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

[Donald Duck888]

No, although a prompt came up saying I would be charged certain amounts on my cc, it never happened. There was an old address in the Bonvoy account and I updated it but the cc still never got charged.

It's so odd. I have stayed at Swan and Dolphin many times and Dolphin always charges deposit right off but Swan does not charge one. My only guess is it is because even though they are both now Marriott the Swan is Weston and the Dolphin is Sheraton.

I am staying at Swan Reserve coming up soon and they too did not charge a deposit.

 

[FredtheDuck]

Just a note for those trying to book the week after Thanksgiving: I’m Titanium Elite and spoke to booking this morning. Both Swan and Dolphin are completely sold out multiple nights with “tons and tons of group blocks.” So legit sell outs. If you check the availability calendar you can see a few days here and there, but a longer block (I was looking at 11/26-12/3) is a no go unless you want SDR.

 

[AussieFan8]

Just booked Dolphin for later this year (hoping to switch to Swan for the double sinks if the prices come down.) A few questions:
1. Do any of the Swan/Dolphin restaurants have outdoor seating?
2. I think some of the restaurants (ie bluezoo) used to have small plates you could order at the bar, but the lounge menus no longer list food. Can you still eat appetizers at the bar in the signature restaurants?
3. I'm considering rebooking through Costco. I tend to shy away from booking through third parties as it seems more difficult to work out any issues/concerns if they arise. Are there cons to booking through Costco?
4. Is there a way to request theme park view with a balcony room? I did not see that as an option - or is that what they mean by resort view?
Thanks in advance!

 

[melking23]

Just booked Dolphin for later this year (hoping to switch to Swan for the double sinks if the prices come down.) A few questions:
1. Do any of the Swan/Dolphin restaurants have outdoor seating?
2. I think some of the restaurants (ie bluezoo) used to have small plates you could order at the bar, but the lounge menus no longer list food. Can you still eat appetizers at the bar in the signature restaurants?
3. I'm considering rebooking through Costco. I tend to shy away from booking through third parties as it seems more difficult to work out any issues/concerns if they arise. Are there cons to booking through Costco?
4. Is there a way to request theme park view with a balcony room? I did not see that as an option - or is that what they mean by resort view?
Thanks in advance!

1. I don’t know.
2. I don’t know.
3. One con I know of is if their rate decreases, they don’t give price adjustments. As long as you’ve booked the refundable package and it’s before final payment is due, you can cancel and rebook to get the reduced rate. I booked Thanksgiving weekend through Costco. The next week they were offering a double upgrade to a balcony room and $100 resort credit for the same price of my original package. I had to cancel and rebook because they can’t make changes to packages. I actually just cancelled the rebooked package tonight and booked direct through Marriott using the AAA discount then got tickets through UT. Between credit card rewards and Rakuten cash back (Marriott is 1.5% cash back right now), I’m actually only $3.18 higher than the Costco package. But now if the room price falls (which I suspect it will because my trip is in September) I can easily get the cheaper price and end up saving more than my Costco package.
4. In order to make special requests you’ll need to book through Marriott’s website and not the app. After you select your room/rate the next screen has the option to “Choose Room Features”. There’s checkboxes for many things like close to an elevator, extra towels, etc. but to request a theme park view you’ll have to type in the special requests box. It only allows 45 total characters. This box is not available if booking through the Bonvoy app. I also recommend saving the request, going to the previous screen, and then going back into the requests to make sure it saved. I had to go back and forth a few times in order for my requests to save.

Hopefully someone else can answer 1 & 2 for you!

 

[nanhol]

Just booked Dolphin for later this year (hoping to switch to Swan for the double sinks if the prices come down.) A few questions:
1. Do any of the Swan/Dolphin restaurants have outdoor seating?
2. I think some of the restaurants (ie bluezoo) used to have small plates you could order at the bar, but the lounge menus no longer list food. Can you still eat appetizers at the bar in the signature restaurants?
3. I'm considering rebooking through Costco. I tend to shy away from booking through third parties as it seems more difficult to work out any issues/concerns if they arise. Are there cons to booking through Costco?
4. Is there a way to request theme park view with a balcony room? I did not see that as an option - or is that what they mean by resort view?
Thanks in advance!

Hey, I’m at the Dolphin now and can answer some but not all your questions!
1. EDITING MY EARLIER RESPONSE—now in italics—I’ve noticed tables on the porch at Bluezoo, and based on symmetry think there may be tables outside at Fresh Mediterranean Market. I haven’t actually seen anyone sitting outside at them, but it’s January.
I checked today & am wrong—patio seems to be on floor above bluezoo, perhaps the spa?? The pool bar may be the only outdoor place to eat!
2. I don’t know.
3. We booked direct with Marriott and used AAA to get a decent price that included a resort credit—but I had ticket money “banked” at Disney due to a canceled pandemic trip, so it didn’t make sense for us to use Costco for this trip. I’ve booked Costco before and my biggest frustration is that if I need to make changes to my reservation or have any problems I sometimes have to wait on hold for a really long time—but their prices are good!
4. We are in a resort view balcony room and have a view of Epcot over the Boardwalk. My (adult) kids are across the hall and have a resort view balcony room that looks at Hollywood Studios. When I booked I was bummed that I couldn’t book a theme park view—it wasn’t on the list of options—but I’m guessing resort view is their term for it? (Or we got lucky!)

