By the co-author of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2020, the best-reviewed Disney World guidebook series ever.

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Category — d. Where to Stay at Walt Disney World

Photo Tour of a Tower Room at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, Disney Springs Resort Area

by Dave

For the first page of this review of the Wyndham/Wyndham Garden, see this.

PHOTO TOUR OF A WYNDHAM ROOM

The Wyndham Lake Buena Vista in the Disney Springs Resort Area has two different accommodations buildings, which are marketed, kinda, as two different hotels.  (All share the same outside-the-room  amenities.)

The “Wyndham Garden” offerings are two full bed (or one king) rooms in low-rise buildings, with rooms accessed from exterior corridors. I have a photo tour of one of these Wyndham Garden rooms here.

The “Wyndham” rooms are two queen (or one king) offerings accessed from interior corridors in the main mid-rise tower.

This photo tour is of a two queen room in the Wyndham tower.

At the entry, as is common, the closet is on one side and the bath on the other.

The bath is not divided and has just sink–making it fine for a couple (or conventioneers–the WYndham is also a convention hotel) but a little rough for a family.

Here’s the shower/tub part of the bath…

…and the toiletries offered.

The hair dryer hangs on the door.

On the other side of the entry hall is the closet and a small open storage area. The storage cubbies are worth noting ,as dresser storage in this room, while not terrible, is a bit scant.

The closet is fairly routine. Note the full length mirror in one of the doors.

Deeper in the room you’ll find two queens on one side.

The bed side from the back.

A closer view of one of the beds.

There’s a large bedside table between them with a drawer and a cubby below.

The drawer is large enough for your important books.

The other side of the room has a desk and a dresser thingy with storage and a mini-fridge, with a small-ish TV above. The connecting door, if present, is also on this side.

The desk has a shelf above and several small drawers.

The dresser thingy has a 37 inch TV–these days that’s pretty small.

Underneath the drawer area of the thingy are two ottomans. With no easy chair in the room, these are a good add.

One space in the dresser that looks like a drawer actually opens to a large safe.

The inside of the safe. My book is 6″ x 9,” so there’s plenty of room in here for a couple of laptops.

This leaves three medium-sized drawers, fine for couples, a bit scant for a family of four.

Next to the drawers is a pantry-style pull out.  You can move the stuff in this out (with the small TV there’s plenty of room on top of the dresser) and use it for storage instead.

You’d probably want to take the coffee service out, anyway, to use it.

Also in this dresser thingy is the mini-fridge.

Rare these days in mini-fridges is the small freezer compartment–not of much use with no microwave in the room.

The orientation of the tower means all views are OK–Disney Springs on one side, and some forested low rise office buildings and the Best Western on the other. There are no balconies in either Wyndham accommodation building.

At 325 square feet, these Wyndham Lake Buena Vista rooms are smaller than the smallest Disney World deluxe rooms, but the small bath area results in a 240 square foot living area, as large or larger than you’ll find in the Disney deluxes except those along the monorail.

But the absence of a divided bath, extra sink, and an easy chair makes it hard for me to recommend this room for any but the smallest families–although the ottomans do help. Couples should do OK, but I’d still liked to have seen an easy chair between the beds and the window.

PHOTO TOUR OF A WYNDHAM GARDEN ROOM

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE WYNDHAM AND WYNDHAM GARDEN LAKE BUENA VISTA

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

 

 

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October 15, 2018   No Comments

The Re-Imagined Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

by Dave

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort emerged (mostly) last week from an almost 18 month long construction project, and is now once more a great choice among Disney’s moderate resorts.

Highlights of the re-imagined Caribbean Beach include

  • The shift of the main entrance from Buena Vista Drive to Victory Way, near Jamaica
  • The abandonment of the Custom House (and its bus stop), with all check-in and concierge service moved to the much more central and convenient Old Port Royal area
  • The loss of nine accommodations buildings, a bus stop—and 576 rooms—in the old Barbados section and the more distant part of Martinique, reducing the resorts’ capacity by more than 25%–meaning popular amenities, like the wonderful Fuentes del Morrow pool, have fewer guests competing for them.
  • The renaming of the old, confusingly named (especially for the dyslexic, like me) Trinidad South and Trinidad North, to Barbados and plain old Trinidad.
  • A complete redo of the bar, dining options, and gift shop. The needs for each of these has been served by so-so temporary replacement over the last 18 months, but that’s now over, and Caribbean Beach is back to being a full-service resort. The early reviews of the brand-new waterside table service venue, Sebastian’s Bistro, have been astonishing.
  • In addition, the opening of an all-new counter service venue in Trinidad, deeply changing the attractiveness of this more isolated village.

