A hotel with scenic lake views and within walking distance of Disney World parks sounds like a fairytale, but my wish was granted when I stayed here for a vacation.
We stayed at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel in a one king bed premium deluxe room. This was our first time staying at this hotel, and it certainly had a few surprises. We experienced a full range of the amenities it provided, from transportation, restaurants, and park access.
Getting to the room was challenging. The parking lot for self-parking was full, so we left and returned to the main road to pull into what we thought was an additional self-parking lot for the hotel. The security guard there told us we would have to drive back to the first lot and inform a cast member at valet parking that we wanted to self-park and that we would be allowed to do so there. There were no signs informing us of this, and I cannot understand why there were not any. When we drove back to the parking lot and pulled up to the valet lot, it was secured with a gate arm, and we were asked for our name and room number that was emailed to us, so there was no way for someone to take advantage of parking there. This was not the way for the Dolphin Hotel and I to be introduced.
Room
The Dolphin is considered a deluxe hotel, which means at the time of this post, hotel guests can enjoy both the early morning park entry and extended evening hours on select nights and at select parks.
The room was not overly decorated and was very subtle in its theming or décor. The carpet had wavy lines mimicking water waves, with one gray accent wall that alluded to sharks, whales, and stingrays at this tropical palm tree-themed hotel.
It was furnished with a sofa, two plush side chairs, and a large table in the living room, as well as a television on a long stand that provided room for storing our belongings. The curtains occluded sunlight very well when fully closed, although they opened to a row of balconies that was perpendicular to our side of the building in the center point of our living room. This would have been awkward had people been on their balconies when we opened the curtains because we would have seen them at a close distance. There was not much of a view out of the living room, and the curtains did not let in much sunlight even when they were fully open. Even with the lamps on, the room overall was never well-lit.
There was a beverage tray with two bottles of water and a coffee maker on a built-in cabinet with a mini refrigerator underneath. Next to the beverage cabinet was a table with four padded dining chairs that provided more space to lay out belongings. This table was a convenient place to store items we took in and out of our park bag each night so we could easily grab them as we exited the room each morning.
This room had two sinks. One sink was immediately outside of the bathroom across from the closet; it was a very well-lit area. Having this extra allowed us to get ready at the same time when one person was showering or using the other sink. The closet was very large, and it provided room to store purchases from Disney Springs or from the parks, our camera bag, our Disney ears and park hats, and our very small travel cooler.
I loved the shower here. I am willing to stay here again because of it. It was easy to get in and out of the walk-in shower safely, required only moving a simple handle to activate the shower, had a linear drain that did not require pulling up on a separate knob to open the drain like a tub/shower combination drain, and had a glass door that was easy to slide open and close. There was no slimy, wet shower curtain in a cramped space sticking to you as you exited the shower, and the floor did not flood with water because the shower door slid all the way over to keep water from escaping. If you have balance issues, have knee pain, or would just enjoy not performing acrobatics when you are tired or sore from walking in the parks to get into a tub/shower combination, this is a major advantage of staying here. Shampoo, body wash, and conditioner were provided in the shower. There was a small tray for your shower supplies, so there was limited room for individual travel bottles of necessities. My husband had room for his essentials, and I used my essentials-on-a-lanyard to hang from the shower head, and it worked well.
For comparison, The Dolphin bathroom was much better overall than the standard room with theming from The Incredibles at the Disney Contemporary Resort. The shower at our recent stay at the Contemporary was very difficult to climb into and, frankly, was painful to get in and out of after a long day in the park. It was dangerous climbing out of it with the wet shower floor, especially since the sides of the tub enclosure had curved sides that did not allow me to stand close to the edge when exiting. I found myself stepping high and over the tub from the center of the wet shower and trying to land on the bathmat without it sliding across the floor due to me landing on it in a backward-leaning position as I exited. The shower at the Contemporary required activating the shower and pulling up on the shower mechanism, which required many attempts before it worked. It also had an inconveniently placed shower bar near the handle for the shower, so the hose and switch for the handlebar were constantly in our way when starting and stopping the shower there. A positive about the bathroom at the Contemporary is that it has an enclosed toilet, so someone can use the sink to get ready as someone is using the restroom if that is needed. However, I dislike the shower situation so badly at the Contemporary that I no longer consider it my favorite place to stay. The Dolphin, however, had a great shower.
