Dolphin stay:couple thoughts

[WedWay72]

I'll make this brief as I'm just squeaking this into to a busy day, but:

We stayed at the Dolphin last week and here are some comments:

Assets:

1. Lobby is spectacular
2. Location, location, location
3. View "can" be incredible with an upper level room. We overlooked the Swan, had Epcot to our left and MGM to our right (room 16109)
4. Fastest elevators ever
5. Great room service
6. Nice mirror, shower/toilet and additional mirror-sink setup
7. Swing-out mirror for doing makeup (my wife loved it)
8. A "clean my room" dialer wheel for the doorknob. Just set your time and they'll be by (ie: 10:30, etc)
9. Tubbies is open 24 hrs for essentials
10. Great beach/pool setup

Liabilities:

1. Boat service is there but BOY is it pokey. We actually walked twice to Epcot and beat the boat by many minutes....which means we got through the gates before the crowds.
2. Very convention like. GMAC had hundreds of people there when we stayed last week and I felt like I was in the typical airport Hyatt at times. Too many nametags and professionals mulling around. Not really a family hotel....the kids might be bored since the theme is not really Disney, although they did play Disney music at the Coral Cafe for my breakfast. They also have a character breakfast.
3. Prices for food is fairly expensive.
4. Big, big, big. You can get a little turned around in there.


Summary:

Although a really nice place to stay, compared to my other WDW resort expriences, I'd rate it two stars. Why? It was too convention like and lacked families and kids. Maybe the summer is different. For a comparable price I'd stay at another deluxe next time, although my teacher rate of $129 makes it VERY tempting to go there again (our kids are grown). One comment: they treat you great there and from an adult standpoint, this is a very nice deluxe hotel. Don't sell it and the Swan short....they are really, really nice. But (you'll laugh) I actually had more "fun" at WDW when I stayed at the All Stars. Ok, go ahead and laugh.
I guess I like the kids and family atmosphere found at other resorts. Maybe I'll try the Beach Club next time....it's centrally located and not quite as convention like.

 

[epcotfan]

Great Report! Thanks for sharing

 

[Bill From PA]

Thanks for the thoughtful post. We're going in Nov. on the Teacher's rate and your comments make me more sure we made the right choice. This will be our first trip without the kids (25 yr old daughter may join us mid-week), so the lack of families and kids is actually welcome. Glad to hear we'll be able to walk to so many places so quickly, we're looking forward to early breafast at Tubbi's, hope to have a great view, we joined Starwood to increase our chances of an upgrade, but WDW is an active vacation and the room is for recovery, not for lingering over the view. We also enjoyed AllStar on two separate 8 day trips, but I'm convinced the 'location, location, location' will spoil us.


Bill From PA

 

[NancyIL]

Thanks for your review. Just remember that the same pokey boats will be there if you stay at the Beach Club!

 

[Ricola]

I like the pokey boats, especially on a cool evening after a long day at the parks!

Now if only I could get the "Self-employed starving graphic artist" discount, I'd be back at the "Carp" in a flash!

 

[WedWay72]

Yeah, but the Beach Club is a stone's throw from Epcot....Our Favorite Park !!!!!

> Just remember that the same pokey boats will be there if you >stay at the Beach Club!

 

[glo]

Glad you enjoyed your stay. I have never stayed there when there was a big convention, so I can not say how that is like, I stayed there during Dis Con and last summer and we saw many families. I guess it is just how you fit that.

 

[theaslip]

Great Review - I have never stayed at the S or D, but I know what you are talking about as far as the "convention" feel goes.

The same can be said of the conteporary. We are returning to the Poly this year to avoid the nametags (I figured it out - if you want to avoid the "professional" atmosphere - head for a resort that doesn't have a convention center).

Don't get me wrong - I work with and around professional business men and women all week long - just not the escape I am seeking when I head to WDW with my family.

 

[Momto8]

We saw many families at the Dolphin when we were there both in December and in June. I guess it just depends on what time of the year you go. As for conventions, when we stayed at CSR in June 2000, the place was mobbed with conventioneers that we couldn't even eat at Pepper Market. The line was so long it almost reached the lobby. At least with the Epcot area, you have several places to eat within walking distance.

I agree that the boats are slow and many times we would walk, but I also enjoy riding those boats when I'm not in a hurry.

 

[nisiemouse]

Great review! We loved the boats to MGM from the dolphin. We learned after our first day though not to take the boats to Epcot. It took forever and we almost missed CP. Glad you had a great trip.

 

[SeaSpray]

Thank you for the impartial review, you had a lot of positives and negatives in your post and they all make sense to me. I had a chance to see the Swan and Dolphin last month and wondered how I would like to stay there, but for the reasons you listed, I don't think I'd do it now. I, too, like the "Disney" atmosphere at the Disney resorts!

I'm a big fan of your website, by the way, thanks for all of the pictures you post on it!

 

[Blondie]

Originally posted by Bill From PA
WDW is an active vacation and the room is for recovery, not for lingering over the view.

You know, that is so true.

But having a great view in a resort like the S/D sure does make the recovery more enjoyable! We spent lots of recovery time on our balcony in the AM and PM hours, which is why I always try to get the balcony room, be it at WDW or at the beach!

