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Guest Review: Walt Disney World Swan Hotel Offers Luxury at a Moderate Price

Kingdom Konsultant client James recently stayed at the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel and wanted to share his experience with our readers. Read his review of this luxurious hotel in the heart of the Walt Disney World Resort:

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels are often overlooked resorts, but I had the opportunity to stay with my Mom at the Swan during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival in October. Staying there gave me a great insight into why the Disney Swan might be one of the best resorts in Disney World.

Park Transportation:
The Epcot Area Resorts (BoardWalk, Beach & Yacht Club, Swan & Dolphin) are one of the best locations to stay in terms of park transportation, in my opinion. These resorts have a water taxi that takes guests to Hollywood Studios and Epcot in a matter of minutes. Maybe we got lucky, but the ferry ran every 10 minutes! So, two out of four Parks have direct transportation from this area!

My Mom and I didn’t visit Animal Kingdom, but because the bus there only shares service with the other Epcot hotels (account 3-5 minutes to stop at each of the other 3 Epcot Area Resorts) you're not making a lot of stops to get there either. I'd say at most, it might take 25 minutes to get to the park. You'll see a bus arrive at the resort almost every 3 minutes with different destinations (I saw because our room had a clear view of the bus stop.) Buses always seemed pretty empty too. Magic Kingdom is the furthest park from the Swan, but even then, because the buses ran so frequently, we caught one in no time! Disney Springs, takes around 40 minutes to get to because the bus makes an additional stop at Typhoon Lagoon during its open hours.

Location:
I really wanted to go to Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club Resort this trip, and to check out the BoardWalk. The BoardWalk is literally a 5-minute walk form the Swan. As soon as you exit the resort, the walkway leads you right to the BoardWalk. The Beach and Yacht Club Resorts are a little further away and take about an 8-minute walk to get there. Beaches and Cream was awesome! I had the funnel cake and checked out the different shops on the Boardwalk too.

Other Disney resorts do have some of the same perks as the Swan, but at a higher price point. Staying at one of the Magic Kingdom resorts, you can "resort hop" on the super cool Monorail. I'd love to stay at the Polynesian and eat at Kona Cafe and try out 'Ohana. But, if you're staying at a Magic Kingdom resort, you'll probably just stick around there. It's convenient that you can go back to your room anytime in a matter of minutes too.

Pricing:
I wanted to be close to the Food & Wine Festival, while still saving as much money as we could. My first choice of resorts was Pop Century or Art of Animation but they were booked full.

I dreamed of booking a Deluxe Resort to give my Mom a memorable stay but the Deluxe resorts were out of my budget. My Kingdom Konsultant travel agent told me about the The Swan and Dolphin. Surprisingly, they aren't as expensive as the Deluxe resorts but their rooms are like the Deluxes. It offered a full sized bathroom, two queen beds, and bottled waters. To my surprise, the Swan was cheaper than a Disney Moderate Resort (at the time). The Swan is an over-the-top deluxe resort and it really impressed my Mom. I got the deluxe feel at the moderate price!

So, from a price and convenience balanced decision, I would recommend the Swan and Dolphin if you want something different than the value resorts. They are budget friendly resorts, while still maintaining good location and convenience!

- Kingdom Konsultant Client, James Um

Thank you to James for sharing his review of the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel with our readers! If you need help planning your next magical adventure, contact Vacations@KingdomKonsultant.com for a free, no obligation price quote.
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