Is staying at the Dolphin considered onsite?

[sharona]

In relation to...

booking FP+ at 60 days out?

access to EMH?

free parking at the parks (I know there is a parking charge at the hotel)?


Considering changing our first Universal night to a night at the Dolphin paid with points in order to get 60 days out access for FP+ on our park day and to make getting to RD just a bit easier. If yes to q1, does booking with points affect that answer?

TIA!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yes, it is like on site for those items mentioned. And points have no impact.

 

[Hootch]

This provides a good summary of the benefits. Essentially, yes to those three.

http://www.swandolphin.com/leisureinfo/benefits.html

 

[DisneyFive]

Main difference IMO is no magical express to and from the airport. Edit, and no ability for free dining when it's offered.

Dan

 

[dmunsil]

The Swan/Dolphin has most, but not all, of the perks of a Disney resort. Luckily, it has all the ones you asked about.

It has:

- 60-day FP+ booking
- Extra Magic Hours
- Free parking at the parks (though not at the hotel itself)
- Package delivery to your room
- Direct access to Disney transportation (boat/bus) and walking path to two parks
- Guaranteed park admission until stage 4 closure or whatever they call it now

It doesn't have:

- Access to Disney Magic Your Way packages or Dining Plan
- Access to 180+10 dining reservations
- MagicBands (you can buy your own for the parks, but they aren't used at the resort)
- Room charging privileges
- Edit: forgot one - Magical Express from the airport

 

[sharona]

Main difference IMO is no magical express to and from the airport. Edit, and no ability for free dining when it's offered.

Dan

That's not a factor for us.

Yes, it is like on site for those items mentioned. And points have no impact.

This provides a good summary of the benefits. Essentially, yes to those three.

http://www.swandolphin.com/leisureinfo/benefits.html

Thanks!


Very tempting. I can cancel our first night at Universal Royal Pacific and book the Swan or the Dolphin using my SPG points. Would save some money and have the convenience of staying on site for FP+ and RD. Does the booking window for FP+ open at 12:01am tonight for 4/24 park day, am I calculating that correctly? If my night at Dolphin/Swan is 4/23 I can book FP+ for 4/24? Seems I am on the clock for making this decision by tonight!

Input?

 

[summerlvr]

I believe, since February only has 28 days, that you are already within your 60 day window.

 

[L&Lfan]

I have enjoyed all my stays at the Dolphin. I have no problem taking the Mears shuttle for my transportation to/from the airport and I don't do the dining plan so it works for me. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there if the price is right. And even if we stay at other resorts we always include Il Mulino, bluezoo and Shula's in our dining itinerary.

 

[abner1776]

Staying at the Dolphin gives you access to many of the benefits of staying on property, but keep in mind that the Dolphin is a large hotel full of mostly conventioneers. The times we have stayed there it was very busy, noisy and crowded. I'm not sure if I would want to spend a week at the Swalphin resorts but for a few nights it is very nice and you can't beat it's access to DHS and Epcot.

 

[sharona]

Here is the situation:
My DD12 and I are currently booked for 4 nights at Universal Royal Pacific after a stay in the Keys checking in on 4/23. We are debating heading to MK for the day/night on 4/24 as we haven't been since 2010 and we are dying to see all the new FL stuff and to soak in some Disney. Our plan, if we go, is to be there for RD and take a mid day (2 - 6ish) break back to our Uni resort to relax and have dinner then return from around 6-11pm. DD is not interested in A&E m&g. Our ride and show priorities are 7DMT, BTMRR, Space, Splash, HM, MSEP, Dumbo, Wishes. We would like to have leisurely day that is more about the atmosphere than trying to ride everything or multiple rides on the headliners. If we get in a few short wait additional rides on our old favorites like PP, People Mover or Buzz, that's great but not required for our day to be a success. Here are my options:

1. Keep 4 nights at Uni and go to MK on Friday 4/24 booking FP+ 30 days out and hoping/praying we can get 7DMT or will have to use precious RD time in the SB line. If chances of getting a 7DMT FP+ are decent, this is my preferred option as it involves less moving around (but a bit more costly).

