New Swan vs Pop questions/comparisons

SugarSweetLee

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 7, 2014
I know there was one recently, but I have a few different questions than previous poster!

We are planning our Honeymoon trip for the week before Xmas. Right now I have POP booked at a rate that will be roughly $150/night (including taxes and parking $15). The current best rate I can find by comparison for Swan (AAA discount) would be around $270/night (including tax, resort fee $35 and parking $25).

We have never splurged on the hotel before, and have only stayed at Pop, AoA mermaid room, and a DS neighbor on previous trips. For the record, since the refurb I do find the Pop rooms perfectly pleasant and comfortable, but we have never used the pools.

For our honeymoon I was thinking it would be nice to step up a little, but we still don't have a huge budget, and I'm trying to decide if the money we save staying at Pop could be better spent on a few nicer meals (we normally do QS for everything, with only one special "treat" meal on trips past), souvenirs, etc. This is our longest trip ever at 7 nights, so the difference between the two resort rates adds up to a decent chunk of change by the end of the week (~$850!).

I know it might sound like I've got a lot of good arguments in favor of POP...BUT, there is a part of me that would love to have the nicer pools to choose from (if the temperatures in late December are even conducive to swimming), quieter and more peaceful atmosphere overall, and being within walking distance of EP and HS sounds really nice given all I've read about the skyliner and bus situation these days. We have MBs from previous trips and never use the charge-to-room feature, so I don't care about that feature lacking at Swan.

We will have 6 day park passes, so no FULL resort days built in - but do plan on being a little lazier than our normal go-til-you-drop pace on this trip. Plus with the parks closing earlier, there will be more evening hours to occupy.

Thoughts? I keep scouring Hotwire and Priceline to see if there's any Swan deals that might drop the price in an easier range, but I know this far in advance it probably won't happen for a while, if at all.

What would you do? Are all the pools operating at Swan/Dolphin? Are they heated? Open at night hours?

What else should I know to help us decide?
 
IMO you are comparing apples to oranges. The Swan is lovely and has a great poolscape as well as having a great location

Have stayed a both numerous times. Pop is my least favorite value, theming just doesn’t do it for me. That’s great thing about that area though, something for every taste.

I would much rather have the long walk from AoA little mermaid rooms to the gondolas. It’s such a nice resort, design seems to have more public space & feels less crowded than Pop. Well, other than the main feature pool that can get busy.

Check out AAA rates at the Swan. Might be worthwhile to join if you aren’t a member. The AP rate at Swan is low for my dates starting 9/30...in area of $179 including resort & parking fees. Effectively, that’s $50 less a night than Pop AP rate. Only negative there is they did charge all the fees upfront when I booked. Now, only ‘owe’ them $180 when we check into the property.

With the pandemic likely still in play your time frame, I’d be sure to book something cancellable. You may find some last minute deals that are attractive.

PS Congratulations!
 
IMO you are comparing apples to oranges. The Swan is lovely and has a great poolscape as well as having a great location

Have stayed a both numerous times. Pop is my least favorite value, theming just doesn’t do it for me. That’s great thing about that area though, something for every taste.

I would much rather have the long walk from AoA little mermaid rooms to the gondolas. It’s such a nice resort, design seems to have more public space & feels less crowded than Pop. Well, other than the main feature pool that can get busy.

Check out AAA rates at the Swan. Might be worthwhile to join if you aren’t a member. The AP rate at Swan is low for my dates starting 9/30...in area of $179 including resort & parking fees. Effectively, that’s $50 less a night than Pop AP rate. Only negative there is they did charge all the fees upfront when I booked. Now, only ‘owe’ them $180 when we check into the property.

With the pandemic likely still in play your time frame, I’d be sure to book something cancellable. You may find some last minute deals that are attractive.

PS Congratulations!

Thanks!

I know it's hard to compare, which is why we're having so much trouble. I agree that Pop theming is meh, but the price couldn't be beat compared to all the other choices. The rate I quoted in my post that I'm seeing for Swan *IS* the AAA discount. It's like $186 plus taxes and fees for the week of our stay. I got a pin code for Pop that made the price about $117 before taxes and fees. AoA is too highly priced for us this trip.
 
This is a tough decision. I'm of the opinion these days that a nicer resort with a more convenient location is totally worth the money. Pop just doesn't scream "Honeymoon!" to me, you know? You simply cannot beat the location of the Swan, the rooms are very nice (but there's nothing "Disney" about them, just FYI if that's important to you), and they do have a much nicer pool(s) than Pop. I'm pretty confident that as your dates draw closer, you'll be able to find Swan for cheaper. I'm going next month and with an AP discount there, it's $130/night plus resort fee and taxes, which is waaaay less than any Disney resort that is literally right next door. I stalk Priceline and Hotwire quite a bit and see Swan and Dolphin on there all the time for really great rates (I've stayed there for $104/night), so I suggest you simply wait until it gets closer. At about 4 - 6 weeks out, you should see deals start to pop up. If it never gets to a price you're comfortable with, then stick with Pop. Either way -- you'll be at Disney!

