Trip Report Devoting Full Time to Floating: A July 2013 Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort Trip Report!

Hellooooooo humans!

That's me (Shannon, 29) and my husband Will (28). Last week we returned home from a much-needed vacation that included three destinations, five racing presidents, one try at paddle boarding (verdict: LOVE), two cupcakes, one favorite new movie, at least ten (!) bug bites (on only one of us...guess who the lucky one was? ) and one beyooooootiful golden retriever.

The main feature of this trip, though, was relaxation. Our last vacation was traveling to Disney for Marathon Weekend in January, but let's be honest: as much as I love them, those race weekends are hardly vacations. They are WORK. And speaking of work, my job has been pretty demanding lately. It's good because I like being busy and challenging myself, but before this trip I'd been coming off of one of those periods where things are just a little TOO busy and a little TOO challenging. Know what I mean?

Will had his own stress to deal with early in the summer. He's a teacher, meaning that he's on glorious summer vacation right now. However, this summer was also his first semester of graduate school. We're talking a semester's worth of two upper-level math classes crammed into one 5-week session. So in addition to the classes themselves he had hours of homework/projects/papers each evening. To say he needed a break - and a reward - after surviving that is an understatement.

We started talking about this trip in April, and initially Hilton Head wasn't a part of it. Will's two aunts had been asking us to visit for years (seriously, YEARS...I'm embarrassed it took us so long ) so we finally decided to make that happen. After roughly mapping the days out we ended up adding on the Hilton Head portion at the end since we'd already be in SC visiting aunt #2 anyway. I'd read a report on Disney's DVC resort in Hilton Head on another board just a few weeks prior, so that's where we ended up.

Here's how the schedule shook out:

July 22: Drop the monster-pup off at doggy camp

(obligatory monster photo that has nothing to do with anything I just like him.)

July 22-24: Visit aunt #1 in the DC area
July 24-26: Visit aunt #2 in South Carolina (Columbia-ish area)
July 26-30: Head to Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort!

My favorite part of this itinerary was how little planning I needed to do. I mean, we worked stuff out with flights (my biggest triumph was scoring $59 tickets from Baltimore to Charleston...Southwest rocks!) and a rental car, and I made a few reservations for the Hilton Head portion of the trip...but compared to my normal OCD trip planning tendencies this was nothing. The aunts had stuff planned out for us and for once I was more than happy to just go where I was told, minimal thinking required. That's sort of what inspired the title of this report...in the days leading up to the trip I just sort of imagined us floating along effortlessly, completely relaxed, not a care in the world. AHHHHH......

 

[Ariel484]

That's part of what I didn't like about the show. It was 2 stories and it was confusing. It was hard to get what any of it was about. Both times I tried to watch I didn't make it far, lost interest, and tuned-out. The movie sounds more promising.

Yeah, I get that. The movie was more like one big plot with a couple of smaller plots...really different from the TV show where there are 2 main plots + the smaller plots.

 

[Ariel484]

After dinner we headed back to the room to watch some TV and read a bit more...and finally eat those cupcakes.

Dessert #3 of the day...like, why? I don't even know.

Sweet Carolina Cupcakes Cookes & Cream Cupcake...chocolate with vanilla icing and Oreos:

Sweet Carolina Cupcakes Carolina Cupcake...vanilla with cream cheese icing:

Pose together now, my lovelies!

We each had half of both cupcakes...and let me tell you, if you like cupcakes and are in Hilton Head, you MUST try Carolina Cupcakes. The cake was super moist - despite the fact that we'd purchased these cupcakes 2 days earlier - and the frosting was so sweet and delicious. Only complaint is that neither of us could handle that much icing, but that could also be because we'd each had 3 freaking desserts that day. Who knows.

After our last dose of sugar for the day we packed a bit and I attempted to get a lovely sunset shot of the pier...it never happened (the photo, not the packing).

I forget what time we got to bed, but we were both refreshed and ready to head home the next day!

 

[Ariel484]

Day 5: Tuesday, July 30, 2013

It's pretty lame of me to give this day its own post...because all we did was pack up, eat more Mickey Waffles and head out by 11.

Shadow's ready to go home! And so were we.

Bye-bye Hilton Head!

 

[Ariel484]

Final Thoughts

Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort: Overall I think we both enjoyed staying here, but - and I'm surprised that I'm saying this - I'm not sure that we feel like we'd need to stay at this particular resort again if we go back to Hilton Head. Even with a discount the room was expensive, and it had a few issues that really bugged me throughout the stay that couldn't be fixed (the main ones being the lack of bathroom counter space and the terrible lighting). The most surprising thing to me about the resort, though, was just how un-Disney it felt. The Disney details were there, but except for the lobby and the Broad Creek Merchantile area you really would not have known it was a Disney resort. So if you're looking to get your Disney fix here (as I was) it might not totally deliver. I will say that this resort looked to be really great for families - tons of activities every day for the kiddos.

