Do people really avoid the Swan/Dolphin merely because...

JusticeDisney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
...it is not Disney owned? If true, that blows my mind! I have stayed at the Dolphin, Boardwalk and Beach Club and, in my opinion, each is just as nice as the next. I certainly undertsand a person having his or her own favorite spot based upon subjective tastes, but to reject a place based solely on who owns it is nuts to me, especially when you can essentially get more for less at the Swan/Dolphin.

Oh well, just thought I would throw that out there!

Have a great day everyone, and I hope your next trip to Disney World gets here quick!
 

Mukta

Well-Known Member
I agree with you. I have stayed at both the Swan and Dolphin and they were both great hotels. The location, the food, the rooms were all great. I still got EMH which was very important to me.
 

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
Swan/Dolphin guests don't get a few Disney-owned resort perks:

- Disney's Magical Express
- charging privileges to my room account only exist within the Swan/Dolphin, not elsewhere on Disney property
- no Disney Dining plan (and therefore no Free Dining; if you are into that)

I would weigh those factors before staying at the Swan/Dolphin.
 

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Wait till you read those proclaiming they will only stay onsite and would not stay anywhere else regardless of price. That kind of logic baffles me, especially when we recently got Ritz Carlton for less than Disney moderate. It is an incredible property. We usually go twice per year, once onsite, once offsite and the offsite trips are just fine, sometimes better.
 

MermaidJuli

Active Member
I think the "Disney-owned" thing oftentimes more refers to the decor and themeing not being Disney. I have stayed at Swan/Dolphin and loved the location and the price, especially compared to what you pay for the other Epcot resorts right in that area. But you don't have the little Disney details here that make the Disney resorts what they are. You aren't 100% immersed in Disney. For me, as someone who lives in Florida and frequents the parks rather than saving all year for one big trip, and as someone without children, the price point of Swan/Dolphin usually wins out for me. But I do know that it doesn't have the "magic" of the other resorts. When I'm splurging, I get really excited about staying in Wilderness Lodge or Yacht Club or the Boardwalk because of the special little details that Disney does so well.
 

JusticeDisney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Those are some interesting points about not being fully immersed in Disney. What exactly does that mean, though? I mean, there is a gift shop in the Dolphin that sells all things Disney and the Swan has character dining? What is meant when "immersed in Disney" is stated?
 

RonAnnArbor

Well-Known Member
There are actually a lot of other perks that don't occur at the Swan/Dolphin too....but in my experience, the biggest ones right now are the lack of Disney's Magical Express, which for some families has become absolutely essential if they don't rent a car...but there are smaller things too...The bus transportation to the parks and Disney Springs run easily less than half as frequently as the other resorts...there are no "disney extras" i.e. the disney sing alongs in the moderate resorts, the movies-on-the-lawn in the evenings...I have stayed at both of these properties and loved them, but would ONLY stay here if I had a rented car and drove everywhere...
 

belledream

Well-Known Member
I'm a Disney bubble type of person and haven't stayed at either, but I totally would if I wanted to go Deluxe and couldn't afford Y&B/Boardwalk. Yeah I hate the idea of resort fees and missing out on DME, but the rooms look spectacular and worth the price, and what's more Disney than seeing Crescent Lake and possibly a Disney park from your window!? I'd be down. :)
 

belledream

Well-Known Member
Those are some interesting points about not being fully immersed in Disney. What exactly does that mean, though? I mean, there is a gift shop in the Dolphin that sells all things Disney and the Swan has character dining? What is meant when "immersed in Disney" is stated?
To me, being immersed in Disney is like walking into your resort and seeing Mickey Mouse on the walls, the carpet, on the television, everywhere you look. Even in your a Deluxe resort room, even though Disney isn't plastered to your bedsheets, there's some type of artwork depicting a Disney character. At S&D, you could literally be at any (very nice) hotel not in Disney. It seems a little more sterile and nondescript to me - which isn't a bad thing! But I love all things Disney so we have never really given S&D or any of the Downtown Disney resorts serious consideration. On the flip side, some perople who aren't so gunho about DISNEY EVERYWHERE see S&D as a perfect choice for that Disney feel & service but a nice respite from it actually being in-your-face.
 

CheshireCat12

Well-Known Member
Swan/Dolphin guests don't get a few Disney-owned resort perks:

- Disney's Magical Express
- charging privileges to my room account only exist within the Swan/Dolphin, not elsewhere on Disney property
- no Disney Dining plan (and therefore no Free Dining; if you are into that)

I would weigh those factors before staying at the Swan/Dolphin.
The lack of DME is a make-or-break for some people, me included. I could live without the other stuff though.
 

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
Those are some interesting points about not being fully immersed in Disney. What exactly does that mean, though? I mean, there is a gift shop in the Dolphin that sells all things Disney and the Swan has character dining? What is meant when "immersed in Disney" is stated?
It's like asking "What is Jazz?" If you have to ask you'll never know :D

But seriously ladies and germs, Swan and Dolphin are absolutely gorgeous hotels, but you can check out videos or photos of any of the WDW-owned hotels save perhaps the Contemporary and see that an effort was made to make the resort look different than just a nice hotel, something unique (at least for the location, I mean there are plenty of Polynesian themed resorts in the actual islands, and resorts that might have the Southern charm Port Orleans tries to evoke in other Southern states). It's trying to make you feel like you're someplace unique and special. It's that attention to detail that captures a lot of people's imagination, and a lot of people's fancy. Whether it's worth the premium is up to the vacation goer in question.

