I spent 4 nights at the [color:"red"]Walt Disney Swan[/color] with my sister and two nieces. Both Swan and Dolphin are Starwood managed resorts and are a foot bridge away from Disney’s Yacht & Beach Clubs and Boardwalk hotels.

We enjoyed our stay at the hotel which has many onsite restaurants, health club, two lap pools, several hot tubs, large pool with waterfall and slide and man made beach with small playground area and many hammocks on beach. Another feature we liked was the proximity to the [color:"blue"]Disney Boardwalk[/color] where we enjoyed walking around at night after returning from the Parks. There were several places to eat on the Boardwalk like Flying Fish Café, Spoodles, ESPN zone and another burger type place which added to your restaurant choices within a short distance from the hotel. We also liked that besides taking the complimentary Disney bus we were also able to take the boat to Epcot or Hollywood Studios. Boat ran every 15 minutes and the bus which we caught right in front of our hotel approximately every 20 minutes.

High end restaurants like Shula’s and Blue Zoo are in the Dolphin and Il Mulino’s is at the Swan but having the two children with us we did not think they would appreciate the finer food and honestly were trying to save where we could so did not dine at any of the higher end restaurants at the hotel although they all had interesting menu’s that my sister and I would have liked to try.

We had cocktails and appetizers twice at the [color:"blue"]Cabana Bar & Grill[/color] which we thoroughly enjoyed and breakfast at the [color:"blue"]Garden Grove[/color], ala carte but buffet is also offered. On the weekends meals at this restaurant are called “Character Dining” which translates to one or two Disney characters walking around and taking photos with you. Breakfast was a little better than average. We also dined at [color:"blue"]Kimonos[/color] in the Swan which offers almost exclusively sushi or sashimi but there were a few non sushi type appetizers like tempura, goyza, and soup, fresh fish and nice ambience. The restaurant isn’t very large so I’d recommend reservations which are only accepted for parties of 6 ore more. Hotel was at capacity but we still were able to get a table at 7:00 PM.

My sister and the girls also had breakfast at the [color:"blue"]Fresh Mediterrean Market[/color] one morning and we had a casual dinner at the [color:"blue"]Fountain[/color]. Both are located at the Dolphin and reasonably priced.

Staying at the Swan did not entitle us to free pick up and drop off from the airport/hotel so we used Mears which cost us $60. Staying at the Swan did entitled us to extra hours at the parks on certain days (schedule changes weekly) and free Disney transportation within the parks as well as delivery of souvenirs to your hotel. This was a great feature, no minimum spending or charge to deliver. I was told you could buy a key chain and it would be at your hotel in the gift shop the following day at 12 noon. We bought souvenirs, and Disney photos and had them delivered and they arrived as promised. In Epcot there are many “countries” where you can purchase wine but they can’t deliver liquor to your hotel, instead they will deliver it to the exit/entrance area of Epcot within 3 hours.

Outside the resort we enjoyed one day at Magic Kingdom followed by the 8:00 PM Luau at the Polynesian Village. In hindsight we shouldn’t have scheduled dinner after 9 hours at the park but reservations were made months ago. We decided to take the monorail from the Magic Kingdom directly to the Polynesian which was very convenient but to return to our hotel we would have to take the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom and then wait for the shuttle bus to return us to the Swan. We decided to take a taxi which was well worth the $13.00 especially since both of the girls were very tired. Who am I kidding, me and my sister were wiped-out by then!

The food at the Luau is average and the show is extremely “cheesy.” Wanted to do another show but it was booked. Also wouldn’t suggest the late show, most children were asleep on parents laps by 9:00 PM and one of my nieces was no different. I saw this show ten years ago and my sister about twenty and food is as we remembered, pretty mediocre at best but of course the cost is much higher.

Served first was a family style salad and coconut/pineapple bread which was surprisingly good. Next course was grilled chicken which was good but the ribs were extremely over sauced and had a funny taste. Steamed veggies didn’t have any taste and the stir-fry rice was try and tasteless. Beer, wine and soda is included along with a chocolate mousse type dessert. Wine was undrinkable! Kids were able to get milk.

Back to the show -- it has changed considerable in one respect as instead of traditional or what we believe to be traditional island dancing has now been replaced by a cheesy show with dancing and singing that has nothing to do with island culture. The show reminded us of nothing more than a high school musical with better costumes which were clearly too big on some and too tight on others but thus the “eye” candy appeal to both sexes. The later part of the show was good because there was a fire eater/dancer who was excellent. If you’ve done it once you certainly don’t need to see it again!

[color:"green"]Magic Kingdom[/color] – enjoyed very much, rides are fun and something for everyone. Place was crowded but we timed rides well and the longest wait was 45 minutes for Splash Down. Other rides were 10/20 minute wait or we used the Fast Pass feature. Peter Pan ride had the longest wait but we used the Fast Pass and had no wait when we returned.

[color:"green"]Epcot[/color] – lots of fun eating our way through each country. We enjoyed rides in Mexico and Norway. We did not stay for shows in China or Japan and other countries had some musicians or troupes otherwise the World Showcase consists of shopping and eating. Our favorite food was “fish & chips” in England and sampling of Chinese dishes. Waffle from Norway was good but crepe from France was cold and not very good. Gelati from Italy was delicious. The food in Mexico smelled great and the restaurant was very romantic looking but with the kids it wasn’t practical to eat there. Germany seemed the most crowded as they have a beer garden buffet lunch offered.

[color:"green"]Downtown Disney[/color] – visited one evening for shopping and dinner. Ate at the [color:"blue"]Rainforest Café[/color]. This place is still very popular with tourist so there was a long wait. Although it’s efficient because they take your name and give you a return time and number. We had a 1 ½ hr wait so we went shopping and returned at the designated time (8:02 PM) but they were not ready for us. They called our name around 8:30 but it still took another 10 minutes by the time you wait on another line to be seated. I’ve eaten at this restaurant several times as besides Disney we also had one in NJ, quality of food is OK but the special effects is what brings in most people and with kids we were no exception.

Their menu has been updated to include some higher end meals like steak and lobster tail but we stuck with burgers/fries type food. Had a little rain that evening otherwise weather was perfect the entire five days. Sunny and hot, high in the 80s.

Since May is after spring break we expected the hotels and parks to be somewhat empty but that was not the case. Starwood hotels were at capacity and I was told that May is a very busy month.