Trying to find a rental home near Disney

[Bridgett]

We need something inexpensive, does not need to be very fancy, near WDW. We will be going in March sometime. We will have four adults and 7 kids (all under 12). So we need at least three bedrooms....the kids will all want to sleep together on the floor anyways! There are so many places with info, it's hard to truely find a good deal. Any suggestions?

Thank you,

Bridgett

[Robinrs]

I posted my experience on another post ... CLICK HERE (http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=144056) Our rate was lower than any hotel I could find during a holiday week and worth every dime.

[Bridgett]

robinrs,

I had read your post, but now I can't find it! Can you give me the name again of where you stayed, and is there a link to a site for them (or a number to call)?

Thank you.

[jdm]

Robin
I'd like to read it o but can't find it through your link....

[Robinrs]

Sorry, guys. I fixed the link on my first post!

[Bridgett]

Thanks, I got to your thread again. But I tried to do a search (not here, just a general net search) for Westgate and Florida Leisure Vacation Homes and got a bnch of junk, nothing amed that specifically. Do you know if they have a website?

[Robinrs]

Here we go... ************************.
The website has photos and videos of the homes. Our video was right on!

[lynniepooh]

Try floridadreamhomes.com. We stayed in a beautiful 3 bedroom home, with a pool, just minutes away from WDW, for a fraction of cost of a hotel room.

[FLeisure]

Robinrs...
Thanks for your comments ! The videos should be absolutely spot on......I'm the person that does them !!
The reason we do them is that we want everyone to know exactly what they are getting. Other companies will generalise when you book with them so you don't know what you are getting. We prefer everyone to know as it does stop problems later on.
Also, if a guest prepays before they arrive, we can arrange for a lockbox to be placed on the door so it saves time coming to our office. More time in the pool :D

[Robinrs]

So good to see you posting again, FLeisure!

My review was a true reaction to my experience. It was incredible. This weekend we showed our own videos of the house to the family and was everyone impressed. My sister used your technique going in and out of the rooms slowly getting the whole experience. How nice to have no surprises when you finally get there!

I must say our videos made us miss it terribly, though. It was like living in Orlando and just going to the parks as a daily job! What a life!

Thanks, again my friend. :D

[FLeisure]

Bump for Al !

[simonmunro]

The floridaleisure site is WONDERFUL! Whoever put that site together is a talented person and knows what people want to see. We all have different taste in furnishings LOL, here you can pick your style. I love it. Can anyone help me figure out with a large group going and the two that don't drive want to be in the parks most of the time, how they would get back and forth at open and closing if we stayed in a florida leisure home??

[BonnieA]

simonmunro- seems to me that the non drivers will have to either go with the drivers or take a taxi.

[FLeisure]

Simon,
We come across your request several times when housing large groups. Taxi companies are certainly one option but most families have a least one driver and therefore decide to hire a mini van for whatever party size they have. It works out cheaper and far more convienient.

Thanks for the "talented" bit.......I'm going to print and frame it and show the wife everytime she has a go at me ;)

[Robinrs]

You EARNED that "talented" title, FLeisure!

I wish the other sites had the foresight to use the video as a way of showing the homes. My Mom will be in a wheelchair when we go in May or June and the video gives me a good idea of if the house is open enough for her to maneuver around.

[FLeisure]

"Earned" ....thanks....I've done my day and am now about to put my feet up . ;)

Seriously, I firmly believe that you should see what you are paying for. You work extremely hard for your vacation and you don't want it ruining. This is just one way to make sure you know what you are getting.

Robinrs - have been thinking of your comments regarding wheelchairs. Is there anything that that I could put on the website that would be more useful to you than just a video ? (Example, specific houses with wheelchair access , etc - we do have a couple that were specifically made for handicapped guests)

Whilst on the subject of web sites....is the format of our web site OK or does it need modifying in terms of layout ? I do all the web site work and really need to know if you feel it's user friendly. From time to time I feel it's clustered and could do with a more professional layout but then I get feedback saying don't change it ! Confused...you will be :)
:D

[Gillian]

Hi FLeisure! I'll jump in with some comments :D

I really like the site! I look at it and imagine I'll be going to WDW soon...

