# Which RCI resort is best in Orlando/Kissimmee



## netgoins

We are taking our 3.5 yo daughter to Disney in mid September in order to use an exchange week that will expire. Can anyone offer advice on the number one nicest resort or coolest resort for a preschooler in the Disney area?

We have stayed in Barefootin at the Keys but found Old Town a little seedy and very loud at night. We own at FF Cypress Palms but have never stayed there or even seen most of the resort. I am losing my job at Ford Motor in Nov so we are trying to take my little girl to Disney when she's young, don't know when we will be able to afford to go again or if I will have vacation otr if we will be dumping our Orlando and or Destin timeshares.

Please if you can direct us to the top couple of rsorts for this trip it would really mean a lot if we could make this a special one.

I know Sheraton Vistana is a once every four year trade. Does that make it better than most.


Thanks,
Mark in Atlanta


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## northovr

For RCI is Hilton at Sea World.  Hilton on I drive is nice too but has construction. 
II is probably after Disney is the Marriotts.


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## Detailor

For RCI resorts, I also like the Hilton Grands but there are others that would also be very good.
The two large resorts, Sheraton Vistana Resort and Orange Lake Country Club, both offer alot of amenities for a wide range of guest including the little ones.  
Cypress Pointe is a nice, smaller resort.
Liki Tiki has a nice pool area and is also a nice smaller resort.

Dick Taylor


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## littlestar

Doesn't Marriott's Cypress Harbour trade through RCI and II both? From what I've heard, Cypress Harbour is nice. And it's right across the street from Marriott's Horizons resort which is heaven for little kids from what my sister told me. They are at Marriott's Horizons right now and she said there is a pirate ship with slides for the little kids with a zero entry pool. I think you can use the amenities at Cypress Harbour or Horizons when you stay at either? Any owners or exchangers verify that? I know my sis said they walked across the street to Cypress Harbour and were free to use the facilities over there. So I would think it would work in reverse. 

I've also heard nice things about Hilton Grand Vacation Club. Oh, Fairfield's Bonnet Creek looks nice. It's got a lazy river pool and friends of ours who have stayed there said the rooms are gorgeous.


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## Vodo

Most Disney area Gold Crown resorts have a 1 in 4 rule.

In order of preference, we have stayed at and enjoyed (some of them several times) the following Gold Crown properties (certainly not a Top 10 list for the entire area, just our experiences):

SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED RESORTS

Houses at Summer Bay (private pool and garage)
Summer Bay Resort
Marriott Grande Vista
Fairfield Bonnet Creek
HGVC Tuscany (I-Drive) (have not stayed there, but have seen the very nice units)
HGVC Seaworld
Vacation Village at Parkway (fewer amenities/activities than many)
Silver Lake/Silver Points (fewer amenities/activities than many)
Cypress Pointe (have not been there since major renovations)

LARGE RESORTS

Sheraton Vistana Resort (prefer only Cascades section at this resort)
Orange Lake Country Club (prefer only 3BR units at this resort)

We do not have access to the Disney Vacation Club properties nor most of the II resorts (we're RCI).  We did not care at all for Westgate Vacation Villas.  We toured Wyndham Palms and the units were nice, but the amenities seemed scattered and less than upscale.

Cindy


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## SteveB

Mark:

I am an owner at Orange Lake so I am biased, but I think OL is one of the nicer resorts and is next to Animal Kingdom.  You may actually be able to get a reservation at OL using the RCI extra vacation weeks since many owners of Sept. to Nov. units have gotten leery about hurricane season although Nov. should be fine.  If you call about 6 weeks prior to arriving at OL, you should be able to request a unit in the North Village which is close to the splash lagoon pool which the kids seem to enjoy.  If you go to orangelake.com and look for the resort webcam on the left side, it will give you views of the splash lagoon pool live.  ALSO, The new 15 acre water park, River Island at OL will open in the next few months and will be more spectactular than some of the Disney waterparks.  Orange Lake will be the only resort with its own water park (restaurants and game room at the site also).  
If you want to stay in the park, we really enjoyed taking our kids to the Yachtclub resort several years back.


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## rickandcindy23

*OLCC is one of my least favorite resorts.  It is potluck at OLCC.*

You could get a really awful unit at OLCC.  We did.  It was dirty and not maintained.  The salespeople kept calling us to take a tour.  I finally told them that our room was not impressive, so why would I subject myself to a tour?

I guess the units were only 11 years old, but ours did not deserve a GC rating at all.  There were bugs, dirty, cigarette odor, broken tiles and appliances.  I would rate that unit a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10.  There are some nicer units there, but you are not guaranteed to get anything nice as an exchanger.  My husband is not a picky person, but he hated OLCC and will not return.  I had booked a week for next January and had to switch it to the Hilton.


