Live room report from HHI

[tedhowe]

We arrived last evening. Member services at checkin was great.

We are in building 26, right by the pool - we hadn't requested it, but with 4 young kids in our party, this is an ideal location - near parking, right by the pool and broad creek mercantile, free wifi available from our balcony.

We have friends travelling with us, and had requested our rooms be near one another - we're in 2622, they are right below us in 2612 - both dedicated 2 bedroom units - couldn't be much better.

Room condition is very good - some small wear and tear since our last visit to HHI 8 years ago, but in general I think they are doing a good job of keeping the resort up to date.

The new appliances in the kitchen are great - we do a lot of in unit cooking and it's nice to have a new range/micro.

The only complaint I have is with the deck on the balcony.

My 3 year old got two splinters in her feet within a few minutes of running around the unit. It appears to me that the decking on the balcony was replaced within the last few years - it certainly doesn't seem 10 years old, and yet it is still pressure treated decking that is splintering. I think in terms of longevity and durability, some good composite decking would be just as economical in terms of maintenance and cost, and it would remove the possibility of splinters causing problems.

My parents have a house at the Jersey shore - horrible conditions for wood aging, just like here at HHI - and they replaced their decking with a composite board called Weatherbest about 6 years ago - it looks just as good today as it did the day it was installed and they have done NO maintenance on it.

We haven't gotten the splinters out of DD's feet yet, some time trying in our room last night was fruitless and painful for all involved. We will see how she is doing, but we may have a visit to a local urgent care center in our future on this trip.

Oh well... the weather forecast is improving for the week. We plan lots of pool time, activities at the resort, mini golf and beach time later in the week when it gets back up into the 70s.

I'll check in throughout the week - anyone have any HHI questions? I'll see if I can answer them.

Ted

 

[nzdisneymom]

We're hoping to do spring break at HH next year, so I'm interested in reading about your trip. Thanks for taking time during your vacation to post. I'd love to see pictures around the resort if you get a chance.

 

[disney1474]

Post some pictures if you can. We will be there for the first time in a couple of weeks. Is there any rehabs going on now?

 

[mickeymorse]

Thanks for the info Ted. Looking forward to more.

 

[alldiz]

Thanks for posting...I hope your DD is OK.
Kerri

 

[nickmom]

Thanks for the info. I will be watching for more reports. We will be driving from PA in June for our first HHI visit. Did you drive? DS is 6 can't wait to swim and go to the beach. Hope your DD is ok too. Have fun.
Carla

 

[tedhowe]

Thanks for the info. I will be watching for more reports. We will be driving from PA in June for our first HHI visit. Did you drive? DS is 6 can't wait to swim and go to the beach. Hope your DD is ok too. Have fun.
Carla

Quick reply... I promise to try to post some pictures of the resort tonight.

We spent a couple of hours in the pool today... it's not great beach weather right now, but looks like it will improve later this week.

DD3 is doing fine with the splinters. They aren't hurting her. We're using antibiotic ointment and bandaids for now and if there's any sign of infection we'll get her taken care of.

DD6 and I took bikes and rode around the resort this afternoon - her first time on a two wheeler (even one with training wheels) she was tentative at first, but by the end of an hour was doing great. This is what a vacation like this one (as opposed to being at WDW) is great for - really having time to spend with the kids on "lazy day" activities.

We drove down from PA - the philadelphia area. We decided to split it into two days - first day we went on the turnpike to Carlisle and then down I-81 to Luray Caverns - spent a few hours there and then another 3 hour drive to Christiansburg, VA where we stayed at a days in.

The next day was an easy 7 hour drive (including stops) to get to the resort and check in at 4:30.

Gotta run to the shark necklace activity at the community hall... I'll post more later.

 

[marvali]

Glad you're having a great time. We just missed you as we left yesterday about 12:30. It was a rather laid back few days for us also. We were in Building 31 in a dedicated 2BR, which had a fantastic view. We drove so we brought our own bikes. The boys spent a lot of time riding around the resort and in the pool. We spent a day at the Beach House sunning and playing volleyball. My DS15 signed up for the Teen capture the flag but said it would have been a lot more fun if there had been more participation (two teams of three). My DS11 went Fishing for Murgie, but that was Saturday afternoon, which is when the weather started turning bad so it was windy and getting cooler. We played a lot of shuffleboard, and our DS's went to the Magic show Saturday evening, and then we all went to the Ghosts and Legends that evening. We also did a lot of cooking in the villa, but a lot of it was prepared ahead before we arrived.

We didn't notice any real problems with our room, although it had a little of the normal wear and tear. I didn't notice any refurbishment going on either while we were out and about.

Since you are there early in the week (we didn't arrive until Thursday) you need to plan to take advantage of the Member Day activities. I hear the Lowcountry Boil is pretty good on Tuesdays and I wish we had been there in time to do the Behind the Scenes tour. We got a sheet from the front desk about finding Hidden Mickey's and found quite a few of them. Don't let them give you the answer sheet and spoil it before you get the chance to search though. There are also a number of activities (Wednesdays I think) where you get a DVC discount, like the Dolphin Tour. Let us know if you do any of these and how they work out.

Hope you have a great visit!

 

[marvali]

BTW for those interested, they have now put up YOMD signs around the resort. This was new from our previous visit and I asked one of the CMs we knew from before if they were giving away any "dreams" at the resort now and she told me that yes they were. We didnt win anything but at least there is a chance for those who are visiting now or at least in the near future.

 

[Conan the Librarian]

Please please don't let your child run around barefoot here in the south. The Sand Spurs, stickers, bugs and other nasties that live on the ground in the South Carolina Low Country, and Georgia Coast can cause very painful injuries. Keep'em in slippers at least.

