Your ULTIMATE SURVIVAL GUIDE to Disney World at Christmas Time! UPDATE x2 10/21

[Jazzabelle508]

I'm Back

Sorry I haven't commented in a while, I actually just got back from Disney myself, it's nice to have so many TR's 2 catch up on while I deal with Disney Homesickness! Anyway on to your updates.

I find it amazing how little sleep I can function on while in disney! I find myself able 2 wake up at crazy early times and sleep at super late times all in one day. I say this because I can totally understand how easy it is 2 wake up early when leaving for disney.

Yay for Disney music on your way 2 the airport! It really does help start the trip on a good note!

Glad you guys managed to find a spot at your airport parking lot without 2 many problems! It is pretty much impossible to park at our local airport.

Glad you got to your gate with out any problems! That is also a great way 2 start a trip!

I love when i get the opportunity to give tips to disney newcomers! I had one family that we gave tips to that we saw many times throughout the day and then at our resort that night!

Love the hat you are wearing in your picture! I can't really convince myself to actually buy mickey and minnie ears but I love modeling them!

That must have been really weird for you 2 rent a car on this trip! How did you enjoy the experience? Did you find you like rental cars better or do you still perfer the disney buses? my family normally rents cars on our trips but I am working on convincing my mom to go on the buses for a future trip.

Love the pics of the signs leading up 2 disney! I always try to get pics of those signs but my camera isn't fast enough to really get the pics!

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Hi Jess, I hope you are getting all settled in at your new college and that it's going well.

Yay for WPE! I love eating there! You didn't get dessert though? I love their creme brulee and it's such a large portion! So yummy. Our little girl was loving the mac and cheese there.

Love Basin. I can spend so long in that store between smelling the different soaps and looking at all the designs.

What an amazing story about your mom and the Mayo Clinic. Crazy that she could have gone through all that treatment for cancer when she didn't even have it!

And ohhhhh, the Disney Christmas village houses. I want them so bad! I just need way more money.......

Hi! Thank you so much. It's going REALLY well. I am so much happier here... it was SUCH a good decision!
I'm not a big creme brulee person, but my parents had it from WPE in February and they loved it! I had a few other DTD desserts in mind for that trip so someday in the future I will have to actually get some at WPE! And yum that mac and cheese is WONDERFUL!
It's a great store! I could totally spend hours in there!
And I know... that whole situation was insane. Thinking about it just stresses my Mom out so much... because she almost went through all of that treatment for no reason. That would have been awful Thank God everything worked out!
I KNOW. One day when I am a millionaire I will buy them all. LOL

OMG, Basin!! Went to the Basin White store in Las Vegas in May and the lady told me about the stores at GF & DTD. I knew immeadiately that I would be making a trip there! The scrub is AMAZING! I have the Satsuma scent

Me too! Oh wow, there's on in Las Vegas!? That's so cool. I bet they're all over the country! You definitely will have to check out the WDW ones! And mmm I bet that smells great!

I'm a little tardy, but I'm here!!! I love your trip reports!!!!

Welcome, welcome! I'm glad you are on board for another one!

omg, I totally missed this update! I dunno what was wrong with me a few days ago, but I missed Kristen's update too! SO HELLO, I'm dumb. Anyways, very cute idea with the Christmas tips, I love it!

THOSE ORNAMENTS! Those are just perfect. My future tree will hold those proudly I tell ya.

Hahahhaha YES! That monorail shirt is amazing! I got it too, and I had a freak attack when I found it as well. I wish I had bought the PeopleMover shirt too! I was running out of money by the time I saw it, though hahah wahhh. (NEXT TIME.)

Wow, that's so incredible about your mom! I'm so glad she didn't have cancer! That must have been so scary for yall. God was looking out for yall for sure.

Hahaha it's okay! As long as you found it now - that's all that matters! Thank you!
Same here. I need to start buying a new ornament every time I go to Disney so I can have enough to fill a whole tree.
Next time for sure! Those shirts are the best!
And yeah that was awful But I'm so glad everything worked out! And you're right about that for sure!