I would like to see the homes organized by community as well as bedroom #. It would also be really helpful to me to know the bed sizes (king, queen, etc) as my parents will only sleep in a king bed. And I'd like to know which houses have hot tubs!

If it would be possible to provide a little more info on the pics & videos page it would be a huge help! It can take a long time to run the video for each house, so if you have a short description of each one it would limit the homes people need to look at.

Thanks for listening :)

[FLeisure]

Thanks for that Gillian.

We have been working on the bed sizes and gathering more information on each home so that it can appear on the web site. It will take some time but we hope to have everything done within two months.

We would love to be able to state on the web site which sub division a home is on but unfortunately, for security reasons, we cannot do this. We do inform a guest which sub division the home is on when they enquire however.

Thanks again for your input...it is invaluable to us. The more ideas the merrier ! :)

[simonmunro]

Flleisure I have an idea. Before booking with you (I'm planning on it!) I went to the Kissimmee, St. Cloud convention center website to see if they had you listed. They do! BUT other peoples listings have a link to their websites and yours does not, only a link to your email. Maybe you want to ask them to add your web link as it takes the curious directly to your pictures, something no planner should miss!

[Robinrs]

Wheelchair access is not a TOP priority, just an idea for my Mom because she tires easily. We were thinking of getting her a scooter and thought an open plan house would be good enough to accommodate her.

I do like the site well enough and wish that more sites would do the video. My only problem is the song that comes on when I'm on my slooooooow computer at home... :p It takes forEVER to load!

The listing of the amount of bedrooms is great. The only other additions I'd make is a listing according to location and an availability calendar. Poor Tracey at the office get MORE calls from me because of that! I am very particular about the subdivisions and would like to be able to view only the homes in the ones I want to travel to. Is that an option???

Thanks for asking!

Robin

[simonmunro]

I'm bumping this up because I was learning so much and over the weekend it fizzled out! Anyone else have any info on some of these vacation home developments? Are any of them preferable to others? I'm esecially curious about the Indian Point/Eagle Point area. Are there any particular reasons to stay in one over the other?

[FLeisure]

Simon,
My web site has pictures of both developments and where they are situated. Go to the locations section on link mentioned above.
The main reasons are ease of getting to Disney, ease of getting to other places of interests, whether you want to be on a gated community, what type of house you want - standard or a little bit better, etc.
There are quite a few developments within 15 mins of Disney not to metion a whole lot more further out. If you have specific questions ask them all here and I'll do my best to answer them so everyone can read them.
Nigel

[leebee]

...who originally posted this topic? We stayed in a three bedroom home thru Holiday Villas (try ******************) in Oct. 1999 and were very pleased. The two main bedrooms had their own tv's, (one queen bed, one king bed) as well as the living area. (The third br had 2 twin beds) The living area had two queen sofa beds and a tv, with plenty of floor space, which might sove the "kids sleeping on the floor" request- I think there'd be enough room, and the adults could have the bedrooms! We liked it, and I think we paid $89/nt, plus tax, of course. Check them out!

[leebee]

...who originally posted this topic? We stayed in a three bedroom home thru Holiday Villas (try ******************) in Oct. 1999 and were very pleased. The two main bedrooms had their own tv's, (one queen bed, one king bed) as well as the living area. (The third br had 2 twin beds) The living area had two queen sofa beds and a tv, with plenty of floor space, which might solve the "kids sleeping on the floor" request- I think there'd be enough room, and the adults could have the bedrooms! We liked it, and I think we paid $89/nt, plus tax, of course. Check them out!

[FLeisure]

Bump for Simon !