Congratulations on your marriage! As someone married for 15 years this year, I highly recommend --5 stars! 🤣
 


This is a tough decision. I'm of the opinion these days that a nicer resort with a more convenient location is totally worth the money. Pop just doesn't scream "Honeymoon!" to me, you know? You simply cannot beat the location of the Swan, the rooms are very nice (but there's nothing "Disney" about them, just FYI if that's important to you), and they do have a much nicer pool(s) than Pop. I'm pretty confident that as your dates draw closer, you'll be able to find Swan for cheaper. I'm going next month and with an AP discount there, it's $130/night plus resort fee and taxes, which is waaaay less than any Disney resort that is literally right next door. I stalk Priceline and Hotwire quite a bit and see Swan and Dolphin on there all the time for really great rates (I've stayed there for $104/night), so I suggest you simply wait until it gets closer. At about 4 - 6 weeks out, you should see deals start to pop up. If it never gets to a price you're comfortable with, then stick with Pop. Either way -- you'll be at Disney!

Congratulations on your marriage! As someone married for 15 years this year, I highly recommend --5 stars! 🤣

Thanks! I agree, Pop is not the most Honeymoon-seeming of choices, but at least we'll be at Disney no matter what :D The lowest rates you've seen on HW/Priceline...is that the cloaked deals, or would the regular openly advertised prices drop too? I know there are tools to figure out what the secret hot deals are, but there's still that 1% uncertainty that has me worried about shelling out a nonrefundable fee and it turning out to be not what I wanted. :scared:
 
Thanks! I agree, Pop is not the most Honeymoon-seeming of choices, but at least we'll be at Disney no matter what :D The lowest rates you've seen on HW/Priceline...is that the cloaked deals, or would the regular openly advertised prices drop too? I know there are tools to figure out what the secret hot deals are, but there's still that 1% uncertainty that has me worried about shelling out a nonrefundable fee and it turning out to be not what I wanted. :scared:
Those are the opaque express deals that I've seen them for that cheap -- and I think that's the only way you could possibly get a price reasonably comparable to what you're paying at Pop. Swan is usually pretty easy to spot because it's a 4.5 star hotel in Bonnet Creek and there aren't very many of those. I have gotten it as an express deal before and so it tells me "hint, you've stayed here before" when it comes up. If you think you ever see it, message me or tag me in the Priceline thread and I'm happy to look. But people in that thread are happy to lend you their expertise too and will double-check anything you're questioning. I have used express deals three times for a hotel and they've never been wrong!
 
Those are the opaque express deals that I've seen them for that cheap -- and I think that's the only way you could possibly get a price reasonably comparable to what you're paying at Pop. Swan is usually pretty easy to spot because it's a 4.5 star hotel in Bonnet Creek and there aren't very many of those. I have gotten it as an express deal before and so it tells me "hint, you've stayed here before" when it comes up. If you think you ever see it, message me or tag me in the Priceline thread and I'm happy to look. But people in that thread are happy to lend you their expertise too and will double-check anything you're questioning. I have used express deals three times for a hotel and they've never been wrong!

Thank you, that's a lovely offer! I'll keep my eyes peeled :)
 


Have you looked at prices for Dolphin? It and Swan share all amenities, the rooms are slightly different and Swan is a smaller profile but Dolphin is a great hotel. We almost always stay at either Swan or Dolphin, whichever I can find the better price for.

As far as comparing the two, looks like you have done that. I'm not a fan of the value resorts, I don't like the noisy food courts, don't like the outside hallways and am not a fan of the smaller rooms. We like to spend a part of the day at the pool in the hot tub enjoying a refreshing adult beverage, no hot tubs at the value resorts. As far as can you use the pools in December, we have been in December a number of times and it's just sort of catch as catch can. Some years it's plenty warm, some not so much (we are from Georgia so anything below 70 is not so much for us).
 
What are your dates? I just discovered renting DVC points, and I was able to book Wilderness Lodge for about $250ish a night. There are a lot of people selling their points very affordably and something I didn't know was that the parking fees are waived if you stay DVC, even if you're just renting the points.
 
Have you looked at prices for Dolphin? It and Swan share all amenities, the rooms are slightly different and Swan is a smaller profile but Dolphin is a great hotel. We almost always stay at either Swan or Dolphin, whichever I can find the better price for.

