The 2009 Vero Beach Adoration and INFO thread

[lesley.a.murray@talk]

DD14 doing a bit of boogie boarding.

DD10 just chillin' in the ocean.

Off to look for sea turtles.

 

[lesley.a.murray@talk]

Some weather shots!
Looking to the left...

But looking to the right....something was headed our way.

The next morning, all was well again.

 

[deej696]

Great pics Lesley. I got a kick out of your pic of the rain draining on the roof. When we were there a few weeks back, we were in the room a few doors to the right of yours on the corner of where the building sticks out. I must have watched the rain pelt the roof below your balcony for hours

 

[MLC2002]

We will be visiting Vero Beach for the first time and would appreciate any info/suggestions.

Here's a bit about us & our trip...

We are a family of 4, with 2 sons ages 4 & 2. We are flying into MCO, arriving about 12:30 p.m. We are planning to rent a car to be picked up at the airport (and returned to the Disney Car Care Center, as we will be staying 4 nights at WDW following our time at VB).

Some questions...

Is our plan to rent a car to be picked up at MCO & returned to the Car Care Center a sound one? If not, what do you recommend?

We would like to pick up some groceries before we arrive at the resort. Any suggestions as to which store(s) we should stop at that are on the way?

Any other suggested stops of interesting things to see/do along the way?

Our 2-yr-old son has multiple food allergies. I have already communicated with a chef at DVBR and itr seems they will be able to accomodate him fairly well. We will also cook some meals in our room (1 BR unit). However, we would like to try a couple of area restaurants, too. Any suggestions? Keep in mind our boys are 2 & 4... so it must be family friendly. Also, it must be a place that can accomodate our son's food allergies... he is allergic to dairy, soy, nuts, gluten, and eggs... thus, no pizza, no Asian food, no Italian/pasta... anywhere that can serve him a plain hamburger, grilled chicken breast, hot dog, grilled seafood, etc. will work. PLEASE give us your ideas!

Any activities at the resort we should not miss? What about outside the resort?

Any special items we should bring? (For example, I have already read we should bring long sleeve shirts and pants to protect us from the No See Ums in the morning and at night.)

Any other information, suggestions, etc. are welcome & appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[deej696]

MLC, you're gonna love Vero. I'll try to help with a couple questions...

As for your rental car return, do I assume you are returning it there to take DME to the airport? If so, then that certainly seems to make sense to me. Although if it were me, I would probably just return the car to the airport so that I can be at my own schedule, etc, but thats just me.

As far as things to bring, if you plan on doing some beach time, you may want to bring your own umbrella and chairs to save the money on rental. We bring our WDW mugs down and use those to take our water/drinks down to the pool. Oh and a biggie, sunscreen!

We live basically local, so we stop at our grocery here, so unfortunately I dont know of a store to stop. We came in on Hwy 60 due to an accident on 95 last trip, and as we came into town I believe I saw a couple grocery stores. If you come in via 95 however, I dont recall seeing any along the way, perhaps someone knows some others....

 

[lesley.a.murray@talk]

Great pics Lesley. I got a kick out of your pic of the rain draining on the roof. When we were there a few weeks back, we were in the room a few doors to the right of yours on the corner of where the building sticks out. I must have watched the rain pelt the roof below your balcony for hours

Boy could it rain at Vero! I thought Scotland was bad but it seemed to let a week's worth of rain down in the one go!
Not a bad way of thinking actually. It gets it over and done with, whereas here in Scotland it can drizzle for days.

 

[rigsby25]

I am so happy. We booked our February trip and we'll be staying Sunday thru Saturday instead of Sunday thru Friday. We would've left on Saturday and stayed to Saturday, but there were no mileage award non stop flights on Saturday. Last February we had really good weather. We did not go in the ocean, although we did our morning walk on the beach every day, and then we laid out by the pool.

 

[backyardponder]

We will be visiting Vero Beach for the first time and would appreciate any info/suggestions.

Here's a bit about us & our trip...

We are a family of 4, with 2 sons ages 4 & 2. We are flying into MCO, arriving about 12:30 p.m. We are planning to rent a car to be picked up at the airport (and returned to the Disney Car Care Center, as we will be staying 4 nights at WDW following our time at VB).

Some questions...

Is our plan to rent a car to be picked up at MCO & returned to the Car Care Center a sound one? If not, what do you recommend?

We would like to pick up some groceries before we arrive at the resort. Any suggestions as to which store(s) we should stop at that are on the way?

Any other suggested stops of interesting things to see/do along the way?

