First up, the hotel. We decided to stay at the Sheraton Vistana Resort which we booked as a package deal through Southwest Vacations. Including flights, the 5 day/4 night stay was just about $350 pp. Not bad.
Overall, it was a great experience. Little did I know that this resort also is one of these things known as a "vacation club" - which is a fancy name for a timeshare (more on that later). I think they sell blocks of their unused rooms to places like Southwest in order to maximize occupancy.
Here are some pics of the hotel room, pre-unpacking (I won't show what a mess the Kid made after about 2.8 seconds of being there).
Guest Bedroom
Main Bedroom
Dining/Living Area
Bathroom #1 (Bathroom #2 not pictured)
Kitchen
The good: Each suite has a washer/dryer, kitchenette and wireless access - very helpful for families. Awesome pools and indoor entertainment - which we didn't get a chance to really explore because it rained on our "off-park" days - boo! Also, it centrally located with a quick drive to the parks and shopping.
The sort of bad: They ask you to listen to a "No Pressure" presentation in exchange for discounted tickets + free breakfast. I should have known it wouldn't end well, but my occasional cheapskate reared its ugly head and I succumbed. For the low, low price of $30K, I could have a room for 2 weeks out of the year. And an interest rate of 12.5% (I know, Whaaaaat?). And a monthly maintenance fee. And a change fee if you want to upgrade.
Let's just say that after they brought out the third salesperson to convince us to buy, I started getting a little
My bad.