As far as comparing the two, looks like you have done that. I'm not a fan of the value resorts, I don't like the noisy food courts, don't like the outside hallways and am not a fan of the smaller rooms. We like to spend a part of the day at the pool in the hot tub enjoying a refreshing adult beverage, no hot tubs at the value resorts. As far as can you use the pools in December, we have been in December a number of times and it's just sort of catch as catch can. Some years it's plenty warm, some not so much (we are from Georgia so anything below 70 is not so much for us).

Yes, the Dolphin is priced identically to Swan for our dates.

I know the weather can go all over in December...just wishing I could know in advance :)
 
What are your dates? I just discovered renting DVC points, and I was able to book Wilderness Lodge for about $250ish a night. There are a lot of people selling their points very affordably and something I didn't know was that the parking fees are waived if you stay DVC, even if you're just renting the points.

Dec 18-25. I've been checking the dedicated rentals on Dave's DVC site, but everything's a bit too high for us or the dates don't work out. Everything DVC kind of goes over my head anyway, but it is a good suggestion :)
 
Dec 18-25. I've been checking the dedicated rentals on Dave's DVC site, but everything's a bit too high for us or the dates don't work out. Everything DVC kind of goes over my head anyway, but it is a good suggestion :)

I rented privately and paid 16 a point for next year, I bet you could beat that! While there are no studios with full availability for all your dates, AKL seems to have some great choices from 20th to the 25th. 68 points for a standard that so if you can find someone for 16 or less a point you could stay for 200 a night basically with no parking charge! And then do pop or Swan for the first two nights and start with Epcot and HS for the great transportation options. Everything dvc completely went over my head a few weeks ago too and now I'm completely kicking myself for staying moderate the past three times for the same or less than I was paying for deluxe. I've never PM'ed on here but if it seems like something you wanna do I'd be happy to go more in depth about booking points as a complete newbie!!
 
We honeymooned at Yacht Club and I loved being in boardwalk area for that trip. If budget allows, I would vote for staying at the Swan. The walls at Pop are really thin and you can hear a lot through them. I'm not sure how much better they are at the Swan, but I don't recall hearing as much noise from our neighbors when we stayed there. It is your honeymoon afterall...just something to consider. :)

I loved being able to walk to so many places. The mini golf is just across the road. I also really like the restaurants at the Swan and Dolphin better than many of the Disney restaurants in that area.
 
Thanks! I agree, Pop is not the most Honeymoon-seeming of choices, but at least we'll be at Disney no matter what :D The lowest rates you've seen on HW/Priceline...is that the cloaked deals, or would the regular openly advertised prices drop too? I know there are tools to figure out what the secret hot deals are, but there's still that 1% uncertainty that has me worried about shelling out a nonrefundable fee and it turning out to be not what I wanted. :scared:
I definitely agree that booking a nonrefundable hidden Express Deal can be a bit nerve racking. Just for kicks, I looked at the week before Christmas (13th-19th) and I see an Express Deal at Swan for &161/night. If you look at the screenshot below you’ll notice the “Hint! You have stayed here before.” I know it is definitely the Swan because that is the only resort I have booked through Priceline in the past. That price, coupled with a coupon code could bring the price down closer to what you’d be paying for Pop Century. Here’s a coupon code for 10% off an Express Deal on Priceline in case you can use it. The coupon code expires tomorrow. (Sorry, I just realized I might have just made your decision even more difficult. LOL.)


ENTER CODE IN THE PRICELINE APP TO TAKE AN
EXTRA 10% OFF* EXPRESS DEAL® HOTELS:​
3V55H484Z7D



11655DA3-FF7A-4D3E-B901-FF002FB903DD.jpeg
 
I definitely agree that booking a nonrefundable hidden Express Deal can be a bit nerve racking. Just for kicks, I looked at the week before Christmas (13th-19th) and I see an Express Deal at Swan for &161/night. If you look at the screenshot below you’ll notice the “Hint! You have stayed here before.” I know it is definitely the Swan because that is the only resort I have booked through Priceline in the past. That price, coupled with a coupon code could bring the price down closer to what you’d be paying for Pop Century. Here’s a coupon code for 10% off an Express Deal on Priceline in case you can use it. The coupon code expires tomorrow. (Sorry, I just realized I might have just made your decision even more difficult. LOL.)



ENTER CODE IN THE PRICELINE APP TO TAKE AN
EXTRA 10% OFF* EXPRESS DEAL® HOTELS:​
3V55H484Z7D




View attachment 526708

Thank you! I guess I was misleading...our dates are actually the week IMMEDIATELY before Christmas day, but some would probably describe that as Christmas week/week of Christmas instead of "week before". Driving down on 12/18 and leaving on 12/25 :)

That does look like a good deal though! I wonder if the price would drop any more if we waited until a little closer to the date...?
 
