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

[Tigerlulu]

According to a swan employee, they follow Disney’s rules, so no masks if fully vaccinated.

Thank you! That’s exactly what I need to know.

 

[Jillfo]

The last time I stayed at the Swan (mid-April), I was charged the one-night deposit about 3.5 weeks prior to arrival. The trip before that (end of February), the deposit was charged just five days prior to arrival. On May 16th, I booked a reservation at the Dolphin for the end of July. No deposit charge yet.

 

[SteveH]

@Jillfo Thanks for the info! That all seems very random. In this day and age random makes me nervous as it sounds like human interaction instead of a computer being triggered.

 

[AUDramaQueen]

Thanks for the info!
It's just us. 8 kids from 25 to 5. And two parents, much older.

Gotcha! My biggest tip is don't feel like you have to do everything together. 10 people is a lot to keep together. There are some more tips on this thread though. https://www.disboards.com/threads/big-groups-your-best-tips.3838464/

 

[Grasshopper2016]

All of this talk about limousine services is making me nervous. We have always just taken Uber from MCO to the Swan. And in the pre-Uber era, we just took a cab. Are those not viable options anymore? I have heard about Uber driver shortages in some places. Is that a problem in Orlando? Is it necessary to reserve transport of some sort in advance? We will be there in early September, arriving around 8pm on a Thursday.

 

[The13thLetter]

All of this talk about limousine services is making me nervous. We have always just taken Uber from MCO to the Swan. And in the pre-Uber era, we just took a cab. Are those not viable options anymore? I have heard about Uber driver shortages in some places. Is that a problem in Orlando? Is it necessary to reserve transport of some sort in advance? We will be there in early September, arriving around 8pm on a Thursday.

I could be wrong but it might just be that people want to ensure they have a ride waiting when they land, or they want to stop at the supermarket, or they want to guarantee a car seat, things that you cannot 100% count on with uber/lyft.

 

[ww52]

Is it necessary to reserve transport of some sort in advance? We will be there in early September, arriving around 8pm on a Thursday.

I can't speak for Uber driver shortages in Orlando - but that would not surprise me.

I can speak for myself on the Limo option - it's a matter of minimizing the chance of something going wrong. IF it happens that the driver does not show up, then I'd try Uber or a taxi.

But - and I will say this delicately - not everyone in our small group of 3 flying in tolerates inconvenience well. So a reserved car - while no certainty - and least minimizes that risk and the chance of hearing "I KNEW you should have..."
Small price to pay!

 

[sheri18]

We spent a great seven nights at the Dolphin last week! It was our first stay here. For comparison sake, we have previously stayed at the Poly, the Beach Club, and the Boardwalk Inn. We booked a deluxe king alcove with connecting double and were very happy with it. When we were given the room numbers, we were confused because they were not next to each other, but they did indeed connect through an interior door. If we had been there with younger kids, I might have been uneasy because the exterior doors were on different arms of an “L” shaped hallway, but ours are 18 so it was fine for us. Both rooms had a great view over the water facing the Boardwalk. The kids double room had a balcony. We went out there once, but honestly, it was too hot. Our king alcove room was fantastic. There was an L shaped sofa that was also a pullout bed. We didn’t use it as such, so I can’t comment on how comfortable it would have been, but the sofa itself was very comfy to curl up on. We had two sinks, separated by the door to other bathroom facilities, and four mirrors, two full-length, which I found kind of amusing. There were two closets, one full length and one about half that. The half closet didn’t have a rod for hanging clothes, but we found it very useful to store suitcases. There was plenty of storage space and the room just felt BIG.

Housekeeping visited twice, and on two other occasions we asked for extra bottled water and towels, which were delivered within an hour of our request.

We ate breakfast in Fresh, Fuel and the Grove. I think Fuel was confused about our free breakfast slips and ended up overcharging us, but the pastries were fine. We really enjoyed both Fresh and the Grove - the food seemed identical, despite Fresh being a buffet. I really liked the biscuits and gravy, and the Mickey waffles were enjoyed by all. We had lunch on our arrival day at the Fountain. It was - fine. Nothing except the milkshakes were really notable. I was a little disappointed because the picture in the app looks much cuter than the reality, so maybe the contributed to my overall impression.

We also rented a cabana for a day and ordered food from the Cabana Bar and Beach Club. We had the calamari, the grilled octopus, and the mushroom flatbread. The calamari was great, the flatbread was good, and dh and I disagreed on the octopus. As for the cabana rental itself, it was a terrific experience and I would definitely do it again. The floats we were given were a little worse for wear cosmetically, but they worked fine. The attendants were very attentive, and it was so nice to have the shaded cabana to retreat to when we needed a break from the sun. The only thing I would do differently would be to wear more sunscreen!

