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

[tony67]

I figured as much but was just hoping someone would say “here’s some dates you can go for super cheap!”
I just can’t justify this if I can get a Disney hotel cheaper. Maybe one day though…

Right...but can you get a Disney Deluxe for less?

You can walk to Epcot and DHS as well as Boardwalk.

You get access to the extra night hours.

The busses are not great - specifically for MK, but I can always walk to boardwalk and use their busses.

I agree the price is not what it what it once was, I usually paid under 200 and there was no scam resort fee.
I also used to get a proper breakfast and not a coffee and muffin for Lifetime Titanium.

I have mixed feeling overall about the Swan and Dolphin, but I still feel its the best value on property if you want access to the Extended hours and I really like walking to Epcot and DHS.

In addition, although I am very unhappy with what Marriott has done in general with the US hotels and I have pretty much switched to Hilton, I still feel if there is an issue its addressed. Not so much with Disney Hotels. Why because Marriott is in the Hotel business and Disney is not.

My next stay I am actually staying at all three properties, so will be interesting to see which is best or if they are all the same as far as service.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Looking for opinions - I currently have the Dolphin booked for 6 nights at the end of May - 5 FNC's plus points and 1 night on cash. I was looking at could actually save a few points and dollars if we switched to the Swan Reserve. Would you switch? Perks for the SR would be nicer/newer hotel/room and queen beds instead of full, but I'm worried about the further walk. What would you do? How big a deal is the further walk?

 

[Sunshine11]

Looking for opinions - I currently have the Dolphin booked for 6 nights at the end of May - 5 FNC's plus points and 1 night on cash. I was looking at could actually save a few points and dollars if we switched to the Swan Reserve. Would you switch? Perks for the SR would be nicer/newer hotel/room and queen beds instead of full, but I'm worried about the further walk. What would you do? How big a deal is the further walk?

We stayed at the Swan Reserve at Christmas for 5 nights. First stay at any of the three properties as we normally stay Disney resorts but husband had Marriott points. I would not hesitate to stay at the SR again! We thought it was clean and a nice small footprint too! It is maybe a 5 minute walk but my daughter choose the SR over the Swan/Dolphin as she said she wanted a new room and liked the boutique resort. Keep in mind, the Dolphin I believe has full size beds versus queen beds at Swan and Swan Reserve. If that matters to you. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at SR and wouldn't hesitate to book there again.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Looking for opinions - I currently have the Dolphin booked for 6 nights at the end of May - 5 FNC's plus points and 1 night on cash. I was looking at could actually save a few points and dollars if we switched to the Swan Reserve. Would you switch? Perks for the SR would be nicer/newer hotel/room and queen beds instead of full, but I'm worried about the further walk. What would you do? How big a deal is the further walk?

I’d switch in a heartbeat.

The rooms are a huge step up compared to Swan to me (I haven’t stayed Dol). The walk to the building is longer by a couple minutes but once you hit the hotel you are to your room quick because the building is so much smaller. No hot tub at the pool. Are you Marriott Plat? The breakfast benefit is continental breakfast delivered to your room, it’s SO nice having my latte delivered in the morning, or the same breakfast can be had in the restaurant. I found the staff to be excellent but have yet to have an issue on a SR stay to really test that.

As for walking to me- I’m sensitive to any extra walking on vacay so the walk is nbd (you do cross a road so if you have little that might make a dash then maybe not so good). Like I’m so lazy I never walk to EP or DHS, always boat. My rear is a lazy rear

 

[Kimrlav]

Looking for opinions - I currently have the Dolphin booked for 6 nights at the end of May - 5 FNC's plus points and 1 night on cash. I was looking at could actually save a few points and dollars if we switched to the Swan Reserve. Would you switch? Perks for the SR would be nicer/newer hotel/room and queen beds instead of full, but I'm worried about the further walk. What would you do? How big a deal is the further walk?

As the other posters have stated the Swan Reserve is a great property with wonderful staff. The rooms are well-appointed and comfortable beds. The "extra" walk is not too much of an issue, if it rains, you can walk inside the Swan to the pool area and remain covered, and the traffic lights make it safe to cross the street, and the area is very well-lighted in the evenings. The only downsides are a smaller resort shop for sundries and no onsite laundry, you need to go to the Dolphin for those amenties and services. Personally, I love the bar Stir and the outside restaurant is great for a day relaxing by the pool.

 

[Jillfo]

Data point with regards to deposits - I made a reservation at the Swan for January 2025 on Sunday and the one-night deposit was charged to my credit card Monday. I don't think I've ever had a deposit charged that quickly, and it often happened just a few weeks before my stay in the past.

 

[Disneydawg74]

Data point with regards to deposits - I made a reservation at the Swan for January 2025 on Sunday and the one-night deposit was charged to my credit card Monday. I don't think I've ever had a deposit charged that quickly, and it often happened just a few weeks before my stay in the past.

I had the same experience with the Swan with the deposit (was taken day after I made the reservation). Perhaps they are trying to systematically charge deposits instead of the haphazard timing they used to use.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Does the Swan Reserve have parking for guests or do I have to park across the street at the larger Swan Resort parking lot ? Also extra fee and a $200 HOLD on your card when you check in .?
Thanks

 

[Karalee402]

Data point with regards to deposits - I made a reservation at the Swan for January 2025 on Sunday and the one-night deposit was charged to my credit card Monday. I don't think I've ever had a deposit charged that quickly, and it often happened just a few weeks before my stay in the past.

