Walt Disney World SWAN, DOLPHIN & SWAN RESERVE RESORTS Information & Questions

[Gitelfor]

There are lots of people out there with upcoming stays at Disney Moderate and Value resorts who are very miffed about Swan/Dolphin guests being included for the Disney Deluxe resort perk for extended evening park hours. There also are those Disney resort guests upset about non-Disney resort guests being included for early park entry. This scenario is creating a lot of bad feelings and animosity.

 

[ellbell]

There are lots of people out there with upcoming stays at Disney Moderate and Value resorts who are very miffed about Swan/Dolphin guests being included for the Disney Deluxe resort perk for extended evening park hours. There also are those Disney resort guests upset about non-Disney resort guests being included for early park entry. This scenario is creating a lot of bad feelings and animosity.

Not sure why when S/D always had the same perks as Disney hotels and is considered a deluxe resort. I'm not and my usual hotel of choice is POP and only booked with Swan because it was the only thing available for my dates in my price range.

 

[Dan Murphy]

There are lots of people out there with upcoming stays at Disney Moderate and Value resorts who are very miffed about Swan/Dolphin guests being included for the Disney Deluxe resort perk for extended evening park hours. There also are those Disney resort guests upset about non-Disney resort guests being included for early park entry. This scenario is creating a lot of bad feelings and animosity.

Really? No different than it's ever been. Let them pound salt.

ETA...... See my comment below
www.disboards.com/threads/walt-disney-world-swan-dolphin-resorts-information-questions.3264274/post-63186054

 

[CJN]

There are lots of people out there with upcoming stays at Disney Moderate and Value resorts who are very miffed about Swan/Dolphin guests being included for the Disney Deluxe resort perk for extended evening park hours. There also are those Disney resort guests upset about non-Disney resort guests being included for early park entry. This scenario is creating a lot of bad feelings and animosity.

There are lots of people who spread a lot of negativity throughout lots of threads. Same thing with this topic.

Personally, I’m thrilled with Swan/Dolphin being included.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Like a 150-200 people is going to make a difference in the crowd level.

 

[jhlmendez]

What a relief to hear about the magic hours, etc. puts our Oct. trip in a much better light.

 

[happ]

After giving up months ago on being able to link my Reserve conf# with MDE, this good news made me try again. And it worked!

What did you do? I still haven't be able to do so. I tried getting help with the chat in MDE, but they couldn't do it either. They finally suggested I call Dolphin. I wonder if there is a typo in my name in their system, bc I'm copying my confirmation number directly from my email. I guess it really doesn't matter since my stay is before the EMH starts, but it bugs me.

I didn't do anything special. I went into MDE on my desktop and typed in the number, and the system found the reservation this time. I booked direct with Marriot months ago when booking for the Reserve first opened, and then tried for weeks to get it to link. It bugged me too that it wouldn't work.

 

[katyjeka]

Great news to wake up to. I'm a little confused as I chatted with Disney this morning and they verified the early morning but said no to extended evening. I'm wondering if they were mistaken?? With the continuation of Early Mornings, Swan/Dolphin remains one of the few bargains found at WDW. Deluxe property at a value price!!!

 

[SteveH]

There are lots of people out there with upcoming stays at Disney Moderate and Value resorts who are very miffed about Swan/Dolphin guests being included for the Disney Deluxe resort perk for extended evening park hours. There also are those Disney resort guests upset about non-Disney resort guests being included for early park entry. This scenario is creating a lot of bad feelings and animosity.

Those feelings should have been just the same before S/D was added. Personally, I do not like this new division that Disney has created at all, it feels very unDisney to me. I could totally see if they had allowed all on property vs off-property, but to to divide Deluxe vs Moderate/Value is very sad IMHO. Disney's hotels are grossly over priced, and have been for years. SOG & S/D are being treated just like they have in the past, sadly its the Mod/Value guests that are being taken advantage of by Disney. If I were staying at a moderate I too would be screaming mad, but I'd also be booking at S/D fast.

Great news to wake up to. I'm a little confused as I chatted with Disney this morning and they verified the early morning but said no to extended evening. I'm wondering if they were mistaken?? With the continuation of Early Mornings, Swan/Dolphin remains one of the few bargains found at WDW. Deluxe property at a value price!!!

This is pretty normal when things change, it takes Disney a while to push information out via the web, and to their agents and Travel Agents.

 

[katyjeka]

Makes my weekend!!!

 

[katyjeka]

There are lots of people out there with upcoming stays at Disney Moderate and Value resorts who are very miffed about Swan/Dolphin guests being included for the Disney Deluxe resort perk for extended evening park hours. There also are those Disney resort guests upset about non-Disney resort guests being included for early park entry. This scenario is creating a lot of bad feelings and animosity.

For the people who are miffed, could they not book at the Swan/Dolphin? I've priced stays for over 15 years and Swan/Dolphin prices can always be found at moderate levels and with this years pricing at WDW values are truly not value pricing. I remember reserving Music for $89.00 a night(have the receipts to prove it)years ago. This year prices are over $200. Crazy for a value resort. Swan/Dolphin can usually be found on websites at discounts if you look.

