chekhovgirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2011
- Messages
- 742
Hi all,
Our family was supposed to take a trip with extended family to Puerto Rico this past week but plans were derailed due to the island-wide blackout. Not wanting to spend time planning a trip last minute, we defaulted (happily) to Orlando, since we know our way around!
We traveled with two of teen sons (16 & 18). We are Wyndham Bonnet Creek regulars, but could only get a one bedroom there, which is a no-go with two tall teen sons along, so we decided to try out Orange Lake and I figured some feedback here may be helpful for others who are looking for a condo resort. The one request I made for the room was to be near a pool area that has a hot tub, since there is one village that does not seem to have one. We were booked in a West Village townhouse-style condo that was within close proximity to the main check in and the West Village pool area. Being that this sprawling resort was the opposite of the compact Bonnet Creek, I really liked that we were within walking distance and didn't have to take a shuttle, especially for the teens. So, with that context, here are some pros and cons.
Pros:
- Condos and grounds were well kept
- Serene setting (some of the time - will address that in cons), lots of birdwatching in the morning
- Easy check in, helpful staff
- Very quick to fix the dishwasher that wasn't working
- Huge rooms, lots of space and seating
- Nice pool areas
- Lazy river pool area was nice, but we had a bit of an off impression of it since our first trip there was mid-day on Easter Sunday and it was very crowded. We visited later in the week, later in the day and it was blissfully less crowded.
- Boys loved the hammocks in the lazy river area
- Walgreens right at the entrance/exit
- North village pool with waterfalls was nice and big/relaxing. No hot tub in this area.
- Boys had a nice, long ping pong tournament in the big atrium of the main building.
Cons:
- Very spread out. This is okay for me and my husband, but if you're traveling with a group and/or with children, it is much easier to let them "run free" or have people run back to the room, etc. in a more compact resort like Bonnet Creek. Even letting my 16 year old take late night walks, as he likes to do - it felt different letting him do this at Orange Lake vs. Bonnet Creek. This leads to my next point.
- No sidewalks/cross walks for people. There are plenty for golf carts, so I started to follow those paths when just out for a walk, but there are no sidewalks or crosswalks along the roads if you're trying to navigate somewhere specific, so even though we were close and the speed limit is low, it feels less safe. We live in a walkable area and are used to having these measures in place. They don't exist here, you just walk along the road and try to cross wherever you can.
- Farther that we are used to. I felt like we drove a lot farther than we usually do to get to parks, Disney Springs, etc.
- Paying to play. We are used to not paying for use of amenities at Bonnet Creek, like tubes for the lazy river, mini golf, etc. We paid $21 for a round of mini golf for four people, which isn't bad, but it's a barrier when the kids can just walk up and do it at Bonnet Creek. This also feeds into the next point.
- Cashless resort, but there was at least one point where the whole "charge it to your card" system wasn't working. You could give the room number, but had to tell the kids how to do this if it wasn't working, etc.
- Lines were long at the bar, even on the day we went to the lazy river and it was fairly empty. There was only one bar open and we sat through 4.5 songs of karaoke until we got the one virgin pina colada my son wanted to order.
- The grounds were well kept, but we "paid" for this every morning by listening to the grounds crew while trying to enjoy the patio. A guy on a lawnmower almost ran into us as it whisked across the back patio, where there are walls you can't see beyond. One day they spent all day trimming branches out of trees right across from us, so lots of chainsaw action. It's great the keep up the grounds, but the noise was almost constant except for the evening.
- Rooms were big but bathrooms were tiny. It was a motel-like toilet next to tub tight-squeeze kind of situation. I would have given up some of the space in the enormous bedroom to have more space in the bathroom. Vanity was outside of the toilet/tub room but counters were small.
- A friendly raccoon wanted to hang out with us every morning!
- They called us twice in one day (once early in the morning) about timeshare stuff. When we're at WBC we usually just unplug the phone, but this phone is mounted on the wall...
Side Notes:
- We didn't participate in any of the pool games, activities, etc. but their programming seemed pretty robust and they seemed well run when we witnessed them, so that is nice. We generally do like to participate in trivia, etc. when the timing works out.
- We didn't rent one, but cabanas here were $300/day. In the past we have paid $200 at WBC and when I checked today it is $100 at WBC. My mom likes to rent one when we are at WBC with a larger group.
I would suggest this resort for:
- People who want to play golf, tennis, pickleball, etc.
- People who want a lot of space/immediate access to a yard (not all units are like this, but a lot of them are)
- Smaller groups, adults, or adults with very small children (who you would not split up from, for instance)
I would not suggest this resort for:
- Large groups (the condos are great for large groups, but traveling to or between pools feels like a lot)
- Families with teens who want to navigate the resort independently
We were lucky that we were in close proximity to a pool, but many places are not and a long walk feels even longer in the Florida heat.
Overall, we had a great trip, it was just a bit different that we're used to, and that was fine. If I were traveling with only my husband we might stay here again, but I'd go for WBC over Orange Lake in general. We booked with them directly under a spring sale rate and paid a total of $238/night, which includes taxes, resort fees, etc.