The bedroom had a king-sized bed, two nightstands, a small desk/table, and a television on a long stand. There was a second mini refrigerator under the television stand. This was convenient because I had spread out my toiletries on the beverage counter, and it allowed my husband to get into this refrigerator while I was getting ready in the mornings and evenings near the beverage counter refrigerator. The interesting thing about the bedroom was that there were no windows. If you are affected by sunlight and use it to help you wake up in the morning, this might be something to consider before booking this room. This might also be an important consideration if you enjoy waking up to a view. Consider if this will be a vacation when you are in the parks all day and do not care about the view or if this is a slower-paced vacation that will allow you to sleep in a bit and wake up to a relaxing view (or if you will be returning to the room for a break or leaving the parks before dark). The bed was comfortable, but the pillows were not. These were the type of pillows that had no firmness or ability to retain shape at all and sunk all the way down to the mattress. One night, I found myself experimenting with sleeping in a steep upright position, bending the pillows in half, and attempting other magic tricks with the pillows to make them more comfortable. If these are not your type of pillows and you sometimes travel with your own pillow, pack it.
My husband had to take meetings and review documents for a handful of days until the afternoon, and this room made it possible for him to sit on the sofa and use his laptop without feeling cramped. If you or someone in your party will need to work during the vacation, this room is very accommodating.
I felt both sweaty and cold often in the room, and adjusting the thermostat did not fix this. The room was cold from the air conditioning, but I also had a feeling of uncomfortableness in the atmosphere that I could not figure out while there. I thought humidity was slipping in through the living room window. My husband did not sense anything, but I did for much of the time I was in the room.
The room had two very small trash cans, which did not seem adequate for the size of the room. If you are rejecting housekeeping services like we did for added privacy, you most likely will have to take small, clean trash items out each morning on your way to the park or plan to take the bags of trash out at least once, which means you will need to bring a trash bag.
The door to the bathroom moved on its own if it was not completely shut. When walking into the bathroom to put more supplies in the shower, for example, we had to move the door to get to the shower, and then it swung back, trapping us behind the door and to the side of the toilet, and then we had to move the door again to exit the bathroom.
The shutter-style closet doors had a huge gap where they did not meet. The left door also got stuck sometimes as I attempted to slide it from the open to the closed position. This is not what I would expect when paying for a deluxe hotel, but my husband was glad that if something in the room was chosen to be cheapened, it was the closet door.
During our first night in the room, I kept lifting my head to discern what noise I was hearing. My husband must have known what was bothering me because he told me that I was hearing the air conditioning. The noise did not bother me for the remainder of the time we were there.
An issue we had twice was a circuit that overloaded when I attempted to blow dry my hair with my personal dryer with the outlet near the bed. This is not an especially high-wattage dryer, and I have used it in many hotel rooms without an issue. The first time it happened, we notified the front desk. The staff member wanted to send an engineer to the room, but we were going to bed and asked for it to be resolved in the morning. Unfortunately, that meant we had no lights for the bathroom or second sink during the night. We also did not care for the idea of a cast member being in our room doing work when we were not there the next morning. Thankfully, the next morning, the lights were working again, and we spoke with someone at the front desk who stated no one would be sent to our room. On our last night, this happened again. We did not bother to call the front desk because we were checking out the next morning and we were going to bed. We had no lights to see in the very dark bathroom during the night, and this time, the lights did not work the next morning. We had to shower by using the flashlight function on my husband’s phone.
Hallways and Elevators
The carpet had a faded, wavy design to it, and at first glance, this pattern made the carpet look old and worn. I later realized it was a pattern of darker and lighter areas, probably to go with the water wave pattern of the carpet in our room. It did turn out, however, that the carpet was worn and needed to be replaced. I noticed areas of carpet that had puckered and gathered in the center of the hallway. One day, as we left for the park, I walked around a corner that was not well-lit and stumbled and hurt my ankle. We noticed that the carpet was bunched up in that section of the hallway. If you have anyone in your party who is at risk of falling or who is not sure-footed, this is something to consider, or you might want to call to ask if the carpet has been replaced.
The hallways were also very uncomfortable. It was cold everywhere in the hotel and restaurants, but it was bitterly cold in the hallways from the elevators to the hotel room. Every time I stepped out of the room to go to the park, I did a Steve Martin-like shiver from the movie Father of the Bride Part II when his wife and daughter were freezing him out with the air conditioning blasting in the house. Consider having a cardigan or jacket to wear in the hallway and hotel restaurants.