Love your TRs

Glad to read this one so I have some ideas of things to check out when we go in (drumroll please) 175 days

Have to show DH those shirts. He always says his 2 must rides are the monorail and the TTA! of course we bought THE monorail shirt of years past... And the monorail playset for his game room. His dream job at retirement is to drive a monorail or the MK train. whatever...he's a high school teacher now. As long as I can get away from the PA winters I'll support him!

I do want to check out basin, thanks for the pictures of what I should expect.
Can't wait to read more!

Thank you so much!
YAYYY your trip is soon! It'll be here before you know it!
Oh my gosh that's precious. I bet he would be a fantastic monorail driver! Someday he'll have to get down there and live out that dream! (Plus the warm weather wouldn't be too bad of a thing to throw into the deal. )
You're very welcome! I'm sure you'll enjoy it! And thank you! I can't wait to write more!

I'm Back

Sorry I haven't commented in a while, I actually just got back from Disney myself, it's nice to have so many TR's 2 catch up on while I deal with Disney Homesickness! Anyway on to your updates.

Welcome back! I know, coming home and experiencing that Post Disney Depression is the saddest thing. I don't think mine is going to go away until I go back! ​

I find it amazing how little sleep I can function on while in disney! I find myself able 2 wake up at crazy early times and sleep at super late times all in one day. I say this because I can totally understand how easy it is 2 wake up early when leaving for disney.

I know, right!? It's kind of crazy.​

Yay for Disney music on your way 2 the airport! It really does help start the trip on a good note!

Haha I listen to Disney music every day... so my life is just one happy disney-music-filled experience. ​

Glad you guys managed to find a spot at your airport parking lot without 2 many problems! It is pretty much impossible to park at our local airport.

Yeah, I mean it was a little tricky but I'm glad we finally found one! I hate when airports are crowded! ​

Glad you got to your gate with out any problems! That is also a great way 2 start a trip!

I love when i get the opportunity to give tips to disney newcomers! I had one family that we gave tips to that we saw many times throughout the day and then at our resort that night!

That's really cute! I love when that happens!​

Love the hat you are wearing in your picture! I can't really convince myself to actually buy mickey and minnie ears but I love modeling them!

Thank you! I bought those back when I was in middle school LOL. I don't think I ever actually wore them to the parks... but they are really cute and are displayed proudly in my bedroom at home!​

That must have been really weird for you 2 rent a car on this trip! How did you enjoy the experience? Did you find you like rental cars better or do you still perfer the disney buses? my family normally rents cars on our trips but I am working on convincing my mom to go on the buses for a future trip.

You know, I liked it a lot! There are a lot of plusses and minuses to the whole car rental thing. I love the convenience... but I don't like how much farther it is from the park entrance. And it is tricky to drive around WDW so it's easier when the bus driver knows where he's going. So I don't know... I really like both! As long as I'm in Disney and I'm being transported.. I can't go wrong!​

Love the pics of the signs leading up 2 disney! I always try to get pics of those signs but my camera isn't fast enough to really get the pics!

Thank you! I know.. it's tricky!

​

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Hello, everyone! So I have officially completed my first week of classes at my new college.

I have FANTASTIC news... I absolutely LOVE it here.

I feel more at home here after a week than I did after 3 months at my old college. It's like God was telling me to get my butt over here, because this is absolutely PERFECT for me. The theatre program is AWESOME. I'm taking acting, speech, physical theatre, and ballet which are all really fun! (as far as theatre courses go. There are a lot of less interesting core classes, but you know)

And the whole department is REALLY nice. I have gotten to know a lot of people in the past week! It's so great. Seriously, this was such a good decision. I don't have one regret in the world! I really think this was where I was supposed to go!

I will continue to keep you all updated, but I just wanted you to know that the first week went wonderfully. So everything is really working out! Thank GOD!

