Anyone stay at the Swan?

[DisneyUpBoilerUp]

I was considering staying at the Swan on my next trip. I heard it was the quieter of the 2 (Swan and Dolphin). I'd appreciate any input from someone you has stayed there. Is it clean? Nice? Fridge or Microwave? Crowded?

[DLandChris]

I’ve stayed at both swan and dolphin on two different trips. Swan was a bit quieter in the lobby but not noticeable in the room. I also was at the Dolphin during the holidays so probably crowded more for that reason. There’s no microwave but there is a fridge. Both are really nice and rooms are extremely similar. I liked the swan a bit more because of being a smaller footprint to get through the lobby to my room.

I will say they are really nice and I like both quite a bit. But, I would still pick an actual Disney hotel first. I like little things like the resort tv in Disney rooms and that slight Disney touch, which these don’t have. Also the transportation buses aren’t Disney anymore, but it’s a quick walk to boardwalk for that, walking distance to Epcot and DHS and boats to those too.

[Liquid Ice]

I've only stayed at the Swan and it was back in 2018, but I was happy with my stay. It is relatively quiet, but under normal circumstances (non-pandemic) you still get quite a few conferences there and I remember our balcony faced the "bridge" area between swan and dolphin and we could hear people outside talking until a fairly late hour (nothing too bad, maybe around midnight - but we have kids that were going to bed at 8 or 9). You might want to ask for a room that faces the parking lot - probably a worse view, but quieter.

We had 2 standard view rooms with 2 Queen beds. We asked for interconnecting rooms but they were unable to meet our request and just gave us rooms close together.

The rooms are nothing special but they were clean and definitely usable, what I'd expect from your average Marriott or SPG hotel. You do get a mini-fridge but no microwave. You may be able to request one but of course it isn't guaranteed. The sink was outside of the bathroom which was a plus for getting ready

Compared to on-property Disney resorts I would put them above most value resorts and maybe even some moderate resorts in terms of the room itself. As far as amenities go, they did have a relatively nice pool but we did not use it when we were there in 2018 - just looked at it. For dining, there are a few good options in Swan and Dolphin and you are close enough to the Boardwalk and Yacht/Beach Club to eat there as well. The nice thing is they had (I don't think it is open now due to covid) a character dining restaurant if you're into that.

Location of course is really good in my opinion, because you can walk to Hollywood Studios or Epcot OR take the Friendship Boats. Skyliner is an option, but you're not really close enough to the Epcot skyliner that it would make sense to walk there vs just walking to Hollywood Studios.

One drawback now is that Swan/Dolphin has opted to not use Disney buses any longer, and they are using Mears now, and the Mears buses cannot drop you off at Magic Kingdom - they drop you off at the TTC. I'm not sure about Animal Kingdom. Previously, Swan/Dolphin used the same Disney buses that Disney owned properties used. You might be able to walk over to Boardwalk or Yacht Club to pickup the Disney bus there though.

You can't use the DME (Disney Magical Express) with Swan/Dolphin but that service is gone after 12/31/21 anyway. You also cannot get a Meal Plan if those ever become available again. You also can't use your Magicband to charge things to the room - and when it was available, I don't think you were able to send your packages back to the room. They do have a Disney run gift shop in the hotel though

LMK if you have any other questions!

[purplefrogs]

We stayed at the Swan in October, and don't have any major complaints. The walking distance to/from Epcot was nice. The walk to HS was a bit longer but in the evening we took the Skyliner back to Epcot and walked from there.

The Swan does have Queen size beds, the Dolphin only has full if that is an issue for you. Our view was overlooking the Swan conference area/parking lot. It wasn't the most glamorous view but we could see ToT from our room as well as some parts of World Showcase and the Skyliner. The rooms were your run of the mill hotel rooms, nothing fancy or over the top. It did have a sink area outside of the bathroom so more than 1 person could be getting ready which is always nice.

I would stay there again if the price was right.

[Disneyland Fan]

I haven't yet but, I will be April 19-26! Cannot wait!

[amy_k]

I've stayed at both the Swan and Dolphin a few times for a conference, but had the added bonus of a Disney Day or two. They renovated in 2017 so the main lobby area and rooms are up to date. I agree with others as for transportation goes. If it's only 2 of you and you are coming from the airport Mears using a coupon might be cheaper than an Uber/Lyft while more than 2 it might be the other way around. If driving, you do have to pay to park, but Disney started charging their hotels to pay in recent years too so that's a wash. The only other two "downsides" tend not to matter anymore in that we didn't get a magic band and you couldn't send purchases back to the hotel.

Now for the upside, I'd place Swan and Dolphin as a moderate like Coronado at a cheaper price. I really enjoyed the boats to Epcot / Hollywood Studios. One bus stop / pick-up (which is a plus in my mind) for Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom/Disney Springs. With the other hotels in the Epcot area being more expensive, it was amazing to be able to walk to the Boardwalk along with Yacht and Beach Club to experience some elements too. You can also walk to the Fantasia Mini Golf across the street. Also, I can confirm that the Swan has Queen beds which is awesome and felt more "deluxe" to me than places like Coronado, French Quarter, and Caribbean Beach along with having more space in the rooms in general. The beds are also known to be the "best beds" on Disney property and I can tell you they were amazing. Swan to me is more quieter than the Dolphin and the variety of food is nice. The "food court"/Picabo has nice choices and the burrito bowl / burrito can feed two people and was my go to. The rooms did have a micro-fridge and although the rooms didn't have a microwave there was always a communal microwave in the hallway / near the elevators which I used a few times and was clean.

Lastly, one other bonus right now is if you are an early bird and want to take advantage of early access to the parks and are okay with walking you can do a 15 min. walk to Hollywood Studios and I think 10 min. walk to Epcot. With this you can walk prior to transportation starts and literally be one of the first at the parks when they open an hour + prior to the official opening.

When requesting a room, please make sure you get one with a balcony (not all do and it adds so much more to the experience). Lastly, since I mentioned attending a conference, most aren't happening now and even if they come back you'd only see people with name badges / computer bags in the elevator or lobby as they really try to disconnect the conference to the Disney guests. Have fun!

[adultsatdisney]

We have stayed at both the swan + dolphin several times. Our preference is the swan due to its proximity to the Boardwalk and it does seem to be quieter than the Dolphin since it's a bit smaller. We love both though