Cost: I mentioned it in a couple of comments but this trip ended up being a lot more expensive than I expected. Maybe that's my fault for not planning it out better beforehand (which is unusual for me) but there was a point where I did become pretty overwhelmed about how pricey things were. And I think a lot of that is because of the cost of the resort itself - the nightly rate was right up there with what you'd pay for a DVC studio in WDW.

Food - On-Property: On-property food is scarce. There are snacks in Broad Creek Merchantile (similar to what you'd find in the parks - Mickey bars! ) and decent options for breakfast and lunch. We both agreed that our meals at Tide Me Over and Signals were fresher and better quality compared to most quick service we've had in the parks. There are no on-site dinner options except for the weekly BBQ.

Food - Off-Property: I'd say One Hot Mama's and Giuseppi's were the "table service" meals of our trip while Wise Guys and Red Fish were the "signature meals." One Hot Mama's was a loser - won't be going back there. Giuseppi's, Wise Guys and Red Fish were all excellent and we'd definitely go to these places again. Red Fish was the big winner, and I actually think my second place vote goes to Giuseppi's. Really tasty food from both and enjoyable atmospheres.

Excursions: Of the 2 excursions we did (one non-Disney vs. one through Disney) I'd say they were pretty comparable in terms of quality and value. In the end I think the kayaking tour was our favorite though - truly not sure we'll ever get to experience something like that again. We really liked the dolphin tour as well and are glad we did it.

I've read reports where people (DVC members) go to this resort and love it so much that they add points when they come home to become partial owners. If I owned DVC I can't honestly say I'd feel compelled to own points at this resort. We really did have a wonderful trip, but we also found that a good portion of what made it wonderful wasn't tied directly to the resort itself.

Well, I think that's all I've got here..a somewhat short report for a somewhat Disney-ish trip.

Thanks for reading!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Thanks for sharing Shannon! The resort really doesn't appeal all that much to me, either. I might stay there though if only to see Shadow. That dog is just so darn cute!!

See you in 26 days!!!!

 

[mickey2008.1]

Ok, being from Cleveland Ohio, there is a lot of crap coming my way. Anyway, Hilton Head is a great vacation destiny, especially if you know where to go. The food there is amazing, and shelter cove with fireworks every Tuesday night and live music, it's a home run. Great trip report, as I love seeing pics of my third home being Palmetto dunes on Hilton Head. The DVC does not appeal to me now that you have showed the pics and reviews, we will stick with a house on the beach. If you ever go back, please feel free to PM us for food destinations, and Red Fish was a great choice.

 

[Ariel484]

Thanks for sharing Shannon! The resort really doesn't appeal all that much to me, either. I might stay there though if only to see Shadow. That dog is just so darn cute!!

See you in 26 days!!!!

Shadow is a pretty compelling reason to stay there...but yeah, for the price I'm not sure it was worth it. Glad we tried it once though. I can totally see how it would be great for families.

26 days....AHHH!

Ok, being from Cleveland Ohio, there is a lot of crap coming my way. Anyway, Hilton Head is a great vacation destiny, especially if you know where to go. The food there is amazing, and shelter cove with fireworks every Tuesday night and live music, it's a home run. Great trip report, as I love seeing pics of my third home being Palmetto dunes on Hilton Head. The DVC does not appeal to me now that you have showed the pics and reviews, we will stick with a house on the beach. If you ever go back, please feel free to PM us for food destinations, and Red Fish was a great choice.

I feel your pain...Cleveland is always the butt of any joke.

Thanks for reading! If you found a place in Hilton Head you like definitely stick with it. A house on the beach sounds lovely.

Thanks for the offer for food recommendations, I'll definitely take you up on that if we go back!

 

[fractal]

Thanks for the report! We've gone to HiltonHead several times when the kids were younger and rented homes with other families. It was interesting to see your viewpoint of the Disney HH resort.

3 out of 4 on the meals isn't too bad - and those cupcake pictures just made my stomach growl. Loved the excursion trips. Kayacking and dolphin watching are two of my favorite things I did on our vacation last year.

By the way, it goint to be tough not to call the next crab I see "little ".

