The Dolphin Hotel is a Deluxe Hotel at Walt Disney World!
Dolphin Hotel: [yasr_overall_rating]
Location: EPCOT area
Description:
Our Take
The Dolphin Hotel isn’t our favorite hotel in the EPCOT area or even in general for Walt Disney World. Lots of people get confused on the Dolphin Hotel, if it is or isn’t owned by Disney and how that whole relationship works. Get ready for some unique history! Disney owns the land the hotel was built on. A separate company built the building on the land and leases them to Disney. A 3rd party was brought in to manage the hotel, Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
So why did Disney do this in the first place since they own the land? The company who built the hotel is also the company who built EPCOT. In their deal with Disney to build EPCOT they claimed exclusive rights to any convention hotel built on property. Thus Disney partnered with them on the venture of the Dolphin Hotel and its sister hotel Swan.
Because the Dolphin Hotel is catered to being a convention hotel we’re not huge fans of it. It’s always busy with business folks and their conventions. So really busy most of the time.
The hotel does feature several restaurants to dine at which is nice. It’s also close to the Boardwalk Entertainment District which offers tons of dining and activities.
You can walk from the Dolphin Hotel to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios which we love. You can also take a ferry boat to both as well. It’s a bit further away than it’s sister hotel Swan.
Some of the rooms offer great views of the EPCOT area including the fireworks show from both parks.
Pros:
- Located in EPCOT area.
- Walk or boat from the hotel to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.
- This means less busing!
- Boardwalk Entertainment District is just a few minutes away.
- Make your FastPass+ reservations 60 days in advance by staying here!
- Receive free Magic Bands when you book this hotel!
- Free transportation to and from Orlando Intl. Airport when you book this hotel!
Cons:
- Convention hotel always busy with conventions and business travelers.
- Nightly resort fee of $30.
- Casino feel to the hotel.
- Rooms are older and they feel that way.
Discounts and Savings
We recommend Hotels.com for the best price on this hotel. They can offer pricing that no one else can! And it’s backed by their low price guarantee so you don’t have to worry about price once you’ve booked. They’ll match any price you can find for the Dolphin Hotel*.
More Hotels
There are several other hotels located in the EPCOT area including the Boardwalk Inn Hotel, Beach Club Hotel and Yacht Club Hotel.