 

[Ityldu]

Like someone else posted, I also found more conventioners at the Cont. then Dolphin and what made more even more uncomfortable were all the brides/weddings we encountered at GF. It does depend on when you hit any of them.

I agree with a lot what you said, but not the two star rating. I do agree that there are some resorts that have more themeing, like Polynesian, but we've visited my parents at BC/YC and found that themeing to be more adult also and similar in the amount of themeing to S/D. That is not a knock on BC/YC at all since S/D are some of my favorite resorts. I'd love to try BC/YC myself someday, but since I find them very similar to S/D I can never justify paying an extra $100+/night.

 

[Pig Pen]

Your comments were helpful. I don't think I will mind conventioneers at all.

DH and I are staying at the Dolphin in September - alone. After years of "Rambo-touring" the parks with our kids and other family members, we are planning to take it easy this time and the slow boat to Epcot sounds right up our alley!

We stayed at All-Stars last trip, and although we thoroughly enjoyed our first on-site visit (we will NEVER stay off-site again), All-Stars was a bit of a sensory overload for us.

We are trying the Dolphin this time because I can get the gov't rate. I yearn for the Poly or Contemporary because of the proximity to MK, but I can't afford it right now. The moderates just seem too far away from the parks - I want to feel like I am in the magic. What finally sold me on the Dolphin is location and price.

I hope the Dolphin provides enough Disney magic to satisfy me!

 

[WedWay72]

One more thing....... when you guys see the view from our room (I'll post soon), you'll start wondering WOW! ... maybe I 'should' stay there.

Wait til ya see the pictures.....we've got one during the day and one at sunrise. Posting to come soon and you'll love em.

Oh, and did I tell you that as we checked in we saw to our left from the window, the conclusion of Illuminations (from the 16th floor). Did I say Location, location, location! heh heh. I WAS impressed....hmmm..maybe that two stars should be changed 4 stars for deluxe resort and 2 stars for Disney theming.

Also: the bellhop was something else. He was great...told us everything and soooo friendly. You WILL be treated very well at the Dolphin.

Wedway72

 

[jwfla422]

Pig pen, you will feel like you're in the middle of the magic when you stay at the S/D, because you are. You will totally enjoy the location and after staying at a deluxe you really won't want to go back to a value resort (especially when you said you'd never stay off site again You think All Stars spoiled you, wait til you stay at the S/D!

I know a few posters mentioned the views. Well I have to say, in all the years we've stayed at WDW hotels we never had views in comparison to what we've had recently at the Swan. We had a studio room our last trip in December (oversized room with a dining area) which was located on the corner of the main bldg on the 8th floor that over looked EPCOT, BW and the Dolphin.

There are several windows in this type of room which almost gives you a panaromic view. We didn't even have a balcony, but I sat on the large window sill just looking out and watched Illuminations at EPCOT a few nights. Then I looked toward the Dolphin on one of those nights and saw fireworks in the distance realizing they were coming from MK and as I looked just on the horizon I saw a lit up building. It was the CR! I could also see it during the day from that far away. It was amazing to be able to see so much of WDW from our room, that it in itself was magical.

 

[Ityldu]

Wedway - I like your new star rating much better.

I also second the motion that S/D has the best views on-site. Last year we stayed at Dolphin LV and GF LV and Dolphin couldn't even compare to the view we had at GF (non-castle view). This June we'll be splitting b/w Dolphin and Polynesian and I'll see how those views compare, but like a previous poster said, there's nothing as magical as being up high enough to see a lot of the "world".

 

[Pig Pen]

I want to go now!!!!!

 

[Kitty 34]

Summer might be different as far as conventioneers go because we didn't see a whole lot of them last June. My boys were 12 and 14 at the time so we didn't need constant "Disney" around us like a family of younger kids might.

We were only on the 3rd floor but we were upgraded with a balcony so I can't complain. We had the Tower of Terror (my DH and my favorite ride) and the Grotto Pool for our view and believe me....we were in heaven!!!


Also we loved the boats because it was our only chance to "chill" as we did SO much walking and running around!! Also being hot and humid......the air conditioning on the boats was great!!

 

[The Pluto People]

My motto is "don't knock it until you've tried it." I'm staying at the Dolphin for the first time next month. We've only stayed at 2 other Disney resorts, the YC and the Contempo, and we had great vacations both times. I guess I'm still unclear as to what the Disney atmosphere/feeling is... we loved the YC because of SB but when walking those non-descript halls to our room we could've been in any decent hotel anywhere (and in 1999 the rooms were a little beat). The Contempo has a great location and the rooms were in great condition but...well it was a little cold... The Dolphin has a great location (certainly better than any of the mods or values),beautiful views, a wonderful pool area, offers decent discounts, and is generous with upgrades - what is not to like? And, both Disney resorts were having large conventions at the times we stayed there, but we hardly noticed (although at the YC it was a Clinique convention and there were too many beautiful women around ). Also, my DS is older now and, to coin a phrase from my sister who used to come to Disney with us, we get a little "Mickeyed out"- it will be nice to just relax at a beautiful resort for a while during this next vacation. I'll report back on my stay at the Dolphin...but I know I'm gonna love it because, after all, I'll be on vacation with my family!!