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

[JennCa]

Do you know if they will clean the room more often than once every 4 days? We are there 6 nights and are gonna need towels, shampoo, etc. Also, are the pool towels by the pool or check out from the room?

 

[Meglen]

Do you know if they will clean the room more often than once every 4 days? We are there 6 nights and are gonna need towels, shampoo, etc. Also, are the pool towels by the pool or check out from the room?

Some here have said they had room service more than once every 4 days and the towels you get at the pool. They will look at your room key.

 

[Erica Ladd]

We hit towels at the shack or whatever it was called!

 

[RunWI1265]

Coming back to follow up on my experience with staying at the Dolphin and buying G+. I mentioned the first morning I was unable to purchase until exactly 7am. I visited GR to see if they knew why or how to fix it. My reservations were still in MDE. They had no idea why it happened and said to try and take a screen shot of the issue the next time it happens. It didn't happen again, which is good. The only thing I can think of is that we had connecting reservations at Dolphin. 1 night and then 4 nights. All reservations stayed linked but maybe something internally got messed up. Our room keys also deactivated that day even though our stays were linked together.

Boat service was frequent and we utilized the Mears bus to AK. Leaving AK we had a bit of a wait and there is no where that really indicates where the pick up is so it's a little confusing. We had a less than stellar experience with the Dolphin this trip from start to finish and in the midst of it we said "never again". Now that we are removed from it we will see if we change our mind. But I found it incredibly difficult to get ahold of anyone at the resort before our stay which was problematic because we had a room type that the main call center could not handle, not even something as simple as a date change. When we arrived they had booked us twice with two confirmation dates. Our original dates and our modified dates. Unbeknownst to me they had given each res it's own confirmation number. Only one showed up in the app for me, the correct one. And the woman at the check-in desk kept saying to me "but you did book these dates (original)" not understanding that yes we did, and I called later to modify them. Even after showing her the confirmation email that had our correct (most recent) dates she still was alluding to us being charged for cancelling the other reservation day of. Which would have been ridiculous since the date changes occurred two months prior and the mistake was on their end. Marriott properties are always spoken so highly of but I the amount of time I spend just trying to get ahold of someone at in-house reservations made it not worth it to us to stay there again even with it being less expensive than the Disney deluxe resorts. I don't know if anyone else has every experienced this or had issues. Maybe we were the outliers. We stayed in a King alcove + standard room booked as one large room (one resort fee).

 

[CanucksRock]

I'm at Swan right now and they have been coming everyday... Staying in a resort View room with someone that has Titanium status. So no idea if that makes a diff. The handout said every 4th day.

 

[huskerfanatic7]

I'm going solo in under two weeks for 4 days. Which is better Swan or Dolphin? Swan is only 7 dollars more per day. Worth it?

 

[Erica Ladd]

I only stayed at the swan but after going over to the Dolphin to eat and get stuff from Fuel I think I prefer the Swan for the smaller, quieter lobby and closeness of our room to the elevator

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I'm going solo in under two weeks for 4 days. Which is better Swan or Dolphin? Swan is only 7 dollars more per day. Worth it?

I prefer the queen beds at Swan..

 

[Dan Murphy]

I'm going solo in under two weeks for 4 days. Which is better Swan or Dolphin? Swan is only 7 dollars more per day. Worth it?

You're generally going to get Swan preferred from me.

 

[mickey916]

Just got back from 5 days at the Swan. I booked on points and our room overlooked the central courtyard roof. We received fresh towels and water bottle refills every day. My husband is Gold status. We absolutely loved this resort. The room was quiet, clean and comfortable even with four adults. The extra sink was very helpful in the morning. My young adult sons loved being able to walk over to the Boardwalk at night and we all loved walking to Epcot and Hollywood studios. We all agree if/when we go again we definitely want to stay at the Swan. I only have one negative and it's pretty specific to only a certain situation...I color my hair with demi-permanent salon color and discovered that the shampoo stripped the color out of my hair. I've never had trouble with any over the counter shampoos and have been coloring my hair for over 20 years. After two showers with what appeared to be "mud" in the tub, I switched to shampoo I brought from home and had no issues. Overall very happy with our stay.

 

[AzzySpazbourne]

I just checked in on the app for our upcoming stay at SR. I've seen this can trigger MDE to "lose" or "deconnect" the reservation. After I checked in on the app I still see my resort reveration. Does anyone know:

(A) the frequency that the reservations become disconnected?

(B) the tineframe on when it does get disconnected from MDE?

 

[mickey916]

I just checked in on the app for our upcoming stay at SR. I've seen this can trigger MDE to "lose" or "deconnect" the reservation. After I checked in on the app I still see my resort reveration. Does anyone know:

(A) the frequency that the reservations become disconnected?

(B) the tineframe on when it does get disconnected from MDE?

Mine disconnected after receiving my room #.

