I'm Eileen. My DH & I love WDW as does our 21 yo son. I'm looking forward to talking to other adult Disney Lovers. Maybe get some new ideas of things to do in WDW that our more geared to us grownups.
DS & I are going for Mother's Day weekend in a couple weeks. DH & I are going for F&W fest in Oct.
Hello Eileen! Welcome to WDWFG!
Lucky you to have 2 trips planned. That's great that you're going with DS in a few weeks--what do you guys have planned?
[url=http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/forum/'http://www.mickeypath.com/']
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2010 Beach Club Resort
2005 Port Orleans Riverside
2006 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2007 Wilderness Lodge
2008 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2009 CBR/Polynesian
I'm Eileen. My DH & I love WDW as does our 21 yo son. I'm looking forward to talking to other adult Disney Lovers. Maybe get some new ideas of things to do in WDW that our more geared to us grownups.
DS & I are going for Mother's Day weekend in a couple weeks. DH & I are going for F&W fest in Oct.
Welcome to the board Eileen! That's great that you have two trips planned. It must be really fun to have a son that age to visit with you.
My DS, Max, is a great WDW traveling companion. We've been taking him to WDW since he was 3.5 yo. It's nice because we have our favorites & our routines down by now, leaving us plenty of lounging time. Now that he's old enough, we like to have cocktails by the pool in the afternoon. We've even devised our own special Boat Drink for the Pool 
Both trips we are at the Dolphin (our Fave) Highlights of the May trip are dinner at CG, a day at Typhoon Lagoon, 1st time for dinner at House of Blues, 1st time to see a movie at AMC DTD, Last time to have dinner at Spoodles before it closes, Max's first time at Tusker since it changed to buffet....
Only about 26 days to go! 
My DS, Max, is a great WDW traveling companion. We've been taking him to WDW since he was 3.5 yo. It's nice because we have our favorites & our routines down by now, leaving us plenty of lounging time. Now that he's old enough, we like to have cocktails by the pool in the afternoon. We've even devised our own special Boat Drink for the Pool
Both trips we are at the Dolphin (our Fave) Highlights of the May trip are dinner at CG, a day at Typhoon Lagoon, 1st time for dinner at House of Blues, 1st time to see a movie at AMC DTD, Last time to have dinner at Spoodles before it closes, Max's first time at Tusker since it changed to buffet....
Only about 26 days to go!
Leota, glad to have you on the boards!
I don't think we have a lot of members who have stayed at the Dolphin. Can you tell us some of the things you like about it?
Also are you sad to see Spoodles close? Were you a fan?
We've even devised our own special Boat Drink for the Pool
May 2008 CSR 
Welcome aboard! Nice to now someone with TWO trips planned this year! Wow!
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Eileen welcome to the greatest forum on Disney going. you will love it here the people on here are the friendliest and most helpful around.
There's so much I love about the Dolphin, In no particular order:
Location - Our favorite park is Epcot
Heavenly Beds - so comfortable
Service - always been top notch for us
Grotto Pool - second only to SAB IMHO
On Demand Movies - Sometimes you just want to curl up with your honey & watch a movie in bed
Restaurants- We love BlueZoo & the Cabana Bar & Grill. Il Mulino has a great bar
I just feel like I've come home when I walk into the Dolphin. We've been staying there pretty exclusively since around 2001, with a couple forays to AKL & one to POFQ.
Our Grotto Boatdrink is going to be a BlueBird & Seven. A Bluebird is a Martini made with Hpnotiq, Coconut Rum & a splash of Lime. To make it a little lighter, we tried adding Seven Up to lower the alcohol content a little. Yum! The one problem I have with the Cabana is the drinks are soooooo expensive.... $13 for a signature drink. If we each have 2 drinks with tips, it's nearly $60! 
So we're stopping at a Publix & a Liquor store on the way in.
We almost didn't have the Oct. trip. We were looking at going to the Mexican Riviera instead, but there's just too much upheaval down there right now. So we're doing F&W Fest (DH's fave) this Fall & Vegas in the Spring.
I'm liking this place - It is very friendly! Thanks guys! 
Oh, I forgot! We loved Spoodles. We are sad to see it go, but excited about Cat Cora's new place.
We have some really great Spoodles memories tho.