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## gjw007

I'm always amused when I read some of the reviews.  OLCC has never called me multiple times for the timeshare presentation.  I have received only one call during my stay to do a timeshare tour while staying onsite.  But I have gotten calls for the other activities on the resort such as golf times, welcome parties, ticket center, etc.  There probably is a total of 4 or 5 calls but it does get irratating.  I've had more calls when staying at Vacation Village at Parkway and they don't have the amenities.  Westgate is reknown for hassling its guests with calls for the timeshare presentation.

The Rivier Island entertainment section is two pools, spas, and a lazy river.  If I want to go to a water park, I'd head over to Wet-N-Wide but for a relaxing afternoon, the lazy river will be great.  River Island will be nice but it needs to be put in perspective to what it is or else you might be disappointed.

The 3-bedroom units are the same as the 2-bedroom units except that it has a third bedroom attached.  Think about that for a moment.  What is really being said is that the person wants to be in the newer section of the resort as the newer sections of the resort have 3-bedroom units whereas the oldest section has only 1- or 2-bedroom units.  

Are the units in the older section of the resort bad?  No, but this is a personal perference.  It should be noted that every 6 years OLCC replaces the soft items (cushions, curtains, etc.) and repaints the units.  Every 18 years it is completely renovated.  I have stayed in the older part of the resort 3 times since 2000 and I have never had any problems.  There is a difference in the room layout between the newer 2-bedrooms and the older style 2-bedroom.  In the newer 2-bedrooms, the master bedroom and bathroom are bigger with an oversized whirlpool tub in the bathroom.  The older style 2-bedroom units may have a standard whirlpool tub (but most probably don't have a whirlpool tub), a complete 2nd bathroom with tub, and a larger living room area.  I like the older section as well as the newer section.  Unlike the newer resorts that try to cram as many people into a building as possible, the original section of OLCC were single-story units.  There is something charming about not being in a multifloor building.  Until I run into a problem, I cannot find fault with the units.  I don't know the mantenance schedules for the other resorts so I can't comment or compare.

If you read some people's reviews, you will get the picture that the resort is rundown and dirty.  That is not true in my experience.  If you read the preponderance of responses, you will find that they are overwhelmingly favorable.  It is a big resort and if you're looking for a cozy, everything-right-next-to-you environment, OLCC was not designed for this.  You might like how HGVC is designed better.  It is not hard to read negative reviews on every resort including the Marriotts, HGVC, Sheraton, Disney, Fairfield, etc.  The harshed review that I have read were for the Disney DVC resorts to the point that people would completely clean the room when they entered it and disinfected it as well - again, that has not been my experience.

In reality, you need to determine what you plan to do when vacationing.  If all you need is a place to stay as you plan to be at the parks, a minimalist place such as Vacation Village @ Parkway (I'm not a fan of this resort even though I own here - it provided my entry into RCI Points) that has lots of rooms but very little onsite amentities.  If you want a resort that is small and everything is close together, you should try HGVC.  If you want a place where there are lots of amentities, you should try Sheraton Vistana or OLCC.  If you want a nice resort but get hassled by timeshare people, try Westgate (sorry, couldn't resist).  

There are lots of nice resorts in the Orlando area.  If you stay with any of the more highly rated resorts, you shouldn't have any problems.   Read the majority of the reviews.  If the majority of the reviews are favorable, it should be a nice resort.  Even there, you need to keep your vacation style in mind because even if the resort is nice, it might not be the right fit.  This is personal perference.


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## BocaBum99

Vodo said:
			
		

> Most Disney area Gold Crown resorts have a 1 in 4 rule.
> 
> In order of preference, we have stayed at and enjoyed (some of them several times) the following Gold Crown properties (certainly not a Top 10 list for the entire area, just our experiences):
> 
> SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED RESORTS
> 
> Houses at Summer Bay (private pool and garage)
> Summer Bay Resort
> Marriott Grande Vista
> Fairfield Bonnet Creek
> HGVC Tuscany (I-Drive) (have not stayed there, but have seen the very nice units)
> HGVC Seaworld
> Vacation Village at Parkway (fewer amenities/activities than many)
> Silver Lake/Silver Points (fewer amenities/activities than many)
> Cypress Pointe (have not been there since major renovations)
> 
> LARGE RESORTS
> 
> Sheraton Vistana Resort (prefer only Cascades section at this resort)
> Orange Lake Country Club (prefer only 3BR units at this resort)
> 
> We do not have access to the Disney Vacation Club properties nor most of the II resorts (we're RCI).  We did not care at all for Westgate Vacation Villas.  We toured Wyndham Palms and the units were nice, but the amenities seemed scattered and less than upscale.
> 
> Cindy



I like Cindy's list.  I would add "The Fountains" and Marriott Cypress Harbour to this list.  Of course, the DVC resorts should be included as well.