[Gillian]

Robinrs, which subdivision is your favorite? I'm always planning the next trip :D

[Robinrs]

Gillian, I will be doing a "tour" of the subdivisions in April and will report back! So far it's Wyndham Palms but I need to check out a few more before I can claim one to be my favorite. :D

[FLeisure]

Robinrs,
Interesting choice ? Explainez-vous ?

[Robinrs]

FL:The reason I mentioned them is because they offer so many conveniences in the resort and my Mom will not be leaving the subdivision much when we go down. It gives her a chance to feel like she's at a resort. The amenities aren't that necessary for me, I just like nice and quiet, but my Mom loves the idea of the convenience store and the cinema.

Are you guys go to offer Wyndham homes in the future??

[FLeisure]

Robinrs,
It is a possibility in the future but we simply haven't been asked by any homeowners on there if we want to manage their property as yet. Once that happens we will consider the situation and it really depends on the house whether we take it on.

I have to say Wyndham Palms looks a nice development but it isn't the traditional type of short term rental zone (STR). The development does feel like a resort and everything does look nice. I do have my reservations about the condos that are built there and the actual amount of people that stay there could make it feel cramped.

My experience is that people rent homes to get away from the crowds and to enjoy their own space. Certain homes on WP are not going to get this feeling but others will. It is a very interesting development and the feedback I get from most people I talk to who have stayed there is mixed. Some love it and some hate it with very few in the middle ground.

I have to say the cinema ( does it ever show movies ?) , the large pool and the fitness center all go together well and I can see the attraction in staying there. Personally, I still prefer Sunset Lakes as the best STR in the area. Anyone else got any opinions on which development they prefer and why ?

[Elle]

Hi,
I have to disagree about Sunset Lakes, it is an OLD!! development and is fairly well run down,
I was told that they have recently had problems, as the housing association had not been doing their jobs correctly and the place became a bit of a shambles, so beware make sure that is all sorted before you go!! As for Wyndham Palms (soon to be Windsor Palms) it is Fab, brand new and luxurious highly recommended, another you should consider is the new Emerald Island Resort, which will be opened in May it will be Very Nice!!!
Good Luck!

[Gillian]

Robin, I'm looking forward to your report!

I keep thinking about buying a rental place, but it seems like sale prices have increase while rents have not. Oh well! It's fun to dream :)

[FLeisure]

Elle,
Sunset Lakes - A new HOA board was put into place in October. The previous board did underfund the development to a degree and problems occurred because of that.

I would totally dispute your comment on Sunset Lakes being "OLD". Sunset Lakes was started in 1996 and completed towards the end of 2000. Most homes are not even 3 years old yet and virtually all of them have either a lakeview or conservation view.

Sunset Lakes only has 161 homes and it is a gated community just 5 minutes from Disney if you go along Funie Steed and then cross over US 192 to get into Disney via the Animal Kingdom entrance. The community has a large community pool, kids tot lot and a general feeling of being upmarket compared to most other sub-divisions.

Emerald Island is a new resort built by Park Sq. Homes and is in it's infancy. Located near to Sunset Lakes it has a good location but building work will be going on there for 3 years at least. Frankly both this subdivision and Wyndham Palms may have nice fancy entrances but they are both trying to create a resort feel with homes. Something that may or may not work.

My main objection to these sub-divisions is the amount of people who will be staying there.....peace will be at a premium and for most folks that's why they pick a home over a hotel. Both of these communities have large townhouses either built or under construction and I seriously wonder if the club houses and communal pools will be able to cope with the number of people who will eventually use them. When you add the noise factor to this (and who wants their neighbours shouting and screaming in the pool after midnight) I just have a gut feeling that it will become it's own worst enemy.

Gillian - have you considered the resale market ? There are some great deals to be had at the moment.

[lorilori]

FLeisure: Hi. I've been emailing with Tracey and she's been absolutely wonderful as this whole idea of renting a house is so new to me. And your comments here are very helpful. Re the differences in developments, does this mean Sunset Lakes has more 'space' between houses or less people than Wyndham Palms?

