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Orlando with family of 8 - 3BR preferred

thinze3

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We have 8 people headed to Orlando in about 6 weeks, riding on the back of a conference my wife was to be attending there. Due to extreme budget cuts at her work, all travel and conferences have been halted. This was going to at the DW Dolphin hotel - 3 rooms.

Since 7 of the nine people already have pre-purchased airfare we are going to go ahead with our trip. My question - is there a great timeshare that would suit a family of nine at a great location, maybe even shuttle service to the parks?

MGV has no 3BR units available. I booked a 3BR at Imperial Palms that can be cancelled, but I am so stuck on "Marriott" that I don't want top miss something else. I would like for the resort to be friendly for toddlers as well.

Any ideas?


4 - mid-aged adults (grandparents)
2 - younger adults
2 - 3 year old twins
 
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kds4

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The only MVC timeshare properties in Orlando with 3 BRs are Grande Vista, Imperial Palms, and Lakeshore Reserve. None offer shuttle service to the parks. If you snagged Imperial Palms, I suggest keeping it. It is the property physically closest to Disney and you will get access to the pool/waterslides at the adjacent J.W. to use.
 

kds4

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We have 8 people headed to Orlando in about 6 weeks, riding on the back of a conference my wife was to be attending there. Due to extreme budget cuts at her work, all travel and conferences have been halted. This was going to at the DW Dolphin hotel - 3 rooms.

Since 7 of the nine people already have pre-purchased airfare we are going to go ahead with our trip. My question - is there a great timeshare that would suit a family of nine at a great location, maybe even shuttle service to the parks?

MGV has no 3BR units available. I booked a 3BR at Imperial Palms that can be cancelled, but I am so stuck on "Marriott" that I don't want top miss something else. I would like for the resort to be friendly for toddlers as well.

Any ideas?


4 - mid-aged adults (grandparents)
2 - younger adults
2 - 3 year old twins

As far as toddler friendly, that would be Marriott Harbour Lake across the street from Cypress Harbour. However, Harbour Lake only has up to 2BR units. Perhaps you could try to secure two rooms? Good luck.
 

markbernstein

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We booked a 3BR at Imperial Palms in 2011, and were happy with it. Not quite as fancy as some other MVC resorts we've stayed at, but still nice, and very family-friendly. (Our youngest granddaughter was almost 5 at the time.)
 

thinze3

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The only MVC timeshare properties in Orlando with 3 BRs are Grande Vista, Imperial Palms, and Lakeshore Reserve. None offer shuttle service to the parks. If you snagged Imperial Palms, I suggest keeping it. It is the property physically closest to Disney and you will get access to the pool/waterslides at the adjacent J.W. to use.

Thanks. I just called Imperial Palms to confirm that the Marriott Hotel amenities next door are available to us. Awesome!

Didn't realize that Imperial Palms and Royal Palms are on the same property with Imperial Palms being only 3BR units and the closest to the Marriott Hotel. Using my owner discount, this is just too good of a deal to not keep.

As far as shuttles, I was told that the Marriott Hotel did have shuttles going to the parks but that they were expensive.
 

rsackett

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It is an easy drive from Imperial Palms to Disney, I wonder how much a Lyft or Uber would cost
 

Dean

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We have 8 people headed to Orlando in about 6 weeks, riding on the back of a conference my wife was to be attending there. Due to extreme budget cuts at her work, all travel and conferences have been halted. This was going to at the DW Dolphin hotel - 3 rooms.

Since 7 of the nine people already have pre-purchased airfare we are going to go ahead with our trip. My question - is there a great timeshare that would suit a family of nine at a great location, maybe even shuttle service to the parks?

MGV has no 3BR units available. I booked a 3BR at Imperial Palms that can be cancelled, but I am so stuck on "Marriott" that I don't want top miss something else. I would like for the resort to be friendly for toddlers as well.

Any ideas?


4 - mid-aged adults (grandparents)
2 - younger adults
2 - 3 year old twins
Do you have access to RCI, there are a few with some availability for 3 BR there though only 2 or 3 of sufficient quality to suite our needs. You could also keep your eyes open for a cash getaway.
 

hangloose

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I would definitely get a 3BR for that many people. A 2BR will not likely be enough space and two rooms will probably cost you much more. From Marriott perspective, quality of resorts with 3BR probably starts at the high end with Lakeshore, then Grande Vista, then Imperial Palms. It goes the opposite direction for distance from Disney (IP closest, then GV, then Lakeshore). None are extremely far away.

If you already have Imperial Palms 3BR booked, I would keep that and just keep searching to see if something better comes up whether via an II exchange, II cash getaway, or plain cash reservation. MGV has by far the most rooms, but 3BRs can be somewhat scarce and quickly grabbed. We really love the MGV 3BRs!

Good luck!
 

sfwilshire

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If you can't find a Marriott big enough, Mystic Dunes has 3br lock-offs that sleep 12. We had 10 people in one over the holidays and were very comfortable. I've never used their shuttle service to the parks, but they do have one. Free, I think. They exchange with II.

Sheila
 

dioxide45

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Thanks. I just called Imperial Palms to confirm that the Marriott Hotel amenities next door are available to us. Awesome!

Didn't realize that Imperial Palms and Royal Palms are on the same property with Imperial Palms being only 3BR units and the closest to the Marriott Hotel. Using my owner discount, this is just too good of a deal to not keep.

As far as shuttles, I was told that the Marriott Hotel did have shuttles going to the parks but that they were expensive.
Imperial Palms really isn't any close to the World Center Marriott than Royal Palms. At least if you are considering walking. Both would be a long walk. Imperial Palms is literally across the drive from Royal Palms. Imperial is of course just two buildings connected together in the middle. Royal is more spread out. So if you are in the furthest Royal Building it could be a little bit of a walk over to the checkin area to catch the shuttle where Imperial is a short walk to the checkin area at Royal.
 

