Vacation Village at Parkway

Just back from our stay at Vacation Village at Parkway… The resort its self was great. Plenty of parking, plenty of pools, 10 to 15 minute drive to the parks, the staff was friendly and helpful, free “consumables” like paper towels, toilet paper, laundry soap and what not, and they provided as many clean towel sets as requested! The Jacuzzi tubs were nice and big and great after a day in the parks. I love having a kitchen and a washer/dryer set!

We traveled with extended family and had four 2 bedroom units in buildings 5 & 6. Each family had an A side and a B side. It worked out great for the teenagers b/c they each had their own B side! The units showed a bit of wear and were what I expect from RCI timeshare. They were reasonably clean, just small things like burns on the laminate counters, the tub faucet was not long enough for the tub and sprayed water on the floor, the hair dryer malfunctioned and caught on fire (okay, that was a little bit fun and) and the burners on my stove did not work. I would have no problem staying here again. I would have preferred to have one of the renovated units and I would have absolutely preferred to stay on-site, but overall it was a success!

I was able to use priceline and rent a fullsize car for $12 a day and then they upgraded it to a mini-van for free! That was a huge dusting of pixie dust!!! Parking was easy at most parks, but costly.

We left each morning at 8 am for 9am rope drop. Not early enough for MK and way to early for AK. I found that most of the mornings the ropes were dropped early. I was surprised by that! We got to go in to AK about 10 minutes to 9. We were on the safari at 9am…it was great!

We did go back to the room most days, it was just too hot last week. I was BAD imho. We tried to leave by 1 and would go back after dinner. It back fired a couple of time b/c there were several storms that shut down the coasters we had saved for last! It there is a must do, get it done ASAP.

I prepared a breakfast plan with a detailed shopping list and ended up over buying anyway b/c the kids wanted this and that. Then we had to through some stuff away. DH was not happy about that! We did take our cold waters and give them to the rental car check-in people at MCO, they were pretty happy about that.

When you leave the airport, scout out a gas station to buy gas at. We went on a wild goose chase to find a station (among other problems of our own making), got to the airport about 60 minutes before our flight and ended up missing it! Allow a minimum of 2 hours to get through the lines at MCO. It was CRAZY!

On our second attempt, DS18 was selected for extra screening and they pulled him over to swab his bag. A little guy in front of us was pulled out for the extra special pat down and he was almost in tears. It was just heart breaking.

Remember where you parked, start heading to your car before you are worn out and if your kids need a break (no matter what age), take it! DD13 broke down in tears b/c she was tired and DH had to find some mystical magical cup. :sad2: Not pretty...

We went resort hopping the next day via the monorail for DH to get his shopping fix in while in the AC!

If you have an specific questions, please ask!

Did you have any problems with the timeshare sales people? We are going in September and the reviews I've read have said either they loved Vacation Village or they absolutely hated it (mainly because of the extemely rude and pushy sales people). Oh, and a lot of maintenance issues. How were your issues handled?

and....do you think an "A" unit is big enough for 3 adults?

Thanks in advance!
 
[FONT=&quot]At check in, we were offered a free buffet breakfast for 8 people. My FIL was quick to mention that he already owned at 2 different timeshares and was not interested in a sales pitch. The guy assured us it was not a sales pitch, but I remembered reading not to attend breakfast because they “kid nap” you and do a heavy handed sales pitch![/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]We politely declined his offer, he tried to sell us theme park tickets, but we had already ordered those via the Mousesavers discount link at Undercover Tourist. After being shot down twice, he bid us a good day! No pressure or fuss...definitely not rude, but we did NOT go to the free breakfast. Nothing in life is free and we knew better.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]I did not complain about the burner, I just went over to my SIL’s unit and made the eggs. The blow dryer short out until the last day and DH called the front desk to let them know. Someone came down within 30 minutes, but I do not know the resolution because we were checking out. The staff was very prompt whenever we asked for more consumables or towels. We were pretty low maintenance! We were told repeatedly to let them know if anything is not right and they will fix it ASAP. Everything worked great aside from the blow dryer and the stove top.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]An A unit is room enough for 3, but the “odd man” out who has the couch won’t have any privacy and you will all have to share 1 bathroom![/FONT]
 
[FONT=&quot]At check in, we were offered a free buffet breakfast for 8 people. My FIL was quick to mention that he already owned at 2 different timeshares and was not interested in a sales pitch. The guy assured us it was not a sales pitch, but I remembered reading not to attend breakfast because they “kid nap” you and do a heavy handed sales pitch![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We politely declined his offer, he tried to sell us theme park tickets, but we had already ordered those via the Mousesavers discount link at Undercover Tourist. After being shot down twice, he bid us a good day! No pressure or fuss...definitely not rude, but we did NOT go to the free breakfast. Nothing in life is free and we knew better.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I did not complain about the burner, I just went over to my SIL’s unit and made the eggs. The blow dryer short out until the last day and DH called the front desk to let them know. Someone came down within 30 minutes, but I do not know the resolution because we were checking out. The staff was very prompt whenever we asked for more consumables or towels. We were pretty low maintenance! We were told repeatedly to let them know if anything is not right and they will fix it ASAP. Everything worked great aside from the blow dryer and the stove top.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]An A unit is room enough for 3, but the “odd man” out who has the couch won’t have any privacy and you will all have to share 1 bathroom![/FONT]

Thanks for your quick response! As I will be the "odd woman" out, we are looking into getting and A & B unit. Thanks again for your input, helps to set my mind at ease. I can't wait until September!! :woohoo:
 
If you want a condo-styled offsite place, this is the one! If we are staying off-site, we will only stay at VVaP.

