Dolphin or Mods?

[catra121]

I guess I am in the minority to say that I much prefer an onsite Disney hotel (including the values) over the Dolphin. The Dolphin is a great hotel, great location, and reasonably priced...but those onsite perks of staying at a Disney hotel win hands down for me. Particularly important to me are the Magical Express and the Dining Plan. I love to have EVERYTHING taken care of for me so that while I am there I don't have to think about doing any driving or a big credit card bill at the end of the trip (including tips at meals and purchases I only had a $150 bill at the end of the trip). But I know these two things don't hold the same value for everyone. For some people the beds and the Epcot location hold far more value than Magical Express or the Dining Plan. To each his own...but the easiest way for me to make a decision is to write all this down and decide what is more important to you. If it is all EXACTLY equal...flip a coin and let that decide your fate. You'll have a great trip to Disney no matter which option you choose.

 

[pgianna]

Stay at the Dolphin, hands down, you won't regret it. I don't need to be surrounded by Disney- 24/7. Plus the quality of the hotel is a lot better. You are basically comparing a moderate to a deluxe. That is the beauty of the Dolphin, you get a deluxe hotel for the cost a moderate.

 

[sab53085]

Stay at the Dolphin, hands down, you won't regret it. I don't need to be surrounded by Disney- 24/7. Plus the quality of the hotel is a lot better. You are basically comparing a moderate to a deluxe. That is the beauty of the Dolphin, you get a deluxe hotel for the cost a moderate.

I agree - I don't need everything Disney. The Dolphin is basically IN Disney

 

[DisneyGuy]

I'd choose the Dolphin - no question. Unless you need Magical Express and the dining plan, I can't think of any other reason to choose a moderate over the Dolphin. The Dolphin is a deluxe resort - sitting in the middle of WDW. No, there's no Mickey soaps, or Mickey heads around, but I would still feel more "at Disney" at the Dolphin for the fact that you are in the middle of both Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and the Boardwalk.

The transportation options are great - you can walk to Epcot, and Hollywood Studios in addition to taking the boat. These options save you from the using a bus to get to every park.

I've read that some of the Disney owned hotels don't have the "Disney" feel either - so I think that's a matter of personal preference. I felt more "at Disney" at the Swan than I did in the garden wing at the Contemporary.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[kandb]

We have stayed onsite at POFQ, AKL, GF and the last 2 visits at POR. When people say the onsite hotels have a disney feel, what is at POR that reminds you of disney or mickey mouse? It has a more southern feel to me. Nothing at POR reminds me of mickey. Maybe I missed it. I just feel "disneyish" because staying on property makes me feel like I am really at disney.

 

[OchreHand]

I'm considering the Dolphin for my next trip since Epcot and DHS are my favorite parks. Would you guys recommend Dolphin if you didn't have a car? Transportation like Magical Express is so convenient when you arrive at Orlando International.

 

[DisneyGuy]

I'm considering the Dolphin for my next trip since Epcot and DHS are my favorite parks. Would you guys recommend Dolphin if you didn't have a car? Transportation like Magical Express is so convenient when you arrive at Orlando International.

While I haven't taken Magical Express in quite some time (although I will be soon), it's almost as easy to book a town car/grab a taxi and head to the Dolphin unless having Magical Express will make or break your budget. Depending on your discount at the Dolphin, it still might be less expensive than a Disney moderate.

 

[jujube]

Dolphin
Location, truly heavenly beds, lots of restaurant choices

 

[NOLA_Tink]

So excited to read this thread! We're staying at the Dolphin for the first time during our next trip & I can't wait. I was a little bummed about not being able to utilize Magical Express, but Mears offers a round-trip shuttle to & from MCO for $34/adult.

 

[OchreHand]

Thanks for the answers about transportation! The Mears transportation sounds do-able.

After YouTubing a couple of vids about the Dolphin/Swan, I like how 'grown up' the hotel looks.

 

[Couchy]

Couchy
What did you mean by "ease of getting food"? Did you mean the closeness of Epcot?

The Swan and Dolphin have several great choices for a variety of types of meals. There are the more formal restaurants for dinner, but they also have Picabu open 24 hours, The Fountain for bugers and things like that, the pools have menus with food options to order .

The Boardwalk is a 3 minute walk with food kiosks, The Boardwalk Bakery, all types of restaurants ( ESPN, Flying Fish, Big River Grill, etc..)

There are just so many options within a few minute walk

 

[BareNecessities]

I'm considering the Dolphin for my next trip since Epcot and DHS are my favorite parks. Would you guys recommend Dolphin if you didn't have a car? Transportation like Magical Express is so convenient when you arrive at Orlando International.

Mears shuttles are quick and cheap (compared to other areas). I took a shuttle from St.Petersburg/Clearwater airport out to Madeira Beach recently, and it cost double what Mears charges from Orlando airport to WDW....about the same distance. There are just soooo many people traveling through Orlando, that it's worth it to them.

And that way, you won't be stuck paying for parking at the Dolphin, either.

 

[lizabu]

Mears shuttles are quick and cheap (compared to other areas). I took a shuttle from St.Petersburg/Clearwater airport out to Madeira Beach recently, and it cost double what Mears charges from Orlando airport to WDW....about the same distance. There are just soooo many people traveling through Orlando, that it's worth it to them.

And that way, you won't be stuck paying for parking at the Dolphin, either.

We did the Mears shuttle and it was great. They even stopped at the grocery store so we could buy the kids milk & cereal etc.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

We did the Mears shuttle and it was great. They even stopped at the grocery store so we could buy the kids milk & cereal etc.

This is news to me. Did you have to ask in advance for the grocery stop? We've used private towncars B4 ME days to WDW & they would stop at the store if requested in advance, but I didn't know that Mears would do that.

