Orange Lake Country Club?

[kelmac284]

I think there used to be a timeshare thread but anyway we stayed at the vistana last time and it was just ok but now we have to stay at this place. Anyone ever stayed here? Any comments? It seems farther away. If you have stayed there are the rooms nice? The facilities?

TIA

 

[RutgersAlum]

Loved it this past summer! Had a view of Everest out our back balcony It was about a 5 minute drive (off peak hrs)to World Drive, the main road into the Dis parks.

It's a huge resort, I believe they are/were renovating it. We stayed in a renovated or new building, North Area, I want to say. The place is so huge we never actually found the regular swimming pool (we drove to the parks every day), but they have what looked to be a neat tubing "river" about a mile long around a big pool complex (extra fee). Loved the tropical-themed restaurant in that complex (name escapes me, sorry), very kid-friendly which we needed.

As I said, we spent most of our time @ the parks, but there seems like a lot here to take advantage of. We would definitely stay here again.

Enjoy!

 

[kelmac284]

Excellent. The website looks great but then so did the Vistana's LOL. We got placed right next to I-4 and had lots of traffic noise and our unit was very "well" used. This place looks very nice though so I am happy to hear you were pleased with it! Thanks for the info.

 

[spiceycat]

5 minutes - was at that light on US 192 for longer than that.

if this light didn't exist - or was reasonable - a couple of minutes is reasonable - this light holds one heck of a long time.

also did not enjoy driving to the pools. the pools are way spread out and very few for the amount of guests at this resort.

 

[Suzyq9241]

First of all... They are still fixing up OLCC for updating.... The River Island is great (get there early to get a seat)... They have a shuttle to take you to the pools if you dont mind waiting for one so you wont have to drive...The main pool area is going through some things as well... The places to eat are good...


Here are the things that are happening...


We’re reinventing your vacation fun at Orange Lake Orlando's West Village. The three-phase transformation will offer new eateries, retail and entertainment options, plus much more.

Take a look at what’s in store for you and your family during your next vacation at Orange Lake Orlando!

"Where Classic Florida Charm meets modern-day convenience."


The New General Store
“Garments, groceries and goods.”
A nostalgic-style convenience store, featuring novelty items, sundries, groceries and “Grab N’ Go” items.
Paisan Pizzeria
“Take out or patio dining.”
It’s everything you love about delicious handmade pizza—to go. There is an outdoor seating area for relaxation as well.

The Reserve & Crane’s Bend Pro Shop
“Tee times & golf merchandise.”
At this upscale golf pro shop and retail boutique, you may secure tee times, rent or purchase sports equipment, and more.


Clubhouse
Completely redesigned clubhouse, featuring a new lobby (opening first late this year), GlobalAccess™ office, indoor atrium and family fun area.

Fitness Center
The Water’s Edge will also feature a state-of-the-art exercise area.

Arcade
The Water’s Edge will feature an action-packed family fun center.



The Water’s Edge Complex will feature two
new restaurants, poolside bars, cabanas
and a retail area.

The expansive olympic-sized pool will
feature beach-style entry and lap lanes.


http://www.orangelake.com/wvrevitalization

Click it and read for your self...

Our family loves Orange Lake....

 

[Detailor]

OLCC is a nice resort with a lot of activities and amenities like the onsite golf courses. While run by a corporation, the resort was extablished by the Wilson family who also started the Holiday Inn chain. The Wilson's run the parent corporation and have stayed true to the original concept to target a superior family experience.
While there are several newer sections of the resort, we like the original west village golf villa section because of the proximity to the main clubhouse and pool - but that pool area is being renovated so that might not work out best right now. My wife and I found the resort to be walkable, but the distances from section to section are lengthy and if you don't normally walk for exercise or enjoyment you may find that daunting and choose to drive even within the resort. The east village is set up with villa style units that are not as old as those in west village and there's a nice pool/activity area there, too. I believe that the units in the north village and in river island are in high rise buildings. River Island is the newest section and features the OLCC's onsite "water park" with a lazy river.

Dick Taylor

 

[tjeman]

We vacation at Disney ever year for atleast two weeks and after staying at Orange Lake 4 years ago, we decided that was the place we wanted to stay every year. Brand new rooms, brand new water park, golf and minutes from Disney just can't be beat.
I have watched Orange Lake timeshares being sold on e-bay for the past 4 years sell for 10% of the asking price at the resort. We purchased two weeks from owners on e-bay and now have a spring 2008 vacation for 18 days scheduled. I have helped 7 families purchase timeshare at Orange Lake and they all loved the placed. Its the way to go.

