Reunion Resort
Reunion Resort is a large gated golf-and-villa community near Kissimmee in Central Florida, about 6 to 8 miles (10 to 13 km) from Walt Disney World. Rather than a hotel, it’s a spread of self-catering villas and private-pool houses inside one resort, with a 5-acre water park, eight community pools and three golf courses within the gates. Families come for the space and a kitchen, often with their own pool, close to the parks.
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Is it worth it?
Reunion suits families who want space and a kitchen near the parks and are happy to drive.
Reunion Resort isn’t a hotel. It’s a gated community of self-catering villas and private-pool houses spread across a golf resort near Kissimmee, about 6 to 8 miles (10 to 13 km) from Walt Disney World. The draw for families is space and a kitchen, often with a private pool of your own, plus a 5-acre water park with a lazy river and a children’s splash zone, eight community pools and shops and restaurants a short drive or walk away. What you give up is hotel service, so you cook and clean up yourself, and there’s no crèche, with the only children’s club, Kids Crew, starting at age four.
Best for
You want the space and kitchen of a self-catering villa or private-pool house near Disney, with a water park and pools inside a gated resort, and you’re happy to drive.
Maybe not for
You want a simple hotel room with daily housekeeping, an airport transfer and no car, or supervised childcare for a baby or a younger toddler.
Best ages
Works across the ages, with the water park’s splash zone and community kids’ pools for little ones and Kids Crew from four. Nothing is laid on for babies or the very youngest toddlers.
What stands out
A 5-acre water park with a 1,000-foot lazy river, private-pool houses that sleep large family groups, and a self-catering kitchen for bottles, weaning and fussy eaters.
What to check
Whether your specific home includes Reunion Club membership and water park access, confirmed in writing, before you book, especially through a private owner or a third-party site.
Where is it?
A gated community off Gathering Drive near Kissimmee in Central Florida, about 6 to 8 miles (10 to 13 km) from Walt Disney World and 25 to 40 minutes from Orlando airport.
Quick facts for families
A gated community south-west of Disney
The houses here are separately owned and let through many different management companies, not booked from one hotel desk.
Reunion sits in the ChampionsGate and Kissimmee corridor, southwest of Walt Disney World, in the same villa belt covered in our Orlando guide. It’s a gated community built out towards roughly 3,000 homes, condos and townhouses once complete, wrapped around three golf courses, a water park and a clubhouse-and-dining core. Inside the gates the resort rents out more than 200 villas across six villa communities and more than 80 separately owned vacation homes through its own programme, and beyond that a wider market of privately owned houses is let through management companies and sites like Vrbo and Airbnb.
For distances, it’s about 6 to 8 miles (10 to 13 km) to the Disney parks, roughly 10 to 30 minutes by car depending which one, with Animal Kingdom the closest and Magic Kingdom the furthest because of where its car park sits. Orlando International Airport (MCO) is around 27 to 30 miles (43 to 48 km), about 25 to 40 minutes, and Universal Orlando is roughly 20 to 22 miles (32 to 35 km) away.
The bit that catches families outHow booking works
This is the part a family used to booking a hotel needs to understand first, because Reunion has no single reservation desk for the whole community. Reunion sells two products directly. The first is the villas, condo-style units of up to three bedrooms in the six villa communities. The second is a managed vacation-rental programme of separately owned three to fifteen bedroom houses, booked through Reunion’s own platform. Both routes are the simplest way to land a home that comes with resort amenities.
Most of Reunion’s houses, though, are individually owned and let out privately, either through property-management companies or direct from the owner. Reunion names some of these as its Preferred Partners, including Jeeves, Magical Vacation Homes, Rentyl, Wyndham, WorldMark and Florida Vacation Homes, and plenty of other companies advertise Reunion homes on Vrbo, Airbnb and Booking.com. That mix is also why review sites list Reunion under several separate entries, since each company lists its own homes, so one gated community can look split across a handful of listings with different scores.
