Walk to the BW from Dolphin?

[turls401]

While planning to attend the family reunion I can save around $1000 by staying at the Dolphin vice BW, where everyone else will be. Given that we will be spending a lot of time at people's rooms/resorts (sharing kid duties, pool time), are these resorts close enough to walk? Do they share bus transportation to other resorts?

Thanks!

 

[erikthewise]

Yes, it's a short walk (about 5 minutes, 10 if you really take it easy).

You should ask on the transportation board about bus routes if you don't get a good answer here. I know BW shares with YC/BC on some routes but don't have a complete answer for you. You can always walk over to BW and take the bus from there!

I do know there are in general no direct buses from one resort to another. You need to transfer at some other point; generally a theme park is best. Each case is different. For example, to get from BW to Polynesian you can
(1) take bus to MK then monorail (or boat) to Polynesian
(2) walk through Epcot (if you have an appropriate park pass) and catch the monorail

 

[RhondaS]

Very short walk, I'd say about the equivalent of entering the Magic Kingdom and walking to Cinderella's Castle, if not shorter.

The Dolphin and the Swan use the exact same transportation as any of Disney's Epcot Area resorts. Friendship boats to/from Epcot and MGM, Disney busses to/from Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney and Disney's waterparks.

The boats stop at Swan/Dolphin (shared dock), Yacht/Beach Club (shared dock)and the Boardwalk each and everytime they travel to/from Epcot and MGM. Hint...when coming from Epcot on the boat, if you're in a hurry, get off the boat at the Boardwalk and walk to the Dolphin. You'll beat the boat, because it goes back across the lake to the Yacht/Beach Club before heading to the Swan/Dolphin. When leaving MGM, you'll be the 1st stop.

The busses are sometimes shared with the same hotels, sometimes they are not. I've been at the Swan when our bus to the Magic Kingdom stopped at the Dolphin, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and the Boardwalk (yep, that's 5 stops) before heading to the park, and I've also experienced the bus only stopping at the Swan and then to the Dolphin before heading out.

Have a great time and enjoy your $$$ savings.

 

[turls401]

Thanks for the responses! I did some more reading and found out that it's only about a 15 min walk from the Dolphin to EPCOT and MGM - my husband and I enjoy walking and grew weary of waiting for busses/boat last year when we stayed at CR.

 

[tjmw2727]

You will be very close, my bil and his family were at BWV while we were at the Dolphin last March and it was very convenient. We spent lots of time at the villa and the boardwalk restaurants. When we were going to the parks we just met and walked or met at the boat launch. I also chose the Dolphin for the cost savings but it was great to be so near my DVC family members. As of last May the S&D, BW and YC/BC all shared a bus to MK and AK.

TJ

 

[Penny12]

You'd have to be walking <i>very</i> slowly indeed for it to take 15 minutes to get to Epcot from the Dolphin. In reality it's 5-10 minutes Epcot, 15-20 MGM.

Only a canal separates the Swan from the BW, and the Swan is just a hair's breath away from the Dolphin