 

[pasta]

Has anyone used the new bus system from S/D? I believe it is run by Mears.

 

[nellarmonia]

i have been able to link my costco reservation in MDE.

You're lucky! I had to call to get a different number from Swan to link mine.

 

[SteveH]

Has anyone used the new bussing system from S/D? I believe it is run by Mears.

Tons of people have used it, they've had Mears doing the busing since last October to MK & AK. We'll see if that continues after the year is up or if they go back to Disney. For DHS & Epcot you can walk or take the boats. Did you have a question about the busing?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Those feelings should have been just the same before S/D was added. Personally, I do not like this new division that Disney has created at all, it feels very unDisney to me. I could totally see if they had allowed all on property vs off-property, but to to divide Deluxe vs Moderate/Value is very sad IMHO. Disney's hotels are grossly over priced, and have been for years. SOG & S/D are being treated just like they have in the past, sadly its the Mod/Value guests that are being taken advantage of by Disney. If I were staying at a moderate I too would be screaming mad, but I'd also be booking at S/D fast.
This is pretty normal when things change, it takes Disney a while to push information out via the web, and to their agents and Travel Agents.

I'm taking back my pound salt comment. I had forgotten that the late night thing was for deluxe resorts only. When I made my earlier comment above, I was reading the Disney resort complaing as being all the Disney resorts, not just the value and moderates. My eyes skipped that part. They do have a right to complain. Disney should not be creating class disparity.

 

[maxiesmom]

What a relief to hear about the magic hours, etc. puts our Oct. trip in a much better light.

Definitely!

 

[maxiesmom]

I do agree though that Disney shouldn't be treating any resort level as second class, and their new nighttime park rule does just that! I also think it is wrong that they continue to include the Disney Springs resorts in the early entry perk.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

I booked directly with Dolphin online. I will call and see what's up. What is the advantage of having the hotel linked? Right now there are no fp, or EMH
My trip is first week of August/

The main advantage is that you can book your park reservations for your entire length of stay...and your park reservations come from the "Resort Guest" bucket of availability.

For someone like me that has an Annual Pass, this is a huge bonus as AP holders are only allowed to have 3 park reservations at a time, which has meant that a lot of park availability is gone by the time you're allowed to book your 4th or 5th day.

 

[CeCe0906]

For the people who are miffed, could they not book at the Swan/Dolphin? I've priced stays for over 15 years and Swan/Dolphin prices can always be found at moderate levels and with this years pricing at WDW values are truly not value pricing. I remember reserving Music for $89.00 a night(have the receipts to prove it)years ago. This year prices are over $200. Crazy for a value resort. Swan/Dolphin can usually be found on websites at discounts if you look.

That is why we are at our first Dolphin stay. Previous visits, years ago were at Dixie Landings ~20 years ago when my kids were young, and All Star ~8 years ago when participating in a run Disney event. While the All Star resort was fine at the time; we weren't planning on spending much time in the room, I wasn't a fan of the food court and the beds were awful to me. So I said next time, I'm staying in more comfortable surroundings. I've gotten pickier about comfort as I've aged. We enjoyed the moderate resort when my kids were young and we cared about the pool etc, so when I looked around for my upcoming trip with my granddaughter I started there. And had a heck of a sticker shock. I was prepared for more $$, but thought I would find more deals since reopening and prior to 50th madness.
Then I happened to see the prices of Dolphin, as I explored maybe staying offsite. And the only downsides I could see after doing some research were the drop-off at TTC for MK, and the possibility of some rowdy teens at a convention. The MK transpo I could handle, and the ability to walk to 2 parks and not have to bus!!!! I booked right away. I knew about the Swan/Dolphin previously, but had always assumed it was out of my price range.
For reference purposes, when I splurge on a hotel, it's only been a super special occasion, and even then, it's rarely been over 350/night. When we go normally it's in the 150-200 range; but it most cases, we are totally out and about most of the day. Our criteria for hotel is location, and a comfy bed. Otherwise it's just a place to sleep, change, and go out for more fun. Unless I'm with my grandkids, the pool isn't important, but a breakfast on site is.

 

[katyjeka]

I don't believe they are treating anyone as second class. We cruise quite often with NCL and if you are willing to pay the price you are entitled to more benefits. If you stay penthouse level at many hotels you are given access to special dining and bars. Flying with some airlines and belonging to a club gives you access to lounges not available to the same people on your flight not paying for first class. It is standard in the travel industry to receive extra benefits if you stay first class. Disney deluxe for our vacation this December would be twenty some thousand dollars as we need two rooms. This is before tickets and food. Our same stay in a value would be more than half of this. Sorry but I do believe people willing to pay the crazy prices should be granted something extra. It will not be our family as my dh would refuse to go if I told him our hotel alone is over twenty thousand..... but I have no problem with disney giving those people a little extra. They are paying big time for a short amount of time in the parks. Happy Travels.