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

[MICKEY'S DREAMERS]

Is there NOW a direct bus transportation from Dolphin to MK ? Thanks

 

[Dave006]

No it goes to the TTC near the main MK parking lot and from there you need to transfer to a Monorail or Ferry to MK.

The Mears buses that are currently being used by the Swan & Dolphin are not able to use the Resort bus look just outside of the MK.

Dave

 

[OceanBreeze77]

Sorry this is long, but I've never stayed at a non-Disney hotel. I'm thinking about canceling my Dolphin reservation I booked using AAA discount for 5/14 and then rebooking at a cheaper rate they have now. Will I lose my park reservations and dining reservations for those days at Dolphin? I bought park tickets through DVC Rental store. We are doing a split stay and then transfering to Dolphin last 3 days. We also have magic bands, do we still use them for park entrance while at dolphin or do we use cards to enter park? I did link Dolphin to MDE. Just worried I'm going to mess everything up, but a cheaper price would be wonderful! TIA

 

[ckelly14]

Sorry this is long, but I've never stayed at a non-Disney hotel. I'm thinking about canceling my Dolphin reservation I booked using AAA discount for 5/14 and then rebooking at a cheaper rate they have now. Will I lose my park reservations and dining reservations for those days at Dolphin? I bought park tickets through DVC Rental store. We are doing a split stay and then transfering to Dolphin last 3 days. We also have magic bands, do we still use them for park entrance while at dolphin or do we use cards to enter park? I did link Dolphin to MDE. Just worried I'm going to mess everything up, but a cheaper price would be wonderful! TIA

You should be fine. Dining is independent from your reservation. Park reservations are linked to your tickets. If your magic band is linked to the same MDE it should work for parking but bring your S&D key just in case.

ETA: I realized you are talking about Park Entrance, not parking. Sorry! If you ticket (plastic card) and band are linked to the same MDE they should work interchangeably.

 

[supamaki]

Sorry this is long, but I've never stayed at a non-Disney hotel. I'm thinking about canceling my Dolphin reservation I booked using AAA discount for 5/14 and then rebooking at a cheaper rate they have now. Will I lose my park reservations and dining reservations for those days at Dolphin? I bought park tickets through DVC Rental store. We are doing a split stay and then transfering to Dolphin last 3 days. We also have magic bands, do we still use them for park entrance while at dolphin or do we use cards to enter park? I did link Dolphin to MDE. Just worried I'm going to mess everything up, but a cheaper price would be wonderful! TIA

I did the same thing, but the new reservation never showed up in MDE. I had to call the Swan and have them resend the info to Disney's after a looooong phone call.

 

[Scott R. Scherr]

Sorry this is long, but I've never stayed at a non-Disney hotel. I'm thinking about canceling my Dolphin reservation I booked using AAA discount for 5/14 and then rebooking at a cheaper rate they have now. Will I lose my park reservations and dining reservations for those days at Dolphin? I bought park tickets through DVC Rental store. We are doing a split stay and then transfering to Dolphin last 3 days. We also have magic bands, do we still use them for park entrance while at dolphin or do we use cards to enter park? I did link Dolphin to MDE. Just worried I'm going to mess everything up, but a cheaper price would be wonderful! TIA

Just modify your current reservation to the new rate. I did that today without a problem. The reservation number remains the same.

 

[MarBee]

I can chime in on this as we were there last week. For breakfast, they will give you vouchers about the size of a business card for each day that you are there with the dates on them. We were there 15 days, they gave us 15 cards.

In Java, each card will get you a juice or coffee, a pastry, and a yogurt or oats something along that line for each person. Or it can be used for $20 towards anything else such as breakfast sandwiches, snacks, wine... a couple of times we didn't use it until later in the day if we have ROTR boarding group, hence the wine

In Garden Grove, it allowed us to get two things from the continental breakfast section of the menu such as a cup of fruit and oatmeal plus a drink.

We didn't use them at the Dolphin so I'm not sure what would be offered over there.

Hope that helps.

That does help! Thank you! And now to be extra needy, I have a few follow-up questions- sorry!

Did they give you a voucher per person or just 1 per room? We are not morning people, so I’m thinking we could use this for lunch and not have to make a reservation anywhere.

Also, did you get a reduction in the resort fee? I read that if platinum members have a resort fee that includes high-speed internet (Swolphin does), then you can get a reduced rate or a different perk in its place since platinum status includes free high speed internet.

 

[dznylvr68]

That does help! Thank you! And now to be extra needy, I have a few follow-up questions- sorry!

Did they give you a voucher per person or just 1 per room? We are not morning people, so I’m thinking we could use this for lunch and not have to make a reservation anywhere.

Also, did you get a reduction in the resort fee? I read that if platinum members have a resort fee that includes high-speed internet (Swolphin does), then you can get a reduced rate or a different perk in its place since platinum status includes free high speed internet.

No worries, I'll answer as best I can.

We received 1 voucher for 2 people per day. I'm not sure how additional people are handled, if they get additional cards or if it's everyone on 1 card. You would need to confirm at check-in.

We didn't receive a reduction in resort fee but I also wasn't aware that we should have asked. If they do offer it, it's not automatically applied. We also didn't receive a reduced rate or additional perk that I'm aware of.

 

[MarBee]

No worries, I'll answer as best I can.

We received 1 voucher for 2 people per day. I'm not sure how additional people are handled, if they get additional cards or if it's everyone on 1 card. You would need to confirm at check-in.

