Dolphin or Beach/Yacht Club

[luvallprincesses]

We are trying to decide on our Feb 2014 8-night stay. We do NOT want the dining plan, "free" or not. I will be able to get the teacher rate at the dolphin. This is by far the better deal if there is not a good room only discount available. So if that happens, case closed, Dolphin for us, and we'll be very happy trying it out there. I expect it will be about $500 more at BC/YC (including the extra resort costs/airport transfers at Dolphin) IF there is a 30% off room only rate, which may be really wishful thinking (even though the real prices aren't out until July 10). My question for those of you that have stayed at both resorts, is it worth the extra $500 to be at BC/YC? Stormalong Bay, yes, but for February? I'm not too concerned about being "less" of Disney with a walk out the door to Epcot. And as previously mentioned we do not want the dining plan. Any thoughts?

 

[Wood Nymph]

The thing we love the most about BC is the location. Being able to walk right into Epcot is great. We have been there in January and February many times and that time of year is not always good for swimming. There are always good discounts in the first part of February, before President's Day, though. And there are often some good discounts later in the month, too. Whether it is worth the extra money or not is up to you. We are going to stay there in the spring for the Flower and Garden show, so that will make it worth it to us. But we are staying at the WL in December because it is cheaper and because the decorations at Christmas will be better at the lodge.

 

[SRUAlmn]

When presented with this debate we have chosen the Dolphin. Although I dream about staying at the Beach Club one day, it just made so much more sense for us to stay at the Dolphin. For the price of 1 room at the Beach Club (one club level room) we got a 2 bedroom suite with a living room, dining room, wet bar, sleeper sofa, and 3 bathrooms at the Dolphin! You still have the same great location and you can still walk to EPCOT and DHS. We really enjoyed our stay, and are actually thinking about staying there again this month

 

[Rustyroo]

The only thing I've heard about Swan/Dolphin is that it's less "Disney", which makes sense since they're not owned by Disney. Some people think it feels more like a plain old hotel. I've been to BC several times, but never to S/D. Always wondered about S/D though, as it could be more affordable and still is an Epcot area resort...

 

[SRUAlmn]

The only thing I've heard about Swan/Dolphin is that it's less "Disney", which makes sense since they're not owned by Disney. Some people think it feels more like a plain old hotel. I've been to BC several times, but never to S/D. Always wondered about S/D though, as it could be more affordable and still is an Epcot area resort...

I did sort of feel that way. It was conventioney and coming back from the parks soaked in sweat and walking past a bar full of people in suits was a little awkward However, what we got for the price we paid heavily outweighed any of that, and (to be honest,) the customer service was leaps and bounds beyond any Disney resort we've stayed at!

 

[OKW Lover]

We love Beach Club. But the price difference between that and the Swolphin is often so much that we just can't afford to pass it up. The Swolphin is only a slightly longer walk/boat ride to Epcot and is actually closer to DHS.

 

[patty57]

We've stayed at BC & BW multiple times, and love them, but have jumped over to the Swan/Dolphin. This past May, I saved over $700 at the Dolphin vs. BC or BW. I had a lot of fun with that money. Is it less Disney? Yes, but it's good. The pool is great, and the pool bar is much better than any WDW resort.

 

[SRUAlmn]

We've stayed at BC & BW multiple times, and love them, but have jumped over to the Swan/Dolphin. This past May, I saved over $700 at the Dolphin vs. BC or BW. I had a lot of fun with that money. Is it less Disney? Yes, but it's good. The pool is great, and the pool bar is much better than any WDW resort.

 

[flamark]

I will dissent from the prevailing opinion here and say that for a $500 savings over the course of 8 nights I would pick BC just about every time. I would say that the extra walk to and from EPCOT could be as much as 10-15 more minutes depending on where in each resort you may be. We just returned from a short stay at BC and were very impressed! The Disneyness outweighs the savings at S/D for us.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I stay at Swan or Dolphin. Better beds. Great pool. A rewards program that rewards you for staying

Basically a hotel much closer to the standard fit the price

 

[luvallprincesses]

I stay at Swan or Dolphin. Better beds. Great pool. A rewards program that rewards you for staying

Basically a hotel much closer to the standard fit the price

Thanks for all of the thoughts!

How reasonable is the Starwoods rewards program? Is it only rewards for staying or do they have a credit card? We don't travel except for vacations. And can this be combined with the teacher discounts / AAA that they offer? I actually got the Starwoods membership card last year when I thought we were staying there but ended up at WL instead.

I'm not too worried about lacking Disney magic; we just stayed at a WDW good neighbor hotel when visiting for Sea World/Discovery Cove/Aquatica and felt like that was even plenty of the Disney effect.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Thanks for all of the thoughts!

How reasonable is the Starwoods rewards program? Is it only rewards for staying or do they have a credit card? We don't travel except for vacations. And can this be combined with the teacher discounts / AAA that they offer? I actually got the Starwoods membership card last year when I thought we were staying there but ended up at WL instead.

I'm not too worried about lacking Disney magic; we just stayed at a WDW good neighbor hotel when visiting for Sea World/Discovery Cove/Aquatica and felt like that was even plenty of the Disney effect.

I used the teacher discount and also earned Starwoods points. We stayed for 7 nights in a 2 bedroom grand suite and earned 11,000 points (slightly over, actually.) Redeeming the points at the S/D isn't the best value, but you can use the points at a ton of other places, transfer them to airline miles, transfer them into cash for shopping at select merchants, etc... Check out the SPG website for all the info!

 

[luvallprincesses]

About ADR's...since I ultimately do not know whether we will be staying BC/YC or Dolphin, I plan on making a ressie at both BC/YC and the Dolphin soon. If I use the on site ressie number to book dining at the 180+10 day mark and we end up staying at the Dolphin instead because its a better deal, what will happen to my ADRs linked to the BC/YC ressie?