good morning! I’m looking to book a trip to the Dolphin for next September, Labor Day week. It’ll be hubs and me for our 10-year wedding anniversary. Previously we’ve stayed at GF, Pop, and AoA. I know Marriott doesn’t open up bookings until ~50 weeks in advance so I still have a couple of weeks. My question is, should I jump to book immediately and then stalk for price drops? Or is there a particular time better suited for booking (like Black Friday)? I plan to book a refundable rate (better safe than sorry should anything happen in these uncertain times). We’re AAA members and can jump on Costco membership if that package is better priced. I signed up for a Bonvoy account just because but we don’t usually travel to Marriott hotels. I’d even be ok moving our trip to the week before Labor Day to save some money. The primary goal is low wait times at Disney parks while having the perks of deluxe resorts on the moderate budget. Thanks for any help!!

 

[mickey916]

I booked as soon as reservations were available for my May 2022 trip and I've checked periodically ever since and the prices have been higher. I booked on points though so I don't know if that makes a difference but when I booked it was 160,000 and I've seen as high as 220,000 and as low as 170,000. So, I'd recommend book right away but keep checking and change if you see something lower.

 

[AaronRif]

Good morning! I’m looking to book a trip to the Dolphin for next September, Labor Day week. It’ll be hubs and me for our 10-year wedding anniversary. Previously we’ve stayed at GF, Pop, and AoA. I know Marriott doesn’t open up bookings until ~50 weeks in advance so I still have a couple of weeks. My question is, should I jump to book immediately and then stalk for price drops? Or is there a particular time better suited for booking (like Black Friday)? I plan to book a refundable rate (better safe than sorry should anything happen in these uncertain times). We’re AAA members and can jump on Costco membership if that package is better priced. I signed up for a Bonvoy account just because but we don’t usually travel to Marriott hotels. I’d even be ok moving our trip to the week before Labor Day to save some money. The primary goal is low wait times at Disney parks while having the perks of deluxe resorts on the moderate budget. Thanks for any help!!

Unliked the Disney hotels, the Swan and Dolphin (and Reserve, whenever it opens) fluctuate their prices based off demand. I’d book just so you have a reservation when you are able to and then periodically check back to see if the price drops. There’s not really a magic or perfect time in my experience. For my trip in a few weeks, I’ve rebooked a few times since the price has dropped (also if you have AAA be sure to check those rates as well). My guess is that the price will come down before your trip next year.

 

[kappyfamily]

So I ask this question knowing there's a good chance I will get flamed for it. We are going to WDW November 20-26 and I booked my hotel reservations over 6 months ago, 2 nights AKL and 4 nights Beach Club. I also booked a reservation a few months later when there were whispers that there might not be any discounts, all 6 nights at Swan. On MDE it shows my AKL/BC reservation (room only reservation, tickets I added on later).

I would like to cancel the AKL/BC and add in my Swan reservation but I'm very worried there will be a problem with linking the reservation that I have read about a number of times. I'm 9 days away from booking ADR's. My question is : Should I hang tight and book my ADR's in 9 days THEN cancel the hotel part and try and add the Swan?

I normally would NEVER do what I did this year and hold 2 reservations but alas here we are. My Swan reservation right now is $1200 cheaper total then the AKL/BC split stay standard that I have, so it just makes sense. Any thoughts on ADR's and when I should cancel the hotel would be appreciated. I really would like to release them so someone else has a chance to book them. thank you

 

[loves to dive]

Fresh Market Breakfast - has anyone eaten here recently for the breakfast buffet? Feedback? I didn't see recent reviews and the restaurant review board mentioned to ask here.

I was thinking of booking us(2 adults) a breakfast at Chef Mickey's but it seems the breakfast buffet as similar items between both restaurants, but this is cheaper without the character appearance. With covid restrictions, I'm not sure if the character breakfast is really worth it since the food is rated as average at Chef Mickey's from everything I've been reading.

I just want to have a hot breakfast with Mickey waffles!!! LOL Its the one thing I didn't get on our last trip in 2018.

At there this morning before driving home to Georgia. It's not so much a buffet as cafeteria style. They don't have as much as they had as the buffet. Waffles (not sure if they were Mickey) scrambled eggs (I think you can get them to make you an omelet) potatoes, bacon, sausage, ham, biscuits, oatmeal, grits, pastries, fruit bowls, yogurt.