 

[Ariel484]

Thanks for the report! We've gone to HiltonHead several times when the kids were younger and rented homes with other families. It was interesting to see your viewpoint of the Disney HH resort.

3 out of 4 on the meals isn't too bad - and those cupcake pictures just made my stomach growl. Loved the excursion trips. Kayacking and dolphin watching are two of my favorite things I did on our vacation last year.

By the way, it goint to be tough not to call the next crab I see "little ".

Thanks Chris!

Yeah overall the food was really very good. Those cupcakes were awesome! The excursions were really great, I'm glad we did them. We both really liked the kayaking a lot!

Hey, if a crab is a little ...you gotta call him on it. LOL!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh yeah, the boats are pricey. Will's aunt has one like the one in the picture and her set-up at the lake was nuts. Really made me wonder about the maintenance costs.

Well, Tracey bought his boat in 2008. He got a great price on it at like $48k or something like that. Same boat today runs over $60k. You can finance up to 10 years. Doesn't that sound wonderful???? Then there's insurance on it. And storage. Gotta have a place to put the boat. So every month we're in for just over $150 just to store and insure the thing. Another secondary cost that's not super obvious is having a vehicle that will pull the boat long distances if needed or up a steep boat ramp out of the water. 4WD trucks ain't cheap either. Change the oil in the lower unit of the boat motor runs a couple hundred bucks. We've had to replace batteries several times. Couple hundred bucks each time. Trolling motor died once. Thankfully we skirted replacing it because they cost a grand or more. If he runs the boat the gas is expensive. A full tank is over $150. Then there's the fishing rods & reels. Each rod/reel together is about $400 because Tracey isn't happy with the lesser expensive stuff. And you can't have just 1. No, gotta have several to set up for different baits/fish/conditions. Tracey has probably 6? Each of the boys has 2 or 3. The stupid lures are anywhere from $5 to $15...each. Ever watch one of your kids cast a $5 lure, watch it zing off the end of the line, then turn around giggling??? That's a shoe-throwing offense. I won't tell you how I know that. Extra prop for the boat, additional GPS unit, blah blah blah...hundreds and hundreds each time. It's funny because he'll come to me trying to explain why this or that is something he really neeeeeeeeds but, to a girl, it sounds like one of my sons trying to explain why the new $200 limited edition video game is essential to their survival on earth. It's a total "you have got to be kidding me" every time. Buuuuuut, in the grand scheme of things, it was always Tracey's dream to have a boat. It's his big-boy-toy. He wanted to have his own fast boat (because going over 75 mph across the lake makes you catch fish waaaaaay better) and be able to take his boys fishing the way his grandfather took him. He works hard and takes such good care of us. He deserves it. Just, as a girl, I've spent the past 5 years in this perpetual state of "Really??? Seriously??? ????" LOL! I don't think I'm meant to get it. LOL! I resist the salt-water boat because it costs closer to $100k. The rods & reels, tackle, baits, etc. cost at least twice as much or more. They go further offshore to fish so it's a lot more gas to buy & burn. ((My brother offshore fishes regularly...says a fill-up for the boat he goes on is over $500. )) I'll take the little bass boat. Thanks! LOL!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh those cupcakes look soooooo goooooood! I want them both. Now. I'm on day 24 of the challenge. Not gonna lie, we've been planning our celebratory splurges. Tracey & Chandler want pizza. I'm all about cake. But, I'm afraid I'm going to keep waiting for my celebratory splurge....until cruise time!!!! Woot!!!

Soooooo, do you see at least 1 room service order for Mickey's premium bars in your future??? I ask because the only thing better than the deliciousness of a creamy, chocolatey Mickey's premium is being propped up in a cushy Disney cruise ship bed watching on-demand Disney movies wearing jammies and having 3 or 4 served to you on a platter. For free.

I would be like you with the pricing stuff. That's part of where I started having a lot of conflicting feelings about the WDW vacations. Seeing all that money siphoned from our pockets so rapidly...checks at restaurants just sickeningly high...knowing that on top of that I'd already shelled out thousands before I ever got there...it was overwhelming to me. I think it's part of what I like about the cruise. I shell out the big bucks before I get there and that's it. I don't have to spend anything else for the duration if I don't want. At least I feel I have more control over the flow.

Thoroughly enjoyed your report. Sounds like a wonderful summer getaway. I've often wondered just how Disney-fied those HH and Vero Beach resorts were. Very informative! Thank you!

