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

[Wells Larsen]

@Wells Larsen one thing to know about the bus Disney Springs - hopefully S/D moves back to using the Disney buses, right now the bus situation to DS is they go to the West Side parking lot (near Cirque du Soleil betwen Strawberr & Watermelon lots) vs the Lemon Parking lot on the East side. So you may want to consider walking to BW. But by December they could very well (hopefully) be back to Disney buses.

Thanks! Yea, I read that somewhere along the way as well. It may be fairly convenient in some cases. My wife and I have tickets to see Drawn to Life. Super excited about that. I didn't know they S/D had used Disney busses in the past or may possibly use them in the future though. That is interesting. Thanks!

 

[grumpy28]

@grumpy28 we last stayed at POR and loved it but... you take the bus for everything except Disney Springs. The big plus for a family IMHO at S/D is you don't have to take the bus for everything. DHS & Epcot have boats and walk options. The current bus to AK by Mears is equal to any Disney bus location, the only downside to bus to MK is you go to TTC then Monorail or Boat to MK so for MK taking the BW bus to MK might make more sense. There are very limited # of ground floors, and no they don't get the Disney resort channels. If you shoot your dates I can look, or you can try to navigate 10times.com

Thank you for the reply! We will have a car and will drive everywhere (unless we stay at Dolphin, then we will walk to epcot/hs). I will check the site you linked.

 

[SteveH]

@Wells Larsen they had use Disney busing up until Oct 2020 - the general though is that until they are fully staffed, Disney buses won't return to S/D. I assume they have a contract with Mears and none of us know if that's a year at a time or what. Have fun at Drawn to Life - for that the S/D but or even Uber/Lyft.

@grumpy28 oh great that you will have a car. Happy to help.

 

[The Pluto People]

West wing. I believe they consider this a River view. Fourth floor even numbered room. Looking back into the courtyard.

Thanks so much for the reply!

 

[The Pluto People]

I am also gold and stayed at the dolphin April 2021 and the Swan Jan. 2022. At the dolphin, we were upgraded to a nice view of the swan and the walkway in between the resorts, with some views of HS. At the swan they upgraded us to a balcony/resort view. Both visits we checked out the view and thought "nice" on the first day, and only occasionally after that. We really were only in the room to sleep. We asked nicely at check in regarding availability, but were not expecting any upgrade, as it is based on availability.

Thanks so much for the reply!

 

[SteveH]

We have booked a room with points at the Dolphin 3/29- 4/5. We kind of view can we expect? We are Marriott Gold - can we get any room/view upgrade?

Unlike Disney hotels S/D books rooms based on the type of view from no-view, resort view, park view,etc. So its sort of you get what you pay for. But upon check-in you can ask about upgrades, generally what they will over is a cash upgrade option. What we've seen over the years is they will offer a cash upgrade to a balcony room. The time you have booked is Spring Break for some, so its likely the hotel will have higher occupancy thus less chance of a free upgrade - plus for those of us Gold members its even a bit less likely compared to the super double secret probation Painite club On our 2018 trip with Costco we had a corner Swan room overlooking the backside of Boardwalk - loved it as it was nice and calming. But we didn't want to pay to upgrade since we spent most of our time in the parks at night or at Trader Sam's!

 

[TTechmom]

Does the Swan have daily “room inspections”?

 

[SteveH]

@TTechmom I'm not aware they have ever publicly announced like Disney did. Most larger resorts have their own security which may choose to do if they suspect something though. I am sure the housekeeping staff have been taught to be on alert to drugs, weapons and human trafficking.

 

[Sandi]

We are staying at the Swan at the end of the month. I've stayed at just about every WDW resort, but never at the SDR. I have the BonVoy app from other trips elsewhere and also downloaded the SD app mentioned in this thread. Reading through the thread, it seems that there have been issues with the MDE app and BonVoy app cancelling one another out or something and that there are problems with tickets not being recognized. I have a few questions:

1. I am an AP holder, but the other 3 people in my party will have regular PH admissions. Should we just plan to go to the Epcot IG on our arrival evening to have hard tickets issued to all? I have to get an updated AP anyway, so I can drag the others along with me although they'd rather wait for me in a hot tub.