2. Cancel 1st night at Uni and reserve a night at Dolphin to get access to 60 day FP+ booking. I can book the Dolphin using points and that cash savings would cover 75% of the cost of our 1 day park tickets (after Dolphin resort and parking fees which are ridiculous). Cons: There is the opportunity cost of the points but my attitude with these has always been earn and burn before they devalue them again. We would lose access to express pass at US/IOA on Thursday afternoon. Would have to check in at WDW and then go to Universal...weird. Could just relax at Dolphin for the night but after relaxing for 5 days in the Keys we will be raring to go I think. Also, on our mid day break, we would need to go to Royal Pacific to check in and we could technically be without a room until 3 or 4 pm so not much relaxing about that. I could do 2 nights here if I wanted to avoid that... Would save a bit more money and lose a few more points.

3. Cancel 1st night at Uni and reserve a package at POP including tickets so we would have 60 day FP+ access and get magic bands. A small savings in room rate vs. our AP rate at Uni ($20) but would get free parking at POP and at the park saving an additional $20 (park at Royal Pacific) and $15 at the park so a savings of roughly $55. Same cons as above.

4. Skip MK entirely and try to plan a longer trip in the future. Been considering a visit when holiday decorations are up but wanted to sort of pre-view whether we liked FP+ before committing to that. We were very skilled users of the old FP system (before end times were enforced) so we are a bit spoiled about waiting stand by.

What would you do?

 

[bumbershoot]

Moving around and going from here to there can really take away from a relaxing trip. Trust me on this. The idea of a trip in the Keys then up to Universal sounds like absolute perfection to me, and I wouldn't want to mess with it by having a night at WDW.

FP+ is what it is. You either want to go to WDW or you don't. If you do want to go, then you work with FP+. I'm not sure that a half-day visit is the best way to judge if you like it.

If you REALLY want to go to MK, and if you have so many points that using some just to get FP+ is OK for you, you could always just book that room and keep the RPR room. (we kept our RPR room for the night we actually stayed at AOA before the WDW Half)

And are you sure you have the best rate there? Assuming you didn't book a package or a room-only reservation through a TA (where fees for changes and cancellations might come into play), be sure to check here: http://uo.loewshotels.com/en/booking/uo?hotel=UEPBH,UEHRH,UERPR

Also, on our mid day break, we would need to go to Royal Pacific to check in and we could technically be without a room until 3 or 4 pm so not much relaxing about that.

Except for at the busiest times, the Loews resorts are pretty good about getting you into rooms earlier. No absolutes, of course, but it's the experience of many Universal onsite fans. (be sure to sign up for a Loews frequent-stayer account).

 

[AustinTink]

Here is the situation:
My DD12 and I are currently booked for 4 nights at Universal Royal Pacific after a stay in the Keys checking in on 4/23. We are debating heading to MK for the day/night on 4/24 as we haven't been since 2010 and we are dying to see all the new FL stuff and to soak in some Disney. Our plan, if we go, is to be there for RD and take a mid day (2 - 6ish) break back to our Uni resort to relax and have dinner then return from around 6-11pm. DD is not interested in A&E m&g. Our ride and show priorities are 7DMT, BTMRR, Space, Splash, HM, MSEP, Dumbo, Wishes. We would like to have leisurely day that is more about the atmosphere than trying to ride everything or multiple rides on the headliners. If we get in a few short wait additional rides on our old favorites like PP, People Mover or Buzz, that's great but not required for our day to be a success. Here are my options:

1. Keep 4 nights at Uni and go to MK on Friday 4/24 booking FP+ 30 days out and hoping/praying we can get 7DMT or will have to use precious RD time in the SB line. If chances of getting a 7DMT FP+ are decent, this is my preferred option as it involves less moving around (but a bit more costly).

2. Cancel 1st night at Uni and reserve a night at Dolphin to get access to 60 day FP+ booking. I can book the Dolphin using points and that cash savings would cover 75% of the cost of our 1 day park tickets (after Dolphin resort and parking fees which are ridiculous). Cons: There is the opportunity cost of the points but my attitude with these has always been earn and burn before they devalue them again. We would lose access to express pass at US/IOA on Thursday afternoon. Would have to check in at WDW and then go to Universal...weird. Could just relax at Dolphin for the night but after relaxing for 5 days in the Keys we will be raring to go I think. Also, on our mid day break, we would need to go to Royal Pacific to check in and we could technically be without a room until 3 or 4 pm so not much relaxing about that. I could do 2 nights here if I wanted to avoid that... Would save a bit more money and lose a few more points.