Still to come at Caribbean Beach is the Disney Skyliner, a gondola that will connect the resort with Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios later this year. The station will be just south of Jamaica, and across from Trinidad, making these villages more attractive places to stay (Jamaica is already a great choice) after it opens.

I’ll have more to say and show about Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort after my next stay here—my tenth—over the Veterans Day weekend.

But in the meantime, I’ve fully updated my review of Caribbean Beach, which begins here and include all the following pages:

The long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly, can book you into Caribbean Beach–or any other Disney World hotel.  Contact her using the form below:

  • Date Format: MM slash DD slash YYYY
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October 14, 2018   1 Comment

Dining at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

by Dave

(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, see this.)

After a lengthy refurb, permanent dining options reopened at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort in early October 2018.

I’ll have much more to say–and more of my usual lousy photos–after my next stay at Caribbean Beach, in early November.

But in the meantime, here’s the scoop.

(C) Disney

–The all-new waterside table service venue Sebastian’s Bistro is open for lunch and dinner. The menu is here.

(c) Disney

–There are two quick service options in Old Port Royale.  One of them, the Centertown Market (menu here), somewhat inexplicably is open only for lunch and dinner–at least so far. The other, Centertown Grab and Go (menu), is open all day.

(c) Disney

–The bar, Banana Cabana, has re-opened by the pool. I’m getting mixed reports on food here, but the official menu shows none.

The lack–so far–of lunch at Centertown Market is a bit of a mystery. The Spyglass Grill in Trinidad (formerly Trinidad South) is an alternative for freshly made food, but is a hike from most of Caribbean Beach, especially Aruba and Martinique. And it seems as though the “The Island Markets“–widely distributed minor grab and go venues that opened during the refurb–remain open.

I am hoping that I will soon be able to report that Centertown is open for lunch–likely at the same time as the Island Markets close.

Anyway, come back in November for more on the new offerings. See below for details on the other dining options at Caribbean Beach!

THE ISLAND MARKETS

“Island Markets” are in three (or maybe two) converted rooms—one each in Martinique (2509), Jamaica (4308), and Aruba (5524). (The first two digits of the room number indicate the building number.) Note that the Martinique one is no longer marked on the map–I’ll double check that on my visit.

They offer

… ice cream (above, in the box at left), pastries, coffee and tea, cereals and pop tarts (with a microwave above)…

… drinks, yogurt, fruit, salads, sandwiches and wraps…

… and refillable mugs, bananas, and snacks.

A couple of closer looks at the salad side of the cold case…

…and the sandwich and wrap side.

The wraps/sandwich/fruit/salad choices are thin, and have sold out at times by early evening.

Regardless, the offerings of these spaces work better for snacks and for breakfast supplies than they do as a place to grab lunch or a light dinner—unless you are thinking very light.

The Island Markets are open from 7a-10p.

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THE FREESTYLE COKE MACHINES

Refillable mugs can be refilled in freestyle coke machines—where you get to design your own drink, like my favorite, peach Sprite.

These machines are available in one or two buildings in each village, replacing in those buildings the old-style Coke machines—which remain in the rest of the buildings. Find the right building, then follow the signs for Ice and Vending.

Buildings with the freestyle machines are marked on the resort map.

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THE SPYGLASS GRILL

The Spyglass Grill (full review here) opened in Trinidad in March 2018.

It offers an interesting and well-received, though limited, menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It does not have a lot of capacity, and is a bit of a hike from areas outside of Trinidad.

But it’s a handy option for those staying in the otherwise distant-from-food Pirate Rooms in Trinidad.

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IN-ROOM DELIVERY OF PIZZA AND SUCH

Another option is ordering off of the limited delivery menu, which features, pizza, wings and such. The menu (click to enlarge):

I’ve never had delivery pizza at Disney World. I tried to order one on my June visit, but a lizard-drowner of a storm meant everyone was sheltering in their rooms and ordering pizza, so after 15 minutes on hold I gave up and got a salad from an Island Market instead.

This option is available from 4p till midnight. Don’t use the dining plan for these options–way too many credits will be charged.

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THE VENDING MACHINE IN THE QUIET POOL LAUNDRIES

Finally, a post on the disboards Caribbean Beach thread reminded me that there’s a vending snack machine in the quiet pool laundry rooms!