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## jlfernandez5

*RCI Availability*

Mark,
Since you own with Fairfield if you own points you could do a search first and see what you could pull with the least amount of points. Right now using a Red Visible Studio (one that I can search with)that cost 70,000 points this is what I can see in RCI.

Sheraton Vistana Resort

See Reviews 	
0450
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
8/4
	09/02/2006 - 10/06/2006
Orlando International Resort Clu

See Reviews 	
0552
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
6/6
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Orange Lake Country Club

See Reviews 	
0670
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/2
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Florida Vacation Villas

See Reviews 	
0776
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/2
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Lifetime of Vacations at Grand L

See Reviews 	
0851
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
10/4
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Westgate Vacation Villas

See Reviews 	
0899
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
10/2
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Sabal Palms

See Reviews 	
1276
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
6/6
	09/29/2006 - 09/29/2006
Bryan's Spanish Cove

See Reviews 	
1613
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
6/6
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Orlando's Sunshine Resort

See Reviews 	
1998
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
8/6
	09/08/2006 - 09/29/2006
High Point World Resort

See Reviews 	
2066
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
6/4
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Silver Lake Resort

See Reviews 	
2610
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/4
	09/03/2006 - 10/01/2006
Cypress Pointe Resort

See Reviews 	
2750
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
8/4
	09/02/2006 - 09/22/2006
The Villages at Mango Key


2786
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/6
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
RHC/High Point World Resort


2976
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
6/4
	09/03/2006 - 10/07/2006
Lago Vista at Buenaventura Lakes


3026
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
6/6
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Summer Bay Resort

See Reviews 	
3175
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/4
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Hilton Grand Vacations Club at S

See Reviews 	
3517
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
6/4
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Villas at Fortune Place

See Reviews 	
3654
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/6
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Fairfield Orlando at Cypress Pal

See Reviews 	
3995
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/2
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Cypress Pointe Grande Villas Res

See Reviews 	
3996
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
8/2
	09/03/2006 - 10/07/2006
Oak Plantation A SunVest Resort

See Reviews 	
4070
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/2
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Westgate Leisure Resort

See Reviews 	
4206
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
6/4
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Grand Lake Resort

See Reviews 	
4300
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
6/4
	09/03/2006 - 10/01/2006
Barefoot'n in the Keys at Old To

See Reviews 	
4934
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/4
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Vacation Village at Parkway

See Reviews 	
4940
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/4
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Sunterra Resorts Polynesian Isle

See Reviews 	
5095
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
6/4
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Orbit One Vacation Villas

See Reviews 	
5109
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
6/6
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Club Sevilla

See Reviews 	
5169
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/2
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Celebration World Resort

See Reviews 	
5389
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
10/2
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Orlando's Sunshine Resort II

See Reviews 	
5592
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
8/6
	09/08/2006 - 09/29/2006
Kingstown Reef at the Crowne Pla

See Reviews 	
5945
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
4/2
	09/02/2006 - 10/07/2006
Villas at Summer Bay Resort

See Reviews 	
5995
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
6/4
	09/03/2006 - 10/01/2006
Sheraton Vistana Villages

See Reviews 	
6059
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
8/4
	09/02/2006 - 10/01/2006
Sunterra Resorts Grand Beach

See Reviews 	
6315
	Orlando, FL, USA 	
6/2
	09/03/2006 - 10/07/2006
The Holiday Club at Club Sevilla


6733
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
4/4
	09/09/2006 - 09/16/2006
Florida Vacation Villas Club I


6740
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
8/6
	09/09/2006 - 09/30/2006
Magic Tree Resort


8461
	Kissimmee, FL, USA 	
6/4
	09/03/2006 - 10/01/2006
As you can see there is alot of availability for the month of September most are at least 2 Bedroom Units. I would recomend the Hilton or the Sheraton.
Good Luck,
Joe


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## rickandcindy23

*Like I said, with OLCC it is potluck.*

We like Orbit One better than OLCC and have stayed there twice.  Orbit One is not anywhere near a GC, but they didn't have bugs and the unit was very clean.  So we are not picky.  

I don't go for the amenities of the resort because I do not want to pay money to play putt putt at OLCC or use the theater, plus we go at times when swimming is not fun--January!  Amenities of the resorts do not impress me as much as the interiors do.  We spend so much time at Disney and Universal that our time at the resort is about sleeping and relaxing, not using the resort's amenities.

We were called over and over again.  We just ignored the phone calls until we finally answered, very early one morning that we wanted to sleep in, and told them we would never, ever buy there because it was not at all clean or nice, which was a great disappointment with so many of the resorts we have to choose from.

