By Aurora Dominguez
Give me an Orlando getaway with my besties, a water park and a reason to celebrate, and I’m already thinking about what to pack. With my 45th birthday approaching, I headed to The Grove Resort & Water Park Orlando with Taylor and David for an early birthday weekend spent exploring, catching up and enjoying time together.
I love a trip with friends who make it easy to be yourself. Between teaching, writing and the everyday responsibilities that follow us around, finding time to get away together is something I appreciate more and more. This weekend gave us a chance to celebrate early while discovering a resort that, to me, felt like one of the Orlando area’s best-kept secrets.
Located in Winter Garden, The Grove spans 106 acres. That means this is a property worth giving yourself time to explore, with accommodations, restaurants, pools, lakeside recreation and its own Surfari Water Park all part of the experience.
Close to Disney, With Plenty to Discover on Property
As a Disney passholder, proximity to the parks always catches my attention. I love knowing that a little Disney magic can be part of a getaway, even when I’m also excited about spending time at the hotel. The Grove is a Walt Disney World Good Neighbor Hotel, and the resort describes its location as just minutes from the Disney theme parks. It also offers complimentary scheduled transportation to Walt Disney World, giving guests another way to work park visits into their stay.
For someone like me, that creates an appealing combination. You can plan a day around your favorite Disney attractions and still leave another day open for the water park, a meal with friends and some much-needed downtime. I would gladly make room for both. As much as I love walking through a Disney park, I also appreciate a vacation where I don’t have to be somewhere at every hour.
That’s part of what makes The Grove interesting for an Orlando trip: it gives you reasons to enjoy where you’re staying. With Taylor and David beside me, exploring the resort was part of our early birthday adventure.
Accommodations That Give Everyone Room
Traveling with friends is wonderful, but having enough space makes it even better. There’s something comforting about being able to gather in a living room, chat while someone gets ready and enjoy the kind of easy company that brought you on the trip in the first place.
The Grove offers two and three-bedroom suites with fully equipped kitchens, full-size washers and dryers, and separate living and dining areas. Those features are particularly useful for families and groups who want a place to settle in during an Orlando vacation. A kitchen gives you the option of keeping breakfast simple or having snacks available, while laundry facilities come in handy when swimsuits and park clothes begin piling up. The separate gathering spaces also make the accommodations appealing for a friends’ weekend. You can spend time together comfortably while still having room for your own routine.
Surfari Water Park: A Birthday Is a Good Reason to Play
I may be turning 45, but I still get excited about a resort with a water park. There’s no age limit on wanting a little adventure during your birthday celebration, especially when you’re spending it with people who make everything more fun.
Surfari Water Park features two water slides, a 695-foot lazy river, a children’s activity pool and a zero-entry pool. The FlowRider Double surf simulator offers another experience for guests interested in testing their skills. Water-park admission is included for resort guests, while FlowRider sessions cost extra.
What appeals to me is having choices. A group can include someone who wants to head for the slides and someone who would happily spend time floating along the lazy river. Everyone can find something that fits their idea of a vacation. Private cabanas are also available to rent, giving guests a shaded home base for a water-park day. For a celebration with friends, that’s an option worth considering when you want somewhere to gather between activities.
Dining at Valencia: Time Together Around the Table
We ate at Valencia Restaurant during our visit, adding an on-site meal to our weekend together. Dining is always part of how I experience a destination, but on a trip with friends, I especially appreciate the chance to sit down and give each other our attention. Valencia offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. Its menu includes a range of choices, from flatbreads and burgers to pasta, seafood and steak, making it useful when everyone arrives at the table wanting something different.
Among the dinner options are teriyaki-glazed salmon paired with pineapple salsa and coconut rice, a ribeye served with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus, and Tuscany shrimp pasta with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and white wine sauce. The menu also includes chicken Alfredo and several flatbreads, while dessert choices include ube cheesecake and apple pie with vanilla ice cream.
Having that variety on property makes planning easier. After a day spent exploring, it’s nice to know you can sit down for a meal without getting everyone back into the car. For our early birthday weekend, Valencia was part of the time we set aside to enjoy being together.
Longboard Bar & Grill: A Convenient Water-Park Break
A water-park day needs a food break, and Longboard Bar & Grill gives guests somewhere to refuel without leaving the Surfari setting. Its menu includes loaded chicken nachos, fish tacos with pineapple slaw and chipotle aioli, a Cuban sandwich, wraps and a bacon-cheddar burger. There are also children’s options, including grilled cheese and chicken tenders.
I appreciate having a casual dining option close to the activities. It keeps the day flexible, particularly when you’re traveling with a group and everyone’s hunger seems to arrive at a different time. You can pause for something to eat and then decide whether the afternoon calls for more water-park fun or a slower pace.
The Springs Pools: Making Room to Unwind
For guests looking for another pool setting, The Springs Pools sit along Lake Austin and feature three full-sized pools, an oversized hot tub, a children’s splash area and private cabanas.
This is the kind of amenity I’ve learned to make room for when planning a getaway. I can get very excited about everything there is to do, then realize I’ve filled the entire day. Having a poolside option is a good reminder that relaxing deserves a place on the itinerary, too.
An early birthday weekend with Taylor and David was a chance to step away from our usual schedules. A resort with several ways to spend time by the water gives friends the freedom to enjoy that break at their own pace.
Flip Flop’s Family Fun Center: Let the Games Begin
My love of pop culture follows me on vacation, so an arcade with familiar games is always going to get my attention. Across from Surfari Water Park, Flip Flop’s Family Fun Center offers 6,600 square feet of indoor entertainment, including glow-in-the-dark mini golf, Skee-Ball, air hockey, video games and prize games. The lineup includes Mario Kart DX and Jurassic Park Arcade.
Although it’s a family fun center, the appeal extends to adults who still enjoy a game or a little friendly competition. It’s also another option when you’re ready for a break from the water. For friends exploring the property together, having indoor entertainment adds variety to the weekend.
Lake Austin: A Quieter Discovery
The Grove’s lakeside setting offers another side of the experience. Lake Austin Pier overlooks the surrounding nature preserve, and the resort offers catch-and-release fishing in a lake home to bass, bluegill, sunfish and catfish.
I love that a property near Disney can also make room for a setting like this. The lake gives guests another reason to look around and appreciate where they are, especially during a trip that might otherwise revolve around getting to the next attraction. For me, the appeal of this early celebration was exploring somewhere new with Taylor and David.
As my birthday approached, I wanted time with my besties and a getaway we could enjoy together. The Grove gave us an expansive place to discover, with Disney nearby and plenty to keep us interested right on property.
If You Go
The Grove Resort & Water Park Orlando
14501 Grove Resort Avenue, Winter Garden, FL 34787
Phone: 407-545-7500
Website: https://www.groveresortorlando.com
The resort offers complimentary scheduled transportation to Walt Disney World; check the current departure and return schedule when planning your park days. Surfari admission is included for resort guests, with additional charges for FlowRider sessions and cabana rentals. Attraction hours can change with weather and season, so check before heading out.
Leave a Reply