 

[loves to dive]

Some of the issue could be due to fact the booking tells you masks are optional depending on vax status, i just booked a bday trip for mid Oct and the email confirmation says masks indoors for unvaxxed only. here's where it's Disney but not actually owned by them likely comes into play with people's decision to follow one "rule" or another or the staff not enforcing it or even the mixed or even changing "rules"

We just got home (left this morning) from a 6 night stay at the Dolphin. I did notice them to ask a couple of people who were checking in to put a mask on and when one didn't have them, they gave her one. Other than at the front desk, they aren't enforcing mask use. I am totally vaxed so it really didn't bother me.

 

[loves to dive]

Stayed in a King Bed Premium Deluxe Room at the Dolphin this week. It was 3 adults and a baby. Walk into a large room with a counter space for the coffee/water and a small round table that seats 4 to the right. To the left was a large closet with ironing board, iron, extra blanket and pillow and safe. Into the room there was a sleeper sofa and two small arm chairs. There is a wall between this room and the bedroom with an opening on both sides and no doors. The bedroom was spacious enough to hold the king bed and enough room for a small chair and the pack and play we brought. You walk through the bedroom to get to the bathroom. There is a sink outside the bathroom then a bathroom with a sink, toilet and walk in shower (no tub). The room with the outside sink has some closet space with no door similar to the ones in the moderates. There is a TV in the living room and the bedroom sitting on a dresser with 4 drawers and a fridge in both rooms.

We liked the room well enough but it was weird that you had to go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom instead of having the access in the large living room area. I brought an air mattress to put on top of the sofa bed where I was sleeping. I didn't need to use it. The mattress was harder than you probably have at home (we have a purple mattress) but it was not uncomfortable at all. I didn't wake up in any pain.

They came and made the bed, took the dirty towels and emptied the trash on Wens (we checked in on Monday). I texted and got more water, trash bags and towels on Tuesday and they were there within 20 min. I did have to ask the guy delivering them if he would take away the dirty trash bags which I had gathered up and tied all up. He brought about 6 more waters, which would not have lasted had they not tidied up the room on Wens (the baby needed it for formula) but texting for extras was no problem.

It said there was a limited view. It was on the 10th floor east tower and was slightly to the left of the big fountain. The view was down the walkway toward the Swan. If you sort of leaned on the window you could see the high Epcot FWs and had they been doing FWs at HS you would have seen them no problem. You could see the bridge going to the Boardwalk so not a bad view at all.

It cost the same as a suite at AoA including all the silly resort fees. The pools were not crowded the whole week. I was actually able to sit in the hot tub twice with no one else there. 3 drinks from the pool bar were $50. There were loads of chairs available and lots of them in the shade.

 

[Dave006]

My question is : Should I hang tight and book my ADR's in 9 days THEN cancel the hotel part and try and add the Swan?

At this point yes it would be best to just hang on to your existing Disney hotel reservations for 10 more days, yes one extra day to allow you to book all your ADR selections. MDE is not always good about the 60+10 (max ADR window) for the Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve (if it ever opens this fall).

Personal Note: No judgement or flaming you are not any different vs other guests that book up to 3 Disney reservations for the exact same dates. The reservation systems allow it and that's why most Hotel reservation systems overbook rooms.

At this point I would not expect any discounts from Disney unless they open more resorts and actually need to fill empty rooms. They are really trying very hard to balance inventory and demand for reservations.

Dave

 

[marsh0013]

So I ask this question knowing there's a good chance I will get flamed for it. We are going to WDW November 20-26 and I booked my hotel reservations over 6 months ago, 2 nights AKL and 4 nights Beach Club. I also booked a reservation a few months later when there were whispers that there might not be any discounts, all 6 nights at Swan. On MDE it shows my AKL/BC reservation (room only reservation, tickets I added on later).

I would like to cancel the AKL/BC and add in my Swan reservation but I'm very worried there will be a problem with linking the reservation that I have read about a number of times. I'm 9 days away from booking ADR's. My question is : Should I hang tight and book my ADR's in 9 days THEN cancel the hotel part and try and add the Swan?

I normally would NEVER do what I did this year and hold 2 reservations but alas here we are. My Swan reservation right now is $1200 cheaper total then the AKL/BC split stay standard that I have, so it just makes sense. Any thoughts on ADR's and when I should cancel the hotel would be appreciated. I really would like to release them so someone else has a chance to book them. thank you

I think your main issue is that your 2 separate Disney reservations will be treated separately for dining. Unless things have changed, you're only going to get to book the 3 days (including checkout) based on the first reservation at AKL, and then the rest of the days at BC based on when that reservation starts. That's for online. If you call, you should be able to make all your dining at once.

