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

[Sandi]

Do you check-in at Swan/Dolpin using the Marriott app ... or the MDE app ... or either one?

I checked in on the Bonvoy app. But I then received an email or text (can’t recall) that I had to go to the desk to physically check in so I could provide my ID.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

When I checked in a few weeks ago using the Marriott app, it asked if I was parking a car and whether I was self parking or using valet.

Ditto here, I used the marriott bonvoy app and it asks if your parking. Just be careful, we've had a few instances where the parking gate exit tried to bill us for parking on our check out day even though it's already added to your room. You scan your room key to exit but the computer still asked for payment. That's be more common at the dolphin parking lot and this has never been an issue at Swan.

 

[Luisfba]

Just stayed at the Dolphin last week. First time staying there and I have to say I had a wonderful time. Loved the hotel, especially considering the price for what would be a deluxe just down the street. Really liked having all the restaurants on site.. not really needing reservations, especially since I could get 20% off using the AAA discount for most of them (which also used on the room). The pool area was awesome, and the convenience for HS and EC was great.

Some things that worked for me as far as logistics:

- transportation to MK; what worked best for me was uber to TTC, then express monorail to MK. tried the 'walk to BW and take their bus' one morning and it backfired as there were a lot of people waiting for a bus (probably 2-3 bus loads worth) so we just took an uber from there (thus.. wasted the 10 min walk). took BW or Yatch club buses back as they are next to each other so just grabbed whichever came first.

- for breakfast; Mediterranean was great for a solid breakfast with no real wait as its a buffet. Fuel didn't work great for me for breakfast since there was always a long line but for a real quick breakfast to take to room, I instead just went to Picabu and picked up food to go.. never a line there for breakfast. also worked well for a real quick dinner/easy bite.

Anyway, Swan/Dolphin are our new go to hotels. (is Swan better, because we really liked Dolphin!)

 

[Luisfba]

(double post)

 

[SteveH]

@Luisfba thanks for your review, glad to hear the AAA Discount is up to 20% - as I recall it was 10% a few years ago. As for which is better, it's a toss up. We like Swan because it's a bit quieter but does mean you need to walk over to Dolphin for somethings. Honestly which ever you get a better price on matters most, but if you care the Swan has 2 Queens while Dolphin has 2 Double beds.

 

[Jillfo]

Fuel didn't work great for me for breakfast since there was always a long line but for a real quick breakfast to take to room, I instead just went to Picabu and picked up food to go.. never a line there for breakfast. also worked well for a real quick dinner/easy bite.

Anyway, Swan/Dolphin are our new go to hotels. (is Swan better, because we really liked Dolphin!)

Thanks for the quick breakfast tip. The line at Fuel (and Java at Swan) can indeed be long.

I stayed at the Dolphin at the beginning of April after several stays at Swan over the past four or five years. Swan is about half the size of Dolphin, has two queen beds in the double rooms and the bathroom configuration is different (a second sink with the tub/shower and toilet if I'm remembering correctly). As much as I have enjoyed the Swan when staying there, I also really liked Dolphin. Yes, it felt larger (particularly the more expansive lobby) but I didn't mind that and I enjoy the lobby bar.

 

[CJK]

Hi everyone! Are people still having difficulty linking Swan Reserve reservations to MDE (and staying linked)? Can someone point me in the right direction for finding information about that? Thanks so much!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Just stayed at the Dolphin last week. First time staying there and I have to say I had a wonderful time. Loved the hotel, especially considering the price for what would be a deluxe just down the street. Really liked having all the restaurants on site.. not really needing reservations, especially since I could get 20% off using the AAA discount for most of them (which also used on the room). The pool area was awesome, and the convenience for HS and EC was great.

Some things that worked for me as far as logistics:

- transportation to MK; what worked best for me was uber to TTC, then express monorail to MK. tried the 'walk to BW and take their bus' one morning and it backfired as there were a lot of people waiting for a bus (probably 2-3 bus loads worth) so we just took an uber from there (thus.. wasted the 10 min walk). took BW or Yatch club buses back as they are next to each other so just grabbed whichever came first.

