Dolphin Suite or Saratoga Springs 2 Bedroom Villa

[redoak761]

Hello,
My family and I have a question?
We have suite booked at the dolphin with a really good dicount . However we feel we might be missing out on some of the dw pizzaz . What should we do stay at the Dolphin or go somewhere else like Saratoga Springs or some other dw resort? Please help us make an educated decision. Thanks for the help.

 

[rie'smom]

You're actually farther from the parks at Saratoga Springs. The suites at the Swan and Dolphin are fabulous. The hotels are so nice and the staff is wonderful. Differences between WDW hotels and a stay at the Dolphin:

1. No Magical Express

2. You can't charge things at the parks to your hotel room.

3. You don't have a Disney wall border in your room.

That's about it.

You can:

Use the busses or motor launches.

Take advantage of EMH.

Walk to both Epcot and Disney Studios.

Enjoy the Boardwalk because it's a minute away.


We are DVC members at the Boardwalk villas but we always spend at least a couple of days at either the Swan or Dolphin because both are such nice hotels.

 

[Pristy]

Hi Redoak. I think this really depends on what you want, but some main considerations might be:

-Cost. Depending on how deep a discount you have at the Dolphin, a 2-bedroom villa at a DVC resort could cost significantly more. One way to minimize this might be to rent points from a DVC member (see the rent/trade boards here on the Dis).

-Facilities. 2-bedroom villas at DVC resorts have full kitchens and washer/dryers. Depending on how long you are staying and how likely you are to use these, they could be huge benefits.

-Location. The two resorts that you mention, the Dolphin and Saratoga Springs, are in very different locations. The Dolphin is definitely more convenient to the Epcot and MGM, while SSR is more convenient to Downtown Disney.

The Dolphin is a great resort in an awesome location, and you still get the extra magic hours benefit. I think that if you are getting a great discount on your suite and don't need the kitchen/laundry facilities, I would recommend giving it a shot.

Hope this helps!

 

[robinb]

What size suite do you have booked? We were upgraded to a suite a few years ago at the Dolphin and we had a bedroom with a King bed and the second "living room" had a Queen/King murphy bed.

 

[WDW Lover]

Staying at either the Swan or Dolphin are both very nice, but definitely lack any Disney feel to them. It's almost embarrassing to walk out of your room in sunglasses, shorts and a Mickey t-shirt when you are surrounded by people in dresses and suits. Most of the time these places are filled with various conventions and their attire is vastly different from vacation-wear. I have stayed at both a number of times over a weekend for free (frequent stay pts.) and the only reason I do so is because it is free and their location.

I don't know what your discount is, but I am imagining that a 2 BR at one of the DVC resorts is going to cost a bundle! One person had suggested renting DVC pts from a member and that is a huge savings... so if you do go the way of a 2 BR at a DVC resort, definitely go with a DVC member who is renting pts. Also, if the suite at the Dolphin is just a king bed in one room and then a pull out couch in the LR, then you don't need a 2 BR DVC reservation, just a 1 BR. A 2 BR DVC room would be a king bed in one room, a pull out couch in the LR (double size), and the second BR would be either a pull out couch and a double bed or 2 double beds (the first is a 1 BR with a studio adjoining, the second is called a dedicated 2 BR). It's great having the washer/dryer in the room and the full kitchen in a DVC resort. I don't know what your suite at the Dolphin offers as I have only stayed in regular rooms there. You should figure out what exactly you need for your vacation, weigh the costs of renting the pts. from a DVC member vs. the Dolphin suite price and decide which is most important for you.

If you want a Disney feel - go with a Disney resort. The Dolphin is a very nice HOTEL - just doesn't feel like a Disney resort.

 

[redoak761]

What size suite do you have booked? We were upgraded to a suite a few years ago at the Dolphin and we had a bedroom with a King bed and the second "living room" had a Queen/King murphy bed.

We were told we have a 2 bedroom suite - 1 br with double beds and the other with a murphy bed and sofa (they also said we might have view of the fireworks) - when you add the parking charges & Tickets to the parks - the price is about $100 cheaper then if we booked a villa thru disney at saratoga springs - are the quality & cleanliness of the rooms the same between the two resorts? Has Anybody been to both?

Also thanks to all who responded so far!!

 

[WDW Lover]

Do you save that much per night or for your entire stay?
If you book through a DVC member you would easily make up that difference.
Rooms are very clean in both places... high quality in both places.

 

[robinb]

$100 per night or $100 for your entire stay? Our suite was the same as yours except we had a king bed instead of doubles. I forgot about the couch because we didn't use it as there are only 3 of us.

If it's only $100 for your entire stay and you plan to spend any time in the room, I would go with SSR. It is a great resort . We stayed there in a studio, but I have stayed in a 2 BR at Boardwalk Villas and Old Key West. The location is not as good as the Dolphin but the extra room is worth it, IMO. I found the bus system to be very reliable and you can walk/boat to Downtown Disney. You can see pictures here: http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/g_ss.htm . You may want to look into renting points from a DVC member here: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29 . Points rent for $11-$12 per point.

 

[mel&me]

We were told we have a 2 bedroom suite - 1 br with double beds and the other with a murphy bed and sofa (they also said we might have view of the fireworks) - when you add the parking charges & Tickets to the parks - the price is about $100 cheaper then if we booked a villa thru disney at saratoga springs - are the quality & cleanliness of the rooms the same between the two resorts? Has Anybody been to both?

