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

Currently staying at a studio in BCV, because I couldn't get a room at S/D for under $500 when I was ready to book. :scared: I miss them though, and think I will mosey along in a bit to check out the decorations.
 
Currently staying at a studio in BCV, because I couldn't get a room at S/D for under $500 when I was ready to book. :scared: I miss them though, and think I will mosey along in a bit to check out the decorations.
If you are up for it, can you post a review on your BCV studio stay vs a stay at Dolphin. I'm in that exact position of trying to figure out BCV Studio (or BW studio) or coughing up the points for Dolphin for our 2019 stay. And I need to decide by January b/c I want to put in a DVC request. PM me too if better (and are up for it). Thanks!
 
If you are up for it, can you post a review on your BCV studio stay vs a stay at Dolphin. I'm in that exact position of trying to figure out BCV Studio (or BW studio) or coughing up the points for Dolphin for our 2019 stay. And I need to decide by January b/c I want to put in a DVC request. PM me too if better (and are up for it). Thanks!
Out and about right now, but quickly the only thing I like better in the bcv studio is having a microwave. Who are you traveling with? Kids? I will check back later.
 
Out and about right now, but quickly the only thing I like better in the bcv studio is having a microwave. Who are you traveling with? Kids? I will check back later.
2 adults, 2 kids - close to 6 and 8. We have only stayed in suites at Dolphin with the kids so a bit concerned with the smaller quarters. Thanks!
 


2 adults, 2 kids - close to 6 and 8. We have only stayed in suites at Dolphin with the kids so a bit concerned with the smaller quarters. Thanks!

When my kids were young, we often stayed in a one bedroom at the BWV and BCV. That worked great for us. We didn't stay in studios...2 boys less than 2 years apart. Would have been painful in a studio with my kids. Beach Club is "more Disney", although as an adult traveler, I prefer the S/D.
If the options for you are a suite at the S/D or a studio at BCV, I would choose more space. If you can swing a one bedroom, I would go with BCV with kids. Sorry for typos..using my phone.
 
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Message currently appearing on Marriott booking engine, when searching Swan/Dolphin:

Please note-Friendship boat service to Epcot will stop each night at 9:30pm until Dec 10 2018. Bus transportation will be provided..
 


WARNING - Opinions included within

Quick trip report:
Stayed 12 days from Nov 20 - Dec 2 at the Dolphin
Me, wifey, and boys ages 12 and 8
We have stayed at the Dolphin quite a few times, but the last time was about 4 years ago
Quickly realized that one standard room was too small for us.
Luckily my mom was with us for the first 7 days, so my older son slept in her room those nights.

PROs:
Boat service to DHS and EP was great. Ran our entire trip with boats coming frequently.
Utilized the pizza window at the Boardwalk many late nights. The whole pizzas are okay, but for some reason the individual pizzas were fantastic.
Bus service was good for the most part
Uber was fantastic. Never waited more than 3 minutes anywhere, and we used it a lot. Didn't rent a car because with rental and parking it would have been close to $1,000. Instead probably spent about $200 on Ubers and used the busses and boats.
Used Happy Limo to get to and from the airport. Very convenient for us. Got a stretch limo for arrival as a surprise and everyone loved it.

CONs:
Check-in was a bad way to start the trip. Was waited on quickly, but despite a concierge request 10 days earlier and the fact that my mom and I are both Marriott Gold, could not get connecting rooms. That's okay, the person checking us in assured me that our rooms would be next to each other. I look at the key cards, and ask her if she is sure that rooms 8153 and 8147 are next to each other? She says "of course". Well, they aren't. I understand that connecting rooms aren't guaranteed and neither are rooms next to each other, but with a resort this size, when two Gold members (been Starwood Gold or Platinum the last 18 years) request adjacent rooms and give you 10 days notice on that request, how in the world is that not possible?
Fuel is an unmitigated disaster. It has such potential that is completed ruined. It is nearly impossible to find anything normal in there. Instead of blueberry muffins, they have blueberry cheesecake muffins. Instead of normal granola bars, they have fruit bars. Breakfast sandwiches were not terrible, which is the best thing I can say about this place.
Fountain has to have the worst food in all of Disney. Made the mistake of eating dinner here one day, and it is basically a terrible version of Denny's.
Two consecutive days was gone from 9-7 and come back to an unserviced room. Note that the "green credit" for skipping housekeeping is so minimal that you'd have to either be really into the Green movement or unable to do math to accept that.
Pool bar was completely closed before 8:00 on Friday night? It wasn't that hot out, but there was still many families around the pool and hot tubs, no reason for it to not stay open even with just one bartender running it.