Unit #2624 is an ugly, older unit with none of the amenities that other units at OLCC have.  The difference between the reviews that are positive and negative is the area/unit in which the exchanger stayed.  That is why the resort has such varied reviews.  It isn't that we pick apart a unit.  Our experience was BAD!   Check out this unit sometime, and you will see that I am telling the truth.  If you dare!  Of course, if I owned at OLCC, I would be very upset to get a unit on South Magnolia Court, so you probably shouldn't request to be put there, you would just have to ask to be moved.  There is no screen on the patio, either, so we could not get away from the flying bugs or the yellow light on the patio that is supposed to discourage them.


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## spiceycat

which resorts are showing up for you?


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## timeos2

*Just look at Westgate for one bad example*

Cindy - All too common with all the mega resorts. It's one reason in general I try to avoid them. Of course I own at Westgate which grew to ultra-mega porportions after we bought so I know first hand how sections can be left to fend for themselves and even owners have no real ability to have input. 

Add in that someday all those waterparks, golf courses, lazy rivers and more will someday have to be paid to maintain or replace by the owners  ($$$$!) and that type of resort holds no allure for me.  I prefer a mega system like FF that spreads all those costs over 10's of thousands of owners at many locations or a smaller resort that the owners control.  Standalone, mega resorts are the worst of both worlds IMHO.


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## SteveB

Then why is Orange Lake the 4th least expensive in maintenance fees and Cypress Pointe is 13th out of 30 resorts around Orlando?


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## Vodo

I can only guess that the fees are moderate at OLCC (though they still seem high to me) because they're spread over a gazillion owners (well, maybe not QUITE that many ), and because the resort is still being developed.  The developer absorbs front-end costs for those expensive amenities, but once construction is done, the owners have to pay to maintain everything.  That's when things can get a little rough.  Is OLCC in its final phase, or is there additional development in the works?  I'm wondering how much longer the developer will be involved.

Cindy


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## gjw007

I would guess that OLCC is not even close to its final phase of development.  First, the River Island sets the stage for the next road of development.  Second, there is plenty of property not developed or in use for recreational purposes.  The only thing that I'm not sure about for development is how the environmental regulations may restrict development.  I know that the Treehouse Villas at Disney can't be removed or improved because of environmental issues.  OLCC has plenty of areas that I think would fall under the environmental issues as well.


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## spiceycat

the treehouses can be improved - they can and did bring it back to inhabitable for the their college students (international or some training program)

they just can't be worn down and rebuilt. the structure must stay the same and I don't think Disney can bring in their heavy equipment - except to remove the trees.... these units got hit pretty back in the hurricanes - there were several trees on top of some of them.

they will never again be part of the WDW resorts. (at least until the laws are changed again)


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## cthimes

*Maintanence Fee List*

Steve, 

Not that I am disputing your statement but I have not seen an up to date list in quite some time?  Where is it?  Is it analyzed by unit square footage or # of bedrooms?

Off the top of my head, I would guess that the taxes would have something to do with it as the land is not as highly valued outside Lake Buena Vista.

Chris



			
				SteveB said:
			
		

> Then why is Orange Lake the 4th least expensive in maintenance fees and Cypress Pointe is 13th out of 30 resorts around Orlando?


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## SteveB

OL owners got an annual newsletter after the anual meeting which listed 30 resorts around Orlando and their respective MF's.  There are small differences in fees between the oldest and newest sections of OL but as an average, OL was 4th least expensive.  Celebration World resort was the least expensive and Disney Boardwalk was the most expensive on the list that I have.


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## rickandcindy23

*I just hope the developers will keep on building in Orlando!*

I love the new resorts, all shiny and clean, and will always choose the new over the old, when given a choice.  I don't want to gamble by choosing resorts that are older and/or have less-than-desirable units.  Some Vistana and OLCC units are substandard.  

I want the amenities that are standard fare at new resorts.  Those developers can just keep on lying about trading power and insisting that all Orlando weeks are red, when we all know that even a low-trading blue week will get the best resorts in Orlando during the school year. 

I see people getting wiser to the sales spiel in Orlando and not buying into the hype, which is going to affect sales and keep developers from moving forward with new projects.  When that happens, perhaps supply will not be there for my blue Colorado week in the off season.  I'm cheering for those sleazy sales guys to sell more units and the developers to build more resorts.  Not many new ones cropping up as of late.  Have you noticed that?    Hmmmm.  Worrisome.  

I am hoping that Universal will start developing timeshare, as Disney did.  Now that is a new possibility that could create some new resorts that sell fairly well.   Does anyone know if that is in the works?


