Dolphin - Car or No Car?

[sab53085]

I am going to be staying at the Dolphin with my boyfriend for a week in May and am contemplating whether or not to rent a car. The price is literally $1 more for the entire trip on Expedia with a car; however there is a parking fee at the Dolphin of $11 per day. We were thinking of renting the car for transportation to/from airport, Universal, and if we wanted to eat/shop offsite.

Would we be saving money renting the car even if we don't use it a lot versus using Mears/taxis?

 

[jujube]

Yes, you would save money. Mears shared ride is about $34 per person each way. Plus the buses that the Dolphin uses also go to the Swan, the YC, BC, and BWI, BWV so it could get crowded and you might have to wait. To me, that is wasting valuable WDW dollars. Taxis run about $15-$20 plus tip each way. From the airport, it's about $50 plus tip each way.
I will try to send you a private message. Sometimes they go through and sometimes they don't so check in a little bit.

 

[xmasdisney2011]

I am going to be staying at the Dolphin with my boyfriend for a week in May and am contemplating whether or not to rent a car. The price is literally $1 more for the entire trip on Expedia with a car; however there is a parking fee at the Dolphin of $11 per day. We were thinking of renting the car for transportation to/from airport, Universal, and if we wanted to eat/shop offsite.

Would we be saving money renting the car even if we don't use it a lot versus using Mears/taxis?

When you priced out the dolphin, did you try either of these two promotions?

- "For every night you pay regular rate, you can get the next night
40% off*. "

- "For a limited time, residents of both New York and Massachusetts will receive a complimentary third night when booking two nights at our best rates by February 29, 2012 for stays through February 6, 2013. Plus, there's even more for in store for the champion of the big game. Residents of the winning team’s state will get to continue celebrating with an automatic complimentary one category room upgrade!* "

You can find both of the promo links in the "The **New** Swan and Dolphin Resort thread ~ September 2010" thread.


I can't really imagine that Expedia would give you a lower price than either of those two promotions.

 

[patty57]

I think the parking at the Swan/Dolphin may have gone up to $15/day.

 

[wdwrich]

Even if the parking at the Dolphion is $15 per day, I think you would still come out ahead vs taxis to off-site places. Also, if you have any plans to visit or dine at other resorts in the evenings, you are far better off with a rental car as compared to using Disney transportation.

 

[sab53085]

Thanks for all of the advice! I definitely think we will get the car. The Expedia deal still is better than the other offers that the hotel is offering directly.

 

[sab53085]

Ok, so we are booking the Dolphin with the Superbowl deal since we are NY residents. Therefore, if we decide on a car it will have to be booked separately and I'm back to square one with the decision. Any other advice on whether we should get the car or not? I don't want to pay for parking if we are only going to be using it a few times throughout our stay.

 

[jujube]

This is what we do if we don't get a car:
To get to the parks, we take a taxi. The nice thing is there are always taxis waiting.
To get back to the resort, we take the bus.

 

[sab53085]

This is what we do if we don't get a car:
To get to the parks, we take a taxi. The nice thing is there are always taxis waiting.
To get back to the resort, we take the bus.

Dolphin is walking distance to the Studios and EPCOT. I am just trying to figure out if the car will be more expensive (I can't find many deals right now that are reasonable) plus parking fees.

 

[patty57]

Ok, so we are booking the Dolphin with the Superbowl deal since we are NY residents. Therefore, if we decide on a car it will have to be booked separately and I'm back to square one with the decision. Any other advice on whether we should get the car or not? I don't want to pay for parking if we are only going to be using it a few times throughout our stay.

I don't know if you will only use it a few times or not...only you know that. Once you decide, then you can decide if it's worth the cost. We are staying at the Swan in June, and won't have a car because we only use the bus for MK and AK, and walk to Epcot and DHS.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Over the past several years I have gotten great deals two weeks before our trip. Last year we paid $86 for a weekly rental and last week we paid $88 for a weekly rental. Both were mid-size cars rented with Alamo using the Insiders ID and Insiders coupon codes.
The closer you get to your travel date the rental companies release their last minute rental rates. By signing up for the Alamo Insiders club which is free to join, you get access to some great coupon codes for $35 to $40 off a weekly rental plus some great last minute rental prices.