Figgy1
Premium Member
Taxi, Uber, Lyft etc. Good to see you my friend
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The Swan and Dolphin versus Disney Properties
- Thread starter doc_holiday3500
- Start date
Bugz
Well-Known Member
Hey buddy! Thanks for the tip!
bennyw01
Active Member
Dolphin is the one! all the best parts of staying on property with non of the elevated costs, plus if you're like me you wanna go back to the resort and just have a beer or whatever in your room without having to pay 24/7 homage to the mouse. Between Dolphin for DHS and EP the only other 3P resort that I think is worth the downgrade on Disney prices is the Wyndham Tower (not garden) by Disney Springs, mainly for the price and walking access to Disney Springs.
From what I understand the parking costs at the Dolphin also cover parking at the parks, so going to Animal Kingdom is as easy as driving, sure makes up for the lack of official buses currently, plus I just walk over to neighbouring resorts or skyliners to get where I need to be! couldn't be easier. Also worth noting that Swolphin is dead center of the resort, its so easy to get any where or off property.
I love Wilderness Lodge, but getting anywhere takes considerably longer due to the step of removal it is vs other resorts.
From what I understand the parking costs at the Dolphin also cover parking at the parks, so going to Animal Kingdom is as easy as driving, sure makes up for the lack of official buses currently, plus I just walk over to neighbouring resorts or skyliners to get where I need to be! couldn't be easier. Also worth noting that Swolphin is dead center of the resort, its so easy to get any where or off property.
I love Wilderness Lodge, but getting anywhere takes considerably longer due to the step of removal it is vs other resorts.
DISR
Well-Known Member
Here are my thoughts from our trip in Dec/Jan (copied from my trip report).
Hotel: we stayed in a non-Disney hotel for the first time in many years. We chose the Swan because it we could get adjoining rooms for less than a single room at YC next door. With the COVID protocols in place there isn’t a lot of benefit to booking Disney. 2 bedrooms and 2 baths were really nice to have. This is definitely not a Disney hotel though. Room design lacks storage and outlets common in most Disney resort hotels. I would put the room above a moderate, but below deluxe.
The hotel also really suffers from the withdrawal from Disney transportation. Nobody really likes the Disney bus system, but you may re-think it if you stay at the Swan and Dolphin….theirs is much worse. After several tries with extended waits, we opted for self-driving or Lyft. Lyft and Uber are really degraded in service response times. They consistently showed relatively quick pickups, but when you hit confirm, the times changed significantly. If you are going to rely on them for rope drops, I would highly recommend pre-ordering your ride.
Restaurants have been well covered and are generally considered better than most Disney counterparts. We didn’t eat there a whole lot, but no complaints.
Pool: These are big hotels, and the capacity of the signature pool was pretty stretched on warm days in Dec/Jan. I imagine it is a real challenge in summer. I would prefer any Disney pool I’ve been to over the Swan and Dolphin.
Hotel: we stayed in a non-Disney hotel for the first time in many years. We chose the Swan because it we could get adjoining rooms for less than a single room at YC next door. With the COVID protocols in place there isn’t a lot of benefit to booking Disney. 2 bedrooms and 2 baths were really nice to have. This is definitely not a Disney hotel though. Room design lacks storage and outlets common in most Disney resort hotels. I would put the room above a moderate, but below deluxe.
The hotel also really suffers from the withdrawal from Disney transportation. Nobody really likes the Disney bus system, but you may re-think it if you stay at the Swan and Dolphin….theirs is much worse. After several tries with extended waits, we opted for self-driving or Lyft. Lyft and Uber are really degraded in service response times. They consistently showed relatively quick pickups, but when you hit confirm, the times changed significantly. If you are going to rely on them for rope drops, I would highly recommend pre-ordering your ride.
Restaurants have been well covered and are generally considered better than most Disney counterparts. We didn’t eat there a whole lot, but no complaints.
Pool: These are big hotels, and the capacity of the signature pool was pretty stretched on warm days in Dec/Jan. I imagine it is a real challenge in summer. I would prefer any Disney pool I’ve been to over the Swan and Dolphin.
DISR
Well-Known Member
No, but walking to EPCOT and DHS are quicker than any of the transportation options. The only place you can walk to Disney Springs is from Saratoga Springs resorts or the non-Disney hotels nearby.
Bugz
Well-Known Member
Thanks , how about skyliner ,can we get on that from Dolphin?
DISR
Well-Known Member
Yes...the EPCOT station is closest. On check-in day our room was not ready so we resort hopped for a couple of hours on the skyliner. It was fun.
Bugz
Well-Known Member
So we can get on skyliner without going into Epcot??
DISR
Well-Known Member
All of the skyliner stations are outside of the park entrances. No park ticket is required. Same as the monorail.
Bugz
Well-Known Member
Awesome ,will be first time at Dolphin hoping we like it used to stay at Carribean
DISR
Well-Known Member
The resort is perfectly fine. Doesn't have the wow factor of the Disney-themed resorts, but the location can't be beat. You will have a great trip. Our choice was between Caribbean Beach and the Swan. We had no regrets...walking to EPCOT and DHS are huge benefits for us.
PolynesianPrincess
Well-Known Member
We have stayed at the Swan once and Dolphin twice. Only for a couple days each though. We're staying there for 8 days in 2 weeks. With the social distancing on the buses, we were concerned with getting to the parks well prior to opening. We had originally booked Coronado Springs but found a passholder rate at the Dolphin for $100 more than CS, all fees included. While it's NOT Disney themed, the Dolphin will give us the freedom to get to DHS as early as we want walking versus taking an Uber, which fares are typically higher in the morning since I think a lot of people are opting for them versus waiting for the buses. DHS is the park we were most concerned about getting to early, so we were going to get dropped off at the Swan and walk over early. Yes, we will have to Uber to and from the airport too, but we won't have to go to baggage claim A to get our bags and then schlep them over to side B for DME so we will probably end up getting to the resort sooner. Also we will be super close to Epcot and DHS that if it gets crowded during the day, we can just walk back to the resort and take a nap and freshen up. I ended up upgrading our room to a balcony room, too. Also, the Swalphin beds are SUPER comfortable!
Figgy1
Premium Member
Walking to both EPCOT and DHS is easy and short. The Fountain is a nice place to grab a meal without needing an ADR
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DiSnEyF@n
Well-Known Member
I’ve stayed there 10+ times over the last 15 years... honestly wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else. We were thinking about staying at the contemporary this summer for its proximity to MK but their pool is meh. Nothing compared to Swan and Dolphin. I’d stay there any day.
bennyw01
Active Member
Nope, you can walk to EPCOT, DHS, Boardwalk, and Skyway.
Now I know why someone asked about walking to Disney Springs!
Figgy1
Premium Member
Coffee before postingNow I know why someone asked about walking to Disney Springs!
Fixed
Lkendlekatie
New Member
The swan and Dolphin you can’t do Disney dining plan ( when it all goes back to normal)
Sans Souci
Well-Known Member
I'm glad to read this. My husband wanted to stay here to keep his Marriott Bon Voy status active (instead of our usual Boardwalk), since he hasn't been traveling for work. I've never stayed there, but I've dined there a few times and looked around after dinner. It looks really nice and the pools look great. I know people say it's not "Disney enough." You can walk to two parks--that is Disney enough for me.