Outside of the S&D, we hit all the Disney parks at least twice, and spent 3 days at Universal. The boys are definitely too old for a lot of the Disney stuff, and greatly preferred Universal. However, FoP was everyone's overall favorite ride by a lot. Got the express passes for all 3 days at Universal, and if you have it they are definitely worth the money, although you can definitely ride too much, too soon with them. Either that or I am just getting older than I care to admit. Favorite meals were Via Napoli, Cali Grill, and Le Cellier. Least favorite were Plaza (just awful food) and Brown Derby, which was okay but didn't compare to the other "good steak places". Was not impressed with Toy Story Land.

Still have some thinking to do, but think we will stay elsewhere for our late August mostly waterpark trip. Maybe try one of the Universal resorts, or stay offsite at the Sheraton LBV on points like we have also done in the past. We have always justified the S&D because they have been free with points, but with the increase in points rate and decrease in service level, I don't think it will be worth it to us anymore. My wife and I are staying there for a 5 day trip in May, but that was booked before the point changeover so it makes sense to keep that for now.
 
If you are up for it, can you post a review on your BCV studio stay vs a stay at Dolphin. I'm in that exact position of trying to figure out BCV Studio (or BW studio) or coughing up the points for Dolphin for our 2019 stay. And I need to decide by January b/c I want to put in a DVC request. PM me too if better (and are up for it). Thanks!
So I recently stayed in a regular room at Beach Club. I really like Swolphin but the pool at BC was way better than Swolphin (and Swolphin’s is top notch). It also feels much more Disney. The staff is friendlier and more attentive, and you get Magical Express. BC was way better than Swolphin in my opinion. With that being said, I wouldn’t pay hundreds more a night for BC. In the past, I’ve stayed at Swolphin for $100-$200/night (or on points) when BC was charging $500+. It’s not $300-$400 better.
I recently got a deal on BC for $300 a night. Swolphin was charging $275 a night. It was definitely worth the upgrade
Hope this helps! They’re all great hotels!
 
couldn't get a room at S/D for under $500 when I was ready to book.
:scared1: :faint:

WARNING - Opinions included within

Quick trip report:
Stayed 12 days from Nov 20 - Dec 2 at the Dolphin
Me, wifey, and boys ages 12 and 8
We have stayed at the Dolphin quite a few times, but the last time was about 4 years ago
Quickly realized that one standard room was too small for us.
Luckily my mom was with us for the first 7 days, so my older son slept in her room those nights.

PROs:
Boat service to DHS and EP was great. Ran our entire trip with boats coming frequently.
Utilized the pizza window at the Boardwalk many late nights. The whole pizzas are okay, but for some reason the individual pizzas were fantastic.
Bus service was good for the most part
Uber was fantastic. Never waited more than 3 minutes anywhere, and we used it a lot. Didn't rent a car because with rental and parking it would have been close to $1,000. Instead probably spent about $200 on Ubers and used the busses and boats.
Used Happy Limo to get to and from the airport. Very convenient for us. Got a stretch limo for arrival as a surprise and everyone loved it.

CONs:
Check-in was a bad way to start the trip. Was waited on quickly, but despite a concierge request 10 days earlier and the fact that my mom and I are both Marriott Gold, could not get connecting rooms. That's okay, the person checking us in assured me that our rooms would be next to each other. I look at the key cards, and ask her if she is sure that rooms 8153 and 8147 are next to each other? She says "of course". Well, they aren't. I understand that connecting rooms aren't guaranteed and neither are rooms next to each other, but with a resort this size, when two Gold members (been Starwood Gold or Platinum the last 18 years) request adjacent rooms and give you 10 days notice on that request, how in the world is that not possible?
Fuel is an unmitigated disaster. It has such potential that is completed ruined. It is nearly impossible to find anything normal in there. Instead of blueberry muffins, they have blueberry cheesecake muffins. Instead of normal granola bars, they have fruit bars. Breakfast sandwiches were not terrible, which is the best thing I can say about this place.
Fountain has to have the worst food in all of Disney. Made the mistake of eating dinner here one day, and it is basically a terrible version of Denny's.
Two consecutive days was gone from 9-7 and come back to an unserviced room. Note that the "green credit" for skipping housekeeping is so minimal that you'd have to either be really into the Green movement or unable to do math to accept that.
Pool bar was completely closed before 8:00 on Friday night? It wasn't that hot out, but there was still many families around the pool and hot tubs, no reason for it to not stay open even with just one bartender running it.