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## BocaBum99

Cindy,

Those are some good observations.  I can't wait until all the new buildings at Bonnet Creek become available.  That will make it extremely easy to get into it.

It's location and overall feel makes it one of the best non-Disney resorts.  And, when the new buildings are done, the bargains will abound.


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## Carl D

BocaBum99 said:
			
		

> I can't wait until all the new buildings at Bonnet Creek become available.


Boca, do you know the build out plan and schedule for BC?
Do you know how sales are going at that resort?

Thanks


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## BocaBum99

Carl D said:
			
		

> Boca, do you know the build out plan and schedule for BC?
> Do you know how sales are going at that resort?
> 
> Thanks



Fairfield told me about 2 months ago.  But, my memory is a bit vague on it.  I think there will be 7 buildings total and they will all be available sometime next year.  At least 2 or 3 more buildings will be available this year.  That will help to alleviate the under supply of that resort.

Carl, I know you don't like the non-Disney alternatives.  But, you should try it once.  It's actually pretty good and the service there is excellent.

My favorite aspect is they have free high speed internet in the rooms through their Cisco phones.

By the way, my family and I are headed to Old Key West this weekend for their Spring Break.  They are really excited to stay on Disney property again.


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## Carl D

BocaBum99 said:
			
		

> Carl, I know you don't like the non-Disney alternatives.  But, you should try it once.  It's actually pretty good and the service there is excellent.
> 
> By the way, my family and I are headed to Old Key West this weekend for their Spring Break.  They are really excited to stay on Disney property again.


Boca, I'm just not sure I could peel myself away from DVC in order to give it a try. Heck, we can't even peel ourselves away from Villas at Wilderness Lodge in order to try Beach Club!

I hope you have a great time at OKW. I have visited many times, but have never stayed there. It's much more laid back and serene than the other DVC options. It's also the favorite of many DVCers.

Have fun!


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## timetraveler

cthimes said:
			
		

> Steve,
> 
> Not that I am disputing your statement but I have not seen an up to date list in quite some time?  Where is it?  Is it analyzed by unit square footage or # of bedrooms?
> 
> Off the top of my head, I would guess that the taxes would have something to do with it as the land is not as highly valued outside Lake Buena Vista.
> 
> Chris



Chris...it is an up to date list.  It came in the way of our annual budget packet.   OL sits beside WDW property, the properties actually butt up to each other.


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## timetraveler

Cindy has made it quite clear that she absolutely abhors OL.  

That said....considering the vastness of OL, her experience is in about the 1/10 of a percent range.   You will find reviews all over the internet on OL.   Overwhelmingly, the experiences reported were very high.   Again, on even those sites, you will find about the same percentage with Cindy's take.      And that's ok.   OL has big shoulders.

The highrises she stayed in on Southern Magnolia Court  started occupancy in 1995.   They have since been refurbished on the inside.  Meaning, all new furniture, carpeting, drapes, mattress/boxsprings, linens, bedspreads, etc.

As a final note....we have stayed at this resort in excess of 50 times.  I can assure you, I would not return over and over and over again to any resort that was filthy and bug infested!     That includes as an owner or an exchanger.


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## gjw007

timetraveler said:
			
		

> Cindy has made it quite clear that she absolutely abhors OL.
> 
> That said....considering the vastness of OL, her experience is in about the 1/10 of a percent range.   You will find reviews all over the internet on OL.   Overwhelmingly, the experiences reported were very high.   Again, on even those sites, you will find about the same percentage with Cindy's take.      And that's ok.   OL has big shoulders.
> 
> The highrises she stayed in on Southern Magnolia Court  started occupancy in 1995.   They have since been refurbished on the inside.  Meaning, all new furniture, carpeting, drapes, mattress/boxsprings, linens, bedspreads, etc.


Cindy has stated her preferences for new resorts.  There is nothing wrong with that.  I now understand where she is coming from.  I understand that she had a bad experience - she has made that abundantly clear - at least from what she expected at OLCC.  I disagree with her assessment that the older area is substandard (based on 1 unit) and I have stayed in the West Village three times although not at the unit Cindy was in.  OLCC was a Gold Crown resort before the newer units were built - it wasn't the newer units that made it a Gold Crown resort.  It is amazing to see others who have apprenhension after reading the negative reports about being put in that area only to find out that they are nice.  As I've said before, you have to read the overall opinion of a resort and all resorts will have some poor reviews.  With the size of OLCC, you should expect a number of poor reviews but the overwhelming opinion is favorable.  The newer sections (North Village) should be in the process of starting the soft renovations mentioned by TimeTraveler about.