[cenicienta]

Can someone help me understand what is the plus/minus of a pool home in one of the gated communities versus all the great deals people are getting on skyauction? I'm going nuts trying to understand! The auction properties would hold say 2 groups of 4 and a nice 4 bedroom home would also accomodate same. Skyauction is becomming very popular here so I feel like it's not an enormous gamble?

[FLeisure]

Lorilori - Sunset Lakes is a very peaceful development. It will certainly have less people around than Wyndham Palms. Space between homes will be the same - all developments are pretty much built to the same buidling standards/codes these days. Glad Tracey is able to answer most of your questions...feel free to ask as many as you like.

cenicienta - I really don't know anything about skyauction....do you have a web address ? I'll try and answer your point. With an auction you will never know what you are going to get......yes, there are bound to be some good deals but do you relly want to gamble with your vacation and take a chance on it being less than you wanted ? In my opinion a vacation is a special time....you've worked hard for it so why take the chance on having it ruined by trying to save a few dollers ?

A pool home whether it is in a gated community or not will be a good experience for 99% of people who choose to vacation this way. You get your own space, your own pool and none of the problems associated with staying in a hotel, ie., too many people, noise, small rooms etc.

[FLeisure]

cenicienta - I found the skyauction web site.
I didn't see any vacation homes on the site rather just a load of resorts trying to attract customers to them by auctioning their rooms / package.

The thing about an auction is that you never get to see what you are paying for before you go. Frankly, one hotel room is like another and it is the hotel's facilities that make the difference. I've nothing against hotels and often stay in them when getting away for a night or two.

A home is a different experience and is generally cheaper than a hotel when staying in the Disney area. It all depends on what you like. Most MC's don't show you the house you are going to get so it can be likened to the auction site you menitioned. We operate slightly differently in that we show you in both pictorial and video format the home you can rent before you make that decision.

[cenicienta]

The website is www.skyauction.com I think. If you're able to search you'll see all the posts from customers here. It looks like it's mostly timeshare resorts? Nice ones and people say they don't have to do a presentation on a rental.

At ************************ can I tell from the 3 and 4 digit numbers in the picture area what development the house is in? There are some beautiful houses on that page. Privacy would be a big factor in resort v home I think.

[FLeisure]

Meant to add that the closest thing to vacation homes on skyauction was holiday villas. These are basically condo's.....and people are bidding $ 123 per night plus $ 32 tax and service charge = $ 155 per night for a 3 bedroom villa/condo/townhouse.

You can get a 5 bedroom home with your own pool , not communial, for the same money !
Might even consider getting us on that site now ;)

[FLeisure]

cenicienta
Unfortunately we don't give out the full addresses on our web site for security reasons. What normally happens is that people see the homes they like and email us.....at that point we inform them which development the home is in.

You are right about timeshares on that web site......there are a lot of them, thing about a house is, you're not even taking the risk of a presentation !

Privacy...you've hit the nail on the head ! You get far more privacy in a home than in a hotel, condo or townhouse.

[Elle]

FLeasure,
I think the "resort" feel is a big plus! I have stayed on plenty STR developments Sunset Lakes Inc, yes they are quiet, for my family too quiet, I don't know whether they are particulaly unpopular but there never seemed to be anyone there, some people may think this is a major plus but for us each time it was un-nerving, OK it was gated but quite honestly anyone could get in!!! At least with the resorts you feel like you are actually on Vacation!! Lets face it, if you want a "quiet" vacation you do not go to Disney!
As for using club facilities I stayed at Wyndham Palms in peak time (Iknow it's not finished yet) and there were no more than 6 - 10 people using each of the facilities at any one time, so please do not scare people off using this type of resort simply because you are selling your own product which may or may not be "inferior"
I suppose there will always be differences in opinion when it comes down to things like this but I resent the fact you decry one resort in favour of another because you are a "salesman" Please give advise but not quite so biased.
Thanks.

