qazw1

We liked this property. It is relatively close to the parks. The suites are big and can easily hold 6 or so with the sofa bed, Best part was the full dining area which allows the whole family to sit around and play card games at night. Also nice to have the washer and dryer as we did the water parks and still have fresh clothes everyday.

Booked the room for 40,000 points a night. Not a bad deal overall.

DJ_Iceman

I agree with all of this. Disney resorts are pretty much the only ones I stay at, pay exorbitant rates, get no points or miles, and am happy to do it over and over!

kcdude

I have a 7 night category 5 certificate with Marriott as part of the travel package and want to use t in Orlando this July.
What is the best hotel with 2 boys 7 and 11?
I could upgrade to category 6 or 7 with additional 30 or 60K points.
I am a platinum.
Want to go to Disney and other parks.
Getting a free breakfast or concierge availability would be great.
Getting an upgrade is another positive.
Never stayed at vacation clubs. Not sure if that is going to be worth not having free breakfast.
What are the recommendations?

Thanks

sammyindc

Closest hotel to Disney is the Marriott World Center. They have a special for the summer with free kids meal on weekends and newly renovated pools and water slides. It doesn't have a lounge and you get free breakfast for you plus one guest only.
Another option would be the JW Marriott with a pretty nice pool, lazy river, but not as close to Disney and no free breakfast since it's a resort.

dudleydog

Cat 5? Resid inn LBV.

jr1202sr

Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld® by far. World Center is a Cat 6. Gaylord was 5 but was upped.

sammyindc

I would also suggest making your reservation as soon as possible so you lock in the pre-devaluation rates before the category change.

kcdude

If I am ok to upgrade with additional points and not limit to cat 5, what would be the best deal?
Also would they charge resort fee if I am redeeming a nights certificate?

USirritated

If you make your rez before May 15, the "old" redemption rates still apply, so if Gaylord was Cat. 5 before the category upgrades were announced, then you can make reservations as a Cat. 5 for July as long as you make the rez before May 15.

Yes, AFAIK, resort fees will still be charged, even for MR awards stays.

recadna

We all care about points/perks, but disney resorts are definitely the way to go, especially you have small kids and travel in the peak season.

falco

Next year, we are planning a big family vacation using points...

8 people. 4 seniors, 2 children (8 and 5).

Priorities in order of importance:
Big room(s) for a week
Looking to relax - nice pool & lounge area
Activities & Luxury
Free breakfast
Relatively close to WDW Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios.
Efficient use of MR points

I have done some research here and on the Marriott site... there seem to be 2 general options - a multi-bedroom "resort" (timeshare) or 2 rooms at a residence inn / fairfield.

Marriott's Imperial Palm Villas
Marriott's Royal Palms
Marriott's Sabal Palms
Orlando World Center Marriott
Marriott's Grande Vista
Marriott's Cypress Harbour

SpringHill Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village
Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Marriott Village
Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando at SeaWorld
SpringHill Suites Orlando at SeaWorld
Residence Inn Orlando at SeaWorld
Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista
Residence Inn Orlando Lake Buena Vista


Any suggestions / recommendations?

hhoope01

I guess the answer depends on how much you are willing to spend and just how close to WDW you want to be.

I personally like Imperial Palms villas (all 3 bedroom units), though they are fairly old being one of the first Marriott Vacation Club properties. I've used points there a number of times and have always enjoyed my stay and you get use of the WorldCenter facilities including all their pools. But Grand Vista also has 3 bedroom units and is much newer and has a number of activites and services for families as well, but it will be a little bit farther from WDW. (Note that in the past I have had an easier time using points at the Imperial Palms over a 3 bedroom unit at Grande Vista, though it has been a few years since I last looked.)

If you want a lower cost alternative, then the non-FS properties come to play. They also will be a bit farther from WDW than the Worldcenter, but not so far that you spend all day traveling back/forth.

Will you be visiting both Universal and WDW during this trip? If so, I might suggest changing hotels when you do. In fact, I'll go one step further and suggest you stay onsite at least one night for your Universal visit. Staying onsite gets you (and upto 4 others per room) an unlimited Fast-Pass card for use during your stay. Since you get that benefit for the day you check-in and check-out, a one night stay nets you 2 days of unlimited Fast-Passes. And even on crowded days, that should easily give the ability to fully explore both parks and still have time to re-ride your favorite rides. (You will also have the chance to visit the Harry Potter area one hour before the general public and that will allow you to ride all the HP rides a couple of times before the lines turn into hours of waiting.)

Just as a point of note, a couple of times we did a 7 night award stay at the Imperial Palms and still purchased a one night stay onsite at universal just to get the unlimited Fast-Passes. (Again, if you have more than 5 people, you will need to get more than 1 room on-site though.)

falco

Thanks, I will look at those in more detail.

Right now its 1 day at WDW, 1 day at Universal. Will look into adding a stay at universal for 2 days of fast pass.

hhoope01

Also note that the Royal and Sabal Palms are both 2 bedroom facilities. And none of the three were built on the "lock-off" design. So all the Royal/Sabal rooms are 2 bedroom suites and all the Imperial are 3 bedroom suites (and to me, they just seemed a bit more spacious that the other Marriott timeshares we have stayed in (including the Grand Vista.)

FlyingScholar

A few questions about the world center:

1. Is there shuttle service from/to the disney theme parks? If so how often do they run, and are they reliable?

2. Is there any breakfast offered as a gold? I know they don't have a lounge there.