Just back and a bunch of great and some not so great stuff to report:
WARNING - STRONG OPINIONS INCLUDED and SUMMARY at the bottom
Stayed at Dolphin from Monday 5/13 until Saturday 5/18. Just the wife and I for this trip, kids stayed at home.
Pros:
We arrived late Monday night and got an Uber from the airport for less than $30. We went to the check-in desk and gave them my information. The young gentleman working there tells me that they have a nice double bed room all ready for us. I kindly informed him that we had booked and confirmed a king bed, so he went back to his monitor. He comes back and says "good news, we can upgrade you to a suite for only $70 per night, it usually costs $100". I tell him no thanks, it's just the wife and me and we don't need the extra room. He goes back to his monitor, and two minutes later announces "good news, the upgrade will be complimentary". Okay, this sounds good, so we take it and are off to room 8093 in the East Wing. We were upgraded to a Swan Suite (what is pictured here:
https://www.swandolphin.com/accommodations/swan_suites.html) which was really nice. Definitely my first hotel room with a full walk in closet. Would have been 20 times more awesome if the boys were with us and we needed the space. It was a bit of overkill for us, but I'm not complaining.
Cons:
This infestation that Florida has with the "love bugs" is currently terrible at the Swolphin Pool. These bugs, while harmless, are everywhere. You pretty much can't eat outside (not that people weren't eating, but I considered it completely disgusting to do so) and can't leave a drink uncovered. They said they are 2-3 weeks into it and they usually go away in 3-5 weeks, so hopefully for anyone going soon they will be gone quickly.
Here is a quick update by day:
Monday night - Walked over to the Boardwalk. It was completely dead. Got a small pizza and a drink each. Hit the Dolphin lobby bar which was absolutely packed with a bunch of conference goers. Had a few beers at the bar and got a 6pack to go at closing time.
Tuesday - Made it to the pool for 15 minutes before the storm came around 11am. That's okay, we opted for some afternoon adult time in the room followed by a nap. Win-win for me. Got ice cream from the Fountain for the walk to Epcot Tuesday night where we watched the Short Films (same ones as we saw in November), did Soarin, ate at Via Napoli (4.5 out of 5 stars), and then had many drinks in many countries. Highlights as usual were the Grey Goose slushies in France and the margaritas from the indoor Tequila place in Mexico. Also rode the Frozen ride (not impressed) since our boys will never ride it. Walked back past the Boardwalk and it was empty again. Got one drink each and called it.
Wednesday - Swolphin pool from ~10-4, which included 3 buckets of beers. Got ice cream at the Fountain before heading to DHS that night. Rode Slinky Dog, Toy Story Mania, ate at Mama Melrose (3.5/5 stars), rode Aerosmith, saw the new Lightning McQueen show (what a waste) and saw Fantasmic which was absolutely packed. Called it an early night to get ready for our tour the next morning.
Thursday - MK for Keys to the Kingdom tour from 10-3. Was very worth it and we enjoyed every minute and part of it. Only thing was it was hot, very hot. After a break in the room, got ice cream at the Fountain then got to the Swolphin pool around 5:30 and were only able to score one bucket of beers before the servers all left. This made no sense to me. Why not keep 1 or 2 of them on to serve the many people still there? Anyway, relaxed for a while and then back to the room to shower and change. Went to Epcot for a 8:45 reservation at Le Cellier (4.5/5 stars). Walked out of a mostly empty Epcot at 10pm, but while walking from Canada to the International Gateway we passed a bumping party at some building that was hidden to our right by some doors. Lots of people back there. Not sure what it was though. Walked through the Boardwalk and it was dead.
Friday - Swolphin pool from ~10-4, which included 3 buckets of beers (are you sensing a theme here?). Took an Uber to eat at Carabba's (4.0/5 stars) because we really like it for a chain restaurant and there aren't any in Pittsburgh. I got the trio (chicken parm, lasagna and fettucine alfredo) and managed to fit in a few more beers. Then we took an Uber to AK. Used FPs for the Safari and for FoP which is still our favorite ride anywhere. First bus was for the Boardwalk so we took that. Surprise to all, the Boardwalk was completely packed. I guess it is a weekend hangout. Anyway, got a couple of drinks and then headed back to figure out what we would do for the last day.
Saturday - We were able to negotiate a 1:30pm late checkout, but ended up not using it. If we could have gotten 3pm or later, we would have come back to the room to shower and change, but with a late flight we wanted as much pool time as possible. So we checked out around 10am, then Swolphin pool from ~10-4, which included, you guessed it, 3 buckets of beers. Showered in the locker room at the Dolphin fitness center, and caught an Uber to the airport for the 7:55 flight home.
My wife and I do an adults only trip every May. Sometimes just us, sometimes we invite other couples. Sometimes we go to Disney (had APs this year so made sense) while other times we stay at the Sheraton LBV and lounge around the pool all day everyday. We are fortunate to be able to Disney and a bunch of other cool trips frequently with the kids, but this is the trip I look forward to every year and it has yet to disappoint.
SUMMARY:
Food - Via Napoli and Le Cellier awesome, Mama Melrose ok, Fountain ice cream awesome, all other food at Dolphin mediocre
Parks - Not very crowded overall
Tour - Keys to the Kingdom - would highly recommend it
Beer - many buckets were consumed
No kids trips - worth every penny and second
Fingers crossed!