There's so much I love about the Dolphin, In no particular order:
Location - Our favorite park is Epcot
Heavenly Beds - so comfortable
Service - always been top notch for us
Grotto Pool - second only to SAB IMHO
On Demand Movies - Sometimes you just want to curl up with your honey & watch a movie in bed
Restaurants- We love BlueZoo & the Cabana Bar & Grill. Il Mulino has a great bar
I just feel like I've come home when I walk into the Dolphin. We've been staying there pretty exclusively since around 2001, with a couple forays to AKL & one to POFQ.
[url=http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/forum/'http://www.mickeypath.com/']
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2010 Beach Club Resort
2005 Port Orleans Riverside
2006 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2007 Wilderness Lodge
2008 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2009 CBR/Polynesian
On Demand Movies - Sometimes you just want to curl up with your honey & watch a movie in bed
Ooh! Do they have better TV channels too? That is always something that kills me at WDW is how limited the TV channels are. That's a common problem at hotels in general, but particularly so in ones run by ABC. Do you get a better selection in the Swan & Dolphin?
I stayed there the first time because a friend of mine wanted to try it & we got a good rate. I fell in love with it. It seems like they are always offering some kind of great rate thru Allears or the DIS or AAA. For about the same as a moderate or maybe a tad more, I get a really deluxe stay.
I used to get great rates thru our APs for the Disney Deluxes, but they really cut back on that, so I stay at the Swan or Dolphin now.
I have to tell you, I don't find that I miss any Disney Magic at all. I wake up & look out my window over ToT or Epcot, I sometimes watch Illuminations from my window, I walk in & out of Epcot, I get all the Perks of any Disney owned resort except the charging privileges. The service is phenomenol, every bit as good as Disney & in some cases, better.
As far as the TV, yes, it is better than the Disney TV. Not that you are spending a ton of time in your room with the TV, but sometimes you want to take a break & just snuggle up in bed with the tube or a movie. It's not the best perk, but it is a nice one when you need it. Like last trip, I was sick one day, so I left the Park & went to my room & watched a movie & rested up before I went back out again. I was glad to have a movie to watch while I caught a second wind.
Plus, sometimes there are sporting events or other time-sensitive things you want to catch while you're there!
That's fantastic info. Thank you. I've often wondered about the Dolphin and Swan, and I'm so glad to hear a positive review.
Do you know if the Swan is similar re: service, etc?
That's fantastic info. Thank you. I've often wondered about the Dolphin and Swan, and I'm so glad to hear a positive review.
Do you know if the Swan is similar re: service, etc?
Yes, service & perks are the same at the Swan. It's nice because it's a little smaller & has more balconies. The Dolphin is a little closer to some of the amenities you use all the time like the Grotto & Picabo (24 hour cafeteria/mini store)
Welcome!
admin wrote:That's fantastic info. Thank you. I've often wondered about the Dolphin and Swan, and I'm so glad to hear a positive review.
Do you know if the Swan is similar re: service, etc?Yes, service & perks are the same at the Swan. It's nice because it's a little smaller & has more balconies. The Dolphin is a little closer to some of the amenities you use all the time like the Grotto & Picabo (24 hour cafeteria/mini store)
I hope you don't get tired of all of us asking you question about the Swolfin. I think you're the first one to join us who's an expert on it!
No way, I don't mind at all. I love talking about my favorite place! 
OK, so does it cost a lot more to get a balcony room at the dolphin?
To be honest, I have no idea. I have only gotten a balcony when I've stayed at the Swan. The Dolphin doesn't have as many balcony rooms 
That's the one bummer about the Dolphin. I love the balcony.
I never make special requests when I reserve, I always take what they give me. So far, I've been lucky & never had a parking lot/roof/dumpster view.
I never make special requests when I reserve, I always take what they give me. So far, I've been lucky & never had a parking lot/roof/dumpster view.
May 2008 CSR
I usually get a Swan / MGM view. I have not gotten lucky enough for an Epcot view yet, although friends of mine have.
I have also gotten Boardwalk / Crescent Lake views.
I usually get a Swan / MGM view. I have not gotten lucky enough for an Epcot view yet, although friends of mine have.
I have also gotten Boardwalk / Crescent Lake views.
So much like the rest of WDW you can't request your view? That would be a big perk!
You probably can request it, but like the rest, there aren't any guarantees. I just like the suprise of seeing what view I get, so I never ask. I've gotten some great views by doing that & I don't want to "jinx" it. 
I have also gotten Boardwalk / Crescent Lake views.
[url=http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/forum/'http://www.mickeypath.com/']
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2010 Beach Club Resort
2005 Port Orleans Riverside
2006 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2007 Wilderness Lodge
2008 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2009 CBR/Polynesian
