Old Key West vs Cypress Harbor vs Grand Vista vs Vistana Villages?

[RookWDW]

Sorry for a retread as I know these types of Orlando comps have been discussed many times. I have reviewed old threads, and watched Youtubes including Destination Timeshares walkthroughs (which are great). I can't decide. Four of us are going for Spring Break in March, including a 15 and 19 year old. One maybe two days at Disney; one day at the new Universal park. The rest chilling around the resort, eating, pool, maybe some golf. We have OKW booked but can trade for the others. The only one we have been to is Grand Vista

OKW: Pros: we have not been there, we love Disney; very near Disney Springs; very chill; big two bedroom rooms; DVS pools tend to not be so crazy as people prefer to go to parks. Cons: limited on site food, Disney kids and parents; somewhat limited things to do; we don't get to add 7 nights toward Marriott status renews.

Cypress: Pros: we have not been there; looks to have good pools; decent food options; more central to Universal and Disney. Cons: the second bedroom isn't great for two teens (one boy one girl).

GV: Pros: we liked the resort last time; good pools and food options; lots to do; good rooms. Cons: crowded as hell; been there already just last year.

VV: Pros: never been there; seems to have good pools and food options. Cons; super spread out.

Thoughts? Any extra pros/cons that will help push it over? I'm sure we will be happy at any of these.

 

[bizaro86]

Imo the biggest pro to OKW is the on-site benefits. You get the extra half hour early to all disney parks every day you go, but just as importantly you can book lightning lane multi-pass reservations starting 7 days from the beginning of your reservation.

So on a sat-sat reservation if you did park days Wednesday and Friday you could book lightning lanes 7 days before your check-in, which will give you the most options.

 

[dioxide45]

Glad you found those Destination Timeshare videos helpful. One big drawback to Cypress Harbour for your group is the second bedroom. Just the queen bed. That means the teens have to share a bed or someone has to shlep it on a sofa bed. You won't have that issue in a 2BR at Old Key West or most 2BR units at Vistana Villages. Just be sure to book a 2BR at VV that has two double beds in the second bedroom. Most of them are but they have some lock offs that are two kings in the 2BR unit. I don't think the food options at VV are all that great. Really just the one main onsite restaurnat. More poolside food and grill type grub. THere is a marketplace and some small bites available at the Key West Pool, but that is about all. Grande Vista probably has the most onsite food options. Old Key West probably has the most options since you can get to Disney Springs relatively easily.

Do you have an exchange into Old Key West? If so, I certainly wouldn't exchange out of that into any of the other options.

 

[RookWDW]

Glad you found those Destination Timeshare videos helpful. One big drawback to Cypress Harbour for your group is the second bedroom. Just the queen bed. That means the teens have to share a bed or someone has to shlep it on a sofa bed. You won't have that issue in a 2BR at Old Key West or most 2BR units at Vistana Villages. Just be sure to book a 2BR at VV that has two double beds in the second bedroom. Most of them are but they have some lock offs that are two kings in the 2BR unit. I don't think the food options at VV are all that great. Really just the one main onsite restaurnat. More poolside food and grill type grub. THere is a marketplace and some small bites available at the Key West Pool, but that is about all. Grande Vista probably has the most onsite food options. Old Key West probably has the most options since you can get to Disney Springs relatively easily.

Do you have an exchange into Old Key West? If so, I certainly wouldn't exchange out of that into any of the other options.

Yes, I have a current exchange into OKW 2Bd UUU2 is the code. Came up about two months ago and I saw someone post it on facebook, and quickly nabbed it. Our daughter will be down there the week prior for high school orchestra trip, so this is like an unexpected add on that we were not planning to do. OKW does have Olivias, which I wanted to try out. But ... another con. No good gas grills. We usually grill out at MVC resorts at least once.

We also got a week at the Marriott d'ille de France over Christmas and a week at Aruba Surf Club in June. Lots of new places to check out.

 

[claraj]

My friend stayed at Cypress Harbour last week and the non renovated rooms did not have the memory foam sofa beds. So another strike against Cypress Harbour. At least Grande Vista and Lakeshore Reserve have the memory foam sofa beds, which I really don’t mind sleeping on at all.