3. Cancel 1st night at Uni and reserve a package at POP including tickets so we would have 60 day FP+ access and get magic bands. A small savings in room rate vs. our AP rate at Uni ($20) but would get free parking at POP and at the park saving an additional $20 (park at Royal Pacific) and $15 at the park so a savings of roughly $55. Same cons as above.

4. Skip MK entirely and try to plan a longer trip in the future. Been considering a visit when holiday decorations are up but wanted to sort of pre-view whether we liked FP+ before committing to that. We were very skilled users of the old FP system (before end times were enforced) so we are a bit spoiled about waiting stand by.

What would you do?

I would go with Option #1. This is what we are doing over spring break. Staying onsite at PBH and heading over to MK, mostly to check out 7DMT. We were able to get FP+ for 7DMT at 30 days out, however the return time is not great, it's early evening. We aren't taking a mid-day break back to UNI at all. We have ADRs scheduled for lunch and dinner. That should be plenty of rest time for us. We scheduled our first FP+ for mid morning, so we won't be arriving at RD. It will be a much more laid back approach than our usual MK day, but we are fine with that.

 

[sharona]

@bumbershoot Thanks for the link, I'll look at that. Currently we have the APH rate which is usually the same as the Fl resident rate ($186 avg. per night). Have not found anything cheaper including that cheaptickets Sweetdeal promo code that was going around last week.

This will be our 3rd trip to Universal in the past year and we ended up with an extra day due to flight schedules so was just looking to check out the MK updates on one of our days. I'm still on the fence. Even though DD doesn't miss Disney, I do!

 

[sharona]

I would go with Option #1. This is what we are doing over spring break. Staying onsite at PBH and heading over to MK, mostly to check out 7DMT. We were able to get FP+ for 7DMT at 30 days out, however the return time is not great, it's early evening. We aren't taking a mid-day break back to UNI at all. We have ADRs scheduled for lunch and dinner. That should be plenty of rest time for us. We scheduled our first FP+ for mid morning, so we won't be arriving at RD. It will be a much more laid back approach than our usual MK day, but we are fine with that.

I would be ok with the early evening return time. We are definitely Rope Droppers (lol) and we could get most of our other must do's done easily during that time leaving the evening for the parade and Wishes. Briefly considered dinner at one of the monorail resorts for a break instead of back to the resort but nothing appeals... and I want my swim and shower. If we stay with the RPR for all 4 nights, and have to pay to park at MK, I will probably pay the additional $5 to valet at Contemporary so we can have easier access to our car when it's time for a break.

 

[sharona]

Writing this all out and your responses really helped. I think we will stick with our discount room at Royal Pacific and save my points for a possible December visit. Thanks for all the answers and input.

 

[AustinTink]

I would be ok with the early evening return time. We are definitely Rope Droppers (lol) and we could get most of our other must do's done easily during that time leaving the evening for the parade and Wishes. Briefly considered dinner at one of the monorail resorts for a break instead of back to the resort but nothing appeals... and I want my swim and shower. If we stay with the RPR for all 4 nights, and have to pay to park at MK, I will probably pay the additional $5 to valet at Contemporary so we can have easier access to our car when it's time for a break.

Update: I was just able to change my 7DMT to mid afternoon. Just to show that once you have your FP+ scheduled, keep checking for time changes if you need them.

 

[bumbershoot]

@bumbershoot Thanks for the link, I'll look at that. Currently we have the APH rate which is usually the same as the Fl resident rate ($186 avg. per night). Have not found anything cheaper including that cheaptickets Sweetdeal promo code that was going around last week.

This will be our 3rd trip to Universal in the past year and we ended up with an extra day due to flight schedules so was just looking to check out the MK updates on one of our days. I'm still on the fence. Even though DD doesn't miss Disney, I do!

Cool. I was on mobile so I didn't know if this was your first Uni visit or what (and I was skimming).

APH rate with a 4 night stay might be the best you can get; a longer visit can end up with StayMoreSaveMore being lower than APH so it's worth checking.