Also thanks to all who responded so far!!

Depends on if you want to be able to walk to MGM or epcot.
Both are great places.
If it is only $100 total I would say SSR
Also if you stay at SSR , you can defiantly make up the $100 difference by renting points from a DVC member.
If it is $100 per night, That can add to a whole lot of extra spending money

 

[redoak761]

So confusing - it's $100 for the whole trip!! I am getting the feeling you all think the SSR is a better choice - my kids are 5 & 3

 

[rie'smom]

Staying at either the Swan or Dolphin are both very nice, but definitely lack any Disney feel to them. It's almost embarrassing to walk out of your room in sunglasses, shorts and a Mickey t-shirt when you are surrounded by people in dresses and suits. Most of the time these places are filled with various conventions and their attire is vastly different from vacation-wear. I have stayed at both a number of times over a weekend for free (frequent stay pts.) and the only reason I do so is because it is free and their location.

I don't know what your discount is, but I am imagining that a 2 BR at one of the DVC resorts is going to cost a bundle! One person had suggested renting DVC pts from a member and that is a huge savings... so if you do go the way of a 2 BR at a DVC resort, definitely go with a DVC member who is renting pts. Also, if the suite at the Dolphin is just a king bed in one room and then a pull out couch in the LR, then you don't need a 2 BR DVC reservation, just a 1 BR. A 2 BR DVC room would be a king bed in one room, a pull out couch in the LR (double size), and the second BR would be either a pull out couch and a double bed or 2 double beds (the first is a 1 BR with a studio adjoining, the second is called a dedicated 2 BR). It's great having the washer/dryer in the room and the full kitchen in a DVC resort. I don't know what your suite at the Dolphin offers as I have only stayed in regular rooms there. You should figure out what exactly you need for your vacation, weigh the costs of renting the pts. from a DVC member vs. the Dolphin suite price and decide which is most important for you.

If you want a Disney feel - go with a Disney resort. The Dolphin is a very nice HOTEL - just doesn't feel like a Disney resort.

I've stayed at both the Swan and Dolphin dozens of times and I've seen suits twice. It always seemed to me that the convention attendees would feel more out of place than the families dressed for WDW because there are many more vacationers than others. Besides, we've stayed at GF, the Poly,CSR,the Contempoary,etc and we've seen suits there too because they are also convention hotels.
I've always had the Disney feeling staying here because you look out of your window and see the parks or the Boardwalk. There are shops off the lobby filled with Disney merchandise.

Well actually you're not. At SSR the resort is further distance from MGM and Epcot than Swan and Dolphin but the guest is only a short bus ride away versus a long walk. So time wise it can at times be equal.

As to the MK, SSR is as close or closer.

At SSR you will have a king bed, and two queen beds in the bedroom. A full kitchen, which is wonderful for breakfast and snacks. We don't cook on vacation but we love having a real kitchen for our snacks and beverages. A nice living room to sit and enjoy the time off from the parks and a place to be when someone else wants to go to bed.

SSR is new and beautifully landscapped with new pillowtop beds that are wonderful.

Sammie, I should have been clearer. I meant the hotels were closer if you want to walk. We always walk to Epcot and MGM from the Swan, Dolphin, or BWV. It's very pleasant.

 

[Sammie]

You're actually farther from the parks at Saratoga Springs.

Well actually you're not. At SSR the resort is further distance from MGM and Epcot than Swan and Dolphin but the guest is only a short bus ride away versus a long walk. So time wise it can at times be equal.

As to the MK, SSR is as close or closer.

At SSR you will have a king bed, and two queen beds in the bedroom. A full kitchen, which is wonderful for breakfast and snacks. We don't cook on vacation but we love having a real kitchen for our snacks and beverages. A nice living room to sit and enjoy the time off from the parks and a place to be when someone else wants to go to bed.

SSR is new and beautifully landscapped with new pillowtop beds that are wonderful.

 

[robinb]

So confusing - it's $100 for the whole trip!! I am getting the feeling you all think the SSR is a better choice - my kids are 5 & 3

SSR has a zero-depth pool for your little ones. The Dolphin does not. The full kitchen and laundry in the unit is great with small children. You could also save some $$ by booking a 1 BR instead of a 2 BR and put the kids on the pull out couch in the living room.

 

[Disney Fool]

the Dolphin Does have a kiddie pool though. And it's very, very shallow. I've seen lmoms and toddlers splash away in it and love it because the older kids refuse to get in it!

 

[Sammie]

Sammie, I should have been clearer. I meant the hotels were closer if you want to walk. We always walk to Epcot and MGM from the Swan, Dolphin, or BWV. It's very pleasant.

I can agree with the first part, but not the pleasant part. We hated the walk. We go in the summer, it is always hot and many times raining, when you are trying to get a large group, including small kids back to a resort as quickly as possible, the walk back seemed 5 times longer than the walk over.

I prefer to be steps from an air conditioned bus than many steps to a park. Just my personal preference.

 

[mel&me]

Hello,
My family and I have a question?
We have suite booked at the dolphin with a really good dicount . However we feel we might be missing out on some of the dw pizzaz . What should we do stay at the Dolphin or go somewhere else like Saratoga Springs or some other dw resort? Please help us make an educated decision. Thanks for the help.

Just curious, When are you going and for how long?

 

[redoak761]

Just curious, When are you going and for how long?

We are going Nov 30th - Dec 5th - planning on 3 days in the parks, very merry christmas party and Sea World - we will also have a car