Walt Disney World Swan Reserve Hotel Review 2024
In this Swan Reserve hotel review we'll dive into the details of the new Marriott managed hotel near the Swan and Dolphin complex in Walt Disney World. This is a new option for guests interested in staying on property at Walt Disney World while receiving the expected amenities from a Marriott resort hotel.
Throughout my stay at the Swan Reserve I was impressed by the quality of service and upscale nature of the resort. This is a high class Walt Disney World resort on par with the most upscale metropolitan resorts within the Marriott family.
The Swan Reserve hotel is a recently built addition to the Swan and Dolphin (review of those hotels here) property located just a short walk from the side entrance to EPCOT. This entire area provides a very nice walkable resort vibe. Guests can access Epcot by foot and Hollywood Studios via boat from the Swan and Dolphin property.
The Swan Reserve is considered a “Deluxe” Walt Disney World in terms of benefits and has access to benefits including extra time in the parks both before and after closing. The amenities of the Swan and Dolphin hotels (pool, fitness classes, etc) are also extended to guests of the Swan Reserve.
Let's dive into our full Swan Reserve hotel 2024 review for more information on every aspect of the new Walt Disney World hotel.
Swan Reserve Hotel Review 2024: Booking the Marriott Disney World Hotel
As you'll read further in this Swan Reserve hotel review, this hotel has all of the Walt Disney World theme park amenities offered for a “Deluxe” Disney hotel. Often this hotel and the Swan and Dolphin hotels go for much lower per night than the other “Deluxe” category hotels at the resort making these resort a true well kept secret.
When you are considering your Walt Disney World vacation you should absolutely consider the Swan Reserve hotel and price it out against the official Walt Disney World hotels.
Our travel partner, Get Away Today, can help you to find the lowest price of hotel for your Walt Disney World vacation when you request a quote. My favorite part of their service is their promise to deliver you the lowest possible price. They'll price monitor your hotel and apply any lower discount that is offered even after you book. Sometimes I have been refunded hundreds of dollars when a new discount is released.
Request a FREE Walt Disney World quote and note that you also want to price out the Swan Reserve in addition to the official Walt Disney World Resort Hotels.
Another option for booking the hotel is through the Marriott rewards program. The Swan Reserve, along with the Swan and Dolphin, are part of the Autograph Collection of Marriott hotels. These are more unique un-branded hotels around the world.
This hotel is considered a Category 6 hotel meaning that a night here ranges from 40,000 to 60,000 points Bonvoy Marriott Loyalty Points. The price varies depending on the classification of off-peak, standard, and peak. This also means that Marriott Bonvoy members may have rewards saved up like “Suite Night” rewards to qualify for a suite upgrade. Marriott Bonvoy rewards members also receive complimentary benefits at check in.
For my trip I was partially hosted for this review but then I also decided to extend my stay on my own dime because I was so excited about the Swan Reserve hotel. This joins a list of my favorite hotels at Walt Disney World because of the modern amenities and comfort.
Swan Reserve Hotel Location
The Swan Reserve is located across a small street from the Swan and Dolphin Resort hotels. The closest Walt Disney World hotels are the Disney Beach Club, Disney Yacht Club Hotel, and Disney Boardwalk Hotel. On different nights during my stay at the Swan Reserve I walked to both Disney's Boardwalk and Disney's Beach Club Hotel for dinner (we really enjoyed the Beaches and Cream soda shop).
The hotel is walkable to Epcot – roughly a 20 minute scenic walk. This area was also very nice for a morning run. During my stay I ran the loop to the Epcot entrance around the Disney hotels and Disney's Boardwalk before heading back to the hotel.
This is the view that EPCOT facing rooms have of the nighttime fireworks at that park.
The hotel is about a 30 minute ride from the Orlando Airport. I used the new Mears Connect shuttle service for the ride from the airport to the Disney World hotel. We were in one of their smaller shuttles and we stopped at about three other hotels before I was dropped off. The shuttle service currently costs $16 each direction on the Mears Connect shuttle. Because I was solo and had a little bit of extra time it made sense to take the shuttle, but if I had more than one person it would have been comparable to order a Lyft or Uber to the hotel. I only used the Mears Connect shuttle in one direction during this trip and used Lyft to return to the airport at the end of my Walt Disney World stay.
Swan Reserve Room Types and Room Tour
The hotel has 349 rooms and a variety of room types. During my stay I experienced the Signature King Suite with a view of Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, and Hollywood Studios. There was an immediate WOW factor upon entering the suite. I was blown away the fresh, modern, feeling of the room and luxurious finishes. For anyone who is coming to Walt Disney World as a Disneyland fan, this hotel is comparable to the Westin and JW Marriott Anaheim (both Marriott properties) that recently opened to service the Disneyland market.
When you first enter you'll be greeted by a long table perfect for getting work done before heading to the parks or bringing in room service. Then, you'll see a sitting area with a pull out couch and huge window looking out across Walt Disney World.
The room is considered a “pool view” room but I was much more excited about that fact that I could see out to Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom. All of the rooms in the resort have notable views. On the Epcot side, resort guests have a great view of the nighttime entertainment over World Showcase and the illuminated Epcot Spaceship Earth ball (see photo in Swan Reserve hotel location section above).
Continuing with the tour of the room. The large king bedroom is completely comfortable. I found the blanket initially on the bed to be too thin so I added another blanket in the closet to the bed as a second layer. The bed had my favorite down pillows ready for use on the bed. A must have for this level of resort!
The bathrooms were also nicely split so that someone could be showering and getting ready while another is using the toilet.
