Just back from Orange Lake-

[krismom]

We just returned from a week at Orange Lake Country CLub. We requested North side near the Splash pool but got East side high rises. The place was very large, clean and we were happy with the shortcut on Sherberth / Black Lake road to Disney property. Unfortunately- the resort was just too big for our liking. The pool area was a car ride away and once we were in the car the kids wanted to go the Typhoon Lagoon instead! The "River Island" project that we booked here for hasn't even started construction yet. Something about "coming in 2007" on the signs. All of the restaurants on 192 were jammed whenever we wanted to eat- we ended up at IHOP once and just getting stuff at Publix to cook ourselves another time. They hounded us for a time share presentation at least once a day via phone calls and leaving stuff onthe door- we politely declined. I think we will stick with the Vistana from now on since they have more pools- and one is sure to be within walking distance to a condo. I guess if you are a golfer- Orange Lake would be a better choice.
Have fun!

 

[jaysue]

Hi, how long a drive was it roughly to WDW property entrance at Sherbeth and Osceola?

[We are looking at adding a timeshare in Orlando area hence the specific quesiton]

Thanks
jaysue

 

[krismom]

It was about 10 minutes to WDW property. Orange Lake backs up against Animal Kingdom Lodge / Animal Kingdom property.
Have Fun!

 

[spiceycat]

it took me 20 minutes to get to FW from OL - so I would think MK would be similar.

 

[jaysue]

Thanks for the replies

Would you consider buying there?

Thanks
jaysue

 

[spiceycat]

well I won't because I like a lot more pools....

but the condo we had was excellent. It was in a stand alone building. It was older but recently redone.

but as I say I might my pools - a OL they were few and far away.....

 

[krismom]

I totally agree! The pools were hard to find and not that great-

 

[riu girl]

Thanks for the info. We are booked into a 2 bdrm later this year (first time at OLCC).

Besides the river island condos, were you able to see the river island water park area? If so, in your opinion, do you think it will be open as projected (late spring/early summer)?

Also, did you partake in any of the on site activites (ex. luau, unbirthday party, movie theatre, nature walk, in-house gatorland presentation, kids pool games, nature walk, campfire at the beach etc).
If so, what activities did you do and what is your opinion on them?

Thank you

 

[ducklite]

Depending on when you are trying to get to places, be warned that it can take more than a few minutes. From OLCC to HoB a couple weeks ago took me almost half an hour due to traffic.

Anne

 

[siobhan1997]

We were there the beginning of March and as usual put into a golf villa as most all RCI exchangers are . But I did manage to change the golf villa when we arrived so I wouldn't have to drive to a pool. About 5 of our 7 nights there someone was always in our parking spot outside our villa and even though they had no parking permit in their window, security wouldn't do anything about it. Our vehicle had to be parked on the road and I wasn't very happy about that especially with it being a rental. The unit itself was clean, but the outside patio furniture was really dirty. Also the jets on the jacuzzi were filthy, they really need to clean those, and the hairdryer was full of dirty lint.

I too find that Orange Lake is too big. I also find that people who work there can be very unfriendly and I also find that some of the people are getting stuffy. I don't think I will do anymore trades into there.

There is also too much construction going on on the US 192, they are even building an overpass that looks like it might be going through the property.

The North Village Pool is OK if you don't mind the pool not being any more than 3.5 ft deep. The West Village Pool Complex is good except they should really heat the Olympic Pool as the other ones end up with way too many people in them as they are heated.

We did the Polynesian Luau dinner and show on the Thursday night. When we arrived at the NOrth Village to have the buffet dinner, no one at Orange Lake ever told us we had to buy tickets and they had all sold out. (They only sell about 160 tickets for the dinner, you would think that with the size of this place they could accomodate more people especially at $13.00 a head) There were alot of other people standing around who did not know they had to buy tickets. It was very disappointing. Maybe owners are only told of this who knows.

The show was good though great audience participation. The show is actually free!!! Probably will be the closest I will ever get to a Luau.

Anyway you could probably put up with Orange Lake for a week but I do wish RCI didn't push this place so much as there are much better resorts in Orlando.

 

[lawgs]

krismom

when you say the "river island" has not even started construction ....

did you see the area where it is going to be built?

were there any condo buildings in place yet?

 

[olbear]

My home timeshare is Cypress Point on Palm Parkway just down the street from the entrance to DTD. Very very nice. I think you would like it alot better than OLCC.

Blessings,
Winnie

 

[KerriMc]

We were just at OLCC last week and the river island is projected to be opened by May this year. I never saw a sign that said 2007 ... and the big condos next to river island were in the process of being furnished while we were there. We saw the huge trucks unloading lamps and other small boxes. The river island is almost ready it appears to me. Lots of work, but maybe just a couple of months worth. We saw the big slide when we went on our little "tour". The new condos won't be used by anyone except for those that own them. I don't know if I would like that as it would be noisy I would think.

I wasn't impressed with the new toll highway that now runs right through OL, but the timeshare people weren't phased by it at all. They are trying to negotiate a deal with WDW for a land swap to make a direct road to Disney (according to timeshare guy, so take that for what it may be worth ). Some days were hit and miss on 192 depending on the time of day, etc.

This time we were in East Village again, which is the newer sections. They haven't been redone yet because they are only about five years old. We did have to drive or walk, but that was ok with the two little ones. We did find the pool way over on the West end, right near the front entrance to be a bit quieter so we went there and the kids were happy.

I found the people to be ok. No one was rude, they were all very accomodating. The cleaning people almost back off they are worried about offending us I guess?? We did have a problem with the dryer, which obviously wasn't heating up inside well enough to dry a load of laundry, but got really hot on top. He did something to the back of it, but it then just blew hot air out and the condo would be sooooo humid and muggy. It was only a few days left so we didn't bother to call again as I didn't want to wait around for someone to come and service it.

All in all ... OLCC is beautiful. My dh and dad went golfing (we got Legends passes for our tour thing) and they had a great time. They did see three gators while golfing and one was in a pond by hole 12 I think. They said he looked pretty big!! As much as we liked it, we may just rent a house again next year. The only nice thing about being in a community somewhere though, is having a community pool that my dd's can go and swim with some little friends they make while on their trip. When alone at a house, they don't have anyone else. We'll have to see. We want to spend 9 days next year and you can't do that at a timeshare.

Have a nice trip

Kerri

 

[lawgs]

we had a problem with the dryer in the unit we were in also...East Village 3 bedroom....

the exhaust hose was completely OFF and it was sending the air into the unit instead of venting it out...

it must have been that way for a while since we got a dust pan full of LINT when cleaned it out later since he could not find a BROOM in our unit....we did it after requesting a broom from maintenance....

also thanks for your river island update,

 

[KerriMc]

Maybe we had the same unit??? We didn't have a broom either!!!! This drove my mother nuts ... they are sweeping kind of people We had a dust pan, but no broom!

Kerri