Marriott Vacation Club and planning?

[cat4hurricane]

For Christmas one my gifts was a WDW trip during the MNSSHP (Mickey’s Not So Scary) timeframe (so roughly August-late October, thinking September would be a good time, but my birthday is also in late August). My family owns inside of the Marriott Vacation Club, and will most likely be using our extra week/MVC Points (we own during Thanksgiving and one other time, thinking spring break) instead of Bonvoy Points/standard Marriott points. Because of this, that immediately takes out I believe all of the Good Neighbor hotels, as well as Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve. As a massive Disney fan, I’d still like to get some perks, like transportation or cheaper tickets.

I’ve tried doing my own research a little bit, but I’m not even sure where to start when it comes to the Orlando-based MVC properties. I’m well aware of the Disney hotels and their benefits but the Marriott hotels make me scratch my head.

While I’m unsure how long we would actually be in the parks (ideally we would be in Orlando for a week, with a majority of the days in the park - we’ve done 4-5 days in the park with rest days in between before), I’d like to be closer to MK. I’ve heard that the hotels at the Marriott World Center are good and close, but that they’re also the oldest.

Room wise, it will most likely be just me and my parents, as my sister for sure will not be able to take time off from her work. We’d be looking at something probably 2-bedroom? 3 bedrooms seem unnecessary unless this becomes a family and friends trip. Also for reference: all of us are adults, so I’m unsure if Harbour Lake would be a good option as that’s geared towards younger families.

I guess my question(s) is if anyone has stayed at some of these MVC resort hotels? Is there any Disney perks at all with these? What should my planning look like? I’d like to get a hotel figured out first, as I don’t believe that MNSSHP tickets are out yet or that the ticket calendar goes that far out.

 

[Huskerpal]

We have stayed at Lakeshore Reserve the last two trips to Orlando. It is one of the nicest MVC resorts in the system. Has a lazy river and pool bar/food. You can walk to the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton, which both have nice restaurants. You can also use the pool at the Ritz or pay to use the waterpark at the JW, but we like the resort's pool area so much we never left. Only a few buildings were built (great recession ended plans for others), so the infrastructure like pool area was built for a lot more guests, so never seems busy.

Downside - it is the furthest from WDW (very close to SeaWorld though if you have any interest). We used rideshare and found it worked just fine. Copied below is a list of all the MVC properties in Orlando. Sable, Royal, and Imperial Palms are all located on the World Center property, so very close to WDW. Downside is as you say they are some of the oldest MVC resorts in Orlando. You can use the pool at World Center, but have to pay to use the waterpark.

Orlando
► Marriott’s Cypress Harbour
► Marriott’s Grande Vista
► Marriott’s Harbour Lake
► Marriott’s Imperial Palm Villas
► Marriott’s Lakeshore Reserve
► Marriott’s Royal Palms
► Marriott’s Sabal Palms

 

[Brian Noble]

My family owns inside of the Marriott Vacation Club

What, specifically, do they own?

I think this video series is probably the best way to compare them.

 

[cat4hurricane]

What, specifically, do they own?

I think this video series is probably the best way to compare them.

So my parents own at one of the MVC’s in Southwest Florida, just a small timeshare that they split 2 weeks at. We used to stay there a lot more but more recently my mom has figured out how to rent out one of the weeks they don’t use. We usually use the other one for vacationing elsewhere inside of the MVC ecosystem. I’m unsure if they use Interval for that exchange or if there’s something specific to Marriott, but it allows us to stay on other Marriott VC properties as long as we use it within a certain timeframe.

 

[HopperFan]

Not sure what you think Good Neighbor Hotels are but this is the list ... they get NO Disney perks but do include some Marriott properties. https://www.wdwgoodneighborhotels.com/

If you were thinking of the Disney Springs hotels, they are not Good Neighbor but there are no Marriotts. https://disneyspringshotels.com/


As far as MVC, they do not get any Disney perks. Some will offer shuttle services for you but that is about it. I drive.

I have stayed at Marriott World Center, Imperial Palms a few times (3 bed but sometimes the least amount of points) and Sabal Palms (2 bed) many times including last month. I love it there and will always be my first choice. Royal Palms is 2 bed and close to amenity hub but I have chosen to stick with Sabal. The plus of MWC locations is all the perks at the hotel like lots of dining and large pool area. It is just minutes to any of the WDW parks by car. We stayed and went to MVMCP and it was easy enough - if you have a car.

I've stayed at Grand Vista several times and do not plan to return there.

Folks have stayed at several others. Lakeshore, absolutely loved it but they were not doing parks. It is farther. They have stayed Cypress Harbor and Harbor Lake, though Lake was great for young children. I'm not interested in that location so I have not booked those.

 

[Brian Noble]

They probably use Interval.

And, because they do not own an Orlando-area Marriott, you might be able to exchange it for a DVC villa. This is a hard trade because you are considering going during a time when demand by DVC owners is near its peak, but that doesn't mean you can't try.

A getaway via Interval in e.g. September to one of the Marriotts will be very inexpensive. If it were me, I'd put in an exchange request for *any* DVC resort, and at the same time keep an eye on the Getaway inventory for the period I was considering.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

They probably use Interval.

And, because they do not own an Orlando-area Marriott, you might be able to exchange it for a DVC villa. This is a hard trade because you are considering going during a time when demand by DVC owners is near its peak, but that doesn't mean you can't try.

A getaway via Interval in e.g. September to one of the Marriotts will be very inexpensive. If it were me, I'd put in an exchange request for *any* DVC resort, and at the same time keep an eye on the Getaway inventory for the period I was considering.

Ongoing search for, at least SSR and OKW is definitely feasible, especially in August and September, provided the parents are depositing a good season week well in advance.

 

[socaldisney]

We have stayed at Marriott Cypress Harbour, Marriott Grande Vista, Marriott Royale Palms and Lakeshore Reserve (super nice). All are great and were very happy at all of them. However, we now stay at the Marriott Royale Palms when we do Disney trips. It's close and convenient - only about 10-15 minutes from the parks. Yes, they are older and may look a little dated on the outside, but, they are very nice and modern on the inside and have lots of room. Plus, if you use points, they take the least amount of points.