Check water park access before you book
The single most important thing to confirm at Reunion is whether your specific home comes with amenity access. The water park, community pools, golf and tennis are tied to a home’s Reunion Club membership, and Reunion states plainly that while most homes include a Club membership, not all do. A home also gets the amenities most reliably when it’s booked through Reunion itself or a Preferred Partner. So if you book a private-pool house through a private owner or an unlisted third-party site, ask in writing that it includes water park access before you pay, because a house inside the gates can look the part and still have none. Club membership also has tiers, Platinum and Gold, which change small things like whether the Disney shuttle is free.
The villas and vacation homes
The big draw is space, from a one-bedroom villa up to a house that sleeps a large family group under one roof.
There’s no traditional hotel room at Reunion. The smallest thing you can book is a one-bedroom villa, and everything scales up from there to a fifteen-bedroom house. Both the villas and the vacation homes are self-catering, with full kitchens, which is the practical heart of the appeal for a family cooking most meals in and eating out a few times.
The villasCondo-style villas, one to three bedrooms
The villas are condo-style units in six named communities, all with a full kitchen, a private balcony or patio and a king-bed master with its own bathroom. The one published size is for the one-bedroom Grande Suite, at 1,292 to 1,950 sq ft (about 120 to 181 m²), which is more like a large apartment than a hotel room. Sizes for the two and three bedroom villas aren’t published, so ask at booking rather than assume. The table shows the six communities and what each sits near, which is worth weighing if being close to the water park matters, since some communities are a walk or short drive from it.
| Community | Bedrooms | What it’s near |
|---|---|---|
| Grande Tower | 1 to 2 | The 11-storey central building, with the front desk, concierge, restaurants and shops downstairs, a rooftop pool and most dining a short walk away |
| Seven Eagles | 1 to 3 | Landscaped villas by a community pool, the fitness centre and the Cove Bar and Grill |
| Centre Court Ridge | 2 to 3 | Grouped by the tennis and sports area, with a community pool, mini-golf and a playground close by |
| Villas North | 2 to 3 | The streets closest to the water park, with a community pool that has a children’s splash pad and a water slide |
| Villas South | 2 to 3 | Near the water park too, with private patios, a playground and a community pool |
| Heritage Crossing | 2 to 3 | Larger open-plan living rooms and two community pools, with a hot tub at one of them |
Freestanding houses, three to fifteen bedrooms
The vacation homes are freestanding houses inside the same gated community, running from three-bedroom homes up to fifteen-bedroom estates that sleep more than thirty-six, which is how larger family groups travel together here. A private pool is the norm in this category rather than a certainty, so confirm a specific listing has one before you book. The bigger houses often add features like a games room, a cinema room, a themed children’s bedroom or a summer kitchen, but these are individual to each house rather than resort-wide, so treat them as a bonus of a particular home, not something every Reunion house has.
For a baby or toddler, the pull of a whole house is the space and the kitchen: separate bedrooms with doors for an early bedtime, plus a washing machine for the endless small-child laundry. If you want your own private pool, look at the vacation homes rather than the villas, and note that a private pool and water park access are two separate things here.
The water park and pools
Zero-entry water suits toddlers, with a separate children’s splash zone away from the bigger slides.
Five acres, a lazy river and a children’s zone
The water park is the headline for families. It covers 5 acres with a zero-entry design, a gently sloping beach entry rather than steps, which is easier for a toddler or a nervous swimmer to walk into. The 1,000-foot (300 m) lazy river comes with complimentary tubes, and there’s a dedicated children’s splash zone with two smaller slides for children under 50 inches (127 cm) tall. The main slide, the Volcano Twist, has a minimum height of 42 inches (107 cm), so it’s not for younger toddlers. Around the water sit hundreds of loungers, rentable cabanas, a poolside bar called Drifters and a food stop, the Splash Shack. It runs year-round, seven days a week, with hours that change through the seasons, so check them at booking rather than count on a fixed time.