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THE MAIN FUENTES DEL MORRO POOL AT DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

This review continues here.

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October 12, 2018   2 Comments

The Pools at the Wyndham and Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista

by Dave

For the first page of this review of the Wyndham/Wyndham Garden, see this.

THE POOL COMPLEX AT THE WYNDHAM LAKE BUENA VISTA

The pool complex at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista in the Disney Springs Resort Area is one of the top three among the seven hotels here, and is topped only by the pools at the Hilton Buena Vista Palace.

What you’ll find is one large playful pool popular with both kids and adults, a smaller and less interesting pool that attracts largely adults, a hot tub, a pool toy rental area, and a bar with an extensive menu.

The pool area is behind the accommodations buildings, and surrounded by sports courts on either side. The back border is trees.

On the left, you’ll find the bar and grill.

The menu.

Next to the bar is the larger of the two pools here.

One end of this pool has this interesting rock feature…

…which includes water sprays for kids to play in.

The other end of the large pool has a zero entry into a shallow area, with an in-water play structure. Another view of it is at the top of the page.

This image shows both features.

The larger pool at night.

An area to rent water play toys is between this pool and the bar.

A second, smaller pool is more angular and has no obvious invitations to play, so is more popular with adults.

Another view of the smaller pool.

The smaller pool at night.

Between the two pools you’ll find this hot tub.

The two pools of the pool complex at the Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista in the Disney Springs Resort Area nicely deliver for both kids and adults, and the bar and grill menu is one of the more extensive among these hotels. As a result, I rate the pools here as being among the top three among the seven hotels of the Disney Springs Resort Area.

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October 9, 2018   No Comments

The Pools at the Doubletree Suites by Hilton Orlando, Disney Springs Resort Area

by Dave

(For the first page of this review of the Doubletree Suites, see this.)

THE POOL AT THE DOUBLETREE SUITES BY HILTON ORLANDO

The pool complex at the Doubletree Suites by Hilton Orlando in the Disney Springs Resort Area provides most of what guests might be looking for, but in an uninteresting fashion, and thus falls into the lower rank among the offerings of the seven Disney Springs Resort Area hotels.

The offerings are behind the main building, screened from the nearby busy road (535) by a group of trees.

You’ll find this small main pool.

Another view of the main pool.

Off to one side is this large hot tub…

…and on another side is a kids wading pool with some water jets providing play opportunities. I did not see any other play options–no games, no fun water play items available for rent.

A pool bar is present, was not open when I stayed here. There’s another bar not far away inside the hotel.

Nearby is this playground…

…and behind it, between the pool area and the parking lot for the next-door B Resort there’s also a set of four tennis courts–a rare amenity among the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels, especially the smaller ones.

Overall this pool complex is entirely adequate, with all the basics.  But it does not compare at all well to the offerings at the Wyndham, Hilton, or Hilton Buena Vista Palace.

MORE ON THE DOUBLETREE SUITES BY HILTON ORLANDO

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October 8, 2018   No Comments

The Pools at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, Disney Springs Resort Area

by Dave

For the first page of this review of the Hilton Orlando, see this.

THE POOL COMPLEX AT THE HILTON ORLANDO LAKE BUENA VISTA

The pool complex at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista has two good-sized regular pools, a brace of hot tubs, and a kids’ wading pool–as well as an outdoor bar.

While not distinctive or particularly interesting, the pool complex at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista is one of the top three among the seven Disney Springs Resort Area hotels–the pools at the Wyndham and the similarly-named Hilton Buena Vista Palace are also in this same group.

The pool complex framed among the mid-rise accomodations building and convention spaces. This isolates it from the nearby freeway.

There are two principal pools, one a bit smaller and rectangular, the other larger with a curve at one end.

The smaller pool.

Another view of this pool.

Next to it is this larger pool.

This pool from the other side–your rubber duckies may vary.

Between the two pools is this children’s wading pool–note at the upper right the kiosk for renting pool toys.

This fun set of hot tubs is also present (another image of them is at the top of the page).

You can also chill with some chess…

…or perhaps more likely at this pool bar.

While there’s nothing especially delightful or interesting about the pool complex at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, it has all the key features of a vacation pool complex except for a splash/spray play area, and has plenty of capacity.  This puts it into the highest rank of Disney Springs Resort Area pools.

MORE ON THE HILTON ORLANDO LAKE BUENA VISTA

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

 

 

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October 7, 2018   No Comments

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