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posted May 23, 2012
We stayed here for a week at the beginning of May (arrived May 5). It was my husband and two sons. We were in a "B" unit with one bedroom. We knew the boys would be sleeping on the sofa couch. They had no problem and said it was comfortable. My sons are 7 years old. I usually bring my own pillow with me on vacation. I forgot it this time, but the pillow in the room was very comfortable, as was the whole bed. The bedroom had a very large Jacuzzi tub, which my kids loved! The room was clean; full kitchen. We didn’t cook anything, but did eat cereal for breakfast and that was a plus having the kitchen. The pool was not at my building (14/15), so we had to walk to buildings 16/17 across the parking lot for one of the pool. It wasn't a problem because it wasn't a far walk. The pool was open until 11 at night. Other than the pool, we didn't really use any other amenities at the resort. The staff was friendly and helpful. The view from our balcony was the parking lot. Not the worst thing since we were not in our room much anyway. It would have been nice to have a better view, but as I mentioned, we weren’t in the room long enough to really make it an issue. The only big complaint I had was the internet. They expected you to pay for it. For 7 days it was $50. We went to the front desk and were given free passes for the internet for the week. I think it is a little unreasonable to expect guests to pay that much for Internet. The location of the resort was great. Very close to the Disney Parks and we walked to Arabian Nights for dinner the one night.
posted May 23, 2012
we were given early check in as per our request and also the room was allotted in building number 18 as per our request. The check in was very smooth and they explained the way to our building. This is a very large resort and if one doesn't have own vehicle, then the resort provides internal free shuttle from your building to reception area and also going to supermarket and few other places. Also resort has tied up with local bus operator who takes you to various park at a charge which is reasonable. The rooms are excellent, fully loaded and equipped. the house keeping staff is also prompt in service. Would like to stay again. The parks are also not very far off in the bus or vehicle. they are about 6 to 9 miles
posted May 21, 2012
My boyfriend and I stayed at Vacation Village last year and had a great experience so we decided to come back this year. We requested building 18 or 19 on a higher floor (newer buildings). When we arrived we were given building 19 on floor 7 (second highest floor). We were on the side which faced the I4 which some may find slightly noisy, but we like having a bit of a hum to sleep to at night so it was perfect for us. That side of the buildings also lets you see the Disney fireworks at night which was really cool. The room (an A unit) was very large and clean, and the grounds are beautiful. We loved walking through the conservation areas and hanging out by the different pools/hot tubs. Check-in was very quick and friendly. My boyfriend and I are under 25 so we did not get the time-share pitch.The representatives at the customer service desk (where you would get the pitch) were really nice though and gave us tons of free coupons for restaurants and bars which was great, (side note: thanks Vacation Village for the VIP Planet Hollywood coupon, it saved us a 50 minute wait in line!) This resort is also very conveniently located. The theme parks and malls are close by, there are restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies etc. within short driving distance. Celebration is also just a 2 minute drive away which is a nice place to go for a bite to eat. Overall we definitely recommend the place.
posted May 21, 2012
Having lived in Orlando for over a decade, I knew where "Parkway" was, and I knew where Parkway Blvd was. That didn't help me find the Vacation Village at Parkway, though. It isn't on Parkway Blvd; it's on a parallel street where the worndown-looking dinner show attraction Arabian Nights is, a whole shopping plaza away. I finally found where the street was, only to find a "Road Closed" sign. No detour signs, no signage for the "resort." I broke down and called to see where it was and how the heck I could get to it. It was then that I found out that only the right lanes of the road were blocked and you had to go down one of the left lanes. It was all very poorly set up for detours, especially since there were no "detour" signs. I saw the tall buildings down the road and assumed they were the resort (again, no signage). I pulled in and couldn't find a check-in area/front office. I gave up and asked one of the guests walking by. They told me to go back out to the road! It was on the other side of the street (where the road was blocked), nowhere near the actual resort area. I must repeat: THERE IS LITTLE TO NO SIGNAGE. And this is coming from someone very familiar with the Orlando/Disney area! The check-in area didn't feel like the lobby to a nice resort. It felt like I was stepping into a Walmart. It didn't offer a welcoming, pleasant atmosphere. It was loud, disorganized, and unprofessional. When there are three girl basketball players dressed in their uniforms chanting up and down the front desk check-in area, you know you're not in a classy place. I waited my turn in the uninviting roped check-in line and finally was check-in by a woman who was too lazy to tuck in her assigned uniform to at least make herself a bit presentable. I gave her my confirmation paper that I printed out and she wanted to keep it. I told her she could make a copy of it, but I wanted to keep the original. That was one of the oddest requests I've ever had, and it was truly off-putting. After everything else I had already been through, it cemented that this so-called resort was less-than-professional. After checking in, I was asked to go over to the very loud guest service reps who were talking and laughing amongst themselves to pick up my parking pass. I knew what this really was: they wanted me to come to a presentation for their timeshare. Are they kidding? Who'd want to buy here? I was already hesitant about just staying for a week! Once I got to my room in the apartment-like buildings, I felt a bit more relieved. The room itself was beautiful. I had a one-bedroom unit and there was lots of space in the living room, kitchen, large bathroom, and bedroom (see attached photos). I didn't use any of the amenities on property, but the pool in the center of the buildings looked pretty nice. I was out and about too much visiting friends. And, truly, I didn't want to spend any more time at this "resort" than I had to. Would I recommend it? No way. There are so many other better places in the Orlando area. Do not settle.
