Swan or value

[twilight mitsuk]

What is your preference, Swan, Dolphine, or a value resort?

 

[Lynne M]

Oh, my, no comparison at all. Swan and Dolphin are deluxe resorts, within easy walking distance (or a very pleasant boat ride) to Epcot and DHS. You're also steps away from the Boardwalk and YC/BC, giving you a huge number of dining choices. They have the Starwood chain's Heavenly Beds. Oh, and there's a terrific pool area.

Not to knock the values....they're very nice motels, and a good value for the money, but they're motels. No balconies, very small rooms, double beds. People traipsing past your window day and night. Food court only, no table service dining. Rather basic pools with no slides. Bus transportation only.

 

[Debbie]

If money isn't an issue; stay at the Swan. It's very nice----the values are Ok but I would splurge if I could afford it.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

As Debbie said, if money is not a factor, definitely stay at the Swan. This is one of my favorites...it's beautiful, great location, and even though it's not technically a Disney resort, it might as well be.

 

[Lynne M]

Oops, DisneyPrincess5 reminded me of an important point....the Swan and Dolphin are not Disney-owned, so that means you would not be able to use the free Magical Express transportation from the airport, and you would not be able to purchase the Disney Dining Plan.

 

[palmage]

That's like saying Hilton or Motel 6.............Hmmmmmm

 

[disneypearl]

I have to say that I really like WDW's value resorts. I haven't been to Swan & Dolphin and so I can't compare. I do however like that special experience of staying on Disney property 24 hours a day.

 

[slappy magoo]

Oops, DisneyPrincess5 reminded me of an important point....the Swan and Dolphin are not Disney-owned, so that means you would not be able to use the free Magical Express transportation from the airport, and you would not be able to purchase the Disney Dining Plan.

There is one other caveat, IF you'll be using your own car or a rental while on your vacation: you won't get free parking at the parks if you stay at the Swan or Dolphin (unless you have an annual pass, because those passes include free parking no matter where you stay). In fact, you won't even get free parking if you leave you car at the Swan/Dolphin parking lots - they charge every time you park, and if you leave the car parked for 24 hours, you'll be charged again.

Even if I had to pay for the parking, I'd choose Swan or Dolphin over the Values. The exteriors are cool-looking in their unique Andy-Warhol-without-the-irony way. But the rooms IMHO are too small if you're the type of people (like we are) who intend to do more at their hotel then just shower sleep and ____...uh, shower some more. :lookaroun The rest of the grounds aren't as well themed as the rest of the resorts, fewer amenities and no on-site restaurants or nearby sit-down restaurants. Sometimes after a long day at the parks, you want a nice meal close to your room so you can conk immediately afterwards.

Even though the Swan & Dolphin aren't themed the way Disney resorts are, they're beautiful, the rooms (from what I've seen) are very nice, and you're close enough to Yacht/Beach Club and Boardwalk to get a sense of the Disney magic, perhaps even stronger than actually staying at a Value. And the location is awesome, especially if you intend to spend a lot of time at either Epcot or...oh, who am I kidding who spends a lot of time at the Studios anymore? And they often have very good discounts, especially for Teachers & Nurses & Gov't Workers.

So in your shoes, I'd probably forgo a rental car, spring for the Mears Transportation or a town car to get me to the Swan and Dolphin and not think twice about it after that.

 

[batkc]

No hesitation - Swan

My family and I take a trip to Walt Disney World every year around Christmas (in fact, we're leaving tomorrow). Without question, we stay at the Swan nearly all of the time. Our last trip, this past January (yeah I know, we missed Christmas because of an unfortunate set of circumstances) we splurged and stayed at The Contemporary and were foolish enough to also get the Deluxe Dining Plan. We missed the Swan.

Sure, you don't get to purchase the Dining Plan when you stay at the Swan or Dolphin, but for us, that's an added incentive to not get dessert.

At the Swan, you can get a room with two queen beds, you will only find that at a deluxe resort. The beds, by the way, are far and away more comfortable than an WDW resort bed I've slept on (Dixie Landings, rather Port Orleans Riverside (that...was a long time ago), Contemporary, and Animal Kingdom Lodge).

