Disney's magic at its best
by TripAdvisor Member schong
We just came back from a magical Thanksgiving week at the Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. Our room was perfect, style like a outdoor cabin complete with jacuzzi, washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave oven, full size oven, large refrigerator and all the modern commodity you need, except internet. The rooms are very big. The terrance has a rocking chair and a picnic table set. The resort is small but beautiful. The beach house is a short drive or a bike ride away. Resort activities are very family oriented and educational for youngster. Even though the island itself has pretty to do, we spend a lot of time in the resort pool and recreation area. We will definitely be going back next year. After speaking with some of the guest staying there, we find out that most of them are repeat visitors. Some of them come back every year.
Lots of fun...we'll be going back again soon
by A TripAdvisor Member
We had a great time at Disney's Hilton Head Island resort when we stayed there in 2002...There were nine of us including children ages 3 months- 5 year and the 2 bedroom villa provided plenty of space for us all. We also found there were lots of activities that interested us and wished we could stay longer to take part in more activities...We will be going back in a few months for another stay and are really looking forward to it.
Great place to relax
by A TripAdvisor Member
Our family of four just returned from 8 nights of relaxation at the Disney Hilton Head Resort (4/25/04-5/3/2004). It is important that you understand what type of resort this property is. It is basically about 100 rooms (give or take a few) that are mostly 2 bedroom villas (4 to a building) that are about 1300 sq feet. It is located on the "sound side" of the island. Keep in mind that a majority of the guests are members of Disney's Vacation Club (essentially a time share program). There are no full service restaurants at the resort but there are two small snack bars (one at the resort and one at the beach house). The beach house is located about a 1 mile from the resort (you can drive and park, bike or take the Disney shuttle). At the beach house there is an outdoor pool, small bar, snack bar, small arcade (about 5 or 6 games), bathrooms/locker rooms, and an indoor sitting area (tables, chairs, board games and TV).
The varied reviews of this property I believe are a resort of not understanding it before you arrive. As I mentioned above, it is not on the beach. If you want to walk to the beach, stay somewhere else. My personal favorite on Hilton Head is the Marriott Grande Ocean. We choose the Disney property for the following reasons:
1) Found a great deal via the Disney VISA card ($149 per night)
2) We love having a large room (1300 sq feet) or better described as a villa (two bedrooms, full kitchen, 2 person jacuzzi tub in master bath, large deck). Our kids are 4 and 21 months, so having seperate bedrooms means we can watch TV at night and eating out every meal is tough with toddlers.
3) The programming at the resort is like no other. There are no less than 6 activities planned daily. Upon checkin, you are provided a list of scheduled activities for the week. Here is a sample list, craft building activites (bird houses, etc.), cooking classes, naturalist led walks and talks, campfires complete with smores, goofy bingo, dolphin boat tours, story hour, puppet shows, and more. There are activities for every age. Keep in mind that the resort tends to draw lots of kids.
4) We love going to the beach, so the beach house is great. It is not as convenient as having your resort on the beach, but the 5 minute drive isn't a big deal. For us, having bathrooms and food/snack options so close is great. We spent about 1/2 our trip on the beach. If you are spending your entire trip on the beach, this might not be the best resort for you.
5) The Disney Touch. In general, the property is well kept and the attitude of the workers are great.
Hints/Suggestions:
1) Rent a car. With 250 plus restaurants and a ton of stuff to do on Hilton Head, you need a car.
2) There really are no bad rooms at the resort. There are about 20 (2 story) buildings. The views are not all that different (sound or trees). The only really difference is how far you are from the resort swimming pool.
3) Rent bikes. There is an site bike rental shop. We didn't rent until the last couple of days, I wish we would have rented for the entire week.
4) Nice mall with a nice kids play area. Great rainy day activity. It is less than a mile from the resort.
5) Participate in the Disney led events.
Overall, we had a great trip. Although this was our first trip to this resort, we did take a quick tour last time we were in Hilton Head in 2003. If want to relax and enjoy a few activities along with the beach, this is a great property. If you want to spend a week just doing the beach choose a different property on Hilton Head or try the Disney Vero Beach property in FL. This is a great family resort.
Great place for a family vacation!
by A TripAdvisor Member
This resort definitely lived up to the name Disney as far as quality of service and accomodations. This is not Disney World and anyone expecting that will be disappointed. As I told my children, fun is in your attitude.You don't need to be entertained to have fun, you can make your own fun. We were able to spend quality time together that would not have been possible as an amusement park. We rented bikes for the week and rode daily to the beach. We took a boat ride where we watched for dolphins. We caught crab off the pier and cooked them to go with dinner. The walk on the marsh taught my 7 year old about a habitat she's never experienced before. My children learned about a Japanese art form and made T-shirts to take home as souveniers. My husband and I were able to have an evening to ourselves while the girls participated in an activity at the recreation room. We're going back this year with my parents and my sister's family. We plan to go parasailing and deep sea fishing this year.
liked it alot
by A TripAdvisor Member
I liked this place alot...it was great...people do say that its annoying to have to take a shuttle bus 2 get to the beach but it didnt bother me. My only complaint was that the first day i was there they had to close the big dipper pool becasue "the acid level was too high" (I.E too many kids peed in the pool) ewwwww so if your looking for a more mature atmosphere head over to the beach house its quiet and for the adults they even serve some rum there. but over all i really liked it
Fantastic Family Fun!
by A TripAdvisor Member
This past June has been our 4th time at this resort. We love the spacious rooms, the area that this resort is located and most of all the children's activities. The staff are great and I felt very comfortable with my children being in their activities. I feel like anyone with children that enjoys spending time together will love this place as much as we do!Make sure to sign your kids up for an activity lead by Mr. B"lou Crabbe he is a great story teller, musician, magician and etc!
Great place to relax
by A TripAdvisor Member
Our family loves Disney but it was the stay at Hilton Head that got us to join the DVC. We've stayed at all the resorts over the past two decades; each is unique and has its own charm. Hilton Head is perfect for just getting away; a really good old fashioned vacation! Last time at Hilton Head our porch overlooked a marsh river and we watched dolphins enjoy their breakfast as we enjoyed ours. There is a quiet comfort to this resort that you won't find elsewhere. There are plenty of restaurants nearby but it is not WDW. If you want rides, go to Orlando; if you want relaxing memories, try this resort. We are going again in June and will bring several of our daughter's teenage girl friends with us. It should be quite the trip!
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