PORiverside vs Dolphin

[chrismiss56]

Hi

My husband and I have 2 teens (female) 17 and 14. Originally we were staying at the Dolphin in August for 9 nights. However, we can save $700 by staying at the Port Orleans Riverside. Both places we have 2 rooms. Can anyone comment why Dolphin would be worth the extra $700? I have stayed at POR but never Dolphin. Have stayed at BWI, WL, POR, and BWV.

Help me with this please?????? Thanks

 

[Luv2Roam]

Guess it depends on how much $700 means to you. The main difference I would think is location, location, location.

 

[dcedwards]

I know there are lots of Dolphin fans out there but ... we have stayed at both. For the money we prefer PORiverside. The big plus for Dolphin is that it is in the Epcot area.

Since the Dolphin is a convention hotel, we found that the pool area was often closed for convention events in the evenings. You never really knew until you decided to swim. While you could walk over to the Swan or use the other pool -- it just wasn't the same...and it was irratating that they were closed. We also found that Tubbys and the other "eateries" at the Dolphin were VERY slow and expensive. Add a bunch of "conventioneers" who usually eat at the hotel and you couldn't get a bite to eat for lunch in less than 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It wasn't pleasant.

You might have a balcony at the Dolphin but we weren't in the room often enough for it to matter. The housekeeping while okay was not as "creative" as what we received at Riverside in November. Also, I think you have Queen beds at the Dolphin and Riverside only has doubles. But if you have two rooms then for the teenagers that won't be bad.

And, the transportation or the fact that you can walk to Epcot and MGM is nice. The boat ride, though, takes about 15-25 minutes depending on where you board so it is about the same amount of time as the transportation to anyplace else. And, at the Dolphin you share a bus with the YC/BC/Swan and Dolphin. That is only one stop shy of what you have at Riverside.

Advantages as we see them for Riverside. We prefer the food court there. You can get a fairly nice meal, in a relatively short amount of time. The variety is pretty good and while the prices are Disney, they aren't that bad. With teenagers, if you so desire, Pleasure Island is only a short distance for evening entertainment -- which they tend to enjoy. Shopping at DTD is also close and easy to get to in the evening, especially since they brought the boat back. It takes you about the same amount of time to get to any of the parks (15 minutes give or take unless it is very crowded). They have six quiet pools plus the main pool with a slide. It is never closed for conventions just for a "baby ruth" drill every now and then. (Happened when we were there in Nov. -- my 3 year old couldn't figure it out -- so we didn't explain).

So, in my humble opinion, if you don't spend that much time in your room (especially since you are getting two rooms) -- the fact that the Dolphin room is a bit bigger (by about 90 square feet - I think), and has a better location in proximity to Epcot/MGM, doesn't justify an extra $700. Since you've been to Riverside...if you liked it...I might spend the $700 someplace else.

On the other hand, if you want to try something new .... it might be the place. We just found that there was something "missing" since it wasn't really Disney (the Mickey soaps and shampoos in the bathroom and Mickey wake up call, for example). If the primary concern is money then definitely go with Riverside. If you want to try something new -- there are a lot of fans out there for the Dolphin -- I just prefer Riverside. Hope that helps.

 

[dcedwards]

I know there are lots of Dolphin fans out there but ... we have stayed at both. For the money we prefer PORiverside. The big plus for Dolphin is that it is in the Epcot area.

Since the Dolphin is a convention hotel, we found that the pool area was often closed for convention events in the evenings. You never really knew until you decided to swim. While you could walk over to the Swan or use the other pool -- it just wasn't the same...and it was irratating that they were closed. We also found that Tubbys and the other "eateries" at the Dolphin were VERY slow and expensive. Add a bunch of "conventioneers" who usually eat at the hotel and you couldn't get a bite to eat for lunch in less than 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It wasn't pleasant.

You might have a balcony at the Dolphin but we weren't in the room often enough for it to matter. The housekeeping while okay was not as "creative" as what we received at Riverside in November. Also, I think you have Queen beds at the Dolphin and Riverside only has doubles. But if you have two rooms then for the teenagers that won't be bad.

And, the transportation or the fact that you can walk to Epcot and MGM is nice. The boat ride, though, takes about 15-25 minutes depending on where you board so it is about the same amount of time as the transportation to anyplace else. And, at the Dolphin you share a bus with the YC/BC/Swan and Dolphin. That is only one stop shy of what you have at Riverside.

Advantages as we see them for Riverside. We prefer the food court there. You can get a fairly nice meal, in a relatively short amount of time. The variety is pretty good and while the prices are Disney, they aren't that bad. With teenagers, if you so desire, Pleasure Island is only a short distance for evening entertainment -- which they tend to enjoy. Shopping at DTD is also close and easy to get to in the evening, especially since they brought the boat back. It takes you about the same amount of time to get to any of the parks (15 minutes give or take unless it is very crowded). They have six quiet pools plus the main pool with a slide. It is never closed for conventions just for a "baby ruth" drill every now and then. (Happened when we were there in Nov. -- my 3 year old couldn't figure it out -- so we didn't explain).

So, in my humble opinion, if you don't spend that much time in your room (especially since you are getting two rooms) -- the fact that the Dolphin room is a bit bigger (by about 90 square feet - I think), and has a better location in proximity to Epcot/MGM, doesn't justify an extra $700. Since you've been to Riverside...if you liked it...I might spend the $700 someplace else.

On the other hand, if you want to try something new .... it might be the place. We just found that there was something "missing" since it wasn't really Disney (the Mickey soaps and shampoos in the bathroom and Mickey wake up call, for example). If the primary concern is money then definitely go with Riverside. If you want to try something new -- there are a lot of fans out there for the Dolphin -- I just prefer Riverside. Hope that helps.

 

[chrismiss56]

Thanks for the suggestions. I do have a few questions. Are the boats running now? And what type of creative housekeeping are you talking about at the Riverside.

I probably will stay at the Riverside because the bottom line is that in today's economy I can certainly use the $700 somewhere else. Like I just found an internet fare of $198pp. So I will be putting the extra $700 to good use.

Thanks again

 

[dcedwards]

As far as the boats go -- I have read that they are currently running and I have also read that they will start running at the end of May. Not sure which one is true. You could post a thread and ask the question. I'm sure someone out there knows.

There are 3 of us in the room and I typically tip housekeeping anywhere between $3-5 per night. After we spend the first night that next morning I leave a pretty nice tip -- around $5. When I do that, they seem to do extra things for us. This time, each time we came back to our room in the afternoon housekeeping had put together a zoo in our front window. She took the washcloths and towels along with a couple stickers that she used for eyes and then got some leaves from outside....and made up different animals -- elephant, snakes, etc. She would raise the blind just enough so that we could see them before we unlocked the door. Then she would leave other washcloth animals with my son's stuffed animals. It was darling. Each evening, my son couldn't wait to get to the room. And, of course, due to his glee my tip remained about the same. It was a super nice touch. I wrote management and let them know how pleased we were with her. She was great. Alot of it depends on who does up your room, though.