Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort

Overview

The Walt Disney World Dolphin and it's neighbor, the Walt Disney World Swan Resort are part of the Starwood Hotels group and are Official Disney Hotels, but they are not operated by Disney themselves. The Dolphin is operated by Sheraton Hotels. They appeal to both the business and convention traveler as well as Walt Disney World vacationers.µ

Because they are official Disney hotels, guests can take advantage of some of the special Disney onsite benefits such as the Extra Magic Hours, character dining and free transport and parking at the parks. However, the Swan and Dolphin Resorts are not part of the Disney Dining Plan or serviced by the complimentary Magical Express Orlando Airport shuttle. Nor can you charge to your room when visiting the parks and there is a daily parking charge of $9 for self-parking or $12 for valet parking.

Like the Swan, the Walt Disney World Dolphin was designed by the award-winning architect Michael Graves and first opened in 1990. It has recently been extensively refurbished.

It is twice the size of the Swan and features a distinctive 257 foot tall triangular tower as part of the main 12 story central building with four 9 story wings.

Dolphins are used to decorate the hotel but they are not the familiar Florida dolphins everyone knows, they are modeled on the 'dolphin' fish sculptures of the Triton Fountain in Rome. Those on the roof are 56 feet tall.

Complimentary water taxis operate to the nearby Disney's Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios theme parks plus to the entertainment area at Disney's BoardWalk but they also accessible on foot, Epcot is just 15 minutes away.

All the other Disney theme parks are accessible by free shuttle buses.

Close by, around Crescent Lake is Disney's Boardwalk Inn Resort and the twinned Disney's Beach Club Resort and Disney's Yacht Club Resort.

Rooms/Suites

The accommodation in the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort has also been designed by Michael Graves with original artwork and contemporary designs plus the renowned Westin Heavenly Beds®.

Rooms range from standard rooms sleeping up to 4 people to luxury suites accommodating up to 10 people with separate living areas and 1 or 2 bedrooms. There are a total of 133 suites and 76 club rooms at the Dolphin.

Standard (Traditional) rooms will sleep 4 on either 2 double beds or 1 king bed and a sofa bed.

With the standard rooms, there are a choice of views; Standard View overlooking the grounds, Pool and Disney's BoardWalk View overlooking the pool or Boardwalk Resort area, Resort View with views of Resort grounds and the nearby Walt Disney World Swan, Resort View with Balcony for a premium view of the Resort grounds, pools or the Walt Disney World Swan, MGM/Fantasmic View with views of the Disney-MGM Studios, including the Tower of Terror and the nightly laser and fireworks Fantasmic spectacular, Epcot View with views of Disney's Epcot and the nightly Illuminations fireworks spectacular and Epcot View with Balcony.

Not all the rooms have balconies and some balconies are large full balconies whereas other are quite small so if you want a balcony you need to request a room with one.

There is also a range of Suites with either 1 or 2 bedrooms sleeping up to 10 people.

The Junior Suites have a separate bedroom and living area, each with a full bath, desk and refreshment center. There is a king sized bed plus Sico pull down queen (Murphy bed) in the bedroom and a queen sofa in the living room and it sleeps 5.

The Executive Suites have either 1 or 2 bedrooms each with their own bathroom and sleep 6 or 10 respectively. The master bedroom has a king sized bed and sleeper sofa and the second bedroom has 2 doubles. The large living area also has a sofa bed and a Sico pull down king, wet bar, dining/conference table for 4 and an additional bathroom.

The Governors Suites are designed for couples wanting a bit of extra luxury or someone wanting to host a business meeting. There is one large bedroom with king sized bed, sofa and easy chairs plus its own deluxe bathroom. The large living area has its own bathroom, a wet bar, kitchen area, sofabed, entertainment center and conference/dining table for 8. All the Governors Suites have private balconies overlooking Crescent Lake.

Each of the four Presidential suites is individually themed with a large sitting area with a grand piano, 42" plasma TV, deluxe stereo system, conference table for 8, kitchen and sleeper sofa.

Each suite has a master bedroom with jacuzzi bathroom and optional second/third bedroom.

Two of the suites are split across two levels on the 20th floor with fantastic views across Crescent Lake towards the Disney-MGM Studios and Epcot. The Los Presidentes Suite is themed on the American South West and the Emperors Presidential Suite has an oriental decor.

The other two are located on the 19th floor, the Caesars Presidential Suite is decorated in a classical Greek style and the Pharaoh's Presidential Suite is themed on ancient Egypt.

Rates for 2008

All prices quoted are the general Disney rates (rack rate) per night for 2008 and do not include taxes. Occupancy is based on two adults sharing, extra charges may apply for additional adults. Prices vary by season (see sidebar) and sometimes offers are available. 2007 rates can be seen after the 2008 rates.

Because the Walt Disney World Dolphin is not operated by Disney, you will often find special rates well below the standard rack rates.

Room Type	Value	Regular	Peak	Holiday
Standard rooms
Standard view	$369	$389	$429
Lake view	$405	$435	$485
Resort view	$425	$455	$505
Resort view with balcony	$445	$475	$529
Epcot/MGM view	$445	$475	$529
Epcot view with balcony	$495	$525	$565
Suites
1 Bedroom Junior		$785
1 Bedroom Executive		$995
2 Bedroom Executive		$1525

Click here to show/hide the standard 2007 room rates.

Note that as of June 1, 2007 all Disney Resort hotels are smoke free and guests may only smoke in designated outdoor smoking areas. No smoking is permitted inside the hotels including guest room patios and balconies.

Read our reviews of all the Walt Disney World Deluxe Resort hotels - Animal Kingdom Lodge, BoardWalk Inn Resort, Contemporary Resort, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Yacht Club & Beach Club Resorts, Polynesian Resort, Wilderness Lodge, Walt Disney World Swan and Walt Disney World Dolphin.