Marriott has announced a new hotel that will be opening later this summer. It is called the Walt Disney World Swan Reserve — not to be confused with the WDW Swan or the WDW Dophin. It is part of the Autograph Collection and will be a Category 6 property. Marriott claims it opens July 2021, but in looking for reservations, there wasn’t anything unavailable before Sept. 1, 2021. The first 3 weeks are the lowest prices, and then they increase to be more than the other two hotels previously mentioned.
Since my last post regarding the purchase of WDW tickets using points (in case you didn’t read it, don’t do it!), I had a lot of DM’s asking questions about WDW opportunities. I prepared a chart below comparing the 3 Marriott hotels at WDW. This list does not include the MVC properties, or any hotels that you need to drive to the parks. These three properties within WDW, are within walking distance, boat ride, or free shuttles, depending on which park you are going to. They also participate in Disney benefits such as on-site character meals, early hour access (if they ever return to this), etc. If any of you want the Disney hotel experience at WDW and stay in a Marriott hotel to do it, you will want to check out this chart carefully.
| WDW Swan Reserve | WDW Dophin | WDW Swan | |
| Hotel Group | Autograph Collection | Sheraton | Westin |
| Hotel Category | Category 6 | Category 6 | Category 6 |
| Bonvoy Points to Stay | 36,000 – 60,000 | 36,000 – 60,000 | 36,000 – 60,000 |
| Guest Rating of Hotel | NA | 3.8 | 4.0 |
| Best Value in 2021 | Sept 1-20 | Aug 20-29 | Aug 20-29 |
| Using Bonvoy Points | 282k points | 244k points | 244k points |
| Using Credit Card | $1903 | $1619 | $1712 |
Currently, you cannot reserve any of these hotels using MVC points.
Do you know if they plan on adding the Reserve to MVC? We’re on the fence between DVC and MVC and even though we use Marriott products more often than Disney, the bulk of our vacation dollars are spent at Disney. This may be a deal breaker for us. Our Bonvoy points may be our only access.
I do not know that answer to that question. This past year Saratoga Springs has been available to trade Club Points to. A few other resorts (Key West, Animal Kingdom) have also popped up. But definitely the majority of DVC resorts are not available for MVC owners to trade to. So if you want to stay at Disney resorts for your vacations, that might be the best path to take. As far as the Reserve? I haven’t heard any “rumblings or rumors” on that at all.