[FLeisure]

Elle,
I am sorry you feel I have a hidden agenda. That is not the case. I am just stating my opinion when comparing two resorts. Frankly, it really doesn't matter to me which development anyone stays on other than it meets with their requirements and that they enjoy their time in Kissimmee.
As regards the "salesman" jibe......I'll treat that with the contempt it deserves. I have no problem arguing through the relative merits of any community with someone who is informed but you were the one decrying Sunset Lakes and frankly, you know nothing about it.
This forum is for people to express their opinions, I am truly pleased to see that people enjoy the Wyndham experience and I have learned from their viewpoints.
If you or others would rather I didn't post then please say so.....I just thought I could contribute something to the topic from a different viewpoint. I'll go away if I'm not wanted or if my views are deemed too controversial.

[lorilori]

EXCUSE ME!!
FLeisure: Please don't stop posting. You've provided so much wonderful insight that I wasn't able to get by viewing countless websites.

[BonnieA]

Personally I love to hear about the different neighborhoods. I have rented homes in Eagle Point and Rolling Hills, both were great homes. I use a particular home rental agency that has always given me good service. Next time I need their services I will know which areas to request. And I LOVE the quiet and privacy associated with these homes. I also love Disney but in my vacation I need down time away from Disney to regroup for the next day. And I certainly don't want to be kept up all night by loud neighbors, as I used to be when staying in motel rooms. That's why I need to know which developments will have the "resort feel" so I can avoid them.

[Elle]

FLeisure,
If I had wished you to stop posting I would have said so! I do feel however that you cannot give unbiased advise!! and that is a fact. You manage homes do you not? So accordingly you market homes, so how can you give unbiased advise? You cannot! You can preach all you like about trying to help people "enjoy their vacation" but the truth is you are making money out of the people who are "enjoying their vacation" Boards such as these are invaluable resources of imformation for people who need it, ALWAYS the best imformation comes from people with nothing to gain, you have everything to gain by giving advise here and nothing to lose!
So yes I did decry Sunset Lakes and yes that obviously touched a raw nerve, I was out of order calling it "old" but everything else I said was 100% true when I was there it was TATTY and SCRUFFY I would also point out that whilst I was there a burglary took place in an adjoining house, by someone who had the key code to the "Gated Entry System".
I repeat I do not want you to stop posting, I am sure your experience is needed here on the boards, but PLEASE stop the bias towards the homes that you manage.

[FLeisure]

Elle,
Thank you for your clarification - I am sorry you feel that way.

Sunset Lakes - for your information the gate code was changed a few months ago and is regularly changed. Please also note that other sub divisions suffer from burglaries from time to time.....including Wyndham Palms, where the thieves actually drove past a manned security gate on more than one occassion. Since these occurrencies, steps have been made at both communities to tighten security issues up.

I would genuinely appreciate your comments in regard to "TATTY and SCRUFFY" as I'm pretty sure that your last visit was a while ago. What did you see ?

No doubt this will now bring up issues of security........yes, burglaries do sometimes happen to rental homes. This is the year 2002 and it will happen here as much as it does in other areas of the World, however, the small number of incidents should not put anyone of staying in a home.

[grlzmom]

Just reading the thread and thought I would add my favorite place to stay when not staying on property is Wyndham Palms. Nothing but great experience there. Love the convenience of the store, beautiful facilities. Havent ever run into a crowd yet :) Going back in a few weeks and will see if anything has changed.

Whatever you decide bet you will love the experience of staying someplace with a little room, some privacy and a good value. Enjoy your trips.

Jeanne

[lorilori]

FLeisure: I've been working on an October trip but now we're thinking about changing our onsite reservations for next month. My quesiton is do rental homes have to be booked the further out, the better or might I still be able to find a 3bd.rental for the end of next month? Thanks.

[lorilori]

FLeisure: I've been working on an October trip but now we're thinking about changing our onsite reservations for next month. My question is do rental homes have to be booked the further out, the better or might I still be able to find a 3bd.rental for the end of next month? Thanks.

