Is Vero Beach Worth The Trip?

[5champs]

WE ARE A FAMILY OF 5. DD-10,DS-5,DS-3. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN TO VB AND WOULD LOVE TO GO LABOR DAY WEEK. SINCE WE HAVE NEVER BEEN TO VB I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT. DOES THE HOTEL PROVIDE ANY ACTIVITES FOR THE KIDS? ANY ATTRACTIONS? MY WIFE AND I WOULD LOVE TO RELAX ON THE BEACH,BUT I DONT THINK THE KIDS WILL WANT TO DO IT FOR A WHOLE WEEK. DOES DISNEY HAVE CHARACTERS WALKING AROUND? DO U NEED A CAR? WHAT ARE THE RESTURANTS LIKE AT THE HOTEL, EXPENSIVE? WHAT AIRPORT DO YOU FLY INTO. ANY INFO WOULD BE HELPFUL.

 

[jakenjess]

We spent two nights at Vero Beach last year and had a great time. I don't know if I'd want to spend a week, but I would have liked one more night. There were pool games for the kids, and they have a campfire sing-along on certain nights that was a lot of fun. When you check in you'll get a list of daily activities. We also rented bikes. There is a really nice path to ride along, and we really enjoyed that. There weren't any Disney characters while we were there, but for some reason I think there may be an occasional character meal at Shutters. I'm sure someone else will come along with more info.

We ate at both Shutters and Sonya's and both were good, but I would want more variety if we stayed more than a couple days. We weren't there long enough to check out the surrounding area. We flew into Orlando and drove over, as we were coming back to spend at few days at WDW.

Hope that helps.

 

[Janet Hill]

Don't know what airport is closest, but I think a car would be necessary. We stayed there for a week and the kids loved it. Lots of kids activities. VB also has a few activities geared to older children (9-11 range). We ate at Sonya and it was good. We went to the grocery store and had most meals in our unit. Our kids love the beach and a week at the beach is no problem for them - they will stay on the beach from sunrise to sunset if allowed. Space Center is close by and is an excellent day trip.

 

[Mahusky]

WE ARE A FAMILY OF 5. DD-10,DS-5,DS-3. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN TO VB AND WOULD LOVE TO GO LABOR DAY WEEK. SINCE WE HAVE NEVER BEEN TO VB I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT. DOES THE HOTEL PROVIDE ANY ACTIVITES FOR THE KIDS? ANY ATTRACTIONS? MY WIFE AND I WOULD LOVE TO RELAX ON THE BEACH,BUT I DONT THINK THE KIDS WILL WANT TO DO IT FOR A WHOLE WEEK. DOES DISNEY HAVE CHARACTERS WALKING AROUND? DO U NEED A CAR? WHAT ARE THE RESTURANTS LIKE AT THE HOTEL, EXPENSIVE? WHAT AIRPORT DO YOU FLY INTO. ANY INFO WOULD BE HELPFUL.

This was me 5 years ago trying to convince myself that VB was a place for my wife (beach & pool person) me and 3 kids. We went as a tradeoff with my wife who was getting Disney "crazed". Anyway, after the 1st trip we purchased a 400 pt contract and go 2 times a year. In '07 will be my 7th and 8th trip.

VB is awesome if you like the kids to have fun (lots of supervised activities), to relax with a book and a frozen drink and just simply want to melt away stress. Eat onsite (ok), offsite (better value) both are good depending on your mood. Did I mention the CM's they simply are [B]THE BEST[/B] of any Disney resort I have been too.

We go for a week in Feb (school break) and a week in late August. A week is fine if you are the hanging out type of family. As others have mentioned, The Space Coast is 1 hour drive, and Seaworld is 1 1/2 hours drive and Disney about 2 hours drive.

We fly into Orlando because of the flight options from MA but West Palm is slightly closer and may be a better choice.

I can ramble on and on...

 

[pb4ugo]

re the airports - don't know flight availability where you are - but melborne would be the closest airport [approx 40 miles from vero]; west palm is around 100 miles away and orlando is about 75 miles i think.

hth

 

[bobbiwoz]

We liked it enough to buy 150 points there after our first visit. There's a themed pirate area that I think your 5 year old will like, probably the 3 year old as well. They have kids DJs and music by the pool sometimes, so definitely things for the 10 year old as well. We took DH's cousin about 11 at the time, and there were some sort of races at the pool for her as well. We went in late August. There was a turtle watch/beach walk for the kids as well one morning.

