bluwater
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2007
- Messages
- 447
Just back from a 2 part vacation. 1 week at a conference at a lovely spa in Miami, and the second week at WDW.
I was with my daughter (9). She has been to WDW 4X prior to this trip - twice in the last 18 months. We are major travelers both within and out of the US. Everything from Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré (Le Crillon) to spending a week in a tree house in a Caribbean rain forrest; and lots of in-betweens. We spend money on "experiences", not things.
If it had been my choice, we would have gone to WDW during another time of year (April or very late August). But, with the conference in Miami and another industry conference in WDW during the WDW week, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to mix business with pleasure and visit The World in July. I'd planned a split stay between BWI and Polynesian.
I paid little attention to the reports of crowds and South American Tour Groups. I expected it to be very hot and very crowded. Hey, we were there over Easter break in 07 and still had a great time. We were there for the Free Dining Aug 07 and still had a great time. Heat+Crowds = No Problem for us.
Wrong.
What did I learn? To deal with heat and crowds, you need what we had on previous trips: time and flexibility.
In April 07, we had flexibility. We had no dining plan. We ate OOP. This meant that we could eat how and where we wanted without wasting the plan money. This worked well. I felt no dining stress. We did not have any ADRs, and barely waited anywhere. Maybe we were just lucky.
In Aug 07, we had almost 2 weeks in WDW - so any crowds did not bother us...and were staying at All Stars and were on Free Dining. So, with all that time, we just left the park that was too crowded and went elsewhere or back to the resort. We took it slow. We had more time than we needed and I felt like we were getting fair value for our money...everything felt balanced.
This time, we were as excited as in visits past. I was partly chairing my conference in Miami, so it was grueling. We left Miami very much ready for some Disney fun.
We pulled up to the BWI valet in great spirits after a 4 hr drive up from Miami-which were quickly dampened upon check in. I've written about this in another thread, so I won't belabor it here. I'll just say that the hotel needed help - and lots of it. The BWI was sparkling in the lobby - and other common areas...but upon entry to the hallway as we got closer to the rooms, signs of serious wear and neglect were showing - and the room was much of the same...with torn furniture and peeling wallpaper. We tried to get help -and asked to be moved to a nicer room (regardless of view or location). The only option was a room with a king bed (and still had a funny smell to it and a large rip in the chair beside the bed). My daughter was almost in tears - looking at me with pleading eyes and asking if “we have to stay here?!" We wouldn't live like this at home : so we don't want to be subjected to it on vacation.
After much calling around: Reservations, Central Ops and working with the BWI manager on duty - all telling us that rooms were full here and at other comparable WDW resorts, we just decided to go have dinner, try to relax, and plan a move, even if off-property. We told one of the BWI CMs at the front desk that we were planning to move - even if it meant off property - and he told us that we'd probably not find anything due to it being middle of summer and with the South American tour groups in town. I guess that is why nobody was too concerned that a guest was planning to leave - they didn't think we could/would. It might have been fair to, at that point, share the fact that I am an independent travel consultant with my own website, as well as a free-lance travel writer....but I decided not to use any leverage (not that it would have mattered, anyway)...just be a regular visitor and see what happens.
There was no way I was spending one night in those BWI rooms we'd been shown. I was not at the mercy of Disney. I had money, a car and knew how to find rooms. We were not locked in.
As we walked out of BWI with plans to head to BC for Cape May Cafe, we saw the Dolphin towering over us. Realizing it's size, and having done quite a bit of research on this property, I decided to walk over to see if we could secure a room. We entered the magnificent lobby with it's whimsical decor and air of gentle sophistication, and checked into a lovely room overlooking the beach and main pool. We didn't bother to view the room right then and there, as we were hungry and tired - and I was mentally drained. I was spending more money on the Dolphin room, but that was the price I was willing to pay to get some peace of mind about where we slept and the air we breathed.
After a yummy meal at Cape May Cafe, we returned to BWI to collect our luggage, which was still in the Bellman's holding area. We politely advised the front desk that we were checking out and explained why- and off we went. The only person who tried to stop us was the valet. Interesting.
We pulled up to the Valet at the Dolphin and everything was quite impressive. The valet guys were fun and engaging - directing us to pull up closer to them and then pretending that we'd hit them. They seemed happy that we were there - and we, too, were happy. Our bags were quickly loaded onto a bell cart and we were led inside, through an entry with electric shooting stars on the ceiling (which were pointed out to us by the bellman). We were handed off to a bellman (Gus) who would take us to our room. I did not feel any "loss of magic". What is magical about nasty rooms and cavallier attitudes?
Gus was fantastic. On the way, he showed us how to get to various parts of the property - to the busses, the boats to EPCOT and DHS, to the restaurants (your AAA card will give you 20% at many of the Swan/Dolphin restaurants)... Once in the room, he showed us how to work everything...where to find the light switches, how to work the safe, how to call for the car to be brought up from valet....and our view....at night, we were directly in front of Tower of Terror in it's purple glow. The Swan/Dolphin beach was across the canal below us - and we had a view of the main pool and waterfalls. And, yes, the Heavenly beds are just that - Heavenly. There was no odor (which there was in the BWI rooms). I felt like I could kick off my shoes and walk around in bare feet. We slept well.
