Why can't I get excited about the Dolphin?

[jgates]

Well, we hit the Swan for 10 nites this July. I know people on the boards here kept saying, I want that Mickey wake-up call. Sorry-my thought was - who cares? (Although I did keep turning the TV to the Disney Tip for the Day channel!) The first time I ever saw the places a few years ago i just went "OH MY GOD!". I was not sure I would even want to set foot on property. But now I am hooked......

I love those refillable mugs at Tubbis (at dolphin).
I love the pool (even tho we only got there once in 10 days)
I love the mini-golf right next door.
I love walking to boardwalk/supper @ ESPN club. (try the nachos for a meal!)
I love the oatmeal soap.
I love the continental breakfast & evening snacks(we went club level so that is a higher fee)-on real plates no less-no paper!
I love the boat rides to Epcot & MGM (or walking if we desire).
I love the view of Epcot ball & ToT (we were lucky enough to be on that side).
My DS loved the pizza at Tubbis.
I loved the parking convenience to the building.
I loved how 'quiet' it was. So relaxing.
I loved the great bus & boat service.
I loved convenience back out to the main roads - off property in just a few minutes.

We walked around in the Dolphin a lot too. I decided I didn't like it when it looked like you had one set of elevators for one floor and one set for others. But that's it - my dd wants to stay there next time. I am hooked on Swan thou!

Regardless, if you are worried about staying there you may go in with a negative attitude. If so you may not get the most from your stay. You might be better off at a different property rather than 2nd guessing yourself during your whole stay.

 

[DWDreams]

We've stayed onsite at Disney exactly two times, last summer at the Dolphin and this summer at the Beach Club. I can honestly say that although there were legitimate and different pros and cons to both places, as there would be in any two different respotrs, there wasn't more magic in one over the other. Prior to last year we had stayed offsite so definitely noticed the magic of staying onsite that everyone talks about when we stayed at the Dolphin last year. It wasn't perfect in every respect, but overall we had a wonderful time and wonderful service and would have stayed there again this summer except they didn't have the entertainment rate at the time we were going. We instead booked the Beach Club at the DC discount and expected all the more magic being that it is disney-owned. The Beach Club was certainly nice enough but overall we rate the stay and service at the Dolphin better, the housekeeper at the Dolphin even did the cute animal arrangements for my daughter whereas at TBC we mostly felt lucky that the room was halfway cleaned. TBC does have the room charging but we don't use that anyhow and as for the mickey call, out of the first three mornings we tried this, it only worked once so we didn't bother the rest of the trip.

That all said, it's really personal preference and only you can know if those little differences would make your trip less enjoyable.

 

[4our4kids]

We stayed at the Dolphin in '94. The only disappointment we experienced was being told we could not enter certain restaurants because these were reserved for guests staying on the upper floors (Club level?). I thought this was odd, and certianly made us feel like 2nd class citizens. Maybe they have changed this policy since we were there. Do any of the other resorts have this policy, that you have to be staying in certian rooms to qualify to dine in specific restaurants ????

 

[travelitis]

I stayed at the Dolphin a few years ago over the 4th of July and had a fantastic view of Illuminations and the fireworks. I liked the beach/tropical/sea theme, and found the decor very fun. At that time the hall carpet looked like sand with beach towels on it I believe. I also loved using the International Gateway to get into Epcot instead of the main entrance.

 

[Figaro]

We stayed at the Swan last November and loved it. Didn't experience any of the problems that other people have reported. I also think that whoever wrote that people are just different in what they like and don't like hit the nail on the head (smile).

My spouse and I do not care for either Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge. They are far to dark and "woodsy" feeling for us. We much prefer open, airy and bright for our vacations. I think it is wonderful that all of us have so many different possibilities for our vacations(smile).

 

[Blondie]

Originally posted by 4our4kids
We stayed at the Dolphin in '94. The only disappointment we experienced was being told we could not enter certain restaurants because these were reserved for guests staying on the upper floors (Club level?). I thought this was odd, and certianly made us feel like 2nd class citizens. Maybe they have changed this policy since we were there. Do any of the other resorts have this policy, that you have to be staying in certian rooms to qualify to dine in specific restaurants ????

