rtphokie
Photo board moderator
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2006
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Just returned from a week long stay at the Blue Heron Resort near Downtown Disney. We spent 4 days at Universal Parks, a day at Kennedy Space Center and a day at Blizzard Beach. Also enjoyed dinner at Disney resorts twice during the stay. We opted for the Deluxe Family Suite which had 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a real kitchen plus a pullout sofa in the living room and bunkbeds in the hall. The master bath included a whirlpool tub as well and a fullsize washer dryer. Laundry and dishwasher detergent was provided in our room at no additional costs. It was an end unit with balconies on each end and windows in the 2nd bedroom and living/dining room as well. Floors were tile in the hall, baths, kitchen and living rooms, carpet in the bedrooms. There are 1 bedroom units available as well.
Rates, depending on season of course, are as low as around $100 a night for this room + $50 cleaning fee. Carpet was a bit worn but overall the unit and overall property were well maintained. Rooms are bookable from the resort website (http://www.blueheronbeachresort.com) and promo codes for a 10% discount are not hard to find.
There is a large pool, a kiddy pool, and a moderate sized hot tub (perhaps a bit underside for a hotel this sized). No slide, no theming, nothing special, but a nice pool. Most rooms overlook the lake and sunrises are beautiful there. There is a boardwalk among spanish moss covered trees near the lake. The gameroom and gym are tiny. There is no restaurant on site but many nearby to choose from. Many families chose the CeCes pizza next door, many parents chose the Starbucks next door as well.
The staff is pleasant and efficient but seems unfamiliar with the area beyond the restaurants and attractions they have deals with. Such is the way of timeshares I suppose.
This is a condo, part of a timeshare and you dont get daily maid service as a result, but that's fine by us. Additional maid service is available if you like at an additional cost.
We were on the 9th floor and watched Illuminations at 9pm and Wishes at 10pm each night. From our room we could see the top of Blizzard Beach, the water tower at the studios, the Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest much of Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island, Spaceship Earth, Space Mountain, the Contemporary Resort, a bit of the Grand Floridian.
This is a time share and they will try to sell you real estate, but its up to you whether the pitch is worth your time. We did it (mostly because I'd not sat through one of these before) but got a significant credit back on the room for our time. It took 90 minutes included a continental breakfast and was one on one with a sales person. Much more pleasant than a boring powerpoint presentation in an audience of many families. They had a playroom with video games within our view where our nearly 10 year old son had a ball while we got the sales treatment.
We opted not to buy into the time share (just the deposit on the absolute lowest level was about 3 times what we'd spent on a week on a 2 bedroom there). I would happily return to this resort and will look for others like it when we travel again. It's a great deal outside of prime times.
Rates, depending on season of course, are as low as around $100 a night for this room + $50 cleaning fee. Carpet was a bit worn but overall the unit and overall property were well maintained. Rooms are bookable from the resort website (http://www.blueheronbeachresort.com) and promo codes for a 10% discount are not hard to find.
There is a large pool, a kiddy pool, and a moderate sized hot tub (perhaps a bit underside for a hotel this sized). No slide, no theming, nothing special, but a nice pool. Most rooms overlook the lake and sunrises are beautiful there. There is a boardwalk among spanish moss covered trees near the lake. The gameroom and gym are tiny. There is no restaurant on site but many nearby to choose from. Many families chose the CeCes pizza next door, many parents chose the Starbucks next door as well.
The staff is pleasant and efficient but seems unfamiliar with the area beyond the restaurants and attractions they have deals with. Such is the way of timeshares I suppose.
This is a condo, part of a timeshare and you dont get daily maid service as a result, but that's fine by us. Additional maid service is available if you like at an additional cost.
We were on the 9th floor and watched Illuminations at 9pm and Wishes at 10pm each night. From our room we could see the top of Blizzard Beach, the water tower at the studios, the Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest much of Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island, Spaceship Earth, Space Mountain, the Contemporary Resort, a bit of the Grand Floridian.
This is a time share and they will try to sell you real estate, but its up to you whether the pitch is worth your time. We did it (mostly because I'd not sat through one of these before) but got a significant credit back on the room for our time. It took 90 minutes included a continental breakfast and was one on one with a sales person. Much more pleasant than a boring powerpoint presentation in an audience of many families. They had a playroom with video games within our view where our nearly 10 year old son had a ball while we got the sales treatment.
We opted not to buy into the time share (just the deposit on the absolute lowest level was about 3 times what we'd spent on a week on a 2 bedroom there). I would happily return to this resort and will look for others like it when we travel again. It's a great deal outside of prime times.
