PattiPB
<font color=green>I'll be happy to learn the secre
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2000
- Messages
- 2,019
I just returned from an extended vacation. We stayed with family in Tampa and cruised for about a week. In between all that, we stayed in 3 different Orlando places. I know this is the "off-site" board, but so many people want comparisons and pros and cons. Well, I certainly feel qualified to discuss that right about now!!! 
Here's the breakdown:
Royal Pacific (1 night/1 room) my family of 5: FOTL can't be beat, and getting the $129 AP rate was awesome. We enjoyed the RP and HR pools, and worked the FOTL to the max. We originally planned 2 nights, but 1 night worked out okay---just a little rushed. Beautiful hotel, but obviously we were cramped. Were not required to get a $25 rollaway.
Pop Century (4 nights/2 rooms) me and DH, DSis and her DH: This was our adults weekend. DSis flew in from Cali to meet us, and it was great! AAA rate was $79 per night, and it was totally worth it! We LOVE Pop (2nd fave after BWV!) and enjoy the overdone decorations. Used EMH (night) 2 nights (Epcot and MK) and 1 night (TL). HUGE advantage! Loved not having a car.
Cypress Pointe (4 nights/2 BDR) my family of 5: My other DSis and one of my DBro also came. We had a total of 3 2 BDR units (14 people) at $94 a night, and both of theirs were in CPGV. They were TOTALLY blown away by this resort. No complaints at all about anything in the rooms. Plenty of space, tons of storage, everything in working order, clean, neat, looked brand new. This was their first timeshare experience ever (we own WorldMark) and they were shocked by the accommodations. Volcano pool was great for the kids, and we had no problems finding seats for our entire group. Pizza at CPGV was good, at a decent price ($20 for 2 large 1 top w/ a free 2 liter). Extremely close and convenient for Disney.
Comparisons:
*If you are going to commando-style the parks, or utilize EMH a lot, I still lean towards staying onsite (WDW or UO). If you plan to relax and enjoy your vacation, go off-site to CP or a rental home.
*Eating healthy and inexpensively pushes the scale towards off-site in a big way, even if you have a car.
*We LOVE the Disney bus system, but time-wise, I think it's an even fight if you stay at CP (1 mile to DTD). However, the UO garages are almost as far from the parks as my house in Vegas, so the commute time is significantly less staying on-site on UO.
*When doing your budget, remember it's $10 a day to park from an off-site location. Boy, does that sting!!!
I'll answer questions if anybody has any! I sure hope this helps somebody make their decisions. It was an awesome month, but we teachers have to get back to work!!!
Here's the breakdown:Royal Pacific (1 night/1 room) my family of 5: FOTL can't be beat, and getting the $129 AP rate was awesome. We enjoyed the RP and HR pools, and worked the FOTL to the max. We originally planned 2 nights, but 1 night worked out okay---just a little rushed. Beautiful hotel, but obviously we were cramped. Were not required to get a $25 rollaway.
Pop Century (4 nights/2 rooms) me and DH, DSis and her DH: This was our adults weekend. DSis flew in from Cali to meet us, and it was great! AAA rate was $79 per night, and it was totally worth it! We LOVE Pop (2nd fave after BWV!) and enjoy the overdone decorations. Used EMH (night) 2 nights (Epcot and MK) and 1 night (TL). HUGE advantage! Loved not having a car.
Cypress Pointe (4 nights/2 BDR) my family of 5: My other DSis and one of my DBro also came. We had a total of 3 2 BDR units (14 people) at $94 a night, and both of theirs were in CPGV. They were TOTALLY blown away by this resort. No complaints at all about anything in the rooms. Plenty of space, tons of storage, everything in working order, clean, neat, looked brand new. This was their first timeshare experience ever (we own WorldMark) and they were shocked by the accommodations. Volcano pool was great for the kids, and we had no problems finding seats for our entire group. Pizza at CPGV was good, at a decent price ($20 for 2 large 1 top w/ a free 2 liter). Extremely close and convenient for Disney.
Comparisons:
*If you are going to commando-style the parks, or utilize EMH a lot, I still lean towards staying onsite (WDW or UO). If you plan to relax and enjoy your vacation, go off-site to CP or a rental home.
*Eating healthy and inexpensively pushes the scale towards off-site in a big way, even if you have a car.
*We LOVE the Disney bus system, but time-wise, I think it's an even fight if you stay at CP (1 mile to DTD). However, the UO garages are almost as far from the parks as my house in Vegas, so the commute time is significantly less staying on-site on UO.
*When doing your budget, remember it's $10 a day to park from an off-site location. Boy, does that sting!!!
I'll answer questions if anybody has any! I sure hope this helps somebody make their decisions. It was an awesome month, but we teachers have to get back to work!!!