We didn't receive a reduction in resort fee but I also wasn't aware that we should have asked. If they do offer it, it's not automatically applied. We also didn't receive a reduced rate or additional perk that I'm aware of.

Thank you! From what I’ve been reading, it appears you have to ask bc hotels aren’t advertising this perk. We may have a stay at the Marriott World Center coming up soon-I’ll report back what they do. Maybe Swolphin will do the same for my November trip.
Thank you again!

 

[SteveH]

@MarBee from what I've read over the years I don't think you will get any discount on the resort fee, Platinum or not. I've seen similar discussions on Redit, Flyertalk and TPG and all pretty much echo that it's non-negotiable. That said some Platinum members have received like a $10 credit towards food, but not in all cases. The interesting part from Marriott's point of view is that if something like Internet is already covered by being a Bonvoy member you should get an equal credit (discount). But others have said that S/D doesn't, and I should say it's not just S/D that doesn't credit it. If you get it please report back, well assuming they don't have you sign a non-disclosure agreement LOL

 

[SteveH]

I thought I'd share this as I know some are uneasy with the idea of using the Disney resort buses from YC/BC or BW while staying at S/D. This FAQ does show that it's okay:

Q. I’m not staying at a Disney Resort hotel. Can I use the monorails, buses and boats to get around Walt Disney World Resort?

 

[Karyanne]

Hi, are there refillable mugs at swan and dolphin? Thank you!

 

[samsonjs]

I was surprised to see a lot of cheer groups arrived here today. I’m hoping the pool isn’t overwhelmed tomorrow. I stayed at CSR during cheer and swore it off during this time of year so that’s why I came here this time.
Also, we are staying at Swan and it’s very calm and quiet. My husband walked over to Fuel and said the Dolphin was very very busy and crowded. I’m glad we chose Swan.

 

[SteveH]

Hi, are there refillable mugs at swan and dolphin? Thank you!

Haven't heard from any recent posters. Now that Picabu is open there is a good chance but the days they are closed not sure where you'd go for refills.

I was surprised to see a lot of cheer groups arrived here today.

Oh my, I don't think I've heard of cheer groups at S/D before - are they using the conference space for it?

 

[samsonjs]

Haven't heard from any recent posters. Now that Picabu is open there is a good chance but the days they are closed not sure where you'd go for refills.


Oh my, I don't think I've heard of cheer groups at S/D before - are they using the conference space for it?

They are definitely sleeping in the hotels. There are some on our hotel floor of the swan. We saw a group of about 75 of them dressed taking a photo on the bridge. I thought it was a line of people queued up and said “what’s that?” And another person answered “oh no that’s cheer groups.” Then a complete different person walked by us getting off the ferry and groaned about it.

 

[Gitelfor]

I was surprised to see a lot of cheer groups arrived here today. I’m hoping the pool isn’t overwhelmed tomorrow. I stayed at CSR during cheer and swore it off during this time of year so that’s why I came here this time.
Also, we are staying at Swan and it’s very calm and quiet. My husband walked over to Fuel and said the Dolphin was very very busy and crowded. I’m glad we chose Swan.

The Swan and Dolphin might be overflow hotels. This seems to be a prime time for Cheer and Dance competitions at WDW.

2021 Cheer Events at WDW

 

[mousegear]

It is very alarming to hear there are cheer groups at Swan/Dolphin. Hopefully, by the time we go which is 5/15, they are all done and gone. They move in groups, so makes things difficult to time for everything from dining, transportations to lining up for lines. Seriously, we run the opposite ways if we see a such a group.

 

[Best Aunt]

It is very alarming to hear there are cheer groups at Swan/Dolphin. Hopefully, by the time we go which is 5/15, they are all done and gone. They move in groups, so makes things difficult to time for everything from dining, transportations to lining up for lines. Seriously, we run the opposite ways if we see a such a group.

Here is a recent thread on the Cheer Groups, in case people haven't seen it (with a reminder that you can click on a link even if it looks like it is still loading)

https://www.disboards.com/threads/cheer-groups.3832939/

 

[Avery&Todd]

Marriott site defaults to the nonrefundable rates (which I think is sneaky, but I digress). There are tabs at the top of the rate page that allow you to switch to flexible/refundable. S/D has a 5 day cancellation policy, and typically takes a one-night deposit. (Which is refundable if you cancel 5 or more days before your arrival date.)
You can check various discounts on the Marriott site, too. AAA, AARP, government/military, educator, healthcare, etc.
Also note the S/D rate details page usually says the deposit is equal to the entire stay. That seems to be a bug, as nobody has reported a deposit larger than 1 night.

I just wanted to second this - I booked an AP rate for this November and was charged to what equaled 1 night stay - but it did take almost 3 days for it to show up on my credit card online.....it wasn't even "pending" - just 2 days nothing and then day 3 it was there...

and before I went to book the website stated that I would be charged full price upfront but that I could cancel up to 5 days prior to check in, but as I just stated I was only charged 1 night...

 

[loves to dive]

It is very alarming to hear there are cheer groups at Swan/Dolphin. Hopefully, by the time we go which is 5/15, they are all done and gone. They move in groups, so makes things difficult to time for everything from dining, transportations to lining up for lines. Seriously, we run the opposite ways if we see a such a group.

I've seen them at both Swan and Dolphin in the past. Mostly see them sitting on the floor in little groups in the areas not the lobby. I agree it does cause some crowding but they have always seemed as well behaved as one would expect a group of teenage girls to be.