Fort Wilderness Cabins vs Dolphin

[Cmbar]

Hi All, we have two reservations for the 2nd week in Ferbruary. One at the fort Wilderness cabins and one for two rooms at the Dolphin. We are a family of six so we either had to have two rooms at the Dolphin or fit in the cabin. I get the teacher rate so I the difference is only $300 more to stay at Dolphin. Is it worth it? Any suggestions, information or especially any web links to pictures of inside the cabins. We have never been to Disney and we want to give our kids the best Disney experience possible with as little stress (ie transportation issues, food courts, etc.) as possible.

Any comments would be appreciated!

 

[Pryncess'mom]

Hi Cmbar! I hope my info helps! We have never been to the Dolphin, but have enjoyed the cabins. We really like them alot. There seems to be much more space because of the layout. Samll kitchen area, living room with pull down bed (double size? I think) down the hall to bathroom, and bedroom (bunk beds and another double). The bedroom had a vanity sink area which helps in the morning with brushing teeth, etc.... Although we didn't really cook in the kitchen, we did fix snacks, toast, hot dogs, frozen pizza , etc..... FW itself is great. There is really lots to do. My kids enjoyed the Campfire and movies nightly. You watch 2 Disney movies, and have a camp fire singalong. You can purchase stuff to roast marshmallows and hotdogs. There are several pools and playgrounds around the grounds, with a couple of camp stores where you can buy foodstuffs, also. Renting bikes, boats, horseback riding, etc.... Not that we ever rented anything! We do spend much of our time in the parks. It really depends on the time of year you are going what time the parks close. I hope this has been helpful in some way! I know somewhere there there is a link to pics, if i remember it, I'll let you know!

Good luck!

Deb

 

[kalamazoo]

If you are not looking to cook, then I would pick Dolphin over FW cabins. I can guarantee you that the beds at the Dolphin will be more comfortable than at FW and with 2 bedrooms you might even have more room. You would have 4 oversize double beds (possible sleeping space for 8) instead of 2 double beds (and they are double not bigger than that) and 2 singles (bunk beds).You will have 2 bathrooms instead of 1 and 2 TV's (we only had 1 in the livingroom when we stayed at FW. I don't know if they've changed this and now have one in the bedroom too).

As for foodcourts/restaurants there are none within walking distance at FW whereas at the Dolphin there are some right in the hotel as well as many nearby along the boardwalk. Of course you do have the kitchen in the cabins.

Transportation - You can walk or take a boat to EPCOT and MGM from the Dolphin and it is one of the first bus stops on the route for the other parks. At FW you are closest to MK but you have to take a bus to the marina then take the boat (which may or may not stop first at WL).

Decor - The decor at the Dolphin is, well, like a resort. At FW it is rustic. Lighting in the cabins is dim.

There are many positive aspects to FW as mentioned in the previous post. You do, however, have to take a bus to get to any of these activities. If you want to have the feel of a resort then definitely Dolphin is the way to go.

 

[Cmbar]

Thank You both for your posts. I have one question for the cabins though. Do you have to have a car? We are just taking a limo from the airport. Is the bus stop far from the cabins? Just imagining all the walking already with the parks and trying to get a feel for how far the cabins are from a bus stop and they campfire and movies?

Thanks for the information!

 

[OhMickey]

When we were at FW our kids were 8,8,11,13. Our 13 year old had a broken ankle and we decided a car would be best for us. However, we did use Disney Transportation a few times. The buses ran regularly and it was a short walk to the bus stop from our cabin. I do not know about the distance from the movies or campfire (we did not do these).

We loved the Cabins. The decor is definitely back woods. The beds were very comfortable so was the murphy bed. I don't know if it was because we were so tired or that the beds were actually that comfortable, but we slept very well.

We used the kitchen for breakfast & snacks only. It was a real convenience. Our kids enjoyed eating breakfast on the picnic table on the patio.

Finally, the staff is so friendly. I have to rate them the best in all Disney. We've stayed at the Contempory, ASSp, ASMo, ASMu, and FW. We would definitely go back.

 

[kalamazoo]

There are lots of bus stops. It shouldn't be a problem walking to one. Depending where your cabin is in the loop you might have to walk a little (maybe the equivalent of a city block) or it might be just across the street. Generally no cars are allowed in the FW resort except to get to your cabin/campsite. You have to take the bus to get everywhere. IMO the campfire and movies are not within reasonable walking distance from the cabins though it is possible (anything is possible).

Depending on the ages of your children (if you have very young toddlers) and the location of your cabin you might even want to take the bus to the pool or at least a stoller. There are some cabin loops that are right near the pool though so you could request one of those. Take a look at the DIS camping board. You'll get a lot more info on FW.

