Dolphin vs off site suite $69

[poonchkie]

Cant make up our minds now. We are booked at Dolphin w/govt rate at 139, but now contemplating staying off site in a jr suite w/cont brkfst for 69( Spring Hill Suites, I think). We will have a vehicle in either case.

Here are the two main factors, excluding price of course, we will have a two yr old and a father in law who will probably be renting an ecv. How much of a hassle will it be to commute to the parks everyday in mid Sept and is the convenience of the Dolphin worth an extra 70 dollars plus no free brkfst. We will be in for 6 days and using 4 day PHs.

The only reason I am reconsidering staying off site is that it will be mid Sept and maybe we would be able to come and go without much hassle because it will be slow. Otherwise, I would rather spend $3200 total instead of $2700 if it meant we would enjoy ourselves and be able to relax.

Any opinions from all of the experienced DWs out there?

 

[Blondie]

Well, in my opinion, nothing beats the convenience of staying onsite. You don't lose your car in a sea of parked cars, you're not waiting for a tram to take you to your car, and it's an all around more pleasurable experience being able to hop Disney transportation and getting back to your resort with someone else doing the driving.

Staying at the Dolphin you'll be able to take the Friendship boat over to Epcot and MGM, where you can easily drive an ECV onto the boat, or push a stroller for your 2 y.o. (no folding involved.) You'll also have the Boardwalk at your backdoor for other dining and entertainment options.

If having a free breakfast and a cheaper room per night rate is more important, than go with offsite.

But for our family, onsite is the only way to go! I'm sure you'll get lots of great advice with both the pros and cons of staying onsite/offsite.

 

[woody5]

I would stay onsite. You have both a toddler and someone who is elderly so I am sure you will return to your hotel to rest in the afternoon. If you want to save some money you could probably book a moderate for around $80 per night in September. Then you could save some money and be onsight. We always bring breakfast foods with us from home and have them in the room. It saves us money but more importantly time in the morning.

 

[FeeFeeWhite]

Stay onsite. That is a great price for that location. With the toddler and Grandfather an afternoon rest would be well worth the $70.00, plus you can return to the parks so easy. If you have to leave you waste part of your money spent on the park passes. Also those not resting will have tons to experience in the Boardwalk area etc.

 

[Luv2Travel]

You really do have a good rate for the Dolphin. Is the breakfast at Springhill a hot buffet or continental? We LOVE the Dolphin. It is a deluxe hotel in the middle of everything. We do enjoy using the friendship boat to go to MGM or Epcot, but in all honesty, we take our own vehicle to go to MK or AK - much quicker. $70 is a lot of money per night, that would be a meal or two a day. In my mind, it's not so much the convenience of being on-site, but the feel of being onsite and in the middle of everything - and being in a deluxe hotel doesn't hurt my vacationing attitude either. That being said, we have had to do Priceline for our vacations or stay off-site just so we could get our budget down to go, and we still managed to have a great time. IMHO you will be more relaxed and have more of a vacation feel at the Dolphin, even if you have to bring a cooler with some breakfast items in it (which we do). But if money will stress you out more, then you can still have a great time by staying off-site.

 

[poonchkie]

Thanks for the replies! Your feedback confirms what I was leaning towards. My two yr old will probably force us back to the hotel for a break each day and the convenience of onsite for the ecv is probably worth the extra cost. Hey, its only money.

 

[Epcotgal8]

I would recommend sticking with the Dolphin. As others have said, with your dad and a 2 year old it is going to be a LOT more convenient to stay onsite. We have stayed offsite once. We had been to WDW the year before and stayed onsite and I wanted to go back but our budget was going to be tight so I tried Priceline hoping to get the Swan or Dolphin. We got the Wyndham Palace which was a nice resort but it just wasn't the same as being onsite. You also have to remember that even when a hotel/suite is only a short distance outside the gates, the traffic can be hectic especially in the morning when people are heading in to the parks and in the evenings when they are leaving. I think it will be much easier to go back to the Dolphin for a midday break or if an electrical storm pops up. I know how you feel though since I always second guess myself and wonder if I should take the less expensive route. What I try to do now (like for our upcoming trip to the Dolphin which is right around the corner) is cut back in small ways at home. Instead of grilling steaks, we do hot dogs and hamburgers. We're not renting movies as much, and instead of taking the kids to the movies on a summer day we go fishing at the local pond and then come home and jump in the pool. I know it may sound silly but those little things add up and I don't feel like I'm depriving my children - just saving the money to make our vacation more memorable.