The layout of OLCC may not be for everybody.  I like the wide open expanse rather than the crowded, cram-everybody-you-can-into-the-building style of Vacation Village at Parkway (VVP).  Celebration World also has minimal amentities but it is more open and I prefer it to VVP.  Some like the hotel style of resorts where everything is right down hall.  I must say that I enjoyed the Villas at Wilderness Lodge (and I don't normally like the hotel-style resorts) but it had plenty of amentities that I could use if I choose.  The point here is that there are a lot of nice resorts that may not fit your vacation style and if you end up in one that is not your vacation style, then you will be unhappy.  The key is to find one that matches your vacation style and enjoy your vacation.


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## rickandcindy23

*With 95% of OLCC exchangers and owners having great experiences,*

I know that our experience was not at all normal or common.  I would bet a second trip would be very different for us.  I am really trying not to offend the owners at OLCC.  As a matter of fact, I understand owners being offended by my negative experience because I have read some not-so-nice comments about a few of our resorts.  

Actually, it seemed to us that an entire set of newer looking buildings on the other side of OLCC were vacant, there were no cars in the parking lot at all, probably because they were doing these updates.  It was January, a slow time for Orlando.

I was upset myself very recently by a review of Val Chatelle in Frisco, CO, on TUG where an exchanger was disappointed that he had a private hot tub on his deck, so he didn't get to know the neighbors, and that there was no on-site check-in.  Well, I guess he didn't know that there are only six timeshare units at Val Chatelle and that most of the townhouses on that drive are wholly owned.  On-site check-in for six units?  He also thought our units were dated.  All of the furniture is new recently, but I also dislike cabin-looking furniture.  I would love to help pick out the furniture next time, but unless I am willing to serve on another board, that is not likely going to happen.


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## spiceycat

Orange Lake was nice.

but again it may be next door from WDW - but the entrance (AK) is a good 9 miles down the road and the MK is around 12 miles....

if something is next door to you but you can't get in there - what good does that do????

silver lake is a mile from the entrance (AK). Cypress Pointe is about a 1/2 from WDW property entrance - around 3 1/2 mile to Epcot - around 6 miles to MK.

these are ESTIMATES....


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## BocaBum99

I agree that to suggest that OLCC is close to Disney is misleading.  It is not close at all.  And, the drive on 192 can be a real hastle.

This is coming from someone who owns and loves Orange Lake.

And, I do take the shortcut on Black Lake road that goes by Silver Lake Resort to Sherberth.


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## timetraveler

spicey....you didn't use the shortcut did you?   
It takes you right past Silverlake.  4-5 minutes max and your on WDW property.


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## timetraveler

BocaBum99 said:
			
		

> I agree that to suggest that OLCC is close to Disney is misleading.  It is not close at all.  And, the drive on 192 can be a real hastle.
> 
> This is coming from someone who owns and loves Orange Lake.



Boca!!!!  You drive to disney on 192?


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## spiceycat

vickie - I did take the short cut - it was 10 miles to FW. Spicey stays at FW so I need to go at least 4 times a day - it took 20 minutes... so 40 minutes there and back adds up....

at least 5 minutes (if not more) was waiting for that light on US 192 to turn green.....


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## timetraveler

oh ok.....I wasn't on the same wave length.  

I was thinking how it could be so far for you, when we are inside WDW at AK within 4-5 minutes.    Once you are on property, depending on where you are headed it can certainly add time....but then everyone deals with that.

FW is a long way from AK.   I was just counting from OL to inside disney by taking the blacklake/sherberth rd route.   Also....we never go during school breaks, so traffic is soooo much lighter as well.


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## gjw007

Times fromt the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2006 by Bob Sehlinger.

Resort times start on page 225.

MK - Magic Kingdom
EP - Epcot
MGM - Disney MGM
AK - Animal Kingdom

*All Stars*

MK:  6:15
EP: 5:45
MGM: 5:15
AK:  4:15​
*Animal Kingdom Lodge*

MK:  8:15
EP:  6:15
MGM:  6:00
AK:  2:15​
*Beach Club Villas*

MK: 7:15
EP:  5:15
MGM:  4:00
AK:  6:45​
*Orange Lake*

MK:  8:45
EP:  8:30
MGM:  8:00
AK:  5:30​
*Pop Century Resort*

MK:  8:30
EP:  6:30
MGM:  5:00
AK:  6:15​
*Silver Lake*

MK:  8:15
EP:  8:00
MGM:  7:30
AK:  4:30​
*Villas at Wilderness Lodge*

MK:  N/A
EP:  10:00
MGM:  13:30
AK:  15:15​
Times include on-Disney property as a comparison.  Even on Disney property it takes time to go to the various theme parks.  OLCC is roughly a mile or so up the road from Silver Lake and is reflected in the times above.  I do agree that if you are driving back and forth between the theme parks and the resorts, any resort - even on property at Disney, multiple times during the day, it could get to be a hassle.  I know when I stayed at VWL it seemed to take forever using the bus to get to the various theme parks.  I choose to drive after the first time (okay, second time, the first time I ended up on the wrong bus -- Shesh!).