The only downside is that my internet connection is pretty weak, so I am having some issues with ImageShack. Thankfully, after resizing all of the pictures (and sadly reducing the quality) I was able to email them to Kristen and she uploaded them all for me! But until I go home and do a mass upload (or figure out another solution) I'm going to be a little slow on the updates. I'll let you know how that all works out, too.

I wrote the update last night and I finally have these pictures, thanks to Kristen, so I'm going to post it! I hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 4: An Off-Property Experience
December 6th, 2011

We finished up our shopping and browsing, and decided that it would be a good idea to make our way out of Downtown Disney.

DEER!

We stopped in front of this guy to take a picture, just because I love him.

We made our way to the parking lot and drove out of Downtown Disney! It was time to go to the hotel!

I finally got some pictures of these road signs that I never was able to capture before because I have always been on a bus. So I guess that's one more benefit of driving.

Alright, so like I said, we were headed to our hotel. Goodbye Disney....

Dun, Dun, Dunnnn.

This calls for an explanation.

We were staying off property.

I KNOW! YOU'RE SHOCKED BEYOND BELIEF, RIGHT!?

You see, this trip was taken very spontaneously. We literally planned it one week before. And since we had our other trip coming up literally days after we came home, we wanted to keep the cost down.

So, basically my whole life we have been members of this timeshare called Interval International. My parents bought it when I was 5 when we were in Aruba. We've gone to a few good places with it, but we mostly used it to exchange for Disney property. However, Disney is no longer one of their destinations as of like.. my freshman or sophomore year of high school. So that's why it took us so long to invest in DVC, which we purchased when I was a sophomore.

We absolutely LOVE DVC, so we have no trouble using up our points there. On the other hand, it's difficult for us to actually use up our weeks for Interval. It's almost impossible to find places that are available. (that are actually nice)

So anyways, for this trip we decided to stay off property and use our Interval Timeshare just to use up some weeks. All we would have to pay would be the exchange fee and then we'd have a place to stay. Lovely, right?

We picked out this place called "Westgate Vacation Villas." It looked decent online, I suppose. Of course it's not going to be Disney, but we thought we could survive.

This hotel was located in Kissimmee, Florida which you would be familiar with if you ever drove in the area outside of Disney. Oh my God, it's a reality shock once you leave those beautiful gates. Literally, this place is like, tacky tourist central.

So we arrived at the Westgate Vacation Villas and pulled in. From a distance, it really doesn't look too bad. I was trying to tell my Mom "it's fine, don't worry. It can't be that bad. It kind of looks nice."

We drove in and went to the main check in building. The resort was HUGE. Like... I don't even know how to explain it. It was just building after building, spread out all over the place. I felt like I was in this maze of random orange buildings.

The inside of the check in building was huge too. It was weird, because you could tell they were trying VERY HARD to be a nice hotel. Like, VERY hard. It looked all sparkly and unusually clean... like nobody had been in there in a very long time.

And they decorated with wreathes. How thoughtful. LOL

Yeah, the giant lobby was practically deserted. That probably should've been our first sign. But you know, whatever. Sorry I didn't take a picture. I should have.. but you know. Absorbing all of this was a lot to handle.

There was this "tourist information center" that was all about the "Orlando Theme Parks." (ew I just hate that. "Orlando Theme Parks." Like... no. It's DISNEY WORLD or nothing. Bye.)

Universal was advertised EVERYWHERE. And okay, I don't want to discriminate because I know that the rides are good and everything. But we all know I am a 100% Disney girl. Nothing's gonna change that. The forced universal advertising in this lobby was a little too much for me.

So we got to the desk and checked in. Every employee we encountered was foreign, which I don't mean in a bad way AT ALL. Because at Disney we encounter an unlimited number of foreign CM's and they're all wonderful. But here, they seemed a little off. They didn't speak english well, first of all. And on top of that they were VERY pushy.

They took our name and information and everything. And then they asked for our credit card number "just to keep on file..." which my Mom found VERY sketchy. So we reluctantly gave it to them. They wanted to hold a $50 deposit for some reason. It was just weird. That gave us a bad feeling.

