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

[pooh2001]

I am hoping for a vaccine- by next Jan 2021
We need to get our tickets, do dining reservations and plane
Our Dolphin rate is reimbursable
I want to go to WDW

 

[scili]

Thanks for the live update!

Did the Swan mark their elevator floors in any way? I've read where some elevators have places to stand marked on the floor so people stand as far apart as possible. I understand not wanting to ride an elevator with others, but it must have been very frustrating for the other families to have an elevator arrive and not be able to get on it because it already has one family on it who doesn't want to share. There are ways to make sharing an elevator safer. An elevator ride is pretty quick and so people would not be exposed to the possible virus for long enough to become infected. I believe that the CDC says "close contact" for virus transmission is within 6 feet and 15 minutes or more.

Have been at the Swan since this past Sunday. The Swan marks spots on the ground floor elevators six feet apart on both sides of the elevator bank. Not though on the hotel floor where I’m staying. On the elevator itself, it does have a sign on the ground in the middle of the floor informing people to socially distance 6 feet. The elevators at the times I’ve taken it hasn’t been a problem, and I’ve never had to wait more than 2 parties. To be honest, the biggest issue has been that mask compliance has been spotty at times at the hotel (but great at the parks), and I haven’t seen staff asking people to put on masks and/or put them on correctly.

 

[ckelly14]

I did a flexible date search on Marriott.com for September at the Dolphin and was quoted $103-$108 per night, + taxes and fees, for a Traditional room, checking in September 3. The rate was using Passholder discount. It took me to the payment page, where all I needed to do was confirm the booking, which I did not do.



View attachment 519545

Wow those prices are unbelievable!

 

[nonnadisney]

Have been at the Swan since this past Sunday. The Swan marks spots on the ground floor elevators six feet apart on both sides of the elevator bank. Not though on the hotel floor where I’m staying. On the elevator itself, it does have a sign on the ground in the middle of the floor informing people to socially distance 6 feet. The elevators at the times I’ve taken it hasn’t been a problem, and I’ve never had to wait more than 2 parties. To be honest, the biggest issue has been that mask compliance has been spotty at times at the hotel (but great at the parks), and I haven’t seen staff asking people to put on masks and/or put them on correctly.

I've never been to the Swan but am considering going later this year. Where is the construction going on in relation to the Swan ( of the Cove ) and have you heard noise early in the morning or any other time for that matter? We are light sleepers and have had issues with construction noise in the past. Tia

 

[SteveH]

...Where is the construction going on in relation to the Swan ( of the Cove ) ...

You can see the red box in the lower left corner, that's the Cove area. I can't speak to the construction noise but hopefully others can. The other issue to be aware of if you are a light sleeper is that when/if they Friendship boats start running they will blow their horns as required by Maritime law. So that could be another issue for you to be aware of.
With the low bookings I'd say they should be able to accommodate a request.

 

[1withForce]

playing around on the website I see they have "discounted tickets" through Swan and Dolphin. They look like FL resident tickets. Has anyones purchased these? How does it work?

 

[armerida]

Today marks the half way point of our trip! It has been wonderful and a much needed “re-set” for us. A few things I can share:
1) Housekeeping - I was under the impression that we would get a light cleaning every 3 days, but we have not had any housekeeping. I have been able to quickly reach out using the chat feature in the Bonvoy app to have coffee, towels, etc. delivered, and they are very quick to respond.

2) Buses are excellent (or we are just really lucky with our timing!) Seems every time we are heading to the bus stop, one is just pulling up. This was true for AK, MK, and Disney Springs. I was the most worried about DS because of hearing of people waiting a long time to go back to hotel, but again, ours pulled right up when we got to the stop.

3) Fitness center is great and I am always the only person or maybe one other person in the morning around 7:00.

4) Pools are not busy at all - in fact, the pool bartender at Splash told us they have been closing early due to lack of sales (have to hit $300 to stay open until 6:00).

5) Hotel definitely less busy during the week but even in the weekend, only seemed busy when we tried to catch an elevator after dinner.

6) Parks are wonderful in terms of crowds/wait times, and mask/distancing compliance. It is amazing how much you can get done with an early arrival and intelligent plan. We walked to HS twice and arrived around 9:00 and were the 5th and then the 2nd in line to get into the park and onto MMRR. Got boarding groups 2 and then 4 and rode all the headliners by 2:00 each day. We are not stay all day people as we value our pool and relaxing time so it is definitely manageable. HS is the most important to arrive early and go in with a plan. (I would suggest: MMRR, SDD, MFSR or MMRR, ToT, RnRC, then hit the other attractions in whatever order). AK you can arrive at any time and have little to no waits. MK we had breakfast at the Wave and then arrived around 10:30 and had 5 minutes at Splash, BTMRR, etc. EP also arrive whenever.