 

[kelmac284]

Excellent!! I feel better about this now!! So I have to ask what is the weather around Thanksgiving. We were there the last week of October/first week of November in 05 unfortunately during hurricane Wilma and it was warm the first 2 days but then after the hurricane it was cool. We never felt it was warm enough to swim the rest of the trip. Do you think it would be warm enough to even swim? Are the pools heated? I will most likely bring our suits just in case anyway but just wondering.

Also we never found that we even had time to swim. We were so busy in the parks but I know in 02 when we stayed at the contemporary we went to the pool in the evenings after days in the park so I could see us doing that if the pools were available.

 

[lisjam]

Just back from Orange Lake after 3 weeks there, it was fantastic. Apartments clean,facilities excellent and location is stone throw from Disney, wouldn't hesitate to back. Enjoy

 

[Detailor]

Do you think it would be warm enough to even swim? Are the pools heated? I will most likely bring our suits just in case anyway but just wondering.

Also we never found that we even had time to swim. We were so busy in the parks but I know in 02 when we stayed at the contemporary we went to the pool in the evenings after days in the park so I could see us doing that if the pools were available.

I'm pretty sure that the Splash Lagoon pool at the East Village and the pool area at River Island are both heated. I can't remember if the pools at the West Village area or the North Village pool are heated. Weather at that time of year can run a wide range. I've been in Florida in late November when the highs have been in the mid to upper 60s and when the highs have been in the upper 70s. The heated pools make it feel nice, but you've got to get out eventually and it can be cool.

Dick Taylor

 

[tl_swift]

We will be at OLCC 12/22 - 12/29 Can't wait!!! You can also read more about it at www.tug2.net Go down to the Florida thread in the BBS Forums, you don't have to be a member to read them. If you become a TUG member (really cheap) you can read the reviews.

 

[gjw007]

Here is some information on OLCC as far as renovations and buildings are concerned.

OLCC is renovating the 800 golf villas in the West Village. Here is a URL of pictures I took of the villas, http://users.adelphia.net/~gjw007/WV/WV.htm. These are major renovations where the fixtures, appliances, walls, etc. are all replaced. There are no new building being put up in the West Village. The golf villas are single-story units. There are multi-story units at Magnolia Court and at the Tennis Villas. The units in the Tennis Villas are the same style as those in the North and East Village. They also have the only 3-bedroom units in the West Village. These were built, I think, in 1997.

The North Village was built starting in 1999. Every 6 years, OLCC redoes the soft items inside the villas (paint the walls, replace carpet, etc.). There are no new buildings being put up in the North Village.

The East Village began building in 2000/1. These are multistory buildings. OLCC is still building units in the East Village. The newest building to be opened is in this section.

The River Island building were opened in May 2006. Currently the 2nd River Island building is under construction (there is a scheduled 3 buildings). Here are some URL's of pictures I took, http://users.adelphia.net/~gjw007/RI/Pool.htm, http://users.adelphia.net/~gjw007/RI/Misc.htm, http://users.adelphia.net/~gjw007/RI/RiverIsland.htm.

In addition to the renovation of the West Village Golf Villas, the clubhouse and pool are in the West Village are under renovation. The pools in the North Village, East Village, River Island, and Magnolia Court are still open. Information on this renovation is available here, http://www.orangelake.com/wvrevitalization/.

As noted, OLCC shares a property line with the Animal Kingdom and if OLCC chooses, it would be easy to have an entrance to Disney Western Way (this will probably happen as Disney has announced plans to develop this area but this is probably 7 to 10 years away) making the stoplight issue that Pat noted a thing of the past.

All pools at OLCC except the Olympic-size pool in the West Village are heated and I expect the pool to be heated after the renovations. Having said that, River Island was cold when I was there last May (okay when I was there is September). I don't know why it was cold nor did I ask. It has been warmer before and after so maybe there was some maintenance that was occurring. The West Village Olympic-size pool needed to be heated as it would sit empty during the winter months while the other pools would be busy.

 

[jeff968]

We stayed at OLCC a few years back and did not like it. The resort was too big. You had to get in the car to go to the pool. And we found the resort dirty. Our unit was not clean and our building wasn't either. They had dirty laundry out in front for almost a day waiting to be picked up. The location was not great either, down 192. Okay for disney only. We won't go back. If you are a golfer, maybe that would compensate for the resort shortcomings but we aren't.