VERO BEACH 2016 Information & Adoration Thread

[williambonetto]

Can anyone that has stayed at Vero Beach during the rehab report about the restaurant situation. If Bleachers the pool bar is closed, can you still get drinks and food at the pool? We are concerned about the food situation for our stay in August.
Thank You
Bill

 

[traceyg]

We'll be heading to Universal/IofA on the 7th. I am hoping that Uber works out for us. It's about the only part of the trip that I'm worried about. We've always rented a car so this will be our first Uber experience.
We went about three years ago and enjoyed the HP stuff. I can't wait to try out all the new things. I even read all the books lately so that I could remember all the nuances of the park theme and such. Have fun!

 

[maburke]

Just made reservations for Pirate Dinner on 4th of July - since the restaurants won't be open I wanted to be sure to get in.

I just called to make a reservation for the Pirate Dinner on the 4th of July. I called the Vero Beach number, but after selecting the Dining option, I was connected to regular Disney Dining. They took my reservation at Shutters with no problem (and no deposit), but when I asked if it was a Pirate Dinner, she put me on hold for several minutes and then came back to say NO.

Anybody know what's going on? Will Shutters be closed? Will there be a Pirate Dinner on the 4th of July?

 

[deltapilotwife]

I just called to make a reservation for the Pirate Dinner on the 4th of July. I called the Vero Beach number, but after selecting the Dining option, I was connected to regular Disney Dining. They took my reservation at Shutters with no problem (and no deposit), but when I asked if it was a Pirate Dinner, she put me on hold for several minutes and then came back to say NO.

Anybody know what's going on? Will Shutters be closed? Will there be a Pirate Dinner on the 4th of July?

I don't know about the 4th, but I had that same issue when I made a reservation a few weeks ago for our stay in August.

 

[ddiva]

Has anyone made it out to Lion Country Safari? Wondering if it's worth the drive. TIA

 

[tlkscott]

Roll Call
I forgot to come back and post that we did book Inn-Ocean View for the 18-26 of November. We are a family of 3. Our son will be 8.This will be our first visit. Looking for info on the dining changes and what will be open and doing Thanksgiving dinner. I had to laugh because one of my co-workers stopped by to tell me the other day that they had just booked Vero for the week of Thanksgiving.

 

[RSHEALAND]

Can anyone that has stayed at Vero Beach during the rehab report about the restaurant situation. If Bleachers the pool bar is closed, can you still get drinks and food at the pool? We are concerned about the food situation for our stay in August.
Thank You
Bill

Hi Bill, I have not stayed at the resort since last December, but i'm sure the food situation will be ok. Disney isn't going to lose the chance to sell everyone food and beverages while they do the restaurant rehabs, i'm sure they will have plenty available. Hopefully someone will chime in once the restaurants refurbs begin

 

[RSHEALAND]

We will be there July 3-8, OVIR, with extended family staying in a 1-bedroom. Trying to understand the food changes for summer. Will there be poolside food/beverages available? The kids have always loved the poolside snackbar. This will be our 3rd trip! Counting the days!!

You have been added to roll call, enjoy your stay

 

[RSHEALAND]

We will be arriving on June 8th for our first visit to VB. We will be staying in a OVIR. Please add us to the roll call.
Are all these rooms direct ocean views? I've asked for an upper room when I did our online check in. Thanks.

You have been added to roll call, enjoy your first stay

 

[RSHEALAND]

Roll Call...
June 13-15, 2 bd, and 2 ocean view inn rooms
Ending our WDW stay with some downtime.

You have been added to roll call, enjoy your stay

 

[RSHEALAND]

Roll Call
I forgot to come back and post that we did book Inn-Ocean View for the 18-26 of November. We are a family of 3. Our son will be 8.This will be our first visit. Looking for info on the dining changes and what will be open and doing Thanksgiving dinner. I had to laugh because one of my co-workers stopped by to tell me the other day that they had just booked Vero for the week of Thanksgiving.

You have been added to roll call, enjoy your first stay

 

[RSHEALAND]

Pictures of the day
WELCOME HOME

 

[jerseygal]

Called the resort directly about status of villa renovation. The CM told me that building #15 is closed for villa renovation(in progress). Asked about expected "timeline" for completion and was not able to provide one. They said that Villa #12 had undergone some exterior painting. That's about it. There were some other threads asking to see pics of newly renovated villas. Based upon the CM's response today, there are no pics right now because none have been completely renovated yet. HOPE the weather is gorgeous this time of year!