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## timetraveler

> I know when I stayed at VWL it seemed to take forever using the bus to get to the various theme parks. I choose to drive after the first time (okay, second time, the first time I ended up on the wrong bus -- Shesh!).



ROFL.   It's good when we can laugh at our goofs, ya know?


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## Carl D

gjw007 said:
			
		

> Times fromt the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2006 by Bob Sehlinger.
> 
> Resort times start on page 225.
> 
> MK - Magic Kingdom
> EP - Epcot
> MGM - Disney MGM
> AK - Animal Kingdom
> 
> *All Stars*
> 
> MK:  6:15
> EP: 5:45
> MGM: 5:15
> AK:  4:15​
> *Animal Kingdom Lodge*
> 
> MK:  8:15
> EP:  6:15
> MGM:  6:00
> AK:  2:15​
> *Beach Club Villas*
> 
> MK: 7:15
> EP:  5:15
> MGM:  4:00
> AK:  6:45​
> *Orange Lake*
> 
> MK:  8:45
> EP:  8:30
> MGM:  8:00
> AK:  5:30​
> *Pop Century Resort*
> 
> MK:  8:30
> EP:  6:30
> MGM:  5:00
> AK:  6:15​
> *Silver Lake*
> 
> MK:  8:15
> EP:  8:00
> MGM:  7:30
> AK:  4:30​
> *Villas at Wilderness Lodge*
> 
> MK:  N/A
> EP:  10:00
> MGM:  13:30
> AK:  15:15​
> Times include on-Disney property as a comparison.  Even on Disney property it takes time to go to the various theme parks.  OLCC is roughly a mile or so up the road from Silver Lake and is reflected in the times above.  I do agree that if you are driving back and forth between the theme parks and the resorts, any resort - even on property at Disney, multiple times during the day, it could get to be a hassle.  I know when I stayed at VWL it seemed to take forever using the bus to get to the various theme parks.  I choose to drive after the first time (okay, second time, the first time I ended up on the wrong bus -- Shesh!).


I know you got this info from a reliable source, but I'm having a lot of trouble buying into some of it.

Some examples are 8:15 AKL to MK, and 8:45 OLCC to MK. 
30 seconds longer???? That just doesn't make sense, especially when it takes more than 3 minutes longer to AK.

Another is VWL to AK- 15:15, but AKL to MK is only 8:15. 
If you know the lay out, you will see this just doesn't make any sense.


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## Carl D

gjw007 said:
			
		

> I know when I stayed at VWL it seemed to take forever using the bus to get to the various theme parks.  I choose to drive after the first time (okay, second time, the first time I ended up on the wrong bus -- Shesh!).


I'm totally with you on this. The bus system is nice to have, but I wouldn't go to WDW without a car.


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## gjw007

Carl D said:
			
		

> I know you got this info from a reliable source, but I'm having a lot of trouble buying into some of it.
> 
> Some examples are 8:15 AKL to MK, and 8:45 OLCC to MK.
> 30 seconds longer???? That just doesn't make sense, especially when it takes more than 3 minutes longer to AK.
> 
> Another is VWL to AK- 15:15, but AKL to MK is only 8:15.
> If you know the lay out, you will see this just doesn't make any sense.


I think some of the onsite resorts use the Disney transportation system and there may be a difference between where the onsite versus offsite pickup and dropoff points are.  I also think there are some typos (Sheraton Vistana Resort has Epcot at 6:30 but to MGM at 9:00 - I think he meant MGM at 6:00).  The point was to illustrate similar times for some of the offsite resorts and that even with onsite resorts it takes time to get from the different resorts to the different theme parks.  For example, OLCC is only a mile (1 stoplight) up the road from Silver Lake so it should have similar times.  Of course, stoplights can take forever  so this does skew things.  The comparison does provide something more substantive rather than subjectively suggesting that one is much longer than the other.  The key factor for most people is time, not distance.


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## Carl D

gjw007 said:
			
		

> I think some of the onsite resorts use the Disney transportation system and there may be a difference between where the onsite versus offsite pickup and dropoff points are.  I also think there are some typos (Sheraton Vistana Resort has Epcot at 6:30 but to MGM at 9:00 - I think he meant MGM at 6:00).  The point was to illustrate similar times for some of the offsite resorts and that even with onsite resorts it takes time to get from the different resorts to the different theme parks.  For example, OLCC is only a mile (1 stoplight) up the road from Silver Lake so it should have similar times.  Of course, stoplights can take forever  so this does skew things.  The comparison does provide something more substantive rather than subjectively suggesting that one is much longer than the other.  The key factor for most people is time, not distance.