Then they had us go over to the concierge where this lady could ramble on about all of the great deals and coupons they had for universal. And they wanted to sell us a timeshare for that hotel. And she asked my Mom "is your husband with you?" which is just another sketchy question to ask. My Mom was like "uh.. no," and the lady stopped talking to us about the whole timeshare thing. We were like... okay?

So... once we were all checked in, they had this guy Donald take us to our room. He rode in this golf cart while we followed behind him to our building, which was Building GG202.

That's Donald on the golf cart, and yes, that is a Thomas the Tank Engine train thing in the background. Random much?

So, you would think that since this guy Donald had a Disney name that we would feel better about this whole thing. However, he was a creep. He brought up our luggage for us, and he literally stayed in our room for TEN MINUTES. Maybe fifteen. I don't know.. it was a VERY long time. And he just wouldn't leave! He took us through every single cabinet, and every single drawer, turned on all of the TV's, explained all of the paperwork, etc. It was a little much. My Mom and I were both like... okay, you can leave now. He was super creepy and made us uncomfortable. We were really happy when he left haha

Now, at this point I couldn't tell if I was just spoiled by Disney Resorts or if this really was no good. It's a touchy subject because I don't want to come off as a snob or anything, but like... it just was not good! My Mom and I were getting these bad vibes from the place. We just were not satisfied there and it had literally only been minutes.

I took some pictures of the room:

The living room with the beautiful, tacky, teal leather couches. (and my Mom may be smiling, but she was thinking "get me out of here.")

Here's the bedroom:

And the bathroom:

It was a little dated, as you can probably tell. And I mean, it might not look bad, but we just got this weird vibe from the place.

I decided to unpack. Living out of a suitcase is such a burden to me, so I thought I might as well just do it.

Speaking of which, Stacey's channel was all fuzzy. That's just not okay. I need to have Stacey playing when I'm unpacking and I could barely understand her. UGH.

After about 40 minutes of trying to get settled, it was already time for us to head out to dinner! I got my Christmas attire on, took a mirror picture on my iPhone, (because I'm super cool, you know) and then headed out the door!

Thank God, we wanted to get out of there.

Continued in Next Post​

 

[mom of princess]

In honor of your 'listen to Disney music daily' lifestyle, I honored you today with the Wishes soundtrack and main street electrical parade soundtrack at work today. You are right, it does make the day better

 

[jecskc]

During our September trip, we stayed at our other time share place and we felt exactly the same way. And ours had those mirrors every where too. And even though we already owned points, they called us constantly to try to get us to come to a "free breakfast". I quit answering the phone and they sent a maintenance man up to check and see if our phone was working. It was so annoying.

I was so happy get checked in at Saratoga Springs for the last few days of our trip. We vowed to never stay off property again if we could help it. So I completely understand how you felt.

 

[MickeyLuvrLauren]

Hi Jess! Ive started reading your TR and its sooo good! I'm really enjoying it so far, so keep up the good work!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Yayy it worked! I'm so glad! Ew that place is mega sketch LOL. Good thing I'm in on all this hehehe.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I remember when DVC used to exchange with Interval International. We never did it before, but that stinks that they were so icky.

That's the thing that I hate about all other timeshares that are not Disney. I went to Las Vegas with my cousin and we used her timeshare while we were there. Well, as soon as we checked in, it was all about "you want to buy this, take our tour, buy-in more, blah blah blah". It was so annoying! I looked right at her and said "they don't do this at Disney. FYI."

 

[mermaid764]

I am so happy for you that switching schools has been an awesome experience

Ugh about the accomodations....I would have been seriously creeped with an employee that stayed in the hotel room for that long, hopefully things improved for you guys

Can't wait to hear more

 

[SmallWorld71]

So glad to hear that your first week at your new school went so well!

And, while I can assure you that there are some perfectly nice places offsite, I'm getting the creeps from this place too and I wasn't even there.

 

[Mich123]

So glad you're happy at your new school! Are you near to home?