Soon to come:
I was with my daughter (9). She has been to WDW 4X prior to this trip - twice in the last 18 months. We are major travelers both within and out of the US. Everything from Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré (Le Crillon) to spending a week in a tree house in a Caribbean rain forrest; and lots of in-betweens. We spend money on "experiences", not things.
If it had been my choice, we would have gone to WDW during another time of year (April or very late August). But, with the conference in Miami and another industry conference in WDW during the WDW week, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to mix business with pleasure and visit The World in July. I'd planned a split stay between BWI and Polynesian.
I paid little attention to the reports of crowds and South American Tour Groups. I expected it to be very hot and very crowded. Hey, we were there over Easter break in 07 and still had a great time. We were there for the Free Dining Aug 07 and still had a great time. Heat+Crowds = No Problem for us.
Wrong.
What did I learn? To deal with heat and crowds, you need what we had on previous trips: time and flexibility.
In April 07, we had flexibility. We had no dining plan. We ate OOP. This meant that we could eat how and where we wanted without wasting the plan money. This worked well. I felt no dining stress. We did not have any ADRs, and barely waited anywhere. Maybe we were just lucky.
In Aug 07, we had almost 2 weeks in WDW - so any crowds did not bother us...and were staying at All Stars and were on Free Dining. So, with all that time, we just left the park that was too crowded and went elsewhere or back to the resort. We took it slow. We had more time than we needed and I felt like we were getting fair value for our money...everything felt balanced.
This time, we were as excited as in visits past. I was partly chairing my conference in Miami, so it was grueling. We left Miami very much ready for some Disney fun.
We pulled up to the BWI valet in great spirits after a 4 hr drive up from Miami-which were quickly dampened upon check in. I've written about this in another thread, so I won't belabor it here. I'll just say that the hotel needed help - and lots of it. The BWI was sparkling in the lobby - and other common areas...but upon entry to the hallway as we got closer to the rooms, signs of serious wear and neglect were showing - and the room was much of the same...with torn furniture and peeling wallpaper. We tried to get help -and asked to be moved to a nicer room (regardless of view or location). The only option was a room with a king bed (and still had a funny smell to it and a large rip in the chair beside the bed). My daughter was almost in tears - looking at me with pleading eyes and asking if “we have to stay here?!" We wouldn't live like this at home : so we don't want to be subjected to it on vacation.
After much calling around: Reservations, Central Ops and working with the BWI manager on duty - all telling us that rooms were full here and at other comparable WDW resorts, we just decided to go have dinner, try to relax, and plan a move, even if off-property. We told one of the BWI CMs at the front desk that we were planning to move - even if it meant off property - and he told us that we'd probably not find anything due to it being middle of summer and with the South American tour groups in town. I guess that is why nobody was too concerned that a guest was planning to leave - they didn't think we could/would. It might have been fair to, at that point, share the fact that I am an independent travel consultant with my own website, as well as a free-lance travel writer....but I decided not to use any leverage (not that it would have mattered, anyway)...just be a regular visitor and see what happens.
There was no way I was spending one night in those BWI rooms we'd been shown. I was not at the mercy of Disney. I had money, a car and knew how to find rooms. We were not locked in.
As we walked out of BWI with plans to head to BC for Cape May Cafe, we saw the Dolphin towering over us. Realizing it's size, and having done quite a bit of research on this property, I decided to walk over to see if we could secure a room. We entered the magnificent lobby with it's whimsical decor and air of gentle sophistication, and checked into a lovely room overlooking the beach and main pool. We didn't bother to view the room right then and there, as we were hungry and tired - and I was mentally drained. I was spending more money on the Dolphin room, but that was the price I was willing to pay to get some peace of mind about where we slept and the air we breathed.
After a yummy meal at Cape May Cafe, we returned to BWI to collect our luggage, which was still in the Bellman's holding area. We politely advised the front desk that we were checking out and explained why- and off we went. The only person who tried to stop us was the valet. Interesting.
We pulled up to the Valet at the Dolphin and everything was quite impressive. The valet guys were fun and engaging - directing us to pull up closer to them and then pretending that we'd hit them. They seemed happy that we were there - and we, too, were happy. Our bags were quickly loaded onto a bell cart and we were led inside, through an entry with electric shooting stars on the ceiling (which were pointed out to us by the bellman). We were handed off to a bellman (Gus) who would take us to our room. I did not feel any "loss of magic". What is magical about nasty rooms and cavallier attitudes?
Gus was fantastic. On the way, he showed us how to get to various parts of the property - to the busses, the boats to EPCOT and DHS, to the restaurants (your AAA card will give you 20% at many of the Swan/Dolphin restaurants)... Once in the room, he showed us how to work everything...where to find the light switches, how to work the safe, how to call for the car to be brought up from valet....and our view....at night, we were directly in front of Tower of Terror in it's purple glow. The Swan/Dolphin beach was across the canal below us - and we had a view of the main pool and waterfalls. And, yes, the Heavenly beds are just that - Heavenly. There was no odor (which there was in the BWI rooms). I felt like I could kick off my shoes and walk around in bare feet. We slept well.
Soon to come:
- More Dolphin Reviews
- The Disney Parks (Rides, Crowds, Tour Groups, the infamous "hitting" incident)
- Switch to Poly
- Disney Transportation (Bus, Boat, Monorail, Car)
- Disney Dining and non-Disney Dining (OOP and on the DXDDP)
- Final Thoughts/Suggestions : What I would have changed
- Summary Ratings