[FLeisure]

Lorilori....it all comes down to supply and demand unfortunately. The earlier you book the better choice you will have. Also, something that some folks won't realise, UK school children have their half term breaks in October. The Scottish normally take the first week of October and the English the second and third weeks. That means that the second week of October is usually very busy because UK people nearly always take two weeks off. (ie, they'll take the kids out of school for a week).

Very often by waiting until a month before you want to come, you can get a better rate but you are taking a chance the property you want won't be available. Believe it or not, we have people that book the day before they come but the choice is nearly always limited !

[FLeisure]

Just received some news that one or two of you maybe interested in :

Pulte Homes have been sued by the Wyndham Hotels Group regarding the use of the name Wyndham Palms and have lost the case which is now going to litigation.

Apparently Pulte are looking at naming the resort Windsor Palms.

[grlzmom]

Fleisure, Thanks for that lil tidbit.

Dont think Windsor sounds as nice :) We will be down there the week before Easter and I am curious to see what's changed and how it is during peak week :)

Jeanne
ten days to go :)

[Jan/Ma]

Fleisure,
You are so knowledgeable on the subject of rental homes. I was just wondering if you are familiar with "Blue Ribbon Villas International". We have a deposit on a 8 bedroon villa in Formosa Garden Estates. Could you give us any information you might have.

[Elle]

Hey FLeisure, you are a tad slow over there;) ;) I posted days ago on this thread about Wyndham Palms, You must be very busy and unable to keep your ear to the ground:D :D :D
Amazing how news travels though.
P.S. Iprefered my previous post but for some reason it was deleted!!:eek:

[FLeisure]

Jan/Ma

Formosa Gardens is an excellent location, one of the closest to Disney.

I don't know of Blue Ribbon Villas Int. but there are over 650 licensed property management co's over here so it isn't that surprising ! The only word of caution I would have is do make sure the house is licensed for short term rentals by the DBPR.

The reason I say this is because of several rumours that were flying around and a conversation I had with one of the inspector's in regard to 8,9 & 10 bedroom homes. The conversation I had revolved around the fact that the DBPR wants to or does classify 8,9 & 10 bedrooms in a similar way to hotels, eg., sprinkler system needs to be installed.

I have no doubt that the house will be very nice but the added security of having the house licensed means that the owner has to conform to certain standards.

In Polk county (this one is in Osceola) the maximum amount of people allowed in one home is 12. This is written in the Polk County Ordinance.

[lisag1]

Jan/Ma,

I recently stayed in a 6 bed/4bath villa in Formosa Gardens and would highly recommend it. They are fabulous houses and many of them offer the upgraded furniture packages. We've also rented at Chatham Park, Davenport Lakes, Rolling Hills, Formosa Gardens and this year we'll be staying at Wyndham Palms Resort. Can't wait :)

Lisa

[Elle]

Hi,
Blue Ribbon Villas are a very good and well respected company, I have used them myself.
Formossa Gardens is one of the best str developments in the area, I have also no doubt that Blue Ribbon would not rent out a home that was not licensed, they really are not a company that would do that. I do know that larger houses are a problem in Polk County but so far as I am aware that is not the case in Osceola.

[Jan/Ma]

Fleisure, Lisag1, & Elle,
Thank you so much for your responses. I appreciate all the information. I'm also glad to hear that others have heard of, and used Blue Ribbon Villas.

Jan

[UKDEB]

Jan/Ma

We have stayed at Formosa Gardens twice now and have booked to stay there again this October. We have booked directly with the owners, but their management company is Blue Ribbon Villas and we have stayed in another home on FG owned by the same people. FG is a fabulous community and the villas are beautiful and equipped to an extremely high standard. All those we have stayed at on FG have separately heatable jacuzzis - wonderful!

[grlzmom]

Just wanted to give a little report on Wyndham Palms.

