My family’s staycation in Westgate Town Center Resort in Central Florida was the perfect local escape for us!
Thank you to Westgate Tower Center Resort and Vacation Villas for hosting my family and doggies for a great staycation.
As we all know 2020, has been a doozy of a year for us all. We took on e-learning for our kids, my husband is now fully working from home, mask wearing is the new must have accessory. Plus, we have had to basically avoid all our friends and family and have had to cancel all our plans for the year.
When the opportunity to visit Westgate’s Kissimmee Hotels came up, I jumped at it because I wanted to get out of my house and to give the kids a chance of some normalcy.
The kids were thrilled about our staycation at Westgate Town Center Resort so they packed days in advance so they were ready for a our visit.
We arrived just before check in (4pm) so we drove throughout the resort to get a lay of the land- so much to see and do!
We stayed in 2 connected rooms in the 6200 building. Each room had a bedroom, seating area, and kitchen. The One Bedroom Grand Villa had a balcony as well. We loved sitting out there throughout the day.
The kids were so thrilled to have their very own room- the One Bedroom Villa. It made them feel really special to have a space for themselves, which def isn’t the norm!
Our dogs, Kemper and Brinkley, joined us on our staycation too! They ran around like crazy and smelled every square inch of the rooms.
Westgate Vacation Villas Resort welcomes service dogs and is pet friendly (with a fee). They have a dog park on the property too!
Dinner at Drafts
Before we knew it, it was time for dinner! We thought about doing room service since it was raining but deciding that Drafts Sports Bar and Grill sounded great on the property.
Price and I thought that the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich and the Whale and Chips both sounded great so decided to split them. Great idea because both were fantastic.
The fish and chips was understandably called the Whale and Chips because the haddock was so big!! It was a 3/4 pound of beer battered fish! The coating was had the perfect amount of crunch with the fish inside being super light and flaky.
And the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich had a great crunch and was super spicy. Loved the heat! The coleslaw was a great textural addition and helped cool off the spice as well.
The kids enjoyed their meals as well. Can’t go wrong with cheeseburgers and hot dogs with veggies and mashed potatoes.
Our original plan was to enjoy some ice cream sundaes at the Hershey’s Ice Cream Shop next to Drafts but we were so stuffed from our dinner. Instead we headed back to the rooms where we relaxed with the dogs.
The kids were really just living their best lives!
While the kids enjoyed some extra TV time and joyful jumps on their bed, Kemper and I enjoyed watching the rain dissipate to form a lovely rainbow.
It was the perfect kind of relaxing evening.
Before the kids went to bed, we took the dogs on a walk. We enjoyed the grounds and the chance to watch the sun set on a wonderful day.
We Love Donuts!
The kids and I snuck out for donuts so that Price could sleep in. What’s vacation without sleeping in!?!
The 30 minute drive each way to DG Doughnuts was worth every second of them asking if were there yet. Small batch doughnuts- yes please!
We picked out an assortment of donuts to split so we could try a variety of flavors. This was a great treat!
I just love Hunter’s enthusiasm for them as he dove right in. ha!
And, I had to get the largest apple fritter I ever saw. We all enjoyed it over our 2 day stay. I would def go back to DG Doughnuts just for this. Yum!
Dog Park Fun
We love taking our dogs with us to beaches, on hikes, and camping but this was the first time they came with us to a hotel.
They did well with the change in locale. I swear they were thrilled to be out of the house, just like us.
We headed over to the dog park after breakfast. We drove over but could have easily enjoyed the walk over there.
They stretched their legs as they ran from side to side to take it all in. The best part was that the dog park had plenty of shade so they could lay out and relax in between their burst of excitement.
Brinkley loved every bit of the adventure to the dog park. She had the goofiest grin on her face!
Their trip to the dog park was a great way to tire them out while we then did some fun things on our own.
Mini Golf
Before going, I downloaded the Westgate app to check out the schedule of activities on the property. There were so many things to do!
Our focus was staying on property but there are so many great things to do in and around Orlando.
We recently took the kids to a mini golf and they had a blast so I knew that as a must to do.
Like last time, Hunter won because he hit the ball that most and Autumn got 2 holes in 1. I’m questioning all of my athletic abilities at this point. ha!
Time for Some Tie Dye
After our round of mini golf, we headed right next door to the activity center so we could do some tie dye.
Did you really survive the pandemic of 2020 if you didn’t so some tie dye?
We each ended up making a tie dye shirt. I probably hadn’t done it in 20 years so it was a lot of fun!
Shipwreck Island Water Park
After tie dye, we got ready to visit the water park! That was the thing they were looking forward to the most about our visit to Westgate.
One of the coolest things about the resort is the Shipwreck Island Water Park. It’s a 2 level water park that has splash park, lazy river, and so many slides. Some of the slides even take you from 1 level to the other!
