Has anyone stayed at the Dolphin?

[KrisM]

I'm considering it for our trip next April. It seems to be a good choice for the 5 of us - walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, cheaper than the Deluxes of Disney.

Good choice?

[egoldber]

I have not stayed there, but we have eaten there and walked through many times. Honestly, it's a lot more luxurious than most of the WDW hotels, including many of the deluxes. It has more of an upscale business hotel feel vs. a Disney hotel feel, if that concerns you.

They host a LOT of conferences there and many/most of their guests are there for conferences. Since they have government rates and also reduced rates for some other professionals (nurses, teachers), it's very attractive.

You get all the convenience of a WDW hotel without some of the things that bother some people. (Not everyone likes all mouse, all the time....)

If you think you'll miss the theming, then perhaps consider a moderate.

And I know a lot of people here downplay the Values, but my kids LOVE the value hotels. They have great theming.

[TwinFoxes]

I've stayed there...for a conference. :) Beth is right, it's a very nice hotel, but you could almost be at a hotel in Phoenix or Houston or anywhere else that has a lot of conferences...very little Disney-fication. It is very convenient to Epcot and DHS. I don't know if they have suites or bigger rooms for families, if that is something you're interested in.

You might also consider renting points from Disney Vacation Club members, and staying at Boardwalk Villas. We stayed there, and it is very nice, and we really liked having a separate bedroom from the girls. We also liked having a kitchen and a washer/dryer. If you go to the disboards, there are recommended places for renting points.

[KrisM]

Since prices aren't out for April yet, I'm estimating. It seems that the Dolphin is about the same as a suite in a value, price-wise, but closer to things, especially DHS and Epcot.

If we were only 4 people, we'd stay in a value for sure. But, the 5 people make it much more costly. In fact, for the dates I'm using to estimate, the Contemporary is only $350 more for the week than a suite at Art of Anim. The All-stars suites are a little less, but we'd do Little Mermaid as DD would love it.

I don't think we'll be in the resort enough to care if there are business travelers. I don't think we'd miss theming either, as I'm sure we'll have plenty of theming in the parks :).

Our cheapest option is POR, but it seems like the busses can be pretty iffy there. I'd rather pay more and not worry about long wait times to get on a bus.

This is a really hard decision!!

[hellokitty]

If we stay onsite again, I think we may try the Dolphin as well. We were less than thrilled with our stay at Port Orleans Riverside last time, and as a family of five, the only other onsite choices are deluxe or suites, which are very expensive. Even renting DVC points, like a 1 bdrm (only some of allow a family of five), is still pretty expensive and still not as roomy as it could be. The thing that bugs me about the Dolphin is that they have a daily parking fee AND a daily hotel fee, as well as no magical express. I'm thinking that next time we go to WDW, we are going to try to go to universal too, so we may just end up getting a rental car, so we can switch over to be onsite at universal to get their perks (early entrance), so magical express probably won't be an issue, but I hate paying for parking. I do feel that Sheraton beds are super comfy mattresses though and that is another perk of staying at the Dolphin since it's part of Sheraton brand. If you have Starwood points (their rewards program), you can also use those toward your stay and you automatically get a room upgrade.

[KrisM]

I've stayed there...for a conference. :) Beth is right, it's a very nice hotel, but you could almost be at a hotel in Phoenix or Houston or anywhere else that has a lot of conferences...very little Disney-fication. It is very convenient to Epcot and DHS. I don't know if they have suites or bigger rooms for families, if that is something you're interested in.

You might also consider renting points from Disney Vacation Club members, and staying at Boardwalk Villas. We stayed there, and it is very nice, and we really liked having a separate bedroom from the girls. We also liked having a kitchen and a washer/dryer. If you go to the disboards, there are recommended places for renting points.

I did look at renting points and it would save us a little. But, I am having a hard time with there being no cancellation possible. Doing the BW Villas with points would get us more space and cost about the same as a room at the Poly and much more than Dophin or Contemporary. It seems the only one that saves money is OKW. It does gain us space over a single room, but I'm not sure if we can swing an extra $1500 just for more space.

