OLC Accelerate 2019 - Travel Details

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort

1500 Epcot Resorts Boulevard, PO Box 22653
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Located in the heart of the most magical place on earth, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort provides a truly extraordinary backdrop for your Orlando vacation or conference experience.

Special conference room rate of $222.00 + $15 mandatory resort fee* + taxes. 

The conference rate will continue to be available until rooms are no longer available at the hotel.

Note: The Swan/Dolphin is currently sold out for the nights of 11/19 and 11/20. Please be sure to put yourself on the waitlist in addition to making a reservation at a nearby hotel. Many cancelations occur right at the start of conference week, so there is a very good chance your would make it off the wait list and into the Swan/Dolphin. 

Booking Options

Option 1 (preferred): Book Online 

Option 2: Call Swan/Dolphin Reservations 800-227-1500 or 888-828-8850 and let them know you are with the Online Learning Consortium group.  Note: Swan/Dolphin reservations are open Mon-Fri 7am-11pm ET or Sat-Sun 7am-7pm ET. We recommend that you do not call outside of these hours. If you do, your call automatically rolls over to Marriott central reservations, and they do not have the group information available. Please call within the hours indicated above to get the best OLC group rate. 

The special conference rate also applies for three days prior to and three days after the conclusion of the conference. 

Please note:

• High-speed internet access is included in your room at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin as part of the room charge.
• Complimentary wireless network access will be provided by OLC in the conference area. Connection instructions will be available when you pick up your name badge at the conference registration desk.
• *Mandatory Resort Fee includes: daily replenished bottled water, internet access, access to the fitness center, local calls.

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort

1500 Epcot Resorts Boulevard, PO Box 22653
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Driving Directions to the Hotel

Local Transportation Information

To and From the Resort:

The resort does not provide an airport shuttle or transportation. Your best options for transportation between the airport and the resort are to arrange for a shuttle (Mears Transportation, SuperShuttle, or Orlando Airport Van) or for a car or taxi cab.  Additional information and coupons for shuttles will be posted as they become available.

Mears Transportation provides a discount coupon ($4 off regular round trip price) for round trip shuttle service to OLC Accelerate attendees. Advance reservations can be made online, or you can provide a copy of the coupon (pdf) when you arrive to make an on-site reservation at the Mears desk at the airport (MCO).
**To receive the discount, attendees must either purchase their ticket online using the provided link or present a physical coupon at the Mears Counter at the Orlando International Airport.  Having the coupon on a mobile device will not be accepted.

Hotel Parking Information:

OLC Accelerate attendees staying at the Swan and Dolphin are entitled to complimentary self parking. During the check in process, our front desk agents will ask guests if they parked a car and will remove the parking charge.

All daily drive-ins will be responsible for their own parking charges at the hotel rates of:

Self parking – $25 plus tax per day / per exit 

Valet parking – $35 plus tax per day / per exit 

Purchase your tickets for Thursday evening at Disney during the conference registration process. 

Two ticket options are available for purchase for OLC Accelerate 2019 attendees to experience an evening at Disney on Thursday, November 21. Purchase these tickets during your conference registration process in advance, or onsite if supplies are available. OLC Accelerate attendees may purchase either:

• A special event ticket for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (tickets are available in very limited quantities, and we will fill orders as long as we can still get them from Disney); or
• An After 5pm ticket good for after 5pm entrance to your choice of Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, or Animal Kingdom.

  *Note: After 5pm tickets purchased through OLC CAN be used at Hollywood Studios, but if you purchase an After 5pm ticket through the hotel or through Disney directly, it will NOT be good at Hollywood Studios due to their new ticketing policies and the ticket restrictions with the opening of the new Star Wars World. The After 5pm Tickets are good 7 days pre- and 7 days post- your conference dates. The tickets are valid from November 10th to December 1st.

Here are more details about each park:

• Magic Kingdom
  • 4pm to Midnight access with a Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party special event ticket
  • Tickets are available in very limited quantities, and we will fill orders as long as we can still get them from Disney.
  • Ticket price (Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party): $99 if ordered through OLC (no tax) and easy pickup at the conference
  • There is no After 5pm ticket access to Magic Kingdom Thursday evening; you MUST have pre-purchased in advance of the conference a Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party ticket to access Magic Kingdom after 4pm this day
  • Guests will take the Disney shuttle bus between the hotel and the park
• Hollywood Studios
  •  4:45pm – 9:00pm access
  • Jingle Jam starts at 8:00pm, followed by Fantasmic at 8:30pm
  • Ticket orders taken through November 11, 2019; after November 11, tickets may be purchased onsite at the conference registration desk.
  • Ticket price (After 5pm ticket):  $60 (both attendees and guests)
  • Guests will walk 10-15 minutes or ride the Friendship boat between the hotel and the park
• EPCOT
  • 4:45pm – 9:00pm access
  • “Epcot Forever” laser and fireworks show included and runs 9:00pm – 9:20pm. The “Epcot Forever” show is a temporary show that replaces “Illuminations.”
  • Ticket orders taken through November 11, 2019;  after November 11, tickets may be purchased onsite at the conference registration desk
  • Ticket price (After 5pm ticket):  $60 (both attendees and guests)
  • Guests will walk 10-15 minutes or ride the Friendship boat between the hotel and the park
• Animal Kingdom:
  • 4:45pm – 8:00pm access; Warning on the earlier close time for this park: Certainly there are noteworthy rides at this park – the new Pandora, Mt. Everest, the Jungle Safari, Dinosaur, etc. – but you will have a limited number of hours at this park to partake in rides. You can definitely get some of it in, but not all of it in 3 hours. 
  • The new River of Lights closing laser light show on the river is spectacular, and will occur at 6:30pm on this evening.  The park closes at 8:00pm. If you are planning on staying additional days in Orlando, you might want to select this park for a different day where you can spend more time there.
  • Ticket orders taken through November 11, 2019; after November 11, tickets may be purchased onsite at the conference registration desk
  • Ticket price (After 5pm ticket):  $60 (both attendees and guests)
  • Guests will take the Disney shuttle bus between the hotel and the park

Note: For both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, we recommend walking the 10-15 minutes to the park, and then riding the Friendship boat back to the hotel (if desired). Riding the boat TO the park can mean long delays getting there.

Attendees deciding to go to Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom will catch the Disney shuttle bus outside and left of the Dolphin Lobby entrance.

Important Items of Note:

• Tickets ordered through OLC for Thursday evening are picked up during your conference registration check-in. Tickets ordered directly through Disney for other days are picked-up at the Disney guest relations desk at the Dolphin.
• After 5pm ticket purchases through OLC will be suspended on November 11 and will be begin again onsite on Tuesday, November 19. 
• Thursday evening tickets for Magic Kingdom (Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party) are only available for sale in advance during conference registration. Tickets are available in very limited quantities, and we will fill orders as long as we can still get them from Disney. There will be no sales after our early bird registration deadline or onsite sales of these special high-demand tickets.  
• Tickets through OLC are ordered and paid for through your conference registration.  Tickets ordered through OLC are tax-exempt.
• Tickets ordered and paid for directly through Disney (see the ‘Additional Disney ticket options’ link below) for November 21 or any other dates during your stay in Orlando will be charged sales-tax by Disney.  
• Tickets ordered directly through Disney must be ordered no later than 5pm November 16, 2019.  You cannot purchase conference-discounted Disney tickets from Disney after 5pm November 16, 2019.
• Tickets through OLC may be paid with a personal credit card even if you paid for your conference registration with your corporate card. If you need assistance to do this, contact conference@onlinelearning-c.org.

Please note: park close times can change, but this is the current schedule from Disney.

Spending extra time in Orlando and bringing family? Get discounted Disney tickets for your conference stay.

Orlando is packed with theme parks. Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom parks, Seaworld, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure – and the list continues.

For Star Wars fans, Hollywood Studios’ new land, “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” is scheduled to open August 29. 

Special Disney theme park ticket prices are available for conference attendees. Special after 3pm tickets are available for conference attendees and their families. 

	Advance Purchase Savings on Specially Priced Disney Theme Park Tickets, available until 5 p.m. on November 16, 2019.  Make the most of your free time with Special Meeting & Convention Theme Park tickets.  Advance purchase lets you skip the lines at the Theme Park ticket windows, save money, and customize your free time to suit your individual agenda.  These tickets are valid during your pre- and post-stays too! Tickets purchased from this site will be valid for use from November 10 – December 1, 2019 (7 days pre- and 7 days post- conference).
The site contains partial-day ticket options (exclusive to the meetings market) and multi-day ticket options  The ticket prices listed reflect any applicable discounts and include tax.  Since the Meeting & Convention partial-day and multi-day tickets are not available for purchase at Disney Theme Park Ticket Windows, attendees will need to purchase them through the custom Disney website or in advance through the Disney Ticket Reservation Center at 407-566-5600.  All of the Meeting & Convention tickets include FastPasses (details on how to pre-select FastPasses can be found on the custom Disney site).   Interested in attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party while you are in Orlando? Tickets may be purchased directly through Disney, while supplies last.