Vistana Resort Help

[wagmt]

I am thinking of staying at Vistana Resort (not Village) next April (2 bedroom suite). Are there any buildings that are newer than others? Has anyone stayed at this resort? I am looking for any positive or negative information on this resort. Also, how far is this resort to Disney World?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Thachi]

In July, it will be our first year staying there, but we took a tour there last year. The 3 newest buildings are (newest to oldest): Cascades, Lakes, & Fountains. There are several other buildings, Falls, Spas & Courts, but I don't know which is the oldest out of the 3. I believe Vistana is about 10 minutes from WDW.......do a search on this board, you'll find TONS of valuable information about Vistana. From what I've been reading, you can't go wrong by staying here. You will find a few negative reports but overall Vistana have high ratings. Good Luck!

 

[jtryan]

We stayed at Vistana Resort in March 00. Our first night was a one night rental since our RCI week did not start until the following day. When we moved from our first unit that we rented for one night to our unit we had for the week, it was a big let down. Of course our first night was in Cascades and our week was in an older building but I am not sure of the name. It was next to a fence next to the highway it fronts. Can't comment on the restaurants, shuttle service or pools as we did not use these services. As far as closeness to the parks and having everything we needed in the units, it was a great experience. The only reason we are trying Vistana Villages this December, is that we can get a 2 bedroom for less and since it is a new development, we don't have to worry about getting a new unit - they are all new. Have a great trip whatever you decide.

 

[bambam]

We just returned from 10 days at Vistana Resort (May 17-27) and have nothing but glowing reports!! We did request to stay in the Cascades Section after having read all the great reports here on the board and we were not disappointed!

We had debated over one BR or two but chose the one BR for four of us (2 adults/2 kids) rationalizing that all we really needed was a roof over our heads - after all, we'd be at the Parks almost every day. As it turned out, no worries - the one BR was fine. The unit was large - kitchen was fully equipped including what appeared to be brand new appliances, beautiful dining and living areas (with queen size pull-out), screened-in balcony, HUGE private bedroom with Jacuzzi and dressing area. Having only one bathroom could have presented an issue but with teens, we were long out of the shower before they were even out of bed.

The property itself is massive but beautiful - always immaculately groomed. (If you're looking for a quaint little place, this would not be my choice!!) The staff were always pleasant and helpful. The downside, if any for us, was that we weren't able to "discover" all areas of the resort or take full advantage of their events due to our hectic park-hopping schedule. Based on their daily/weekly activities calendar, I'm confident you could be thoroughly entertained without ever having to leave the property. As a matter of fact, I may just do that the next time around!!

In terms of transportation time to Disney, we made it from resort to each of the theme park's parking lot each day in 10 minutes. One day we visited Animal Kingdom in the a.m., went back to the Resort for afternoon swimming, and returned to MGM for the evening Fantasmic performance. No issues whatsoever in moving back and forth. To Universal, I'd estimate 20 minutes. Everything is very accessible once you find where you're going. One thing you will not likely do, other than within the resort itself, is to walk anywhere. With highways/busy roadways "surrounding" the resort, a car is a must for shopping, eating off-property, etc.

Hope this report helps you as much as those of others helped me when I was looking for info. Good Luck!!

 

[wagmt]

Thanks for the responses to Vistana Resort. It looks like we will be staying there after hearing all the great reports.

Thanks again!