I definitely agree that booking a nonrefundable hidden Express Deal can be a bit nerve racking. Just for kicks, I looked at the week before Christmas (13th-19th) and I see an Express Deal at Swan for &161/night. If you look at the screenshot below you’ll notice the “Hint! You have stayed here before.” I know it is definitely the Swan because that is the only resort I have booked through Priceline in the past. That price, coupled with a coupon code could bring the price down closer to what you’d be paying for Pop Century. Here’s a coupon code for 10% off an Express Deal on Priceline in case you can use it. The coupon code expires tomorrow. (Sorry, I just realized I might have just made your decision even more difficult. LOL.)


ENTER CODE IN THE PRICELINE APP TO TAKE AN
EXTRA 10% OFF* EXPRESS DEAL® HOTELS:​

3V55H484Z7D





View attachment 526708
What an incredible price for the Swan!!
 
@SugarSweetLee: First, congratulations on your upcoming marriage!

A couple of thoughts:

(1) Are you flying to WDW? If so, remember that if you stay at the Swan/Dolphin, you won't get to use the Magical Express from the airport.

(2) This is just my feeling about it--and others will disagree--but I wouldn't personally book anything that isn't 100% refundable. December is 3 months away and we have no idea what might happen between now and then. If you book through WDW and they end up shutting down again, they will refund your money. If you rent DVC points, you would be paying for the entire stay upfront and if WDW closes or something happens and you can't go, you may or may not be able to get your money back. I notice that budget is of great concern to you, and rightly so. Keep the refundability of your trip in mind when you book/rebook.

(3) Have you looked at any of the Moderates? Or is the Swan/Dolphin better priced?

(4) Keep looking for discounts. WDW will come out with more if they don't get the response they want from the AP discounts they released recently.

Have a great wedding and honeymoon! Your honeymoon will be great even at POP. You'll be at WDW and having a great time with each other.
 
@SugarSweetLee: First, congratulations on your upcoming marriage!

A couple of thoughts:

(1) Are you flying to WDW? If so, remember that if you stay at the Swan/Dolphin, you won't get to use the Magical Express from the airport.

(2) This is just my feeling about it--and others will disagree--but I wouldn't personally book anything that isn't 100% refundable. December is 3 months away and we have no idea what might happen between now and then. If you book through WDW and they end up shutting down again, they will refund your money. If you rent DVC points, you would be paying for the entire stay upfront and if WDW closes or something happens and you can't go, you may or may not be able to get your money back. I notice that budget is of great concern to you, and rightly so. Keep the refundability of your trip in mind when you book/rebook.

(3) Have you looked at any of the Moderates? Or is the Swan/Dolphin better priced?

(4) Keep looking for discounts. WDW will come out with more if they don't get the response they want from the AP discounts they released recently.

Have a great wedding and honeymoon! Your honeymoon will be great even at POP. You'll be at WDW and having a great time with each other.

Thank you!! :)

1) No, we will be driving. So the parking fee does add into our considerations, but we are not relying on ME.
2) That's a very good point. DVC rental wouldn't be refundable, but I suppose that even a Priceline/Hotwire nonrefundable booking would likely have to return monies if the hotel itself (S/D) were closed, eh?
3) Swan/Dolphin is still quite a bit lower than even the cheapest Moderate.
4) Also a good point! I thought the pin code I got would be the best option, but perhaps they will surprise me.

Thanks for your response!
 
Thank you!! :)

1) No, we will be driving. So the parking fee does add into our considerations, but we are not relying on ME.
2) That's a very good point. DVC rental wouldn't be refundable, but I suppose that even a Priceline/Hotwire nonrefundable booking would likely have to return monies if the hotel itself (S/D) were closed, eh?
3) Swan/Dolphin is still quite a bit lower than even the cheapest Moderate.
4) Also a good point! I thought the pin code I got would be the best option, but perhaps they will surprise me.

Thanks for your response!
The PIN code you got gave you a big discount. I just did a disneyworld.com search for your dates and they're asking for $272 per night for Pop. I doubt they'll come out with anything better than your current deal unless COVID or the economy makes things much worse than they already are.

I imagine Priceline/Hotwire would have to do something for you if the hotel closed. However, if the hotel remained open, but conditions were such that you chose not to travel, then you'd be out of luck. I suggest you stick with your Pop reservation for now, but take a look at the price for an opaque booking at the Swan/Dolphin as you get near your travel date . . . assuming your wedding preparations permit you any time to do so.
 
Dining options, location, and more adult feel win out at Swan/Dolphin. No Magical Express though so keep that in mind. Ability to walk to two parks is priceless though. Pop is serviceable for a family trip but isn’t exactly romantic or upscale for a honeymoon so if you can, treat yourself!

Just saw you’re driving so no ME needed, even better :)
 

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