Sheraton Vistana Resort Questions

[Jfstorm]

Originally Posted by blondietink

We have stayed at both Resort and Villages. As far as being closer, yes, Resort is closer but not always the fastest to get to/from WDW because of the way the stop lights are timed and the amount of traffic. There is a need to turn left onto 535 from 536 and the light is a long wait. If you are coming from the DTD area, there are some very long lights around the on/exit ramps to I-4. Either resort and I think you will be happy.

Thanks again! i see what you mean about traffic flow. We just got back from a cruise out of tampa and enjoyed a "bonus" day at DTD and a Priceline stay that I thought was the Holiday Inn DTD. when we arrived turns out the one I got was across the block at what used to be the HI sunspree now known as LBV. Killed walking to DTD was pleased to see when we pulled up that almost across the street was Sheraton Vistana!!!! We went to check it out (and DS found that coupon book, he already has the free floats spent and starbucks planned) and were quite pleased with what we saw. I got the resort map and am on the site now prepping my diamond Lane form for June Fathers day trip! The traffic flow is prob. much better going your suggested way unless you need to go to DTD or bypassing the TTC to get to MK resort hotels for dinner and fireworks etc. That light can be long with newbees not knowing where they are going. Still leaning towards Fountains I or Lakes building 1 or 10. Close to pool and fitness center/Food court is all we need. Will buy groceries from Publix or Winn dixie both close to resort. drinking my 2nd cup of coffee and getting this done!!!

[kidsister]

Previous post got me to thinking about walkability from Vistana to DTD. There are a few days that I might be there along and without a car. Can anyone guess mileage, walk time and maybe cost of taxi for the return trip (if at night).

If I'm on foot, with a saturday check-in II two bedroom unit. what buildings would be closest to exit? View over water is important to me, and I love a big jacuzzi in master bd rather than in bathroom.

Thanks for your help1

[blondietink]

I would guess it would be a couple of miles to walk it. However, I don't know if there is a sidewalk all the way down 535, which would be the most difficult part of the walk. The on/off ramps to I-4 are along the route and the traffic is heavy most of the time.

[Jfstorm]

Originally Posted by kidsister

Previous post got me to thinking about walkability from Vistana to DTD. There are a few days that I might be there along and without a car. Can anyone guess mileage, walk time and maybe cost of taxi for the return trip (if at night).

If I'm on foot, with a saturday check-in II two bedroom unit. what buildings would be closest to exit? View over water is important to me, and I love a big jacuzzi in master bd rather than in bathroom.

Thanks for your help1

Fountains would be closest to walk; but you better be in marathon shape. It would take at least 2 hours I'd predict. not very safe either.

[Keancanuk]

We just booked our Florida vacation this past weekend to leave on Friday !! Talk about last minute planning.

Anyways, after reading this thread, thanks for all the great tips. I submitted a diamond lane request yesterday and got a reply today !! WOW! I was rather suprised as I have read people are waiting weeks for responses !!

Can't wait for a great vacation !! 2.5 more sleeps

[Jfstorm]

safe as far as traffic I mean. Neighborhood is fine.

[BKMETV]

Originally Posted by Keancanuk

We just booked our Florida vacation this past weekend to leave on Friday !! Talk about last minute planning.

Anyways, after reading this thread, thanks for all the great tips. I submitted a diamond lane request yesterday and got a reply today !! WOW! I was rather suprised as I have read people are waiting weeks for responses !!

Can't wait for a great vacation !! 2.5 more sleeps

Four days for us!!

[Detailor]

Originally Posted by kidsister

Previous post got me to thinking about walkability from Vistana to DTD. There are a few days that I might be there along and without a car. Can anyone guess mileage, walk time and maybe cost of taxi for the return trip (if at night).

There are sidewalks and crosswalks all the way from Vistana Resort to Downtown Disney but it's a two mile or so distance with a lot of traffic - entering, turning to/from SR 535 - on that walk. It's a very busy route and there are I-4 exits and entrances along there. You'd have to cross SR 535 twice, once just a little bit beyond Vistana and once after the entrance to the Crossroads shopping center that's opposite the Hotel Plaza Boulevard entrance to Disney - the sidewalk ends on the side of SR 535 that Vistana is on. Without obstacle a two mile walk might take a half hour to forty-five minutes but this route has a lot of obstacles as you cross streets and businesses' entrance/exit roads so you'd probably be around at least an hour and a half, maybe more depending on how fast you walk.

I'd suggest that it would make a lot more sense to take a taxi regardless of time of day. It's probably around $10 one-way, maybe less, for that trip.