Two safety points matter with little ones. There are no lifeguards, and security staff monitor the area instead, so an adult is the safety net, not resort staff. Children of twelve and under need constant adult supervision, and nobody under sixteen is admitted without a parent or guardian. Life jackets and floats aren’t provided free but can be bought on site, and entry needs a wristband, issued at check-in.
Eight pools across the villa areas
Beyond the water park, eight community pools sit across the villa communities, each serving the homes nearest it, so the pool you use most depends on where you stay. Several are family pools paired with a smaller children’s play pool, and the Villas North pool has a children’s play pool with its own water slide, the closest thing to a toddler splash feature outside the water park itself. The Seven Eagles pool has the Cove Bar and Grill, a fitness centre and hot tubs alongside it, Heritage Crossing and Homestead both pair a family pool with a kids’ play pool, and the Terraces is a larger lap pool with a picnic area. Guests in the Grande tower also have a rooftop pool of their own. Pool towels aren’t provided at the community pools, so bring your own or hire them.
Every restaurant and bar
The Clubhouse is the easy family dinner; the steakhouse and rooftop bar are more for an evening out.
Because the homes are self-catering, there’s no dining plan and nothing is all-inclusive here, so you pay for meals as you go and cook the rest in the villa. The on-site restaurants cluster around the Grande tower, the golf clubhouses and the water park. Reservations for the sit-down restaurants go through the resort by phone on +1 407 396 3201 or through OpenTable.
The Clubhouse is the most straightforwardly family-friendly sit-down option, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with burgers, sandwiches, salads and pizza, a children’s menu and high chairs. Traditions, in the Nicklaus Clubhouse, is an open-kitchen tavern serving American classics with lunch, dinner and a Sunday brunch, and is casual enough for families. 7593 Chophouse is the resort’s steakhouse, the most formal restaurant here and better suited to an adults’ evening than a toddler dinner. Eleven is a rooftop bar and restaurant with tapas, cocktails and Orlando views, and live music at weekends, so it leans to an evening out rather than an early family meal. The Lobby Sushi Bar in the Grande tower serves rolls, nigiri and sashimi.
By the water there’s Drifters, the water park’s bar, and the Splash Shack for sandwiches, salads and ice cream without leaving the water park, plus the Cove Bar and Grill by the Seven Eagles pool. The golf clubhouse has a bar and light meals, and there’s a Starbucks on site for coffee. High chairs are confirmed at The Clubhouse, so if you need one elsewhere it’s worth asking when you book a table.
Babies and toddlers
Reunion is set up for family space rather than family childcare, so it helps to know what’s here and what isn’t before you book. There’s no crèche and no baby or toddler club, and Kids Crew, the one children’s programme, starts at age four and needs a child who is fully potty-trained. With a baby or a younger toddler, plan on watching your own throughout, at the pools and the water park especially, since there are no lifeguards.
The self-catering kitchen is the real advantage for a baby, since you can make up bottles, sterilise and cook plain food in the villa rather than rely on a buffet, and a Publix supermarket at the gate stocks nappies, wipes and baby food, so you carry less. For water play with little ones, the water park’s children’s zone suits toddlers, and there are two playgrounds, near Centre Court Ridge and Villas South.
On the resortThings to do
Reunion is a golf resort at heart, with three championship courses, one each by Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus, which it bills as the only resort in the world with courses by all three. Golf instruction is through the Leadbetter Golf Academy on site. There’s a full activity spread beyond the golf: clay tennis courts with coaching, pickleball, mini-golf, FootGolf on the Watson course, two playgrounds, bocce and a fitness centre at the Seven Eagles pool. Tennis runs seasonal summer camps for children, Tiny Tennis for ages four to seven and a junior camp for eight to twelves.