The waterpark is an add on to your stay, be sure to check the latest rates and deals when booking.
We started our visit to Shipwreck Island Water Park on the upper level where Black Beard’s Pirate Ship is located. Autumn and I took a spin around the lazy rive while Hunter an Price played through the pirate ship. Hunter loved water guns.
After playing around on the upper level for a while we grabbed our lunch at the Jolly Roger’s Galley.
If you like frozen drinks, then I suggest you dry the mud slide. It was refreshing in the hot summer sun and so boozy, and indulgent!
Since we we’ere staying for a long stay we just ordered individual drinks, but I highly suggest looking into the refillable cup. It’s a great deal. (of course my husband id the math on it!)
After lunch, we enjoyed playing around in the big pool on the lower level. There was plenty of room for us to safely play in the pool while keeping a safe social distance from others. As well, they had spread out tables and chairs along the pool deck.
Autumn enjoyed some of the bigger slides that had her swirling from the upper level down to the lower level. She also enjoyed the little slides with Hunter so they could ride down next to each other.
Oh man, I love getting to experience moments like this with my family. Give me travel over stuff any day!
While it was unfortunate the clouds rolled in and our visit to the water park was cut short, the afternoon was still a really enjoyable with naps and some TV watching.
Villa Italiano Chophouse
Villa Italiano Chophouse is the newest restaurant to open up on the Westgate Town Center Resort. It’s an Italian Chophouse that specializes in dishes that will transport you right to Italy. You just don’t need pack your passport to enjoy Italian favorites made with fresh ingredients and house-made recipes. Benvenuto!
Their menu includes dishes like flash-fried calamari, mozzarella fritti, linguine in clam sauce, fettuccine Alfredo, Bone-in rib-eye, and pan seared salmon. Their pizzas also sounded fantastic too!
Cheers! Dinner started with a fun, refreshing Toro Italiano. It was the perfect light drink to welcome the meal with.
Our meal started with the burrata. Oh my gosh the burrate was incredible on the toasted crostini.
They are also having a promotion that if you reserve your dining through Open table, you enjoy an antipasto plate that has a variety if meats, vegetables, and cheeses to enjoy.
I love that my daughter loves carbs as much as I do. ha! She totally devoured lots of fresh bread.
The kids each enjoyed an order of spaghetti with a giant meatball on top.
The homemade pasta was incredible! Hunter gobbled up his meatball as he also worked on twirling his pasta on his work. He mainly just became messy but loved the experience of it all.
The Short Rib Tortellini Giganti had my name all over it! I love tortellini so I was thrilled to try this homemade version that was filled with tender beef short rib meat. It was topped with a hearty Bolognese sauce and topped with shredded Parmesan cheese.
I am so glad I picked this because I loved every single bite of it. I was even thrilled to take home my leftovers to enjoy the next day.
A plate of steak, whipped mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables puts a smile on my husbands face. He said it was cooked to perfection and was a healthy portion after a day of chasing kids around a pool in the hot Florida sun.
The kids enjoyed gelato and we enjoyed after dinner drinks to round out our meal.
Covid Safety
As you can see from these picrtures of running around after dinner, the grounds were nice and quiet in the morning and and evenings. It felt so safe being here.
Westgate made the health and safety of their guests their top priority. They actively enforced CDC guidelines for mask wearing and social distancing with markers throughout th property wherever there would be a queue.
AS well, they made modifications to exciting activities, like their ice cream social, and created new activities like family team scavenger hunts. They even added some virtual cooking classes!
Before dinner I went out and grabbed some bubble bath for the kids so they could enjoy a HUGE bubble bath. They had a wonderful time splashing around in bubbles as they would down for the day.
Our last morning at Westgate Town Center Resort
Our last morning of our staycation was nice and leisurely. We enjoyed coffee, news, and taking our time to get ready- much different than our normal day to stay routine. The staycation was exactly what we needed!
The perfect way to start the day is to start with some donuts and cartoons!
We made one last trip to the dog park before we left. Kemper and Brinkley had such a wonderful time there the previous day so we wanted them to enjoy it one more time before we hit the road.
We had a great time at Westgate Town Center Resort and Vacation Villas during out staycation. I can’t wait to come back for a longer period of time so we can spend more time enjoying the various activities, amenities, and dining on site.
If you’re interested in visiting Westgate Town Center Resort and Vacation Villas you can snag a great deal on a vacation package that includes passes to the fun water park. The resort has a bunch of really cool event venues located right on property, so if you’re looking for that big family reunion Instagram shot or sunset wedding snap, you can have it all at Westgate.
While our stay and our dinner at Villa Italiano was complimentary, my review wand recap is honest and factual. Also note, we paid for our other meals and drinks, as well at all gratuity.
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