Which Hotel at Disney. The Swan or the Dolphin?

[Kevin Palmer]

For those of you that know the area, you know of these hotels.



I am able to stay at either using my Points, no money out of pocket. Same value of points at either hotel. As a general rule the Swan cost $349 per night and the Dolphin cost $289 to $349 depending on where in the building.



Just wondering of those that ave stayed there, if you have a preference of one over the other...



Thanks...

 

[Thomas Rogers]

I wouldn't recommend either if I was paying out of pocket.



Instead, rent a car (probably will anyway) and stay just 5 files from all the WDW attractions, and get a complete townhome like suite, with washer and dryer, full living room and kitchen at the Holliday Villas (see link). A full family can stay comfortably for less than $90/night.



I mention this because you may wish to go this route rather than cash out your points, or because others may be interested.



As for the Swan vs the Dolphin, my impression was that there was no real difference. All the theme hotels of Disney seem the same to me, and over priced.



TJR

 

[Todd Z]

I will never stay off Disney property... the economy hotels are not expensive and they provide transportation to all of Disney Free!!!



The Swan is a nice place, Stayed there for a week.....

They are a little pricey though, I found it just as fun as staying at the Grand or the Caribbean beach. The Polynesian is nice too....



If the cheaper hotels are out and you want the swan or the dolphin, Stay at the dolphin, it is close to the swan and you get the same treatment any way...



Todd Z

 

[LaRue Medlin]

We are staying at the Coronado Springs Resort for Thanksgiving. Rose and I find it sooo nice to drive down, park the car for 3-4 days and then pack up and leave. (3 rd trip this way) Everywhere we want to go is provided through Disney transportation. If we want to go somewhere else, we can drive.... but our whole purpose is to go and relax and let THEM wait on us.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Well, here is the catch...



My daughter is part of the band to march down Main Street. They will be there during Easter... Soooo, as you can imagine, hotels are hard to come by and not cheap no matter where you go. Off property is only about $100 a night difference.



I have a free rental car, so transportation is not an issue.



I have over half a million points with both Hilton and Starwood. The Dolphin and the Swan are both Starwood properties. They have no rooms available for cash, only rooms left are for reward members. So, it will cost me 80,000 points for two rooms for 5 days. Pretty good deal....



So my question was if you felt one of the two hotels was better than the other for some reason...



Thanks,,,

 

[Todd Z]

Swan it is....



Todd Z

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Done..



Booked the room. After 4 nights the 5th was free. So it cost me 80,000 points for 2 rooms for 5 days. I then traded in 150,000 miles for my airfare, cost me $5.00 per ticket for the security tax, which, if you know me and what I do, is pretty ironic. Guess I just payed for myself to be on that flight... LOL



The 150,000 miles covers 7 people, round trip, non-stop. It was only 4000 less if we made a stop and it delayed us just under 5 hours...



Thanks for the input..

 

[Paul Howard]

I am going to be at the Swan starting December 6 and then going to go on the Disney Wonder for a cruise. My research on the hotels is they are pretty much the same. BTW they say the fireworks from Epcot are great from the beach at the hotels.



I bought the old version of a book called "the passporter" for $1.00 because a new book was being published, I just searched and they have no more for sale. There are a bunch of great Disney sites with forums to gather information from. This trip will just be me and mommy, both in our late 60s. First cruise to. I can't wait.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Pawpaw, good for you. I hope you enjoy your trip. You are certainly going there at a good time as far as the weather goes compared to Ohio which is where I am from.... LOL



When we arrive I will get over to Shades Of Green. It is owned by DOD, (Deparment of defense). I normally stay there but there were no rooms over the Easter holiday...



THey do offer fantastic deals for Military persons on park passes and cruises and what not.



Four years ago my fmily of four went there. For a total of $1242.00 it covered all food at the hotel, (Which use to be Disney Resort Inn before DOD bought it and tore it down and rebuilt it), air fare and hopper passes....



I strongly reccomend it for any military person.

 

[Sal Adinolfi]

What about "Shades of Green"?



they give GOvernment rates.. Geared more towards military.. but I believe they give all gov't employees a break..

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Sal, no rooms available as it is Easter and Spring break...



They did find me another place for $444. total for the week. but by the time they got back to me, I was done with making reservations at the Swan.

 

[CLAY CARUTHERS]

they are pretty much the same, so either is good, they are connected by a walkway, disney is awesome, we have a timeshare at wilderness lodge and go every january, have fun

 

[chris laigaie]

We camp at fort wilderness 4 or 5 times a year.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

CML, we did that about 20 years ago.



And,,,, mother nature sent a mini tornado thru the campgrounds. We found our tent and all but a very few things. However, most found no tent nor their stuff. We ended up going to a hotel for two days and lived in a Laundromat while we were cleaning and drying everything.



One of the items we never found was 2 pairs of underwear that one of the girls had hung on the clothes line. She was all freaked out that here undies were out there and someone may have them... LOL



But we still had a good time and a good laugh...