We schedule a shuttle through the hotel and it's never been a problem. The WDW busses stop right out front, and as it was said before, you're within walking distance or short boat ride to two parks and a ton of restaurants. You can even watch the Epcot fireworks from your room if you're lucky.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

That's like saying Hilton or Motel 6.............Hmmmmmm

Marriott or super 8

 

[Nikki M]

There is no comparison. Stay at the Swan. We do every year, and we enjoy it. We stayed there for half the trip, Poly the other half in November. We actually enjoyed our room at the Swan more than the Poly. Our room at the swan was much cleaner and the bed much more comfortable.

 

[tjkref418]

There is one other caveat, IF you'll be using your own car or a rental while on your vacation: you won't get free parking at the parks if you stay at the Swan or Dolphin (unless you have an annual pass, because those passes include free parking no matter where you stay). In fact, you won't even get free parking if you leave you car at the Swan/Dolphin parking lots - they charge every time you park, and if you leave the car parked for 24 hours, you'll be charged again.

Even if I had to pay for the parking, I'd choose Swan or Dolphin over the Values. The exteriors are cool-looking in their unique Andy-Warhol-without-the-irony way. But the rooms IMHO are too small if you're the type of people (like we are) who intend to do more at their hotel then just shower sleep and ____...uh, shower some more. :lookaroun The rest of the grounds aren't as well themed as the rest of the resorts, fewer amenities and no on-site restaurants or nearby sit-down restaurants. Sometimes after a long day at the parks, you want a nice meal close to your room so you can conk immediately afterwards.

Even though the Swan & Dolphin aren't themed the way Disney resorts are, they're beautiful, the rooms (from what I've seen) are very nice, and you're close enough to Yacht/Beach Club and Boardwalk to get a sense of the Disney magic, perhaps even stronger than actually staying at a Value. And the location is awesome, especially if you intend to spend a lot of time at either Epcot or...oh, who am I kidding who spends a lot of time at the Studios anymore? And they often have very good discounts, especially for Teachers & Nurses & Gov't Workers.

So in your shoes, I'd probably forgo a rental car, spring for the Mears Transportation or a town car to get me to the Swan and Dolphin and not think twice about it after that.

very well said. I would advise on the swan/dolphin as well...

 

[corey154]

We stayed at the Dolphin for the first time in October. (The dolphin was a little cheaper than the Swan) The bed's were so comfy, the room was refurbished, nice bathroom area, LOVED walking to Epcot for the food and wine fest, LOVED the Boardwalk area being so close. The Dolphin has a 24 hour place to get something to eat. There's a slide for the pool and it's a pretty big pool. It's one of the nicer hotels I've stayed at, the lobby was beautiful. The negatives were being charged $20 (i think it was that much) a day to park and then another 20 dollar resort fee a day for the fitness club (never used), a newspaper (never read), and two bottles of water (that we didn't need as I had brought drinks with us since we drove ourselves). Since we only went two nights and visited Epcot, we didn't use their bus system to other parks, but many people seemed happy with it.

We really like Pop, one of my daughter's fav places to stay. (out of value and mod's) Parking is free, you feel like you're in Disney...very festive. Also you have the key to the world...your room key which you can use to charge everything in the parks to. I've stayed at all the values minus the sports...and all of them are comparable to each other. (just at pop you don't share buses with anyone else, sometimes the other values do) The bed's are full size and the pillows are not comfy at all. (but none of the disney hotels have comfy pillows..imho) As much as I like Pop, i do think the rooms need to be refurbished. The grounds are really nice. No slide in the pool. I actually like the values food courts better than other disney hotels. (no sit down places to eat..but that's never an issue for us, you can always hop on a bus to somewhere else to eat)

Hope this helps, sorry I wrote so much!

 

[MissingDisney]

S/D do not feel "Disney". If you are wanting a full Disney expierence, then they are not for you. Just because you can see Epcot doesn't make up for the lack of Disney theming. I go to Disney to do DISNEY. I can stay at other nice hotels on my other vacations. It's all about what you (and if you have kids, really what THEY) want from your trip. My kids don't read the paper, use the health club, drink the not-to-complimentary-wine, etc. And for what it's worth, I love riding Disney busses. All the extras are going to add up at S/D, you may as well stay at DISNEY at a Deluxe when it's all said and done. Happy deciding.

