Who: The Hearne family--mom, dad, and 3 kids (14, 8, and one toddler )
When: September 27-October 6, 2003 (9 nights)
Where: Walt Disney World Dolphin-9/27 through 10/3 & Disney's Contemporary Resort-10/3 through 10/6
Dolphin: We checked into the Dolphin on Saturday afternoon--the resort was very quiet for the weekend. Our room was in the West Wing, on the lobby level. We had a view of the Grotto pool and Tower of Terror. Very nice....we also had a balcony. I used Starwood points to get Club Level priv. for our stay. We were charged 1000 points a night, as per www.SPG.com We also had one of the renovated rooms, complete with the Heavenly Bed :::ahhhh::: I loved it, DH did not. He prefers a firm mattress
The hotel was immaculate, as was the pool area. There are a couple of new restaurants getting ready to open, both on the same floor as Tubbi's and the Dolphin Fountain. One is a Mediterranian (sp?) place and the other is going to be called Bluezoo.
We loved the CL this trip--with 3 kids, it was great to pick up breakfast in the AM and those de-lish cookies in the evenings! I met the "famous" Thabo
what a nice man...definitely an asset to the Dolphin. I had to ask for diet coke and bottled water (small bottles) in the morning...the attendant wasn't real thrilled about that, either. she could learn somethng from Thabo, LOL!
There was a convention booked during our stay. It was a BIG one. We have stayed at the Dolphin/Swan before when there is a convention, so we knew what to expect. This time, with the pool view...it was a different story. There was a party on September 30. The pool was closed. Fine. We were notified about that. What we weren't made aware of is how LOUD this party was...it was entertaining to watch, but annoying that we had to hear it. A mention at check-in would have been nice, just so we could be aware. That was the only blemish we had this trip.
the bus service was good. we only shared a bus with the Boardwalk, and the buses were plentiful as well. We drove to the AK, and that was easy enough to do....love the boat to MGM and enjoy the walk to Epcot.
We will definitely return
On October 3, we checked out of the Dolphin and checked into the Contemporary. It was a snap! I am SPG Gold status, so I used the 4PM checkout. We drove to the Contemporary early enough to check-in (and get a parking pass) go to the Magic Kingdom. I checked in at 8:30 and had my choice of rooms...all were ready. After I checked in, we went over to the MK for a while, then back to the Dolphin to take one last swim in the deserted Grotto pool. At 3:45, we loaded up the car and too the boat to MGM. After a few hours there and dinner at Pizzaria Uno, we headed back to the Contemporary. We stay at the CR through Shades of Green, so we were in the North Garden wing. We love that location! Our room was 8310, which was a fabulous view of the lake. We could see the Electric Water Parade from our beds....
Our room was clean and mousekeeping was great. We had some trouble with ants on Sunday I saw several people spraying for insects during our stay. There was also a letter in the room warning about mosquitos.
No real complaints about the CR. We enjoyed our stay there. The kids love the pool, and the unlimited frozen cherry drinks (with a mug) are always a hit We are looking forward to Shades of Green re-opening, though. We love that resort!
If I could only figure out how to get the bathroom at the Contemporary over to the Dolphin, I'd have my perfect room....
When: September 27-October 6, 2003 (9 nights)
Where: Walt Disney World Dolphin-9/27 through 10/3 & Disney's Contemporary Resort-10/3 through 10/6
Dolphin: We checked into the Dolphin on Saturday afternoon--the resort was very quiet for the weekend. Our room was in the West Wing, on the lobby level. We had a view of the Grotto pool and Tower of Terror. Very nice....we also had a balcony. I used Starwood points to get Club Level priv. for our stay. We were charged 1000 points a night, as per www.SPG.com We also had one of the renovated rooms, complete with the Heavenly Bed :::ahhhh::: I loved it, DH did not. He prefers a firm mattress
The hotel was immaculate, as was the pool area. There are a couple of new restaurants getting ready to open, both on the same floor as Tubbi's and the Dolphin Fountain. One is a Mediterranian (sp?) place and the other is going to be called Bluezoo. We loved the CL this trip--with 3 kids, it was great to pick up breakfast in the AM and those de-lish cookies in the evenings! I met the "famous" Thabo
what a nice man...definitely an asset to the Dolphin. I had to ask for diet coke and bottled water (small bottles) in the morning...the attendant wasn't real thrilled about that, either. she could learn somethng from Thabo, LOL!There was a convention booked during our stay. It was a BIG one. We have stayed at the Dolphin/Swan before when there is a convention, so we knew what to expect. This time, with the pool view...it was a different story. There was a party on September 30. The pool was closed. Fine. We were notified about that. What we weren't made aware of is how LOUD this party was...it was entertaining to watch, but annoying that we had to hear it. A mention at check-in would have been nice, just so we could be aware. That was the only blemish we had this trip.
the bus service was good. we only shared a bus with the Boardwalk, and the buses were plentiful as well. We drove to the AK, and that was easy enough to do....love the boat to MGM and enjoy the walk to Epcot.
We will definitely return
On October 3, we checked out of the Dolphin and checked into the Contemporary. It was a snap! I am SPG Gold status, so I used the 4PM checkout. We drove to the Contemporary early enough to check-in (and get a parking pass) go to the Magic Kingdom. I checked in at 8:30 and had my choice of rooms...all were ready. After I checked in, we went over to the MK for a while, then back to the Dolphin to take one last swim in the deserted Grotto pool. At 3:45, we loaded up the car and too the boat to MGM. After a few hours there and dinner at Pizzaria Uno, we headed back to the Contemporary. We stay at the CR through Shades of Green, so we were in the North Garden wing. We love that location! Our room was 8310, which was a fabulous view of the lake. We could see the Electric Water Parade from our beds....
Our room was clean and mousekeeping was great. We had some trouble with ants on Sunday
I saw several people spraying for insects during our stay. There was also a letter in the room warning about mosquitos. No real complaints about the CR. We enjoyed our stay there. The kids love the pool, and the unlimited frozen cherry drinks (with a mug) are always a hit
We are looking forward to Shades of Green re-opening, though. We love that resort!If I could only figure out how to get the bathroom at the Contemporary over to the Dolphin, I'd have my perfect room....