 

[Kimberle]

Originally posted by Cmbar
Thank You both for your posts. I have one question for the cabins though. Do you have to have a car? We are just taking a limo from the airport. Is the bus stop far from the cabins? Just imagining all the walking already with the parks and trying to get a feel for how far the cabins are from a bus stop and they campfire and movies?

Thanks for the information!

Fort Wilderness (campgrounds & cabins) has it's own internal bus route (the orange). Thus, if your cabin is a distance back, you could have to take 2 buses to your destination. The "orange" one to bring you to the FW bus stop/marinia, then the regular Disney Transit one. There are also golf carts you can rent. I don't know the detail on those. I'm sure the folks on the camping brd can help.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We just got back from the swan in aug. (sister resort of the dolphin). I guess it all depends what kind of atmosphere you want. My 3 ds are definetely not the boy scout/woodsy types and we really couldnt consider the woodland stuff because of one ds asthma. But dh and I did go to eat at trails end and we loved the dinner, a real bargain. I also saw people using golf carts to get around at the campground.

I really think the transportation options at the dolphin are so much more convenient and you would waste alot of time with transportation options going the campground route. You have direct bus access to mk, boat to epcot or mgm and can walk to epcot and bus to downtown disney, short rides.


I also think the atmosphere is much better if you have teens which we do. The grotto pool was awesome. Mini golf was across the street, basketball court at the hotel, sandy beach with beach volleyball, watercraft rental, cute swan boats, etc. It was well worth every penny. (we got govt. disct. and paid for a rollaway for 5 in our room.)

 

[jwfla422]

That is such a tough decision!! Two very VERY different places!!! We love the S/D!! But, we stayed at the FW cabins for the first time this past February and loved them too. But, you're not comparing apples to apples here...

VERY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES at each place (I just can't say that enough )....

I'm sure you've gotten summaries on both with the previous posts...if you could split your stay that would be ideal.

Just remember, the Dolphin is a hotel/resort and FW cabins is a campground/resort (home away from home resort).

The Dolphin is in the EPCOT/MGM area and FW is near MK. (As luvmarypoppins mentioned...You will spend more time traveling around though at FW. A golf cart is a very handy mode of transportation around FW, it does tack on a lot more $$$ per day though.

It could get a little crowded with 6 in a cabin, there is only 1 bathroom so that's something to keep in mind.

I say...split your stay

 

[Stelson]

I personally love the cabins, but the real reason I would go back is because DH. DH was not enthusastic about going to WDW, he had a great time though and he feel in love with the cabins .

The transportation does take a little longer having to take a bus from the cabins to the outpost and then a bus/boat to your destination, however the short walk to the bus stop was in unbelievably bueatiful surrounding, very peaceful.

The best part about the cabins, that I have not seen mentioned, is the QUITE, not just for us, but our family can get pretty loud when they are excited, tired, or any other time. We never heard our neighbors and best of all we never bothered our neighbors.

We went to the campfire, sing along & movie and swimming all in January, but the best was one night when we stopped in the cabin long enough for DH to check the score of the game & when I came out on the deck to check on the three kids they were playing Pirates of the Carriabean in the open space around the cabin, with sticks among the trees and leaves. It was great, I am starting to cry thinking of it.

Good Luck with your decision, for me I can't get my DH to go anywhere else.

 

[CarolinaBoy]

Just wanted to add something about the cabins. You can rent golf carts to drive around the resort which makes it easier to get to all thge attractions within FW. There is plenty of parking for the carts , as many guests rent them. You can call there for rates, I believe we payed 34 bucks a day and it was well worth it. They seat 5 or 6, and have some that seat 8. My kids loved them.

Cboy

 

[Stelson]

Forgot, I wanted to mention, we were dropped off at outpost by towncar & CM drove us, and all our bags and groceries, to cabin right after checkin. They also picked us up at 2:30am to drive us back to outpost to meet our towncar. They even helped carry the bags into the cabin.

 

[MELSMICE]

Hard decision. We've stayed in the cabins numerous times & loved them. We've never stayed ath Swan/Dolphin, but have stayed in the Boardwalk area a few times & enjoyed it. They are completely different resorts with different things to do. It all depends on what you are looking for.

Having 2 rooms is great because you'll have 2 bathrooms. There's only 1 in the cabins. However, there is an outdoor patio in the cabins. The murphy bed in the LR of the cabins is okay, but not as comfortable as a regular queen. I think a major plus is having the full kitchen in the cabins. Really saves time in the morning & money on some meals, etc.

The pool at the S/D is much nicer than the FW pools, which are just pools, no slides or anything, but it is a lot quieter at FW. You can rent paddle boats, bikes water mice & lots of other things at FW.

My family loves FW so I'm sure they would vote for there, but I would guess that you would enjoy either place. Good luck.