We stayed at a Westgate timeshare in Orlando that my parents actually purchased for the purpose of a big Disney trip for me and my family, my brothers, their wives and the grandchildren. It was our first family Disney trip (I'd stayed at Coronado Springs for a conference the year before) since 1985 and I was so jealous of everyone that was staying on property! Thank goodness, my immediate family booked an extra four days (after a week at the timeshare) at POR. We were constantly lost trying to get from Disney to the timeshare--no problem getting to Disney, but we seriously got lost every time! We actually knew where we were, but couldn't get back. Ended up in Celebration. Ended up on a toll road with no change. Ended up on the way to the airport. It was a crazy nightmare.

Pretty much as soon as that trip was over I was plotting the next trip and my mom and dad said that if we ever went to Disney again that they'd like to stay with us. I said, "OK, but when we go again, we are staying on Disney property and we are all doing the dining plan." Thankfully they agreed!

Since you had two trips the same month, I can completely understand staying offsite for one---I hope it turned out ok and that Donald was not seen again!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I was excited for you when you said Westgate Villas because a former student of mine and her parents own a property there and I went to visit theirs and it was BEAUTIFUL. I was really upset when I saw the pics of yours Theirs was all black leather furniture, stainless steel appliances with multiple bedrooms and was beautiful. I can't believe that villa was on the same property!!!!! So sorry for that yuck of a room!! The resort is very large though! Did you end up staying there the whole time??!!! There are so many other horrible places off property in that same area lol. I live about 5 mins from that resort

 

[Disneyatheart90]

Hey I just started reading your TR and am loving it.

I"m sorry you got weird vibes from Westgate, I stay there all the time and love it, I've also stayed in Disney resorts and love that too but we don't always have the money for it. The question about if your dad was there may have seem sketchy but really she was trying to sell you a timeshare and since your mom is married your dad needs to sign as well if she had decide to buy the timeshare. I agree the whole Universal thing is advertise everywhere but they have a movie theater in the main lobby that plays Disney movies everyday. Another thing I think the reason the employee stayed for awhile is to make sure you were fine with the accommodations and that everything was working fine, reason why he ran through everything with you.

It looks like you guys got a older room, where much of the building are newer reason where they were trying to look a lot newer on the outside, reason why they're was some tacky looking furniture. I've read your other TR and know your love for Stacey and I'm sorry you had issues with her channel I've never had.

It really is a nice place to stay but I understand that you love your Disney resorts, it's usually busier in the summer than during the winter.


Ok sorry about the whole Westgate spiel just wanted to just wanted to inform you about it and clear up a few things that seemed to somewhat bother you (best way I could put it). Oh and the Thomas train is kinda random but cute since it goes around the villa it's a little train ride for the kids.

 

[petals]

nice Santa Mickey t-shirt!

 

[basketkat]

I'm so glad your new school is so wonderful!!!

Yikes to that place you're staying...how uh....

I love your festive shirt!!!

 

[emma212010]

Yay!!! I'm so happy you love your school!

WOW that is MAJOR sketch!! I would not be very happy there!! I hope everything turns out ok, though!

 

[arbolita]

I am so so happy to hear that things are going well so far! I know you were feeling good about your decision prior to starting the semester, but it's always a relief once you're there and able to know for sure that things are just as great as you pictured.

I was reading your description about the hotel, and I was giving it a little bit of a head tilt, because I guess we all are just used to the way Disney runs things, but my jaw dropped when you got to the part about asking your mom if her husband was there and then blowing her off when he wasn't. RUDITY.

Look, even Audrey Hepburn is judging her.

Anyway. Yeah, that whole situation sounds completely sketch. On the plus side, I have the same iPhone cover as you, and you look so adorable in that picture!

 

[kansasdisneygal]

YAY YAY YAY for LOVING your college!!!!!!!!!

So yea after reading what you wrote about the sketchy resort and its employees I was feelin not so great about it either...eeeekkk...creepy.
Donald sounded like a creeper...ick.
AND all the furniture is like OLD and way outdated...interested to see how you and your mother handle this resort...dun dun dunnnn.