 

[ElizabethB]

One thing to consider -- the Dolphin is not very convenient with a car. The parking lot is a long way from the rooms. Additionally, the parking lot was not originally designed to be a closed parking lot for guests only. (Many years ago, we used to park in it just to got to Epcot.) As a result, it does not lend itself well to convenient parking now that it has been closed to all but guests. If you drive down a row looking for a spot and find there are no parking places available, it is impossible to turn around. Instead, you have to back your car all the way out and then do the same thing with the next row.

By contrast, when we stayed at CSR, our car was nearly outside our room door. Very convenient to hop in and go. And we found CSR very centrally located to everything.

Although the Dolphin is a nicer hotel than CSR (but Dolphin rooms are small, too), and the location is prime, we might well choose CSR over Dolphin simply because we found the car and parking situation so inconvenient there.

 

[rmoore7]

We live in Florida and stay on property 2-5 times a year, mostly for long weekends and extended breaks from school. We haven't stayed anywhere but a Disney Resort for probably over 10 years, but I have the last weekend in March booked at the Swan. Great comments here about the Dolphin; just wondering of the consensus is the same for the Dolphin.

Also, is one hotel (Swan or Dolphin) more convenient to Epcot and/or Boardwalk than the other, or is that a wash.

Any preferences between the two?

Thanks in advance...

 

[lizabu]

This is news to me. Did you have to ask in advance for the grocery stop? We've used private towncars B4 ME days to WDW & they would stop at the store if requested in advance, but I didn't know that Mears would do that.

I'm not sure if theres a difference but we used a private van/shuttle run by Mears. It's the one on the Swan/Dolpin conceirge website they say will hold up to 8 people. We didn't arrange it in advance. My DH just asked the driver what are the chances we can stop at the grocery store? And the driver said 100% chance. He was super nice. We even requested him for the ride home because he was just so awesome. He put cartoons on for the kids and gave us maps for the parks etc.

We live in Florida and stay on property 2-5 times a year, mostly for long weekends and extended breaks from school. We haven't stayed anywhere but a Disney Resort for probably over 10 years, but I have the last weekend in March booked at the Swan. Great comments here about the Dolphin; just wondering of the consensus is the same for the Dolphin.

Also, is one hotel (Swan or Dolphin) more convenient to Epcot and/or Boardwalk than the other, or is that a wash.

Any preferences between the two?

Thanks in advance...

I stayed at the Swan and I thought it was great. The rooms were comfy and as I understand it the dolphin only has 2 double beds as opposed to the Swans 2 queens and the Swan has a sink outside the bathroom so kids can brush their teeth while the bathroom is occupied. My understanding is the sinks are in the bathroom at the Dolphin. That said next time I will probably stay at the Dolphin. I found myself over there every day anyways. We ate at Picabu a lot (like pretty much every day). I did laundry over there. The fountain had great banana splits and rootbeer floats and it's closer to the grotto pool. Basically I don't think you can lose with either hotel. The buses are the same, they stop just in front of either hotel. The boats are exactly halfway between both hotels so I think it's just really personal preference. I loved the swan but I'm sure I will love the dolphin too.

ETA- the Swan is just ever so slightly closer to walk to boardwalk and epcot

 

[Gibbygirl]

My DH & I had the same decision to make regarding our summer 2012 family trip. Comparing the teacher discount at the Dolphin to the spring room discount at CSR had the Dolphin about $400 more than CSR. Still, we love Epcot & the idea of staying in that area was really attractive to us. But, what finally pushed us to CSR were a few things: being able to use the ME (not interested in renting a car) and the interior hallways of the Dolphin. It may sound silly but we didn't like the idea of going thru elevators & hallways in our wet swim suits (we swim everyday.) So, as others have said, it's what's important to you, how you prefer to vacation & what you're comfortable with. Plus, if free dining comes out for our dates we would switch to that & save even more than the spring room discount. Dining plan not available at the Swan/Dolphin. Maybe we'll stay there someday on an adults only trip...

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

I'm not sure if theres a difference but we used a private van/shuttle run by Mears. It's the one on the Swan/Dolpin conceirge website they say will hold up to 8 people. We didn't arrange it in advance. My DH just asked the driver what are the chances we can stop at the grocery store? And the driver said 100% chance. He was super nice. We even requested him for the ride home because he was just so awesome. He put cartoons on for the kids and gave us maps for the parks etc.

Thanks so much for coming back to post a reply

 

[smidgy]

we have stayed at the Dolphin twice, and loved it both times. we didn, however, do a split stay both times (only stayred there for a few days, then stayed at a disney resort.)

the first time we got a free upgrade to a blacony room!. I do not like that you have to pay to park, though.. to me, that is ridiculous for apaying guest at the hotel.. I cold see for dinner guests, etc.

loved the heavenly beds!!

two things that both swolphin and Universal resorts have in common:

1) no fridge, while at disney moderates you get a fridge.
2) on site eating is expensive. at the disney moderates, you have food courts (well CSR is pricey). even at disney deluxes, some of ther counter service places are very reasonalbe (mara, at AKL, gasparilla grill at GF)... but picabu, the fountain, even the pool side counter service at swolphin is pricey (IMO). we did not eat there once.

but you can walk to the boardwalk. there was a cart with bratwurst. there is espn club, other cheaper options, than at the resort.

hurricane hannahs (at stormalong bay. beach club) has the same burgers as at beaches and cream, but slightly cheaper. and it is outside the boundary... anyone can order food there, not just beach club guests. not many palces to eat it though, walk over to a bench...

but beaches and cream itself is good.

I would try swan or dolphin once, just to see. the location is great!