 

[webray]

We always go with convenience...and the Dolphin..what a way to go...stay with the Dolphin..it is worth every penny!

You have so many food options available within minutes of you, park convenience, nice pools, great ammenities.

 

[swilphil]

Originally posted by poonchkie
Here are the two main factors, excluding price of course, we will have a two yr old and a father in law who will probably be renting an ecv. How much of a hassle will it be to commute to the parks everyday in mid Sept and is the convenience of the Dolphin worth an extra 70 dollars plus no free brkfst. We will be in for 6 days and using 4 day PHs.

I think with your father in law using an ecv, you will want to be close by at the Dolphin. You also will be able to take the ecv and the 2 year old's stroller right onto the boats. I'm not sure if you are renting the ecv for the whole trip or just for the parks, but the Dolphin does have handicapped rooms on the ground floor with patios going out to the grounds. It would be great if you get one of those near the pool. You might check out the Disabilities board for more ecv info.

We love staying at the Dolphin with our toddlers to be able to go in and out of the parks so easily.

 

[AndyMcV]

My vote is definitely on site too. Rememver too the Dolphin and Swan are 5 star resorts and are really really nice places to stay. For $139 per night how can you go wrong.

Andy

 

[i like stitch]

I've been unable to get the Dolphin gov't rate of $139 for mid sept. Can you give me any tips on what to try so I can get that rate also?!

 

[Kitty 34]

I would definetly stay at the Dolphin!! The location beats off site any day!!

 

[jgates]

I like stitch - I believe that may be the recipe club rate if you subscribe to that email. Also check on ??either allearsnet or mousesavers as one of those two has a standard discount rate for S/D.

OK - that one is definitely the recipe club rate valid between 8/13 & 9/20. PM me if you need to. I just checked it in my email.

Don't forget - you will need to add the $10 resort fee to that price. I'm definitely not trying to swing you away from the Swan/Dolphin as the Swan is my FAVORITE resort but I don't want you to have any surprises.

I am also a BIG Springhill Suites fan. If this is the one in the Marriott Village at Little Lake Bryan, you are probably about 4 minutes further than the Downtown Disney area hotels. I believe the Marriott Village has its own shuttle service, but with that ECV I would go with your own rental if it is easily loadable in there - maybe try for a minivan or something. So your driving time would not be much more than bus service for MK & AK and if you are able to use a handi-cap sticker for dad, you should be close to the front and easy in & out of the parks.

The more I stay at Disney, the more i want to stay onsite, however, I have also found that I have learned my way around more and would be very comfy at either Holiday Inn Family Suites, Marriott Village etc as they are easy in/easy out thru the DTD area. We used bus service at DTD hotel a few years ago and now I would just drive it as the bus service at the DTD hotels was slow.

Also remember, you can park for free if you are staying at the Swan - show your room key. You would pay a daily parking fee if staying off-site (still less than the resort fee at the Swan).

Our most recent Springhill breakfast experience was excellent (in Nashville) - make your own waffles, cold cereals, yogurts, biscuits/gravy, hot cooked oatmeal, hardboiled eggs, etc. You get the idea. Not a hot cooked restaurant breakfast but several steps above a normal continental breakfast and a lot better than granola bars & pop-tarts in the room.

Another aspect might be how much time you will be spending in the room. Will your dad need the chair or sofa for comfort to sit on when you are not at the parks? Fridge/micro standard at Springhill I believe. We had 2 TVs in the room also.

