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Old 8 Mar 17, 03:24 PM  
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Mrs Pumpkin
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[WDW-40, 2016] Day 3: Room With A View

Day 3: Room With A View
Disney’s Vero Beach Resort Tour
September 6th, 2016

I take a lot of photos at Disney! I can never include them all!
All the photos from this day here | Florida 2016 photo collection on Flickr here
WDW-40, 2016: Trip Report Index | Pre-Trip Report



Today was a very lazy day – we were both feeling knackered – so didn’t actually do very much. Looking back, it was a bit of a wasted day, but sometimes you just need to have some serious downtime, and we definitely did that today.

Steve popped down to the resort store – Island Grove Packing Co. to pick up something for breakfast. He came back with bagels, peanut butter, jam, and juice, and we had brekkie out on the balcony, watching the waves crash up on the beach. We had missed the sunrise, but made sure to be awake for it in the following days!

We drove to the local Publix to buy some food for the following days for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Dining options are limited at the resort, as I mentioned yesterday, and it would be cheaper to eat in our room, than eating out all of the time. After shopping, we had a wander around the resort, had a nap in the afternoon, then a went down to the beach for a while. Dinner was some chicken and salad that we’d bought earlier that day.




Now on with the resort tour…

We stayed in a Deluxe Studio – room number 2224, on the second floor (which is the 1st floor in the UK). For reference, if you look at the photo above of The Inn, you can see the outdoor seating area for The Green Cabin Room jutting out – our room was the second one to the right of that. The balcony was huge, with a table and a couple of chairs. I don’t actually have any photos of the balcony, but you can see one of the chairs below with a very cool turtle design.

We sat out on the balcony quite a lot during our stay, as I had purposely booked an ocean view room, and of course, wanted to make use of that. I’ve always dreamed to have a view like that when staying in a hotel, and finally that dream came true! I love the sea, and being able to see the water, hear the waves, watch the sunrise, and just get lost in that, was amazing. We were both very sad when our few days at this resort came to an end, and will definitely return on future vacations to Florida.








The room itself was a very good size with two double beds. They were so comfortable – certainly one of the best we’ve slept in at all the Disney Resorts we’ve stayed at. I liked that the bedding was white, and very simple; the striped accent pillow added a nautical/beachy theme without being too much. The furniture was predominantly white which goes well with the overall style of the room. One thing that does annoy me about (some) Disney Resort rooms is the lack of a bedside cabinet! There is always one in the middle between the two beds, but never one on the other side! I always end up using either a chair or the small table from the balcony.

There was several piece of framed art/photography on the walls which was really nice. The photo of the sea turtle was gorgeous, and such a fitting piece, as loggerhead sea turtles use the beach as their nesting grounds.










The large television was mounted on the wall, and there was a DVD player too – you can rent DVDs from the resort shop. Beach/pool towels were provided – they are the striped towels on the ottoman; as well as bathroom towels. When you are a DVC member, you do not get Mousekeeping every day like in a regular Disney hotel stay. You get towels and trash on your 3rd or 4th day, and a full room service on the 7th day if you are staying for longer than 8 days.

The sink vanity was separate from the bath/shower and toilet, which is quite standard at a lot of the resorts we have stayed at. It makes getting ready a bit easier if the room is full capacity – four in a studio room. We had the usual complimentary H2O toiletries – I love the soap! There was also a hair dryer, so you can leave yours at home. (I never dry my hair on holiday though!)





Inside the closet are a few hangers (we always bring cheap plastic extra ones with us, as there is never enough) a fire extinguisher, a safe, travel cot, iron and ironing board.

The kitchenette area has a small fridge (not always with a freezer compartment, as we later learned at other resorts), toaster, microwave, and a coffee maker. There were some glasses and an ice bucket, and I think there were mugs too – no pictures of them, but Steve and I think we must have drunk coffee while we were there! There are paper plates, bowls and cups, and plastic cutlery provided. I can’t remember if there were any other kitchen utensils though like a corkscrew, or can opener, so bring your own just in case! There was a tea towel, small bottle of washing up liquid and a washing up sponge provided.




And finally, there was a little welcome pack with a map of the resort, as well as a map of the surrounding area. There were leaflets with useful information like tide times, local movie theatre times, phone numbers for doctors, pharmacies, shops etc. The private airport one made me chuckle – wouldn’t mind my own place to fly in myself! And there was also a colourful pamphlet with days and times of recreational activities around the resort – things like: pool games, star gazing, character meet & greets, campfire, crafts, and more. Looking back, we didn’t do much at all! I think if we had younger children, then yes we would have took part in more things – as adults we were happy in the pool and on the beach!




I’ve included the resort map below. The other accommodation types – 1 and 2 Bedroom Villas, are located in the Villa Buildings (with some additional Deluxe Studios I believe) The Cottages on the front are standalone 3 Bedroom Villas. Views in the various rooms are either of the ocean, pool, landscaping, or hotel. I know which we prefer!

Looking at the map I can see that we didn’t even venture into the Community Hall which is near the pool – I think it may have even been shut to be honest, as there was a lot of renovations going on, and we certainly didn’t cross the road (via an underpass by the looks of it) to see the amenities over there either. Like I said, we can’t wait to go back again in the future, and do some of the things we didn’t do, or weren’t able to do this time around!


I mentioned that there is a resort store – Island Grove Packing Co. You can get a few provisions in there – drinks, snacks, and some groceries, but if you’re staying for a few days you might want to consider driving onto the mainland and heading to a large supermarket – where food will be a lot cheaper! We went to a Publix which was literally over the bridge and down the road a bit – about 5 miles north. We prefer Publix to Walmart, but if you like shopping in the latter, there is one about 20 miles south.