I hope that was helpful to anyone considering it!
Our family was supposed to take a trip with extended family to Puerto Rico this past week but plans were derailed due to the island-wide blackout. Not wanting to spend time planning a trip last minute, we defaulted (happily) to Orlando, since we know our way around!
We traveled with two of teen sons (16 & 18). We are Wyndham Bonnet Creek regulars, but could only get a one bedroom there, which is a no-go with two tall teen sons along, so we decided to try out Orange Lake and I figured some feedback here may be helpful for others who are looking for a condo resort. The one request I made for the room was to be near a pool area that has a hot tub, since there is one village that does not seem to have one. We were booked in a West Village townhouse-style condo that was within close proximity to the main check in and the West Village pool area. Being that this sprawling resort was the opposite of the compact Bonnet Creek, I really liked that we were within walking distance and didn't have to take a shuttle, especially for the teens. So, with that context, here are some pros and cons.
Pros:
- Condos and grounds were well kept
- Serene setting (some of the time - will address that in cons), lots of birdwatching in the morning
- Easy check in, helpful staff
- Very quick to fix the dishwasher that wasn't working
- Huge rooms, lots of space and seating
- Nice pool areas
- Lazy river pool area was nice, but we had a bit of an off impression of it since our first trip there was mid-day on Easter Sunday and it was very crowded. We visited later in the week, later in the day and it was blissfully less crowded.
- Boys loved the hammocks in the lazy river area
- Walgreens right at the entrance/exit
- North village pool with waterfalls was nice and big/relaxing. No hot tub in this area.
- Boys had a nice, long ping pong tournament in the big atrium of the main building.
Cons:
- Very spread out. This is okay for me and my husband, but if you're traveling with a group and/or with children, it is much easier to let them "run free" or have people run back to the room, etc. in a more compact resort like Bonnet Creek. Even letting my 16 year old take late night walks, as he likes to do - it felt different letting him do this at Orange Lake vs. Bonnet Creek. This leads to my next point.
- No sidewalks/cross walks for people. There are plenty for golf carts, so I started to follow those paths when just out for a walk, but there are no sidewalks or crosswalks along the roads if you're trying to navigate somewhere specific, so even though we were close and the speed limit is low, it feels less safe. We live in a walkable area and are used to having these measures in place. They don't exist here, you just walk along the road and try to cross wherever you can.
- Farther that we are used to. I felt like we drove a lot farther than we usually do to get to parks, Disney Springs, etc.
- Paying to play. We are used to not paying for use of amenities at Bonnet Creek, like tubes for the lazy river, mini golf, etc. We paid $21 for a round of mini golf for four people, which isn't bad, but it's a barrier when the kids can just walk up and do it at Bonnet Creek. This also feeds into the next point.
- Cashless resort, but there was at least one point where the whole "charge it to your card" system wasn't working. You could give the room number, but had to tell the kids how to do this if it wasn't working, etc.
- Lines were long at the bar, even on the day we went to the lazy river and it was fairly empty. There was only one bar open and we sat through 4.5 songs of karaoke until we got the one virgin pina colada my son wanted to order.
- The grounds were well kept, but we "paid" for this every morning by listening to the grounds crew while trying to enjoy the patio. A guy on a lawnmower almost ran into us as it whisked across the back patio, where there are walls you can't see beyond. One day they spent all day trimming branches out of trees right across from us, so lots of chainsaw action. It's great the keep up the grounds, but the noise was almost constant except for the evening.
- Rooms were big but bathrooms were tiny. It was a motel-like toilet next to tub tight-squeeze kind of situation. I would have given up some of the space in the enormous bedroom to have more space in the bathroom. Vanity was outside of the toilet/tub room but counters were small.
- A friendly raccoon wanted to hang out with us every morning!
- They called us twice in one day (once early in the morning) about timeshare stuff. When we're at WBC we usually just unplug the phone, but this phone is mounted on the wall...
Side Notes:
- We didn't participate in any of the pool games, activities, etc. but their programming seemed pretty robust and they seemed well run when we witnessed them, so that is nice. We generally do like to participate in trivia, etc. when the timing works out.
- We didn't rent one, but cabanas here were $300/day. In the past we have paid $200 at WBC and when I checked today it is $100 at WBC. My mom likes to rent one when we are at WBC with a larger group.
I would suggest this resort for:
- People who want to play golf, tennis, pickleball, etc.
- People who want a lot of space/immediate access to a yard (not all units are like this, but a lot of them are)
- Smaller groups, adults, or adults with very small children (who you would not split up from, for instance)
I would not suggest this resort for:
- Large groups (the condos are great for large groups, but traveling to or between pools feels like a lot)
- Families with teens who want to navigate the resort independently
We were lucky that we were in close proximity to a pool, but many places are not and a long walk feels even longer in the Florida heat.
Overall, we had a great trip, it was just a bit different that we're used to, and that was fine. If I were traveling with only my husband we might stay here again, but I'd go for WBC over Orange Lake in general. We booked with them directly under a spring sale rate and paid a total of $238/night, which includes taxes, resort fees, etc.
I hope that was helpful to anyone considering it!
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