The one good thing about the hallway near the elevator was the series of windows with benches. These provided nice views, but the benches were also useful. I referred to them as the “get situated benches,” and they allowed me to grab miscellaneous items in my daily pile of things to take to the park off the table and get out of the room. I set everything down and…well, got situated. You are probably thinking that I could have done that in the room, but for anyone who is not a morning person and just attempting to physically get out of the hotel room and toward the parks, this is a helpful feature. It allowed me to check for things that I forgot to organize before leaving the room, as well as empty trash out of our park bag to throw away near the elevators. This was helpful because each day, we left with miscellaneous trash items to throw away because our trash cans were getting full in the room due to rejecting housekeeping services. We left with our hands full of trash and miscellaneous un-situated bag items, and these benches allowed us to get ourselves together before our walk to the parks.
The elevators here were fabulous. They were never overly crowded, and it was a short wait each time to get one to and from the lobby and our room on the fourth floor. This was a very welcome surprise and not anything like these elevators at the Contemporary, where you are packed in way too tightly and wait way too long for elevators. I would consider staying here for the improved elevator situation compared to other Disney hotels.
Lobby
The lobby and surrounding areas had many places to sit, as well as a pretty chandelier from a sky window above the water fountain in the center of the lobby. As we walked out of the lobby, there was a fountain that was turned on intermittently and displayed with color-changing lights at night.
Access to parks
This was a great location to access Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Both are considered within walking distance but are also accessible by boat as part of the no-cost transportation Disney provides its guests. The walk to both parks is scenic, with lake views during the day and lights reflecting off the water at night. Returning to the hotel at night by walkway provides a relaxing, romantic stroll for couples. Riding the boat back to the hotel provides a calm, fun activity to end your park day. The key here is to have good timing. If you walk up to the boat when it is arriving or when there is not a long line, it is worth taking the boat. If you must wait for the boat, or if you will not make it on the boat without having to wait for the next one, you will get to the park faster by walking.
Accessing Magic Kingdom was a short ride by Minnie van. You can also use free bus transportation from the hotel by riding to the Transportation and Ticket Center and then using the Monorail System or ferryboat.
Restaurants
If having a nice steak restaurant conveniently located in your hotel sounds like a great part of your vacation, you will want to get a reservation at Shula’s. Taking an elevator ride down from your room for a steak or returning from the parks and having a nice steak dinner before returning to your room is a perk of this hotel. Read my review of nearby Shula’s Steak House and Yachtsman Steakhouse here.
Rosa Mexicano had a good breakfast and breakfast buffet. There are a variety of beverage and dining options, including lounges, table-service restaurants, coffee and snack places, a dessert counter at The Fountain, chicken and pizza options, and Italian food.
Scenery and Ambiance
The scenic walkways, fountain in the courtyard, and palm trees lit up at night really added something extra to this hotel stay. It really had a resort feel to it. Unlike other hotels on the property that might offer rooms with views that you may not get to enjoy if you are at the parks for most of the day, at the Dolphin, you do get to enjoy views if you walk to the parks. The walk here is much more scenic than walking from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom. If you want to enjoy some scenery during your visit, your money goes a long way here compared to some rooms with views at other places.
Pool
Dolphin Hotel guests have access to a very nice grotto-style pool with a waterfall, as well as a hot tub and lap pools. Cabanas are available for rent, and the pool area has dining and beverage options.
Overall Impressions
There were positive and negative things about our stay here. This hotel could use a little tender loving care by replacing the hallway carpet and fixing electrical issues in the rooms, but the overall positives outweighed the negatives we encountered. I would not stay here for the hotel itself. I would stay here for access to two parks on the property, the resort-style ambiance and scenery surrounding the hotel, and the selection of restaurants.
Keep in mind that for the cost of this hotel, it might be better suited for those looking for a similar experience as ours. If you want to enjoy a pool day, you plan to return from the parks with enough energy to appreciate the surrounding area lit up at night, you enjoy getting to the parks somewhat quickly at no additional cost, or want the convenience of a nice breakfast or dinner near your room, then this might be a great hotel for you.
If you do not want to take time to swim during your vacation or need access to nearby signature dining restaurants, there are certainly cheaper hotel options. If you do not mind taking the no-cost transportation available to you at other hotels and you are a “rope drop” to park close guest who does not need the ambiance of the surrounding Dolphin Hotel area, you can save money with cheaper accommodations. Staying at a cheaper hotel and paying for Minnie van service or other available transportation is also an option if you feel the quick access to Hollywood Studios and Epcot is not worth the cost of staying at the Dolphin. Even though we encountered some problems with our room, I would stay here again due to our overall good experience. The shower in the room, the scenery, the quick access to elevators, and the quality of nearby restaurants put this hotel on my revisit list.