WBC vs Orange Lake North Village

[monagh10]

Anyone stayed at both of these resorts? We have a 3 bed book at WBC through Vacation Strategy. A 3 bedroom just came available at Orange Lake North Village through an RCI trade so debating to go with that instead. We are going the week of Feb 21-28. 4 adults and 2 toddlers. There is a ton of WBC info available but I can't find much on Orange Lake. Of course the Orange Lake would save us money because it would just be the $200 exchange fee vs $1400 for the week at WBC.

 

[LadyBeBop]

I've stayed at both WBC and Orange Lake. You can't go wrong with either; they're both nice resorts. You can't beat the convenience of WBC. And all of WBC's activities are close together. In the case of OL, you'll probaby need a car to get to some places within the resort. And you're still several miles from the Disney sign (you probably know you have to go under the sign to get to WBC).

However, for $1,200, I'd probably stay at OL over WBC. That's assuming you don't want to use the exchange for another vacation down the road.

 

[greenclan67]

I've stayed at both WBC and Orange Lake. You can't go wrong with either; they're both nice resorts. You can't beat the convenience of WBC. And all of WBC's activities are close together. In the case of OL, you'll probaby need a car to get to some places within the resort. And you're still several miles from the Disney sign (you probably know you have to go under the sign to get to WBC).

However, for $1,200, I'd probably stay at OL over WBC. That's assuming you don't want to use the exchange for another vacation down the road.

I have stayed at both as well. Am booked back into OL for March. Its probably one of our favs here. I wouldn't hesitate to save to switch to OL. My kids love it. Lots to do u won't go wrong.

 

[monagh10]

The one thing that is leaning me towards staying with our WBC reservation is the higher chance of possibly being able to see the fireworks from our room. We will be traveling with two 2 year olds so we won't be spending many late nights in the parks.

Also I know there is only 1 pool in north village but what are the chances of being within walking distance of that pool? The resort is very large so I know a vehicle is needed if wanting to travel to the other villages. We stayed at Reunion last trip which required driving to big waterpark area but we could at least walk to the neighborhood pool.

 

[greenclan67]

The one thing that is leaning me towards staying with our WBC reservation is the higher chance of possibly being able to see the fireworks from our room. We will be traveling with two 2 year olds so we won't be spending many late nights in the parks.

Also I know there is only 1 pool in north village but what are the chances of being within walking distance of that pool? The resort is very large so I know a vehicle is needed if wanting to travel to the other villages. We stayed at Reunion last trip which required driving to big waterpark area but we could at least walk to the neighborhood pool.

Not sure if this will help you at all. But there is a shuttle system on site. Goes from end of the property to the other continuously. I asked on my ressie to be next to the pool or close to it. And we were right behind it. We were also able to watch the fireworks at Disney from our patio. Lots of people went to the top tower in the evening and watched from there as well. We actually got some great shots of the fireworks from our balcony. If I remember correctly, if you get pool facing from North Village you should be able to see them. We could see them from Bonnet Creek as well, but faced a parking lot to do so.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

I've heard that WBC is no longer honoring room requests at check-in, so you may not get a fireworks view there either.

 

[Brian Noble]

My uncle owns at OL, and loves it. Great resort, *tons* to do right there. The location isn't quite as convenient as WBC, but with all the extra amenities it can make for a nice "slower paced" vacation than your typical Disney trip.

I guess the real question is: do you tend to run out of timeshare assets during the year, or are you accumulating them? We're currently in a situation where we own a little more than we can use because the kids are both in high school and play different sports in different seasons, so we don't have many opportunities to get away for the four of us. That has led me to try to "burn" timeshare assets more quickly so that I don't accumulate a lot of unused points/deposits, etc. So, for me, I'd take the exchange in a heartbeat.

 

[monagh10]

I've heard that WBC is no longer honoring room requests at check-in, so you may not get a fireworks view there either.

Yes I have seen that as well. I was thinking with WBC being tall towers the likelihood of seeing fireworks from there was greater than at OL since I was told that the buildings in North Village are only 2 stories & the 3 bedroom units are on the first floor.

 

[kat3668]

Stayed at both and I'd say stick with WBC... so much more compact and closer to the parks... Stayed at OL dec4th - 7th and stayed in east village and saw fireworks each night from our 6th floor room.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

$1400 for a week in a 3 bed at WBC? WOW that seems pricy. Did you shop around and get multiple rate quotes? Last time I stayed in a 3bed at WBC it was $120/night through Ken Price.

 

[Brian Noble]

It will vary based on dates. OP is going during the highest point-value period.

 

[monagh10]

$1400 for a week in a 3 bed at WBC? WOW that seems pricy. Did you shop around and get multiple rate quotes? Last time I stayed in a 3bed at WBC it was $120/night through Ken Price.

Yes we got multiple quotes from many different places. Would like to be paying less but the week we are going isn't flexible so we booked far in advance.

We decided to keep our WBC reservation instead of switching to Orange Lake