WHY DID WE CHOOSE THE SWAN?
My decision to book this spacious 2-bedroom suite at the Walt Disney World Swan Resort for my family’s weeklong trip (Easter, March 31 – April 7) was based on the original size of our group when we first started our trip planning in June 2023. With a group of 10 (9 adults plus a toddler) I knew we would need at least 3 or 4 regular rooms. It was the consensus of our group that of our 5 park days, we wanted to spend 3 of those at Epcot and Hollywood Studios. We also love the convenience of being able to walk to/from these parks. So, I started out by pricing rooms at the three Disney-owned Epcot resorts, Boardwalk Inn, Yacht Club, and Beach Club. While I have stayed at all three of these resorts several times, I’ve only needed one room. So, while I can justify splurging on one room, paying Disney Deluxe hotel prices for 3 or 4 rooms was just out of the question. I next looked into renting points to stay at one of Disney’s DVC properties, preferably at the Boardwalk or Beach Club. While renting points for a DVC 2-bedroom villa at these resorts was a little more reasonably priced then two hotel rooms (plus we would have a full kitchen), with 10 people we still needed an extra room/studio. So then I started looking into the Swan & Dolphin Resort. This is where I discovered their Grand Parlor Suite. For less money than 2 regular rooms or a 2-bedroom DVC villa at the Boardwalk/Yacht & Beach Club we were able to stay in a 2-bedroom suite with a very large parlor (with a 3rd bathroom) in between the two bedrooms. The Swan suite would accommodate 6 adults in two queen size beds and one king and the toddler in the pullout couch. In addition, the third bathroom would allow for each adult couple to have their own bathroom, which I thought was a huge plus! Though we still needed an additional regular room for the other 3 adults of our group, the combined cost was still less than the other options (even when including the Swan’s mandatory resort fee of $40/night plus tax, which I see has now increased to $45, and $36/night to park our car). Therefore, we booked the 2-bedroom Grand Parlor suite plus an additional room at the Swan. And, by the way, we chose the Swan over the same suite at the Dolphin because the Swan has queen size beds while the Dolphin has doubles.
Then about 6 months prior to our trip my daughter’s family had to back out so that left our group with only 7 adults. Though I considered switching the 2-bedroom suite to 2 regular connecting rooms, in the end I decided that having that large parlor area for our group of 7 to congregate would be nice to have.
A PICTURE TOUR
First a photo of the Floor Plan from the Swan Dolphin website…
NOTE: This was almost exactly our floor plan, except that the pullout sofa in the King room was up against the same wall as the bed and not blocking the window. In our King room the window was actually a door out to a balcony.
The large parlor area was located in between the two bedrooms, with both bedrooms having connecting double doors to it. The parlor had a separate entrance door from the hallway with its own key, as did each of the two connecting bedrooms. When entering the parlor room there was a kitchenette located to the right. Here are some photos of this area…
Along the backwall of this room was a small sink along with some counter space and storage cabinets.
On the opposite side of this small kitchenette room was more counter space which held a single serve coffee maker, ice bucket, both plastic and glass cups, and bottles of Dasani water. Oddly, though there was a mini-fridge in the parlor room, it was not located in the kitchenette room.
Here’s a photo of this area taken from the other side…
NOTE: The water bottles provided are part of the mandatory (you cannot opt out) Resort service package that we paid $40 per night (plus tax) for in March but is now $45. It also includes the wireless internet, which is free at the Disney-owned hotels. Additionally, it includes services like paddleboat rentals, daily certified instructor led fitness classes, and nightly movies and s’mores on their beach. Other than the water bottles and wifi we did not use any of the other services that we were paying daily for during a weeklong stay.
Now for a photo showing the rest of this large parlor area…
On one side of this room was a dining room table with 6 chairs and a credenza…
From this area of the room there was a sliding glass door which opened out onto a balcony with two chairs and a side table…
Here are a few more photos of the view (considered a Resort view) from our parlor room balcony…
And my favorite photo taken from our balcony…
As you can see from the photos our rooms were located in the middle section of the hotel (above its lakeside entrance). From our balcony we could see part of Crescent Lake, the walkway to the Swan’s sister resort (the Dolphin) and the boat dock located along this walkway. This boat dock is shared by the two hotels and it is from here that you can board a boat to either Hollywood Studios (which is the boat’s next stop) or to Epcot (stopping at the Yacht & Beach Club and Boardwalk docks first). So on the return trip from the parks, the Swan & Dolphin is the first stop coming back from Hollywood Studios and the last hotel stop back from Epcot. Though we all walked to both of these parks each morning, using the lakeside walkway to the right as you exit the hotel, I chose to take the boat back to the hotel a few times to save my tired feet. It was nice to have both options available.