Our 2-yr-old son has multiple food allergies. I have already communicated with a chef at DVBR and itr seems they will be able to accomodate him fairly well. We will also cook some meals in our room (1 BR unit). However, we would like to try a couple of area restaurants, too. Any suggestions? Keep in mind our boys are 2 & 4... so it must be family friendly. Also, it must be a place that can accomodate our son's food allergies... he is allergic to dairy, soy, nuts, gluten, and eggs... thus, no pizza, no Asian food, no Italian/pasta... anywhere that can serve him a plain hamburger, grilled chicken breast, hot dog, grilled seafood, etc. will work. PLEASE give us your ideas!

Any activities at the resort we should not miss? What about outside the resort?

Any special items we should bring? (For example, I have already read we should bring long sleeve shirts and pants to protect us from the No See Ums in the morning and at night.)

Any other information, suggestions, etc. are welcome & appreciated!

Thanks!

Hi Neighbor!

On groceries...there's a Publix grocery store just a few miles away. I suggest checking into the resort, then go shopping...but that's my preference. From the resort: 1) turn right out of parking lot; 2) turn left at the first light and go over bridge; 3) Turn right on US1. The Publix is a short distance down on the left. In the area there's also Walgreens, CVS, and just about anything else you want.

Unless you are going to be at VB for more than 4 or 5 nights, you'll probably never find a reason to leave the resort (other than shopping). There's a ton of kids' activities which will keep them busy.

On umbrellas, with a 2 and 4 year old, my guess is you'll spend most of your time at the pool.

Have fun. We love VB!

 

[backyardponder]

VB Cash Rates Specials with Disney Rewards Visa Card as low as $111 + Tax for Studio.

There's even better specials for HHI as low as $66 + tax for studio.

http://disneyrewards.disney.go.com/newsandoffers/offer-wdwaugust09verobeach.html

 

[loveswdw]

I saw that Disney Visa special! I can't believe those rates! A 1BR for $168!

We just booked a VB OVIR last week for an October trip on points (only 40 points for 4 nights--cheap points!). I'm seriously considering cancelling our points trip and booking a 1BR cash rate.

Are any of the 1BRs ocean view?

 

[Mahusky]

Just returned from a week at our beloved VB. Had a great 2br 1435. Weather was GREAT.. no rain what a diff a year makes (spent 3 1/2 days greeting TS FAY). Ate out 3 nights and a couple of take outs:
Squid Lips - Love it we visit 2 times a year (just love those crunchy fish fingers)!
Ocean Grill - Grouper to die for
Nino's take out (thanks Starbox!!) for dive in night
Oriente - OMG was this AWESOME! (yet another great Starbox suggestion) - had Price fix and it was better than great! O yes this is the Gloria Estafan place! (sorry inside joke)
Bamboo Court Take out - just ehh.
Ay Jalisco take out - just ehh.
Green Cabin Room - since when can't you order from the Shutters menu up there? I have done this many times in the past and was told nope.... no can do! Grrrrr. Had to have a shingle cheeseburger (YUCK!)

Loved the internet in the Villas Only have been waiting 7 years for this.... and you can even get it out at the pool!

I can answer ?'s if you ask.

 

[MLC2002]

Hi Neighbor!

On groceries...there's a Publix grocery store just a few miles away. I suggest checking into the resort, then go shopping...but that's my preference. From the resort: 1) turn right out of parking lot; 2) turn left at the first light and go over bridge; 3) Turn right on US1. The Publix is a short distance down on the left. In the area there's also Walgreens, CVS, and just about anything else you want.

Unless you are going to be at VB for more than 4 or 5 nights, you'll probably never find a reason to leave the resort (other than shopping). There's a ton of kids' activities which will keep them busy.

On umbrellas, with a 2 and 4 year old, my guess is you'll spend most of your time at the pool.

Have fun. We love VB!

Thanks for these suggestions... and the ones from others, too.

We'll take your advice and check in before getting groceries. It will be so much easier to go it alone while the kids (and Daddy) naps! Thanks for the directions to Publix.

I also think you're right about chairs/umbrellas... our boys won't sit still long enough to use them!

I'm still looking for restaurant suggestions off-property... we'll probably eat off-property once, maybe twice... most likely for lunch or dinner. Our most important criteria are: kid-friendly (we have a 2 yr old & a 4 yr old); good variety on the menu... we would especially like seafood (no pizza or Italian, as our boys have food allergies.... they can eat grilled fish, chicken, burgers, hot dogs, etc.) SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE?

Thanks!

 

[floridafam]

MLC 2002,

I used to recommend Captain Hiram's for seafood but not anymore. They had 28 health violations at their last inspection. Gross.

We like Woody's BBQ in Sebastian. They aren't fancy but they are good.