Kids Crew is the supervised children’s club, for ages four to twelve, running Tuesday to Saturday as a full day or a half day, with snacks for all and lunch on the full day. It needs booking a day ahead on +1 407 396 3048. There’s also a spa on site offering massage and beauty treatments. Golf, tennis camps, mini-golf, Kids Crew and the spa are all paid separately, on top of the resort fee.
Off the resortThe parks and days out
The reason most families base themselves here is the parks. Walt Disney World’s four parks are about 6 to 8 miles (10 to 13 km) away, and the whole Orlando parks scene, the Disney hotels, tickets and how the parks work with a toddler, is covered in our Disney parks section, with the wider Florida practicalities in the Orlando guide. Universal Orlando is roughly 20 to 22 miles (32 to 35 km) away, and Reunion’s concierge, in the Grande tower lobby on +1 407 396 5260, sells tickets for the parks along with SeaWorld, LEGOLAND, Busch Gardens Tampa and the Kennedy Space Center.
Closer to home, a Publix supermarket and fast-food chains sit right at the main gate, ChampionsGate’s shops and restaurants are about 2 miles (3 km) away, and Posner Park, an open-air shopping centre with a cinema, is around 6 miles (10 km). Old Town Kissimmee, a nostalgia-themed strip of rides and arcades, is about 9 to 10 miles (14 to 16 km) off, and Gatorland, a 110-acre alligator and wildlife preserve, makes a manageable half-day with young children.
Loves and gripes
Families rate the water park and the space of a whole house, and flag that upkeep and how far you are from the water park vary by home.
What families love
- The water park and lazy river, a highlight for young children.
- Spacious, well-equipped villas and houses, with kitchens stocked for family cooking.
- The space and privacy of a house or villa over a hotel room.
- Often a private pool of your own with the vacation homes.
- Being close to the Disney parks, with a shuttle as well as the car.
- Helpful on-site staff.
Common gripes
- Some homes are a walk or short drive from the water park, not doorstep-close.
- Cleanliness and upkeep vary between individually owned and managed homes.
- The fragmented, multi-listing booking picture confuses first-time bookers.
- A hire car is unavoidable, with a resort fee and parking on top of the rate.
- No crèche, and no club for children under four.
The gripes track the way Reunion is run. Many owners and many management companies mean the standard of a given house varies, and which home you pick decides how close you are to the water park and whether you have a private pool. None of that is a mark against the resort itself, it’s the nature of a rental community, and it’s why reading a specific home’s reviews and confirming what it includes matters more here than the overall name. It’s worth reading recent reviews for your own dates before you book.
Against a hotel and other villasHow it compares
Against a Disney resort hotel, the trade is hotel service for space. A Disney hotel comes with park transport, early entry and a stay with no driving, but a hotel room and a higher price per person. A villa or house at Reunion gives you a kitchen and often a private pool for less per head, at the cost of needing a car and doing your own cooking and cleaning-up. Against a plain non-resort villa rental elsewhere in Kissimmee, Reunion sits at the premium end, because you’re paying for the golf-resort setting, the water park and the gated amenities on top of the house, though private-owner homes inside the gates still come at a range of prices.
The car, the shuttle and the feesGetting there and around
A hire car is effectively essential, since Reunion runs no airport shuttle from Orlando or Sanford and nothing beyond the gate is walkable. On the resort itself there’s a complimentary shuttle you summon through a Ride Reunion app, and EV charging at the Grande tower. A scheduled shuttle runs to Walt Disney World from the Grande front drive, but it drops at the Transportation and Ticket Center rather than at a park gate, so you change onto a Disney monorail or bus and should build in the extra time. It needs booking up to three days ahead, and is free for Platinum Reunion Club members and a small per-person charge for Gold. There’s no shuttle to Universal or SeaWorld.
