Swan and Dolphin Hotels.

[yodiwan1]

My inlaws were thinking about getting an executive suite for all of us to stay in for a week in February. I haven't stayed there since I was in grade school. Can all of my fellow Disney friends give pros and cons of both? thanks!

[Wizzard419]

It is roughly halfway between DHS and Epcot, so you would only need to ride the boat for one stop in either direction (you could ride the boat all the way to Epcot but it is faster to walk from the Yacht/Beach club stop than it is to ride the boat to the end). I think people also like a restaurant in one of the hotels, (Shula's?).

You might not be able to use the magical express since it isn't a Disney owned hotel.

[yodiwan1]

no need for magical express. We live in Florida. driving in two cars.

[Wizzard419]

Then that is pretty much it, it looks like they get all the other benefits like extra magic hours and resort transport/free park parking. Their page notes that it is faster to take the water taxis to/from Epcot/DHS than it would be to drive.
http://www.swandolphin.com/aboutus/benefits.html

Other than it not being in a Disney owned hotel, it is pretty much the same with another perk of a free shuttle to the outlet mall (if they are into that).

Looking at the map, you also could just walk to Epcot's entrance as well and not wait for the boat.

[Len90]

I know the rooms are pretty big but I have heard complaints that the rooms don't have enough lighting inside. The pool complex I have heard amazing things about. I believe it is sand bottomed just like stormalong bay at YC/BC. Both are walking distance to Epcot and DHS as wizz mentioned. Just do remember that they will not be disney themed rooms.

Besides the magical express you will not have a key to the world card. Thus you can't charge to your room from anywhere, just inside the swan and dolphin. You get the EMH benefit though by showing your swan/dolphin key. I also think you're park tickets will be seperate from your room key as well. However you are Florida residents so you probably have the AP.

[mindflipper]

From what I remember staying there:

Starwood Resorts manages the hotels, but Disney owns them. Starwood has a long-term management deal with Disney on the resorts. Len is right about the keys: the cards will be separate for hotel and park passes. You still get the EMH benefits like all other Disney resorts as Len said. All of the regular Disney transportation is available, and the boat dock is located between the hotels (maybe closer to the Swan than Dolphin, but not by much). Yes, you can walk, but the dock is the shorter distance. One advantage to the buses: as the buses pick up from the resorts on the EPCOT resort loop, it usually stops off at the Swan and Dolphin first, so in the morning you have a better chance of getting seating and at night you're the first to get dropped off when you're exhausted.

Depending upon the time of the year may affect your choice. During Winter, the Dolphin has very poor heating due to its design and some of the rooms can be cold. We got transferred to the Swan (with a view too) because there was nothing they could do to make the room warmer. I've never had any cooling/heating problems from the Swan on any of multiple stays there.

If you're a member of the Starwood points program, you can usually use some of the points to upgrade rooms. Also, I found better prices for the hotel going through Starwood rather than Disney.

[cousininmiami]

We stay at the Dolphin now and again, as Florida residents and Annual Passholders we get some good deals once in a while. It's nice for it's proximity to EPCOT, and has the best value of all the EPCOT resorts. It's convenient to EPCOT and the boat to get to HS! The only drawback is the stark feel of the hotel, it's very much built to be more of a business or convention hotel I think. But it is nice, quiet, clean and has all the benefits of a Disney hotel. We like it! The next time they have another deal for us Florida residents.... we will go there again!

[yodiwan1]

Thanks everyone. As of now we made a reservation for an executive suite. They only had one left for the week we are going...in FEBRUARY! I couldn't believe they were that full already. We actually don't have any type of Florida pass. My wife and I are considering upgrading whatever my inlaws get for us into Seasonal passes though. For this trip theming isn't that important since my daughter will not remember a thing besides what she sees in pictures. There is still a very good chance we will be staying at a different Disney resort, but at elast we know we have a room for now.

