La2kw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 31, 2003
Spent 5 nights at Vero in June with DW. Hadn't been to Vero in about 16 years. It was nice to go back and to see how well kept up the place is. The resort is just as great as it's always been.
We have been DVC members since 1994. I have seen many changes at Disney, WDW, and DVC and the majority of them are not for the best. I have enjoyed every minute of my time as a DVC member and have absolutely no regrets with my membership. However, I do not have rose colored glasses when it comes to anything Disney. The current management of WDW doesn't seem to understand Walt's basic philosophy of quality. So please don't mistake any of my comments as being from a Disney hater. They're not. I just expect better from them then what they have been delivering in Florida for the last few years.
We are done with WDW, so we plan on spending more time at Vero, Aulani, and GCH when we feel like doing something Disney related. We may stay at the WDW resorts to visit Universal, but more than likely we will just continue to rent out our points and stay at the Royal Pacific instead or see other parts of the world. WDW has gotten way too expensive for what you get in return, IMO. Plus, the money doesn't seem to be going to the upkeep of the place either. Someday we'll go back to WDW parks when there's something new that interests us (it's been a long time since anything there has). We live 90 miles from Disneyland and can visit whenever we want for a much better experience anyway.
Spent every morning in the exercise room. Very small, but had some good equipment. It was very hot and humid in there though, so the sweat was pouring off, lol.
After working out, we spent most of the time at the beach and relaxing at the resort. We are both teachers, so we do enjoy doing nothing when we go on vacation. We did go into Vero Beach to see a movie and to see Dodgertown and some of the other things in the area. DW and I are both huge Dodger fans (both born and raised in L.A.) and so we geeked out by going to the former spring training home of the Dodgers. We also found Dodgertown Elementary which happens to be an elementary school in the area. Since we are both teachers, we had to visit!
Another highlight was the Turtle Walk at the Barrier Island Center. We didn't get to see any turtles, but we did learn a lot about them and enjoyed the talk and nature center. That night, there were a lot of green turtles nesting, but you aren't allowed to observe greens since they are endangered. We were able to get a special DVC discount for the walk that they were offering during the month of June. I read about it in the Disney Files. The Disney Files is usually garbage- nothing but ads for Disney and hardly any DVC content anymore, but we did get one useful thing out of it lol. Anyway, be sure to read the section about the resorts before tossing it in the trash since there may be a useful nugget every once in a long while.
We ate at Bleachers once and that food was so-so. Typical Disney junk. For all other meals we went offsite or cooked in our room. I have a lot of food allergies so eating out is difficult for me. Disney does do a good job with allergies but their food is usually pretty bad. Breakfasts were soy yogurt and fruit and occasionally some gluten free toast. Lunch and dinner were either out or a picnic or meal in our room.
After our time at Vero, we went on the Carnival Breeze to the Eastern Caribbean and then to WLV for a no Disney parks stay. We visited Universal, Islands of Adventure, Sea World, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens in the 10 days we stayed at WLV. We didn't miss the Disney parks at all.
I'll post my WLV photos on another thread.
The rest of this is just photos. Feel free to post questions. Hope you enjoy them!
Arrival at the resort.
[URL=http://s150.photobucket.com/user/la2kw/media/Vero%20Beach/DSCN0206.jpg.html]
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We have been DVC members since 1994. I have seen many changes at Disney, WDW, and DVC and the majority of them are not for the best. I have enjoyed every minute of my time as a DVC member and have absolutely no regrets with my membership. However, I do not have rose colored glasses when it comes to anything Disney. The current management of WDW doesn't seem to understand Walt's basic philosophy of quality. So please don't mistake any of my comments as being from a Disney hater. They're not. I just expect better from them then what they have been delivering in Florida for the last few years.
We are done with WDW, so we plan on spending more time at Vero, Aulani, and GCH when we feel like doing something Disney related. We may stay at the WDW resorts to visit Universal, but more than likely we will just continue to rent out our points and stay at the Royal Pacific instead or see other parts of the world. WDW has gotten way too expensive for what you get in return, IMO. Plus, the money doesn't seem to be going to the upkeep of the place either. Someday we'll go back to WDW parks when there's something new that interests us (it's been a long time since anything there has). We live 90 miles from Disneyland and can visit whenever we want for a much better experience anyway.
Spent every morning in the exercise room. Very small, but had some good equipment. It was very hot and humid in there though, so the sweat was pouring off, lol.
After working out, we spent most of the time at the beach and relaxing at the resort. We are both teachers, so we do enjoy doing nothing when we go on vacation. We did go into Vero Beach to see a movie and to see Dodgertown and some of the other things in the area. DW and I are both huge Dodger fans (both born and raised in L.A.) and so we geeked out by going to the former spring training home of the Dodgers. We also found Dodgertown Elementary which happens to be an elementary school in the area. Since we are both teachers, we had to visit!
Another highlight was the Turtle Walk at the Barrier Island Center. We didn't get to see any turtles, but we did learn a lot about them and enjoyed the talk and nature center. That night, there were a lot of green turtles nesting, but you aren't allowed to observe greens since they are endangered. We were able to get a special DVC discount for the walk that they were offering during the month of June. I read about it in the Disney Files. The Disney Files is usually garbage- nothing but ads for Disney and hardly any DVC content anymore, but we did get one useful thing out of it lol. Anyway, be sure to read the section about the resorts before tossing it in the trash since there may be a useful nugget every once in a long while.
We ate at Bleachers once and that food was so-so. Typical Disney junk. For all other meals we went offsite or cooked in our room. I have a lot of food allergies so eating out is difficult for me. Disney does do a good job with allergies but their food is usually pretty bad. Breakfasts were soy yogurt and fruit and occasionally some gluten free toast. Lunch and dinner were either out or a picnic or meal in our room.
After our time at Vero, we went on the Carnival Breeze to the Eastern Caribbean and then to WLV for a no Disney parks stay. We visited Universal, Islands of Adventure, Sea World, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens in the 10 days we stayed at WLV. We didn't miss the Disney parks at all.
I'll post my WLV photos on another thread.
The rest of this is just photos. Feel free to post questions. Hope you enjoy them!
Arrival at the resort.
[URL=http://s150.photobucket.com/user/la2kw/media/Vero%20Beach/DSCN0206.jpg.html]
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and I can't wait. I have noticed something interesting with my last few trips. I keep a spreadsheet for each of my trips to WDW and as I looked back at them, I have noticed fewer dining reservations over the years. 
...not to mention the food prices have sky-rocketed.
