Did Disney and the Swalphin Break Up?

BoarderPhreak

BoarderPhreak

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Staying at the Swan/Dolphin was always a bit of a secret/bonus. The rates were on par if not a good deal lower than Moderate Resorts (not so much anymore), the location behind Epcot was excellent (also in a bit of a decline with all the surrounding resorts and the new Skyliner). More marked differences include the end of DME (granted, Disney-wide) and worse, regular Disney transportation (read: busses).

Now obviously the Swan/Dolphin doesn't qualify for extended evening hours at the parks (not being official Disney resorts, let alone Deluxe Resorts). Just today, a list was posted of resorts that qualify for early park entry... Which thankfully include just about every Disney resort, across Deluxe, Moderate and Value. Even a surprising list of third-party resorts.

Suspiciously absent... Swan and Dolphin! I'm beginning to think Disney and the ol' Swalphin have sort of "parted company." The value-add equation seems bust. 🤷‍♂️
 
Cadbury

Cadbury

Well-Known Member
Well seeing how Dolphin and Swan were never officially Disney resorts to begin with it doesn't surprise me their guests aren't enjoying the same perks as Disney resort guests.
 
nickys

nickys

Premium Member
monorail81 said:
Yeah..............so, if you go to the official WDW website, you’ll find the Swalphin listed as having that benefit....I’d kind of trust them over a third party fan site.
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That takes me to the U.K. Extra Magic Hours page, which says at the top that’s it’s been discontinued. In other words they haven’t updated the info since EMH no longer exists.

“

Please note: The Extra Magic Hours benefit was suspended when Walt Disney World Resort reopened last summer, and as we continue to manage attendance with health and safety top of mind, Extra Magic Hours will not return. Learn more about our new early theme park entry benefit coming later this year as part of our 50th anniversary celebration. “​


The morning Early Entry is a different offering.
 
Cadbury

Cadbury

Well-Known Member
BoarderPhreak said:
They used to! That was the whole point of this thread. 🙄
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What I meant is Swan and Dolphin were never owned by Disney. And as I said before, it's not surprising Swan and Dolphin guests don't get to enjoy the same privileges and/or perks that Disney owned resort guests would enjoy.
 
BoarderPhreak

BoarderPhreak

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
BourbonStreet said:
What I meant is Swan and Dolphin were never owned by Disney. And as I said before, it's not surprising Swan and Dolphin guests don't get to enjoy the same privileges and/or perks that Disney owned resort guests would enjoy.
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Well yeah, they were always separate entities. It's just odd how such prominent properties have seen their ties whither and perks whittled away. I can only assume that their relationship soured or at least changed on some level. Especially after seeing the other third-party hotels receive this new benefit that they have not. Makes me wonder if The Cove would've still been built today, considering the current relationship.
 
Cadbury

Cadbury

Well-Known Member
BoarderPhreak said:
Well yeah, they were always separate entities. It's just odd how such prominent properties have seen their ties whither and perks whittled away.
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The relationship between Disney and whoever owns/manages Swan & Dolphin was always a good one from what I understand but even good relationships don't last forever unfortunately. Now if only Disney were to take over ownership of both buildings...
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
BoarderPhreak said:
They used to! That was the whole point of this thread. 🙄
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One thing that they can't alter is that when Swan & Dolphin either purchased the property or leased it, there was some kind of agreement that certain things would come with that. I mean that spent millions building those resorts and Disney benefited by having a quality hotel that they paid nothing to build and nothing to maintain and either got a huge amount of money for the sale of the property or the lease of it must knock your socks off. All of those promises had to be made for the life of the lease or as along as that resort existed. There were many things that aren't included in the agreements considering when all of that happened, but I would think that the resort would have a very strong case that Disney is attempting to put them out of business, by sneaky business practices.
 
wdwfan22

wdwfan22

Well-Known Member
It all comes down to does the Swan/dolphin wish to continue to pay Disney for the on-site perks. Disney doesn’t give it to them for free, that is why you see some of the hotels drop the on-site perks.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
That makes me so happy that I have never thought the onsite hotels were worth the money. I go to WDW for the parks not the out of the parks ambiance. I love the parks, not the resorts. Sure they are pretty, but not that damn pretty. For a while we did lose some perks but it appears that Disney is backing up on those perks in the interest of keeping all that money in their bank accounts. So it is coming back to how it was in the early 80, on or offsite meant nothing except a slightly higher room rate. I everything old becomes new again.
 
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JusticeDisney

JusticeDisney

Well-Known Member
BoarderPhreak said:
Well yeah, they were always separate entities. It's just odd how such prominent properties have seen their ties whither and perks whittled away. I can only assume that their relationship soured or at least changed on some level. Especially after seeing the other third-party hotels receive this new benefit that they have not. Makes me wonder if The Cove would've still been built today, considering the current relationship.
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Aside from the extra evening hours, name one perk that Disney deluxes offer that the S&D do not.
 
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JusticeDisney

JusticeDisney

Well-Known Member
BoarderPhreak said:
I didn't say it did.
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Uhhhh, the whole point of this thread was that maybe the S&D is no longer worth what it once was and that Disney and the S&D appear to no longer have the same relationship that they once had. That may all be true, but the fact remains that there is literally only one benefit that has recently been given to Disney deluxe hotels that has not also been given to the S&D - extra evening hours.
 
BoarderPhreak

BoarderPhreak

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
JusticeDisney said:
Uhhhh, the whole point of this thread was that maybe the S&D is no longer worth what it once was and that Disney and the S&D appear to no longer have the same relationship that they once had. That may all be true, but the fact remains that there is literally only one benefit that has recently been given to Disney deluxe hotels that has not also been given to the S&D - extra evening hours.
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While you still get more upscale accommodations at the S&D for the price of a Moderate - the rack rate value proposition is no longer as clear as it was in the past. The aforementioned MagicBand differences and on-property transportation are some big differentiators. Then there's the "resort fee" that they charge. Now the evening hour restrictions. I'm not saying staying at the S&D is a bust now, but it's no longer the clear winner it once was.
 

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