Orange Lake Information Thread

Ummmm what do you mean, lift up the seat before you use the toilet to check for snakes?? Have there been snakes found on the toilets in Orange Lake???
 
Its a FL thing. Snakes can come up through the sewer system. It happens in FL. Not often now, but it was all the time when I was growing up.
 
So now I'm going to be freaked out by snakes!! I have never heard of that!!! YIKES!!!!
 
I am not sure how prevalent it is now, but it was growing up. Believe it or not, you will probably walk by 4-5 snakes walking to a pool somewhere and not even know you were with 10 feet of them. Plus, snakes can come from almost anywhere...

Just the other day in FL, an iguana came up into a woman's toilet, so it is possible still I guess.

 
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I have not been able to get a definitive answer on this. I have tried calling OLR but they are kind of not interested in talking to me about it since I am not the owner. For HICV owners with Premier or higher level ownership, they get Early check-in/late check-out up to 3 hours possible. My questions for an owner are...

Does this benefit pass on to the HICV owner's guests?

Does Orange Lake participate in this?
 
Only higher levels get this, and it all depends on how busy the resort is if you will be granted the late check out. If it really busy, you can bet it won't happen. It does pass on to guests, but you have to phone and ask the day before if you can have late checkout.
 
Only higher levels get this, and it all depends on how busy the resort is if you will be granted the late check out. If it really busy, you can bet it won't happen. It does pass on to guests, but you have to phone and ask the day before if you can have late checkout.
Good to know. I am more concerned with the Early Check-in than the late check-out. I am fine if the villa is not ready. I would like to check-in early, before the rush as a guest at the VIP check-in, and just be able to relax the rest of the afternoon until the villa is ready. This way I can hopefully change where we are assigned if possible or pick a villa out if there is inventory availabile, and not stuck waiting until 4PM when the masses show up. Our plan is to be at DHS in the morning until about 1PM and then see if we can check-in and enjoy the resort the rest of the day and night.
 


Good to know. I am more concerned with the Early Check-in than the late check-out. I am fine if the villa is not ready. I would like to check-in early, before the rush as a guest at the VIP check-in, and just be able to relax the rest of the afternoon until the villa is ready. This way I can hopefully change where we are assigned if possible or pick a villa out if there is inventory availabile, and not stuck waiting until 4PM when the masses show up. Our plan is to be at DHS in the morning until about 1PM and then see if we can check-in and enjoy the resort the rest of the day and night.

I like to do this too!!! I truly believe the earlier the better. Since we fly in the night before we check into our resort, it makes it easy to get to the resort by 10am on check-in morning. It also allows us a better chance to have our requests honored and I am fortunate to say mine have always been honored. Now that many owners have switched from weeks to points, there are more units in inventory since they are no longer reserved and/or pre-assigned to 'weeks' owners. They say the computer automatically assigns rooms at noon for new guests arriving. So I try to be there well before the computer even assigns a room to us.
 
Orange Lake is different. I believe you cannot even check-in before 4PM unless you are a guest of a higher level member. They need to send you through the sales weasels' gauntlet. Unless you rent from a Premier or higher owner. My experience at timeshare places (excluding WBC), VIP status have a separate check-in, goes much more smoothly, allows you to pick from inventory where you want, and no need to go to the sales weasels' gauntlet.
 
Orange Lake is different. I believe you cannot even check-in before 4PM unless you are a guest of a higher level member. They need to send you through the sales weasels' gauntlet. Unless you rent from a Premier or higher owner. My experience at timeshare places (excluding WBC), VIP status have a separate check-in, goes much more smoothly, allows you to pick from inventory where you want, and no need to go to the sales weasels' gauntlet.
Actually if you are renting from an Elite owner they can request the area you want your room. I always put requests in for my quests. Are they guaranteed, no. But more likely. Also early check in. You can get to the resort and do advanced check in. They will give your packet without your room number. And will call at 4 or later when your room is ready. Not often will u be in your room before 4. You will still be asked too tour even in vip.
 
Thank @greenclan67. I will know first hand in a few weeks and will be able to update as I learn myself. WBC in my opinion is the anomaly where you can completely bypass the sales pitch. Other timeshares I have been to I have had to go to the "parking pass" spiel, but when I was a guest of a higher level member, I had separate check-in that bypasses the "parking pass" So, it is hit or miss.

I plan to put a name badge on that says "Premier Member of TUG" Most timeshare places know it and know they aren't getting anywhere with me. Believe it or not, it works. It ended my Wyndham "survey" in 30 minutes. The sales guy avoided talking to us, especially when I had answers to all of his questions to suck people in.
 