 

[marDgreen88]

JESS! That's so awesome! I'm so so so excited for you.

Okay ew. Are yall kinda stuck with Interval (or whatever it was, I forgot already) now or can you cancel the membership or something?

I'M THE SAME WAY. If I'm in the Orlando area you'd best believe that I am not going anywhere but Disney. Yeah, I like big rollercoasters and thrill rides but my local amusement parks have plenty of those. And I'm not into Harry Potter so there's no reason to go. THANK GOODNESS.

That just... that is just so sketch. Ugh. It was something that you had payed for in advance, so there is absolutely no reason they'd need a credit card. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me that yall didn't stay there!!! (Wishful thinking.)

 

[JessicaFaye508]

In honor of your 'listen to Disney music daily' lifestyle, I honored you today with the Wishes soundtrack and main street electrical parade soundtrack at work today. You are right, it does make the day better

Oh yay! That's wonderful. I'm so glad it brightened your day!

During our September trip, we stayed at our other time share place and we felt exactly the same way. And ours had those mirrors every where too. And even though we already owned points, they called us constantly to try to get us to come to a "free breakfast". I quit answering the phone and they sent a maintenance man up to check and see if our phone was working. It was so annoying.

I was so happy get checked in at Saratoga Springs for the last few days of our trip. We vowed to never stay off property again if we could help it. So I completely understand how you felt.

I'm glad we had a similar experience! And AHHH the free breakfast! I can't tell you how many times I heard that haha. I can't believe they called so many times that they actually noticed there was no one answering the phone!

Ahh Saratoga Springs. What a relief. That's what we have decided too! I mean, the off sites near DTD aren't that bad, but at least in the area we were in, never again!

Hi Jess! Ive started reading your TR and its sooo good! I'm really enjoying it so far, so keep up the good work!

Aww thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for being here!

Yayy it worked! I'm so glad! Ew that place is mega sketch LOL. Good thing I'm in on all this hehehe.

Thank goodness! I couldn't have posted the update without you!
And yeah it was hahaha. You have no idea how much more I appreciate Disney resorts now LOL

I remember when DVC used to exchange with Interval International. We never did it before, but that stinks that they were so icky.

That's the thing that I hate about all other timeshares that are not Disney. I went to Las Vegas with my cousin and we used her timeshare while we were there. Well, as soon as we checked in, it was all about "you want to buy this, take our tour, buy-in more, blah blah blah". It was so annoying! I looked right at her and said "they don't do this at Disney. FYI."

Yup! Back in the day. It's a shame they stopped because we haven't found many good places to stay since then.
I'm sorry you had that experience in Las Vegas! With DVC you never have to worry because it's like guaranteed that the place you're going will be nice. With other timeshares it can be hit or miss I guess.

I am so happy for you that switching schools has been an awesome experience

Ugh about the accomodations....I would have been seriously creeped with an employee that stayed in the hotel room for that long, hopefully things improved for you guys

Can't wait to hear more

Aww thank you so much! I'm so glad it's working out!
Yeah, that was really not a fun experience lol. You will have to see what happens...!
Thank you!

So glad to hear that your first week at your new school went so well!

And, while I can assure you that there are some perfectly nice places offsite, I'm getting the creeps from this place too and I wasn't even there.

Thank you so much!
Oh yeah, definitely! I know like the Wyndam (is that what it's called?) and the double tree and others in that DTD area are very nice. This one just wasn't too good! Oh well.

So glad you're happy at your new school! Are you near to home?

We stayed at a Westgate timeshare in Orlando that my parents actually purchased for the purpose of a big Disney trip for me and my family, my brothers, their wives and the grandchildren. It was our first family Disney trip (I'd stayed at Coronado Springs for a conference the year before) since 1985 and I was so jealous of everyone that was staying on property! Thank goodness, my immediate family booked an extra four days (after a week at the timeshare) at POR. We were constantly lost trying to get from Disney to the timeshare--no problem getting to Disney, but we seriously got lost every time! We actually knew where we were, but couldn't get back. Ended up in Celebration. Ended up on a toll road with no change. Ended up on the way to the airport. It was a crazy nightmare.

