DOLPHIN HOTEL - Photos and Info

[Mazzy]

***NEW PHOTOS OF THE POOL AREA POSTED ON PAGE 6***

Photos and Info on different Room Types at the Dolphin:
swandolphin/view/index.html

Quite a few Dibbers have been interested in the Dolphin at WDW lately, so I thought I'd post some photos and a bit of info which might be useful

We've stayed at the Dolphin 5 times now, and it was as great as ever this trip. We arrived at 9.30pm and they still managed to find us a balcony room despite the hotel being very busy with Easter and Spring Break.

Housekeeping were great, even coming back in the evening with fresh towels and chocolate laid on the beds.

Great transportation to EPCOT and MGM on the Friendship Boats, and buses to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. If you want to get to these two parks for opening, be at the bus stop for 8.10, as the next bus arrives at 8.35/40 and you won't get there for park opening, also you may have to stand on the bus at busy times. This hotel is still top of our list and we will be staying there next trip.

Some photos:


This is the front of the Dolphin taken from the bus stop.



This was taken from the middle of the foyer, you can see the check-in desk on the far wall.



The beautiful fountain in the middle of the foyer - you can see the tented ceiling above. You can throw coins in it, which we always do on our last day, and make a wish that we return soon! Sorry the photos a bit lop-sided, blame DD for that!



Our room. As you can see there is plenty of space for the two queens and a rollaway, which is next to the window with the cuddly toys on! We could still access the balcony fine so no need to stand the rollaway up during the day. Not showing in the photo is the large wardrobe which held all 5 suitcases and all our clothes. There was also a comfy chair and lots of drawers, which can be seen in the photo.



The rollaway bed with cuddly toys arranged and nightwear folded by housekeeping.



The balcony complete with table and chairs. It was really nice to be able to sit out and it was also very useful for drying the swimming cossies - we just tied them to the chairs and they dried in no time.



The view from the balcony. You can see the Swan and the covered walkway between the two hotels. In the middle of the walkway is the boatdock for the boats to MGM and EPCOT, it's on the other side so can't be seen in this photo.


More to come on page 2...

[lausan]

Lovely Photos thanks Mazzy role on Oct cant wait to stay here

[Mazzy]

A Friendship Boat at the boat dock. In the background you can see the start of the Boardwalk area.




We also saw this boat with pirate flag and children all dressed up. They stopped at the dock and found something, it seemed to be a hunt for treasure, no idea where it came from but it looked great fun!



A wider view of a boat at the boat dock.



The Dolphin hotel showing walkway and boatdock.



Close-up of the fountain at the end of the walkway. The entrance doors are just behind the fountain, leading to escalators up to the foyer. Just inside the entrance doors is the ice-cream kiosk - very very scrummy ice-cream with so many toppings to choose from - we just had to visit every day!



I'm afraid this is the only photo I have of the pool area, sorry about that, far too much relaxing going on! This photo shows one of the pool attendants trying to rescue the mummy duck and babies which got into the pool. There was quite a crowd watching, lol, and in the end some genius used a lounger laid down on the steps, with a towel over it, and eventually Mummy Duck decided it was safe to walk on, poor little things must have been terrified, but seemed no worse for wear as they trotted over to the safety of the lake.

There are 3 pools, including the grotto pool which has a slide and waterfall. There are also hot tubs. The beach area has hammocks, a childrens play area and you can also hire boats to go out on the lake in. There is also a poolside restaurant, which has beds with trailing curtains, very posh, it's just been renovated, you can see a little of one of the beds behind DD in the picture below:


****NEW PHOTOS OF THE POOL AREA ON PAGE 6****

This is a night shot showing the hotel and boat dock, we were walking back from the Boardwalk. Sorry it's not brilliant but thought it might give an idea of how great the hotel looks at night.


More to come on page 3 ...

[Tinkers]

Lovely pictures Mazzy.

[Mazzy]

There's lots of restaurants in the Dolphin and Swan, but with two hungry teens we tend to stick to Picabu, which is the 24 hour eatery, to keep costs down. This is the entrance to Picabu, sorry about the faces on the teens, they were acting out they'd been at the bus stop for hours! This was taken after our last meal of the trip, so that probably explains the faces as well, we were going to get our transfer van, hence the backpacks.




This was taken from the seating area in Picabu, it shows the small shop and further down is the food service area. They have sandwiches, fruit, complete meals and a great pizza for $12 which is enough for two people. You can also get 20% discount on food if you show your AA card at the checkout. They also have refillable mugs which are great value if you drink a lot of fizzy drinks or coffee. They also sell Krispy Kremes!



And this is the Picabu seating area:

We have never struggled to find a seat or had a long queue in Picabu, it's so quite compared to the other hotels in disney, which is nice after a day in the parks.


The final photo shows our luggage being loaded into the van. Just thought I'd post it as I think that guy's hat and outfit is so cool, and definitely a sign of a Deluxe Hotel!



That's it folks, hope you like the photos, sorry I didn't take more of the pool and beach area, but you will just have to stay there and see it for yourselves!

Any questions I will try to help.

****NEW PHOTOS OF THE POOL AREA START ON PAGE 6****

[dave and lesley]

great pics Mazzy, rooms look really comfy.

visited the dolphin for the first time last year to eat at shula's. thought the hotel was really impressive


dave

[stephwa]

Fantastic photos Mazzy, thank you so much for showing them to us.

When I was younger, I used to call the Swan and Dolphin the "Swan and Fat Fish" cos that's what I thought it looked like I would love to stay there

[Rebelrebel]

Now what did you go and post them for? I want to go back

Lovely photo btw

[Sue]

Thanks Mazzy - great pics.
I think we told on our boat cruise that the Dolphin is indeed the Dolphin fish (Mahi Mahi) and not the mammal?

[Guest]

Great picture you can almost touch the water on some of them. I love it when pictures make you feel like your there. What I would give to be transported there now instead of going to work Great place to stay and it looks really spacious too. Hope you don't mind me asking but does your DS stay on the fold up bed and DD in a bed of her own. I alway think this as my 2 kids wont sleep together so it means me sleeping with DD and she grows legs and arms through the night that attack every part of you. Hope you don't think that it is a personal question.Also is this a Disney hotel or just very close, I have been dibbing over a year you think I would know by now