 

[kappyfamily]

At this point yes it would be best to just hang on to your existing Disney hotel reservations for 10 more days, yes one extra day to allow you to book all your ADR selections. MDE is not always good about the 60+10 (max ADR window) for the Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve (if it ever opens this fall).

Personal Note: No judgement or flaming you are not any different vs other guests that book up to 3 Disney reservations for the exact same dates. The reservation systems allow it and that's why most Hotel reservation systems overbook rooms.

At this point I would not expect any discounts from Disney unless they open more resorts and actually need to fill empty rooms. They are really trying very hard to balance inventory and demand for reservations.

Dave

Thank you Dave I appreciate your response!

 

[kappyfamily]

At this point yes it would be best to just hang on to your existing Disney hotel reservations for 10 more days, yes one extra day to allow you to book all your ADR selections. MDE is not always good about the 60+10 (max ADR window) for the Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve (if it ever opens this fall).

Personal Note: No judgement or flaming you are not any different vs other guests that book up to 3 Disney reservations for the exact same dates. The reservation systems allow it and that's why most Hotel reservation systems overbook rooms.

At this point I would not expect any discounts from Disney unless they open more resorts and actually need to fill empty rooms. They are really trying very hard to balance inventory and demand for reservations.

Dave

Hi Dave- thought of one more question maybe you can answer. I think I will just keep my original AKL/BC reservations until after I make ADRs in 9 days, but when I cancel the hotel part will the dining reservations stay? Thank you!

 

[mickey916]

Hi Dave- thought of one more question maybe you can answer. I think I will just keep my original AKL/BC reservations until after I make ADRs in 9 days, but when I cancel the hotel part will the dining reservations stay? Thank you!

Yes your ADRs stay when you cancel your hotel reservation.

 

[gottalovepluto]

-

 

[gottalovepluto]

I think your main issue is that your 2 separate Disney reservations will be treated separately for dining. Unless things have changed, you're only going to get to book the 3 days (including checkout) based on the first reservation at AKL, and then the rest of the days at BC based on when that reservation starts. That's for online. If you call, you should be able to make all your dining at once.

Bingo. Split stays don’t have one ADR window. The window is separate for each stay.

 

[LinK]

Any recent news on Disney Buses and if they are running from the Dolphin yet.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Any recent news on Disney Buses and if they are running from the Dolphin yet.

There have been no news or rumors that Swolphin is returning to Disney services Buses.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

I've been absent from the boards for a few weeks - once friends arrived I just had NO time online beyond work check-ins. However, I wanted to circle back and share some observations from my stay Aug 21 to Aug 26:

--I am Titanium with Marriot. I arrived on a Saturday night around 6:30 PM. I had asked for a King bed if possible (I just booked least expensive AP room) and no king rooms were available. However, the young lady at the front desk gave me options of location - I told her I wanted the West Tower preferably (I usually end up in Shula's lounge most evenings) so she gave me a choice of floors in the west tower. I was given a "courtyard" view - which did look out on the courtyard - however there was a palm tree right outside my window so my view was really the tree (which was fine since I didn't spend a ton of time in the room)
--I asked for a late check-out and was given 1 PM. I was also told to check back the day of check out to see if it could be extended. I DID check back and they extended until 2 PM (I used the Bonvoy App to "chat" with the hotel). Only downside to this is when I got back to my room at 12:45, my keys no longer worked so I had to wait for security to let me in (or else I would have had to walk down to the front desk which was super busy when I walked thru the lobby)
--The room was OK, but man it needed some love and attention. For example, the closet had no handles so you had to poke your fingers through the levers to open it. Little things like that don't matter to everyone, but I used to travel 200+ days a year and the little things can bug me.
--I did get a visit from engineering about the TV. I usually travel with my Firestick and they now have these boxes installed that allow you to better control your devices with the hotel remote as far as choosing source. He told me this had been done to about 1/2 the rooms - as in May I just plugged my firestick directly into the TV ports.
--There was NO housekeeping at Dolphin and I was told that it was because of COVID - so not even a single cleaning... Upon check in I did ask for additional washcloths and those were delivered while I was downstairs having dinner at Shula's bar...and once I needed a fresh bath math. I used the Bonvoy App to request a fresh bath mat while I was on the boat back to the hotel from Hollywood Studios and by the time I was walking into my room, housekeeping arrived with a fresh mat and kindly took all my soiled washcloths/towels
--I got the coupon for breakfast rather than taking points. It was worth $20 per day which I happily used in Fuel each morning. In addition to coffee (I love their Cold Brew) this also allowed me to get waters, Danish, etc.