 

[bianca]

We just got back from Vero Beach. Had a nice stay, but there really was a lot of work going on in the resort. We had a newly refurbished room and loved all the changes! The 4th floor of the Inn is shut down, so if you're staying in the Inn, you either have to go to the front desk and ask for ice or go to one of the other DVC buildings to use the ice machine in the parking garage. Same with laundry. Bleachers was busier than normal, even though the resort didn't seem full. We ate at Shutters and it was slow both times we were there. Closing Sonya's appears to have made no impact on reservations at Shutters. Overall ...... Another lovely trip.

 

[MousekeTom]

Has anyone made it out to Lion Country Safari? Wondering if it's worth the drive. TIA

I'll take a crack at answering your question. I'll qualify this by saying I live in South Florida, have only visited once, am about 1.5 hours away and haven't been there in about ten years - my children are all grown . Things change in ten years, so take this review for what it's worth.

The trip from DVBR is about a two hour ride. Lion Country Safari (LCS) is a safari and is nothing like a zoo. It's a more realistic (but not necessarily a better) safari than AK's Kilimanjaro Safaris. You traverse the preserves in your own vehicle. You set your own pace, but keep in mind you are in a line of vehicle traveling through the preserves. The animals roam freely and are not separated from your personal vehicle.

You should have air conditioning in your vehicle. Convertibles and motorcycles are not allowed. You are not allowed to open your windows. If you open your window, there are animals (e.g. giraffe and ostrich) who will stick their heads in your car. Don't ask how I know. Rental vehicles are available if your vehicle doesn't qualify. They also have a walk through safari for animals that wouldn't do well in the preserves (e.g. monkeys, birds, etc.), giraffe feeding and a few small rides, mostly for smaller children.

I think I was the most impressed driving through the lion preserve. Most of the time lions lie around doing nothing and you won't be surprised by anything different, but there was a lion that crossed in front of our vehicle. They take safety very seriously in this preserve. I was a bit surprised they had men in towers with binoculars and high powered rifles (hopefully tranquilizers) and rangers in vehicles along the preserve.

When I went, you could go through the preserves more than once. I don't know if you can still do that today, but that is something you might want to do. You can also download a brochure for more information.

You could make a day of it by going to LCS and Rapids Water Park in West Palm Beach. That would be a full day of entertainment and lots of $$$. Be prepared for a loooooong 2hr drive back to DVBR.

 

[Fantasia79]

I have a few points, a 1 year old and a couple days. Wife doesn't want to do Disney. Vero looks booked for summer, any experience with wait listing?

 

[dallastxcpa]

I received a call today telling me that the Pirate Dinner was being cancelled and that the last Pirate Dinner with Characters was going to be June 13th. Has anyone else received this call?

 

[BentheRed]

It will be my first trip to Vero Beach in early June. I saw the note about Sonya's closing and called the resort to confirm. They said Shutters and Bleachers also closing 'mid June'. Fortunately Shutters & Bleachers will still be open for my visit, but it's so strange they are winding down their food options in the middle of summer. They said they would serve food from the conference rooms. My kids have allergies - anyone managed to get Gluten Free options at Bleachers? Looking at the menu it seems to just be Burgers/Chicken nuggets/Pizza etc Thank you!

 

[jgdsoarin]

Where are the conference rooms?

 

[MMcCarthy]

We leave TODAY. Problem is we changed our plans and want to stay at Vero tomorrow night. I have had wonderful conversations with CMs letting me know that they cannot see their inventory until 48 prior to the date. Last night I did not make it home to check in again. Has anyone had luck with walk in availability? CMs said since the resort is undergoing renovations they are keeping a little more rooms in reserve. Send me some Pixie dust please. We have a back up destination but I really would like to stay at Vero. I want this to be a wonderful trip but just the make up of it scares me. Me, DH, DD, MIL, FIL, BIN, SIL, Neice, great neice (under 2). First trip for three. MIL & FIL in their late 70s, SIL had back surgery a month ago, I had corizone shots in both knees yesterday. We are going to OKW on Sunday through Friday but at the last minute BIL, SIL, neice want to see the ocean with great neice. Hears to happy trails. Any responses about walk ins would be appreciated. Have a great day everyone. Oh and happy birthday to my DH