We had the same experience in Jan. at the Dolphin. Our previous trip, nothing was taken out at all until the day before we arrived, so it does seem like they're becoming more consistent with charging deposits.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Does the Swan Reserve have parking for guests or do I have to park across the street at the larger Swan Resort parking lot ? Also extra fee and a $200 HOLD on your card when you check in .?
Thanks

SR has a parking lot. What do you mean “extra fee”- parking? Resort? If so yes & yes. SR charges the same for those as Swan and Dolphin. Don’t know what the hold is these days but $200 sounds like an appropriate guess, they want something in case you wreck the room.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Thanks for the feedback on my question re switching to SR over the Dolphin! I finally pulled the trigger today and switched. The numbers changed a bit, I ended up using 13k points plus my 5 FNC's vs my original 25k points. My cash night was about $60 more, BUT I have a Chase offer for 10% back for Marriott so hopefully that increase will only end up being around $20 more. I'm excited to stay there! That will mean I've stayed at all 3, although my Dolphin stay was probably 15 years ago, maybe more.

I was a little nervous to cancel my original ressie and rebook, in case the availability went away, but it all went smoothly.

 

[champagne&disney]

Thanks for the feedback on my question re switching to SR over the Dolphin! I finally pulled the trigger today and switched. The numbers changed a bit, I ended up using 13k points plus my 5 FNC's vs my original 25k points. My cash night was about $60 more, BUT I have a Chase offer for 10% back for Marriott so hopefully that increase will only end up being around $20 more. I'm excited to stay there! That will mean I've stayed at all 3, although my Dolphin stay was probably 15 years ago, maybe more.

I was a little nervous to cancel my original ressie and rebook, in case the availability went away, but it all went smoothly.

I hope you love it! It's honestly my favorite of the 3. If you like a turkey club, the one at the pool bar at the SR is my Roman Empire

 

[Sunshine11]

I hope you love it! It's honestly my favorite of the 3. If you like a turkey club, the one at the pool bar at the SR is my Roman Empire

Yes, this! My husband had this sandwich at Christmas at the pool. bar and raved about it!

I honestly think you will be happy at SR. We totally think the walk across the street is worth the stay. I am a Disney resort person and Disney housekeeping should take a page out of the SR's book. Top notch.

 

[kmoehall]

I just want to thank all who post here for the valuable information and advice. We just got back from an awesome 4 night stay at the Reserve. We had a King suite with a great view of Epcot and could even see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. We felt the walk across the street was easy and loved being able to walk to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Being considered a deluxe hotel was a great perk and we made use of the extra nighttime hours at both Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Housekeeping was great, and knowing we had a family of 3 always left us 3 bottles of water. We ate lunch at the Fountain, breakfast at the Garden Grove and quick serve breakfast at Grounds - all were good. We will definitely stay here again in the future!

 

[pixiedust2u]

Checking in tomorrow for a 4 night stay. We have two rooms between our groups. My friends reservation keeps disappearing from the MDE app, she then has to go in every time and enter everything back in and relink her friend who is sharing a room with her. How can we fix this?

 

[champagne&disney]

Checking in tomorrow for a 4 night stay. We have two rooms between our groups. My friends reservation keeps disappearing from the MDE app, she then has to go in every time and enter everything back in and relink her friend who is sharing a room with her. How can we fix this?

This unfortunately happens. It may also happen again after you check-in officially.

 

[leeniewdw]

Checking in tomorrow for a 4 night stay. We have two rooms between our groups. My friends reservation keeps disappearing from the MDE app, she then has to go in every time and enter everything back in and relink her friend who is sharing a room with her. How can we fix this?

I only had it unlink a few times before our January trip. I ended up checking it again after midnight on the day we needed to be able to use MDE for LLs, etc. and it was still linked. I figured I would have to walk down to the desk if it continued, but we were fine after that.

 

[pixiedust2u]

I only had it unlink a few times before our January trip. I ended up checking it again after midnight on the day we needed to be able to use MDE for LLs, etc. and it was still linked. I figured I would have to walk down to the desk if it continued, but we were fine after that.

This is my fear that I’ll have an issue since they aren’t in my room. I purchased everyone’s tickets and they are linked to me, but I won’t be able to buy ILLs if their hotel reservations aren’t in MDE at 7 am

 

[dansdad]

This is my fear that I’ll have an issue since they aren’t in my room. I purchased everyone’s tickets and they are linked to me, but I won’t be able to buy ILLs if their hotel reservations aren’t in MDE at 7 am

You'll have to work together to make sure their room is still linked before 7AM. Teamwork makes the dream work.

 

[SteveH]

I'm not sure where the blame lands, it if's just more Disney IT SNAFU or if this is how Disney punishes non-Disney resort guests. Somehow there is a disconnect that nobody, not Disney and not Swan/Dolphin are either explaining or trying to resolve. This non-sense started during Covid and I can give them a pass during that time, but in 2024 this should have been resolved a couple years ago.