Vistana Resort/LBV

[jdm]

No, I don't mind at all but I got the Vistana through a trade with RCI. I am using 3000 Worldmark points and only paying out of pocket $129 for the week. Needless to say, I am very excited!! That and our airplane tickets were free using Visa points.... so lucked out this trip! Did you get a good deal on Hotelkingdom? I understand they were running a 7th night free. You know, I called the Vistana to check the rates out of curiousity for the 15th thru the 22nd of Feb. and she told me they were completely booked!
Jenn

 

[AvonMom]

a few more questions for those that have been to the Vistana Resort. I know it says fully stocked kitchen, does this include all the pots/pans that we may need to cook a few meals. Not really sure what they consider fully stocked. Also, we reserved a 2 bdrm., the reservationist said I didn't have to request to make sure that 1 bdrm has 2 double beds as there will be six of us. Is the 2 bdrm standard to have 2 doubles and a king?

As you can tell I'm new to all of this. Thanks for all your help everyone!

 

[threeboysmom]

jdm - Just keep in mind, the Vistana Resort is HUGE. I'm not sure I'd send my kids out alone unless they had a map and were good at reading one! LOL! To answer your question, the clubhouse is right next to the Super Pool, so it sounds like that's where you're going to spend most of your time. If that's the case, I'd pick the Spas for their location (right there!) and also because they are a bigger size. I'm not sure of their decor, since I've never stayed in that section before. But I do know that Vistana actively keeps up on renovations and updates to all the sections, so I wouldn't worry. If for some reason, you get inside and don't like what you see, you can always ask to be switched to another unit or different section.

As for the shuttle, we've always had a car and never needed to use the shuttle. This trip will be different though since we are splitting up for the first time (older boys & Dad to Disney Quest, and Mom and 4 year old to MK) so I will try out the shuttle and hopefully won't have any problems I have no idea how often they run, if there's a cost involved, etc. I'm clueless

AvonMom - yes, the kitchen is fully stocked, meaning there are pots and pans and serving dishes, etc., and dinnerware for 8. The only thing missing is dish soap and SOS pads. They do provide detergent for the dishwasher however. Paper towels are there, but no napkins. And sometimes there will be salt/pepper available, but not always.

I believe all of the sections at Vistana have 2 double beds in the 2nd bedroom, except for the oldest section - the Courts. They all have king beds in the master, plus jacuzzi (except again, the Courts - no jacuzzi) In addition, they all have a large sleeper sofa in the living room. You will have plenty of room for 6 people.

Any more questions? This gives me something to do to pass the time until 2/22 when we arrive

Kimberly

 

[jdm]

It is truly great to have someone who actually owns there willing to answer all the questions!

No, I would never send them out alone. When we stay at different locations, (so far have not timeshared out of the Northwest) I always get the unit closest to the pool or clubhouse. I try to get across the street so if they want to run over a few minutes before me, they can. But, I like to keep them in sight! So, the closer the better! Thanks for the info on the Spa section. Is the Super pool just a big huge pool with fountains? I take it no slide.... I thought about what you said about it being over-run with teens so I guess I'll have to weigh that out. I read on one of the TUG posts that there was a little snack bar/ pool bar by one of the nicer pools. I'll have to recheck wihich area that was in.

When we stayed in Orlando a couple of years ago we stayed at HIFS and just went to the parks and back so I am really not familiar with the area. It felt like HIFS was in the middle of nowhere with nothing much in the way of stores or restaurants around it. What about VR? I know it is one of the closer properties to Disney (which we are not doing this time) but once you leave the resort, is there plenty around for grocery stores etc.? Where do you get your supplies when you arrive?

Oh! And when are you going??

Thanks again for everything.

Jenn

 

[jdm]

I just reread your post... you are checking in the day we check out!

 

[threeboysmom]

To give you a little more info on the pools.....the Super Pool is a huge free-form pool. There are no slides or fountains, but they do rent out inner tubes there which kids like. Also, there is a volleyball net stretched over part of the pool. They hold activities at this pool throughout the day such as children's water games, bingo, etc. I can't remember if there's a snack bar here or not. I would assume so.... I do know that the Cascades pool (which is one of our favorites) has a nice snack bar - we had dinner poolside a couple of nights last year since we were too lazy to go back to the room

As for the location, it is actually near HIFS (around the corner). You'll actually drive right by HIFS to get onto Disney property. Within a 5-10 minute drive, you have plenty of restaurants to pick from. If you take a left out of Vistana, you will come to Downtown Disney or Crossroads. If you take a right and head to the 2nd (?) light, you will come to a Publix grocery store at the corner (where we always stock up on goodies), and all kind of restaurants galore if you take a right or left at that intersection. It might be 192 - I'm not sure. My husband does all the driving so I don't really pay much attention. I just know we're not in the car for too long.

