Orange Lake

[Rebecca P.]

Can anyone tell me about Orange Lake? Are the units worn? Lots to do? Distance to Disney and Universal? Places to eat nearby?

Thanks,

Rebecca

 

[BonnieA]

I just got back from Orange Lake last week. We were on the 3rd floor of a high rise in the West Village, close to pools, beach and the mini golf course. The unit was not worn. It was very nice. It took about 10-15 minutes to get to Disney property about 25 min to Universal. Orange lake has a lot of scheduled activities during the day though we didn't take advantage of them. We didn't eat at the resort restaurants. There are lots of restaurants on Rt 192, take your pick.

 

[jeff968]

I was there a few months back and give it a fair review. I though the resort wasn't very clean. We checked in at 10:00pm on a Friday night. There were a number of bags of dirty laundry out in front of our building. The next morning we got up and they were still there. Our unit wasn't very clean. We found someones old socks in the closet. The unit was a good size but the furniture was old. The place is huge but I don't think that is a good thing. To get to the main pool areas always required a car. They did have a shuttle but the kids don't want to wait. the food at the restaurant was very poor. The cook came out with a cardboard box and loaded up the items in the buffet. We only ate there once. There were some fun things to do. Bingo and pool races were fun. It was crowded. Golf is a big part of OL's appeal but I don't golf (when I'm with my family). It was an okay resort but I've seen much better. We paid only $600 for the week so that wasn't bad.

 

[threeboysmom]

We stayed in the brand new East Village last May and LOVED it!! We had a 6th floor 2-bedroom unit overlooking the golf course. Our unit was spotlesss & brand new. The only downfall is having to drive to the pools. Or there is a shuttle that goes around the property, but we didn't utilize it since we had our own van with us. It took about 15-20 minutes to go to the parks (AK would probably only be about 5-10 min. - you can actually see the AK Lodge from Orlange Lake) Universal was about 30 minutes up I-4. PLENTY of places to eat nearby with 3 restaurants onsite (I think); plus a Publix right there at the entrance to the East Village section - very convenient! When you check-in, request either the East Village (brand new) or the North Village (best pool).

 

[lUVTOGO]

We stayed in a 3brdrm unit in the East Village and loved it. This was our first time off property and we had no problems at all. The pool was o.k., we saw Wishes from our balcony at night and the top of the castle also. We were on the 4th floor . The drive to Disney wasn't bad at all. (I don't like to drive) You made a left out of the complex and then a few miles down 192 you hit World Drive. Very easy! Their is quite a few restaurants on 192. Outback Steakhouse, Carrabas, IHop were the ones we ate at. We didn't do any of the activities at Orange Lakes or eat at any of the restaurants either. The kids did enjoy the free popcorn in the lobby 2 days. I would stay there again.

 

[Straitlover]

I also stayed in the East Village. I was there in October. EV is the newest section. Our buiding was right next to the EV pool. Nothing fancy, but a nice pool. The fancy pool is in the North Village. The EV is farthest away from everything, but it is very quiet. Our 2 BR unit was fabulous! I think EV is all 2 and 3 BRs.

Try to get a unit either in the East Village, North Village or in the Tennis Villas in the West Village. The golf villas (mostly one story but a few 2 story buildings) look to be the oldest.

They have all kinds of activities. Free movie theater (w/ older and new movies) w/ a different movie each night, bingo/crafts/tournaments/etc each day, mini golf course (costs extra), tennis (fee) golf (fee), jetskis (fee), pool parties, etc.

I loved it (went w/ my sis, no kids). My only complaint was that we didn't get to spend enough time at the resort to enjoy any of the activities. In fact, we have discussed going back just to enjoy the resort (can get in for less than $300/wk on SkyAuction).

Hope you have a good time!