Here’s a photo of the Swan & Dolphin dock from a different angle…
Now back to inside the parlor room with some photos of the sitting/tv area…
This area of the room had a comfortable 3-person couch and two comfortable chairs, along with two end tables and lamps, a large ottoman, and a tv (not large screen, maybe 49″?). The mini fridge for this room was located in the cabinet under the tv. Each bedroom also had a mini fridge.
Then there was a short hallway opposite of this sitting area. At the end of this hallway was a full-size mirror and on the left was a large closet…
To the right is the parlor room’s bathroom…
This bathroom had a shower/tub combination…
NOTE: Per the Swan & Dolphin website, the size of this Parlor room at the Swan is 680 square feet. The same room at the Dolphin is not quite as spacious, listed as 480 square feet.
Now on to the connecting bedrooms. On one side of the parlor room was a room (connected by a double door which could be locked from either room) with two queen size beds…
These beds (advertised as Westin Heavenly beds) were quite comfortable, or at least the pillow top mattresses were. The goose-down comforter was not. It was way too heavy and warm for the Florida heat. And we were there in early April, not summer when it would be much hotter. Waking up in the middle of the night sweating was a common complaint for all 7 of us. They really need a lighter weight comforter!
FYI: This same Grand Parlor Suite bedroom at the Dolphin would have two double beds instead of queens. However, this bedroom at the Swan is 340 square feet but the Dolphin bedroom is a slightly bigger 360 square feet (per their website).
Though I forgot to take a photo, this room had a tv (again I think 49″?) with a dresser/cabinet underneath which held a mini fridge stocked with bottles of Dasani water. There was also a single serve coffee maker and ice bucket, glasses etc., just like what was in the Parlor room. Also of note is that this room did not have a balcony, though it did have the same “Resort view” from its window as the Parlor room.
There was an area outside of the bathroom that had a closet (which held a safe and iron & ironing board) on one side and a sink and mirror on the other…
This area is really nice to have so that another person can get ready when the bathroom is occupied.
In addition to the toilet and another sink in the bathroom, there is a tub/shower combination…
As for the second bedroom (connected, again by double doors, to the opposite side of the Parlor room), it had a King size bed and small pullout couch (I would say only big enough for one person)…
Otherwise, the room had the same setup and amenities as the other bedroom. The only exceptions were that the King room had a balcony and there was only a glass enclosed shower in the bathroom (instead of a shower/tub combination).
One other note to add. Though we opted for the 2-bedroom Grand parlor suite, this is also available with just one bedroom.
OUR OVERALL THOUGHTS
Negatives: Mandatory Resort Fee for services that most guests won’t use. Nightly parking charge if you have a car. Uncomfortable bedding. No appliances (stove/oven, full size refrigerator, washer/dryer) like what they have in the DVC villas. Especially disappointed that there was no microwave. Mini fridge inconveniently located outside of the kitchenette area. They have their own transportation service to/from Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs and it was not as frequent and conveniently located as the Disney bus transportation. This is especially true for the Magic Kingdom transportation, which arrives at/departs from the Transportation & Ticket Center rather than outside the park entrance like the Disney buses. This means you still have to board the monorail or ferry boat to get to the park.
Positives: Much larger common area in the parlor than what you have in a DVC villa. Great to have a third full bathroom in the parlor area, which is something you don’t have in the DVC 2-bedroom villa. Conveniently located within walking distance of two of the theme parks, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Less money than the Disney-owned resorts located in the same Epcot resort area, even with their mandatory resort fee and parking charges. As a guest of the Swan & Dolphin you have the same Early Theme Park Entrance privilege as the Disney-owned resorts, meaning you can enter the parks 30 minutes earlier than the official opening time of the park (every park, every day). Swan & Dolphin guests also qualify for the Extended Evening Theme Park Hours offered on select nights that is available to guests of Disney-owned Deluxe resorts and DVC Villas. We took advantage of this during the two nights that were offered during our week (one night at Epcot and another night at Magic Kingdom).
Taste of Disney 