When I was a kid my parents were big fans of Yacht & Beach Club. My mom was a fan of Epcot, and particularly in my pre-teen years I was a huge fan of Hollywood Studios, so the location worked out well. But while a lot has changed at Disney World, one this was as true back then as now—those hotels were way expensive.
Luckily there is a good alternative that retains the location perks of Yacht & Beach Club—the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin. These hotels are operated by Marriott and were joined a few years ago by the Walt Disney World Swan Reserve.
These three hotels are sort of an odd duck. Despite having “Walt Disney World” in their names, they aren’t operated by Walt Disney World. They also have an interesting lineup of Disney World perks, including Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours, but excluding bus transportation (the hotels provide their own non-Disney bus transportation to the parks). There’s also no doubting these hotels don’t have the “Disney” feel to them, however much that matters to you.
But the Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve have heretofore been most notable in one important regard—they’re less expensive than the neighboring Boardwalk area resorts. By way of quick example, I looked at a short August stay and found the cheapest room around the Boardwalk came to $665 per night, at Beach Club. The Dolphin had rooms for $308 per night. (You can also book the Swan & Dolphin with Marriott points.)
But I’m not here to rehash this very old issue. For the most part, I’ve just ignored the Swan & Dolphin because I’ve always got good reasons to focus on visiting Disney hotels. I stayed at the Swan Reserve when it was new, and enjoyed it, but I mostly had no reason to revisit Swan & Dolphin…until now. There have been two big recent updates that have me thinking about my next stay at Swan & Dolphin.
The first is that the rooms at the Swan have all been recently renovated. Room renovations are always a bit divisive, and these are no different. There’s definitely a recent trend toward a more minimalist aesthetic. You can take a look at them here.
While I’m actually a fan of these rooms, I will say I’m glad Disney has found a way to depart from this trend with the more themed rooms of recent years. We’ll have to see what the upcoming Pop Century renovations bring.
However I feel about new rooms, they’re not quite enough to get me to check out a non-Disney hotel. There’s one more small thing that pushes the hotels into consideration for me—an announcement that they’re going to be debuting a new game room. Here’s a look at the concept art:
Marriott Concept Art for Lagoon game room (fair use claimed)
As to specifics, this looks like a pretty standard arcade, though bowling lanes are also featured in other concept art. While the description also says food and drink will be available, I’m a little puzzled by the limited seating, which seems to be a few couches.
Most Disney hotels already have arcades, and they’re fine arcades. So to some extent, Marriott is just bringing the Swan & Dolphin up to par…but that’s still something. And yes, my “parent” is showing—my kid absolutely loves arcades and continually demands to know why Dave & Buster’s isn’t on the refrigerator calendar yet for this month.
Combined with the new rooms, plus the ongoing event space expansion, it’s really refreshing to see a competitively-priced hotel right next to Disney’s hotels making changed to appeal to a wide range of guests. On the “good for kids and adults alike” front, it’s also good to remember these hotels are located right near Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf, too.
Bottom Line
New rooms aren’t enough to move my needle when it comes to non-Disney hotels. The game room is a nice touch that nudges me toward wanting to revisit Swan & Dolphin. What we’ve really got to remember here is that Swan & Dolphin are already competitively priced. Any quality upgrade that doesn’t come with a significant price increase is a huge win for Boardwalk Area fans. As my kid crosses those Hollywood Studios height requirements and gets a taste for thrill rides, I’m definitely going to be keeping my eye on Swan & Dolphin in the next few years.
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Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
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Don't forget to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
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