7) Our family (brother/sis in law and 4 kiddos) is also here at Kidani on their very first Disney trip. I was worried they wouldn’t feel the magic as much, but they are having an awesome time! So for anyone on the fence, I think it is still a good time to go, regardless of your prior Disney experience. We are AP who come down around 8-10 times a year and are having a blast with the low crowds and safety measures. And our nieces and nephews on their first visit are completely in love with the experience!

 

[Dan Murphy]

We walked to HS twice and arrived around 9:00 and were the 5th and then the 2nd in line to get into the park

Thanks for all you daily updates, very interesting and helpful.

When going into the parks, are they using the new walk through quickly detectors rather than the regular bag search?

 

[hedberg1661]

Pools are not busy at all - in fact, the pool bartender at Splash told us they have been closing early due to lack of sales (have to hit $300 to stay open until 6:00).

Well you tell them when their friends from Pittsburgh come to visit they won't have this problem! Yeah...they know us.

 

[armerida]

Thanks for all you daily updates, very interesting and helpful.

When going into the parks, are they using the new walk through quickly detectors rather than the regular bag search?

Yup! Love it! The MK one we walking from Contemporary was a little more sensitive, had to put umbrella i bin

 

[SteveH]

Today marks the half way point of our trip! It has been wonderful and a much needed “re-set” for us.

Thanks for all the updates and answering questions, sounds like you are having a blast.

Well you tell them when their friends from Pittsburgh come to visit they won't have this problem! Yeah...they know us.

LOL, is that when the bartender says "we're going to need more..."

 

[hedberg1661]

Thanks for all the updates and answering questions, sounds like you are having a blast.

LOL, is that when the bartender says "we're going to need more..."

Let's just say...we spend a lot of time at the Pool and of course Cabanas/Splash so yeah, we have gotten to know many of the staff there over the years (~4-5 trips a year). Honestly, the staff are great, the food is great, the drinks are great! What's not to like? And being from Pittsburgh (second worst weather in USA...thanks Seattle for being number one) we will take some serious sunshine. I love that I can grab a drink, hang in the lap pool right by Cabanas with my drink and no one yells. Try that at a Disney owned pool. Just saying, we are adults and that is more our speed.

 

[Dan Murphy]

the staff are great

One of the great things about S/D.

 

[armerida]

2 more quick updates - first, buses were again great for MK; bus pulled up right when we got to stop to head over, and then within 2 minutes of arriving at stop at MK to return.

Second - very interesting! We are at Cabana pool bar right now waiting out the thunder and our server told us that Dolphin is re-opening for Labor Day weekend and then closing again! He said there is apparently a huge demand for the holiday weekend and that is why they’re opening, but just for those dates as of right now. He also said all the restaurants there would be opening as well. Seems weird to me the cost to get things going again only to shut down indefinitely...

 

[SteveH]

@armerida that seems strange but I guess in a way it makes sense, but hard to ramp up staff only to send them home after. As of now the online booking is still taking past Labor Day but wouldn't take much to just move people to the Swan.

 

[armerida]

In case anyone was wondering - our bus driver to Disney Springs last night told us that the Swan is running 2 buses on a loop for each of the parks and Disney Springs. He said that most other larger resorts are running 4 per park/DS.

 

[SteveH]

Thanks@armerida have a great day today! Are they running WDW buses to MK/AK and the Mears buses to DHS/Epcot still?

 

[armerida]

Thanks@armerida have a great day today! Are they running WDW buses to MK/AK and the Mears buses to DHS/Epcot still?

Hi Steve! Yes, we are still seeing the Mears buses for EP/HS at Swan - haven’t taken one but they seem to be coming pretty frequently.

 

[Dan Murphy]

In case anyone was wondering - our bus driver to Disney Springs last night told us that the Swan is running 2 buses on a loop for each of the parks and Disney Springs. He said that most other larger resorts are running 4 per park/DS.

Hi Steve! Yes, we are still seeing the Mears buses for EP/HS at Swan - haven’t taken one but they seem to be coming pretty frequently.

Thanks for your daily, live action travelog reports armerida. Enjoy another day at S/D and WDW.

 

[Dan Murphy]

In case anyone was wondering - our bus driver to Disney Springs last night told us that the Swan is running 2 buses on a loop for each of the parks and Disney Springs. He said that most other larger resorts are running 4 per park/DS.

Hi Steve! Yes, we are still seeing the Mears buses for EP/HS at Swan - haven’t taken one but they seem to be coming pretty frequently.

Thanks for your daily, live action travelog reports armerida. Enjoy another day at S/D and WDW.