PetefromRI
05-21-2007, 02:31 PM
We just returned yesterday from an eight night trip to Disney off property.Our original plan was to stay with my brother and his family 4 nights at the Marriott Grande Vista and then 4 nights at our favorite moderate,The Carribbean Beach Resort.After 3 nights at the Marriott we decided to stay at this beautiful resort for the week with no regrets.This was the 1st time that we stayed off property and I have to say that other than losing Disney transportation,which is very convenient, and EMH which we never use,it was a great experience,one that we will repeat in the future.
The parks were average crowds and the weather was warm with little rain.I,m mainly staying on the resort topic because we already know how great Disney World is.I always said that I'd never stay off property and even though we will stay on site again I realize why alot of people stay off site.I can't believe how much more it cost to stay in Disney compared to what we got outside.There were 4 adults and 2 children ages 3 and 5.We had a 3 bedroom,3 bath,2 balconys, full living room and kitchen and a kitchenette in one of the rooms.The beds were the most comfortable that I've ever slept on and the resort had beautiful pools,a great poolside Bar and Grill with even a Polynesian show on Tuesday nights with a flame dancer and Hula girls.All this for less than a garden room at the Poly and it sleeps 12,not a bad deal if you want to bring the whole family down. As I said earlier the only real downside for us would be driving back and forth to Disney but the way back and forth really wasn't to bad,maybe 15 minutes and of course you had to pay 10.00 a day to park at Disney and the rental van,a new Grand Caravan,cost 190.00 for the week.Since we were centraly located we went to Seaworld,which was awesome,and my wife and I went to Universal for a day to get our ride on.The flower show at Epcot was nice and I managed to eat every kind of junkfood that Disney had to offer from Dolewhips to funnelcakes and churros,now I have to go on a diet but it was worth it.
I think the longest wait was toward the end of the week,about 40 minutes for some of the major attractions,but by using the fastpass we managed just fine.
Our best meals of the week were Fultons Crab House in Downtown Disney and Bahama Breeze in downtown Orlando which we ate at twice it was so good.I have to admit by staying off grounds it was our most relaxing Disney trip to date.I will stay at the Poly again someday,but for now,The Grande Vista will do just fine,I may even buy a timeshare there through the Timeshare store,IT WAS THAT GOOD!!!
The parks were average crowds and the weather was warm with little rain.I,m mainly staying on the resort topic because we already know how great Disney World is.I always said that I'd never stay off property and even though we will stay on site again I realize why alot of people stay off site.I can't believe how much more it cost to stay in Disney compared to what we got outside.There were 4 adults and 2 children ages 3 and 5.We had a 3 bedroom,3 bath,2 balconys, full living room and kitchen and a kitchenette in one of the rooms.The beds were the most comfortable that I've ever slept on and the resort had beautiful pools,a great poolside Bar and Grill with even a Polynesian show on Tuesday nights with a flame dancer and Hula girls.All this for less than a garden room at the Poly and it sleeps 12,not a bad deal if you want to bring the whole family down. As I said earlier the only real downside for us would be driving back and forth to Disney but the way back and forth really wasn't to bad,maybe 15 minutes and of course you had to pay 10.00 a day to park at Disney and the rental van,a new Grand Caravan,cost 190.00 for the week.Since we were centraly located we went to Seaworld,which was awesome,and my wife and I went to Universal for a day to get our ride on.The flower show at Epcot was nice and I managed to eat every kind of junkfood that Disney had to offer from Dolewhips to funnelcakes and churros,now I have to go on a diet but it was worth it.
I think the longest wait was toward the end of the week,about 40 minutes for some of the major attractions,but by using the fastpass we managed just fine.
Our best meals of the week were Fultons Crab House in Downtown Disney and Bahama Breeze in downtown Orlando which we ate at twice it was so good.I have to admit by staying off grounds it was our most relaxing Disney trip to date.I will stay at the Poly again someday,but for now,The Grande Vista will do just fine,I may even buy a timeshare there through the Timeshare store,IT WAS THAT GOOD!!!