Just Back - HGVC any questions??

[steph73]

Whew! Just back from 11 wonderful days at Disney!! The first 7 nights we stayed at HGVC - it was awesome! I took lots of pics, as soon as I get them developed I'll scan them and post them.

We had a three bedroom suite. There is a full kitchen with lots of amenities - dishwasher, blender, mixer, microwave, coffee maker, toaster, ect. Just about anything you would want! Fridge had an ice maker, too.

Off the kitchen is a dining area, with a table that will seat 8. Keep going and you have your living room, with a 54" TV, VCR and Stereo/CD/Tape player, two sofas (one pulls out into a bed), and two chairs. A door off the living room leads you onto the main balcony (screened in), with a ceiling fan and a round table and seating for 4. We had a great veiw of the Sea World fireworks every night from out here (when we were home!).

The master bedroom has a sliding glass door that leads out onto the main balcony, a king size bed, a jacuzzi, and a 27" TV with VCR. The master bath has double sinks and a large shower stall.

The other bathroom, off the hallway is large! Lots of counter space in there, and a tub/shower combo. There is also a laundry closet with a top/bottom washer and dryer, and ironing needs. The other bedroom off the hallway is also large. Two double beds and a 27" TV with VCR.

Off the dining room, there is a whole other suite! A double bed, sofa that pulls into a bed, 27" TV with VCR, full bathroom, and a kitchenette with microwave, small fridge, and sink. There is also a sliding glass door to another smaller screened in balcony, with two chairs and a small table.

I can't wait to get some pics posted, it was wonderful! I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has.

 

[Pammyb]

I am so glad to hear from someone who has stayed at HGVC-we are leaving on Aug 10 for a week's stay in a two bedroom. I definitely have a few questions.

1. Were you able to request rooms beforehand? We will be arriving late on the 10th as we are flying from WA state. I have visions of us being stuck in some corner...you know. If you can request a specific area, where would you suggest from your experience?

2. Are grills available for guests' use?

3. Can you bring your own beverages to the pool or are you required to buy theirs?

4. Where is the closest grocery store?

5. Can you walk to Seaworld from there, and if so, how long?

6. Did anybody in your group sleep in the sofa-bed? If so, how comfortable were they?

7. Did you ride the Kraken if you went to SW? (my husband's question-definitely not mine!)

I think that is it! Thank you so much in advance for your answers-they are truly appreciated!

Pam inkbounc

 

[steph73]

I'll do my best to help you out!

1. We requested pool view, which we didn't get but it was still lovely. We stayed in Devonshire on the 3rd floor (6yr old got a kick out of that, his name is Devin) - but all of the buildings looked the same. All have their own pool, we used the main pool and it wasn't too far of a walk - 7 min or so. They are actually building a new one right to the side of Devonshire, so it's a bit of an eyesore and can be loud at times, but it didn't bother us much. The only thing that I can think of to suggest is that if you want to have a little privacy out on the balcony is to request at least a 3rd floor room (there are 6 floors in each building). There are elevators if that is a concern. We used the balconies alot, even played cards out there one night. On the first and second floors, you have traffic on the walkways going by alot and that would bother me.

2. Yes, there are grills - we didn't use one but we saw some people out grilling steaks. Good idea too, we'll have to do that next time.

3. There is a Publix on Central Florida Parkway in a shopping complex I can't remember the name of - sorry. It's about a 10 min drive if that from HGVC. There are directions to the Publix in the rooms though. In the same complex, there is a buffet resturant named BuddyFreddy's - I suggest it if you're looking for a meal out. It's reasonable and very good - mostly locals too, not "touristy". We stopped in for dinner one night and it wasn't crowded at all and one of the best meals out we had.

4. You can bring your own drinks to the pool - DH brought a bottle of beer down once and I always brought our water bottles and no one ever said anything. The main pool is great!