Overall, a really nice stay and we will be back!

Hi ..we are going end of July and I just booked that same typ of room. Do you have any pics

 

[samara]

Hi ..we are going end of July and I just booked that same typ of room. Do you have any pics

I don’t, I’m sorry. I kept meaning to take some but never actually got around to it. Happy to answer any questions you may have though!

 

[trivan]

During our recent stay used Lyft and Uber for all trips to and from MK and AK. No issues finding one within 10mins.

 

[sheri18]

I called and it is $150 for half day (8-1 or 1-6) and $200 full day.

That’s not bad. Online booking shows 300.00 no 1/2 day option..I will have to call to see if we can get that price..

 

[sheri18]

Totally excited! Just booked our trip for next year, and added a cabana reservation during our stay! We're staying at the Swan because we had such an amazing visit there last time!

If you don’t mind my asking..we just booked for next month and am interested in a cabana..how much are the cabanas and do they do both full and half days..TIA

 

[mickey+minnie91]

Just got back last night from our 5 night stay at the swan. We were there during the change of wearing a mask. Just a few notes
-The days before 6/15, everyone wearing a mask and complying. 6/15 and after, only hotel employees wearing a mask. In the parks, I saw maybe 20 people wearing masks each day. Masks are required on all Disney transportation besides the friendship boats, they are not required, and they are happy to inform you that you do not have to wear it. The hotel bus also does not require you to wear them, we asked if we needed to, and the driver stated it was up to us if we wanted to.
-We went to the swan pool on our last day about 1030 am and there were 3 other couples there. Plenty of chairs with shade available. Since it was just hubby and I , we did not venture over to the other pools so I can not speak on those.
- Someone asked about the hairdryers, If you want a hairdryer that will dry your hair in a reasonable amount of time, bring your own. When your trying to rope drop and your hair takes twice as long to dry, it can be frustrating.
-water bottles were in the room ready for us and when we called and asked for more, they brought them readily. I did try to go to the gym to get some when we were at the spa and there was none in there and no one around to ask.
- I incorrectly assumed that the Java place only had coffee and breakfast items. On our last day, I found out I was wrong! If your looking for snacks, salads, sandwiches, drinks with or without alcohol this is the place to check out.
-The attached pictures are the view from room 1263.

 

[mickey+minnie91]

All of this talk about limousine services is making me nervous. We have always just taken Uber from MCO to the Swan. And in the pre-Uber era, we just took a cab. Are those not viable options anymore? I have heard about Uber driver shortages in some places. Is that a problem in Orlando? Is it necessary to reserve transport of some sort in advance? We will be there in early September, arriving around 8pm on a Thursday.

We used Tiffany Towncar and definitely will do it again.

 

[mickey+minnie91]

I'm not sure the right board to post this - regarding transpiration to /from MCO.

This is the first trip where we aren't renting a car. The options I read are Tony Hinds, Tiffany, Mears, and FL Tours.

My inclination is Tony Hinds given the very positive things I read on the DIS. Plus they will do a grocery stop.

Any reason I should consider a more established service? Tiffany is priced similar to Tony Hinds and will also do a stop. Mears is much more expensive and won't do a stop (well, they will but they charge for wait time which makes it even more so). Haven't checked FL Tours.

Thoughts are appreciated.

(And if this should be moved to a different board, I understand. Obviously this is not a Swan/Dolphin specific question.

Thanks

Used Tiffany this week and were very happy with them.

 

[GreyStr0ke]

Just got back from a quick little trip to the Swan. It was my first time staying here and I was with my sister who is a Titanium Marriott member. She booked the cheapest room and ended up getting upgraded to the one bedroom with attached parlor. The room had 2 full bathrooms and 3 balcony’s.

 

[trivan]

If you don’t mind my asking..we just booked for next month and am interested in a cabana..how much are the cabanas and do they do both full and half days..TIA

depending on the day 200 or 300. You can go to the swan/dolphin web site (not the Marriott site) and look to see what is available and the cost. We did it this past Monday at the lap pool and it was 200. Yes they do full and half days, but the cost difference wasn’t that much so we booked a full day.

 

[Meglen]

What is this AP discount I keep reading? Wdw AP? My family plans to upgrade to AP this oct if it's available and head back and stay at swan/dolphin in June 2022.

 

[Dan Murphy]

What is this AP discount I keep reading? Wdw AP? My family plans to upgrade to AP this oct if it's available and head back and stay at swan/dolphin in June 2022.

Yes, a WDW AP.

 

[Meglen]

Yes, a WDW AP.

Any idea if the AP discount can be added after the fact? I wanna book asap for June 2022 but if I wait it would be within 6 months and that's kinda makes me nervous.