Need Advice on a RCI Exchange for August

[VinnyNYC]

Hello,
Going back to Orlando this August with my wife and 2 kids. Need advice for picking the right resort:
Sheraton Vistana Resort 2 bedroom
HGVC @ International Drive 1br
HGVC @ Sea World 1br
Bonnet Creek 1br
Orange Lake Riverwalk 2br
Thanks

 

[greenclan67]

We just stayed at Orange Lake west village in Dec for the first time. Loved It. Tons of amenities. Villas were great, pools awesome. We are returning in 9 days for a stay at River Island.
Now, Gina gina will be here shortly to tell u about Sheraton Vistana. Which we havent stayed at yet but hear it is awesome sauce as well.
Good luck.

 

[LadyBeBop]

We just stayed at Orange Lake west village in Dec for the first time. Loved It. Tons of amenities. Villas were great, pools awesome. We are returning in 9 days for a stay at River Island.
Now, Gina gina will be here shortly to tell u about Sheraton Vistana. Which we havent stayed at yet but hear it is awesome sauce as well.
Good luck.

Basically in agreement with greenclan67. We have stayed in Orange Lake twice. Enjoyed it both times. Not as nice as Bonnet Creek (where we stayed at last fall). But with four in your party, you need that second bedroom.

However, I'm sure Gina Gina will be around praising Sheraton Vistana. She loves it there. Never stayed there before. However, we passed by it, and it's close to DTD.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Now, Gina gina will be here shortly to tell u about Sheraton Vistana. Which we havent stayed at yet but hear it is awesome sauce as well. Good luck.

However, I'm sure Gina Gina will be around praising Sheraton Vistana. She loves it there. Never stayed there before. However, we passed by it, and it's close to DTD.

I seem to have a reputation around here .

Yes, I am admittedly a huge cheerleader for the Vistana Resort. Every room has been renovated right down to the studs within the last several years, and the new finishings are really, really lovely. Granite countertops. Ceramic tile in the bathrooms. A Jacuzzi tub in the master. A fully screened in balcony or deck. Most 2 bedrooms sleep 8 with a king in the master, 2 doubles in the second bedroom, and a queen pull-out in the living room. Each villa has a washer and dryer, a full kitchen with a breakfast bar, and a dining room.

As for the resort itself....its beautiful and just immaculately maintained. Lots of mature landscaping and fountains. There are 7 pools (each with a different "feature" like sprinkler fountains, a slide, in-water volleyball nets, poolside movies, a cascading waterfall, etc.), 6 outdoor hot tubs, sand volleyball courts, basketball courts, multiple playgrounds, mini golf, and tennis courts. There's a "FUN Team" that hosts a whole list of daily activities from poolside karaoke parties to Bingo to tie-dye t-shirt making.

Location is fabulous....right around the corner from Downtown Disney. Super close to the Premium Outlets on Vineland and the Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores. About 15 minutes to SeaWorld & International Drive. Universal is just up the I4. An hour from Cocoa Beach.

We loved it so much, we ended up purchasing two annual weeks there when we came home (resale, of course ).

These threads are excellent resources if you are considering staying there, and have a ton of photos:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3148502

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2088957

The first thread is the newest and most current, so you might want to start there first.

Have fun deciding! I know greenclan67 and LadyBeBop won't steer you wrong, either....so it sounds like you have at least two awesome properties to pick from!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I will also add.....with 2 adults and 2 children occupying the space, I would definitely go with one of the two bedroom units vs. the 1 bedroom options.

 

[VinnyNYC]

Yes, I am leaning towards SVR. I have stayed there a couple of times in the past. It is a really nice resort, in a perfect location. I wanted to try something different this time. Has any stayed at Orange Lake in the Riverwalk section? I heard they have fees for rafts and slides?

 

[greenclan67]

Yes, I am leaning towards SVR. I have stayed there a couple of times in the past. It is a really nice resort, in a perfect location. I wanted to try something different this time. Has any stayed at Orange Lake in the Riverwalk section? I heard they have fees for rafts and slides?

We are staying there in 8 days. That being said, yes they do charge for the tube rentals in the lazy river. YOU DON'T need them, I promise, when we were there in Dec my kids rented them, and never used them, liked swimming through instead. The slide is the Hippo slide, not the slide in the pools. You can buy a play pass for $39.00 for 3 days, that includes your tube rentals, hippo slide and mini putt. We didn't do any of these. SO didn't bother. It is a gorgeous resort. You can't go wrong with it. We were in West Village in Dec and River Island in March.

 

[Detailor]

Though I think that the HGVC resorts are really nice (and a lot of people seem to like Bonnet Creek, too), with a family of four I'd stick with the 2-bedroom options. So, that would shorten the list to either Vistana Resort or Orange Lake's River Island section. We've stayed at both of those resorts two or three times but have always stayed in West Village at Orange Lake.

Both resorts are quite large and have multiple phases. Vistana completed a huge refurbishment project through all phases a few years ago and Starwood tends to keep their timeshare resorts fairly up-to-date so you won't go wrong with that one. And the location is great for Disney, SeaWorld and Universal, as well as for restaurants, shopping and other Orlando-area attractions. Vistana (in its pre-Sheraton days) was our first Orlando-area timeshare to visit and we were impressed enough to go back a few years later. It's not our favorite timeshare resort in the area anymore - we prefer the Marriotts and the Disney Vacation Club resorts are pretty nice, too - but it's certainly a nice resort with lots of amenities in a very good location.

It's been a while since we've stayed at Orange Lake and when we were there last there was a pretty wide variation in how nice the villas were - particularly so within the large West Village section. (The so-called Kem's Way villas were not nearly as nice as those we'd stayed in on Sandhill Drive, for instance). But the section that you're looking at - River Island - is the newest at the resort and it has the water park feature on its grounds making that section compelling. The one downside at this resort - assuming that it's the same now - is that they seemed to charge extra for services that seem to be gratis at other resorts, most phone calls from the villas had a small cost for instance. I suppose that today with everyone having a cell phone that that's no longer an issue but I wonder if there's a charge for WiFi and other services. Despite little annoyances like that, I think that OLCC is a nice resort and we truly enjoyed our stays out there. The location is good - not far from the "back entrance" to Disney via Sherberth Road which comes out near the Animal Kingdom and lots of mostly new retail and restaurants (Target, Bahama Breeze, Applebees, Longhorn Steak House, Publix, Miller's Ale House, Olive Garden and others) are in the general area on SR-192 which fronts the resort property.

All in all, I think that these are very good choices to have to decide between and either one should provide a good vacation experience.

Dick Taylor