5. You could walk to Sea World, we drove though and it took about 5 min. HGVC does provide transportation to Sea World if you are interested. It is very close, we came back for a mid day break and it was very convienent.

6. The kids and occasionally DH slept in the sofa bed, and it actually was comfortable as far as sofa beds go. He had no complaints, and I laid in it a few times and it was fine.

7. Yes, we rode Kraken and it was GREAT!! We rode it at night, and walked right on to it. Earlier in the day, the line was over an hour - and by that point, we'd already been spoiled by Fast Pass. It would be worth waiting for though, if you love coasters you'll love this one! The rolls are great!!

HTH some! You will absolutly love this place - I think we got spoiled there actually. When we checked into CBR for our last 3 days, DS's ran through the room and said, "hey, where's our room at?" LOL

 

[Pammyb]

Stephanie-

Your answers were very helpful! Thank you! My husband was especially happy to hear about Kraken.

How soon in advance did you make your room request? Also, on what side of the building were you? (the view of the SW fireworks sounds very appealing).

I may request a third floor or higher with a view of the fireworks and see what I get. I kept telling myself I would not get obssessed with this vacation, but it is obviously happening! ; )

One more question-are non smoking rooms available?

Once again, thank you so much for all of your answers-you have been more than helpful. I can't wait to see you pictures. I swear I am getting more excited by the minute-especially after hearing your opinions!

Pam

inkbounc

 

[pomcoach]

Hi Stephanie,
We are also looking for a 3 bedroom. Howmany bathrooms were there? And if you don't mind my asking, what price was it? We are planning a Jan. 2002 vacation. Thanks! pomcoach

 

[steph73]

It's my parents timeshare, so my Mom made the reservation. She made it in February and we were there June 15 - 22. Our balconies faced the right side of the building if you are facing it. I would guess that if you asked for your balconies to face Sea World they would probably try to accomodate that - I would call today though.

And yes, we were in a non-smoking room. I plan on putting in my 18 rolls of film in for developement tomorrow (I don't even want to know how much that is going to cost) - I will scan the pics as soon as I get them back. Hopefully, I'll have them up sometime over the weekend or so.

And, there are 3 full bathrooms in the 3 bedroom - one in the Master Bedroom, one in the Suite, and one off the hallway. All have tub/shower combos except the Master, which has a shower stall (a large one) and a jacuzzi in the bedroom.

As far as price goes: it's my parents timeshare so lucky us it was free. However, I believe that the rack rate for the three bedroom is in the low to mid $300's.

HTH!

 

[aec]

Stephanie,

THANKS FOR POSTING!!!!! I am so excted to hear about HGVC! We are staying for a week on a timeshare exchange in November. I can think of a few questions so far:

1) travel time to disney parks (to parking lots at epcot, MK, etc.)

2) did you make it back to HGVC for mid day breaks on disney days?

3) what floaties, if any, are allowed in the HGVC pools, we'd probably just bring water wings for my 4 YO DD. My 7 YO DD is really getting the hang of swimming this year. Is there a good pool for these ages?

4) Did you look into the kids club at all? If you have any info I'd be interested.

5) What was the jacuzzi like in the master bath? I'm thinking it would feel very nice after a long day of walking around the parks.

6) Were there jacuzzis by the pool?

7) How did check in go? what day did you check in and when was your unit ready?

8) Since a friend gave us their time share week do you think we will get any sales pitches? I am not into that at all.

9) are all of the units relatively new?

Phew, that was a ton of questions. I hope you get a chance to respond.

For those rolls of film, do you have access to COSTCO? We drop all our film there in the overnight. It is the best deal around here anyway. We had 17 rolls from an 8 night trip in '99. I have a feeling it will be even more this time. I like to scrapbook.

Again, thanks so much for posting. I appreciate the info.

Amy

 

[Pammyb]

Thanks Amy!

You thought of some more good questions! Stephanie, thankyou for your answers. I will be calling them tomorrow morning to put in my room request!