Never experienced this, or heard of it before!

Can anyone here explain what 4our4kids might be talking about?

 

[dreamflight99]

Originally posted by 4our4kids
We stayed at the Dolphin in '94. The only disappointment we experienced was being told we could not enter certain restaurants because these were reserved for guests staying on the upper floors (Club level?). I thought this was odd, and certianly made us feel like 2nd class citizens. Maybe they have changed this policy since we were there. Do any of the other resorts have this policy, that you have to be staying in certian rooms to qualify to dine in specific restaurants ????

Ditto Blondie...???????????????...

 

[jgates]

Is it possible there actually was a convention at that time and they had them blocked for some reason? Maybe if it was big enough they might?

I have been to a JackHenry group convention where they put us in the main dining room area rather than a separate room to eat. It was a regional so we didn't fill the entire area but I could see it happening.

 

[4our4kids]

I guess conventions could be the cause of being "blacked out" from certian restaurants. Although even just a few weeks ago I had called the dolphin to inquire about rates (I qualify for the $129.oo rate) it was explained to me that "club level" would allow me access to all restuarants and lounges.???? Bizarre

 

[erikthewise]

We also stayed at the Dolphin in 94!

We were there for a conference, and as we arrived around midnight, they had to put us in a club level room! So we got free breakfast. Apparently at that time they did not have a room on the club level where they could do this, so the free breakfast for club level was held in a roped-off section of the main lobby behind some large pillars. The security was not very good.

Perhaps the situation that 4our4kids ran into was related somehow. They may have decided to set aside one of the restaurants for use by club level guests as a substitute for a concierge lounge.

BTW the Dolphin used to have more restaurants than it does now. Boardwalk was not yet built, but there was a huge sign across Crescent Lake announcing that construction would begin soon!

 

[dizzyfan]

My family and I stayed at the Dolphin for ten nights in July for the first time and we can not say enough good things about this resort. We are returning in Dec. for 6 nights and we are again staying at the Dolphin.

The staff treated us royally in every way. My aunt traveled with us and had an electric wheelchair and every night the bell stand guys would keep the chair and charge it for us so that it did not take up any space in our room. They always joked and played around with us when we would take it there at the end of the day.

The location of this resort is the BEST in my opinion. I could look out of my window and on one side see illumantions and the other side see the Tower of Terror. We walked to MGM and Epcot a few times and you also have use of the water taxi, that way you are not always on a bus, which we loved. The boats are far less crowded. The boardwalk is awesome and you are right there. There is so much to do right there around that resort area.

I do understand that you are a little nervous, because I was as this was our first time at a "non" Disney Hotel. But I can promise you I could tell no difference as far as the "magic" goes.

The soap and shampoo don't have MM on them but the oatmeal bars they have are great. We had packages shipped to our room almost every day and this was no problem. They would notify us upon the arrival of the packages and we would pick them up.

Our room was always very clean and I never smelled any bad odors.

My advise to you is to at least try the Dolphin even if you only stay there a night or two. I focused on all the good points that people discussed instead of the bad and kept reminding myyself you cannot please everyone. Even the Disney Resorts get bad reviews and I have stayed at several of those and I have nothing bad to say about those, so I think you should give it a try and see for yourself.

At any rate have a great trip and enjoy the Magic at WDW.

 

[zagafi]

Again, thanks so much to everyone who responded. Like I said earlier, I let dh make the ultimate decision based on our pros/cons, and he chose the Dolphin with no hesitation! (many of the pros were from my list, too)

Honestly, I think I've just let myself focus on the "negatives" (and "Disney" resorts have their fair share of negative reports, too) and overlooked the very obvious, very nice things people have had to report about the Dolphin.

So, the Dolphin it is. If nothing else, I'm getting a balcony room at a Deluxe for the same price as a moderate...who can complain about that??