posted May 17, 2012
VACATION VILLAGE AT PARKWAY Check-in—Very courteous, requested two key cards, comes along with an envelope size of cards and a fold out map of the complex attached to envelope. We arrived early and were given a room overlooking the pool on the 7th floor. We could have waited till 4pam for another room we were given an option of changing if not satisfied. We were referred to another desk where we were to pick up parking placard. Lady invited us to check out a new unit 80 dollar gift card as incentive. We declined, last we heard from them about timeshare. Some road construction going on. No problem getting around detour. We arrived at the building (11) pulled into a loading circle. Got a cart (probably because of our early check-in). My wife checked out the room before unloading. She was satisfied. We unloaded our luggage and a wheeled them to the room. Lobby spotless, elevator spotless, very little wait time. 7th floor lobby and hallway spotless. Appointments in the rooms were very attractive and tastefully decorated. Very nice balcony looking out onto the pool. Now, here was the surprise. This was a lockout unit. The outside door opened into a small foyer where there two locked doors. We had a key for both doors. We opened one door and it opened into a large of the two units. My wife made the arrangements and asked for a two bedroom unit. We were a little confused at first but accepted this as what they had to offer. I often have trouble sleeping so I slept in the lockout. This worked out for my wife and four year old grandson. The second door opened into the lockout unit. We had access to both. The lockout was a typical lockout. Small kitchen, no stove, microwave, queen size bed. This room is as spotless as the main apartment. When I say spotless I mean I looked behind the bed, in the corners, everywhere I generally see an accumulation of dirt that was missed many times. Even under the cushions. Not a speck! Two tvs, one in bedroom and one with a dvd in the sitting area. Nice bathroom, regular tub and shower. Both main unit and lockout had a large private balcony, very nice. The apartment is larger. Dining and sitting area on large room. Nice sized kitchen with required utensils, dishwasher. Bathroom, two bowled sink, walk in shower standard toilet. Bedroom, chacuzzi tub, king bed with fitted bottom sheets, How many times have you been to time share with fitted sheets? Both units had sofa beds. The building is large and the units were separated by walls to the next unit. We never heard our neighbors, even the outside noise was muffled and not bothersome except for one night which I will later report on. Big plus in my book . The pool and area around the pool was always clean. There was a place to get towels and there were no questions for room number. The pool was no deeper than 5 ft and was 3 ft at the most shallow. A small pool where water came from a fixture shaped like a mushroom and it came down like a waterfall. A hot tub large enough to accommodate several persons. There were large spotlights on top of the building that lit up the pool area after dark. They stayed on until midnight. There was a playground in between buildings 7 and 8. It was not large but antiquate. My grandson enjoyed it. There was a boardwalk which connected some of the buildings and it also served as a wildlife preserve for birds and it identified different plants and trees. The many staff members were very courteous even to our four year old grandson. There was an activity schedule listed on the elevator wall. We did not participate in any of them. We were about a mile and one-half from Disney’s main entrance. We were about five miles from Magic Kingdom and about 5 miles from Sea World via route 4. I am giving the review for my stay in April which would probably be off season. When the complex is fully occupied it may be a different story. Parking was adequate but may be more challenging in vacation season. The one complaint I had was a loud group staying in one apartment. The noise came from one of the balconies. In all fairness we did not call to complain so I do not know how they would deal with that. One other thing, There was a young couple waiting for a room. They had two daughters, one maybe four years old and the other only about one year old. The little one was sick and had a fever. They could not get into their room and had their children at the playground trying to occupy the four old. I would have thought there could have been an effort to accommodate this family. All and all I would give this vacation rental and A.
