Why Dolphin/Swan?

[wendybird]

Should we consider the Dolphin/Swan for trip with our DS (4 yrs old)? We are afraid of missing out on the "magic" @ a Disney Resort. What are the pros and cons? Is there a better choice between the Dolphin or Swan Bldg??

[dephenn]

I have never stayed at either one, but my brother in-law and family did. He said it wasn't really kid friendly. Maybe others have heard or stayed and have a different opinion.

[mmouse566]

We have stayed at almost every resort (we live nearby). The Swan and Dolphin room wise are not worth the 199+. That said, though, you can't beat the ease of going to MGM and Epcot via boat and the walkway to the Boardwalk. They have a really nice pool set up complete with a sand beach and staff who have kid games going on throughtout the day. Another drawback is the lack of Disneyesque, though you may get your fill in the parks.

[castlegirl]

We stayed at the Dolphin last year because of the discount offered for nurses/teachers. I got a rate of $129! Check their webpage because they do offer other discounts too. If you are a Starwood Prefered Member, you can apply your points to the Swan/Dolphin.

This year we are staying at the Swan. We thought the Dolphin side was busy with conventioners. We loved all the pools and the closeness to Epcot and MGM. Lots of transportation options!

Good luck with your choice, afterall, you're in WDW

[bkfree]

We are planning to stay at Dolphin/Swan on our next trip.We usually stay at the Yacht Club and we totally believe that the Epcot location is the best of all the resorts.None of the other resort locations come close in our view to any at the Epcot Location as far as convenience to so much and the most fun area.
We are going to try the DOLPHIN/SWAN next trip for these reasons. We can get the room for about half the price and kids under 9 eat free at any of their restaurants. We also plan on visiting Sea World and Universal on the next trip ,so we will rent a car at the airport, so not having Magical Express will not be an issue for us. While we usually use the Dining plan and love it, we have figured that because we will have several days away from WDW parks, the kids free eating at the Swan /Dolphin eateries, we can still eat at our favorite WDW places and come out ahead money wise.
We checked out both hotels on our last visit and they even let us look at a few rooms and we think it will be just fine and at half the price with the same location, we are very happy.

[OogieBoogieMan]

I recently stayed at the Swan for the first time after numerous stays at the Beach Club, Yacht Club and Boardwalk. In my opinion the Swan (and Dolphin for that matter) are Disney-light. You get the benefits of staying on property but the atmosphere is more Marriott than Disney. The rooms are certainly less costly than their Disney equivalent so if you want the convenience of the Epcot resort area at a reasonable price they aren't a bad choice. Personally my tipping point would be around $100 a night, meaning if I was staying for 5 nights and the difference was less than $500 I would likely stay at one of the aforementioned Disney hotels. Of course it is a very individual decision, but I don't consider Beach Club versus Swan an apples to apples decision like I would consider Beach Club to Boardwalk, meaning I am completely price sensitive in that regard and would stay at either hotel based on the lowest price.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

The Swan is quieter. The location is great especially if the little one needs to go back to the hotel for a nap or down time. My nephews have gone to these resorts since they were 3 and 8 and they love these hotels as much as I do.

[bkfree]

It will be $600+ cheaper to stay on our next visit at the Swan than it did on our last visit to Yacht Club.That will just about pay for our plane tickets. Worth it to us to have the location and a less expensive room. We don't spend that much time in our room but LOVE the location.We also loved the huge number of restaurant opions at the Swan/Dolphin.

[anneb]

Why choose the Swan or Dolphin? Easy. The location is wonderful, (letting you walk or take a boat to MGM), the views from many rooms are fabulous, the pool/beach area is huge and generally uncrowded, with both lower-depth areas for kids and larger, deeper areas with room for adults to actually swim, and there are so many good restaurants right in the hotels (at least at the Dolphin). And don't forget the extra touches like the piano player in the Dolphin lobby at night, the window at the Swan that lets you watch the pastry chefs at work, and the absolutely heavenly hammocks under the palm trees. The World Showcase entrance makes it much easier to slip over to Epcot for dinner, and the walk back from Epcot at night is wonderful, especially if you catch the street entertainers on the boardwalk. The area around the hotels is absolutely beautiful, especially with all the palm trees. These hotels do get fewer children than the other on-site hotels, but are still quite child-friendly. Oh, and the price is usually much less than the other Disney deluxes, not to mention the Starwood points.
If you need to get to bed earlier with a 4 year old, these resorts are great because you can get home quickly after Illuminations or Fantasmic by walking, rather than having to line up and wait for buses or boats. (The MK resorts obviously win for convenience to the MK.) You can also see many of the Illuminations fireworks from the bridge connecting the resorts to the Yacht Club, if not from your room. You give up Mickey soap when you stay here, but that's not much to give up for the convenience, views and uncrowded pool.