Bobbi

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Vero Beach

The resort does provide daily activities for kids & adults.

They have a nice pool & Lighthouse w/spiral waterslide, a REALLY cool water play area for the real young kids, a hot Jacuzzi, miniature golf, exercise room, ping pong, bike rentals, The Green Cabin Room (bar/restaurant) has 2nd floor covered deck that has a fantastic view of the ocean and is a nice place to relax with your favorite beverage. It also has live entertainment in the evenings. At night they have a campfire / s’more roast (bring the Cutter Advanced to fend off the No-see-ums). You can rent a small catamaran or jet-ski for ocean fun. Across the street they have a lake, picnic tables, nature trail, tennis courts, and basketball courts. Disney built a private tunnel under the road to access this area. And of course they have the ocean and great waves for boogy boarding. Everything from the ocean to the pool to your room is no more than 2 minutes away walking. So it is real easy to break up your day

Five minutes away is Pelican Island and a wildlife education center. Also minutes away is Sebastian Inlet were the Indian River meets the ocean. There are many good fishing spots around the inlet, and there are river excursions where you can see dolphins, manatee, and tons of other types of wildlife. About an hour away is Cape Canaveral, (where the Magic and Wonder dock), the Kennedy Space Center (with museums,tours, and shows), and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with walking and driving tours.

We always have a car and it just makes it easier to grocery shop, visit the above places, etc. We're not much for restaurants (crowds & noise), but we do order carry out from Sonyas/Shutters (they don't advertise carryout) and we find the meal portions are enough for 2 people so DW and I order 1 entree and 2 salads between us and eat in our room or take it to our table at the pool. This cuts the meal cost in half considering no tip is involved. They also have an outdoor bar and grill by the pool for burgers & fries, etc.

I think you all will have a great week there.

By the way, typing in all caps is considered by most as yelling, and for people like me who have a reading disability it is harder to read

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Did I mention the CM's they simply are [B]THE BEST[/B] of any Disney resort I have been too.

I agree 100%... THE BEST! Oh... and if you make note of it you will see that the activity CMs are also the lifeguards at the pool. Take a few minutes to watch the guards when they are on the stand (for 15 minute intervals) they become Robo-Guards 100% focused on the people in the pool.

 

[mbhoxsie]

WE ARE A FAMILY OF 5. DD-10,DS-5,DS-3. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN TO VB AND WOULD LOVE TO GO LABOR DAY WEEK. SINCE WE HAVE NEVER BEEN TO VB I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT. DOES THE HOTEL PROVIDE ANY ACTIVITES FOR THE KIDS? ANY ATTRACTIONS? MY WIFE AND I WOULD LOVE TO RELAX ON THE BEACH,BUT I DONT THINK THE KIDS WILL WANT TO DO IT FOR A WHOLE WEEK. DOES DISNEY HAVE CHARACTERS WALKING AROUND? DO U NEED A CAR? WHAT ARE THE RESTURANTS LIKE AT THE HOTEL, EXPENSIVE? WHAT AIRPORT DO YOU FLY INTO. ANY INFO WOULD BE HELPFUL.

Like the others, we went for a quick trip a few years ago and ended up adding on there a few times..

Activities for the kids:
Similar to a cruise, there is a weekly itinary that is publish listing activities for kids and adults... There's pool games, bubbles on the boardwalk, arts & crafts, 2DC (at least I think its still there), SnorkelEARS, mini golf, Unbirthday parties, astronomy, Unca Banjo, etc...

Characters:
There is usually a character breakfast on Saturday mornings I believe in Shutters... There also may be one on Wednesday during the summer... (Can't remember).. Goofy & Max are at the character b'fast..

Cars:
You will need a car... We have both driven down and also flown down and rented a car from the airport... There are other options, towncars, limos, even Mears... But they are all more expensive then a simple rental... You will also want a car to do anything offsite like Captain Hiram's, grocery shopping, Hale's Orange Grove, etc..

Restaurants:
There are three sitdown restaurants, and one counter service by the pool...
Shutter's is the more casual of the three... Family friendly...
Sonya's... More upscale, but still caters to kids...
Green Cabin Room.. No really a restaurant, but they offer great hamburgers during lunch with views of the ocean..
Counter service by the pool... Pretty much the standard you get at any of the other DVC resorts... (Though they offer a great "sandpail" lunch for the kids..)

