Being a Good Neighbor Hotel, the Marriott Swan & Dolphin Resorts provide a wide range of benefits for guests looking to have fun in the Disney parks. One of these benefits is free water taxi and bus transportation to the parks and Disney Springs throughout the day.

The water taxis are run by Disney with the dock between the Swan and the Dolphin serving only as a pickup/drop off point. The bus transportation is a service that is wholly run by the resorts themselves. While mostly convenient, there are some serious drawbacks to using the provided transportation from these resorts.

One drawback is the location for the bus drop off and pick ups. If you are going to Magic Kingdom, you will be dropped off at the Ticket and Transportation Center like most buses but will have a longer walk to get to the Monorail or Ferry. The area is unshaded, which isn't as much of a problem when you're getting dropped off but is very noticeable during midafternoon if you are trying to get back to the hotel for a change of clothes or a rest. This is even more apparent during the peak of summer when the sun or midday storm is passing through. Similar can be said for the Hollywood Studios and Epcot bus locations, although they are covered.

Another issue for the bus service is the speed of service. Being a GNH, the Swan and Dolphin enjoy both Early Entry and Extended Evening benefits. The bus system used by the hotels do pick up during these times they only pick up every 30 minutes and don't schedule extra buses during peak times. This is also true for evenings when the demand for buses to the parks is high right after park close.

On one trip last year my family was stuck waiting at the bus pick up at Hollywood Studios for the Dolphin for almost an hour. Usually we would take the water taxi, but due to a summer storm the boats were shut down and aside from walking the bus was the only viable transportation.

Even though this is a pain in the butt, there are ways around this situation. I was uncomfortable walking from HS with my family mostly because it was dark and I had no idea where the walking path was. The fact that my feet were already screaming didn't help either. Going back this past April I was able to find both paths and found the Epcot one incredibly walkable. While the Hollywood Studios one was a bit longer and not as guest friendly, knowing where it was made the idea of it being a backup more realistic.

Additionally, when on my family trip last year we didn't find out that the water taxis had actually started running again until after we finally boarded our bus. If in this situation again, I would wait until the rain reduced to a drizzle and see if they are available again before waiting an hour for a bus.

Finally, the best way we found to avoid some of the issues with the Swan & Dolphin is to hop on a Disney bus for Boardwalk or Yacht & Beach Club. The walk from both of those properties to Swan & Dolphin were very reasonable with plenty to look at and places to sit along the way. It also doesn't hurt if you want to pick up a drink, boardwalk fries or an ice cream sundae on the way.