And how much more will you spend for breakfast by staying on-site? Add that to the room cost also.


I know.....all I am doing is confusing you more. This is one of those 'weigh it out' decisions. You have to decide if that extra cash is worth it to you, also factoring in the breakfast meal and the resort fee, vs. the sofa/chair/fridge/micro - free breakfast - but parking fee.

Good luck on your decision, you will not go wrong either way.

 

[i like stitch]

jgates, thanks for the tips.

I did get that recipe club email for the swan. I was really interested in staying at the dolphin as we have a child and from all the posts I read, it seemed that the dolphin may be better suited for us (i also liked the lobby pictures!).

I did go ahead and book the swan at the $139 rate but if I could get the govt rate for the dolphin, I'd rather go there.

Thank you for all the info you've shared----I've read a lot of your posts on the s/d thread!

 

[jgates]

Good luck either way Stitch - I've just been spoiled after staying at the Swan for my Disney trips. On the road otherwise though, I am nearly always at a Fairfield Inn by Marriott (in fact I'm headed to one for 3 nights for a car show this weekend). If I can't get in there it's usually a HInnExpress, Hampton or a nice Super8 or Days Inn. (I'm pretty fussy on Super8 & Days Inn because we have stayed in everything from 4 star to a bug-filled pit before). But Marriott properties are normally very consistently good.

If I ever have a situation again though where I have enough Marriott $$$, I'd go to SHill with no problems (or the Fairfield Inn). At least I'd be at Disney!!! We had $700 in Marriott Bucks during our 2000 trip (rewards programs during the good days), but the Marriott Village was behind schedule in construction and didn't open till a couple of months after we were there. We did end up at Courtyard DTD (now Holiday Inn) and used my Gift Certificates there, but had problems with the air conditioning - actually ended up with 3 comp nights from Courtyard for those problems.

No matter what, we hope you have a wonderful trip!!! Take a walk around the Boardwalk some evening and have a meal at the ESPN zone - DS & I end up with the Nachos there (an appetizer) as our full meal. We (& DD) usually sit in a booth by the bar and play video games while we wait for our food.

Between the Swan & the Dolphin you won't lose either way. Some feel the Dolphin is more 'kid oriented' but we feel the Swan is fantastic. The only reason DD wanted to stay at the Dolphin this trip (which I overruled her on) was because of the huge lobby - she thought it was cool. But my aunt is coming for a few days and the extra sink area at the Swan will be nice for us. 3 girls - one bathroom - . So don't worry if you don't get into the Dolphin!!!

 

[poonchkie]

Sept 15-21 was the latest I could get for the 139 govt rate. I really wanted October but most of that month was sold out and late Sept was not available for a discounted rate. I am now thinking that the parks may be a little bit busier than usual in mid Sept so staying on site is looking more and more like the way to go.

 

[i like stitch]

jgates, thanks for the swan info.

I love huge fancy hotels and that was another draw for me with the dolphin. My DD would love the dolphin lobby. However, I am also thinking that the smaller size swan hotel might be a nice relief from all the wdw parks/activities. The extra sink will be handy. We've not been to WDW before.

Being close to the boardwalk/epcot area with all the dining choices was the another appealling factor for staying at the s/d.

I just booked are are tonight as SWA is having a fantastic sale---saved over $200!

 

[LBS]

I have never stayed at the Swan or Dolphin but stay at the Springhill Suites in the Marriott Village about 6 weeks ago. We absolutely loved it. The breakfast is somewhere above a continental breakfast but not a full-fledged hot buffet. We did eat there every morning of our vacation and none of us got tired of it. Our children, 11, 9, 6, loved the pools and the fact that you could use any of the pools in the complex. We rented a car and returned several days to go swimming. It was never more than a 15 minute drive. One night, after Illuminations at Epcot, we timed the trip and it took 7 minutes from the time we entered the car until we got out in the Springhill parking lot.

Stay where you want, but I just wanted you to know that the Springhill is a good option if you are renting a car.