HGVC Help!!

[hockeyfan]

We will be going to WDW May 20th - May 28th 2006. It will be myself (50ish), DS (22),DSGF (21),DD (19) and DDBF (19). I bought the Timeshare on the secondary market in Nov 2005 we have never owned a timeshare before or even stayed at one. So we have no idea what to expect. So I need your advice. Here is my list of questions:

Do they do early check- in? We will be flying in on a redeye arriving in orlando at 6:30am from Ca.

What is the best building to stay in? When I called they put by the Adult Pool is this a good thing. I know the kids will want to be by the hot tubs and the food/bar/entertainment (if any)

Is there housekeeping,Restaurants?

In general can you tell me about HGVC and what to except so I don't go in looking like a complete idiot!!

How far from the airport are we and how far from WDW?

any suggections on offsite restaurants/nightlife?

Thanks for all the help in advance this will be our 1st time to Florida and to WDW. so we need all the help we can get!!

 

[dvc_john]

I'm sure someone else will hop in with some info, but I'll go ahead and start off.

First, there are two HGVC resorts. One is next to Seaworld, and the other is the Tuscany resort on I-drive. I'm kind of assuming that you're at the Seaworld location.

HGVC Seaworld is about 15 miles from the airport, and about 8 miles from EPCOT at WDW. The HGVC Tuscany resort on I-drive is about 3 miles from the Seaworld location in the direction of WDW. The drive from the airport to the resort is quite easy, as is the drive from the resort to WDW. To get to WDW, you can take I-4 if you want. I prefer to stay off I-4, and take I-drive to World drive. As I said, Seaworld is next door. And both WDW and Universal are easy drives.

You can probably check-in early, but I wouldn't count on getting into a room that early. But you could start using the facilities of the resort at that time.
The Seaworld location has one main pool complex with 2 very large pools, several hot spas, an open restaurant/bar (very casual pool type thing). There is also a quiet/leisure pool at another location. The buildings are arranged in sort of a linear layout. I think they are about 6 or 7 floors each.
Although the resort was completed some time ago, they recently added a new building at the site of the old sales center. Don't know if this building is open yet or not.

The Tuscany resort is still under construction. Eventually, there will be 7 buildings. Last time I was there, 4 were open and 2 were under construction. But I think the 5th building is probably open by now. The main pool area has 1 very large pool, with 2 hot spas. Also, a poolside casual restaurant/bar. A second pool was being built between the 4th and 5th buildings, and may be open by now. The buildings are arranged in a circle around a lake.

There is no daily houskeeping. But I actually prefer this, as you don't have to wonder when housekeeping will show up, or to return from the pool and have housekeeping be in your unit.

The main nightlife areas for me include Downtown Disney, Citywalk at Universal Studios, and the International Drive area (I-drive). In each area you will find all sorts of restaurants, nightlife, movies, etc.

Have a great trip...

 

[hockeyfan]

Thanks! DVC John for the info. And yes it the hgvc at Seaworld. Is it better to be closer to the main pool or out by the adult pool? How far away is the adult Pool from the main pool? And can you reccomend a good steak house and sushi restaurant?

 

[jmatias]

Hockeyfan:

We haven't stayed at HGVC Seaworld yet but will this August.

I really recommend you visit TUG ( Timeshare users group ). Its full of great info on timeshares and there is a Hotel Board which has a lot of HGVC owners that can answer your questions.

HTH
Jen

 

[Grumpy23]

Hi, we are staying there from 4/27 through 5/7. I have never been there before either, but have found some useful information about the place.

Here is a map/layout of the resort. The adult pool is marked P on the map, I am thinking this is the one that is near where you are staying.

http://www.tug1.net/pics/flpics/fl-hgvc.jpg

Also, below is a link to a thread that was on here from people who have already stayed there, some reviews, pictures, etc.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1010829

And one more review I was able to find online. This review has an above shot of the adult pool, scroll down to view the whole picture and you can see the jacuzzi too.

http://community.iexplore.com/plann...+grand+vacations+slub+at+sea+world+internatio

Outside of this, there are many reviews on tripadvisor.com.

I will be sure to post a review when I return. If you need anything else, let me know. I hope you enjoy your vacation!

 

[Grumpy23]

I just remembered, one very important link. This page has various maps of I-Drive (International Drive), which is the main road near where you will be staying. It lists all of the restaurants, etc. that you might be looking for. All together there are like 5 or 6 maps I think. If you click on map #1 and view all the way down the page, you can click on "go south" and it will take you to the next section of highway, etc. Also, there are places on the map you can zoom in or out to get actual detailed road maps.

http://www.orlando-internationaldrive.com/map/index.html

This is our 4th year going to WDW so we are starting to become more familiar with the area. From what I have read, the HGVC @ Sea World is about 15 minutes from WDW. Good Luck!

 

[Grumpy23]

One more then I promise I am done

This is probably the coolest thing. If you go to http://maps.google.com/ and type in Hilton Grand Vacation Club Sea World in the search box, on the left side of the maps, it should come up as A., the first one in the list. If you click on the link for it, or the A balloon, it will take you to a map of the area. Even better up in the right hand corner of the screen, click on satellite and it gives you a satellite view of the area. Keep zooming in until you are right on top of the HGVC resort. If you then click on Hybrid, it gives you the satellite picture, along with the names of the roads. I find this really helpful, especially if you are travelling to the area for the first time. Keep moving the map (just drag and drop it in any direction) and eventually you will find Disney World, or you can search for Disney World, zoom out a little and see the distance from there to your hotel. I've had more fun with this little tool, it's really neat how you can zoom in and really get a birds eye view of where you will be staying.