Beyond that, it's like what other people have said, no DME if you don't have a car, per-day parking fees if you do. No charging privileges. Additional hotel fees (I think up to $23 now) for 2 bottles of water per day, phone and internet use, regardless of whether or not you want or need those things. So if you have a car, you're up to something like $45/day beyond the hotel itself. No option of a dining plan...

None of this means I'd never stay at Swolphin. But I do prefer the onsite resorts, and the amenities they afford you, more.
 

MermaidJuli

Active Member
Those are some interesting points about not being fully immersed in Disney. What exactly does that mean, though? I mean, there is a gift shop in the Dolphin that sells all things Disney and the Swan has character dining? What is meant when "immersed in Disney" is stated?

Well, aside from obvious value resorts where Disney themeing is literally built into the walls...
art-of-animation-00-full.jpg

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..I'll tell you what it means for me as an adult.

So much of visiting Disney for me is feeling like I am transported to a different place or time period.

In Magic Kingdom, Liberty Square is fashioned after New England/Colonial Williamsburg down to the tiny details - the buildings, the shutters, the restaurants, the food, the furniture, the architectural details, the lighting. The same with Frontierland (American West), Tomorrowland (Space Age/futuristic), etc. Epcot does the same with Future World and all of the countries in the World Showcase. Hollywood Studios takes you to classic Hollywood. It is found throughout the parks at WDW, and Disney does it well. They find a theme and they make it feel real.

The same thing is carried into the details in the resorts. Wilderness Lodge, for example, has a theme -- the West/ Pacific Northwest. The structure was fashioned after the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park. It has bison topiaries that greet you outside. It has a geyser that goes off throughout the day. All of the furniture is crafted into a rustic theme. The dense trees and foliage make you feel like you are in the wilderness, with nature trails nearby to boot. Buffalo steak, buffalo sausage and buffalo chili are served in the restaurants (which, by the way, is very hard to come by in Florida). There are carved wooden bears in the lounge and a stream runs through the lobby. In the rooms - the light fixtures, the headboards, the carpets, the wooden carved furniture, the western patterns in the linens. Every single details matches the themeing of that resort. You don't go back to your hotel, you go back to an experience that really only Disney can provide for you.

The same can be said about the other Disney resorts. The Yacht Club Resort, "a New England-style yacht club" with nautical themeing and fashioned after Martha's Vineyard style architecture. The furniture, the architecture, the lighting, the headboards, the linens, the carpeting, the lounge and restaurants. Port Orleans French Quarter - The theming here from the wrought-iron balconies to the street lamps and cobblestone roads for sidewalks, the live jazz music in the lounge, and the fleur de lys linens.

When I feel "Immersed in Disney," it's not because there is a gift shop. I could go to my local mall and visit a Disney store if that's all I needed. When I am on vacation, I want to feel transported to somewhere wonderful that distracts me from the everyday things I tried to leave at home. Swan and Dolphin are beautiful hotels. But that's just what they are - hotels. The Disney resorts have so much character and thought put into the little details that people feel immersed in something really special, and for many, it continues that Disney magic on throughout all parts of their vacation.
 
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m3owbox

Active Member
There are actually a lot of other perks that don't occur at the Swan/Dolphin too....but in my experience, the biggest ones right now are the lack of Disney's Magical Express, which for some families has become absolutely essential if they don't rent a car...but there are smaller things too...The bus transportation to the parks and Disney Springs run easily less than half as frequently as the other resorts...there are no "disney extras" i.e. the disney sing alongs in the moderate resorts, the movies-on-the-lawn in the evenings...I have stayed at both of these properties and loved them, but would ONLY stay here if I had a rented car and drove everywhere...
When were you last there? I was there last month and they shared busses with the Boardwalk.
 

Sage of Time

Well-Known Member
Swan and Dolphin are among my favorite resorts for the price and because it's a break from the hyper saturated world of the theme parks.
 

surfsupdon

Well-Known Member
There are actually a lot of other perks that don't occur at the Swan/Dolphin too....but in my experience, the biggest ones right now are the lack of Disney's Magical Express, which for some families has become absolutely essential if they don't rent a car...but there are smaller things too...The bus transportation to the parks and Disney Springs run easily less than half as frequently as the other resorts...there are no "disney extras" i.e. the disney sing alongs in the moderate resorts, the movies-on-the-lawn in the evenings...I have stayed at both of these properties and loved them, but would ONLY stay here if I had a rented car and drove everywhere...

How do the busses run les frequent, when they share with either BoardWalk only or BW, Yacht, and Beach? Bus transportation was fine.

Swan Dolphin also has nightly movies at their pool and a lot of kid centered evening activities, and afternoon activities over by the grotto pool. We were just there for our NYE trip, and can confirm.

They also run cardio classes in their gym, and yoga on their beach, something no other Disney Resort does.

We still easily prefer Yacht, Beach, and BoardWalk.....but prefer the Swan over many other Disney Resorts.
 

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