Yes, we went to Disney and did not stay on property. This
time we stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation club as part of timeshare
promotion. Long story short, we decided not to purchase it for several reasons.
The entire Hilton experience was a disaster from the moment
we tried to book in Myrtle Beach but never had availability unless we wanted to
go in winter. So we booked in their alternative location of Orlando, (Vegas was
the other option). We tried to book a two-bedroom, what we got was what is
called a lockout unit. A lockout unit is when they combine a one bedroom with a
studio thus creating a two bedroom via connecting doors. Although this wasn’t
horrible, still gave us plenty of room and bathrooms. A lockout unit is not a
good idea when you have small children. When we first arrived the kids ran into
the room and closed their door. There is no doorknob on our side for privacy
reasons when unit isn’t being shared by the same family. So we would have to
exit the hotel room and enter from the other outside door. Thankfully, our 8
year old was with our 1 year old and was able to open the door. A simple fix
was to throw a small hand towel over the top of the door to keep it from
closing all the way. However, that also meant we couldn’t close the door at
night and was left with being quiet as not to wake the baby. Since my sister
was traveling with us, and she has no kids this was a little bit of a hassle
for us. Especially since the dining room table was DIRECTLY outside their door.
Brings new meaning to a quiet dinner.
Overall the room was clean and comfortable and well stocked.
I can’t say the same for the property directly across from the Hilton. There
was a convenience/gas station right on the corner, and bus stops along the
route both left liter everywhere. At first I thought maybe an animal got into
the trash but it was pretty much there every day we came and left. The Hilton
property itself was very clean, the pool was fun and the kids spray area and
playground were fantastic for us with mixed age groups (8, 4, and 15months).
The parking area was tough. You had to fight for a spot anywhere near your
room.
The location was pretty close to Seaworld, the entrance was
just down the street. In fact, we could see the fireworks from our balcony
which was fun! As I mentioned earlier there was a convenience store on the
corner that my sister would walk to easily. Short commute to Disney, I don’t
think traffic was ever a factor.
If you are curious on why we didn’t purchase with Hilton, we
have several reasons. Mostly, it was super expensive, THREE times the cost of
our Disney time share. While we were in our meeting we asked for a few minutes
to talk alone. 30 minutes later our
sales associate still hadn’t come back so we sat listening to the SUPER LOUD
woman at the table next to us. She was complaining about the lack of room whenever
she wanted to book using her Hilton timeshare. Booking this timeshare deal was
such a nightmare for us that we already regretted the little commitment we had
already made. This just confirmed their lack of availability. When our sales
associate finally returned we decided to address to our concern. The minute I
said “I don’t know if this is the right plan for us…” her tune changed she was
completely uninterested in anything we said. She suggested getting someone to
discuss other financial options for us. The ‘financial’ woman came over, I
explained what we overheard and what we experienced; these were our concerns
not just the price. She said she’d be happy to log into her account to show us
the availability. This is all while answering her text messages right in front
of us. When we did ask about the price
because we weren’t willing to pay the outrageous package she dismissed us like
children who got in trouble with the teacher. We walked out disappointed because
I felt like they should be honored to have our business not like they were
doing us a favor! We’ll upgrade our Disney (DVC) long before I purchase with
Hilton.
What we liked about
Orlando: Obviously, we’ve been to Orlando many times, as our other time
share is in Disney. So I’ll rate the area we stayed in, Seaworld. So close to
Seaworld, walking distance to stores. Easy commute to Disney as well.
What we liked about
the Hilton: Location was fantastic and it was clean and stylish.
What we didn’t like
about Orlando: Seaworld area, outside the Hilton the neighborhood seemed a
little sketchy. Trash in the streets put us off.
What we didn’t like
about the Hilton: The onsite restaurant was overpriced, the staff was non-existent.
We never saw anyone except when we pulled into the gate.
P.S. I just want to comment this was the first time we went to Disney on Thanksgiving, it was so packed we left, it wasn't enjoyable. This was also the first time I've ever seen K-9 officer at Magic Kingdom. (I did see one again when I went again in February '14 which I'll post in a few minutes). I do NOT recommend visiting Disney on Thanksgiving. =)
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