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Why We Love Disney's Swan and Dolphin Resort

 


We LOVE Disney's Swan and Dolphin resort!  I first stayed here way back when the Tower of Terror 10 Miler was still a thing!  The race started and ended at Hollywood Studios at night, and I knew I wanted to be in one of the Epcot/Boardwalk area resorts but because I didn't book early enough, they were all taken. That is when I looked into the Swan and Dolphin resorts and fell in love!


During that race weekend we stayed at the Swan but during this past trip we stayed at the Dolphin.  We booked this trip for June of 2021 and as you may know, not a lot of the Disney resorts where even open yet. Some of the Disney resorts that were open, didn't have all the amenities available like usual. Pickings were slim!  We were happy to see that the Dolphin was taking reservations ( I even got a teacher discount).  For less than what we would have paid for a Moderate at Disney, we got this Deluxe resort in a perfect area! 

Here are some things to know about the Swan and Dolphin resort.

Magical Express is not offered. This isn't really going to be an issue in the near future as  ME is going away all together anyway.  We Ubered, which we would have anyway because we had a dinning reservation to get too.

The fountain as we entered the Dolphin Lobby.


Both the Swan and Dolphin are considered Disney Deluxe accommodations.  Having stayed at many of the Disney Deluxe resorts, I can assure you the Swan and Dolphin are just as top notch! 


Our room was on the 8th floor. I believe there are 9 or 10 floors in our part of the building.


This room had a split bathroom, which I assume all of them do.




  Be sure to ask for a balcony room, it makes all the difference. Not all the rooms have a balcony. In fact, on our side of the building, I think balcony rooms were every other room.  Although this limits the amount of balcony rooms that are available, it is sort of nice because there is not someone right beside you, so you sort of have some privacy.


We literally could see three swimming pools from our balcony, the beach areas, the lake where the Swan boats operate, and the newest Swan and Dolphin resort called Swan Reserve ( which was still being built)!

We had a great view of Tower of Terror and if fireworks were happening at the time, we would have been able to see the Hollywood Studio ones and maybe the Epcot ones. 
                                            Walkway to Hollywood Studios.


Like I mentioned earlier, this resort is located  Near Epcot and Hollywood Studios. It is only a short walk to each one, or you can take the boats there. We chose to walk. 


It is near by Disney's Boardwalk resort and Disney's Yacht and Beach Club resorts, which makes it nice for even more dining and entertainment options.

If you walk to Epcot, you will enter through the International Gateway, where the skyliner is.  This gives you even more options for dining and exploring Disney resorts.  


One day we took the Skyliner to the new Riviera resort and Caribbean Beach resort.  It also goes to Pop Century and Art of Animation but we did not go to those resorts. 

Of course there are plenty of things to do right at this resort.

As far as dining options, just at the Dolphin alone, there are two signature restaurants, Todd English's Blue Zoo and Shulas.  


                                   We ate at Shulas  one night and it was a nice experience!

We had a fabulous dinner at Shulas and you can read that blog post HERE.


Dining at Blue Zoo was like an under the sea experience and you can read about that blog post HERE.


There is a quick service /store, sort of like a mini mart ( but it sells Dole Whips), called Fuel.  I was not a fan of this place because the lines were always long and it had a weird smelled to it. It always smelled like something was burning. Perhaps that is why they call is Fuel?



One night we had drinks at the Fountain, which is sort of like an ice cream shop that sells sandwiches and milkshakes.  I got what was suppose to be a "Frappacinio".   It definitely did not taste like a Frappacino it was more like an Espresso flavored milkshake. It was good for what it was.


There is also another quick service/cafeteria type restaurant  called Picabu which is really nice. 


We got burrito bowls and nachos there one day! 


Another good meal we had was at the poolside restaurant and lounge called Cabana Bar and Grill.

There are a few other restaurants right across the walk way at the Swan.  During my last stay here we ate at  Garden Grove which is a character meal.  You can read about that HERE

                      Of course we had to bring Flat Sybie with us on our walks! 

One of our favorite things to do was just walking the loop around the resorts, over to the Boardwalk, and back again. It is just so beautiful and we were happy to be in this place! 


There is a walking/running trail .



 We enjoyed our morning runs and walks around all of the resorts.



We also enjoyed riding the Swan boats.  Our balcony actually overlooked the lake that the Swan boats were on, so we knew this was something we wanted to do.  The Swan boats are complimentary for hotel guests, but you do have to sign up ahead of time to get your place in line. You will then get a card to present as your "ticket to ride".   You can read more about that experience HERE.  (blog post coming soon)

There are several pools and hot tubs.  We enjoyed the pool with the water slide!


There are activities throughout the day.  One day after our morning walk, we came across a Zumba class going on . We decided to join in!



We also enjoyed the Mandara Spa that is right on property. At the time of our visit, (June 2021), it was the only spa on Disney property that was open. All the Senses ones ( at Grand Floridian and Saratoga Springs), were still closed. To see our post on Mandara Spa click HERE

If you like mini golf, Disney's Fantasia Mini Golf course is literally right across the road from the Swan! 


If you can't find what you need or what you want to do at the Dolphin, you can take a quick walk over to the Swan.  Even though the Swan and Dolphin both share the same property and amenities, some people say they don't know which one is which.  Besides the statues of the swans on top of the Swan and the dolphins on top of the Dolphin, one quick way to notice the difference is that the Dolphin is a Pyramid shape and the Swan is more of an arc. 




And of course if you still can't find what you need between the Swan and Dolphin, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk Inn are just a few steps away!   We love this resort for it's optimal location and a bonus is that we get deluxe accommodations at a more reasonable price. 

Have you ever stayed in the Epcot/Boardwalk resort area? What did you like about it?

















1 comment:

  1. I have never stayed at either but they are definitely on my list of places to stay! I love the location!! So perfect! :)

    ReplyDelete

Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.