MichaelColey

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We just returned from a few weeks in Orlando -- Imperial Palms, Grand Vista, and Cypress Harbour. This was with two adults and six kids (8-15).

We got a freshly refurbished Imperial Palms unit (they are refurbing all of their units through this month). We were the first guests in it after the refurb. There were a TON of refurb-related issues (dryer had to be worked on a couple times, neither shower drained properly, hot and cold were reversed on both showers, Internet had issues, etc.), but discounting those problems (which I consider to be one-time issues), it was by far our favorite of the three properties. The grills were great, the layout was perfect, the kitchen had so much counter and storage space, the proximity to Disney was handy, etc.

We did take the free shuttle over to enjoy the Marriott World Center pool one day. The kids loved the slides. Impressive pool complex.

I ended up needing to Uber to MK one day to catch up with the family, and it was $15 or less. The Marriott shuttle would have been even more.
 

NboroGirl

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I ended up needing to Uber to MK one day to catch up with the family, and it was $15 or less. The Marriott shuttle would have been even more.

...not to mention the money you saved from parking at WDW, which is $22/day now.
 

Inhislove

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We love the Palms resorts! Imperial has a King master, a bedroom with 2 twins, and a bedroom with a queen and a sofa bed. There is also a sofa bed in the living area. There is an on call shuttle around the property, which we used often when we stayed. The World Center pool complex is great (large kiddie area) and the Royal pool has a neat little sand playground near a somewhat covered kiddie pool that your twins will enjoy.
 

MichaelColey

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...not to mention the money you saved from parking at WDW, which is $22/day now.

We have APs so parking is free for us. I had some work to do one morning so my wife took the kids to the park and I caught up with them when I was done.
 

RBERR1

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We stayed at Imperial Palms last year and we were very happy with it. Loved that it was so close to the parks that after a long day it was so quick to get back to the resort.
 

littlestar

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Keep Imperial Palms. It is a great resort. We loved it when we stayed there.
 

BocaBoy

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We love the Palms resorts! Imperial has a King master, a bedroom with 2 twins, and a bedroom with a queen and a sofa bed. There is also a sofa bed in the living area. There is an on call shuttle around the property, which we used often when we stayed. The World Center pool complex is great (large kiddie area) and the Royal pool has a neat little sand playground near a somewhat covered kiddie pool that your twins will enjoy.
If you do not need the 3BR units of Imperial Palms, I would choose Sabal Palms over Royal Palms in a heartbeat.
 

GregT

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Marriott: Maui Ocean Club Lahaina Villas (3BRx5), Ko Olina, Shadow Ridge II, Willow Ridge, Aruba Ocean Club, DC Points HGVC: Flamingo, Sea World, I-Drive, Starwood Bella (x4), SDO, TradeWinds, Worldmark
I've stayed at Imperial Palms and am currently at Sabal Palms. I agree with BocaBoy that Sabal Palms is preferable due to the easy access to the Marriott hotel (5 minute walk?) but when we stayed at Imperial Palms, the shuttle served us well and there are plenty of kid friendly things to do at this property. Keep Imperial Palms for a large group and enjoy it!

Best,

Greg
 

thinze3

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Thanks for all the input. We stayed with Imperial Palms and loved it! I called in advance and told them that we had twin 2-1/2 YO kids and wanted to be away from the "noise" of renovation because the kids nap during the day. Our room was perfect! - perfect size, great view, lower floor and away from noise. They had activities like smores, chocolate fountains, and live music at the main pool area. The kids loved it. The Palms shuttle was basically waiting to take you over to the World Center Marriott at all times, even late just for a drink. My wife has even asked me to get a 3BR like Imperial Palms in Vail, CO next year. Hahaha.
 

thinze3

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One more thing. We rented a 12 passenger van from SIXT at MCO before arriving. It was the best online deal, so we were a little worried, BUT it ended up being better than expected. It was a nice like-new van with 2 new car seats. The people were so friendly and easy to work with. You did have to wait about 15-20 minutes, because the location was being manned by a small staff of people. I would definitely recommend them.
 

MichaelColey

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So were you in a refurbished unit or an old one? We just stayed in a refurbished unit and (other than a myriad of things from the refurbishment that needed fixed), it was very nice.

I think they should be almost done now.

We will be back for about 3 week’s later this year and are getting units there.
 

thinze3

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We were in an unit that had not yet been refurbished, but it was still plenty nice. Still had the bid radius counter that I believe they are doing away with. Note, my trip was in May.
 

dioxide45

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We just returned from a few weeks in Orlando -- Imperial Palms, Grand Vista, and Cypress Harbour. This was with two adults and six kids (8-15).

We got a freshly refurbished Imperial Palms unit (they are refurbing all of their units through this month). We were the first guests in it after the refurb. There were a TON of refurb-related issues (dryer had to be worked on a couple times, neither shower drained properly, hot and cold were reversed on both showers, Internet had issues, etc.), but discounting those problems (which I consider to be one-time issues), it was by far our favorite of the three properties. The grills were great, the layout was perfect, the kitchen had so much counter and storage space, the proximity to Disney was handy, etc.

We did take the free shuttle over to enjoy the Marriott World Center pool one day. The kids loved the slides. Impressive pool complex.

I ended up needing to Uber to MK one day to catch up with the family, and it was $15 or less. The Marriott shuttle would have been even more.
Interesting to see that they rely on the guests to be the inspector of their work.
 
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