Marriott Swan Reserve Hotel Pool and Amenities
Guests at the Swan Reserve hotel have access to all of the property amenities offered at the Swan and Dolphin Hotels.
The pool at the Swan Reserve was closed for a majority of my visit for maintenance so I used the hot tub just across the street at the Swan and Dolphin property one evening after leaving the parks.
There are screens throughout the hotel advertising some of the complimentary amenities offered across the three hotels. I was interested in trying out one of the fitness classes (during my recent stay at Disneyland's Grand Californian the workout class was an absolute highlight), but my schedule this trip didn't allow it.
If you are staying at another official Walt Disney World hotel during your stay (called a split stay), you can request a luggage transfer between hotels so that you can head directly to the parks on check out day and not have to worry about moving your luggage to your next hotel.
Early Entry and Extra Park Hours
The Swan Reserve hotel is considered a “Deluxe” Walt Disney World resort hotel so guests have access to the additional Walt Disney World theme park access given to resort guests.
Guests can access all of the Walt Disney World theme parks 30 minutes before official park opening (read our guide to Walt Disney World Early Theme Park Entry here) and are eligible for the Extended Evening Park Hours (our guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World here) on select nights. The Extended Evening Park Hours are only available for the highest end resorts on Walt Disney World property. Check the Walt Disney World calendar for information on Extended Evening Park Hours because these do not occur on each night of your stay.
Note – during my stay I used the hotel early access for Hollywood Studios and even though I had the hotel reservation in my app it was not recognized for the early theme park access initially. The solution was quickly resolved when I showed the Cast Member at the check point the reservation in the app and my hotel key. The Cast Member seemed to be aware of the issue.
There is a slightly larger issue that you'll have to do a bigger work around for. The Swan and Dolphin hotels and the Swan Reserve are Marriott properties that sometimes have trouble integrating into the Walt Disney World My Disney Experience system properly. When the My Disney Experience system doesn't recognize a confirmation number you may have to contact the hotel to ask for a different confirmation correct number to link the hotel to your stay and give you the proper on site status. There is an alternate confirmation number that can be provided when needed, which should resolve that issue!
Swan Reserve Theme Park Transportation
The Swan Reserve is located near EPCOT. The theme park transportation for the Swan Reserve is as follows:
- EPCOT – walk to the theme park
- Hollywood Studios – walk to the boat that departs from the Dolphin Hotel
- Animal Kingdom – take the bus from the hotel
- Magic Kingdom – take the bus from the hotel
- Disney Springs – take the bus from the hotel
Note – The buses from the hotel are larger coach buses and seem to come less frequently than the Walt Disney World Resort buses. These buses drop off at Animal Kingdom closer than the official Walt Disney World buses, but at Magic Kingdom drop off further away. For Magic Kingdom, guests will be dropped off at the Ticket and Transportation Center so you'll need to either take the Monorial or Ferry to the main entrance to the Magic Kingdom.
For transportation I often chose to Uber or Lyft (read our guide to Uber and Lyft at Walt Disney World) to get to the resorts immediately rather than waiting for bus transportation.
Swan Reserve Check-In Process Compared to Disney
A true highlight of this Swan Reserve hotel review… I don't know whether it was just my timing throughout the trip or if the hotel was emptier than usual, but I never waited to speak with a Cast Member at the front desk. In stark contrast to the official Walt Disney World Hotel and official Disneyland Resort Hotel that I stayed at right around this same time period, there wasn't a line for check in or for any other question that I had to ask during my stay.
Throughout my stay I had warm, friendly, customer service from the entire team that I interacted with. In particular, I had a great experience with Franky, a Cast Member at the front desk. He gave me great advice about where to eat and tips for taking advantage of all the aspects of the resort. I included his name here because he was seemingly omnipresent throughout my stay and worked hard to make every aspect a success.
Food Options at the Swan Reserve
There are a number of restaurants on property at the Swan Reserve and in the larger Swan and Dolphin complex. During my stay I had a breakfast sandwich from, Grounds, the convenient grab and go location in the lobby and a Mediterranean salad with chicken from the menu of Amare, the Mediterranean restaurant in the hotel, while sitting at the Stir bar in the lobby.
The Mediterranean salad was fantastic and definitely a refreshing healthy meal after a day of enjoying slightly heavier food in the theme parks. The breakfast sandwich was a good protein base before heading into the parks.
Grounds also offers a variety of other grab-and-go options for breakfast and throughout the day. Don't worry, they do have Mickey Waffles perfect for the kids to start off the day.
You can make reservations at Amare through Walt Disney World dining reservations but when I walked by they had room for seating. There is also a poolside restaurant called Tangerine which I did not try during my visit.
Final Thoughts in this Walt Disney World Swan Reserve Hotel Review
In summary, the Swan Reserve hotel is a great option for guests looking for the most modern hotel touches while still staying on Walt Disney World property. While the hotel lacks the themed charm of some other resorts (we love the beach vibe of the Walt Disney World Caribbean Beach Resort) and could be dropped into Miami without anyone blinking, there is room for a hotel like this in Walt Disney World.
This Walt Disney World Marriott hotel is a great addition to the resort and provides another option for Marriott Bonvoy Rewards members on property at Walt Disney World. I will consider the Swan Reserve hotel as a great hotel option any time that I visit Walt Disney World.
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We have a stay coming up for the Swan Reserve, and I was not able to do Dining Reservations for my full stay because the confirmation number was not the one needed for the deluxe perk. I tried calling the hotel who directed me to Marriott with no luck on getting a new confirmation number. Do you know who the best point of contact would be for this? Thanks for all the great info!