When we arrived I was thrilled to find that their team had taken care of all of the little details, surprising me with beautiful decor, orange juice, sparkling wine (hello mimosas!), and a thoughtful card.
Our stunning villa had three bedrooms, and enough space for 7 adults to sleep comfortably. With our little group of 5, I had the master room because #bride, Madeline and Candice split a sweet room with two double beds, and Kailey and Clare split the last room, with a large bed and a pullout couch. The sleeping space was great for us, but I could imagine it being perfect for a family, with two rooms looking great for adults (maybe parents and grandparents) and the third room (Madeline & Candice's) being great for kids. Given that we were 5 women travelling on an
We also had a common space which included a fully decked out kitchen, which was perfect for making breakfast and frozen pizzas in, and a living/dining room!
While we were of course staying at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort for its proximity to Walt Disney World, we also wanted to enjoy the amenities at the resort. We enjoyed a dinner at one of the onsite restaurants where we had the chance to try gator bites (basically popcorn chicken made with alligator). But more importantly...River Island.
River Island
One of the sweetest moments was when a little boy (he must have been about 8) kept looking at my shyly, until his dad came up to me and said that his son had a question for me. I bent down to talk to him and he said "Um, excuse me, are you getting married". Of course I said yes, and then he congratulated me,. It was so sweet, so I asked him about school and where he was from and we ended up high-fiving.
Given that I was planning the weekend, I had assumed that we would just Uber everywhere. I don't know exactly how much, but I seem to think it would be about $20 to get to Walt Disney World. However, Kailey found a great deal on a car rental, and it worked out to either cost the same or less, but with added flexibility to get between the parks, restaurants, and airports. She was more than happy to be our "Bus Driver", so we were also able to head over to Gatorland and Target. Having a car also helped us get from our Villa to River Island (Holiday Inn Club Vacations Orange Lake Resort is a HUGE property). Now, the resort does offer onsite transportation, but of course having a car made things more flexible for us.
Everybody was raving about our accommodations. Close to Disney, with a great atmosphere that we could all relax and unwind in. We were all saying that we could imagine a future family vacation staying on the property. With golf for the dads and grandpas, proximity to shopping, restaurants, and theme parks, and a fantastic water park on site, what more could we need? I love the idea of coming back with my kids, and future nieces, nephews and grandparents. I appreciated having a few days in the parks to soak up the Disney, but then being able to enjoy a day at the resort, and the evenings in a way that was a bit more low key. And of course, at a much better price point than staying on
property!
Flamingo beach coverup from Target $20-$30 USD (can't remember exactly but I bought it on the trip and it was in that range. Loved wearing it on my honeymoon too!)
Hat from San Diego Hat Company purchased at Disney Springs, also enjoyed on my bachelorette.
Engagement Ring Pool Floatie from Amazon, purchase yours here. I was able to inflate it using just my lungs, which will help with your packing!
Head on over to Madeline's blog, Classicaly Contemporary for her take on our amazing week away.
Check back soon, I'll be sharing more about our trip, and about some of the special experiences we enjoyed while at The Happiest Place On Earth!
xoxo
Alanna
This post was done in partnership with Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort; opinions are my own!
PS -- check out a few of our posts on Instagram:
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