[horizons1]

Not sure where you are coming from but one of the perks to the Dolphin is that it has a 24-hr cafeteria. Very handy for those on different time zones who find themselves starving in the middle of the night without a car.

[WVParkfan]

We absolutely loved our stay at the Swan 3 years ago (the last time we were at Disney). Here's a report that I wrote when we got back:

Just got back from a week at "the World," and stayed at the Swan for the first time. This was our 9th visit to WDW, and we've stayed at all of the Values, along with Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs Resorts. We've always wanted to stay at an Epcot Resort, but just can't afford the $400 per night price tag. Then we found the Swan, and it was great! I got a AAA rate of $161 per night, and couldn't have been happier.

The Swan and Dolphin are both huge, but the Swan felt very comfortable and never crowded. The Grotto pool area was simply amazing. It's got to be one of the largest pools in all of Disney World, and with the 3 sections and 2 bridges, each area felt secluded from the others. The slide was fun, and the waterfall helped to keep the pool cool enough, despite the high temps. They also have 3 other pools, along with several hot tubs, so you can always find a place that isn't crowded.

The pool/ beach area was fun. On Saturday night, they had an outdoor movie at the pool. During the day, they had a DJ playing music, they had supervised volleyball games both in the pool and on the beach, and many more activities. It was hard to leave the pool area each day to head back to the parks!!!

We only ate twice at the Swan, and both were poolside lunches. We had lunch at the Splash Grille, and it was very good and affordable. But the best was our "picnic" lunch at the pool with food from Picabu in the Dolphin. I had a chicken salad sandwich and my wife had a tuna wrap with a salad. Our kids had burgers and hotdogs. All were good, and very affordable.

Dinners each night were either at a Boardwalk restaurant, or at Epcot. And that's the great advantage of staying at an Epcot resort. You can walk to some great restaurants!

Transportation is fair. Walking to Epcot (our favorite park) was easy, and the boat to DHS was quick enough. We had to take a bus to the MK and the AK. The busses were a little more crowded, though, because we shared with the Boardwalk Resort, the Dolphin, the Yacht Club, and the Beach Club Resorts. Our bus stop was at the entrance to the Swan, and it was fine, but the bus sharing was confusing. Some days we would share a bus only with the Boardwalk and the Dolphin. Other days, all 5 resorts would share, and it was standing-room only.

Other than the crowded busses (which we were able to manage), everything else was just about perfect. Check in and check out each only took 5 minutes. The Swan and Dolphin charge a resort fee of $10 per night, but you get a newspaper each day, 2 bottles of water, spa access, and internet access for that $10. I didn't like the idea at first, but after being there for a week, I really appreciated all of those amenities and feel that we certainly got our monies worth.

By staying at the Swan, we were also able to walk over to Fantasia Gardens for miniature golf. It was fun and challenging. We were able to see the tip of Everest at the AK from our room, and we were able to see the entire fireworks show from the MK. We could not see Illuminations from Epcot from our room, or Fantasmic at the DHS. But, we were able to see Illuminations each night from the Boardwalk.

The store at the Swan was classy, and had the same great Disney clothes, toys, food, and souvenirs as all of the other shops we went to. Both the Swan and Dolphin have arcades. The Dolphin has some other shops, but we didn't get a chance to go through them.

To sum it up, the Swan was by far the best Disney Resort we've stayed in, and we will certainly stay there again. The grounds are beautiful (just like at every Disney Resort), the staff was wonderful, the price was great, the Heavenly Beds were very comfortable, the room was nice, the pool was amazing, and being able to walk to Epcot was just tremendous.

[Amy]

Sounds like you had a really nice experience at the Swan WVParkfan! It certainly sounds pretty nice other than the crowded buses, but that can happen at the WDW hotels as well

[yodiwan1]

Thanks! as of now we have reservations in an executive suite at the Dolphin from Feb21-28. There is a good chance that is changing tomorrow, but we have it as a back up.