Florida: Lake Buena Vista, Regal Sun Resort - A Family Friendly Place. It’s all about location and this resort has a great spot for a family vacation. So what, you may be thinking? First off, it is just a short walk to Downtown Disney and the Resort provides complimentary access to all of Disney's realm. As an extra bonus, book a vacation package and get a Florida-style Piccadilly Picnic.

Description: TheRegal Sun Resort is an official hotel of the WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort Area. The property is within a short walking distance of DOWNTOWN DISNEY® Marketplace, Pleasure Island, and West Side shopping and dining.

The hotel itself has a variety of oversized rooms that remain well suited to family stays. The tower rooms and suites provide views of the Downtown Disney area and surrounding tropical landscape. Some of the suites contain full kitchens with all of the needed appliances. Tower rooms have a traditional interior hotel hallway entrance. Each room has a 25" color television, high-speed TV Internet access, in-room TV video games, pay per view movies, radio-alarm clock, hair dryer, iron and ironing board, refrigerator, data ports, in-room safe and daily newspaper. Complimentary coffee and teas is provided daily for each guest room and express checkout is available.

And as an added benefit many combinations result in connecting rooms so everyone has their own space while remaining safe. There are a couple of Kids Suites with bunk beds for wee tykes. Family rooms include Nintendo games, 2 Free movie rentals, microwave popcorn and candy.

The Courtyard Rooms provide a landscaped atmosphere with easy access to the custom windmill shaped swimming pool, tennis courts and tropical landscape. If convenient access to your car is needed, request the Ground Floor Wing.

Activities: For the younger guests the resort offers Disney character breakfasts on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. For the older set The Baskervilles Restaurant (407-827-6534) with authentic 19th century decor, including a Sherlock Holmes museum, hosts a MurderWatch® Mystery Theatre evening. The interactive theater troupe performs whodunit shows with crimes, clues, detectives, and unexpected twists. The evening is great for families. No two mystery dinners are the same.

Value Added: Guest benefits include continuous, shuttle service to the MAGIC KINGDOM® Theme Park, DISNEY-MGM Studios, EPCOT®, and ANIMAL KINGDOM® Theme Park, Preferred tee times at five Disney championship golf courses. Priority seating arrangements at Epcot® and Disney-MGM Studios. Merchandise purchased at Disney shops and boutiques are delivered right to your room. The Grosvenor Resort “Tower Room Best Rate Guarantee” assures individuals that the best rate will always be available on the Tower Rooms when booked through the Grosvenor Resort website.

Discovery: In the lobby there is a snack shop so families on the run in the morning still have an opportunity to grab a snack for the road. Every Friday night the resort hosts an All-You-Can-Eat Seafood Feast with live jazz.

Package Deals: The resort has created a number of vacation packages designed to save families money and make vacationing in Orlando a breeze. At their website just select the number of days and vacation activity requirements. A typical family vacation package includes an intercontinental breakfast buffet each morning, including Disney Character Breakfast Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. It’s always a good idea to plan ahead – and now Regal Sun Resort offers you a reward for booking early! Just book their Advanced Purchase Package at least 14 days prior to your trip and they’ll treat you to a 30% discount off their best available rate.

 

Location: Regal Sun Resort 1850 Hotel Plaza Blvd. Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830. Toll-free 1-800-624-4109, (407) 828-4444 or www.regalsunresort.com

In the Area: The location is ideal for families that enjoy nightlife. In fact for anyone that has been to Orlando with teens (or young adult children), the benefit will be obvious and for the rest of you, let me drop a few names. The easy access list includes House of Blues, Cirque du Soleil, Virgin Records, and oodles of carefree, shopping opportunities.