Orange Lake or Horizons Marriott

[dzone1]

Hello Everyone,
Were going to WDW this summer and wanted peoples opinions on Orange Lake and Horizons Marriott. We have a 2 & 4 year old and shallow pools are very important, as well as amentities and cleanliness. Which one is closer to WDW? Which resort would you choose?
Thank You,
Dean

 

[spiceycat]

they are about equal distance. OL might be a little closer - but more traffic lights that way than Horizons

for little kids Horizons. It was designed for them.

orange lake doesn't have as many pools per villa. It is more for golfers.

both have activities - but since OL is so much BIGGER - I would go with Horizons

 

[Quinn123me]

I would never ever stay at ORANGE LAKE again it was totally the worst experience.

 

[bkaz]

We just returned from Horizons and we loved it! I used to work for Hyatt, so my standards are pretty high for hotels, and we found the condos and facilities to be very nice. We had a two bedroom unit in building 28 which is new. Everything seemed brand new and was very clean and spacious. One bedroom has a king and one bedroom has two queens, so you would have plenty of room. The pools are great! There is one pool with a big pirate ship in the middle which has small slides coming off of it. Zero entry also. Then by the other pool (also zero entry) there is a spray park with all kinds of fountains. PM me with your e-mail address if you have any specific questions or would like me to e-mail you a few photos of the pool (forgot to take any of the condo itself!).

 

[twinmomplus2new]

Does building 28 have the big creen tv's? Thanks !!!

 

[utahkennedys]

I read WAY too much negative about OL to ever stay there, and consistently hear great reports about Horizons. So much so that I want to try it while my girls are young and we even own DVC.

 

[bkaz]

Does building 28 have the big screen tv's? Thanks !!!

Yes, they do! That made my husband happy as we were there for Superbowl Sunday! Only wierd thing about it is that they are wide screen...but some TV shows are not (I guess, as we do not have a wide screen TV)...so watching the Weather Channel had the hosts' heads cut off, and watching ESPN, the bottom scores were cut off! There are also regular TVs (maybe 25") in each of the bedrooms, so we just checked the weather on one of those TVs.

 

[bkaz]

Well, I attempted to use photobucket to insert some photos of the pools, but all that showed up were links to the site instead of the photos being imbedded. If someone can tell me how I will try it again!

 

[bkaz]

Okay, thanks to a post by DianeyNutz on another thread, I think I've got it!

I have never used photobucket, but I'm going to attempt to post some pictures of the pools! First is the original pool with the pirate ship play structure:

Next is the big slide at the new pool, next to building 28. My DS5 was thrilled that the height requirement is 42" (I believe) so at 44" he was able to go down it...unlike our community pool where the requirement is 48"!

Finally is the spray park next to the new pool. Unfortunately it needs to be pretty warm to use this area. At 70 degrees it was still too chilly for my kids to be interested.

Sorry they are a little dark...it was evening on our last day before I remembered that I wanted to take pictures!

 

[ceopamom3]

We have stayed there 4 times and loved each experience (3 times in the Tennis Villas, and once in one of the older 1 story units). It is actually my children's favorite place to stay in Orlando. OL also has the lazy river now, which is probably neat. It is a short ride to WDW too, if you take the "shortcut" (sherberth road).

I have not stayed at Horizons, but it does look lovely - and gets great reviews. I would also add that if you plan on any other parks (universal or sea world), Horizons is much more conveniently located.

Just my 2 cents about Orange Lake. I know some folks have had awful experiences there, but we have been fortunate.

Have a great trip!

 

[ttfn3]

Well, I haven't stayed at either resort. However, we did visit Orange Lake one trip - and I was totally turned off. We have stayed at other Orlando timeshare resorts (Vistana Resort, Vistana Villages, and Marriott Grande Vista). One trip, we drove to some of the other timeshares and checked them out. Since Orange Lake is mentioned so much here, we made a point to stop there. I thought the place was very crowded & dirty with LOTS of timeshare tours going on. I won't go on - but I would definitely chose a Marriott resort over Orange Lake.

 

[Iott Family]

My parents own a timeshare at horizons. We stayed there back in 2005 and loved it. They have an ice cream social daily and crafts/games activities for kids and families and the pirate ship is just awesome. Everything is quite clean and they have a pool side bar that serves light fare such as sandwhiches/wraps which is nice. We even used the grills one night. The suites have screened in patios which are nice for relaxing in the morning/evenings.
Whatever you choose have a great vacation!