momof2intx
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2003
- Messages
- 557
Hello everyone, just got back from my 5 night stay at the Wyndham Palace and my 1 night stay at the Wyndham Orlando Resort. I just thought I would let you in on a few things that you might find helpful if you are thinking of staying at either of these hotels.
Wyndham Palace:
1. The rooms are very roomy. We had a room with 2 queens and it seemed larger than other Wyndhams I have stayed at. There is a mini bar in each room and every room has a balcony. The balconies in the towers are glassed in (no railing...important to know for families with small children) We were on the 9th floor and had a view of the fountain out front of the entryway and Downtown Disney and in the far distance you could see the Epcot Ball and MGM Tower of Terror. Every night at 9pm, Epcot does their "Illuminations" laser and firework show and we could see that from our room. The Island Resort Building looked to be about 4 or 5 stories high and every room again had a balcony. This building houses the Island Suite rooms. These suites are about 800 sq ft and have either 1 King or 2 Queen beds in the bedroom with a separate living area that has a queen-size pull out sofa. The suite also has a mini refrigerator and microwave. The 1st floor rooms have a tiled patio but it is not enclosed. The balconies on the other floors are not glass, they are railed in. The Island Resort building is right next to the pool area,the pool bar, tennis courts, sand volleyball and the game room (arcade games).
2. There is a playground. There are 2 adult pools outside (also one at the spa), a hot tub and a kiddie pool on Recreation Island. One of the pools has a waterfall.
3. The Palace is definitely right across the street from Downtown Disney. There is a pathway that you walk to take you to the stoplight where you cross over to the entrance to Downtown Disney.
4. The walkway from the main building to the pool area and Island Resort building looks really long in the pictures. It isn't. It is a very short covered walkway through a garden area which is beautiful.
5. The resort always looked white to me in all of the pictures. It is actually a Peach colored building and in the sun the balconies and windows look gold. It is the tallest hotel in the Lake Buena Vista resort area. You can see it from everywhere.
6. The transportation to and from the Disney Parks is very punctual - every 30 minutes. There is 1 bus that goes to the Magic Kingdom, 1 bus that goes to the Animal Kingdom and 1 bus that goes to both Epcot and MGM Studios. It goes to Epcot first, then MGM. Now, one thing that you may wonder is "do the busses go straight from the hotel to the theme parks?" NO. These are Downtown Disney buses. They are not owned or operated by the Palace, so please don't be angry at them. The Palace is the first stop for picking up and dropping off guests. From the Palace, the bus goes to every other hotel in the immediate Downtown Disney/Lake Buena Vista area to pick up guests. The other hotels in the area include, The Grosvenor, The Best Western, The Royal Plaza, The Courtyard by Marriott, the Hilton, the Doubletree...and probably a few others I forgot. It does take quite a while to finally get to the parks from the Palace (something for you to know so that you can plan your day accordingly...in case you have dinner or lunch reservations at a park) BUT, the best thing is, after a long hot day at the parks, the Palace is the first stop -- you get to disembark the bus first! I also saw buses that left the Palace to go to Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon.
7. The Disney Character breakfast on Sundays is $21.95 per adult and
$9.95 per child at the Watercress Cafe. We got to see Minnie Mouse, Pluto and Goofy. The kids absolutely loved it - - although they didn't even eat any of the breakfast that I paid for!!
8. Go to the MarketDeli (on the 1st floor next to the Watercress Cafe) and purchase the Wyndham Palace "spill proof" mug. It is $9.95 but you get FREE refills for your entire stay. We loved this....it really is a good deal for those staying 4 or more nights.
9. There is a Disney Gift store on the 1st floor. There you can purchase park tickets or anything else Disney-related. There is also a camera and video store where you can purchase things like disposable cameras (I had to make use of this -- my camera broke on my 3rd day!) or video equipment. It is a bit pricey, but almost everything is expensive in Orlando!
10. There isn't much else besides hotels and Downtown Disney in the immediate area of the Palace. About 1 mile down Hotel Plaza Blvd at the intersection of Hotel Plaza and SR 535, you can find a bunch of places to eat and shop. Chili's, Mc Donald's, Gooding's (kind of like a Tom Thumb)etc. I drove down to the Winn Dixie down the road from the Palace to get a few things and what do you think was right across the street from it? The Wyndham Summerfield Suites Lake Buena Vista!! It looked really pretty and in a good area. So, if you are considering the Summerfield Suites by Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, there is a Winn Dixie Supermarket right across the street from it and it is less than a 5 minute drive to Downtown Disney.
