I just got back from a 6 day stay at the Dolphin with my daughter. She ended up unexpectedly in a wheelchair for the last 4 days.
When we checked in, we were given a complimentary upgrade to a room with a balcony. This was on a "teacher rate". Because it turned out that room had been smoked in (it was a non-smoking room but someone had disregarded the rules), they moved us to yet another room. This time we ended up with TWO balconies. All of this was done without our requesting it. Very nice service! I would say your complimentary upgrades are limited by the availability. If they're available, they provide them. If you have a special need, in our case a non-smoking room, it somewhat lessens your chance of getting an upgrade, but they seemed to work with what they had to make our stay as nice as possible.
The transportationn and the location as a whole were very good for someone helping a child deal with a wheelchair. In fact, we're returning there next November, in part, because of this feature. My child has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and her condition is difficult to predict at this time so next time I'll go prepared for the fact that she may need a wheelchair and we won't be caught by surprise. The ferryboats to and from MGM and Epcot were great. It was easy to walk to boardwalk. All the doors in the hotel at the Dolphin were automatic which was nice. (We visited the Swan and had to open them ourselves which was tricky unless someone was around to help out.)
Any other questions? I'll try to answer as best I can........