[anneb]

I missed your question about choosing between the two. With a 4 year old, I would go with the Dolphin. The Dolphin has a big lobby with a large fountain small children seem to like, a pretty good all-day cafeteria for quick and less expensive meals, a good casual restaurant and ice cream parlor, and more interesting architecture. The restaurant by the Dolphin's pool is also much better than the Swan's pool-side restaurant. The Swan has a very calm, sedate atmosphere, with fewer restaurants and less to explore.

[anneb]

I missed your question about choosing between the two. With a 4 year old, I would go with the Dolphin. The Dolphin has a big lobby with a large fountain small children seem to like, a pretty good all-day cafeteria for quick and less expensive meals, a good casual restaurant and ice cream parlor, and more interesting architecture. The restaurant by the Dolphin's pool is also much better than the Swan's pool-side restaurant. The Swan has a very calm, sedate atmosphere, with fewer restaurants and less to explore. The Swan has a zero-entry pool, if that is important to you, but you can use the pool at either hotel.

[MOJoe]

I am a big fan of the Swan & Dolphin. My family just returned from a great June vacation there. Even so, like any place, there are pros and cons. First up, there is no Magical Express. So you have to have your own car or get a taxi or Town Car from the airport. Next, you are not allowed to use the Disney Dining Plan. And last, but not least, these are convention style resorts, and adult oriented by design.
If you want your 4 yr old to be completely immersed in Disney, then maybe the Swan & Dolphin are not your best choice. But the great dining, pool, location, and beds more than make up for the lack of Disney ownership, for me and my family.

[tomorrowschild]

I have came to the defense of the Swan many times. We have stayed there every year for the past 4 years, and love it. We have stayed at just about every Disney resort, and find the Swan is right up there with the best in Disney Resorts. The Swan is not a "Disney" resort but what can be more disney. I don't need mickey on my soap to tell me that I am at Disney World. How about looking out your window and seeing MGM, EPCOT, and the Boardwalk. I am a teacher so get great rates at the Swan. We always get the cheapest room but seem to always have a great view. The room we usually get we can see illuminations and Mickey on top of the mountain during Fantasmic at the MGM.
My parents and brother are at the Swan as we speak. They were lucky enough to get upgraded to a great room. If anyone says that it is not Disney enogh for them have a look at these pics.

Click Here to see the pics then press the arrow forward

[Rica]

We are headed to DW for Christmas and have reservations at the Swan. We are staying here because I'm a teacher at got the discounted rate. We chose Swan over Dolphin because they have queen beds while Dolphin has double. We also like the idea of being closer to the parks. We thought we could get to the parks quicker than waiting for buses at a value resort. The places to eat between the two also sound great. Hope you enjoy your trip wherever you stay.

[Horizon93]

We have stayed at the Swan many times and love it. We also get the teacher discount when available. I highly recommend either one, but am partial to the Swan. Great accomodations, really comfortable beds, great service, beautiful resorts, great pools, outstanding location. Very Disney like. They are on Disney property.

[Disney_Barbie]

We stayed at the Swan, I think the Dophin is supost to be more kid-friendly, but I think the swan... I dunno wasn't exactly anti-kid, but I imagine kids would have more fun in other resorts.
That being said, if kids aren't in the equation, we would reccomend the swan/dolphin 100%! No, there was no phone calles from Mickey or mickey-shaped soap but there was plenty of magic to go around. Personally, I felt the Swan/Dolphin had an elegance and convinence that you can't beat unless you're willing to pay in the $300 range for a higher-end deluxe resort.
Plus, being a Starwood hotel, they are able to run so many deals (even for just regular people, not just the teacher / nurse discount) that although we were litterly paying LESS than the price of a moderate resort (we got our late summer room for $119/nt) with all the luxeries of a deluxe resort.
But, we are a married couple w/ no kids that stay at the swan on private trips (not trips w/ the whole family) I'm sure things would be different if we had kids with us.

[Disney Yankee]

We stayed at the Swan for a week last month. I thought it was great. The location can't be beat, and from our "standard" room, we could see The Tower of Terror and got a peek at the Epcot fireworks. We got the Teacher's Rate, which means that we got to stay longer than we would have been able to at BW or BC, but had the same transportation. I think the Dolphin is more "happening," but we decided to stay at the Swan since there are two queen beds in each room (Dolphin has doubles). And the beds are definitely heavenly.

[awaggett]

A couple of questions:

Can you do DDP at Swan/Dolphin?

Can you do EMH?

Thanks--we are planning a trip for late September and are trying to figure out where to stay. We were there at Christmas this past year but stayed off-property, it is my birthday this time and I really want to stay on-property!

[DisneyDudet]

Can you do DDP at Swan/Dolphin?

No, unfortunately.

Can you do EMH?

Oh definitely! Another reason why its so great!

We're staying there in Oct, and it will be just a little more expensive than a mod and WAY cheaper than staying at a deluxe, even WL or AKL .