 

[Eeyore]

We stayed at the Dolphin for the first time in October. (The dolphin was a little cheaper than the Swan) The bed's were so comfy, the room was refurbished, nice bathroom area, LOVED walking to Epcot for the food and wine fest, LOVED the Boardwalk area being so close. The Dolphin has a 24 hour place to get something to eat. There's a slide for the pool and it's a pretty big pool. It's one of the nicer hotels I've stayed at, the lobby was beautiful. The negatives were being charged $20 (i think it was that much) a day to park and then another 20 dollar resort fee a day for the fitness club (never used), a newspaper (never read), and two bottles of water (that we didn't need as I had brought drinks with us since we drove ourselves). Since we only went two nights and visited Epcot, we didn't use their bus system to other parks, but many people seemed happy with it.

We really like Pop, one of my daughter's fav places to stay. (out of value and mod's) Parking is free, you feel like you're in Disney...very festive. Also you have the key to the world...your room key which you can use to charge everything in the parks to. I've stayed at all the values minus the sports...and all of them are comparable to each other. (just at pop you don't share buses with anyone else, sometimes the other values do) The bed's are full size and the pillows are not comfy at all. (but none of the disney hotels have comfy pillows..imho) As much as I like Pop, i do think the rooms need to be refurbished. The grounds are really nice. No slide in the pool. I actually like the values food courts better than other disney hotels. (no sit down places to eat..but that's never an issue for us, you can always hop on a bus to somewhere else to eat)

Hope this helps, sorry I wrote so much!

Parking at the Swan and Dolphin is $10 a day for self parking, $16 for vallet.

I'd go with the Swan or Dolphin over a Disney value resort hands down any day of the week.

Pros:

-walking distance to Epcot, Studios, and the Boardwalk (or boat if you prefer)

- 24 hour food location, Picabu

-the heavenly beds

-great views from most rooms, either park views or views of the beautiful Epcot resort Swan/Dolphin area

-great grotto pool, fun water slide, two lap pools and two hot tubs

-gorgeous poolside cabana bar

-Il Mullino at the Swan :slurp:

-calm atmosphere (as long as there isn't a big convention)

-WDWMagic, military, and teacher discounts

-their own refillable mugs

-emh


Cons (for some people- most aren't a factor for me):

-parking and resort fees (we don't have a car when we visit so its not an issue for us)

-no magical express (We use quicksilver)

-no dining plan (don't use it anyway)

-no room charging outside of the swan and dolphin (don't use it anyway)

-no mickey soap in the bathrooms shrug

-no resort tv shrug

-big conventions (The only real con in my opinion but you get the same thing at the other Epcot resorts as well as cheerleaders, football players, and tour groups at the values and moderates)


I can easily live with a few, in my opinion, minor cons to stay at a beautiful deluxe resort for the price of a Disney moderate. Swan/Dolphin vs. a value resort would be a no brainer for me.

 

[captainkidd]

I'll play devil's advocate and say I'd take the Values. The Swan/Dolphin are not Disney Resorts and have no feeling of Disney about them. Granted, they have the Values beat in location, and the rooms are nice.

I hate when people compare the Values to Motel 6. Drives me crazy. People who say that have either never stayed at a Value, or never stayed at a Motel 6. I've stayed at both, and the comparisons are plain stupid.

The Values have outside corridors (so do the mods), but that's where the comparisons end. I've never been to a Motel 6 which had 2 gorgeous, huge swimming pools, a huge food court, very well kept landscaping, a wonderful store on site, a pool bar, or free transportation.

I've stayed at all the Values, 2 of the Mods, and a few Deluxes - Some of our most wonderful stays were at the Values. The bus transportation is better than any other resort, the pool bars were better than any other lounge on property, the pools were a blast, the theming was fun, the food courts beat the heck out of any food courts at the other resorts, and the service was excellent.