Here's the review I posted on Trip Advisor for our March stay. I was very happy with Orange Lake. If you don't like your unit, just ask for another one. That's what we did.
Review:
My parents did an RCI exchange for Orange Lake the week of 3/20/11 - 3/27/11, my son's spring break week. We were very happy with the resort. Note, though, that the first unit we were given was on a golf course with no pool or ammenities that we would use close by and we went back to the check in desk and asked if we could get something closer to some sort of ammenity we might use. And they gave us a unit walking distance to the smaller pool and hot tub in the West Village right near where you enter the resort (second road to the right) after coming in at the entrance across from Walgreens. We were happy with this. Do, though, be aware that this is a huge resort and unlike many of the smaller resorts in the area where you would always without question be able to walk to a pool, you could end up with a unit where you might even have to drive to get to a pool/hot tub. If you aren't happy with your unit, though, I bet they would move you like they did us if you ask. Customer service seemed outstanding.
The unit we had was an older one story duplex unit that had been remodeled and was in great shape (newer kitchen with granite countertops, nice bathrooms -- beautiful tile, etc., flat screen TVs, paint, beds, furnishings, etc. all in good shape.) The nearby pool area and hot tub met our needs perfectly for a relaxing dip after a busy theme park day. It was kind of fun too, we saw the same people in the hot tub each night, so got to meet some of the other guests. The second bedroom had two queen beds and seemed almost as big as the master, had tons of drawer space, had the second bath connected to it and the common area with locks. We were really happy with the size of this bedroom and the unit in general. In most of the condo resorts we've stayed second bedrooms are smaller than this. The patio wasn't in as great shape as I would have expected, but was fine for sitting out on. I liked the balconies at the Sheraton Vistana Resort and Cypress Pointe, though, much better than this patio. It took us a little longer to get to some of the Disney parks and Sea World from here than timeshares right in Lake Buena Vista, but it was still very convienent for getting to these places. Think 20 minute drive rather than say a 12 minute drive.
We weren't by the main West Village pool activity area or River Island, but there are frequent shuttles and you could easily take one of these over or drive over. We did use the tennis courts in the main West Village pool area, a couple of minute drive away. We found staff and other guests to be super friendly adding to our positive impression of everything.
We took the shuttle over to River Island to look around, and this is a beautiful recreation area. My teen, though, was totally happy with our close by pool and hot tub and opted to go there rather than drive or take the shulttle over to this other area. (We really only had one resort day with all the other attractions we visited in the area, meaning that we were mostly only at our resort in the evenings.) There were planned activiies, but with our busy itinary we didn't participate in any of these.
My parents first signed up to do the timeshare presentation on a Wedneday morning, but later backed out and got their deposit back easily. When the guy asked my mom what was keeping her from attending I got a big charge out of her answer: Shamu, Mickey, the Kennedy Space Center, and Disney Hollywood Studios. There wasn't a whole lot he could say with that answer.
All in all, we thought Orange Lake was an excellent place to stay and would be happy staying here again.