You cannot find a closer resort off site! It was so easy to drive to and from the resort. 10-15mins tops.

We had a 2BDR + 1 BDR each time we were there. They are very roomy!
 


I have a 1 bedroom but it says full kitchen on my RCI reservation. Do the 1 beds have a full kitchen? This will be interesting if I don't have a stove... Does anyone have a recommendation for buildings? We are not using the whole week - just 4 nights. Thanks!
 
I have a 1 bedroom but it says full kitchen on my RCI reservation. Do the 1 beds have a full kitchen? This will be interesting if I don't have a stove... Does anyone have a recommendation for buildings? We are not using the whole week - just 4 nights. Thanks!

The 1 bedroom "A" units with a King size bed have a full kitchen. The one bedroom "B" units have a small kitchen (double hotplate, microwave).

Here is the floor plan: http://www.vacationvillageresorts.com/VVR/vacation_village_parkway/unit_features.php

Since my original review we stayed again and continue to be very pleased with Vacation Village.
 


Thanks! That's a sigh of relief! Do you recommend a specific building that might have updated units?

In my original review (1st post this thread), I mentioned the building group that we were in. I can't remember which one we were in last year. They both had the the same A/B setup and amenities that I first described -including the washer/dryer in BOTH units.

Perhaps others who have posted here can let us know if their unit was the same as I experienced? I'm wondering if they have all been updated by now. My first review was a couple of years ago. At our stay last October, they were finishing up another brand new building.

Unless we go with my parents again, we are going to stay somewhere else next time. :worried: They are the RCI timeshare members, so the rack rate is not the best deal for us. We'll likely be checking out the Sheraton Vistana Village because my husband gets a big discount through work. I'm sure we will like it there, but I wish we were going back to Vacation Village!
 
Unless we go with my parents again, we are going to stay somewhere else next time. :worried: They are the RCI timeshare members, so the rack rate is not the best deal for us. We'll likely be checking out the Sheraton Vistana Village because my husband gets a big discount through work. I'm sure we will like it there, but I wish we were going back to Vacation Village!

VVP seems to come up quite frequently on the RCI Extra Vacations and Last Call vacations for a lot less than rack rate. Your parents could book one of those and not have to use their points. Right now they have 2 bedrooms in August for $179/wk or further into the fall for $316.79/wk.
 
VVP seems to come up quite frequently on the RCI Extra Vacations and Last Call vacations for a lot less than rack rate. Your parents could book one of those and not have to use their points. Right now they have 2 bedrooms in August for $179/wk or further into the fall for $316.79/wk.

Wow! That is a great deal! Thanks for letting me know about this. :goodvibes
 
We are staying at VV@P starting October 15th. This is my first time to stay in a time share property. We have family that has the property. I am not sure what to expect. Do you have some of the extras such as shampoo, lotion, and soap? Do I need to bring those with us? Is there anything else that might be helpful? We are staying in a 2 bedroom. We have 2 children ages 2 and 5. I was thinking of putting them in the other room. I am not sure how I feel abbout it. I thought this would be like an apartment layout with the bedrooms off the family room.
 
We stayed the week of Sept 16th and had a great time!!! Several things to keep in mind:

1) its a timeshare and they try to sell you a timeshare. Just say no to the "free" breakfast/lunch to check out their new tower. When you check in they will send you over to the guest services desk for your parking pass. This is when they try to get you to sign up for the breakfast/lunch. We said no - already own and on vacation. They called twice but we politely turned down and didn't hear anything else from them.

2) Great layout of rooms (AB) for two couples or those with kids. Everyone had their own privacy and not on top of one another.

3) They give you a small bottle of shampoo, conditioner and lotion for all parties. Best to bring your own. Lots of storage room in the bathrooms.

4) SO EASY TO GET TO DISNEY!!! Was a total dream!!

Great place to stay! Would stay again!!
 
The units showed a bit of wear and were what I expect from RCI timeshare. They were reasonably clean, just small things like burns on the laminate counters, the tub faucet was not long enough for the tub and sprayed water on the floor, the hair dryer malfunctioned and caught on fire (okay, that was a little bit fun and) and the burners on my stove did not work. I would have no problem staying here again. I would have preferred to have one of the renovated units and I would have absolutely preferred to stay on-site, but overall it was a success![/COLOR][/FONT]

Had a problem with a burner at a timeshare once. The cleaners unplug all burners to clean the stove properly and sometimes forget to reconnect them (simple push-in), or don't push them in far enough - something to check if that happens to anyone.
 

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