Dick Taylor

[brich1975]

We will be staying at SVR beginning May 31st. I have read many great answers in this thread but frankly I am a bit overwhelmed and my ADD kicks in big time so I only got through page 8 before skipping to the end. So with that said, we have an 8 year old and a 4 year old who will love the pools and such. Me and the wife love to have a drink while hanging out at the pool, or on a balcony enjoying the great weather. Sleeping can be a challenge for the 4 year old, so something quiet would be nice as well.

So taking all of that into consideration, where would you request your room to be if you were me? I appreciate any help you can offer!

[soxfan11901]

We just returned today from our first stay here. We were very happy with the resort and our location. We were in the Fountains 1 section and it suited us perfectly. We have kids 11 and 6. Since we haven't stayed in any other section I can't compare them, but here are the positives of our location:
- We were next to the Fountains pool and right next to the playground (which the 6yr old enjoyed).
- We were also very close to the Lakes pool which has a zero - entry (which again our 6yr old appreciated).
- We had a top (3rd) floor unit which was great having noone above us. There are no elevators in this section which didn't bother us at all, but might some people.
- Fountains 1 has the whirlpool tub in the bathroom, which we preferred so that the kids weren't taking baths in our bedroom.
- If you want to take a left out of the resort it can be a challenge at times, but the Fountains was the most convenient section to access the light by Walgreens for left hand turns. (Main resort entrance offers right turn only onto main road). You can get to the light from other sections, but it involves more winding through the resort roads, so is more time consuming.

We only made two requests on the Diamond Lane checkin and it was for top floor and away from I-4 and both requests were met with no problems.

Hope this helps a little. I'm sure others will chime in with their favorites also.

[brich1975]

Originally Posted by soxfan11901

We just returned today from our first stay here. We were very happy with the resort and our location. We were in the Fountains 1 section and it suited us perfectly. We have kids 11 and 6. Since we haven't stayed in any other section I can't compare them, but here are the positives of our location:
- We were next to the Fountains pool and right next to the playground (which the 6yr old enjoyed).
- We were also very close to the Lakes pool which has a zero - entry (which again our 6yr old appreciated).
- We had a top (3rd) floor unit which was great having noone above us. There are no elevators in this section which didn't bother us at all, but might some people.
- Fountains 1 has the whirlpool tub in the bathroom, which we preferred so that the kids weren't taking baths in our bedroom.
- If you want to take a left out of the resort it can be a challenge at times, but the Fountains was the most convenient section to access the light by Walgreens for left hand turns. (Main resort entrance offers right turn only onto main road). You can get to the light from other sections, but it involves more winding through the resort roads, so is more time consuming.

We only made two requests on the Diamond Lane checkin and it was for top floor and away from I-4 and both requests were met with no problems.

Hope this helps a little. I'm sure others will chime in with their favorites also.

Great suggestions, thank you! Did you have a 1 or 2 bedroom?

[soxfan11901]

Originally Posted by brich1975

Great suggestions, thank you! Did you have a 1 or 2 bedroom?

We had a 2 bedroom. There were 8 of us (we went with friends who have kids the same ages as ours). The 4 girls shared the second bedroom, one set of adults in the master bedroom and one set of adults on the sofabed. This may be crowded for some people, but works great for us since our girls like to spend every minute together anyway.

[BKMETV]

Sitting on the balcony with my coffee. The resort is gorgeous...very impressed so far. Every diamond lane requeat was granted 1 two condos in same vicinity - their next door 2 Upper floor - yup top floor of cascadees (with the great viiew & skylight) 3 I listed a few buildings in order of preference & got our first chose. Only issue is our fridge door is broken so I'll have to call down.
please excuse the typing I am on my ereader.

[mrsap]

Hello everyone! I was wondering if anyone has stayed in SVR Cascades Building 1. It seems like its directly in the heart of everything and I'm wondering what the noise is like. Is it a high traffic area or just as quiet as any other location? Would you recommend we request a different building? Thanks!!

[TheKatie]

We just returned from a week at SVR - we were in Foutains building 2 - all our diamond lane requests were granted.. near but not next to the pool, ground floor, and with the whirlpool tub in the bathroom not bedroom. it was perfect. a quick walk to the Fountains pool and with a great view of water and birds outside our deck. The resort was spotless, folks were friendly and we used that Meadow Creek entrance and exit near the Walgreens as it had the benefit of a light for left hand turning. spent lots of time at the fountains pool - one day we went over to the Spas super Pool as we enjoyed that the last time we were there. Ate at the food court one day at the pool and had lots of yummy drinks from the Tiki bar. Indulged in poolside chair massages one day too..ahhh everyone so friendly.. just ignored the blinking lights on our phone asking us to take the tour :-)

had some great meals at Bahama Breeze and CAfe Tu Tu Tango and Bubba Gump and our fave, the Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD. did Universal, IOA, Discovery Cove, Sea world, and one day hitting 3 disney parks! any SVR questions let me know!