So I thought I’d do a sorta Trip Report. We just got back. Boys team did well and we were in it until the last day (day 5). We made it to the Championship Level Brackett but finished mid pack in that top group of 56. (102 teams all together). We did not make any full park days due to games and weather. But with my AP I did go make two park runs (MK and DHS) and one morning my mom and I went to POFQ and had beignets and then took the boat to do a little shopping in DTD. I also drove in and parked at TTC and took my parents to the POLY to watch Wishes from the Beach.
This is my first Offsite stay in the Orlando area (technically, a few years ago I did stay offsite one night before I started a Disney Vacation but that was at the airport La Quinta).
We rented a 1 bedroom villa at Westgate Town Center which is the resort/hotel that was picked by the organization my nephew plays basketball for.
The room was only myself and my parents. Nephew and Ex-SIL (+ one teammate) stayed in a studio. My brother and current SIL and other nephew did not make the trip due to that nephew being in football practice. (brother did not think it was fair to ask one twin to give up his sport for his brothers).
The Villa:
sleeps up to 4; a king-size bed in the master bedroom, private bathroom and whirlpool tub and stall shower(twin head so either a reg shower or a rain shower), queen sleeper sofa in the separate living area, fully equipped kitchen, dining table, washer/dryer, satellite television with premium channels and DVD player and a furnished balcony or patio.
We did not have a balcony, but I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have used a balcony (if it wasn’t hot and muggy it was raining, Orlando was already 3 inches over their monthly total while we were there last week). Plus we were there on a discounted rate so I’m not sure we would have been charged any less. Didn’t even realize we didn’t have a balcony that we were supposed to get until we got back and there is wordage that says (most villas). Also our room was a different layout then the pictures but honestly the pictures look more like the 2 and 3 bedroom description then the 1 bedroom.
As it was we paid $113 a night plus the $9.95 nightly ‘resort’ fee.
This included the use of all the facilities on site (mini golf, workout room, pools, daily movies in the main building, wifi which was not very good, it was hard to keep a good signal, daily activities like snow cones or free throw contests etc, tennis courts, and parking)
They really offered a lot of stuff and I think it would be great for a family who really is looking for a Florida Vacation with some Theme park days thrown in.
The room itself was great. We were in the 4000 building right next to the main building. 4th floor, last room in the hall right next to the staircase but maybe 30 seconds from the elevator. We were kind of in a corner all by ourselves. We were not very close to a pool but we didn't swim.
Spotless really, and no Florida wet smell. There was tile in the main area so easy to keep clean and carpet in the bedroom.
Plenty of linens and towels (only exception was that the kitchen had only one dishrag and one dishtowel, really could have used 2 of each, so while one was washing you had a set to use).
Plenty of room for three adults (my parents took the bedroom and I took the sleeper sofa in the main room). They picked up trash everyday (you just left it outside your door). House keeping was every fourth day but this was the day before we checked out so we just bypassed it. There was plenty of laundry soap so we ran a load of towels every morning and there was enough to use while the others were in the process.
They also provided mop, broom/dustpan. Laundry soap, dishwashing soap, dishwasher soap and toiletries. The kitchen came with two rolls of paper towels and two individually wrapped sponge/scrubbers.
The jet tub was inside the bedroom and it caused the only real snag of the rental. It had no water pressure. My step dad let it run for an hour and it was barely 8 inches of water. Not enough to use the tub jets. When we let the water out there was a ton of hair and gunk. They sent out someone to completely wash and disinfect the tub. We called and someone came out the same day and fixed it (quick fix as the divert lever was stuck in the half way position so neither the faucet of the spray nozzle was getting enough pressure) My step dad was the only one to use it and said there was no more gunk after they cleaned it, but it was not very powerful so he only used it once.
The kitchen lacked in counter space but was indeed a full set up. Micro, 4 top stove, oven, dishwasher, sink, full sized fridge. The only thing was limited counter space. We did all but one meal in room.
(We drove over to Celebration one night to eat at Columbia, a Spanish/Cuban based family restaurant with a hundred and ten year old history in Florida, I highly recommend it. Great food/good price/lovely location and décor)
There were a publix, super target and superwalmart within 6 miles so plenty of places to get groceries. They provided nothing as far as food staples (not even salt or pepper) so we did have to adjust some food plans and on others we just picked up items (like condiments, s&p, oil, spices, etc) that were cheap enough to throw away or stable enough to fly back home with us. We had brought some allergy safe foods and a ton of ziplock bags with us. We also brought coffee and splenda, but they supplied coffee/filter packs, so we didn’t use ours.
There were two sauce pans and a frying pan. Cheap stainless so we did have some stickage problems that we worked through. There were no cookie sheets so we bought a cheap set ($5) and left them there. They did have a pitcher which was nice so we had koolaid.
All the cups and plates were glass which we didn’t like, plus there were only four of each (flatware was also limited), so we bought paper goods. (three of us plus we cooked for exSIL, nephew, and one teammate who was staying in my nephew’s room)
We were about 5-10 minutes from Wide World of Sports and Hollywood Studios and about 10-15 minutes from the TTC. (resort is on Irlo Bronson and two intersections from the exit for World Drive) Easy drive and we were back and forth between games since it was so close.