I am anxious to hear your answers to Amy's questions!

Thank you so much for your help!

Pam inkbounc inkbounc

 

[steph73]

I'm more than happy to answer what I can! I've still got our trip on the brain so it's all I've been thinking about anyways !

1. It takes about 15 min to get to MK & AK, assuming there's not a back up on 1-4, and probably about 10 min to Epcot/MGM. I'm guessing here, it didn't seem very long at all.

2. We didn't come back for a break from MK, and I regret that. We did come back from AK and MGM for a mid day break, and it was pretty convienent. I was concerned about that too, but it worked out fine.

3. My kids used water wings, and they sell floaties at the main pool (not sure about the quiet pools, we always used the main pool). They sell these huge gator ride on things. Not sure if you could bring your own large floatie, but the water wings weren't a problem. My kids absolutly loved the pools! There is two large main ones, one is heated quite warm and the other has a waterfall - no slides though. My kids loved the waterfall! There is also a small wading pool.

4. Sorry, don't know about the kids club but the info they give you at check in sounded good. They also have a theatre in the main building showing different movies - on Fri & Sat I believe they show Disney movies. You can even rent the theatre if you want - it wasn't that much either, maybe $20 if that. They also rent movies and have a small arcade.

5. The jacuzzi was very nice! My only regret is we didn't use it more.

6. Yes, there are jacuzzis at the pools. The pool area is really nice, just wait until you see it.

7. Check in was very fast, we actually checked in kinda late though - about 9pm because our flight was diverted to Tampa and then back to Orlando because of thunderstorms. We checked in on friday night.

8. I don't think you would have to endure that if you didn't want to. They always have a "open house" or something or other going on there, but you wouldn't have to attend if you didn't want to. We didn't

9. They look pretty new to me! Not sure of the age, but they were in very good condition and they are buiding new ones as I type.

Thanks for the info on Costco - actually we're Sams Club members and I haven't even thought of taking the film there instead! Great idea, thanks. I scrapbook too, can't wait to get started on our Orlando vacation album!! I have a scrapbook website too, the links in my profile - hasn't been updated in a bit though. I'll be posting my new album as I get it done - and I plan on starting on it next week !

 

[aec]

How much time did you spend at Seaworld and disney?

I'm thinking one day at SW or two half days with the second day free deal. I'm planning on 6 days at disney.

We are staying one extra night at the new residence inn lake buena vista north so we have 8 nights and 7 full days plus the two travel days. Where did you move to after HGVC?

Thanks for the info! I'm glad you had such a great trip!

 

[steph73]

We spent a whole day at Sea World, with a mid day break. We missed Shamu , I didn't read the showtimes and came back planning on heading right for it and it was already after the last show (5 something). We stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort our last three nights.

Here was our itenirary:

Fri: Arrive at HGVC
Sat: Swam in pool, drove around WDW
Sun: Magic Kingdom all day
Mon: Rest, pool again and another drive around WDW
Tues: Animal Kingdom until about 3pm, relax at resort
Wed: Sea World all day, with mid day break
Thur: Disney-MGM Studios all day, with mid day break
Fri: Checked into CBR, resort touring and Chef Mickey's
Sat: EE Magic Kingdom, mid day break then Epcot
Sun: Downtown Disney, resort touring, The Boardwalk
Mon: Leave for airport

We stayed pretty busy LOL! We wanted to go back to Sea World our last day for a few hours to catch Shamu and just look around some more (we have the Fun Cards - kinda an annual pass thing they had on their website awhile back for the same price as one day admission), but we decided to hang out at WDW instead.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Diznut84]

We stayed in a 2BR unit at HGVC a couple weeks ago. It was great. I posted a full review of activities in the TUG review section.

 

[R4Suns]

OK...What and where is HGVC??????

