the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
They were American made GE reactors."This resort is so hot, your brain will have a meltdown!"
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News Swan and Dolphin Tower Expansion - The Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- Thread starter TarzanRocked99-
- Start date
New Walt Disney World Swan Reserve hotel now open
New Walt Disney World Swan Reserve hotel now open
The new Swan Reserve brings almost 350 more guest rooms to the Swan and Dolphin Resort.
www.wdwmagic.com
surfsupdon
Well-Known Member
I stopped by today. It was very nice.
Place is empty. No reservations until 11/12 they are saying, just kind of soft opened till then with Marriot people I guess.
Place is empty. No reservations until 11/12 they are saying, just kind of soft opened till then with Marriot people I guess.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
I noticed something funny on the Swan Reserve website. They have a local area section that shows golf courses and other local attractions and under the description of the Magnolia course, it mentions that the course hosts the final round of the PGA Tour's National Car Rental Golf Classic.
That information is 20 years out of date. The tournament was last sponsored by National Car Rental in 2001 -- beyond that, the event itself doesn't even exist anymore and hasn't since 2012.
I'm sure they did a copy and paste from somewhere (somewhere very outdated), but I was amused that a brand new hotel has information that old on their website.
That information is 20 years out of date. The tournament was last sponsored by National Car Rental in 2001 -- beyond that, the event itself doesn't even exist anymore and hasn't since 2012.
I'm sure they did a copy and paste from somewhere (somewhere very outdated), but I was amused that a brand new hotel has information that old on their website.
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Lirael
Well-Known Member
The inside looks really pretty. It isn't Disney themed, but its not a disney property so I don't think there's a problem with that.
The outside is terrible however. Bad enough that's its just a basic glass box, but it fails to do something as basic as fit the theming of the rest of its own property. They couldn't even be bothered to pallette match.
The outside is terrible however. Bad enough that's its just a basic glass box, but it fails to do something as basic as fit the theming of the rest of its own property. They couldn't even be bothered to pallette match.
lightningtap347
Well-Known Member
Stayed at the Dolphin over the race weekend. This hotel looks more like the Universal surf hotels than anything resembling the Swan or Dolphin.
I'm sure it's a great hotel, but it was distracting from the outside.
I'm sure it's a great hotel, but it was distracting from the outside.
Walt Disney World Swan Reserve ribbon cutting moment
Walt Disney World Swan Reserve ribbon cutting moment
Walt Disney World Swan Reserve ribbon cutting moment
www.wdwmagic.com
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
Good walk through of the hotel, it looks really nice. Anyone want to book the upstairs so I can view the fireworks from up there?
tired_photog
Active Member
The pool area looks nice but really tiny. I’ve never stayed at the Swan & Dolphin, any idea how long a walk it would be to that pool from The Reserve?
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
Wellll.... it is bright.New Walt Disney World Swan Reserve hotel now open
New Walt Disney World Swan Reserve hotel now open
The new Swan Reserve brings almost 350 more guest rooms to the Swan and Dolphin Resort.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
I honestly do not understand the attraction of going to the world's premiere themed resort and then staying at a generic, unthemed hotel. This just looks so overwhelmingly uninteresting.
(I also don't understand the attraction of "celebrity" vloggers who insert themselves into their videos. It makes me appreciate content creators like Marni and Alicia who create fascinating, well-edited videos that clearly present relevant information and rare footage.)
(I also don't understand the attraction of "celebrity" vloggers who insert themselves into their videos. It makes me appreciate content creators like Marni and Alicia who create fascinating, well-edited videos that clearly present relevant information and rare footage.)
danlb_2000
Premium Member
Personally I spend very few waking hours at the resort so theming isn't that important to me.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
But it doesn’t need to look so ugly. The colored spandrel panels are completely washed out. The random angled rooms that don’t really do anything but expose the floor slabs. Then the giant columns on the roof that don’t match anything else. It’s a mishmash of kind of trendy bits just slapped together onto a box.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
I don't spend much time at the resort either (I never use the pools or anything like that), but the resort theming is still a big part of the experience to me.
My issue with the Swan and Dolphin is the price, though. They're not that much cheaper than the Disney deluxe resorts, and cost more than the moderates. If I'm going to pay those prices, I want the theming. Otherwise I could just stay at one of the Disney Springs area hotels for much less.
They only make sense to me if you have a bunch of Marriott points and can stay there for a reduced rate or free.
It used to be that the Swolphin was significantly cheaper than the Crescent Lake resorts, providing a resort from which one can walk to EP or DHS. Not so much anymore.
However, the main use is for conventions. And the Reserve seems to be the more upscale set of suites for the big muckety-mucks (tho, the downside is they'll need to walk outside to get to the conferences).
danlb_2000
Premium Member
I haven't looked at the prices recently, but when I have stayed there the prices were dramatically less then the other Boardwalk area resorts, so I was basically getting Deluxe amenities for the price of a Moderate.
JMcMahonEsq
Well-Known Member
The Marriot/Bonvoy point option is definitely a big plus. Especially when it comes to corporate event planning, although to be fair, it also makes a significant impact if your looking to reduce costs and makes an attractive alternative budget planning feature. For anyone that travels at all for work, taking out a Marriot/Bonvoy credit card is an easy way to rack up points, which can help you get a free or heavily discounted stay here, one of the few choices for alternative pricing/budgeting for an on property stay.
We normally stay at the Contemporary but this summer due to construction we booked a relatively last minute trip to Swan and Dolphin and really enjoyed the trip. Given the easy walking access to two parks, and the level of restaurants/pools at S&D, I think it is fairer to compare it to Disney Deluxe Resorts (Boardwalk or Yacht Club) as opposed to moderate resorts, thought to be fair/honest, I haven't personally stayed at a moderate resort.
As to theming, I will admit to never staying at a Pop Century or AoA type property that had themed rooms. However I will say comparing my stays at other Deluxe resorts (Contemporary, Yacht Club, Poly, GF) prior to the the latest round of room renovations at Poly and Contemporary, I didn't see the Deluxe resorts being overly "Disney" themed. Yacht club has its own nautical theme, Boardwalk its Jersey Shore/Cape May type theming. Poly obviously a Polynesian type setting, and Contemporary a "modern" feel. But none of those things really screamed Disney theming. Other than the theme park view from Contemporary (which to be fair to me was the most "worth it" upgrade cost of anything Disney related) nothing at any of those resorts in style really linked me to a Disney experience. It was more the connection via location to the parks that made me feel within the Disney bubble, as opposed to the theming of the hotel itself.
We liked it so much, and given that our kids are getting older and looking at less of an MK centric trip with more time spent at Epcott/HS I priced out a trip for next summer, looking at pricing differences between Boardwalk, Swan, and Marriot World Resort, and found significant savings at Swan vs. Boardwalk (around range of 15-20%) using cash payments only, not points. Marriot World being off site was of course was by far the most economical at over 20% saving (and I do love that hotel itself) but we thought the onsite ability at Swan (we loved walking to 2 parks, and the helpful hint from someone on these boards to just walk to boardwalk or Yacht Club and take their buses to MK and AK was a lifesaver) outweighed the cost savings of off site Marriot vs Swan.
Now that all being said, going back to more on topic. The Reserve really doesn't fit into the Swan/Dolphin motif, and really in my mind does look out of place. That can be good or bad. While not my particular style, it does create a new offering that wasn't available in the area. The more suite focused approach of the hotel creates an opening to a certain guests especially in the convention setting that I can see being appealing. Its "on site" for the convention, yet still across the street and separate.