"Hey, Mommy, look at this!" Daniel yells from across the room. Our 6-year-old son ("Six and a half," he will tell you) is thrilled to find a video game controller attached to the TV in our hotel room. Actually, calling it a hotel room would be an understatement – it's more like an apartment, or a villa, as The Fountains resort calls it.

At nearly 1,200 square feet, with two bedrooms, two full baths, a fully equipped kitchen and a washer and dryer, our villa makes for a very comfortable weekend home away from home for the three of us – and a perfect home base for exploring all that Orlando has to offer.


Friday Night Delights

Arriving late on Friday evening, we make our way from our villa down to the poolside Wakoola Grill for a late dinner. To Daniel's surprise, his hotdog arrives on an upside-down Frisbee, which he delightedly keeps for playtime. Of the mix-your-own smoothie combinations, we choose to split a strawberry-banana concoction. And while my husband Terry and I dawdle over our food, Daniel watches kids visiting from Tennessee and Clearwater, Fla., sing karaoke versions of two Hannah Montana songs.
At nearly 1,200 square feet, with two bedrooms, two full baths, a fully equipped kitchen and a washer and dryer, our villa makes for a very comfortable weekend home away from home for the three of us

On our short walk back to our villa, we hear what we think is a distant summertime thunderstorm. But we quickly realize it's just fireworks – a reminder of how close we are to all of Walt Disney World's parks and Orlando's other theme parks.


Cool Pools and Games

Many families use their villa at The Fountains as a jumping-off point for visits to Orlando-area theme parks. For a fee, shuttles transport guests to Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld as well as the airport. The Mug O' Joe's Snack Bar serves pastries and coffee to get you going, as well as two choices of premade lunch boxes to take along.

After our late night, Daniel sleeps in and misses the cartoons in the Kids' Room. The Fountain's bustling schedule of crafts projects, scavenger hunts and other fun activities for kids begins there at 10 a.m. daily – giving guests just as many reasons to hang at the resort as to explore Orlando's other attractions. And on this trip, that is exactly what we choose to do. And we're not alone – Daniel finds plenty of playmates in the resort's pools.

We decide to cool off at Wakoola Springs, the resort's 75,000-square-foot pool complex that opened March 14. Two winding slides (where Daniel spends most of his time) and the zero-entry kiddie area stay busy all afternoon until summer showers force everyone to take a break from the sun. Families scatter for naps, late lunches or, in our case, a visit to the video arcade.

Out of 17 games, Daniel's favorites are the Kung-Fu fighting and the Rush Hour driving games, while other kids try the virtual jump rope or challenge a friend to air hockey.

Saturday evening, we decide to venture off the property for dinner and a little exploring. Although the resort is set on a quiet stretch of South International Drive, it's just about a five-minute drive from the cluster of nearby restaurants and shopping.

When we get "home" after dinner, Daniel – donning his swim goggles – submerges himself in his own personal pool, a bubble bath in our villa's two-person Jacuzzi or "bacuzzi," as he calls it.


Pleasing Property

Not wanting to miss my Sunday morning run, I hit the Moonstone Trail Promenade that circles a central pond (appropriately with two fountains) and links most of the six- and seven-story buildings. On my run, I pass barbecue grills and playgrounds sprinkled around the beautifully landscaped property. As the sun rises in the sky, the loudest sounds I hear are the quacks of ducks and the clinking of spoons on cereal bowls as families eat breakfast on their balconies.

I see a 10th building now under construction. When it opens later this year or in early 2009, its 86 two-bedroom villas will join the resort's existing 473 units. And a Benihana restaurant is planned for a plot adjacent to the resort.

At the end of our action-packed weekend, Daniel doesn't order a video game through the TV. Instead, he is content to lie in bed, watch the Disney Channel (which we don't get at home) and eat chocolate pudding.

As we drive home, he announces his top-three list: the video arcade, the "bacuzzi" and the winding slides, before he falls asleep. Terry and I decide that we'll have to return soon so we can rent a pole and go fishing in Lake Eve, play volleyball in the smaller swimming pool, rent a paddleboat in the shape of a flamingo or let Daniel test his flexibility in the limbo contest. Oh, and we just might visit a theme park, too.

For more information on planning a family getaway to The Fountains in Orlando, call 866-776-4173 or visit www.bluegreenrentals.com. Summer vacation packages are available.