So, that is about it for the Palace. There is probably more that I am forgetting, if you have any other questions let me know.
Wyndham Orlando Resort
I was only here 1 day, our last day...but I did come away with a few things about it. Now I work for Wyndham, but I had read so many terrible things about this resort that even I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay here. I was pleasantly surprised and did not find any problems with anything while I was there. I actually liked it a bit more than the Palace!
1. The hotel is in a really populated, crowded (traffic!) area. It is right off of I-4 and International Drive. You cannot miss the big WYNDHAM sign. The complex is HUGE and it took us forever to find the lobby building. Once you get into the resort, you can hardly believe you are in the middle of the city!
2. The rooms are not as big as the Palace, but they are beautifully decorated in bright "Floridian" colors. Every room has a balcony or patio with patio furniture. We had a room in building 8 overlooking the pond and pool area. What a great location!! The ducks have free range at the resort and come and go as they please. Every building has vending machines (ice, soda) and laundry facilities. One of the housekeeping ladies said that none of the buildings have elevators (each building is 2 floors) so you do have to climb stairs if your room is on the 2nd floor. You enter the inside entry/hallway with your room key to get to your room. The rooms have Playstations.
3. The pool area is SO beautiful. Since it was our last day and we were done with the Disney parks, we spent a lot of time by the pool. Near our building there were 2 adult pools and a kiddie pool directly across from Gatorville grill and bar. I thought the pool area here was nicer than at the Palace -- more resort-like. There was an ice cream parlor right across from the pools
4. Ripley's Believe it or Not attraction actually shares a fence with the resort. It is right next door. There is a Walgreen's right across the street and an abundance of places to get cheap souvenirs from a Orlando vacation. There is also what is supposed to be the largest Mc Donald's in the world only about a block from the resort. They have not only the normal Mc Donald's fare, but also Ice Cream and Pizzas. There is a huge game arcade area and play area for the kids. It was like Chuck E Cheese meets Ronald Mc Donald!! That's about it for the Orlando Resort. I hope to go back and spend more time there. I really thought it was beautiful and the pool area was great!
Wyndham Palace:
1. The rooms are very roomy. We had a room with 2 queens and it seemed larger than other Wyndhams I have stayed at. There is a mini bar in each room and every room has a balcony. The balconies in the towers are glassed in (no railing...important to know for families with small children) We were on the 9th floor and had a view of the fountain out front of the entryway and Downtown Disney and in the far distance you could see the Epcot Ball and MGM Tower of Terror. Every night at 9pm, Epcot does their "Illuminations" laser and firework show and we could see that from our room. The Island Resort Building looked to be about 4 or 5 stories high and every room again had a balcony. This building houses the Island Suite rooms. These suites are about 800 sq ft and have either 1 King or 2 Queen beds in the bedroom with a separate living area that has a queen-size pull out sofa. The suite also has a mini refrigerator and microwave. The 1st floor rooms have a tiled patio but it is not enclosed. The balconies on the other floors are not glass, they are railed in. The Island Resort building is right next to the pool area,the pool bar, tennis courts, sand volleyball and the game room (arcade games).
2. There is a playground. There are 2 adult pools outside (also one at the spa), a hot tub and a kiddie pool on Recreation Island. One of the pools has a waterfall.
3. The Palace is definitely right across the street from Downtown Disney. There is a pathway that you walk to take you to the stoplight where you cross over to the entrance to Downtown Disney.
4. The walkway from the main building to the pool area and Island Resort building looks really long in the pictures. It isn't. It is a very short covered walkway through a garden area which is beautiful.
5. The resort always looked white to me in all of the pictures. It is actually a Peach colored building and in the sun the balconies and windows look gold. It is the tallest hotel in the Lake Buena Vista resort area. You can see it from everywhere.