 

[aec]

Steph,

Thanks again for replying. Looks like you had plenty of "down time" while you were there. I'm afraid I am trying to plan to much. Except for our travelling days, I have not planned any days to relax.

R4suns:

HGVC is the Hilton grand vacationns club. It is a time share resort but you can also rent a unit like a regular resort. It is located very close to seaworld. We are staying there on a timeshare exchange using our friends week.

Amy

 

[aec]

Greg,

I'd love to see your review on TUG, but I am not a member. If you have anything to add to what Stephanie has posted here I'd be interested. Since we don't own a time share (a friend gave us his week) and HGVC was the only plac we could get for the week we picked (I think we were very lucky to get it) I didn't join TUG. I am able to search their message boards though and is had some good posts on HGVC.

Amy

 

[Diznut84]

Per your request. Please note, though, that there are THOUSANDS of reviews on TUG , including 30 other reviews and 3 picture pages of HGVC.

------------
Greg

My wife and two daughters stayed in a 2BR unit in the Pembroke building. The pools, restaurant, etc. all very close and we were extremely happy with the unit and the facilities. We had a few maintenance problems (kitchen lights did not work and patio lock was broken) but both were repaired within 15 minutes.

The resort has two main pools -- one with a large fountain and another with a larger waterfall. Towels are distributed at the towel hut. You can also purchase numerous inflatables (alligators, whales, etc.) for up to $20 inflated. There was also croquet, shuffleboard, basketball, and tennis courts (all free).

There were numerous organized activities including water balloon tosses, crab races, Sunday sundaes, flower pot design, teen social, lawn bowling, family movie nights, morning aquacise, ice cream social, belly flop contest, token diving, family football, pie eating contests, sand castle contest, kids lawn tournament, adult shuffleboard and croquet contests, raft races, poolside bingo, water volleyball, tye dye, water golf, and sand dollar art.

Kids activities were broken into shifts: Day Camps 10am to 1pm HGVC member rate: $15 for the first child and $10 for each additional child. Non-member rate: $20/$15. Evening camps ran from 6pm - 9:30pm for $5 more per child. Day camps were held on Wednesday (Sea World Behind the Scenes Tour) and Friday (Messy Mania-Including Paint Wars). Evening Camps were Monday (Make a Movie), Wednesday (Interactive Trip to Wonder Works) and Friday (Hawaiian Luau).

Parking was limited and was a problem. However, if you returned late and spoke to a staff member they would clear a spot for you reserved for maintenance vehicles (NOTE: NOT THE FIRE LANES).

The big screen TV was nice as well as VCRs in each bedroom.

We were not even asked to go to a timeshare presentation until Wednesday and were not contacted again when we declined. Overall, this is a great resort. We'll be back in four years! TUG

 

[aec]

Thanks Greg! Great review!

 

[Pammyb]

It sounds like a wonderful place. I appreciate all the info Greg!



Pam

 

[Jacquelyn11]

We will also be staying at HGVC using Vacation Club Points. We joined last Nov when we were at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We viewed the property there and had an idea in mind how much it would be. When they quoted the price we were very suprised! A lot lower than expected! This was also pre opening prices as the HGVC in Hawaii did not open until Feb. of this year.

On the Crusie we talked to a DIS couple we met that signed on with DVC. Their plan was 3G's more than my 1br condo. And something about 'reverting back' in a little over 40 yrs?? Our HGVC can be passed on to our kids, and as long as the yearly fees are paid, will not expire. They both have RCI exchange capability.

I'll report back in a couple of weeks on our experience there. Let me know when you post your pics...we are planning the same type of "big group" when we go to WDW next June!

We leave in 3 days!!

Jacquelyn

 

[BethR]

Thanks so much Stephanie for starting this thread!
We will be staying in a 2 bedroom at the HGVC August 10-17 by the auspices of a co-worker of DH.
Everything that I have read and seen to date has me VERY excited about staying here. This thread makes me even more so!
I will try to remember to post a review when I return.