 

[Ariel484]

Well, Tracey bought his boat in 2008. He got a great price on it at like $48k or something like that. Same boat today runs over $60k. You can finance up to 10 years. Doesn't that sound wonderful???? Then there's insurance on it. And storage. Gotta have a place to put the boat. So every month we're in for just over $150 just to store and insure the thing. Another secondary cost that's not super obvious is having a vehicle that will pull the boat long distances if needed or up a steep boat ramp out of the water. 4WD trucks ain't cheap either. Change the oil in the lower unit of the boat motor runs a couple hundred bucks. We've had to replace batteries several times. Couple hundred bucks each time. Trolling motor died once. Thankfully we skirted replacing it because they cost a grand or more. If he runs the boat the gas is expensive. A full tank is over $150. Then there's the fishing rods & reels. Each rod/reel together is about $400 because Tracey isn't happy with the lesser expensive stuff. And you can't have just 1. No, gotta have several to set up for different baits/fish/conditions. Tracey has probably 6? Each of the boys has 2 or 3. The stupid lures are anywhere from $5 to $15...each. Ever watch one of your kids cast a $5 lure, watch it zing off the end of the line, then turn around giggling??? That's a shoe-throwing offense. I won't tell you how I know that. Extra prop for the boat, additional GPS unit, blah blah blah...hundreds and hundreds each time. It's funny because he'll come to me trying to explain why this or that is something he really neeeeeeeeds but, to a girl, it sounds like one of my sons trying to explain why the new $200 limited edition video game is essential to their survival on earth. It's a total "you have got to be kidding me" every time. Buuuuuut, in the grand scheme of things, it was always Tracey's dream to have a boat. It's his big-boy-toy. He wanted to have his own fast boat (because going over 75 mph across the lake makes you catch fish waaaaaay better) and be able to take his boys fishing the way his grandfather took him. He works hard and takes such good care of us. He deserves it. Just, as a girl, I've spent the past 5 years in this perpetual state of "Really??? Seriously??? ????" LOL! I don't think I'm meant to get it. LOL! I resist the salt-water boat because it costs closer to $100k. The rods & reels, tackle, baits, etc. cost at least twice as much or more. They go further offshore to fish so it's a lot more gas to buy & burn. ((My brother offshore fishes regularly...says a fill-up for the boat he goes on is over $500. )) I'll take the little bass boat. Thanks! LOL!

Yikes! I never really thought about all of the extra costs...ouch. Storage and (stupidly enough) insurance costs totally slipped my mind. If that's his one toy though what can ya do? My cousins are super into fishing so I know what you mean about having tons of rods and reels...I don't GET IT (because I personally don't get the appeal of fishing), but I know what you mean.

Oh those cupcakes look soooooo goooooood! I want them both. Now. I'm on day 24 of the challenge. Not gonna lie, we've been planning our celebratory splurges. Tracey & Chandler want pizza. I'm all about cake. But, I'm afraid I'm going to keep waiting for my celebratory splurge....until cruise time!!!! Woot!!!

They really were oh so tasty...very moist with great flavor. And I loved how girly that place was with the pink and green!

I'm with you, dessert would totally be my celebration after 30 days!

Soooooo, do you see at least 1 room service order for Mickey's premium bars in your future??? I ask because the only thing better than the deliciousness of a creamy, chocolatey Mickey's premium is being propped up in a cushy Disney cruise ship bed watching on-demand Disney movies wearing jammies and having 3 or 4 served to you on a platter. For free.

Yes. Yes I do. Seriously, I never understood why people made such a big deal about those things and now that I've tried one I totally get it. They are goooooood!

I would be like you with the pricing stuff. That's part of where I started having a lot of conflicting feelings about the WDW vacations. Seeing all that money siphoned from our pockets so rapidly...checks at restaurants just sickeningly high...knowing that on top of that I'd already shelled out thousands before I ever got there...it was overwhelming to me. I think it's part of what I like about the cruise. I shell out the big bucks before I get there and that's it. I don't have to spend anything else for the duration if I don't want. At least I feel I have more control over the flow.

I think in general we're pretty satisfied with what we've been paying for our WDW vacations (APs, Tables in Wonderland + using credit card rewards to pay for all of our food, always having a room discount), but we talked about it a bit more last night (because Will reads my trip reports! ) and we both agreed that for the price we didn't really feel like the resort itself was special enough for us to return. I did enjoy having access to Mickey Waffles and Mickey Premium bars, and I enjoyed Shadow...but beyond that I'm not sure that it offered anything we couldn't get at a different hotel for potentially a better deal. And that is pretty surprising to me after other reports I've read on the place...makes me feel like I missed something!

Thoroughly enjoyed your report. Sounds like a wonderful summer getaway. I've often wondered just how Disney-fied those HH and Vero Beach resorts were. Very informative! Thank you!