6. The transportation to and from the Disney Parks is very punctual - every 30 minutes. There is 1 bus that goes to the Magic Kingdom, 1 bus that goes to the Animal Kingdom and 1 bus that goes to both Epcot and MGM Studios. It goes to Epcot first, then MGM. Now, one thing that you may wonder is "do the busses go straight from the hotel to the theme parks?" NO. These are Downtown Disney buses. They are not owned or operated by the Palace, so please don't be angry at them. The Palace is the first stop for picking up and dropping off guests. From the Palace, the bus goes to every other hotel in the immediate Downtown Disney/Lake Buena Vista area to pick up guests. The other hotels in the area include, The Grosvenor, The Best Western, The Royal Plaza, The Courtyard by Marriott, the Hilton, the Doubletree...and probably a few others I forgot. It does take quite a while to finally get to the parks from the Palace (something for you to know so that you can plan your day accordingly...in case you have dinner or lunch reservations at a park) BUT, the best thing is, after a long hot day at the parks, the Palace is the first stop -- you get to disembark the bus first! I also saw buses that left the Palace to go to Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon.
7. The Disney Character breakfast on Sundays is $21.95 per adult and
$9.95 per child at the Watercress Cafe. We got to see Minnie Mouse, Pluto and Goofy. The kids absolutely loved it - - although they didn't even eat any of the breakfast that I paid for!!
8. Go to the MarketDeli (on the 1st floor next to the Watercress Cafe) and purchase the Wyndham Palace "spill proof" mug. It is $9.95 but you get FREE refills for your entire stay. We loved this....it really is a good deal for those staying 4 or more nights.
9. There is a Disney Gift store on the 1st floor. There you can purchase park tickets or anything else Disney-related. There is also a camera and video store where you can purchase things like disposable cameras (I had to make use of this -- my camera broke on my 3rd day!) or video equipment. It is a bit pricey, but almost everything is expensive in Orlando!
10. There isn't much else besides hotels and Downtown Disney in the immediate area of the Palace. About 1 mile down Hotel Plaza Blvd at the intersection of Hotel Plaza and SR 535, you can find a bunch of places to eat and shop. Chili's, Mc Donald's, Gooding's (kind of like a Tom Thumb)etc. I drove down to the Winn Dixie down the road from the Palace to get a few things and what do you think was right across the street from it? The Wyndham Summerfield Suites Lake Buena Vista!! It looked really pretty and in a good area. So, if you are considering the Summerfield Suites by Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, there is a Winn Dixie Supermarket right across the street from it and it is less than a 5 minute drive to Downtown Disney.
So, that is about it for the Palace. There is probably more that I am forgetting, if you have any other questions let me know.
Wyndham Orlando Resort
I was only here 1 day, our last day...but I did come away with a few things about it. Now I work for Wyndham, but I had read so many terrible things about this resort that even I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay here. I was pleasantly surprised and did not find any problems with anything while I was there. I actually liked it a bit more than the Palace!
1. The hotel is in a really populated, crowded (traffic!) area. It is right off of I-4 and International Drive. You cannot miss the big WYNDHAM sign. The complex is HUGE and it took us forever to find the lobby building. Once you get into the resort, you can hardly believe you are in the middle of the city!
2. The rooms are not as big as the Palace, but they are beautifully decorated in bright "Floridian" colors. Every room has a balcony or patio with patio furniture. We had a room in building 8 overlooking the pond and pool area. What a great location!! The ducks have free range at the resort and come and go as they please. Every building has vending machines (ice, soda) and laundry facilities. One of the housekeeping ladies said that none of the buildings have elevators (each building is 2 floors) so you do have to climb stairs if your room is on the 2nd floor. You enter the inside entry/hallway with your room key to get to your room. The rooms have Playstations.
3. The pool area is SO beautiful. Since it was our last day and we were done with the Disney parks, we spent a lot of time by the pool. Near our building there were 2 adult pools and a kiddie pool directly across from Gatorville grill and bar. I thought the pool area here was nicer than at the Palace -- more resort-like. There was an ice cream parlor right across from the pools
4. Ripley's Believe it or Not attraction actually shares a fence with the resort. It is right next door. There is a Walgreen's right across the street and an abundance of places to get cheap souvenirs from a Orlando vacation. There is also what is supposed to be the largest Mc Donald's in the world only about a block from the resort. They have not only the normal Mc Donald's fare, but also Ice Cream and Pizzas. There is a huge game arcade area and play area for the kids. It was like Chuck E Cheese meets Ronald Mc Donald!! That's about it for the Orlando Resort. I hope to go back and spend more time there. I really thought it was beautiful and the pool area was great!