Outside of the S&D, we hit all the Disney parks at least twice, and spent 3 days at Universal. The boys are definitely too old for a lot of the Disney stuff, and greatly preferred Universal. However, FoP was everyone's overall favorite ride by a lot. Got the express passes for all 3 days at Universal, and if you have it they are definitely worth the money, although you can definitely ride too much, too soon with them. Either that or I am just getting older than I care to admit. Favorite meals were Via Napoli, Cali Grill, and Le Cellier. Least favorite were Plaza (just awful food) and Brown Derby, which was okay but didn't compare to the other "good steak places". Was not impressed with Toy Story Land.

Still have some thinking to do, but think we will stay elsewhere for our late August mostly waterpark trip. Maybe try one of the Universal resorts, or stay offsite at the Sheraton LBV on points like we have also done in the past. We have always justified the S&D because they have been free with points, but with the increase in points rate and decrease in service level, I don't think it will be worth it to us anymore. My wife and I are staying there for a 5 day trip in May, but that was booked before the point changeover so it makes sense to keep that for now.
Thanks for the great review, GD. Very helpful. And welcome home.
 
...when two Gold members (been Starwood Gold or Platinum the last 18 years) request adjacent rooms and give you 10 days notice on that request, how in the world is that not possible?

...stay offsite at the Sheraton LBV on points like we have also done in the past.

We have always justified the S&D because they have been free with points, but with the increase in points rate
Marriott has really taken what made SPG great and downgraded it to barely worthwhile. This year I've stayed at a lot of Starwood and Marriott hotels, I really miss the SPG points system and service.

Beyond Sheraton LBV check out the Marriott SpringHill or TownPlace at Flamingo Crossing. With Uber it seems to make it a very good value.
 
So I booked the dolphin for next July today via points with Marriott. But when I go into link the reservation in the Disney app, it can’t find it from the confirmation number. Is there a different number I’m supposed to have? Do I need to call Concierge?
 
So I booked the dolphin for next July today via points with Marriott. But when I go into link the reservation in the Disney app, it can’t find it from the confirmation number. Is there a different number I’m supposed to have? Do I need to call Concierge?
I think you need to wait 24 hours before the reservation can be linked.
 
WARNING - Opinions included within

Quick trip report:
Stayed 12 days from Nov 20 - Dec 2 at the Dolphin
Me, wifey, and boys ages 12 and 8
We have stayed at the Dolphin quite a few times, but the last time was about 4 years ago
Quickly realized that one standard room was too small for us.
Luckily my mom was with us for the first 7 days, so my older son slept in her room those nights.

PROs:
Boat service to DHS and EP was great. Ran our entire trip with boats coming frequently.
Utilized the pizza window at the Boardwalk many late nights. The whole pizzas are okay, but for some reason the individual pizzas were fantastic.
Bus service was good for the most part
Uber was fantastic. Never waited more than 3 minutes anywhere, and we used it a lot. Didn't rent a car because with rental and parking it would have been close to $1,000. Instead probably spent about $200 on Ubers and used the busses and boats.
Used Happy Limo to get to and from the airport. Very convenient for us. Got a stretch limo for arrival as a surprise and everyone loved it.

CONs:
Check-in was a bad way to start the trip. Was waited on quickly, but despite a concierge request 10 days earlier and the fact that my mom and I are both Marriott Gold, could not get connecting rooms. That's okay, the person checking us in assured me that our rooms would be next to each other. I look at the key cards, and ask her if she is sure that rooms 8153 and 8147 are next to each other? She says "of course". Well, they aren't. I understand that connecting rooms aren't guaranteed and neither are rooms next to each other, but with a resort this size, when two Gold members (been Starwood Gold or Platinum the last 18 years) request adjacent rooms and give you 10 days notice on that request, how in the world is that not possible?
Fuel is an unmitigated disaster. It has such potential that is completed ruined. It is nearly impossible to find anything normal in there. Instead of blueberry muffins, they have blueberry cheesecake muffins. Instead of normal granola bars, they have fruit bars. Breakfast sandwiches were not terrible, which is the best thing I can say about this place.
Fountain has to have the worst food in all of Disney. Made the mistake of eating dinner here one day, and it is basically a terrible version of Denny's.
Two consecutive days was gone from 9-7 and come back to an unserviced room. Note that the "green credit" for skipping housekeeping is so minimal that you'd have to either be really into the Green movement or unable to do math to accept that.
Pool bar was completely closed before 8:00 on Friday night? It wasn't that hot out, but there was still many families around the pool and hot tubs, no reason for it to not stay open even with just one bartender running it.

