The "NEW" Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin

[Shaman]

I'm going to be the first to dissent here and say that i preffered it before. The darker woods and "quirkier" colors gave it more personality and a touch more magic IMHO. This looks like the lobby of my office building.

disclaimer: I've only ever stayed at the Dolphin, I've never been inside the Swan, so all my experience is based on that.

I like the new look of the Swan...but the Dolphin could use some more work (from the pictures, I'd say the old lobby's look was better, but I haven't seen it in person)...

 

[diz4life]

Can anyone confirm that Palio in the Swan is/will be undergoing renovations this month? My husband and I had reservations but were called by guest services to inform us that Palio might be closed during our stay. I'm hoping there might be a chance it will be open on Sept. 1st. Can anyone provide info? Thanks!:wave:

 

[Stitch69]

Wow! They did a great job! Can't wait to check it out in Jan

 

[casconi]

It's actually a Mahi Mahi and not the typical bottlenoise dolphin that you see everywhere.

Every year growing up I went "dolphin" fishing (mahi-mahi)...The fish at the swan and dolphin looks NOTHING like the fish or the porpoise....I always look at it and assume it to be a carp, or a Japanese Koi (those big goldfish)....I dunno why they did this...I think a porpoise would have been a much better touch...oh well, if it were actually Disney's hotel, Im sure they would have done it right!!!:lol:

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

Great pics. I wish I could stay there for free. Too bad Im horrible at pinball.:lol:

 

[blackerbys17]

I love it! I always prefer "posh" to "cute" so this is a major improvement. Thanks for all the pics Scottie! :wave:

 

[elle72688]

Greawt pics! Thanks for sharing.

 

[DisneyJill]

S&D have been charging for parking for at least a year now. They validate for the restaurants though so if you're still on property and want to drive there to eat, it's still "free" to park. Highly recommend you do too, Palio and Blue Zoo are just awesome!.

As far as the AC goes, a few of the Disney resorts do this as well. Pop Century and Riverside do. Not sure if the renovated rooms in Poly, WL or Contemporary. At least I don't remember looking when I stayed at Poly. It kinda sucks but it's good for the environment.

When I worked at the Contemporary 2 years ago, the AC was sensor activated. Sometimes if I went to check a room, it was VERY warm.

 

[Mickeyman819]

Awesome pictures as usually buddy.

 

[diddy_mouse]

Great pics! My husband and I walked through both resorts during some down time, they looked kinda pastel-y to me. The renovation looks very nice though. Looks like they toned down on the pastels (yay!). I think we might swing by in May and check it out for ourselves! Thanx again for the pics! :wave:

 

[LouDisney]

It looks beautiful. Great pictures Scott, thanks!

 

[ErickainPA]

Our bus driver actually mentioned that he believes they are suppose to be Japanese carp, whenever I saw pics of them, thought they looked Japanese

 

[WDWScottieBoy]

Alright...time to get some facts straight.

The AC sensor...it was something that has been noticed, and is now 99% done. What happened is when there was no activity for five minutes, it would go to the default of 72F. If you're a very still sleeper, that could cause a problem. Thankfully, those sensors are now gone and the guest has complete control over the room temperature.

The rumor of Palio closing/refurbing...:zipit: Expect something announced very soon. (I don't know if anything has been announced officially, so until I do I won't say anything.)

The "aerial" shot that I took...it's of an original model that is in the Dolphin lobby. If it were a real aeriel shot, then those would be some MASSIVE pots and floor coverings around property. :lol: (I showed that mainly for the exterior view of the two and to show the black squares in each [from a previous thread]).

Benefits from Swan/Dolphin compared to Disney: you get exactly the same as a Disney hotel and then some. Disney doesn't offer the Westin Heavenly Bed and amenities, the Swan and Dolphin does. You cannot use the room key to charge back from outside the Swan and Dolphin, but you CAN have items bought in the parks sent to the hotel and picked up in either Disney's Cabanas at the Swan or Daisy's Garden at the Dolphin.

Parking, yes, it does cost $8/night for self-parking or $14/night for valet ($12 for day use).

The Dolphins are Mahi Mahi...I can confirm that.

 

[dxwwf3]

Parking, yes, it does cost $8/night for self-parking or $14/night for valet ($12 for day use).

Wow, is this the only WDW resort that charges for self-parking? I've visited many of the deluxe resorts, but we've never stayed there so I'm not sure if this is usual or not.

 

[WDWScottieBoy]

Disney doesn't have any hotels that charge for self-parking but they do for Valet. Starwood decided to add the charge at the beginning of this year because of the limited parking and the locals were coming and parking in the lot because of it's great location. Because of that, it made it very hard for the guests to find a spot to park.

It's still one of the cheapest hotels to park at in comparison to the convention hotels that compete with us. (That was the other major factor in adding the charge.) It's $13 for self-parking at the Gaylord Palms and $17 at the Ritz-Carlton.

 

[dxwwf3]

I mean if we can get a great deal on the rooms, it isn't the end of the world. But we usually stay about 8 or 9 days so that can add up pretty quick. Thanks for telling us about that.

 

[Slowjack]

Folks, the guy who was asking about the "aerial" shot was clearly joking. Perhaps the confusion was caused by the use of the :king: instead of :lol:?

Anyway, while I was never crazy about the original Swan and Dolphin styling, I can't say that the new approach is an improvement. It's just a generic "nice" hotel style now. I mean, if this were a hotel I was staying at for a conference in Atlanta or something like that, sure. But for staying at WDW? Without the whimsical touches, the only thing Disney about it is the location, otherwise it's like getting a room in the Hotel Plaza.

 

[mousermerf]

Benefits from Swan/Dolphin compared to Disney: you get exactly the same as a Disney hotel and then some. Disney doesn't offer the Westin Heavenly Bed and amenities, the Swan and Dolphin does. You cannot use the room key to charge back from outside the Swan and Dolphin, but you CAN have items bought in the parks sent to the hotel and picked up in either Disney's Cabanas at the Swan or Daisy's Garden at the Dolphin.

You also can't get Magical Express from the Swolphin. The Hilton doesn't charge for parking, so I think it's kinda crappy that the Swolphin does.

The interior is a big improvement overall, though i second the "most expensive wood in the world" - "lets put it behind a check in desk!" comment and well.. too many candles. I have bad allergies, I fear candles.

My non-disney on-Disney property property of preference (says that 5 times fast) is the Hilton because I can get it on priceline for $60, but I do like the look of the rennovated Swolphin. Have to give those heavenly beds a test sometime - request me a candle free room

 

[ilovepluto23]

BEAUTIFUL!

I will probably be staying at either the Swan or Dolphin once I get out of Nursing school (since I will be able to get a discount as a nurse ).
Between the two, which do you prefer?

 

[ilovepluto23]

I always thought the same thing but my mom informed me that its actually a dolphin fish...not a dolphin, so if your eating and you see dolphin on the menu, don't worry you aren't eating flipper, but rather a dolphin fish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_fish

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but I'm pretty sure it's ILLEGAL to eat a dolphin (the mammal).