We went to have lunch yesterday at Casey's Place in Vero and the power was out on most of the barrier island. We saw fire engines at Gloria's hotel and thouht it was because of the power but the local paper said that a 61 year old man drowned in the pool. It said of a heart attack but I wonder if he was struck by lightning.

 

[starbox]

Oriente - OMG was this AWESOME! (yet another great Starbox suggestion) - had Price fix and it was better than great! O yes this is the Gloria Estafan place! (sorry inside joke)

I'm so glad someone else had the same reaction that I had to this place.

 

[rockydek]

Just returned from a week at our beloved VB. Had a great 2br 1435. Weather was GREAT.. no rain what a diff a year makes (spent 3 1/2 days greeting TS FAY). Ate out 3 nights and a couple of take outs:
Squid Lips - Love it we visit 2 times a year (just love those crunchy fish fingers)!
Ocean Grill - Grouper to die for
Nino's take out (thanks Starbox!!) for dive in night
Oriente - OMG was this AWESOME! (yet another great Starbox suggestion) - had Price fix and it was better than great! O yes this is the Gloria Estafan place! (sorry inside joke)
Bamboo Court Take out - just ehh.
Ay Jalisco take out - just ehh.
Green Cabin Room - since when can't you order from the Shutters menu up there? I have done this many times in the past and was told nope.... no can do! Grrrrr. Had to have a shingle cheeseburger (YUCK!)

Loved the internet in the Villas Only have been waiting 7 years for this.... and you can even get it out at the pool!

I can answer ?'s if you ask.

Can you tell me what the best two bedroom request would be?
It is our first visit to Vero.
I am not sure what floor or room to ask for.
I would like to have a sneak peek of the ocean and close to the pool.
Looking at pics....Building 14 looks the closest.
Any help would be great.

 

[MLC2002]

MLC 2002,

I used to recommend Captain Hiram's for seafood but not anymore. They had 28 health violations at their last inspection. Gross.

We like Woody's BBQ in Sebastian. They aren't fancy but they are good.




We went to have lunch yesterday at Casey's Place in Vero and the power was out on most of the barrier island. We saw fire engines at Gloria's hotel and thouht it was because of the power but the local paper said that a 61 year old man drowned in the pool. It said of a heart attack but I wonder if he was struck by lightning.

Thanks for the info... I'll check out Woody's BBQ to make sure that will work with our son's food allergies... my hubby likes BBQ, so that might be a good option. I also appreciate your info on Captain Hiram's... I had thought of trying that, but not now.

What about Squid Lips? Or the Lobster Shanty? or Mr Manatee's? Are any of these an option with a 2 & 4 yr old? Is the food good?

 

[Wilec]

Heading to our first visit to VB in the middle of our Disney trip. I have a question about Snorkel Ears. can anyone tell me on what days they run this program?

 

[starbox]

Thanks for the info... I'll check out Woody's BBQ to make sure that will work with our son's food allergies... my hubby likes BBQ, so that might be a good option. I also appreciate your info on Captain Hiram's... I had thought of trying that, but not now.

What about Squid Lips? Or the Lobster Shanty? or Mr Manatee's? Are any of these an option with a 2 & 4 yr old? Is the food good?

Mr. Manatees and Squid Lips are both on our "always eat there" list for reasonably priced, casual food. Both places have very extensive menus. I've got food allergies and the numerous options at both places makes it pretty easy to find something I can eat.

Squid Lips has let me check ingredients on things before.

Have not been to Lobster Shanty, but heard that it's on the pricey side.

 

[MLC2002]

Thanks, Starbox. Dealing with food allergies is always the hardest part when it comes to planning our vacations. I'm pleased to know you've been to these two restaurants and had no problems... and that they are reasonable and casual is icing on the cake!

Mr. Manatees and Squid Lips are both on our "always eat there" list for reasonably priced, casual food. Both places have very extensive menus. I've got food allergies and the numerous options at both places makes it pretty easy to find something I can eat.

Squid Lips has let me check ingredients on things before.

Have not been to Lobster Shanty, but heard that it's on the pricey side.

 

[DVCDawn]

My family and I had a terrific experience at Squid Lips last year. My DD10 is severely allergic to peanuts and nuts. After reading so many positive reviews of this restaurant we thought we'd try it on our last trip to VB. I contacted them via email a few weeks before we left and received a reply very quickly from the manager, who, ironically, had food allergies himself.

My daughter still talks about her meal there (tilapia with a honey lime glaze!) and wants to return the next time we go. Outside of WDW, she's always understandably hesitant in restaurants, but they put her at ease and she enjoyed herself completely.

There was also a two piece band playing while we ate, which was fun, too.

DVCDawn