Outside of the S&D, we hit all the Disney parks at least twice, and spent 3 days at Universal. The boys are definitely too old for a lot of the Disney stuff, and greatly preferred Universal. However, FoP was everyone's overall favorite ride by a lot. Got the express passes for all 3 days at Universal, and if you have it they are definitely worth the money, although you can definitely ride too much, too soon with them. Either that or I am just getting older than I care to admit. Favorite meals were Via Napoli, Cali Grill, and Le Cellier. Least favorite were Plaza (just awful food) and Brown Derby, which was okay but didn't compare to the other "good steak places". Was not impressed with Toy Story Land.

Still have some thinking to do, but think we will stay elsewhere for our late August mostly waterpark trip. Maybe try one of the Universal resorts, or stay offsite at the Sheraton LBV on points like we have also done in the past. We have always justified the S&D because they have been free with points, but with the increase in points rate and decrease in service level, I don't think it will be worth it to us anymore. My wife and I are staying there for a 5 day trip in May, but that was booked before the point changeover so it makes sense to keep that for now.
My two cents about staying at Sheraton LBV, if you’d like...Sheraton LBV has drastically increased at points. We stayed there once and found it to be really dirty. This was when I was paying 3,000 points a night (9,000 Marriott points). It’s now 25,000+ points per night (what would be 8,333 SPG points). It was so dirty the one and only time we tried there, though, I personally wouldn’t stay there for free. I realize it could have been a one off situation, but I wouldn’t risk it.
 
Marriott has really taken what made SPG great and downgraded it to barely worthwhile. This year I've stayed at a lot of Starwood and Marriott hotels, I really miss the SPG points system and service.

Beyond Sheraton LBV check out the Marriott SpringHill or TownPlace at Flamingo Crossing. With Uber it seems to make it a very good value.
Has anyone ever stayed at the Marriott World Center? The water slides and pool looked cool. Thought maybe this could possibly be my new go to for points stays. Any input is welcome:)
 
When my kids were young, we often stayed in a one bedroom at the Bwv and bcv. That worked great for us. We didn't stay in studios...2 boys less than 2 years apart. Would have been painful in a studio with my kids. Beach Club is "more Disney", although as an adult traveler, I prefer the S/D.
If the options for you are a suite at the S/D or a studio at bc, I would choose more space. If you can swing a one bedroom, iwould go with BC with kids. Sorry for typos..using my phone.
Hard to beat an SD suite.
 
So I booked the dolphin for next July today via points with Marriott. But when I go into link the reservation in the Disney app, it can’t find it from the confirmation number. Is there a different number I’m supposed to have? Do I need to call Concierge?
@chewreck - it can take a few days, the confirmation number from S/D is not the same one you need adding to your MDE. I'd say if you haven't heard anything in a week you can call, but unless you have a deadline coming up I'd say hold off 10 days and see.
 
Hard to beat an SD suite.
Completely agree. It's definitely still our first choice. At the very least with the merger, we can book a room on standard points, pay the upgrade fee to the suite of our choice (have to decide alcove - $90, premium $130, or connecting double room $200) and work towards earning those points over the next full year.
 
I haven't been lucky enough to stay in a suite at the Swan or Dolphin. I'm sure they are great. Another bonus to a one bedroom DVC at BCV or BWV is that you get a full kitchen, and a washer/dryer. Only one bathroom though, unless you stay at BLT or Kidani.
With that said...it's pretty much impossible to beat a S/D suite on points with a minimal upcharge!
 
Has anyone ever stayed at the Marriott World Center? The water slides and pool looked cool. Thought maybe this could possibly be my new go to for points stays. Any input is welcome:)
Yes, but it was in 2000. The room was nice, and my kids really enjoyed the pool.
 

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