Pretty much as soon as that trip was over I was plotting the next trip and my mom and dad said that if we ever went to Disney again that they'd like to stay with us. I said, "OK, but when we go again, we are staying on Disney property and we are all doing the dining plan." Thankfully they agreed!

Since you had two trips the same month, I can completely understand staying offsite for one---I hope it turned out ok and that Donald was not seen again!

Thank you! I'm about an hour from my house, but that's because I live in a weird location. However, people would consider this college to be "local" because it's only 25-30 minutes from the main city! So it's perfect! Now my friends are more likely to come visit me! Yay! haha

Ahh I'm sorry your resort situation was so complicated! I guess it worked out that you got to stay at POR in the end though! LOL we had such a hard time navigating our way around, too! Not that bad because we had my handy dandy GPS, but still, we had a lot of turn arounds and such.

Yay for them agreeing! You just can't compare to the service and quality of Disney resorts. Seriously!!

Yes, that's what we thought too LOL. Don't worry, we didn't see Donald again haha. But yes, you guys will have to wait and see how this all turns out!

I was excited for you when you said Westgate Villas because a former student of mine and her parents own a property there and I went to visit theirs and it was BEAUTIFUL. I was really upset when I saw the pics of yours Theirs was all black leather furniture, stainless steel appliances with multiple bedrooms and was beautiful. I can't believe that villa was on the same property!!!!! So sorry for that yuck of a room!! The resort is very large though! Did you end up staying there the whole time??!!! There are so many other horrible places off property in that same area lol. I live about 5 mins from that resort

Oh wow, that does sound really nice!! I'm glad that we're not the only ones who thought our room was outdated! That's so crazy. It is a VERY large resort... I would never have found my way out of there if it wasn't for my Mom lol. And well... I don't want to give it away, but my Mother and I REALLY like Disney resorts... so you will have to wait and see! You will probably find out within the next update or so And yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of that whole strip. But hey, you are VERY close to Disney so that is great!!

Hey I just started reading your TR and am loving it.

I"m sorry you got weird vibes from Westgate, I stay there all the time and love it, I've also stayed in Disney resorts and love that too but we don't always have the money for it. The question about if your dad was there may have seem sketchy but really she was trying to sell you a timeshare and since your mom is married your dad needs to sign as well if she had decide to buy the timeshare. I agree the whole Universal thing is advertise everywhere but they have a movie theater in the main lobby that plays Disney movies everyday. Another thing I think the reason the employee stayed for awhile is to make sure you were fine with the accommodations and that everything was working fine, reason why he ran through everything with you.

It looks like you guys got a older room, where much of the building are newer reason where they were trying to look a lot newer on the outside, reason why they're was some tacky looking furniture. I've read your other TR and know your love for Stacey and I'm sorry you had issues with her channel I've never had.

It really is a nice place to stay but I understand that you love your Disney resorts, it's usually busier in the summer than during the winter.


Ok sorry about the whole Westgate spiel just wanted to just wanted to inform you about it and clear up a few things that seemed to somewhat bother you (best way I could put it). Oh and the Thomas train is kinda random but cute since it goes around the villa it's a little train ride for the kids.

Thank you!

Ahh I meant to write a disclaimer about how I didn't want to offend anyone who likes this resort, but with the whole picture uploading fiasco I forgot to add it in.

All of the conclusions you stated are true, and I recognized those when we were there. But I think just the fact that it was only my mom and me staying in this slightly sketchy area that we had never been to before was overwhelming for both of us. I'm sorry if it came off in a bad way.

And about Donald, I'm sure he was doing his job, but I have experienced people checking us in like that before and his way of doing it was definitely on the creepy side. But I mean, there's nothing we can do about it now. It was just an observation.

Yeah, I heard about the newer rooms and that they're pretty nice! Hmm I guess we just got stuck in an old one. I missed Stacey! Maybe it was just our TV.