 

[nanhol]

In order to be able to make ILLS reservations at 7am on the travel day, can I do it simply because i have a reservation or do I need to have done online check in? (How early does Swolphin allow online checking anyways?)

thanks

I didn’t book ILLs for day 1, but want to mention that we’re on site now and had some trouble with the app dropping the linked hotel reservation and then not being allowed to book RotR. The CM I talked to at the park recommended I check the app at 6:30 any morning I plan to book ILLs to make sure my hotel is still linked, and if it’s not, go to the front desk (or call if you’re not yet on site, I guess?) to get it fixed before 7.

I got an email from Marriott the day before arrival to start online check-in.

 

[luvallprincesses]

For those staying at Swan Reserve and unable to book all of your dining on day 60 due to the known glitch, don’t waste your time on hold with Disney Dining. They transferred me to Guest Services for a callback which occurred in 2 minutes upon which the CM was able to make all of my reservations with ease.

 

[The13thLetter]

Hey everyone. I booked 2 rooms together for the dolphin in may using my ap discount. I linked the reservstion in mde but it only showed one room. Do i need to contact dolphin for maybe a second confirmation number (and to add names to the other room) or do i need to contact disney you think to add the second room in mde?

thanks!

 

[travellovingirl]

Anyone have recent grocery delivery to the swan? Looking for some data points for successful delivery. Thank you!!

 

[bgirl29]

Hey everyone. I booked 2 rooms together for the dolphin in may using my ap discount. I linked the reservstion in mde but it only showed one room. Do i need to contact dolphin for maybe a second confirmation number (and to add names to the other room) or do i need to contact disney you think to add the second room in mde?

thanks!

I had this issue in October. Try adding one number to your other room reservation number and see if that works in MDE. I did call and that was what my reservation number was for my second room.

 

[travellovingirl]

Was reading on another site about extended evening hours. Someone staying at the Swan commented that she needed a “card” from the front desk with her name on it to access the extended hours to show she was an eligible guest. Anyone heard of this requirement? Thank you.

 

[mickey916]

Was reading on another site about extended evening hours. Someone staying at the Swan commented that she needed a “card” from the front desk with her name on it to access the extended hours to show she was an eligible guest. Anyone heard of this requirement? Thank you.

Room key perhaps?

 

[travellovingirl]

Room key perhaps?

Maybe. Wouldn’t a magic band with linked reservation work?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Was reading on another site about extended evening hours. Someone staying at the Swan commented that she needed a “card” from the front desk with her name on it to access the extended hours to show she was an eligible guest. Anyone heard of this requirement? Thank you.

Should just be your room key.

 

[asculthorp]

Was reading on another site about extended evening hours. Someone staying at the Swan commented that she needed a “card” from the front desk with her name on it to access the extended hours to show she was an eligible guest. Anyone heard of this requirement? Thank you.

When we stayed at the Swan a month ago, we just scanned a magic band and that got us in. Our reservation was linked in MDE.

 

[travellovingirl]

When we stayed at the Swan a month ago, we just scanned a magic band and that got us in. Our reservation was linked in MDE.

Thank you! That was what I would expect, so the comment about the room card as a requirement was a surprise!

 

[SteveH]

@travellovingirl since Magic Bands are no longer free for Disney and were never free for SDR guests I think that's where it gets confusing. You can always ask when you check in though, see that the current status is.

 

[luvallprincesses]

I have been reading about the need to “activate” park tickets at a hotel front desk or guest services at a park before attempting to go to an early entry on the first morning. I don’t ever recall having to do anything like this; I thought once they are linked in MDE they are good to go. Can anyone provide any info about this situation?

 

[melking23]

Was reading on another site about extended evening hours. Someone staying at the Swan commented that she needed a “card” from the front desk with her name on it to access the extended hours to show she was an eligible guest. Anyone heard of this requirement? Thank you.

I recently read what you’re talking about or something similar. It wouldn’t hurt at checkin to ask for the card. My understanding is that it was a separate card from the room key. In an ideal world, the room reservation and ticket linked in MDE should be enough. I plan to ask for the card on my trip. Better safe than sorry!

 

[melking23]

I have been reading about the need to “activate” park tickets at a hotel front desk or guest services at a park before attempting to go to an early entry on the first morning. I don’t ever recall having to do anything like this; I thought once they are linked in MDE they are good to go. Can anyone provide any info about this situation?

I’ve read that a ton lately, even from people that booked packages through Disney for on-site stays. I’ve never had to activate tickets with packages other than the initial finger scan when entering the first park. Even when my son left his MB in the room all I had to do was show his ticket in MDE to get a physical ticket right at the gate. I actually just removed that hard ticket from my wallet the other day from our Sep 2019 trip. When I ordered tickets through UT I purposely chose mailed hard tickets instead of digital to avoid will call and activation. I hope it works as planned!