Just my opinion, but with all the variables, and the typos, and the gross inaccuracies, I would deem this as useless.

As you point out, if you just hit the light as it turns yellow, it can add 50% to the published time.
It also makes no mention about Disney transportation; as in the MK- Are these times to the parking lot, the TTC, or the gate? 
How can it take 1:30 longer to get to Epcot than MGM when coming from OL, but only :30 longer when coming from SL?
I promise it doesn't take me more than 15 minutes to get from VWL to AK, as the grid suggests. I mean fore Pete's sake, it shows OL to MK in 8:45!

I do realize it's not you coming up with these times. You are just quoting these times from a trusted source. 

In my opinion, I would say that grid is completely erroneous.


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## gjw007

Carl D said:
			
		

> Just my opinion, but with all the variables, and the typos, and the gross inaccuracies, I would deem this as useless.
> 
> As you point out, if you just hit the light as it turns yellow, it can add 50% to the published time.
> It also makes no mention about Disney transportation; as in the MK- Are these times to the parking lot, the TTC, or the gate?
> How can it take 1:30 longer to get to Epcot than MGM when coming from OL, but only :30 longer when coming from SL?
> I promise it doesn't take me more than 15 minutes to get from VWL to AK, as the grid suggests. I mean fore Pete's sake, it shows OL to MK in 8:45!
> 
> I do realize it's not you coming up with these times. You are just quoting these times from a trusted source.
> 
> In my opinion, I would say that grid is completely erroneous.


No, I would say it has value in that it provides a comparison but it does need to be analyzed.  The errors are fairly clear when you look at them.  Offsite locations are going to the same dropoff points so it should provide an indicator if one resort takes 20 minutes longer than another resort.  It also shows that onsite resorts still take time to get to the destinations and that time might not be as short as some people will argue. When I took the bus, I thought the time given from VWL to AK was generous.  The bus stopped at FW, the Polynisian, the Grand Floridian, and then finally on track to AK - I would have argued 25 to 30 minutes based on all the stops.  Driving my car was significantly quicker.  I'm not arguing that the times are totally accurate, just that it provides a comparison that is based on something other than a subjective feel that it took 20 minutes longer to get there when compared to another resort.  It may take longer but no as long as we may feel it does.  I think of this in sort of the sense where a car just has to pass you so that it can get to the stoplight ahead of you.  He may feel that you are driving too slow but he gets to the same place at the same time as you.  So were you really driving too slow?


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## LAR

apologies...


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## spiceycat

I would think all of those OL times are wrong....

they aren't considering that traffic lights - I mean it I timed the darn thing I sat there with the light red for a good 7 minutes..... worst yet there were only one or two cars the ENTIRE time along us192......   (I like to go visit Spicey as early as possible so I try to be there by 7:00 am). So this was probably at 6:30 am.

Why don't the OL owners not to menton OL complaint about that light.....

It is definitely unfair to OL.


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## freechoice

*Re: OLCC is one of my least favorite resorts.  It is potluck at OLCC.*



			
				rickandcindy23 said:
			
		

> You could get a really awful unit at OLCC.  We did.  It was dirty and not maintained.  The salespeople kept calling us to take a tour.  I finally told them that our room was not impressive, so why would I subject myself to a tour?
> 
> I guess the units were only 11 years old, but ours did not deserve a GC rating at all.  There were bugs, dirty, cigarette odor, broken tiles and appliances.  I would rate that unit a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10.  There are some nicer units there, but you are not guaranteed to get anything nice as an exchanger.  My husband is not a picky person, but he hated OLCC and will not return.  I had booked a week for next January and had to switch it to the Hilton.



Hi, do you remember the unit number and location at olcc? thanks 
making sure we dont go there!


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## timetraveler

*Re: OLCC is one of my least favorite resorts.  It is potluck at OLCC.*



			
				freechoice said:
			
		

> Hi, do you remember the unit number and location at olcc? thanks
> making sure we dont go there!



Hi Freechoice.  Cindy stayed in the highrises on Southern Magnolia Court.  They are located at the front of the property.  They started occupancy in 1995 and have been recently renovated, as OL replaces all soft goods on an aggressive refurbishing schedule.


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## spiceycat

I stay in West part - got a rehab unit and we loved it

here are my pictures
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/spice...=&.done=http://photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

but won't be back until Spicey dies.

of course I also missed the bigger tub (whirlpool) and separate shower that the new units have (so do most of the timeshares in the area). but not that much.... too many other things to do on a vacation in Orlando - than complaint about what you don't have.


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