Grand Lake Resort
Spacious lakeside apartments a short drive from Disney
About this hotel
Grand Lake Resort trades a hotel room for a full apartment, and that is really the point: fully equipped kitchens, cable TV with a DVD player, and all linens and towels supplied mean a family can cook, do laundry and settle in properly rather than living out of suitcases for a week near the parks. Each unit opens onto a private balcony or patio, with views over the lake or the pool depending on the building, and the resort sits directly on Lake Wilson with paddle boats for guests who want an afternoon away from theme-park queues entirely. An outdoor pool, tennis court and children's playground round out the on-site options, and the barbecue area gets real use among the many repeat guests who come back to this particular resort year after year rather than trying somewhere new. It is a ten-minute drive from Walt Disney World and roughly eighteen kilometres from SeaWorld Orlando, close enough for early starts without sitting inside the theme-park bubble every night.
- Full kitchens
- Lake Wilson access
- Tennis court
- Barbecue area
Our take
Grand Lake Resort is the lakeside option I would suggest to families or groups who want real living space, with spacious apartments, fully equipped kitchens and private balconies or patios. Lake Wilson brings paddle boats and a barbecue area, and there is an outdoor pool, a tennis court and a playground. Walt Disney World is about a ten-minute drive, so families wanting to walk to a park gate should look elsewhere.
- ✓Bring or buy groceries on arrival day and use the fully equipped kitchen for at least a few dinners, since it is the main reason to choose an apartment over a hotel room here.
- ✓Ask for a lake-view unit if paddle boats and a quiet evening outside matter more to you than a pool view directly over the water.
- ✓Pack swimwear for both the resort pool and Lake Wilson itself, since paddle boating is one of the few genuinely non-park activities on site.
Why we love it
- Real apartments with full kitchens
- Private balcony or patio in every unit
- Paddle boats on Lake Wilson
- Tennis court and playground on site
Why guests love itGrand Lake Resort is a three-star resort on Lake Wilson, about a ten-minute drive from Walt Disney World. For families, the apartments with full kitchens make home-cooked dinners easy between park days, and balconies or patios add outdoor space. The playground suits younger children, while the tennis court and paddle boats on the lake give older ones something else to do. The barbecue area and outdoor pool fill evenings away from Blizzard Beach.