mrswh
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2007
I know a lot of people are looking for condos in WH for their Disney vacations, and when I was looking, I was able to get a lot of great info from this board, so I thought I'd do my part with a review of WH in general and also the specific condo we (DH, kids 21 months and 3.5 and I) stayed in.
First off, Windsor Hills is terrific! I like that it is a secured neighborhood. Everything is very neat and clean. The pool is fantastic - I love the zero entry for the smaller kids, and my husband had fun on the big slide! Note that they do not have towels at the pool, so you need to bring some from your condo. WH is exactly how you see it in the pictures and on the website. The sundries shop is pretty much like 7-11 - a small selection of overpriced items, but definitely convenient.
Everywhere you look, you will see claims that WH is 1 or 2 miles from Disney, or 2 or 3 or 5 minutes from Disney. Technically, this is true. What I learned when we were there (maybe I was just being ignorant, but this didn't occur to me before then) is that WH is 5 minutes from World Drive. The main gate. Which is still another X minutes from whichever park you are going to. Magic Kingdom is the furthest, and from door to door, once you drive, park, take the tram to the TTC, and the monorail to MK, it's a good 45 minutes. I'm not complaining, because I think WH is still closer than most anywhere else offsite (and even some Disney resorts!), but if you do stay there, don't think you're going to be at Cinderella's castle 5 minutes after walking out the door.
There were a few grocery stores and quick food options nearby. Alas, no Starbucks on the way to Disney, but a new one just opened last week that is only a couple of miles out of the way.
On to the condo. We stayed in a 2 BR, 2 BA condo within 3 minutes walking of the pool. (Maybe faster if you don't have two small children and all the accompanying stuff with you.) When we arrived, the key was in the lockbox - no check-in hassle. We went in and our kids had a ball going from room to room finding all the Disney decor. "There's Ariel! There's Buzz Lightyear! There's Mickey!!" There was a wide range of Disney characters represented, and the kids loved it! The kids bedroom had a talking Mickey lamp, character blankets and pillows, stuffed Mickey and Minnie and several pieces of Disney art. The kids bathroom had Princess and Cars towels and washcloths, Disney character shower curtain rings, and more Disney art on the walls. The kitchen was stocked with kids cups, plates and place mats with Disney characters. We usually stay in hotels on vacation, and my kids felt so much more at home at this condo. My 3 year old declared that it was better than home before we even visited Disney!
For the adults, iPod docks/speakers (my iPhone worked in them as well), flat screen TVs with DVD, free wireless internet and long distance. Having a kitchen with dishwasher and full size washer/dryer was really nice too. The owner, John, and his business partner Dave couldn't have been nicer to deal with, and when I needed help with an issue (my son climbed out of the pack n play and we needed a full size crib), the property manager responded right away with the info I needed. Parking was so easy compared to a hotel - park right outside - no long hike, no parking charges. And I should mention that the place was spotlessly clean.
The only negatives were that a few of the nights we were there, we had extraordinarily loud people staying above us. Most of the reviews I have read of WH say they never heard a peep, and I think that most people don't stomp around until 3 a.m., so I think this was an unusual circumstance and I won't let it stop me from staying there again. Also, when you stay at a condo, you're not likely to get a hotel caliber bed. The beds were fine and we got used to them (the kids didn't notice a difference), but don't expect the heavenly bed with 1000 thread count linens.
We have never stayed in a vacation condo before but now that we have, I don't think we'll ever stay at a hotel for Disney again. The only edge I'd give to Disney properties is if you stay at a monorail resort (Poly, GF or CR), because of the convenience. But, I have to say that for most that convenience isn't worth the (no kidding) $5,000/wk price difference.
Hope this is helpful to someone - if not, well, I just had a few minutes of happy Disney memories.
The website for the condo (they have several 2 and 3 BR options - we stayed in 202C) is:
http://www.vacationcentralflorida.com/
First off, Windsor Hills is terrific! I like that it is a secured neighborhood. Everything is very neat and clean. The pool is fantastic - I love the zero entry for the smaller kids, and my husband had fun on the big slide! Note that they do not have towels at the pool, so you need to bring some from your condo. WH is exactly how you see it in the pictures and on the website. The sundries shop is pretty much like 7-11 - a small selection of overpriced items, but definitely convenient.
Everywhere you look, you will see claims that WH is 1 or 2 miles from Disney, or 2 or 3 or 5 minutes from Disney. Technically, this is true. What I learned when we were there (maybe I was just being ignorant, but this didn't occur to me before then) is that WH is 5 minutes from World Drive. The main gate. Which is still another X minutes from whichever park you are going to. Magic Kingdom is the furthest, and from door to door, once you drive, park, take the tram to the TTC, and the monorail to MK, it's a good 45 minutes. I'm not complaining, because I think WH is still closer than most anywhere else offsite (and even some Disney resorts!), but if you do stay there, don't think you're going to be at Cinderella's castle 5 minutes after walking out the door.
There were a few grocery stores and quick food options nearby. Alas, no Starbucks on the way to Disney, but a new one just opened last week that is only a couple of miles out of the way.
On to the condo. We stayed in a 2 BR, 2 BA condo within 3 minutes walking of the pool. (Maybe faster if you don't have two small children and all the accompanying stuff with you.) When we arrived, the key was in the lockbox - no check-in hassle. We went in and our kids had a ball going from room to room finding all the Disney decor. "There's Ariel! There's Buzz Lightyear! There's Mickey!!" There was a wide range of Disney characters represented, and the kids loved it! The kids bedroom had a talking Mickey lamp, character blankets and pillows, stuffed Mickey and Minnie and several pieces of Disney art. The kids bathroom had Princess and Cars towels and washcloths, Disney character shower curtain rings, and more Disney art on the walls. The kitchen was stocked with kids cups, plates and place mats with Disney characters. We usually stay in hotels on vacation, and my kids felt so much more at home at this condo. My 3 year old declared that it was better than home before we even visited Disney!
For the adults, iPod docks/speakers (my iPhone worked in them as well), flat screen TVs with DVD, free wireless internet and long distance. Having a kitchen with dishwasher and full size washer/dryer was really nice too. The owner, John, and his business partner Dave couldn't have been nicer to deal with, and when I needed help with an issue (my son climbed out of the pack n play and we needed a full size crib), the property manager responded right away with the info I needed. Parking was so easy compared to a hotel - park right outside - no long hike, no parking charges. And I should mention that the place was spotlessly clean.
The only negatives were that a few of the nights we were there, we had extraordinarily loud people staying above us. Most of the reviews I have read of WH say they never heard a peep, and I think that most people don't stomp around until 3 a.m., so I think this was an unusual circumstance and I won't let it stop me from staying there again. Also, when you stay at a condo, you're not likely to get a hotel caliber bed. The beds were fine and we got used to them (the kids didn't notice a difference), but don't expect the heavenly bed with 1000 thread count linens.
We have never stayed in a vacation condo before but now that we have, I don't think we'll ever stay at a hotel for Disney again. The only edge I'd give to Disney properties is if you stay at a monorail resort (Poly, GF or CR), because of the convenience. But, I have to say that for most that convenience isn't worth the (no kidding) $5,000/wk price difference.
Hope this is helpful to someone - if not, well, I just had a few minutes of happy Disney memories.
The website for the condo (they have several 2 and 3 BR options - we stayed in 202C) is:
http://www.vacationcentralflorida.com/
