SS or Dolphin??

[wallawallakids]

Please help! I can't decide and I keep going back and forth on if I should change my reservation or keep it. I am going to DW in May for 6 nights with my husband and 4 children (10,9,4,& 4). I have a standing reservation at the Dolphin in an executive suite. If I stay there, I have to eat out with my kids most days and nights. (I can pack a few lunches and eat breakfast in.) As far price goes it is less than SS but after I add in food it is about a couple hundred more. If I switch it to SS I would be paying more for the room but I could cook and eat all our meals in. SS seems further away from things. No walking back in forth, which I do like, and larger grounds. But I would have free transportation from the airport and eating in saves me about $200. What do you think? Eat in and save a few hundred and stay on a Disney property??? Or stay where I am at the dolphin, suck up the bill on food, and be able to walk to Epcot and Hollywood. I am so beyond confused. Help!!

 

[wallawallakids]

Oh...to make it more confusing.....OKW is the same price as SSS. So I could do either of those or the dolphin. Both are 2 bed Villas.

 

[jujube]

I think both rooms at the Dolphin will have dorm sized fridges. You could keep store sandwich fixings, etc. We have stayed at SSR and loved it but it doesn't compare to the location of the Dolphin. On the other hand, with a 2 bd at SSR, you and your husband have a private room, 2 of the kids could have the other room and there's a sofa sleeper in the living room for 2 more kids. So, to me, it would come down to location vs space.

OKW has the largest rooms but we like SSR better because you are a hop away from DTD.

 

[wallawallakids]

Ok. Thanks. That helps. I think I will just keep the dolphin. I really do like the location. I think I am in sticker shock looking at the menus on here. This is our first trip to Disney and feeding six in the park is a LOT more than I was thinking.

 

[Belle83]

Ok. Thanks. That helps. I think I will just keep the dolphin. I really do like the location. I think I am in sticker shock looking at the menus on here. This is our first trip to Disney and feeding six in the park is a LOT more than I was thinking.

It really is insane. Have you ever used restaurant.com (coupon website)? Some of the restaurants at the Dolphin were on there last year. The Fountain at the Dolphin is pretty reasonable as far as WDW, and is about the same price as you'll pay for stuff at Picabu (the Dolphin's quick-eat place). A lot of people like Beaches & Cream for the price, which is walking distance from the Swan/Dolphin.

Would you really be cooking at SS/OKW? Your time cooking on vacation is worth more than $200 right? I hate cooking though, lol.

All that being said, I would choose SSR or OKW because of the privacy/space issue. You are still by all of the restaurants at Downtown Disney (if you are willing to eat out instead of cook), and keep the cooking option. With 4 kids, the villa would be (almost) priceless. I think the room we stayed in at the Dolphin was an executive suite and while it was large, it was just 2 adults. With 4 kids, go with OKW or SSR.

 

[jujube]

You're welcome. Yes, Disney World food is expensive. If you get a driver to bring you to the Dolphin, they'll make a short grocery stop. You could also call the Dolphin and ask if you could send a package ahead which you could fill with some snacks, cereal,chips, for sandwiches,etc. This site has menus for the parks and resorts. I've the link for Picabu which is the Dolphin buffet restaurant. We sometimes order the kid's breakfast to go. My daughter(18 now) runs down to pick it up. A decent amount of food for $4.75. The Nachos serving is good for 2-3 people.
http://allears.net/menu/menu_tub.htm

 

[stephmarty]

Ok. Thanks. That helps. I think I will just keep the dolphin. I really do like the location. I think I am in sticker shock looking at the menus on here. This is our first trip to Disney and feeding six in the park is a LOT more than I was thinking.

The Budget Board has some good ideas for saving on food. Some are pretty extreme, but others really make sense. Like counter service meals that are big enough to feed two--good idea. Ketchup soup from the condiment station--not so much.

 

[olive]

I don't have any experience at SS (or OKW), but we stayed at the Dolphin this past spring and really loved the resort and location. It was just three of us - me, my husband and our son - but we are planning on going back this coming winter with our new baby, too.

To make things easier with a 4 year old, we used Garden Grocer and had food waiting for us at the resort. (We used Tiffany Town Car to get from the hotel to the Dolphin, and a grocery stop was included; we didn't end up using it, though). The groceries came in very handy. We ate breakfast in the room daily, sandwiches for lunches here and there, and had juice/bottles of water/sodas for the grown ups to bring with us to the parks (we used a cooler that strapped under our CityMini) as well as all kinds of snacks for when my son got hungry in the parks. We had our share of dole whips and other Disney snacks, too. We stuck to counter service for other meals with the exception of a few dinners (we were there 10 nights) and I think the groceries really saved us quite a bit.

Since it was quite convenient to go back to the Dolphin from 3 of 4 parks, we stopped back mid-day except on our AK day for snacks and a break. It was wonderful to be able to just walk over the DHS and Epcot, and several times we took the monorail from MK to Epcot and then just walked through to the Dolphin. And we thought the BW area was so lovely to walk through and stop in the shops. Really a great location.

Only you can choose what works for your family, but hopefully our experience will help you decide. Enjoy your trip!

 

[patty57]

A couple of quick notes...the Swan/Dolphin will no longer accept deliveries from grocery stores, and Picabu charges a service fee in their restaurant. I think I read these on the Swan/Dolphin thread under Resorts.