Walking to DC or SW from HGVCSW?

[NorthshoreTigerFan]

My family which includes DS 10, DD 9 and DS 6 will spend a week staying at the HGVC SW (for those of you like me that took forever to learn some of these abbreviations, that is the Hilton Grand Vacation Club at SeaWorld) and making the trip all about DC, SW and Aquatica (would that be AQ?). Is it a safe and reasonable walk from the resort to DC and/or SW? From looking at a map, it looks like a short drive is in order or Aquatica. Or eare we better off just driving the minute or two it would take to get to the parks? I'm wondering if the kids would be too worn out by the end of the day to walk back to the resort.

As an alternative, is there a reliable shuttle that would be able to get us to the parks at opening time? For our day at DC we would either walk or drive there because we would want to be there well before opening time to hopefully get a good time for the dolphin swim.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Hi, Just seeing your post now. We stayed at the HGVC SW for two days last summer and visited SW. When we returned from that trip, I wrote a mini trip review on the hotel, SW, and even the hotel shuttle (link below). We only went to SW, so I can't help with the transpo to/from DC or Aquatica.

It is about a 20 minute walk from HGVC SW to SeaWorld. The shuttle is OK to take TO SW, but pretty aggravating to take the shuttle from SW back to HGVC SW as they can turn a 5 minute trip into a 30 minute trip... some stops along the way, in a rickety old bus. We felt so much better when we realized we could ditch the shuttle all together and walk from the hotel to SW and back. Not always fun when it's pouring rain or when the SW parking lot is busy and you are dodging cars, but one shuttle ride from SW one night was enough for us, lol.

Actually, since you mentioned having a car and you have little ones, driving might be a good idea.

Also, depending on where your room is located at HGVC SW, you can end up being in one of the rooms that is closest to SW (still a 20 minute walk) or the farthest away from SW (like our room was, lol), but that's no big deal.

Just know that when walking back to the hotel, you are dodging cars in the SW parking lot as there is no safe walkway to take you across the width of the parking lot. Also, when we were there last summer, the LAST shuttle of the day to take you TO SW from the hotel was at 3 pm, even though the park stays open much later than that. There were shuttles in the late afternoon/evening that would take you back to the hotel, though.

There is also convenient store located near the walking route between HGVC SW and SW that you can pick up some drinks and snacks and things.

Hope this helps.
Here is the link to my old trip report:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/seaworld-trip-report-august-2014.3318184/

 

[NorthshoreTigerFan]

Thank you so much for the info and link to your review. I was already leaning towards just paying $30 for the 2 week parking pass since we are visiting Discovery Cove and having the flexibility to dart in & out of the parks whenever we wanted and without having to wait for shuttle buses. Off the top of my head, I don't remember reading anything consistently positive about shuttle service for any non-Disney resort. After reading your review I'm definitely just doing the drive and save the kids' feet (ok, and my feet too).

Kind of a bummer to read your comments about HGVC SW...we are staying there through my RCI time share and the reviews on RCI are all stellar. It's actually one of the highest rated resorts in Orlando. But I'm not too worried because we typically don't spend too much time at the resort because we are on the run with parks and what not. I'll be sure to write up a report to give everyone a follow up on how the resort is.

3 weeks to go....can't wait!!!

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

You're very welcome! I'm glad you saw my post about the shuttle before your trip. About HGVC SW, maybe your experience there will be different than ours. I know when we first arrived, I really liked the tropical look of the place. It looked like many families were enjoying themselves in the pool area. It was a fun looking atmosphere. There is a playground area for the kids by the pool. I think your kids will really like the resort.

I think once you have your quick queue passes secured, and figure out where everything is, you won't really have to deal much with the front desk anyway. I realized that once we discovered we could walk to SW and back and knew the ropes of this resort, it was easier to deal with. If you do dine at the pool bar, the food was pretty good (which I wasn't expecting). Our room was very clean and spacious. Just know that we usually stay at Disney resorts and I just wasn't used to seeing any kind of trash on the grounds of the resorts, so I was surprised. Maybe we just had a lemon of an experience. I hope you have a wonderful time and I would really enjoy hearing how your stay was. Have fun!!!