(Nothing to do with the splinters...just a general warning)

 

[BWV Dreamin]

BTW for those interested, they have now put up YOMD signs around the resort. This was new from our previous visit and I asked one of the CMs we knew from before if they were giving away any "dreams" at the resort now and she told me that yes they were. We didnt win anything but at least there is a chance for those who are visiting now or at least in the near future.

Dumb question but......what is YOMD?

 

[jekjones1558]

what is YOMD

Year of a Million Dreams.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Year of a Million Dreams.

Thanks Jean, I think I am really out of the loop....but what is that? Is it some contest you can win a DVC trip?

 

[tedhowe]

We had fun at the shark tooth necklace activity. Afterward, we all took the bikes out - this was DD3's first time on a 2-wheel bike as well. She was a bit more tentative, but got the hang of it fairly well as well by the end of another hour.

We just finished another dinner in the unit. We're going out to the Lowcountry Boil tomorrow, so I'll definitely post a review. We're going to do a cookout dinner on Wednesday evening at one of the grills (probably the one at the playground - the evening weather is supposed to be nice by then). Then Thursday night will be a night out for dinner.

I brought my camera along for the outing this afternoon, but there were lots of clouds, so I don't think there's much to post. If I see anything good when I download pictures, I'll upload them. The weather is supposed to be much better once we get past tomorrow, so I'll be sure to get some good shots before we leave.

Another comment about the rooms. Even though my membership is at HHI, this is the first time we've stayed here since we bought in. We've been "members" through my parents since 1993 - OKW members, and we've always stayed at OKW when we are in Orlando. We love the rooms and the size there - the other on-site rooms can't compare.

But, I think I may like the room size here at HHI the best of all... it's smaller than OKW but plenty large in the 2 bedroom unit. Somehow if feels more cozy for 4 people - 8 would certainly be a stretch, but for us with 2 adults and 2 kids, it's the right fit.

I love the decor here, but the switch to CFL lights means that everything is too dim for a couple of minutes when you first turn on the lights. I know it's a small thing, but it's kind of annoying. I support the switch to CFLs, but I hope when it's time to replace bulbs, they start using the fast-start CFLs that reach full brightness in just a few seconds.

 

[Laxmom]

Thanks for the info. I just have to subscribe. We love HHI and are in process of buying a small contract there as a annual getaway for DH and I now that the kids are older. Good to get the info on OKW also. We are staying there on an exchange this summer; it will be our first stay in a DVC.

 

[buzz5985]

A teacher taught me this trick for splinters - Elmers White Glue. Put the glue over the splinter "hole" when it dries the splinter should come right out.

I know you don't carry glue on vacation - but just a hint for at home.

We never go barefoot. Even at home. DH had some strange rash once, and the Doctor told him it was from going barefoot.

 

[nzdisneymom]

It sounds like you all are having a good time - thanks for taking time to share your vacation with us.

So you guys are renting the bikes? How does that work? So much per hour? Or for the day? Or did you rent them from somewhere else for the week?

What is the Lowcountry Boil?

 

[tedhowe]

The bikes can be rented from the recreation window at the Broad Creek building near the pool. I'm not sure of the exact pricing as my DW handled the rental. The rental window was already closed by the time we got settled into our room on Sunday, and we didn't get out of the room until about 10AM yesterday, so all of the Disney resort's bikes were already rented.

The people at the rental window gave us the number of a local rental agency that honored the Disney member rate for us. We called them and in about an hour, they delivered the four bikes right outside our unit and will pick them up with no charge. I think for the week, the price was about $90 including tax.

The Lowcountry Boil is a traditional celebration style meal that they put on twice a week at the Beach House (looking in local tourist activity magazines, it seems lots of other resorts on HHI do the same thing) - steamed shrimp, crabs, corn on the cob, red potatoes... it sounds very good. For the kids, they have lots of activities going on for the 2 hours as well, face painting, etc. We're looking forward to it very much and I'll post a full review.

We're headed to community hall at 9AM for the ladybug activity and then at 11 we have the Disney geocaching activity. We've been geocaching for years, so a lot of the introductory stuff is not going to matter to us, but it will be fun to hunt for their cache (or caches) that they have in the resort.

This afternoon the weather is supposed to clear, but if it doesn't we're planning to head off the resort to The Sandbox children's museum. We've heard mixed things, but it looks like a nice place to try on a rainy day.

 

[nzdisneymom]

The people at the rental window gave us the number of a local rental agency that honored the Disney member rate for us. We called them and in about an hour, they delivered the four bikes right outside our unit and will pick them up with no charge. I think for the week, the price was about $90 including tax.

Thanks for the info! That sounds like a reasonable deal - and nice to not have to hassle with returning them. Do they also rent helmets or did you bring your own?

Can't wait to hear about the LCB experience - it sounds enjoyable! Thanks so much for sharing all this with us -- we are looking forward to going to HHI for our spring break next year (assuming we can get in at 7 months).

Oooohhhhh.... geocaching -- that sounds like something we would enjoy doing, too!

 

[marvali]

Thanks for the info! That sounds like a reasonable deal - and nice to not have to hassle with returning them. Do they also rent helmets or did you bring your own?

Can't wait to hear about the LCB experience - it sounds enjoyable! Thanks so much for sharing all this with us -- we are looking forward to going to HHI for our spring break next year (assuming we can get in at 7 months).

Oooohhhhh.... geocaching -- that sounds like something we would enjoy doing, too!

We booked in Nov/Dec time frame for March and April trips, so well within the 7 month window.

Also, if you rent the bikes first thing when you arrive (or arrange it beforehand, possibly through a local rental shop's website or call their number) then you can get the length of stay rate, which isn't much more than the daily rate from what I understand (sorry I can't give specifics but we had our own bikes).