We just got back from Easter week stay at a 4 br/3 bath pool home. Wonderful time, the community pool was great (very big and never crowded). Facilities wonderful, everything clean. Couldnt have had a better time. The girls loved the movie theatre. They put on movies whenever the kids wanted them and also ran a scheduled one around seven each night. Small convenience store which really had most everything you needed (at of course, inflated prices). Didnt get a chance to use the workout room but it looked like it had most of the standard stuff. Great place to be when you want a break from the parks. Was very quiet there, never any crowds. Plenty of grocery/food places within a mile of there. We also drove through Formosa Gardens which was absolutely beautiful. Definately want to stay at Wyndham Palms or Formosa Gardens next time.

Having been someone who has always stayed on disney property until last year, there are so many conveniences in renting a home that you just cant even compare. We love it, the kids love it, just the best way to do disney. So nice to be able to get up in the morning and have your coffee/tea without having to go to the restaurant or food court to get it :)

Wishing you all magical vacations

Jeanne

[lorilori]

Hi Jeanne. We'll be trying a vacation home rental for the first time in 2-1/2 weeks. Can't wait for the extra space with 3 kids! My question: was it easy enough to get to the parks from Formosa Gardens? Also, if you had a private pool at your house, was it warm enough without heating or did you have to pay to heat it? Thank you!

[lorilori]

Hi Jeanne. Thanks for the report. We'll be trying a vacation home rental for the first time in 2-1/2 weeks. Can't wait for the extra space with 3 kids! My question: was it easy enough to get to the parks from Formosa Gardens? Also, if you had a private pool at your house, was it warm enough without heating or did you have to pay to heat it? Thank you!

[grlzmom]

The parks were less than ten minutes away, it was great. With three kids you will love it. Just pulling into the driveway and going into your house vs. parking the car at the hotel and dragging the kids in after a long day :) Easily close enough to take a midday break and then head back into the parks.

We had the pool heated. Our girls liked it that way. Probably would have been ok without heating but heated it was perfect. The jacuzzi tub was a spillover from the pool so it was the same water, no hotter so we were glad to have the heat. If you are going to swim once the sun goes down I think heated is nicer :)

Did you book through a company or on your own? Just curious, we booked through a management company and was thinking maybe it would be less expensive to rent on our own next time?

Jeanne

[lisag1]

Jeanne

You're a star!!! Thanks for the mini trip report on Wyndham Palms - makes me even more excited to go in Oct!!!

Just to add my thoughts on pool heat...... We always have the pool heating on when we've been (March, May, September & November). I love getting having a dip in the late evening as it's gorgeous and warm, just like a bath.

Lori - you won't regret staying in a villa as it's soooo much more convenient than staying in a hotel room.

Lisa

[Lakul]

Hi All

I have just found this Thread and would like to mention Highlands Reserve Golf and Country Club. Located on HWY 27 its about 15 minutes from Disney. A lot of the villas back onto the golf course so you have some inbuilt extra entertainment. It's a great place to stay if you have golf nuts in your family.
There are 3 bed up to 6 bed villas. Polk County has a ruling that only so many persons can stay in each size villa eg: 10 in a 4 and 12 in a 5 bed. If the owner is caught accommodating more, they can have their licence taken away.

[Mitch`s mom]

We rented a house for the first time this year. We rented through the website vrbo and were very pleased. The house was in Westridge, about 15 -20 minutes from Disney,close enough to go for a break . It was very clean, reasonable and we had no problems whatsoever. We will never go back to hotel rooms or condos again.
We were there March 1-14th and very happy to have had the pool heat on.

[bradensmommy]

Has anyone every heard of Homes4uu.com ? We have two 7 bedroom houses rented from them for next week. The pics on the website look great, but I know they can be deceiving. Anyone know? They havent said which division we will be staying... both have private pools. Thanks

jen

[FLeisure]

Looks like another booking agency to me. I don't know of any vacation home company that has been going for 25 years....most are 10- 14 years old.
Let us know how you get on.....have a great time.