I’ve never considered either of these hotels until a few hours ago when I realized we would be at WDW on days with both MK and EP extended theme park hours. I looked at the DVC rentals available for my dates, but they are a LOT more than I can afford. But I could probably make Dolphin work. It would be a little less than $400 more total, but that would give my girls and I two more hours per park. (That includes the parking fees.)
What do I need to know about Dolphin?
Is busing from there an issue?
What do I need to know about Extended Theme Park Hours?
Are they super crowded and not worth all this extra thinking I am doing?
In some ways planning was easier when I was schlepping a huge crew; it dictated how we did things. Now that I have a smaller crew and easier travel, I have more possibilities.
I stayed at the Dolphin in December last year. We took the bus from there exactly once, and then after that, we walked to the Yacht Club next door. We didn’t realize the Dolphin bus goes to the TTC for MK, and we said forget it after that. Obviously, it would have been better for the other parks, since they don’t have a TTC, but it was just quicker and easier to go to YC instead.
We are currently at the Swan Reserve- our trip report is Here
So far extended morning hours have been great- none of us have made it to evening hours. Boat transport to Epcot has been very easy. Bussing back to boardwalk (yacht/beach might be easier for dolphin) from MK was great at the end of the night- only hard because we had a quarter mile hike with sleeping kids and no stroller.
We have looked into Extended Hours but I always boil it down to the cost per hour and what I’ve found is that it’s a whole lot cheaper to add on LLMP and LLSP and maximize the regular hours the best you can. So I would look at it that detailed and then make a decision.
But I also don’t have the Dolphin as an option for us since I would still need 2 rooms. Also the sense I get from Epcot ETPH is that the park is giant and you really will spend a lot of it walking if you’re trying to do a variety of activities. And they shut down the back half of the showcase so you can’t walk past Norway from Mexico or past France from Canada.
I’ve only been to Extended Theme Park Hours at HS. It was totally worth it. After the first hour, SDD was about 30 mins. We did A2S a few times (all walk on), TSM twice (both walk on), 30 min wait at SDD and then walk on to MMRR right before park close.
I looked into EP for Extended Hours, but lines on prior extended hour nights were long for Remy, TT (this was before it closed down for the redo), and FEA were longer than I was willing to wait. GotG was virtual queue then so can’t compare it to now. Based on those long lines, we skipped EP Extended Hours. EP has this issue because there are so few highly desirable attractions.
MK Extended Hours were not offered during any of our trips so I did not look into it, but I suspect it would be more like our HS experience than EP in terms of lines. If I had the opportunity, I would go to MK Extended Hours.
Is this for August or November? I ask because they changed up EEH to be in AK instead of MK for our trip, and that was pretty disappointing for me. There is no telling what they’ll be doing during your trip. I’ve heard that MK is the best park for EEH. AK only has like 4 rides available and it won’t even be dark by the end.
We will have our own car, but I am on the fence about driving vs buses as recent TP IG posts say the buses are always faster. But @melcort10 says driving isn’t really much later… I would not drive to MK however, so this is very important info.
I hadn’t even begun to think about other options. Thank you for pointing that out.
I will math this out today. I was thinking ETPH would not only allow more park time, but also let us stress a little less about doing “everything” during the day knowing we could pick up the pieces as night if needed.
Good to think about. Thank you.
I wish it was at HS. Okay - EP doesn’t sound all that helpful. I am guessing it would only afford a ride or two.
My friend is at MK today without LL passes. I am eager to hear how she manages. She doesn’t do characters or shows, however, which eats up time.
I looked quickly last night and it didn’t look like Dolphin got Free Water Park on Arrival day.