Orange Lake is different. I believe you cannot even check-in before 4PM unless you are a guest of a higher level member. They need to send you through the sales weasels' gauntlet. Unless you rent from a Premier or higher owner. My experience at timeshare places (excluding WBC), VIP status have a separate check-in, goes much more smoothly, allows you to pick from inventory where you want, and no need to go to the sales weasels' gauntlet.

I have never been turned away from check-in no matter how early I arrive. So Orange Lake will be the first one if I ever get to stay there. However, no matter what, I have never been able to avoid the sales counter and/or the sales pitch.

Actually if you are renting from an Elite owner they can request the area you want your room. I always put requests in for my quests. Are they guaranteed, no. But more likely. Also early check in. You can get to the resort and do advanced check in. They will give your packet without your room number. And will call at 4 or later when your room is ready. Not often will u be in your room before 4. You will still be asked too tour even in vip.

Thanks grenclan67...I think I needed to clarify what I mean by check-in and you cleared it up for me. Yes, I check-in at the desk by 10am but I am not assigned a room and I do not get my room keys. Sometimes I do get my request honored, my room keys and welcome packet by 2pm and I am a happy camper. But never before noon.
 
Several I have been to have stated that you cannot even go to the check-in desk. They simply turn you away. It's because the salespeople are not there yet to beat you up. They were Wyndham resorts. If they require you to go through the gauntlet and the salespeople aren't there, they most likely don't even let you check-in. Its part of the pain of going to a timeshare resort.
 
Several I have been to have stated that you cannot even go to the check-in desk. They simply turn you away. It's because the salespeople are not there yet to beat you up. They were Wyndham resorts. If they require you to go through the gauntlet and the salespeople aren't there, they most likely don't even let you check-in. Its part of the pain of going to a timeshare resort.

Actually I did the same thing at WBC. At 10am the sales people are already there. Some of them are upstairs having owner update meetings, and breakfast tours. They start as early as 7 or 8am!! I love the idea of renting from owners because the guests can stay without a sales pitch or presentation. The front desk just acknowledges my arrival. Then based on room inventory, they see if they can honor my requests by noon, or if I will have to wait for some guests to check-out. But they will try to find a few options inline with my requests. They do not give me a parking pass or a welcome packet or room keys until after I have been assigned to a room. Often I have received my keys, parking pass and welcome packet by 2pm. I think once I had to wait until a little after 4pm because the room they assigned to me, had an issue and they couldn't release it. That was at Westgate Resort. Other than that, I generally have all my stuff well before 4pm. I try not to make plans off the resort grounds on check-in day. We usually use check-in day to hang out by the pools and enjoy the resort. I also use this time to do an all out Walmart and Target run for food and supplies to last for the week. I am really looking forward to Orange Lake with the Publix and Super Target being right there, I can skip Walmart completely!!
 
I can skip Walmart completely

This makes a vacation! hahaha. I love the location too for stocking the kitchen.

I am just starting to look at quotes. Can anyone give me price range for a 3 bedroom. So far the numbers I am seeing are $200 a night or slightly more for renting through an owner.
 
All I can offer on pricing is that the person I went through charges $7/1,000 points. You can dig up points charts and go from there. Price will definitely depend on the season as well.

As for WalMart, I personally do not have much issue hitting the one on Vineland. Yes, it can be hectic. However, the prices and vacation stuff they have are great. If I bought a blow up beach ball here, it is about $4-$5. At WalMart down there, it is about $1.
 
So I am looking at a resort map of Orange Lake. I really want to stay in the Tennis Villas in West Village. I am sure River Island is nice but it looks like West Village has the most going on. It appears there are no balconies that overlook a pool in West Village at all. So are ALL the views of golf courses in West Village??? Just curious.
 
Looking at the Google satellite view, it looks as if there are rooms on both sides of those buildings. You get a golf course view or a parking lot view. A huge portion of those single story units definitely appear to have golf views (not all, but most look like it).
 
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You can get a nice view in one building top floor of the sunsets over raccoon lake. But most owners request those that can put in a request. So a little tougher to get. There is no pool view in tennis villas because the check in building is in between the pool and tennis villas.
 
What are the buildings on Southern Magnolia Court. Looks like a pool there too. Are they high rise buildings too??? I am trying to get all of the Orange Lake info I can to help make a good decision. :laughing:
 

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