- for breakfast; Mediterranean was great for a solid breakfast with no real wait as its a buffet. Fuel didn't work great for me for breakfast since there was always a long line but for a real quick breakfast to take to room, I instead just went to Picabu and picked up food to go.. never a line there for breakfast. also worked well for a real quick dinner/easy bite.

Anyway, Swan/Dolphin are our new go to hotels. (is Swan better, because we really liked Dolphin!)

We only had on MK visit on our stay at Dolphin last week but the buses were pretty timely. We didn't arrive at MK for opening and weren't in a rush and I felt like the time to get to the TTC and transfer to the monorail was maybe 25 min total. We took the boardwalk bus back for our midday break and that always is pretty easy only dealing with one form of transportation.

The line at Fuel was always pretty long but it moved pretty quickly. One morning it was stretched almost to the exit and it was maybe 10 min. It definitely looked worse than what it was. I liked the selection there and enjoyed getting late evening snacks there too. I feel like Swan and Dolphin have so many better late hour food options than most of the disney resorts.

Swan and Dolphin are very similar with the only big difference IMO being Dolphin has full size beds and Swan has Queens. The atmosphere at dolphin is more loud and upbeat and swan is a little quieter, more refined'ish. And the dolphin is much larger than the swan.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Hi everyone! Are people still having difficulty linking Swan Reserve reservations to MDE (and staying linked)? Can someone point me in the right direction for finding information about that? Thanks so much!

I have always had this issue with Swan and Dolphin. Not sure how to really correct it but I have to reenter it either via the app or on my computer and it will stay linked for a few days and randomly disappear from MDE. I just made sure it was there before check in and it was fine the whole time we were at WDW. We did not experience any issues while on property, only in advance of our trip.

 

[Kristi391]

I did a quick google search but didn't find an answer.

Can someone please tell me what brand of shampoo/conditioner are provided in the Dolphin?

TIA

 

[SteveH]

@Kristi391 Here are some posts from the past, but things have changed so what they have this week might not be there next week. Traditionally the Sheraton (Dolphin) had Le Grand Bain and the Westin (Swan) had White Tea.

 

[Erica Ladd]

I have the swan booked 3rd party through SWA (booking.com). Where can I find how to link it to MDE? Thx!

 

[AzzySpazbourne]

I have the swan booked 3rd party through SWA (booking.com). Where can I find how to link it to MDE? Thx!

It should be your Marriott confirmation number. If not listed on your 3rd party booking, you should be able to call and ask for it (either the 3rd party booking) or the concierge at the actual hotel.

 

[JennCa]

Are most of the Dolphin's hotel rooms all recently refurbished or are some of them newer and other older?

 

[Jillfo]

Are most of the Dolphin's hotel rooms all recently refurbished or are some of them newer and other older?

It appears the last renovations of the Swan and Dolphin were completed in 2017 per press releases I found by Googling. I was at the Dolphin at the beginning of April and my room was in good shape.

 

[SteveH]

I have the swan booked 3rd party through SWA (booking.com). Where can I find how to link it to MDE? Thx!

Here is a good info from planDisney. Basically contact booking.com first then SD, but as noted need to wait a day or two for all the informaton from booking.com to get to SD then to Disney.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Are most of the Dolphin's hotel rooms all recently refurbished or are some of them newer and other older?

They were all refurbished maybe 5 or 6 years ago.

It appears the last renovations of the Swan and Dolphin were completed in 2017 per press releases I found by Googling. I was at the Dolphin at the beginning of April and my room was in good shape.

I was going to have a good guess. Last night, I was posting the 5-6 years reply above but I guess I got side-tracked, haha. I saw I had an open reply here this morning. Thanks for the response, Jill.

 

[k5xs]

Does anyone happen to know if shops in the Swan/Dolphin carry Pepsi products? (DW loves Diet Mtn. Dew.)

Thanks.

 

[SteveH]

@k5xs they are a Coke location. I don't recall seeing any Pepsi. You can have it delivered, pick up on the way in or Speedway is down near Boardwalk Resort.

 

[k5xs]

they are a Coke location. I don't recall seeing any Pepsi. You can have it delivered, pick up on the way in or Speedway is down near Boardwalk Resort.

Thanks very much.

I didn't know if the Disney-Coke connection took precedence, or if the Marriott-Pepsi one did. I guess the former does.