Airports:
There are three airports... Orlando (MCO), West Palm Beach, or Melbourne... While Melbourne is the closest, it is still about a 45 minute drive. Melbourne is also smaller and has few rental car choices...

We always fly into MCO.. We know the airport because of all of our WDW trips, and there are more choices for rental cars. It is about a 90 minute drive from MCO to VB..

Hope this helps!

 

[lovinthemouse]

Our family loved it. There are some kids activities, some have fees. Our dd 10 loves being at the pool and beach. It is a very relaxing vacation. If you want hustle and bustle this is not the place. We went Spring Break '06 our first trip and are booked for Spring Break '07. We spend 5 days there. A car is a must. We would go out for dinner or to movie in the evenings. I can't stress enough how relaxing it is. There is not much to do in the town itself. Mostly we just layed by the pool and beach.

 

[greenban]

Like the others, we went for a quick trip a few years ago and ended up adding on there a few times..

Activities for the kids:
Similar to a cruise, there is a weekly itinary that is publish listing activities for kids and adults... There's pool games, bubbles on the boardwalk, arts & crafts, 2DC (at least I think its still there), SnorkelEARS, mini golf, Unbirthday parties, astronomy, Unca Banjo, etc...

Characters:
There is usually a character breakfast on Saturday mornings I believe in Shutters... There also may be one on Wednesday during the summer... (Can't remember).. Goofy & Max are at the character b'fast..

Cars:
You will need a car... We have both driven down and also flown down and rented a car from the airport... There are other options, towncars, limos, even Mears... But they are all more expensive then a simple rental... You will also want a car to do anything offsite like Captain Hiram's, grocery shopping, Hale's Orange Grove, etc..

Restaurants:
There are three sitdown restaurants, and one counter service by the pool...
Shutter's is the more casual of the three... Family friendly...
Sonya's... More upscale, but still caters to kids...
Green Cabin Room.. No really a restaurant, but they offer great hamburgers during lunch with views of the ocean..
Counter service by the pool... Pretty much the standard you get at any of the other DVC resorts... (Though they offer a great "sandpail" lunch for the kids..)

Airports:
There are three airports... Orlando (MCO), West Palm Beach, or Melbourne... While Melbourne is the closest, it is still about a 45 minute drive. Melbourne is also smaller and has few rental car choices...

We always fly into MCO.. We know the airport because of all of our WDW trips, and there are more choices for rental cars. It is about a 90 minute drive from MCO to VB..

Hope this helps!

Great Advice:

However, Max did not return from college this summer (per a CM on our August 2006 stay) and was replaced by Donald Duck.

We are also a family of 5, DD12, DS 11, DD6 and I followed the board's advice and stayed for 3 nights following a week + at WDW.

(Now I grew up in Jersey, and as a kid yearly vacations to AC were the norm, and I loved them. I went to A/C 5 years ago (for a vacation, not the casinos) and hated it, so I had some worries about VB)

We loved it, we're going back this summer for a full week in a Beach Cottage.

There is PLENTY to do.

I feel that you need a car.

I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did, each child (all three *NEVER* agree!) wanted to go back and loved the resort!

-Tony

 

[Lenc324]

Vero Beach is low key but there is something for everyone there. Pool, beach and activities for kids. If you must have the constant hussle and bussle each day, I would say stay at WDW, but if you need fun and relaxation VB is a wonderful place to be.

 

[dumbo71]

We fly into Orlando and it takes about 1 1/2 hours to drive there. The ride is simple.

We LOVE VB and feel it the best DVC has to offer.

Give it a try, we fell in love with the place. Great CM's, lots of activites, beach, pool, mini golf, fishing, campfire, great small town of VB, etc.

Good luck and if you want Memorial day I'd book NOW.

 

[Halle]

We love VB, only concern is that there aren't any lifeguards on the beach.
We've eaten at Shutters and Sonja's enjoyed both. Offsite we ate at the Ocean Grill but it smelled musty and I think a bit over priced, Carrabas which is a chain but excellent and Jack (somebody's) Lobster Shanty. Ironically I saw that they have a restaurant in NJ and being a Jersey girl thought we should give it a try. It was horrible. Captain Hiram's was a lot of fun, be sure to go early. You'll love VB