There is nothing quite like the excitement when getting ready for an Orlando holiday with your family! From deciding how many pairs of shorts you’ll really need when packing (which always ends up being the before for me!) to squeezing all your extremely essential mini toiletries into a plastic bag when you’re standing in line for security! Though, it all seems to be worth it when you step off the plane and into the warming air of Orlando, Florida!
For so many years it was at this point we would catch the Magical Express to Walt Disney World or our shared transfer to our hotel…carrying our bags onto the bus under the summer sun while the bus driver not so subtly hurried us along or so kindly offered to help with the buggies and purchases! However, this year was a little different! We made our way over to the car-hire reception desk and plugged the address of our very own Orlando Villa into the Sat Nav!
Staying in a Disney hotel, or any other hotel in Orlando, certainly has its perks but we never truly felt 100% relaxed or like we could just spend the day in the room if we wanted a break from our long days at the theme parks. We also often felt like we were cheating on Disney when we would go to Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure if we were staying on the Walt Disney World Resort complex… but of course we still went anyway!
This year was different though! We decided to
As we approached the Emerald Island Resort Villas, we first noticed the presence of a security guard and barrier to prohibit entry – this was extremely reassuring! Travelling with your small children can be daunting and knowing that there would be a 24/7 security guard monitoring the entrance to our Villa Resort was just what we needed to feel safe and secure on our Orlando villa holiday! Driving on and up to the Villa was amazing – the large 7-bedroom house stood at the end of the street and looked extremely inviting!
Once we’d brought our suitcases inside it was time to explore; firstly, we looked around the ground floor – the kitchen was fully equipped with a dining room table large enough for us all! The living room was very inviting, and the owners kindly left us a folder with all the instructions including how to work the TV! The garage/ games area was a favourite of the kids, and with a pool table, air hockey table and pin-ball machine we knew we would get hours of enjoyment in there! We checked out the bedrooms and they were perfectly themed - the twin children room’s was covered in Disney’s Toy Story artwork (Buzz and Woody for the boys and Bo Peep and Jessy for the girls), with the adult double rooms being light, open and inviting… and after years of sharing a hotel room it was amazing to sleep on an extremely comfortable mattress and enjoy separate rooms for the adults and kids!
Lastly, we wandered outside to our very own pool and jacuzzi! It was much larger than it looked in the pictures and the kids dived straight in! The outside pool area was covered with a screen for bug protection and there were plenty of sun loungers and outside dining table to enjoy the sun and begin working on our plans with cocktails while the kids splashed about in the pool!
It was the first morning when we woke up in our Orlando Villa that we realised the freedom staying in a villa gave our holiday. We now had our very own car as we could park for free on our drive and we were equidistant from Universal Studios and Walt Disney World - meaning we could visit each theme park equally and guilt free! Our first morning we opted to drive to Universal Studios which was a fantastic experience – the kids loved playing the number plate game as we drove along the highways and parked in the multistorey at Universal … this is where you see how many number plates from other states (not Florida) you can spot – it makes for endless entertainment as you drive along trust me!
Though, getting home from our busy day at Universal Studios was actually one of the best parts. I know that sounds mad, but for the first time in our Orlando holiday history we got to cook our own meal in our Villa kitchen and eat together on our outside table by the pool! After dinner we played a few rounds of pool before diving into THE pool and relaxing long into the night! This was a great way to kick off our Orlando holiday and would not have been possible if we didn’t have the freedom and comfort of our own Orlando Villa.
A few days into our Orlando holiday we decided to take a “rest day” from the theme parks – something that was a big “no no” before as we didn’t want to sit in our rooms all day while the sun was shining and there was so much to do and see in Orlando. But being in our own Villa made us feel so at home that we didn’t even see it as a “rest day”, rather we simply decided to enjoy our amazing pool, have a BBQ and an impromptu air hockey tournament! It was also great for the kids to be able to spend some down time with their grandparents on the trip as in the hotels they would usually be in their own room meaning they missed out on a lot of the “after park hours” action!
Emerald Island Resort also had it very own club house with a communal pool that we visited often throughout our stay as it was a great opportunity for the kids to play with other children staying on the resort! The clubhouse even had its own tennis courts and basketball courts that the children were able to play on with their newfound friends! There was also a great fitness suite that I would love to tell you I used… but in reality, I spent much more time at the fabulous Tiki Bar enjoying a cold drink in the Florida sunshine!
Booking an Orlando Villa holiday with Charter Travel was extremely easy and they do all the hard work for you, making your Orlando Villa holiday effortless and easy! We would not hesitate to book another Orlando Villa holiday and can’t wait to return in 2022 and make more amazing Orlando memories!