resort with kids program on coast?

[erinch]

We have stayed at Vistana and enjoyed it; westgate and hated it, and are looking for a resort with 2 bedroom units--hopefully spread out villa style and not stacked on top of each other--on either coast --
and with a kids program which will entertain and occupy our energetic 7 year old girl---and offer enough action to keep out 15 yr old boy happy to be on vacation with his parents.

would like to do a week on the beach, then switch to orland, probably back to the vistana.

Anyone got any good recommendations?

 

[jdm]

I'm sorry to say, I don't have any coast suggestions, but I am watching this thread to see if anyone else does....
We stayed at Vistana last year and loved it also. I was wondering what you hated about Westgate?

Thanks
Jenn

 

[CarolMN]

Check into Disney's Vero Beach Resort. It has a very good children's program that will be perfect for your 7 year old. Between the pool (with slide), mini-golf, bicycles, video game room and the ocean beach (does he do boogie boards???), your 15 year old should find plenty to keep busy. The staff is young (college-aged) and very friendly (even to the parents and grandparents, LOL).

Click Here for more information on the Resort.

There is also some information on Vero Beach on Mary Waring's MouseSavers website -

Click Here for that.

and some on WDWIG that you can get to by Clicking Here

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

The Don Cesar at St Pete Beach had some kids programs our 7 and 11 year old enjoyed. They had a Pizza night too. Not sure if there is anything for a 15 year old though. You can call and see.
Oh, if you want 2 bedroom units you would need the Don's sister resort-Beach House Suites by Don Cesar. They are a few doors down from the main building and you are entitled to use all the anemities of either. Have not stayed at the suites yet, only the main resort.
http://www.beachhousesuites.com/ This should take you to the suites.

 

[ttfn3]

We have stayed several years at the Sundial Resort on Sanibel Island and they have a great kids program. My DS has loved participating in the programs. You can choose to do a craft program (1/2 hour to an hour programs), a half-day or all day program or they also have "evening" out programs on the weekends. Most of the programs are held by the pool, so the kids can participate while the parents catch some quiet pool time. We also stayed there one holiday week - ending on Labor Day and they had a great party day planned with reggae music by the pool (for everyone) and lots of games for the kids. The kids program is called kids fun factory and they also run programs at other locations. I believe they also have activities for teens. Here's their website:
http://www.kidsfunfactory.com

The units at Sundial are not villa units but we like getting a unit on the top floor. Check out the Sanibel Chamber of Commerce site for renting directly from owners - it's much cheaper.
http://www.sanibel-captiva.org/member-businesses/db/zr40


I can't say enough nice things about Sundial and Sanibel - we love it (great bike paths!!). If your son likes tennis, Sundial has great courts and offers lessons (it's known as a tennis resort) Check out the resort activites offered on the Sundial website
http://www.sundialresort.com/

Good luck!


We also stayed a long weekend at the Radisson on Sand Key (near Clearwater Beach) and partipated in the kids program. The Radisson, tho, is just a suite hotel so that may not appeal to you. We did like the kids program and they were great with our son.

 

[cinlee3]

We stayed at the Sanibel Harbor Resort and Spa. We had a 2 bedroom, two bath condo that was quite large. The childrens programs were fantastic and my kids had a great time.

I'm not sure about the older kids but they did have jet ski rental, tennis, canoes, paddle boats.

 

[RobinLyn]

We are planning on doing the same this year but not in one trip. We have two sons ages 14 and 17. Staying at the Yacht Club the first week in May and meeting up with my sister's family for the week. They have two teen daughter's ages 14 and 16, and a 15 year old son (can you imagine!, lol). The first week in August we are flying to Hilton Head, SC and staying at Marriott's Barony Beach Club, an oceanfront villa facing the beach (5 floors, stacking type). But there are many single villa type rentals on the beach around HH. This will be our first trip here. I was looking into Myrtle Beach but we changed our minds and decided on the somewhat calmer Hilton Head Island. We usually spend a week down at the "Jersey Shore" but wanted a change this summer. Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort looks very nice too. We just really wanted to splurge and try oceanfront this time. Good Luck in your search, many good suggestions posted above already!

RobinLyn

 

[Lisa P.]

Disney has two beach resorts so make sure you know which has your reservation.
Disney's Vero Beach Resort - Vero Beach, Florida.
Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

The Vero Beach resort is oceanfront. The HHI resort is not. It's over a mile from the beach and has a Beach House which may be accessed by guests who bike, walk or drive there.

Both of these Disney Vacation Club resorts do offer a lot to do and we've enjoyed the HHI resort very much. But, we've found there was very little that would appeal to a teenager who mostly seeks out other teens socially. The 15 year old may really prefer a more active and populated area than either HHI or Vero would generally offer. JMHO.

Besides the many good suggestions from above posts, you might also consider one of these destinations as well, depending on how you are visiting the area:

Daytona Beach - newly renovated boardwalk area with some beach areas that are pedestrian only and some that are open to motorized traffic. Some of the resorts there offer organized activities for all ages. A good location if you are driving to your vacation via I-95.

Fort Lauderdale - tons of family-friendly activities, sports, boating, sightseeing. About 4 hours drive from Orlando, not bad if you will be flying in and renting a car. Warmer weather in cooler times of the year since it's further south (like Captiva/Sanibel, though an entirely different atmosphere).

Destin/Panama City - very, very popular with families, on the panhandle/Gulf. Good stop if you are driving to FL from the west.

All of these have a variety of resorts. Many do offer children's activities daily and the whole atmosphere can vary a lot, depending on where you stay. But overall, with teens, I think they offer enough to keep them happy. Our first choice for vacationing has changed a lot depending on the ages of our kids. Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach & Fort Lauderdale never appealed to us - until our kids reached their teens and just loved to be where all the other teens are! Eventually, when the kids are grown, we'll return to the more lush, peaceful destinations again! HTH.