I just don't think anything can compare to Disney resorts, so this was a slight reality shock. I don't mean to bash the resort, it just wasn't what we expected. I mean, we didn't expect Disney resort accommodations, of course, but this was just wayy off the charts in our opinion.

Yes, thank you! I'm sorry if I offended you or any other Westgate Villa guest in any way! I guess that everyone just has different preferences haha. And the Thomas Train was kind of cute. My brother used to LOVE the Thomas show when he was little, so it was nice to see that he's still around haha.

nice Santa Mickey t-shirt!

Thank you! I got it at Target on Black Friday for $5!

I'm so glad your new school is so wonderful!!!

Yikes to that place you're staying...how uh....

I love your festive shirt!!!

Thank you so much! I am too!
Yeah, that was somethin' alright! LOL
Thank you so much!

Yay!!! I'm so happy you love your school!

WOW that is MAJOR sketch!! I would not be very happy there!! I hope everything turns out ok, though!

Me too! Thank you!
Yeah, we definitely weren't! You'll all have to wait and see what happens! haha

I am so so happy to hear that things are going well so far! I know you were feeling good about your decision prior to starting the semester, but it's always a relief once you're there and able to know for sure that things are just as great as you pictured.

I was reading your description about the hotel, and I was giving it a little bit of a head tilt, because I guess we all are just used to the way Disney runs things, but my jaw dropped when you got to the part about asking your mom if her husband was there and then blowing her off when he wasn't. RUDITY.

Look, even Audrey Hepburn is judging her.

Anyway. Yeah, that whole situation sounds completely sketch. On the plus side, I have the same iPhone cover as you, and you look so adorable in that picture!

It definitely is! I was happy I was transferring, but you never know if it's all in your head. Thankfully, every day I am here, I just realize how much of a good decision this was. I wouldn't have it any other way. I really think that I was meant to go here!

Yeah, I know right!? I think they wanted to sell us a timeshare and my Dad's presence was required, but still. My Mom was just uncomfortable with the question.

HAHAHA great picture.

Yeah, it was quite a situation! But aww thank you! That iPhone cover is the best! However, I drop my phone a lot so I cracked the top of the case a few times LOL. Oh well. It's still holding up for now! Thankfully I have two backup cases for when it breaks haha

YAY YAY YAY for LOVING your college!!!!!!!!!

So yea after reading what you wrote about the sketchy resort and its employees I was feelin not so great about it either...eeeekkk...creepy.
Donald sounded like a creeper...ick.
AND all the furniture is like OLD and way outdated...interested to see how you and your mother handle this resort...dun dun dunnnn.

YAYYY I'm so happy I can't even tell you! Thank you!
Yeah... it was just sketchy. We were not feelin too good about it. And I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it was outdated!
You guys will find out shortly...!

JESS! That's so awesome! I'm so so so excited for you.

Okay ew. Are yall kinda stuck with Interval (or whatever it was, I forgot already) now or can you cancel the membership or something?

I'M THE SAME WAY. If I'm in the Orlando area you'd best believe that I am not going anywhere but Disney. Yeah, I like big rollercoasters and thrill rides but my local amusement parks have plenty of those. And I'm not into Harry Potter so there's no reason to go. THANK GOODNESS.

That just... that is just so sketch. Ugh. It was something that you had payed for in advance, so there is absolutely no reason they'd need a credit card. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me that yall didn't stay there!!! (Wishful thinking.)

Thank you so much! I am SO much happier!
Hmm well I guess that there's a way to sell it, but we have to figure out how it works. My Dad was thinking about selling that and then investing in more DVC points in the future... so I mean, that would be AWESOME! However, that probably wouldn't happen for like 1-4 years from now. Who really knows. At least the idea is in his head!
I'm so glad you understand haha. I mean, when I do my DCP maybe I will have someone who will go to Universal with me for a day and show me around, but considering I don't like Harry Potter, I have no desire to leave Disney. Except maybe I would go to SeaWorld. But I don't know lol
I know, right? Ugh that whole situation was somethin' alright. You will have to wait and see....!​