Though this was a few weeks ago, scuttlebutt from servers in Shula's was that several small conferences cancelled in late August / Labor Day time frame. I am assuming this to be true as I am returning in late October and found availability with my passholder rate when back in July it showed no availability for all of October.

So, about housekeeping: I ended my trip with a few nights at the JW Marriott in Bonnet Creek (Sept 1 to 4) where I had DAILY housekeeping. The mask policy was different as well with the request that non-vaccinated wear masks VS the required masks no matter vaccination status at The Dolphin...

 

[jimrpa]

I've been absent from the boards for a few weeks - once friends arrived I just had NO time online beyond work check-ins. However, I wanted to circle back and share some observations from my stay Aug 21 to Aug 26:

--I am Titanium with Marriot. I arrived on a Saturday night around 6:30 PM. I had asked for a King bed if possible (I just booked least expensive AP room) and no king rooms were available. However, the young lady at the front desk gave me options of location - I told her I wanted the West Tower preferably (I usually end up in Shula's lounge most evenings) so she gave me a choice of floors in the west tower. I was given a "courtyard" view - which did look out on the courtyard - however there was a palm tree right outside my window so my view was really the tree (which was fine since I didn't spend a ton of time in the room)
--I asked for a late check-out and was given 1 PM. I was also told to check back the day of check out to see if it could be extended. I DID check back and they extended until 2 PM (I used the Bonvoy App to "chat" with the hotel). Only downside to this is when I got back to my room at 12:45, my keys no longer worked so I had to wait for security to let me in (or else I would have had to walk down to the front desk which was super busy when I walked thru the lobby)
--The room was OK, but man it needed some love and attention. For example, the closet had no handles so you had to poke your fingers through the levers to open it. Little things like that don't matter to everyone, but I used to travel 200+ days a year and the little things can bug me.
--I did get a visit from engineering about the TV. I usually travel with my Firestick and they now have these boxes installed that allow you to better control your devices with the hotel remote as far as choosing source. He told me this had been done to about 1/2 the rooms - as in May I just plugged my firestick directly into the TV ports.
--There was NO housekeeping at Dolphin and I was told that it was because of COVID - so not even a single cleaning... Upon check in I did ask for additional washcloths and those were delivered while I was downstairs having dinner at Shula's bar...and once I needed a fresh bath math. I used the Bonvoy App to request a fresh bath mat while I was on the boat back to the hotel from Hollywood Studios and by the time I was walking into my room, housekeeping arrived with a fresh mat and kindly took all my soiled washcloths/towels
--I got the coupon for breakfast rather than taking points. It was worth $20 per day which I happily used in Fuel each morning. In addition to coffee (I love their Cold Brew) this also allowed me to get waters, Danish, etc.

Though this was a few weeks ago, scuttlebutt from servers in Shula's was that several small conferences cancelled in late August / Labor Day time frame. I am assuming this to be true as I am returning in late October and found availability with my passholder rate when back in July it showed no availability for all of October.

So, about housekeeping: I ended my trip with a few nights at the JW Marriott in Bonnet Creek (Sept 1 to 4) where I had DAILY housekeeping. The mask policy was different as well with the request that non-vaccinated wear masks VS the required masks no matter vaccination status at The Dolphin...

I still think the housekeeping scam is partly to maintain parity with Disney, which has done away with housekeeping, I’m told.
I just finished a trip though Utah and some FIs were doing daily housekeeping and I ran into a SHS that told me flat out they weren’t (of course, they claimed they “upgraded” me, when they did not, and I’m lifetime TI). The issue isn’t unique to Marriott. The WA in LAS was having housekeeping issues as well. They offered turndown, then never delivered (frankly, they were struggling to meet Marriott-equivalent brand standard, let alone RC or StR!)

 

[gottalovepluto]

I still think the housekeeping scam is partly to maintain parity with Disney, which has done away with housekeeping, I’m told.

Back in April Disney housekeeping was every other day and only did trash and towels so while limited, it was not done away with.

I think Dolphin is doing what they can get by with right now, as are many hotels. So what if guests complain, as long as they keep booking it doesn’t matter.