They also sell Disney merchandise (of course!) including Vero Beach merch – pins, magnets, apparel etc. I bought several pins here, and made sure I got my fridge magnet too! There is clothing, beach gear, magazines, books, toys – a general store if you will – as it says on the sign!


The Inn is essentially the main hub of the resort. It’s where you check-in, where you’ll find the elevators, and the stairs (up to the 2nd floor). You’ll find Island Grove Packing Co., The Green Cabin Room (on the 2nd floor), and the restaurant entrance here. When we went it was called Shutters, but since then there has been a refurbishment (some of which was going on whilst we were there).

We saw kid’s activities going on in the lobby area, and character meet and greets. Just round the corner is the kid’s area, where Disney cartoons are played on the television. You’ll find the entrance to The Spa, which I really meant to try out, but didn’t – something for next time.

The decor is lovely, feels a bit like Disney’s Old Key West Resort, which we visited in 2014. A Cast Member saw me taking photographs, and asked if we would like one of the two of us, which was nice of him!





























There is a decked porch in the front and back of the building, with rocking chairs, tables, and other seating. The pool is a short walk away from The Inn – to the right from the back entrance. You’ll see more pool photographs tomorrow, as we spent the whole day there on day four. Just next to the pool is a miniature golf course, which was pirate themed – I don’t seem to have any photos of that. We may have lost them, as we had some memory cards that failed on us during this trip.

If you walk to the left when you exit the building you’ll eventually come to the campfire area. We did plan to head down here one evening, but again, we didn’t get around to it. Those post holiday regrets all these months later are real! We also spied a few hammocks strung up, which was pretty cool. Steve tried one out. I didn’t – I wasn’t sure if there was a weight limit on them, and really didn’t want to potentially break one!













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Old 8 Mar 17, 03:25 PM  
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Mrs Pumpkin
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You can’t see the ocean when you walk around the resort, thanks to lots of lush trees, bushes, and other plants. You can only see it when you’re down on the beach, on the back porch, have an ocean view room, or sit out on the balcony at The Green Cabin Room. So a little heads up there. Oh how I wish my back could have held up for long walks along that beach, but it just couldn’t. I know that you could rent a beach suitable wheelchair from the resort, but I didn’t want my poor husband to have to push me around, it wasn’t fair to inflict that on him. There will be other holidays that I know I’ll be able to do that – just not this one.

I’m going to finish up today with mainly photographs, because there isn’t much more to say now. Hopefully they will be self explanatory!








I love the signpost above showing the distance to the other DVC Resorts!

I also love the tropical plants and trees of Florida, so it was lovely to be surrounded by all of that lush greenery during our wander around the resort.














To get down to the beach, there is a walkway which is just opposite the pool. There is a rental hut here where you hire things like beach umbrellas, and water sports equipment. I’ll go into that on the part of the trip report that we spend the day on the beach!






















So that’s it for our Disney’s Vero Beach Resort Tour, from our point of view on this visit. I hope it’s given you a little bit of a feel for this resort.

Oh, and one more thing, this day is called Room With A View for one reason alone. This…





Read about the day after:
Day 4: Just Keep Swimming »
Pool Day / Lunch from Bleachers "On The Go"

Read about the day before:
Day 2: Ocean Drive »
Check In – Disney’s Vero Beach Resort / Dinner at The Green Cabin

Read ALL the days!
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Edited at 06:36 PM.
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Old 8 Mar 17, 04:39 PM  
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ribena
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Looks beautiful if you don't mind me asking how much is it a night?
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Old 8 Mar 17, 04:50 PM  
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Mrs Pumpkin
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Originally Posted by ribena View Post
Looks beautiful if you don't mind me asking how much is it a night?
We are DVC Members so "paid" with points, so I don't know the cash price of the rooms :/ If you search for Disney Vero Beach Resort the website comes up with room rates x
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Old 8 Mar 17, 05:55 PM  
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Sparksy72
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Wow! The whole resort is just beautiful, as are your photos! 😊
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Old 8 Mar 17, 06:38 PM  
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Mrs Pumpkin
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Originally Posted by Sparksy72 View Post
Wow! The whole resort is just beautiful, as are your photos! 😊
It really is lovely! I'm so glad we made the decision to stay here for a few days. I wasn't so sure we'd like it - but being able to do nothing much was a dream!
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Old 8 Mar 17, 09:20 PM  
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We are looking at Vero Beach for 2019. Your report has been really helpful. It looks fantastic.
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Old 8 Mar 17, 10:44 PM  
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Wow what a beautiful resort! The photos are lovely. I especially liked the rocking chairs, and fire pit area. The trees are lovely too. No wonder you just wanted to chillax and enjoy this place!
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Old 9 Mar 17, 12:03 PM  
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Mrs Pumpkin
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Originally Posted by mousefan View Post
We are looking at Vero Beach for 2019. Your report has been really helpful. It looks fantastic.
It comes highly recommended from us! We really enjoyed our time there and can't wait to go back again.

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo View Post
Wow what a beautiful resort! The photos are lovely. I especially liked the rocking chairs, and fire pit area. The trees are lovely too. No wonder you just wanted to chillax and enjoy this place!
It's just lovely isn't it? We missed the fire pit on this trip, mainly out of too much chillaxing, but also I was paranoid about getting bitten by bugs (too much Zika scaremongering at the time!) x
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Old 9 Mar 17, 04:03 PM  
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I laughed that you thought today was a wasted day, days at the beach are for wasting!

I'm with you on the lack of bedside cabinets at Disney, I always end up on the side without one! I love the room decor, so fresh and bright.

Thanks for sharing these photos, I like that the resort is reminiscent of Wilderness Lodge, which is my favourite!
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