What am I missing out on by staying at Dolphin?

When I stayed at the Boardwalk last October I did visit the Swan & Dolphin a few times for meals (breakfast at Fresh was excellent and dinner at The Fountain was great as well) and was surprised how much I liked those two resorts. Some of the architecture is not my style, but the location is fantastic, the pool looked gorgeous and the dining options are great, too. Even if you miss out on a few onsite benefits, I think if you get a good rate they are much preferable to a Disney moderate or value.

Good topic! One of the reasons I visit this site.

I have stayed at the Dolphin and enjoyed it. I do have to say the room was nice but and rather big. The grounds are beautiful. We drove over and parking is crazy unless you valet. you will have to walk a quarter mile to get your car.
Another factor is that if you do drive add an additional per night parking fee. They also charge a resort fee as well. So that cheap per night add another 25 to 50 per night.
One thing I enjoyed was is the Cabana Bar! Even thought Going to the pool is a real Pain in the *&^ ! Having to get off at the third floor walk across the Concourse/Lobby and take another elevator to ground level.
There is no real quick service restaurant on site either. Peek A Boo was gross.
Room Service was OK. There are several chain/signature restaurants in the Dolphin and Swan. They usually book up so make ADRs.
The Disney Atmosphere is not really there although the customer service level I received was excellent.

Ok, I'm learning a lot here. My favourite resort is the Beach Club so I love the area but haven't ever looked into staying at the Swan or Dolphin.

The actual rate hasn't been negotiated yet (or at least hasn't been released) but it is for a few hundred Canadian travel agents so we generally get very good rates for our annual conference. Just to compare, this year our conference was on a Royal Caribbean ship - a 7 night Eastern caribbean cruise cost me about $1100 incuding a balcony room, flights from Canada and the conference fees.

I did not know about the resort fee so that is good information to have for the budget. I do like charging to my room but that isn't necessarily a huge deal.

I tend to like having the dining plan - I don't even care if it's a bit more expensive but the convenience of having everything paid upfront (other than souvenirs) works with my budgeting style.

If the rate at the Dolphin turns out to be as good as I'm hoping, I think I can work around all the other stuff.

One more question. Do they have any type of pre-arranged airport transportation either free or for a fee? I won;t be driving so no hassles as far as parking but I will look into airport transportation. Though I got a good agent rate on a limo for my last trip - less than I would have paid for a taxi so I may arrive in style

DisneyPrincess5 stayed at the Swan or Dolphin - I can't remember which - and she really sold me on staying there sometime. It sounded like an amazing trip. I'll send her a PM & see if she'll come tell you some of the details of her trip. It definitely didn't sound like she was missing out on anything by staying there.

ParentsOf4 said:

Package delivery to the resort - Yes
Full access to onsite transportation - Yes
Extra Magic Hours - Yes

In addition to not getting Magical Express, I recall that you cannot charge to your room key. If you always like to have a credit card with you, this is not a problem. However, if you'd like to walk around with just your room key, you're out-of-luck.

The Swan and Dolphin can cost significantly less than comparable Deluxe Resorts. The last time we stayed at the Dolphin in Thanksgiving 2011, it cost less than the Value Resorts! ($139/night when I think Disney was asking over $180/night for a Value Resort room during the Thanksgiving holiday.) If you don't mind me asking, what's the negotiated group rate?

The Swan & Dolphin feel more "corporate" than most Disney resorts. (I also think the Contemporary feels rather corporate.) The typical business traveler fits right in. The main pool is great, better than many Disney resorts.

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Yup.

Since I didn't use dining plans or busses, I never felt like I was missing out on anything.

The only thing I didn't like was the fact that I has to walk past the Boardwalk Bakery on my way back from Epcot. Passing it on the way to Epcot is no biggie. I've got somewhere to go that doesn't include sitting down to eat yummy treats. The way back, though...I didn't always make it past...sometimes I gave in. Other than that bakery issue...

The dolphin is a great hotel.

If you like tuna fish, get one at the Dolphin Fountain.

Also, you can avoid the bakery issue by taking the boat.

DizneyPryncess said:

DisneyPrincess5 stayed at the Swan or Dolphin - I can't remember which - and she really sold me on staying there sometime. It sounded like an amazing trip. I'll send her a PM & see if she'll come tell you some of the details of her trip. It definitely didn't sound like she was missing out on anything by staying there.

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Thanks. I'm getting more excited for staying there the more I think about it. I wasn't planning on going to Disney next year so just the chance to go is a plus and I do love staying in that area.

luv said:

Yup.

Since I didn't use dining plans or busses, I never felt like I was missing out on anything.

The only thing I didn't like was the fact that I has to walk past the Boardwalk Bakery on my way back from Epcot. Passing it on the way to Epcot is no biggie. I've got somewhere to go that doesn't include sitting down to eat yummy treats. The way back, though...I didn't always make it past...sometimes I gave in. Other than that bakery issue...

The dolphin is a great hotel.

If you like tuna fish, get one at the Dolphin Fountain.

Also, you can avoid the bakery issue by taking the boat.

Click to expand...

Ohhh...the bakery! :slurp: I used to stay at Beach Club a lot and somehow ended up hitting the bakery before going to Epcot each morning. Somehow I convinced myself that it was "on the way"

I've stayed at both and absolutely love them. For us, we have access to all the Disney perks we use like transportation. Check them out fully there's gret info on allears.

Timely post. I am looking into staying there. We currently have cash reservations at BCV, but we looked into the AAA discounts. If we stay in a Grand Suite in the Swan, we'll save a significant amount of money.

So, I'm defintely leaning that way. We never charge back to room, or get packages sent back to our resort, so that's not a negative for us.

I do hate eating in restaurants for a week. I actually do cook on vacation, but with what we save by staying at the Swan, I think I can get over it.