Swan & Dolphin - Pros & Cons

[suecee]

Hi,

As the title says could you please let me have your pros & cons of staying at the Swan & Dolphin.

I think the dining plan will not apply but not too bothered.

Very keen to know how walkable the hotel is to Epcot & Hollywood Studios. Distance, average walking time etc.

Tia

[michala]

Plus comfy beds, 10 mins fast walk to both Epcot and HS. Boardwalk is a lovely place to be. Loads of places to eat around the world at Epcot and Boardwalk. Early magic hours, extra hours in parks at night, fastpasses and reservations before off site guests. All internal Disney transport included We love it, going over Xmas when the decorations are amazing.
Cons not themed hotel, no magical express, no dining plan, no charging things on magic bands. Transport to magic kingdom can be slow.

[sky13]

I've not stayed at the Swan and Dolphin but have seriously considered it (and actually booked it once! but didn't manage to stay as had to cut short that trip).

Michala has mentioned most of the pros/cons... One more con to add is that the Swan/Dolphin charge resort fees that are currently $30 daily (according to Google), in contrast to Disney resorts that don't currently charge a resort fee.

When I've done the maths before I find that the lack of Magical Express and the resort fees charged at the Swan/Dolphin means an added expense compared to staying at Disney resorts.

[MillyMoo]

We stayed at the dolphin when we got married and it's a really lovely hotel. We havent ever stayed at a Disney resort so dont really know what it's like to use the things they offer. It was really lovely though and if we had the chance we would stay there again!

[KarenG]

Walkable to both, quicker than the boat usually. I’d say 15 minutes at a very leisurely pace to both parks.

We’ve mostly stayed in Disney hotels but we stayed for five nights over NYE a few years ago because it was massively cheaper than other Epcot resorts (£180/night vs £450).

We really liked it, mostly because the location is so fab. The hotel itself is nice. It feels a bit more like a “business” hotel but not enough to put me off. Be aware of charges for resort fee and parking.

[Dunc]

The Dolphin is awesome. I've stayed 6 times over the years. Walking is easy, but the boats to the parks are frequent and it's a really nice trip. Pool area is fantastic, and there's a 24 hour deli which does reasonably priced hot food from 6am till about 9pm. Plus there's the Boardwalk area with all the dining/entertainment options to wander about. And the Epcot fireworks are visible from the area. It's a luxury hotel for the price of a Moderate. We never take a car as the transport options are so good, and we just Uber anywhere offsite.

[suecee]

Originally Posted by michala

Plus comfy beds, 10 mins fast walk to both Epcot and HS. Boardwalk is a lovely place to be. Loads of places to eat around the world at Epcot and Boardwalk. Early magic hours, extra hours in parks at night, fastpasses and reservations before off site guests. All internal Disney transport included We love it, going over Xmas when the decorations are amazing.
Cons not themed hotel, no magical express, no dining plan, no charging things on magic bands. Transport to magic kingdom can be slow.

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Thanks. For me more pros. Love being just 10 minutes walk from 2 of the parks & the Boardwalk looks lovely.

[suecee]

Originally Posted by sky13

I've not stayed at the Swan and Dolphin but have seriously considered it (and actually booked it once! but didn't manage to stay as had to cut short that trip).

Michala has mentioned most of the pros/cons... One more con to add is that the Swan/Dolphin charge resort fees that are currently $30 daily (according to Google), in contrast to Disney resorts that don't currently charge a resort fee.

When I've done the maths before I find that the lack of Magical Express and the resort fees charged at the Swan/Dolphin means an added expense compared to staying at Disney resorts.

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Thanks for the heads up about the resort fee - I was not aware of that. Seems to be happening more & more.

I will definitely check the maths although we would not use the magical express anyway due to coach sickness

[suecee]

Originally Posted by MillyMoo

We stayed at the dolphin when we got married and it's a really lovely hotel. We havent ever stayed at a Disney resort so dont really know what it's like to use the things they offer. It was really lovely though and if we had the chance we would stay there again!

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Thanks Milly. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. We haven't stayed at Disney either and with no kids we're not too worried about the theming. I hope you get the opportunity to go back soon.

[suecee]

Originally Posted by KarenG

Walkable to both, quicker than the boat usually. I’d say 15 minutes at a very leisurely pace to both parks.

We’ve mostly stayed in Disney hotels but we stayed for five nights over NYE a few years ago because it was massively cheaper than other Epcot resorts (£180/night vs £450).

We really liked it, mostly because the location is so fab. The hotel itself is nice. It feels a bit more like a “business” hotel but not enough to put me off. Be aware of charges for resort fee and parking.

See more...

Thanks Karen. We will certainly be walking at a leisurely pace 😁 especially at the end of the day. Can I ask how much walking the boat would cut out - dodgy knees!

Location (& budget) is key really as hubby does not travel well & HS is his favourite park.