Thanks! It really was. I'm so glad we tried the excursions we did because they were really both not things we'd ordinarily do. I know next-to-nothing about Vero but I wonder if it's pretty similar to the HH resort? Hmm!

See you in a few days! (Okay weeks...but still!)

 

[Kristia]

As I am recovering from my own trip, I finally got to read your report! Loved seeing your report on the Hilton Head Resort. Dan and I have thought about going down there but haven't made it yet. Not sure we would go for the DVC resort though especially after seeing your report. Seems like there isn't enough amenities there to justify the cost difference.

Your excursions looked really great. I love to kayak! Dan.....thinks it is just ok but I can usually get him to go with me. He hates canoeing but tolerates kayaking lol.

Some of those meals look so yummy! And the cupcakes, seriously yummy!!

 

[farrellbarrel]

Very nice pictures!

 

[LivFreeorDisney]

Great ending to the trip with a full day at the beach. I'm glad the trip went well and hope to read another one of your reports one day.

 

[Ariel484]

As I am recovering from my own trip, I finally got to read your report! Loved seeing your report on the Hilton Head Resort. Dan and I have thought about going down there but haven't made it yet. Not sure we would go for the DVC resort though especially after seeing your report. Seems like there isn't enough amenities there to justify the cost difference.

Your excursions looked really great. I love to kayak! Dan.....thinks it is just ok but I can usually get him to go with me. He hates canoeing but tolerates kayaking lol.

Some of those meals look so yummy! And the cupcakes, seriously yummy!!

Thanks Kristy! How's the post-trip recovery going?

Yeah, like I said above, we both agreed that we don't feel like the resort is special enough for us to return. We enjoyed it, but neither of us feel a pull to go back, especially for what we paid. I might feel differently if the point rental had worked out (as you know that is such a great way to save some cash)...then again I just went and crunched some numbers and even with the point rental it would have only saved us $50 per night. So I'm going with my original assessment that it's over-priced.

The kayaking was so fun! Very peaceful. I was very surprised that Will liked it so much. Have you and Dan ever tried paddle boarding? That was our other option...maybe Dan would like that better.

Our meals were very good all around, for sure! The cupcakes were definitely super yummy...I wish I had more now.

Very nice pictures!

Thank you so much!

Great ending to the trip with a full day at the beach. I'm glad the trip went well and hope to read another one of your reports one day.

Thank you! That last day was the perfect ending to our trip, for sure. I'll have a couple more reports coming up in the next few months (yay!).

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Great report, Shannon!
I'm glad you enjoyed your time in DC! It's a fun place to visit!
I loved reading about Hilton Head. It's so interesting for those of us who had never been!
I am not a fan of accessible rooms because I need a bath tub! I hate it when we don't have them! I mean like hate-it-go-back-and-demand-antoher-room-hate-it.
That was your first Mickey bar! Oh my goodness!
The dolphins were so cool! I had no idea there were so many around that area!
So glad you liked the kayaking too.
And yay for a quiet last day! Perfect way to end a vacation!

 

[Kristia]

@Ariel484 - Recovery is coming along! Was able to run today so I am trying to get back to normal. Luckily, I took the rest of the week off from work for recovery lol! We haven't ever tried paddleboarding. We might take a trip to Chincoteague next year. Maybe we can find a place down there to do it. I am sure there must be places around me to do it too being so close to the shore. Will have to look into it. I just saw on facebook, David's was having a special for Sept and Oct of $8 a point for Saratoga and Key West. So tempting but no vacation time left! A 6 night stay at OKW was about $528 if I did my math right. I need more vacation time!! (and somebody willing to pet sit). Not sure which one is tougher to come by...

 

[plaz10]

Nationals vs. Pirates game...I guess?? Why does the green pierogie have a handbag?

Because she is Jalapeno Hannah - the only female pierogie! The others are Oliver Onion, Cheesy Chester, Sauerkraut Saul and the retired Potato Pete who only makes rare appearances. Hahaha - we take our pierogies very seriously in Pittsburgh! You ARE welcome.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Loved the Dolphin pics...that looked like a lot of fun. Also glad you were introduced to Phineas & Ferb. We fell in love with the show back in 2011 and the kids still watch it from time to time. I personally wish they'd put Dr. Doofenshmirtz out in the parks. Shadow is sooooooo cute! My parents have had goldens since the mid 80s...such sweet dogs.

Interesting insights about the resort. I've often wondered if Disney resorts like this were worth the added $. All in all though, it looks like you guys had a very nice and relaxing time.