Kimberly

 

[AvonMom]

I have a couple more questions. We have never stayed at the VR, how close is it to Disney. Do they have free shuttles to the Disney parks? If we choose to drive is it easy to get to the parks? Again, are there any grocery stores close by. The night we arrive we get in at the airport about 9:30. Like I said previously my MIL is going too and she had us booked at the HIFS for $300.00 less so I'm trying to convince her this will be much better.

 

[threeboysmom]

AvonMom - I've never used the shuttle service at Vistana so I don't have any ino on it at all. Maybe someone else can help you there??

Regarding a grocery store, there is a Publix about 5-10 minutes away. Take a right out of the Vistana Resort and head to, I think, the second traffic light. The store is at that intersection. There is also a Goodings which is a little closer, but their prices are much higher than Publix.

Vistana is very very close to Disney. Take a right out of the resort and take another right at the 1st intersection. This road will put you right onto Disney property with signs galore to lead you to the correct park or resort if you're heading for dinner. It literally takes 5 minutes!! The signs are very well-marked and easy to follow. It's coming home that can be fun My advice would be to get a map and mark on it where Vistana is located. I think it is route 535.

Kimberly

 

[AvonMom]

Has anyone booked thru hotelkingdom.com, I was just wondering if we wanted to request a certain section, etc if that is possible? We have previously stayed at the HIFS so I know that general area. I'll have to print out all the tips here. I'm sooo looking forward to our trip. I know that my MIL is certain I don't know what I'm talking about when I tell her after reading all these posts how nice this will be.

Lori

 

[jdm]

Thank you again for all the detailed info. I think I'm out of questions :~)

I see from your posts that you are from New Hampshire...... LUCKY YOU! We love it there and try to spend a couple of days each summer when we are visiting our families in Boston. The day my husband retires we are heading for NH!! Although we do have a while to wait.....

Jenn

 

[robsmom]

i am almost certain that the falls 2nd bedroom was 2 twins. There is a sofa bed, however so
it easily sleeps 6.

 

[Lynnie 2002]

Hi, I've been trying to decide which resort to stay at Vistana Villages or Vistana Resort. Can you tell me if VR or VV has internet access. What kind of restaurants are at VR. what is the mini golf like. do they have a game room.

 

[jeff968]

We stayed at the Vistana Resort last February. It was very nice. We were in the new Cascades section. Great, big room, kids loved the CD player and the hot tub was very nice. The resort was great. Pool's were nice. We spent most of our time at the cascade's pool. Resturants were just okay. We ate there once. It was expensive and the food was just okay. The mini golf was okay, nothing special but they give out a lot of free passes to the kids during the activities. Tennis looked real nice although we didn't use it. They had multiple game rooms. The only thing I would be nervous about is getting put in one of the older units. They looked okay from the outside and actually had nicer landscaping but I have heard mixed reviews on their interior condition. The VV is all new. We are visiting the Hilton Grand vacation club in two weeks so I'm curious how they will compare.

 

[jdm]

Did you find that the Cascade pool was as nice / nicer than the others? Was it a great location as far as game rooms / clubhouse etc? I'm trying to decide to request between this area and the Spas. Kids are 9 & 11.
Jenn

 

[jeff968]

Yes, I would say the Cascades pool is the nicest one in the resort. We visited about 6 of the 8 pools. The lakes and fountains section (I think it was those two) are across the road and a good walk away so we didn't swim in those pools. The cascades pool was beautiful. New, very large, heated, and everything around the pool was new. The pool has a large waterfall that you can pass under. There is a large section of the pool with islands in it with the sprays that go on and off. That section of the pool is shallow for the little ones. There is no slide. There was a slide pool but the slide was just okay. The super pool is huge and there weren't many people in it. It was more quiet although that's were I found the pool volleyball game. At the cascades there was also a hot tub, pool side bar, and game room near the pool. I would recommend the Cascades section. I believe the spas, although nice, was an older section.

 

[jdm]

I appreciate the info. The only slight down side I've heard to Cascades is that the living/dining area is on the small side. I thik with only 4 of us, though, we'll be fine. I'm going to go ahead and request this section and keep my fingers crossed.

Jenn

 

[jeff968]

Interesting. This was our first experience with this type of resort and we'll never go back to a "hotel room" again. I guess the dinning area was a little tight but it did have a good size table and seating for 6. The living area had two chairs and the sofabed and seem like it had lots of room but I guess even it could have been bigger. We had 7 of us in the unit and it seemed fine. I'll be in the Hilton Grand Vacation club in a week in a half so I'll have something to compare it against.

 

[threeboysmom]

My family stayed in the Cascades section last year - I didn't notice the living area to be that much smaller than the other units. I did notice that the balcony was MUCH smaller and the 2nd bedroom was smaller. If you only have 4 people, you will be fine. The Cascades is prettier (& newer) than the other sections, and their pool is the BEST.

Kimberly