Just returned from the Dolphin (9/26 - 10/4) and all I can say is WOW! It's be a while since we've been there, and all I can say is that this resort was wonderful! For the price, we definitely got what we paid for, and more.
We booked a balcony room, and my only request was a high floor. Last time we were in the east wing with a fireworks view (but were not in the room one night to see the fireworks from the balcony). This time we were in the west wing on the 9th floor Rm. 9177 with a view of the pools & DHS. I absolutely loved the location & view. We were at the pool every afternoon, and picking up something at Picabo almost every day. And the west elevators were right there. Their pool complex is gorgeous! I spent many a morning and evening on the balcony admiring the amazing view.
We pretty much ate our way around the food and wine festival almost every day, so we didn't dine in any of the Dolphin restaurants other than Picabo the first night we arrived. They have a loaded baked potato for $5.50 that is a meal in itself. They offer more toppings than I have ever heard of for a restaurant potato. The rooms were very nice. Much larger than I had remembered. Good amount of counter space by the sink, and it was nice having the other counter area & mirror over the refrigerator cabinet. They have a magnified pull out mirror attached to the wall, so I didn't need to bring one. Lots of drawer space, too.
They gave us a list, when we checked in, of the items that could be brought in for the fridge. I thought this was a great idea. The fridge is empty, so if you want any of the mini-bar stuff added, you just let them know. We made a grocery stop on the way for bottled water, breakfast stuff and snacks.
The $10 per day Resort Service Pkg. included:
60 min. local & toll free calls
health club
internet access
2 bottles of water per day
The tags on the water were a little misleading. Saying something about the water being $2 per bottle if you don't have the resort pkg. But, everyone is charged for the resort service pkg. So I wonder how many people don't drink the water, thinking they will be charged for it? Even though we bought a case of water, we still drank the two bottles each day. Only had one bottle left at the end.Didn't use the health club or internet access, but the 60 min. of phone calls came in handy when I kept trying to track down my lost luggage. I was the only one who checked a bag, and EVERYTHING was in that bag. It was finally delivered the following night. So, I was decked out in disney duds from the gift shop the first day.
We hit the parks each morning at rope drop, then had lunch and went back to the hotel for the pool or a nap each day. Most afternoons when we arrived back at around 3:00 pm the rooms weren't made up yet. So, several days we just asked for towels and skipped the housekeeping service. They said we could tell them one time when we wanted the room cleaned by for the week, but that only worked one day. Next time I'll do a reminder call each morning before we leave the room.
There were tubes and floaties you could rent at the pool, but I'm not sure of the price. Pools are so big, they were never crowded.
This resort has the fastest elevators I've ever seen (at least they were in the west wing). I don't think we ever waited more than 10 seconds each time.
The bell desk has a scale, so they were able to weigh my suitcase before we left to make sure I wasn't over the airline's max.
I didn't at all feel like I wasn't at a disney resort. Sure, there aren't any characters there, but there is disney merchandise in the gift shop, and once you step outside you are steps away from the boat or the boardwalk.
We originally had the BC booked through the bounceback with free dining, but when a couple of our family couldn't make it, it just wasn't cost effective to stay there with only 3 of us. This was the first year we haven't had free dining since they started it and it didn't bother us one bit. We booked several new places to eat, and didn't eat nearly as much as we did with the dining plan.
We really enjoyed our stay at the Dolphin. I highly recommend it for anyone traveling to WDW.
That's funny! My older daughter and I were just talking today about all the resorts that we have stayed at. She was remembering that the Dolphin elevators always smelled liked someone had peed in there.
)
Say it ain't so! 