Ok I promise I am done now....unless I think of something else

 

[hockeyfan]

Grumpy23: thank you so much for all the info. This is a very special trip. It is my dream vacation I always wanted to take my children there when they were little but it never work out. So I just want it to be so special for them, hopefully with this timeshare they can have many more trips maybe someday I will get to take my grandbabies. Enjoy your vacation I will look forward to your review of WDW and HGVC

 

[jaysue]

Also a note of thanks Grumpy23

Cheers
jaysue

 

[utahkennedys]

We were just there in September and I would definately stay by the main pool. That is where the 2 pools are, the activities, the market, the grill, the bar, etc. We were in the Pembroke building and that was as far away as I'd want to be. The other thing I would request next time is a low floor. We were on the very top floor, on the far end, and waiting for the elevator took f o r e v e r and it was very frustrating to have to run down for anything...

The resort is beautiful! We loved our 3 BR villa there, so spacious and comfy and pretty. I have included a few resort pics for you. Enjoy!

Oh, one more thing, we finally found 2 days before we left that we were right by I-4 -- we kept going the way we came in from the airport and that was a BIG mistake, just as the front desk if you need help with directions and then you'll get around much quicker!

Just paste this into your internet browser and it should work:


share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8Aat3DhizZOGHN

 

[jeff968]

We stayed there a few years back. It is a very nice resort and well set up. the adult pool is definately quieter if you are looking for that. when we were there the water fall pool in the main area was not heated so everyone used the other pool, which was nice, but it was a little crowded. The resort has some great features, an on site movie theater, a nice walking path around the small pond, and my favorite, a croquet court. The resort has a bermuda/english theme.

 

[gjw007]

We will be going to WDW May 20th - May 28th 2006. It will be myself (50ish), DS (22),DSGF (21),DD (19) and DDBF (19). I bought the Timeshare on the secondary market in Nov 2005 we have never owned a timeshare before or even stayed at one. So we have no idea what to expect. So I need your advice. Here is my list of questions:

Do they do early check- in? We will be flying in on a redeye arriving in orlando at 6:30am from Ca.

What is the best building to stay in? When I called they put by the Adult Pool is this a good thing. I know the kids will want to be by the hot tubs and the food/bar/entertainment (if any)

Is there housekeeping,Restaurants?

In general can you tell me about HGVC and what to except so I don't go in looking like a complete idiot!!

How far from the airport are we and how far from WDW?

any suggections on offsite restaurants/nightlife?

Thanks for all the help in advance this will be our 1st time to Florida and to WDW. so we need all the help we can get!!

I have not stayed at HGVC at SeaWorld but I have at HGVC at I-Drive (Tuscany Village). If the rooms are available, I believe that they will let you check in. I checked in at 1 PM which is not real early but it is earlier than the scheduled check-in time. The unit that I was at in HGVC I-Drive had a whirlpool tub that was big enough for two. It was huge! I prefer a smaller unit.

I'm not aware of the building at HGVC SeaWorld, so I have no recommendations there for buildings. There were restaurants at HGVC on I-Drive and I believe HGVC at SeaWorld does as well but you are also in an area where there will be numerous restaurants in the surrounding area. The only problem I had a HGVC I-Drive was that if I arrived late at night (11 PM or so), then there would be no parking in front of the building. I had to park near the registration desk about 3 buildings away. It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been raining and I wasn't carrying a 5 year-old but in my opinion, there wasn't enough parking spaces in front of the buildings. I don't know how it is at the SeaWorld location.

If you are staying 7 days, there will be housekeeping on the 4th day of your vacation. If you wish to have daily housekeeping, I believe that it is available for an additional fee, probably around $40 - $50 per day.

As far as nightlife and restaurants, it depends on what you enjoy. Disney and Universal both have active sections for nightlife activities but there is a wide variety in the Orlando area. There are numerous restaurants that feature a performance such as Capone's, Pirates, Medival Times, etc. The meals at these shows are usually so-so but you're gong more for the overall atmosphere than for the meal. Disney has several restaurants, so does Universal, and SeaWorld. Many of them will revolve around a theme. For example, you can have dinner with Shamu at SeaWorld or breakfast with the Disney Princesses at the Magic Kingdom. There are many different options.

Enjoy your vacation.

 

[jaysue]

We were just there in September and I would definately stay by the main pool. That is where the 2 pools are, the activities, the market, the grill, the bar, etc. We were in the Pembroke building and that was as far away as I'd want to be. The other thing I would request next time is a low floor. We were on the very top floor, on the far end, and waiting for the elevator took f o r e v e r and it was very frustrating to have to run down for anything...

The resort is beautiful! We loved our 3 BR villa there, so spacious and comfy and pretty. I have included a few resort pics for you. Enjoy!

Oh, one more thing, we finally found 2 days before we left that we were right by I-4 -- we kept going the way we came in from the airport and that was a BIG mistake, just as the front desk if you need help with directions and then you'll get around much quicker!

Just paste this into your internet browser and it should work:


share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8Aat3DhizZOGHN

Thanks for the feedback - the website link does not seem to be working though

Cheers
jaysue

 

[utahkennedys]

I couldn't get it to be a link, but just copy it and then paste in your browser and it should work...