Hey there everyone, I am long overdue to check in after our most recent stay (October 16th to 23rd), but better late than never....right?
We had a great trip, and an excellent stay in the Cascades section: we have now had the opportunity to experience 5 of the different sections of the resort (Fountains I, Fountains II, Lakes, Spas and Cascades). While the villa was smaller than our home section of Fountains, it was still plenty spacious enough for the two of us, and *sparkling* clean. The housekeeping team had detailed our unit top to bottom, and it smelled and looked super fresh. With all the virus concerns at that time (particularly in Florida) it was great to see the resort upping their game when it came to cleanliness.
Our biggest complaint (or perhaps "inconvenience" is a better word) was the lack of food options at the resort. Man, did we miss being able to grab food from the Tiki Bar or ANYWHERE, for that matter. Several restaurants adjacent to the resort on the 535 were closed (unsure of whether those closures were temporary or permanent), so that just added to the frustration when dinner time rolled around. I have read that Cascades Bar & Grill has reopened since our visit, albeit with limited hours but at least its a start. I will never take ordering pizza from the Tiki Bar for granted ever again!
We didn't end up using the pools a whole lot (only 3 times during our stay), and while we found the Cascades pool to be busy we just headed over to the Super Pool each time and literally had the whole thing to ourselves. Not sure if the other guests didn't realize the Super Pool was open (and so close by), or if the draw of the splash pad made it so families with littles just didn't want to leave.....but hey, it worked out beautifully for us. The Courts and Falls pools were also open, but we didn't bother to check out either one when the Super Pool was deserted.
One procedural change I did like (and was not aware of before arrival) was that they are asking only one person from each family to enter the welcome center to check in. There is a large sign outside requesting that the balance of each party wait in the car to limit the amount of people in the welcome center at any given time. As a result of the limited staffing, our stop for our parking pass (which is really an opportunity for the sales staff to try to sign us up for an "owners update"-a-la-sales-meeting) was super brief in comparison to the normal check-in where they sometimes don't take no quite so easily. The area where they usually have someone doing ticket sales was fully closed, and the a display of attraction brochures was off limits to guests. I don't know if they have other options for purchasing tickets at the resort, but I would arrive with park tickets already in hand just in case.
I have had a chance to chat with Kayla today by email in preparation for our next visit (3 weeks to go.....we arrive December 5th!) and she tells me that Fountains is scheduled to partially reopen by then, so we will have the opportunity to stay in our home section once again. Only buildings 1-8 are guaranteed to be ready by early December, but the Fountains pool will be open. Should be nice and quiet over there with such limited occupancy, which will make for a peaceful stay and hopefully an uncrowded pool. She also tells me that the interiors of those Fountains buildings have been "completely updated"....new furniture, appliances.....the whole kit and kaboodle. She tells me they are beautiful inside, so I am excited to see the transformation in person! (I just hope it doesn't come with a big ol' special assessment for 2021
.... especially when that would be x2 for us!).
I will, of course, take lots of photos of the newly refreshed Fountains interiors and share them with you all after our trip.....assuming, of course, we still get to go. This is not the year for taking anything for granted, and 3 weeks can make a big difference these days. Fingers crossed!
@kokomos , if you don't hear from Kayla for a few days, don't panic. She's headed to Boston and won't be back at SVR until next weekend. She may have already responded to you, but if not, I thought I would give you the heads up.
. We arrive on the 5th.