2. I'm renting a car because I'll be doing some day visits away from WDW. Are there any parks where it makes sense to drive or is the SD or WDW transportation okay? We can walk to Epcot and HS, of course, but I'm wondering about MK and AK now that SD has its own transportation. Do the buses run as frequently as the WDW busses ran?

3. What is the housekeeping situation?

4. Any other helpful hints for a Swan novice?

I very much appreciate all the information in this thread and plowed through a great many of the posts. Thanks for your help!

 

[Goofy4]

any alternative recommendation on how to get from swan to riviera by 730am ?

Depending on when the park's open, boat to international gateway, skyliner to Riviera.

 

[Goofy4]

We are staying at the Swan at the end of the month. I've stayed at just about every WDW resort, but never at the SDR. I have the BonVoy app from other trips elsewhere and also downloaded the SD app mentioned in this thread. Reading through the thread, it seems that there have been issues with the MDE app and BonVoy app cancelling one another out or something and that there are problems with tickets not being recognized. I have a few questions:

1. I am an AP holder, but the other 3 people in my party will have regular PH admissions. Should we just plan to go to the Epcot IG on our arrival evening to have hard tickets issued to all? I have to get an updated AP anyway, so I can drag the others along with me although they'd rather wait for me in a hot tub.

2. I'm renting a car because I'll be doing some day visits away from WDW. Are there any parks where it makes sense to drive or is the SD or WDW transportation okay? We can walk to Epcot and HS, of course, but I'm wondering about MK and AK now that SD has its own transportation. Do the buses run as frequently as the WDW busses ran?

3. What is the housekeeping situation?

4. Any other helpful hints for a Swan novice?

I very much appreciate all the information in this thread and plowed through a great many of the posts. Thanks for your help!

On three, housekeeping by request. Bottled water by request. We see people leaving their trash outside of their door at night.

On the transportation. Swan dolphin transportation seems pretty good. Boats are also convenient but they do shut down if there's lightning in the area.

 

[Goofy4]

Does the Swan have daily “room inspections”?

Not sure, but not daily.

 

[Goofy4]

I checked the restaurant menus and couldn't find any child menu for Amare? Anyone went with kids?

 

[isabellea]

Thank you! It’s the only restaurant that didn’t post the kid menu on MDE, S/D app or website.

 

[SteveH]

@Sandi
1. Check the hours for the S/D Disney planning center they can probably get their hard tickets right there, if not they can tell you what's best to do.
2. The only time I might drive is to TTC for your day at MK, but you can also just walk to BW and go right to MK. I wouldn't bother with AK since the bus now is just as close maybe closer then the Disney drop off spot.
3. Getting better pretty sure its daily for the high level Bonvoy members which is a good sign, but its not 100% daily yet.

Don't hesitate to ask anything, its a great group of people. The search is helpful too, but only if you know what to search for.

 

[Saad]

Does the bus from Dolphin to Animal Kingdom drop you at the park directly or to the Transportation Center and then we have another ride to go?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Does the bus from Dolphin to Animal Kingdom drop you at the park directly or to the Transportation Center and then we have another ride to go?

Drops you at the Uber/Lyft area. Actually a little closer than the Disney resorts' drop off area. One ride, no transfer.

 

[DJFan88]

A few questions if anyone would like to help!

For a family of 5, would you stay at Dolphin or POR (approx same price)? Are there many families at Dolphin(we have young kids, not sure if it's all conference people or adults)? How would I know what conferences are being held? Are there any ground floor rooms (prefer no elevators)? Do the tvs get Disney cartoons like the other resorts?

Thanks for anyone who can help!

About the elevators. We checked in and received a room on a lower level (2nd fl maybe). You needed the elevator to get to it!! I had Wrongly assumed if I picked lower level I could just use a staircase. No- only elevator.
I went to the desk and they informed me the only place for stairs was the level they were on (3rd floor) and the 4th floor - you can see the stairs go down to the lobby. She switched our room and the 3rd floor was Super convenient. We were just down from the lobby and it was quick to the Escalator and food, boat, outside, etc. View was great of boatlaunch.
So you must request 3rd or 4th floor to get stairs option.

 

[disneyfan150]

Our reservation is balcony resort view. That means the Dolphin resort not the WDW resort, correct? TIA

 

[jlundeen]

Can someone tell me what kind of coffee pot (Keurig or filter pods?) are in the standard rooms.

And if anyone has current photos of the fridge, that would be really helpful. Thanks!