Welcome aboard, Kimberly!
My daughter and I loved our
Dolphin Swim at Blue Lagoon, and relished every single moment of what seemed like a very thorough, engaging, gentle, and long-lasting experience with those beautiful creatures! Notice that there are two different options at each location: an encounter, and a swim (which is longer and includes a push or ride across the water with the dolphins - worth every extra penny in my opinion!). The encounter is a wonderful experience too, especially if you have young ones who are not old enough for the age range for the actual dolphin swim. But, if you can, I highly recommend choosing the swim over the encounter, as you'll get more time and more interaction with the dolphins.
When my daughter and I experienced the dolphin swim at Blue Lagoon, there were only four of us in our group, including the two of us, so it was a very interactive encounter since there wasn't a crowd. We had a half hour or so in the water with two dolphins who let us pet them, gave us kisses, retrieved gifts of rocks for us from the bottom of the pool, and lots more interaction.
While I haven't experienced the dolphin swim or
dolphin encounter at Atlantis, I would certainly choose the Blue Lagoon swim again and again! After our swim, we got to spend the rest of the day lounging on the gorgeous Blue Lagoon beach, which is much nicer than the beach at Atlantis, in my opinion. There is more of an island feel to it, and lots to explore, away from the hecticness of a big resort. However, we have also toured Atlantis with Disney Cruise Line and loved checking out that amazing resort. So, choose which sounds more up your alley, Kimberly, and have so much fun!
Marcy