I had absolutely no one ask me about timeshares, tours, or sales. Noone. The employees were great, very friendly. My few calls for supplies, questions, or maintenance were handled quickly and politely.
So:
What I liked about offsite,
1. Price- 510 square feet separate bedroom and kitchen for a value price (undiscounted was closer to Mod price).
2. Location- The offsite location we were at was close, really close to WWoS and as such it was also close to about half of the greater WDW universe itself. I had very short commute times even at TTC. For this particular trip the ease of getting to WWoS was huge since I made that round trip drive once or twice (one day 3 times) a day. In this case waiting for a bus to ASsports then transferring to my actual resort would have been a hassle. (more on this below but this was the only transportation perk of the Westgate rather than being onsite)
3. Kitchen- I’m new to the allergy world so being able to make food was great. I’ve made two trips since I began this and while not impossible it is kind of a pain to have to explain the food needs at EVERY meal. We did breakfast every morning, step dad likes a full breakfast, and the rest of us could do as little or as much as we wanted. Dinner was great and could be worked around games. Sandwiches/pasta/burgers/chicken etc. Nice well balanced meals that could accomadate the small eaters and the full meal eaters as well. (two 15 boys are hard to fill up at restaurants when one is 6’5 and eats two to three times what the rest of us can and one who was super picky but will eat well balanced meals that we can cook).
4. Space- Enough space that 3 adults were not on top of each other.
What I didn’t like about offsite:
1. Rental car/driving- There was no way to stay offsite without a car for the full time. Groceries, driving to sports complex, driving to parks, driving to and from airport, etc. I would have spent more time in the parks if I’d been onsite. Sometimes with only a couple of hours between games it was just too much of a hassle to get the car and drive to a location, park the car, get shuttled to the entrance do a few things then reverse the process. (parking fee was not a concern, I have an AP) Expecially during the rain, and it rained a lot while I was there. Onsite I would have thrown on a poncho and splashed my way around the parks. Rain added to the commute, I was driving a rental and didn’t want to be out in weather, and it was a lot harder to come back and change into dry clothes. Onsite I may rent a car for 1-2 days of shopping or off site plans, the rest of the time I like sitting back and letting Disney drive for me. The WG did have a shuttle but it had three morning buses and three evening busses. No rope drop, no Fireworks, no flexibility. You had one drop/pick up location, Epcot, so once on site you then had to bus it to anyplace else and get back to Epcot at the end of your day, timing was everything. Plus you had to reserve your place on the bus 48 hours in advance. I had thought to use the shuttle to leave my parents the car but I couldn’t as I was at the whim of game times and so couldn’t reserve a place, or grab any quick trips to the parks. I saw so many people doing the WDW version of Where’s Waldo. If you don’t realize there are numbers painted on the road at the end of your parking row in the lot, you’re screwed. I was lucky that I did notice them the first day since I didn’t shuttle to TTC. I could see the tunnel and walkway so I just jogged over.
2. Access- To do stuff easily at WDW it’s so much nicer to be already on site. As well as the ability to be in the room and decide to make a quick dash over to another location for a quick ride or purchase, or even change my park plans to another area, or zip back for some downtime. I just have more flexibility being onsite. I had a break in the weather so ran over to the parks. When I got back to the condo I found out that the weather was going to hold off till the next day so decided to take the parent’s back over to the POLY and watch fireworks from the beach. (hot topic aside, but there was PLENTY of room on the beach with the construction, no one stopped me and asked for proof of stay, and there was no shortage of places to sit. This was high season and it was fine.) That short trip was great for them as they never got a whole day to buy a ticket and spend in a park and fireworks are my step dad’s favorite thing. But for them $200 dollars for only a partial day at the parks was not going to happen. Onsite we probably would have gone ahead and spent the money and really made the most of the chunks of time they did have.
3. Atmosphere- 192 is not the most attractive location. It reminded me why Walt insisted on such a buffer area around the actual resorts and parks and the regular commercial/tourist area when he planned WDW.
In all, I’m not an offsite convert. I really do enjoy my stays on site and I like being in that bubble.
That being said I was very happy with this location. I’d totally look at other Westgate Properties when traveling.
Again I think this would be a great resort (so close to main roads and shopping/restaurants) for those who want a vacation in the area but aren’t planning the majority of their time at one location.
Thanks for the info, it was a good trip despite the weather and I appreciate everyone's opinions.
Great price but still offsite. My brother will be arriving with my SIL on Mon but they will get their own room. The twins should be coming out the Thur before us with their mom (ex-sil) since the one boy will have games Thur and Fri. Not sure what kind of rooms they will be getting. I still expect to see the boys at mealtimes and probably my brother and SIL and hell probably the ex as well (SIL/EX-SIL are both let's call in dinner types of cooks and the twins adore home cooked food)
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