Two costs sit on top of the advertised home rate. There’s a daily resort fee of $40 plus tax per night for bookings that include amenity access, covering WiFi, the pools, the water park, the fitness centre and the golf practice areas, and parking at $20 plus tax per day, with no valet (both last checked July 2026, and operator fees like these change). Central Florida’s toll roads are cashless, and the way to handle them in a hire car is covered in the Orlando guide. Cancellation terms for the vacation rentals are stricter than a typical UK package, so read them before you commit.
When to goWeather
Reunion sits inland in Central Florida, away from the coast and its sea breeze, so it’s a year-round destination with hot, humid summers and mild, drier winters. The easiest window with little ones is late February to April and late October to November, cooler and drier, term-time, and clear of the wettest, hottest months, which is the same steer as the wider Orlando guide. The table shows the Greater Orlando pattern through the year.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22° | 10.5° | 55 mm | 5 |
| February | 24° | 12.5° | 43 mm | 5 |
| March | 26.5° | 14.5° | 64 mm | 5 |
| April | 29° | 17.5° | 64 mm | 5 |
| May | 31.5° | 20.5° | 98 mm | 7 |
| June | 33° | 23° | 205 mm | 14 |
| July | 33.5° | 24° | 201 mm | 14 |
| August | 33.5° | 24.5° | 206 mm | 15 |
| September | 32° | 23.5° | 185 mm | 12 |
| October | 29.5° | 20° | 70 mm | 6 |
| November | 25.5° | 15.5° | 51 mm | 5 |
| December | 23° | 13° | 55 mm | 5 |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records.
Questions
Will our villa definitely have water park access?
Not automatically. The water park and pools go with a home’s Reunion Club membership, and while most homes include it, not all do, so ask in writing that your specific home comes with Club membership and water park access before you pay. It matters most if you book through a private owner or a third-party site rather than through Reunion or one of its named management partners.
Do we really need a hire car?
Yes. Reunion doesn’t run an airport shuttle, and nothing beyond the gate, not even the supermarket, is within walking distance. The only transport that runs without a car is the on-property shuttle app and the scheduled shuttle to Walt Disney World, so plan on collecting a car at the airport.
Is there anything for a baby or a toddler who isn’t potty-trained?
Nothing supervised. Kids Crew starts at age four and needs a child who is fully potty-trained, and there is no crèche, so plan on watching your own throughout, including at the pools, where there are no lifeguards. The upside with a baby is the villa kitchen, so you can sterilise and prepare food rather than depend on eating out.
Is the water park a separate ticket?
No, it’s part of the daily resort fee rather than a per-visit ticket. Everyone gets a wristband at check-in, and it can’t be shared, so each person on the booking is covered but a day-guest isn’t.
How do we get to the Disney parks?
Most families drive, since it’s a 10 to 30 minute run depending on the park and the hire car is there anyway. The free resort shuttle is a backup, but it drops at Disney’s Transportation and Ticket Center rather than a park gate, so you change onto a monorail or bus, and it needs booking the day before by early evening. To reach a park for opening, the car is simpler.
Why do we see several different listings for Reunion?
Because different management companies list their homes separately, one gated community shows up on review sites as several entries with separate scores. It’s the same place, so look at what a specific home includes rather than trusting the overall name.
Should we book a villa or a vacation home?
Pick a villa for a condo-style base of one to three bedrooms booked straight through Reunion, sharing the community pools. Pick a vacation home, a freestanding house of three to fifteen bedrooms, for the space of a bigger group and a private pool of your own, since only the houses come with one. Both are self-catering with a full kitchen.
See more Reunion Resort photos
Open the Reunion Resort photo gallery →
Useful links
- Reunion Resort: the resort’s own site for villas, vacation homes, the water park and what a Club membership includes.
- GOV.UK USA travel advice: entry rules, ESTA guidance and safety updates before you travel.
- Florida with little ones: our guide to villas, the parks, hire cars, the ESTA and the Gulf beaches.
- The Disney parks: how Walt Disney World works with young children.
Last updated 30 July 2026.
