Need HH Advice

[amcnj]

Hi all. As newbies to HH, we are hoping to book a 2 bedroom, but wondered if there were any advantages to specific buildings or areas within the resort. From the resort map I saw there is a building called the Live Oak Lodge and then another area with campfire ring, shuffleboard and a fishing pier. What activities occur at the Lodge, where are pools located, are there other areas I am missing altogether, and how far is it from one end of the resort to the other? Thanks in advance for any advice, recommendation and experiences you share.

 

[keenercam]

The distance between the Live Oak Lodge and the other end of the resort is only about a 5-7 minute walk. At the far end is the pool, community hall (where there are crafts, the night of magic, etc), the mercantile (where you can buy souvenirs, clothes, groceries), Tide Me Over (the snack bar that is open for breakfast and lunch and where you can get your refillable mug filled), shuffleboard, ping pong, the campfire ring, that is where we went to Shadow's Tales, and where you can rent bikes, etc. Most of our activities and excursions were centered in that area. At the Lodge is the front desk and Murggies Den (where you can play billiards, checkers, there is a fireplace, etc). The only times we were at the Lodge were for check in and check out, when we used the DVC phone to buy more points, and when our teen daughter hung out with other teens shooting pool. I hope this answers your question. But feel free to ask away.
BTW, feel free to ask any other questions. Our weekend there was, by far, the most relaxing vacation we have ever had, and I can tell you at least 10 activities we did and at least 10 more we are looking forward to doing when we return.

 

[amcnj]

So there is really no great benefit to one building over another then, in your opinion? What activities did you do and which would you recommend? A DD (12) and DS (8) will be there too. Thanks for your help!

 

[keenercam]

Personally, I preferred being toward the far end of the resort. The walk to the pool and mercantile and every activity we did was very quick and easy. Here are the things we did:
Shadow's Tales -- story telling with B'Lou and the resort mascot, Shadow. We all enjoyed it and Shadow was so patient with all the kids petting her and crowding her. We got some great pictures afterwards of the kids with her.
Giyatokou-- DS9 painted a dead fish and then put the fish against a tshirt-- very cute and lots of fun for all the kids and adults that did it.
Nature Kayaking --DD14 did this for 2 hour tour and absolutely loved it. She saw 2 bald eagles.
Kids Night out-- pizza and Treasure Planet--DS9 had a great time with all the other kids and the CMs are absolutely wonderful.
Teen Night OUt-- the new james bond movie then hanging out afterwards eating pizza and playing games, all in community hall
santa's workshop--crafts for kids-- made candy cane reindeer and hand-stamped wrapping paper.
santa's workshop for adults--very low attendance, enjoyably quiet with christmas music playing. we made satin ball & sequin & bead ornaments & they also had cinamon sticks w/silk flowers, etc.
holiday campfire & s'mores-- a total blast. really great crowd and the CMs were hysterical
football on the beach--lots of fun, even in the cold and the beach is just gorgeous! we didn't swim at the beach house pool, but spent an evening there and our kids really loved it-- there is a small arcade and ping pong, and some of the teens just hung out around the pool on the lounge chairs, talking.
A Night of Magic--B'Lou is a fabulous magician, storyteller, and musician. I could go to his events every night.
You are going to love it there!! And I really think you will be happy if you end up with a non-lodge villa, though how anyone could be unhappy at HH at all is beyond me!
Also, my DH loved golfing at Palmetto Dunes on the Fazio course.

 

[amcnj]

This may show up twice, as I posted once before but it seems to be lost for now. Anyway, I guess the "lodge villas" you are referring to are the two on the map I have marked buildings 12 and 13. Are all buildings the same aside from location? I also noticed that parking appears on the map solely on the marina side of the resort, none on marsh side. Is this true? So if your building was on the marsh side you park on the other side and take pathways to the buildings, including for luggage unloading? Are there carts available?

 

[cgcw]

There is parking inside the lodge as well as all along the stretch of road along the buildings. You wouldn't have to park at one end and walk to the rooms on the other side. At times it seemed as if all of the spaces were full but we didn't have a problem even having to park.
I wanted to add onto what keenercam said. She gave you a lot of the non-summertime activities. Alot of them are offered during the summer as well. I wasn't sure what time of year you'd be traveling, there are some different activities available. We loved the beach, even though it's not located right at the Disney property. We never found driving there or riding bikes to be a problem. We also loved both the beach combing and dolphin tours. I think they are available even in the cooler weather but not sure. We're looking forward to trying a fishing outing next summer as well.
We love HH. Our DS8 would prefer to go there over WDW anytime. It's the most relaxing vacation we have ever taken and our all time favorite vacation spot. We hope to have many years of family vacation time spent there in there in the future.