Will we be disappointed in the Dolphin after BC?

[bcbmommy]

Well, I missed the cutoff for the 30 percent promotion, so I'm thinking about staying at the Swan or Dolphin instead. There are 6 of us, so we'll need either 2 rooms or a suite. I'm just nervous, because my family loves BC and would be happy if we stayed there every time.

 

[belle912]

We have never stayed at the BC but stayed at the Dolphin on our last trip. We liked it but it will really depend on why you love BC so much. If you want the Disney themed resort or are a late night pool kind of person then you might not like it as much. The Dolphin is a great hotel, but not Disney themed like the others, more like a upscale hotel in the surrounding areas. The restaurants are great, the pool is wonderful (but closes early - we are after park swimmers ) The rooms were wonderful and we got two free bottles of water each day - even used the exercise room and laundry room. It was a great hotel and very convenient to seeing fireworks at Epcot from our room, taking the boats to Epcot or HS and walking the Boardwalk. We had a great time but I missed the Disney themeing - that being said, we would stay here again. The price was really great and it's about the only place you can find a deal on a room and still be on property.

 

[kerri0616]

We've stayed at both. We enjoy the Dolphin. Nice sized rooms. Great views. Wonderful pool! Excellent restaurants. And the beds really are heavenly.

I say give it a try! We thought is was very upscale.

Nothing against BC. Also a lovely resort with great amenities.

 

[Greysword]

You could book with the adventure premise in mind; staying somewhere new just to try it out. if you end up not liking it as much, then you'll know for next time.

Some benefits of staying at the Swan & Dolphin surround the fact that they are Starwood properties. Sign-up for a Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) frequent points account to get credit for your stay. Plus, SPG and Delta have a relationship where you'll get Delta miles, as well, for your stay if you link your SPG and Delta SkyMiles account together.

 

[bcbmommy]

Thank you all! I think we'll give it a try. The photos online really do look nice, and as long as it's fairly upscale the 16 y.o will be happy.

I don't think they'll mind not having the Disney theming. Now when the 2 y.o. gets "into" Disney, we will probably have to do one of the resorts again.

Thanks for the info on the Starwood thing. I'll look into that today!

I've never just bought tickets alone; have always done a package. That being said, do I go through Disney for that, or is there a better/cheaper way that is still reliable?

 

[rpcvpanama]

We love the S/D hotels. We generally stay in the Swan, love the more intimate feel. The Dolphin lobby is about 5x the size of the Swan and much more of a "convention" hotel. We think the themeing is just right, not too over the top. You can even send you packages back to the hotel, get EMH and Disney Transportation for a generally cheaper stay. There is a nightly resort charge though, about $20 per night, per room. So, keep that in mind when evaluating costs. Also, if you have a car parking can be quite expensive.

For tickets, try UndercoverTourist. We buy all of our themepark tickets through them. The price on their webite includes the tax so it is what you will actually be paying. You might still find ticket prices reflecting the pre-May mark up, but I haven't checked recently. You just need to buy the tickets at least 10 days before your trip so they can be shipped in time.

Good luck and have fun!