Good discussion!
I quoted a small portion of a previous message... I think it is very insightful and important. I have added my comments in bold, italic, underline. I am a firm believer in staying offsite, but it is more work in some ways, and there are some risks... it is important to know these so you have the right expectations.
Just to add a bit of balance ...
But
- each one is an individually owned, decorated and maintained property
(Generally true)
- if your unit is not acceptable, you have no recourse
(I have NEVER experienced this... but I always do substantial research prior to renting)
- maintenance issues can take some time to resolve
(This can be true!! You are NOT in a hotel. See my notes below for examples.)
- many often require a bit (to a lot) of self-cleaning at the end of stay (stripping beds, perhaps vacuuming)
(Will be true, but we never rented one that required anything I considered onerous. This would be a deal breaker for me. Most ask you to start a load of towels in the laundry, strip the bedding and pile it on the floor, start the dishwasher and leave no dirty dishes on the counter. These items basically make it possible for the economics to work for the owner and the cleaning company. I was happy to contribute to my savings with these small items.)
- can charge for extras, many charge for pool heat as an extra
(Absolutely true... many also have a one time cleaning fee)
Caveats
- understand all the rules terms and requirements of the owner before you go, they can be quite variable
- best to get a specific unit that comes with a recommendation from a trusted source
(VERY GOOD ADVICE... b
ut I will add, the market sets the rules for the most part. The great benefit to all of us is that there are a HUGE number of condos/villas, and so the terms and conditions are pretty standard.)
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In my opinion, a vacation at Disney is about maximizing fun and cherished memories, and reducing stress. And renting a hotel/condo rather than a room at a Disney resort is has nearly opposite stress points.
1) Transportation for the whole trip. Arrival, departure, and during the trip.
- I have traveled a LOT over the years for my work. I am used to driving in unfamiliar places and I have found it to be something you learn over time. So for me, driving in the Orlando area is no big deal... that will not be true for everyone. Getting to your condo/villa if you have never stayed there before can be stressful (in many cases there is just a small sign, or no sign, unlike a huge neon sign directing you to a hotel)... if you arrive late and are driving in the dark it can be hard to find your resort, there might be a line of cars checking in at the resort security gate, it might be hard to figure out how to get the damn key our of the lockbox when you finally get to the house. Don't underestimate how tired you are when you arrive if you have flown or driven all day to get there, and how much harder that can make things that might seem simple. For me the transportation during the stay and leaving is simple. Drive to and from the parks and back to the airport. One great thing is that rental cars can be extremely cheap in Orlando during non-peak times.
- Disney makes transportation easy. You can use magical express to get to and from the airport. While on site, you can use Disney transportation the whole time. It is PREDICTABLE... you don't have to do anything, and it is cheap/free! I would never underestimate the value here. That said, it does not come close to making up for the rest.
2) Space and amenities in your lodging.
- With an offsite condo/Villa you will get: Multiple bedrooms, in many cases multiple bathrooms (my family would never go for single bathroom lodging again. once our kids turned into teenagers at least), washer and dryer, full kitchen, pool if you are in a villa, game-room (make sure you get one that is air conditioned if you are going when it is hot as they are usually in the garage). This is a small list of the advantages, but it gives you the idea. Space, good uninterrupted sleep, privacy including bathroom privacy etc. All key ingredients to removing stress.
- A wise person long ago on these forums once stated something to the effect: "There is no magic for me when 4 people are staying in a normal hotel room with 2 beds and a single bathroom". How true! I find staying in a cramped space with kids to be extremely stressful. This is what you get with an onsite or offsite hotel in most cases. Renting multi bedroom suites at most hotels are priced well out of my budget in every case I have seen.
This post is already long, but I added some of our experiences from previous trips below.
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We have rented condos/Villas 6 times now, all were great experiences. Some comments from each (least recent to most recent):
1) Festiva Orlando resort on N. Old Lake Wilson Road.... First trip do Disney with kids... We got this on a RCI exchange from my parents, so our bar was pretty low as it was free ;-)... The resort itself was just ok, nice zero entry pool for little kids... but the walls in the condo were PAPER THIN. We could follow the conversations of our neighbors. It was 20 years ago, maybe it is better now. Still much better than a hotel given the extra space.
2) Crystal Cove... A small condo development on the road to Emerald Island resort off Funie Steed road. Nice condo, the pool was meh.. but MUCH better than a hotel room. One note on this... I rented this place from a rental agency rather than an individual and picking up the keys was a HUGE pain in the ***. The keys were at the rental office and of course our plane landed after the place closed. So I had to use a code on a cranky key box in pouring rain while my family was waiting in the car thinking I was crazy to have not rented a hotel. Then we had to drive to the place in the dark and rain to a place we had never been which was not clearly marked. In the end it was wonderful, but the beginning of the trip was stressful.
3) Windsor Hills Villa. This changed our view on taking vacations entirely. ENTIRELY. I rented this Villa in Windsor Hills as a surprise for the family. I told them it would be a nice place, but other than that was silent about it. When we got there, the whole family gasped... 5 bedroom villa, two story entrance with huge chandelier, 50 inch flat screen tv, marble counters, stainless appliances, rooms for each person, PRIVATE screened heated pool, game room with pool table, foos ball, and nintendo game console. All for the price of a moderate resort (or less) at Disney.... Plus, getting to Animal Kingdom park was FASTER than many of the resorts at Disney. I think that may have been the best vacation of our lives relative to expectations.
4/5) Sunset lakes twice. Villa with private pool on a lake. Sunset lakes is a really nice area a few miles further away from Disney than Windsor Hills. Nice homes, but not nearly as nice as Windsor Hills in my experience (also somewhat less expensive). The lakes have fishing, but we did not have much luck.
6) Lake Berkley. Really nice Villa with awesome game room and private pool... right by a lake with what we found to have GREAT fishing (Villa had fishing poles and tackle included). One evening my 16 yo son and I were out fishing and a small alligator swam by. In my opinion, vacations are about fun at the time, but also the memories. We will remember that for a long time ;-) Lake Berkley is 10-15 mins further to the parks than Windsor Hills, but I have now gotten used to driving near Disney World, so an extra 10 mins is no big deal. My job requires that I be available at most times, so having good internet access is required wherever I go. At this house the router hardware was beginning to fail when we got there. I spent an hour on the phone with the internet service provider, and it was never resolved completely. I am IT savvy, so I could keep things going, but this is the sort of problem that can occur at a condo or villa... something fails that is outside of the control of the owner or property manager in a short period of time. Could have been the pool heater, washer/dryer, or anything else. You have to be a bit flexible and even possibly handy at these places in exchange for the experience.
To the original poster:
Good luck with your trip! Get a condo/villa and add to your enjoyment!
Ed