 

[melking23]

I just checked in on the app for our upcoming stay at SR. I've seen this can trigger MDE to "lose" or "deconnect" the reservation. After I checked in on the app I still see my resort reveration. Does anyone know:

(A) the frequency that the reservations become disconnected?

(B) the tineframe on when it does get disconnected from MDE?

From what I can tell, the reservation tends to fall off of MDE when a modification is made to the reservation whether that be a change in rate or just checking in. Sometimes it falls off for no reason at all. I booked directly with Marriott as soon as the dates opened. My reservation was on MDE for a few months and randomly fell off. I added it back and it’s stayed ever since. I have my resort confirmation email in my flagged folder for easy access should it happen again. Best I can do is add it back and continue on.

 

[JoJoGirl]

Another Swan vs. Dolphin question here -- Please help!

I’m booking a resort view room w/balcony for 6 nights during the Food & Wine festival. Swan runs $35 more a night than Dolphin. I’ve stayed at the Dolphin a couple of times and loved it, but never the Swan.

Things that are most important most to me are:
- View from my balcony, love a water view. Also, having a little activity to watch helps me feel connected when I’m solo.
- Medium to low noise level from the balcony, but super quiet is not necessary. Love boat horns but not pool party music, lol.
- Nice room layout with good closet/storage space, good room condition

Things that matter a little, but not a lot:
- Walking distance to parks, shopping, and dining. Shorter is always better, but I’m fit so a few extra steps is not a big deal. Five minutes extra would be mildly annoying, though.

I’ll be solo, so things that don’t matter at all are:
- Bed size. Doubles are just fine with me.
- 2 sinks. Prefer the coffee station to a second sink.
- Room square footage

Most people here seem to give the edge to the Swan. But considering my priorities (don’t need the extra sink or queen beds), is it still worth an extra $35 a night, $210 total? Are my chances for a nice balcony view better at the Swan or Dolphin?

Suggestions for room location request are also welcomed!

Thanks!

 

[farfaraway]

Do you know if they will clean the room more often than once every 4 days? We are there 6 nights and are gonna need towels, shampoo, etc. Also, are the pool towels by the pool or check out from the room?

They cleaned or offered to clean our room daily. We got coffee refills and bottled water as well. To get towels, show your key card to the attendant at the pool and you'll get them.

 

[CeeCee101]

Wow what week are you going JoJo to get a rate of $210 for a balcony?

 

[Meglen]

Wow what week are you going JoJo to get a rate of $210 for a balcony?

I think the difference was $35 for the nights this equaling 210$ over the 6 nights.

 

[JoJoGirl]

I think the difference was $35 for the nights this equaling 210$ over the 6 nights.

Yes, that’s right! My AP rates for the first week of October are about $345 and $310 respectively for Swan and Dolphin, all fees and taxes included. Still better than a Disney moderate, and perfect for the F&W festival. Now I just have to decide which one …

edited to correct math

 

[melking23]

Wow what week are you going JoJo to get a rate of $210 for a balcony?

I’m going Labor Day week and got a balcony at Dolphin for an average of $266/night before fees and taxes ($339/night all in). I’ve cancelled and rebooked several times to get better rates. My current reservation was booked in early February.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Another Swan vs. Dolphin question here -- Please help!

I’m booking a resort view room w/balcony for 6 nights during the Food & Wine festival. Swan runs $35 more a night than Dolphin. I’ve stayed at the Dolphin a couple of times and loved it, but never the Swan.

Things that are most important most to me are:
- View from my balcony, love a water view. Also, having a little activity to watch helps me feel connected when I’m solo.
- Medium to low noise level from the balcony, but super quiet is not necessary. Love boat horns but not pool party music, lol.
- Nice room layout with good closet/storage space, good room condition

Things that matter a little, but not a lot:
- Walking distance to parks, shopping, and dining. Shorter is always better, but I’m fit so a few extra steps is not a big deal. Five minutes extra would be mildly annoying, though.

I’ll be solo, so things that don’t matter at all are:
- Bed size. Doubles are just fine with me.
- 2 sinks. Prefer the coffee station to a second sink.
- Room square footage

Most people here seem to give the edge to the Swan. But considering my priorities (don’t need the extra sink or queen beds), is it still worth an extra $35 a night, $210 total? Are my chances for a nice balcony view better at the Swan or Dolphin?

Suggestions for room location request are also welcomed!

Thanks!

We've stayed at both and like both resorts. We prefer the Dolphin since we like Fuel and the lobby bar, Fins and there are more dining options than at the Swan and lastly the proximity to the pool. The Dolphin resort as a whole is a lot larger than the Swan but given it's all interior hallways, I don't mind. I would guess that shortness of walk to parks would vary based on where your room is in either resort, but I really don't think it would be longer than a 5 min difference at either the Swan or Dolphin considering their lobbies are so close to each other. We don't mess with balcony rooms since we're never in the room much so I have no recommendation on locations for either resort but I usually choose based on which is less so if I'm you, going solo, I would pick Dolphin and save the money.