Vero Beach-Please Tell Me About It!

[ratfam]

Hi, starting to think about next year's vacation, which will probably be either President's Day week or the week after Easter 2007. Just did WDW this year so thinking of a change but don't know much about Vero Beach. Can anyone tell me about it? Especially--

1. What kinds of activities take place? Are there drop in things or do you need to register in advance?

2. Are there things to do in the area outside of the resort?

3. Are there restaurants in the area?

4. Do kids like it? Is there enough for them to do?

5. What is the weather like generally in Feb and April?

I have checked out the dvc member site but would love first hand info.

TIA!

 

[spiceycat]

here is another thread - that might help
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1087783

 

[DisneyPhD]

I think Vero Beach is the hidden Gem of DVC (I haven't been to HH so that might very well be too.)

It is the same great DVC quality, but at the beach.

There is alot of different activties for kids of all ages. As most places it seems like the most activities are geared for young school age kids. (mine were preschool before.) Some are sign up ahead (like that week or when you get there.) some are just drop in. There are a few that are pay for (like surfing lessions, something with turtles. etc....) They leave a list with events on your door every morning.

Between the beach, pool, playground, water play area, putt putt golf and just other activies there is a lot to do. Not so much that you feel over wellemed or rushed though. Very relaxing.

There are some good resturants in town. They have book with menus and maps in the front lobby. The staff is great. Wonderful CM's. In fact we found many WDW cast members go over to Vero to get away from it all.

We are going again in 2 weeks. I can't wait. May is when we go, I don't know about Feb and April. May is great. Warm, but not summer hot.

 

[mommybunnyof2]

We stayed at Vero last September with my DH, two kids (age 3 and 5) and our friend and her daughter (age 5) for a long weekend. We got separate studios, but were close enough to each other. We had a great time. We live in FL (on the West Coast), so we enjoyed the waves a little more. If I remember right, there was a hurricane out there in the Atlantic somewhere stirring up the waves. There was plenty for the kids to do. We enjoyed the pool (the slide was fun), they had scheduled activities for the kids. I believe we signed up for those, but usually in the morning after we figured out what we wanted to do for the day.

We mostly brought our own food to cook. Since we were in studios, we had to hike over to the grills on the other side of the main drag. They do have an underground pass that we walked one day. The area where the grills are located is Florida rustic. There is an old bar, pavilion and picnic tables. And they are near a little lake where some folks were fishing. The kids had fun throwiing chips in to the water for the fish to eat.

We did eat at the restaurant on-site. The food was pretty good if I remember and my DD didn't like her entree and they let her get another without charging us extra. The staff was very friendly and laid back.

Be sure to go to the campfire night. We all enjoyed sitting around the campfire and singing the songs and eating s'mores. My kids still occassionally belt out the songs that we learned there.

We never went off property (except to the Publix).

If you are looking for a relaxing time at the beach with the quality of DVC , then you will enjoy this.

The weather in FL for Feb can be a little cool. I personally would not be in a swimming pool, unless it is well heated. It's a little more enjoyable in April, IMO.

 

[Mahusky]

Ratfam... IMHO VB is AWESOME. Have stayed there 5 times and the 6th time is coming soon in August.

? about restaurants----> there are onsite restaurants 1 upscale, 1 family oriented, 1 pub style and 1 pool side. However, there are plenty of restaurants with 5 -10 mins (Ocean Grille, Capt Hirams, Squidlips,etc) drive that add to the variety and Orchid Pizza (1 - 2 min walk if that!) does good pizza and a good sandwhich.

? about kids activities ---> I think this is one of the major bonuses for VB. I have 3 children under 10 and they are on the go all day. The resort has a daily (actually hourly) menu of kids activities each and every day. Plus awesome slide, mini golf, shuffleboard, tennis, fishing, beach..... I think you get the point, kids are not board.

? about Feb weather ---> we have been to VB during Presidents day week (school vacation week in MA) and the weather was INCREDIBLE. High 70's average each day.

My advice is to book early for Presidents week it books up fast with MA, NY, VT and other states school vacation weeks. I just booked a beach cottage again for 2007.

Enjoy and good luck!

 

[lisareniff]

? about Feb weather ---> we have been to VB during Presidents day week (school vacation week in MA) and the weather was INCREDIBLE. High 70's average each day.

My advice is to book early for Presidents week it books up fast with MA, NY, VT and other states school vacation weeks. I just booked a beach cottage again for 2007.

We have always had good luck with the weather on or around Pres. wk. The average high should be in the mid 70s but can be very varible. Weather.com has the daily averages.

Mahusky- In 2008 Easter is early, March 23rd, do you think President's week will still be in Magic Season? The pattern seems to be 6 weeks of premier season ending the week after Easter. With Easter that early it would cover Pres. Wk as well. I'm asking because we may buy a small VB contract to be able to reserve a beach cottage and that would be the first year we would go.

 

[ratfam]

Thanks for all the info, it sounds like Vero Beach would be a great choice for us!

One question I forgot to ask...anyone know how hard it is to get a one bedroom for the week after Easter at the seven month point (or whenever it is that members can make ressies at resorts where they don't own)? Looking at the weather I think we would choose to go during our Easter 2007 vacation rather than February, but all our points are BCV so we couldn't book during the owner window.

 

[lovespugs]

Do I need to plan anything in advance for VB? DH and I are going with our best couple friends over Memorial Day. I haven't had time to think about the trip since making the reservation months ago. Before we moved to Orlando I was a compulsive WDW planner, which is why it seems weird to go to a Disney resort with no plans whatsoever. I'm just hoping that we don't find out that we needed to make reservations for dining or recreation months in advance and all we can do is lay by the beach...not that that's really a bad worst case scenario!

 

[mbhoxsie]

Do I need to plan anything in advance for VB? DH and I are going with our best couple friends over Memorial Day. I haven't had time to think about the trip since making the reservation months ago. Before we moved to Orlando I was a compulsive WDW planner, which is why it seems weird to go to a Disney resort with no plans whatsoever. I'm just hoping that we don't find out that we needed to make reservations for dining or recreation months in advance and all we can do is lay by the beach...not that that's really a bad worst case scenario!

The only thing I think that is hard to book at VB is the Unbirthday Party... And that one you can't book until the morning of...

When you check in, the CM's will give you an Activity List... Some have to be booked ahead of time at Eb & Flo's while others you just have to show up to.

As far as onsite restaurants go...
Shutter's... We have never booked ahead of time (except for the Character Breakfast).
Sonya's... We have booked this the day of.. The restaurant is a bit smaller, so it seemed like a good idea...
Green Cabin Room... More of a bar than a restaurant... But make sure you eat lunch out on the balcony one day... You can't beat the Ocean view.

Relax and have a good time!

 

[Lexxiefern]

Great info! My sis and I are taking our four girls there in 2 weeks. Can't wait to check it out!

 

[DisneyPhD]

Great info! My sis and I are taking our four girls there in 2 weeks. Can't wait to check it out!

Same here (May 9th to 12) with 2 girls (ages 5 years old and 21 months old.)

Maybe we will see you there!

 

[treloarf]

We just got back Monday (day after Easter) - I loved Vero because of it being right on the beach- my DD-10 loved it too - my DS -13 was bored. Most of the kids activities are for the younger kids - not too many teen activities - at night it seemed the teens hung up by the building on the beach. They need to either add a pool table (like HH) or something for teens to do at night.

The resort was very crowded (Easter week) - had to be at the pool by 8am to "reserve" your chairs. The resort closes all it's activies (golf, tennis, shuffleboard) at 7p - which I thought was strange.

You have to drive 10-15 minutes to get to restaurants.