What about Vero Beach and HHI

[lawren2]

this is such an odd place for me to be posting...the Disney forum.

I am not much for Orlando but because RCI seems to be shoving Disney down my throat instead of my preferred vacations like SW Florida, Caribbean, OBX and S Cal, I thought I'd ask.

What are the non-Orlando Disney properties like? Are they mickey-fied or are they just very nice resorts without the park experience. I have never been to HHI so that might make a great exchange for me. I know where Vero Beach is and can deal with that as an option as well.

Tell me about your experiences at these 2 resorts.

[littlestar]

I have stayed at both. Disney's Hilton Head resort is themed like a 1940's hunting lodge. It sits right next to the shelter cove marina on the marsh. Even though it's not on the ocean like the top Marriott's, I have enjoyed my stays there. There are old oak trees everywhere so it's very shady and pretty. Here's some picture links:

Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

http://allears.net/acc/g_hh.htm

Vero was nice, too. I enjoyed the resort, but there's not much around it. It's kind of isolated. If I go back to Vero, I would like to reserve a beach cottage. They even had porch swings on them. Here are some picture links for Disney's Vero Beach:

Disney's Vero Beach Resort

http://allears.net/acc/g_vero.htm

Disney's Vero Beach Resort Facilities

[lawren2]

Thank you very much! great pictures. I think I could be happy at either. Understated mouse works for me and that beach has my name on it!

[littlestar]

At Hilton Head, Disney has a shuttle that runs to their beach house. The beach house is really nice. We also enjoy the activities at the resort. We like anything that B'lou Crabbe puts on - he plays about five musical instruments and is a story teller and magician from the low country. We went to his Ghost stories of the low country and had a ball.

The last time we were at Hilton Head, we did a day trip to Savannah - it was great. We did a trolley tour where we could just hop on and hop off at our leisure. WE also made a point to eat at Mrs. Wilkes Boarding house - the food was unbelievable. Probably 22 dishes of food on the table and everything was good - country cooking. They only serve until 2:00 Here's the website for Mrs. Wilkes:

http://www.mrswilkes.com/

For the ultimate, I'd love to get a 3 bedroom Hilton Head Grand Villa for our May 2010 trip. We stayed in one last November (was lucky enough to book one on a II exchange) and we loved it. It had a fireplace and 4 bathrooms in it. It was probably 2200 square feet easy.

[Twinkstarr]

Originally Posted by lawren2

Thank you very much! great pictures. I think I could be happy at either. Understated mouse works for me and that beach has my name on it!

We've been to Vero Beach twice. It's Disney service/professionalism without a character bouncing up in your face. Donald Duck and Alice's Rabbit were in the lobby on Easter Sunday last year. But other times unless you go to the weekly character breakfast you'll be safe.

If you do get down to VB, head to the Lobstershanty in Vero Beach proper. About 8 miles from the resort. Great food, we ate there twice during our trip this year.

[Ryne08]

Great pictures of HHI, your sideshow give me a whole difference feel of the Island.