I think we just need to leave DH at home and be a family of 4 :)

[KrisM]

If we stay onsite again, I think we may try the Dolphin as well. We were less than thrilled with our stay at Port Orleans Riverside last time, and as a family of five, the only other onsite choices are deluxe or suites, which are very expensive. Even renting DVC points, like a 1 bdrm (only some of allow a family of five), is still pretty expensive and still not as roomy as it could be. The thing that bugs me about the Dolphin is that they have a daily parking fee AND a daily hotel fee, as well as no magical express. I'm thinking that next time we go to WDW, we are going to try to go to universal too, so we may just end up getting a rental car, so we can switch over to be onsite at universal to get their perks (early entrance), so magical express probably won't be an issue, but I hate paying for parking. I do feel that Sheraton beds are super comfy mattresses though and that is another perk of staying at the Dolphin since it's part of Sheraton brand. If you have Starwood points (their rewards program), you can also use those toward your stay and you automatically get a room upgrade.

I'm pretty sure it's your review of POR that I am remembering!

We won't have a car, so parking doesn't matter to me. The $17 resort fee does at least include a couple bottles of water a day, so can bring those into the park. I wish they just added it to the room rate and it would be less annoying.

We don't have any Starwood points. They've all expired. I have read the beds are more comfortable there than most of Disney.

If there is a % room discount, the cost of the Dolphin gets closer to the Deluxes. We don't qualify for any discounts at Dolphin, so it's still $300/night or so. I'm just estimating, but if there is a 30% discount for a Deluxe room, the Contemporary becomes cheaper than the Dolphin.

[hellokitty]

I'm pretty sure it's your review of POR that I am remembering!

We won't have a car, so parking doesn't matter to me. The $17 resort fee does at least include a couple bottles of water a day, so can bring those into the park. I wish they just added it to the room rate and it would be less annoying.

We don't have any Starwood points. They've all expired. I have read the beds are more comfortable there than most of Disney.

If there is a % room discount, the cost of the Dolphin gets closer to the Deluxes. We don't qualify for any discounts at Dolphin, so it's still $300/night or so. I'm just estimating, but if there is a 30% discount for a Deluxe room, the Contemporary becomes cheaper than the Dolphin.

It probably was my review. I know that a lot of ppl love POR, but it was way too sprawled out, we got stuck in the FARTHEST building in that resort and the buses were absolutely awful. More often than not, we were unhappy with the bussing situation at POR, esp getting to and from MK, the POR line from MK back to POR was THE worst line out of ALL of the resorts. I would not stay at POR unless we had a car and paid for a preferred room, but by then the price of the room is even more expensive, so then I feel like it doesn't feel worth it for a moderate level hotel.

I agree, if WDW puts out a good % discount, you might do ok in one of the cheaper deluxe rooms onsite. I read on that huge Swan/Dolphin thread on disboards that the prices there fluctuate a lot. So, I think part of it is just checking the prices often to see what it is. You can book up to 18 mo out, so I'd imagine that if you get a price and get a better rate closer to your trip, you can cancel the original reservation. As a family of five, you'd also have to pay an extra $25 a night for a roll away bed. They do have a AAA rate too, and I heard that their specials often are better than the teacher/nurse rate. I do think though that it sounds like a much more upscale hotel and it's a nice option for an epcot location if the price is right, definitely seems to be a better deal than any of the WDW's moderate resorts and I've been told that the food there is much better overall than Disney resorts'.

[KrisM]

Thanks for all the info. I think we'll keep it on the short list :) With it being the first and only trip we'll do, I don't imagine a lot of time spent just hanging out in the room, so I'm less concerned with how themed the room is, etc.

[egoldber]

It is an extremely convenient location. We always choose to stay in the Epcot resort area when we can.

[123LuckyMom]

I haven't stayed there for MANY years, but I remember it being very convenient to EPCOT. The theming isn't that exciting, but the rooms were nice, and when we stayed there they had the same access to EMH as the Disney hotels. If it's significantly cheaper, I would go for it, especially if you'll have other opportunities to stay in a Disney hotel. For a one-and-only trip, I might choose a hotel with better theming.