Please help me understand....sheraton vistana villages or resort?

[JMLBrats]

What is the difference between them and which would you recommend more for a family with children between 11 & 7?

sorry, I am sure this has been asked many times before....

BTW, my kids love love love to swim and love pool slides....

we will be doing disney most days and prob one day at universal.

 

[JMLBrats]

bump

 

[Detailor]

What is the difference between them and which would you recommend more for a family with children between 11 & 7?

sorry, I am sure this has been asked many times before....

BTW, my kids love love love to swim and love pool slides....

we will be doing disney most days and prob one day at universal.

The differences are location, size and age of the resorts.

Vistana Resort is located on SR 535 near Downtown Disney and has pretty convenient access to Disney property via World Center Drive/Epcot Center Drive. The resort is one of the larger Orlando-area timeshare resorts having been built up over several years. The various sections of the resort have access to nearby pool complexes but guests of the resort may use any of the pools. It's the older of the two Vistanas but one nice thing about Vistana Resort is that all of the sections have recently undergone refurbishment and the villas are nearly new. This resort located between two I-4 entrances/exits so access is convenient to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure in addition to the Disney parks and SeaWorld.

Vistana Villages is located on International Drive near the Premium Outlet Mall. It's a little closer to Universal than it's sister resort but a few miles (3-4?) from the Disney parks - though still pretty convenient to Disney, IMO. Of the two Vistanas, this one is much smaller. Currently, there are four Villages that would roughly equate to the eight or nine sections at Vistana Resort. There are two large pool areas and one smaller pool at the Key West Village. The pool at St. Augustine Village includes a Spanish Galleon Ship water feature that's popular at the resort. I may have the timeline off by a little bit but it seems to me that Starwood/Sheraton started building this resort shortly after finishing the final section (Cascades) at Vistana Resort. The newest Village (St. Augustine) was built during the 2010-2011 timeframe. When we were there in December our villa in the Key West Village had just been refurbished and was in like-new condition. I believe that the Bella Florida and Amelia Villages - the two oldest Villages - have been refurbed since they were originally built but I don't know what condition they're in right now.

I'd guess that children that are in your childrens' age range would like the Galleon Ship feature at Vistana Villages but the resort itself seems to be the quieter of the two. If they're into playing with a lot of other kids they might like the more non-stop action feel of Vistana Resort.

I think that both of these resorts are quite nice with a lot to offer for a great Orlando vacation.

Dick Taylor