Windsor Hills Pool House opinions

[bdtracey]

I'm looking for some opinions on what to do for an upcoming trip.

Details:
- My family = me, DW, DS (will be almost 3), DD (will be 14 mo.)
- MIL & FIL = fifty somethings
- SIL & BIL = mid twenties, no kids

My family will be staying for two full weeks (14 nights), the SIL & BIL will likely only come for 1 week and the parents-in-law will likely stay for longer than a week but may likely head to the Keys for a few days.

My question is this: do we rent a pool home, hopefully from Romancing the Mouse (shameless plug ) for the full two weeks or do we just rent it for the one week when everyone will be there and then do our own thing for the other week? DW and I will likely be buying AP's so we may be able to get AP room discounts for the week on our own but then the kids don't have their own separate room. Or do we stay in a BIG pool home when everyone is around and then move to a small/cheaper pool home when we're on our own.

TIA!

 

[sympatico]

If it was me I'd stay put for the whole time in a pool home. I hate having to move everything plus having to clean out two homes instead of one. If it is a HUGE price difference then maybe I'd consider moving but it would have to be huge. The kids would probably be more content staying in one spot also.

 

[bdtracey]

Good point about the cleaning Wanda! I keep forgetting about that. I can forsee the price difference being about $60/day so for the week that would be a bit over $400. I guess I have to weigh out if that's worth the cleaning and up rooting of the family.

Thanks!

 

[sjanus]

You'll probably lose a day in moving, time involved, check out in am, check in in pm, etc. Also agree hard to uproot little ones.

On the positive side, by changing homes you'll get a fresh clean one! As clean fees are usually included in weekly rentals, probably won't have to pay two exit clean fees.

My DH and I often stay in large places, just the two of us, as we like the space! But the savings of $400 could buy you something else on the other hand.

Good luck in deciding!

Sandy

 

[castanhope]

I would stay in the big house personally, even if some of the family leaves. If you'd like to save on the cost, why not choose a villa that is cheaper than Romancing the Mouse, rather than smaller, for the whole stay? Unless they are giving you a better deal than they advertise, it seems to me that their prices are higher than most other properties in Windsor Hills. I can give you some good recommendations if you like, just send me a message!

 

[bdtracey]

Thanks for all of the replies!

castanhope - what's the difference between a pool home and a villa? I'm likely able to get the 30% off discount from Romancing the Mouse so it'll only be ~$205/night which isn't too bad.

 

[castanhope]

There's no difference between a pool home and a villa (villa just sounds fancier )

That is a pretty good rate if you get it for $205. I know their rates I saw were much higher, evidently without the discount. Depending on what season you are vacationing, you might get a nice home for around $185/night if you get a discount for the longer stay. So not a huge difference, but you might save a couple hundred bucks if you look elsewhere. Does their rate include pool heat (again, not sure of the time of year you are going), cleaning, and tax? You will have to pay all that stuff twice if you switch homes as well. Most owners do pool heat by the day, but some might give a discount for multiple week stays.

 

[traveljunkie2]

I've never stayed at WH, but I am researching it for our next trip. Could you manage with a 3br condo or townhouse? For the week when everyone is there, I would put the kids on the sofabed (or DD in the Pack N Play that is included with most rentals). Then when SIL & BIL leave, move the kids to the twin bedroom. MIL & FIL stay in the queen br as long as they are there. You can get a 3 br condo for much less than $200/nt.

We are anticipating a similar situation, and have even considered putting the sofabed mattress in the walk in closet for our kids' "bedroom"!

 

[kathie859]

There's a few different types of homes in Windsor Hills. The condos--very nice and you have access to the community pool which is lovely. There are pool homes that are attached (like a condo) but with a small (VERY small) private pool attached and then the stand-a-lone homes. For the money, I vote for a multi bedroom stand-a-lone home. It's great for multi-generational families and I wouldn't waste time packing and moving half way thru my vacation. Our last stay in Nov. 09, included GM and GP, Mom and Dad and three children. I really appreciated having room in a 4 bedroom house to spread out.

A reminder--if you buy an AP, you get free parking at the parks. Since you'll have a large party at least for a week, you may want to consider buying a Tables In Wonderland card to score discounts for food and drinks in WDW.

Have fun planning.

 

[tiggerbaby]

I'm planning a trip to Disney for the first time and when I was getting quotes I was able to get some really good prices for homes in Emerald Island. I don't even think I recall getting any rates higher than $200 a night. The folks on this board says this resort is close to Windsor Hills, not sure how to post a link to the other thread but its in this same board if you look for it.

I rented a week from sweetdreamsofdisney.com and the owner just bought this house so I was able to get a really good rate since she is just building up bookings. She also mentioned that the house will be completely renovated with new pillowtop mattresses and theme rooms (ask her for a "sneak peak"). Make sure you negotiate - all the owners seem to be willing to budge a little on the price. We can't wait!!!

 

[castanhope]

There's a few different types of homes in Windsor Hills. The condos--very nice and you have access to the community pool which is lovely. There are pool homes that are attached (like a condo) but with a small (VERY small) private pool attached and then the stand-a-lone homes. For the money, I vote for a multi bedroom stand-a-lone home. It's great for multi-generational families and I wouldn't waste time packing and moving half way thru my vacation. Our last stay in Nov. 09, included GM and GP, Mom and Dad and three children. I really appreciated having room in a 4 bedroom house to spread out.

A reminder--if you buy an AP, you get free parking at the parks. Since you'll have a large party at least for a week, you may want to consider buying a Tables In Wonderland card to score discounts for food and drinks in WDW.

Have fun planning.

That is a good description and good advice! It is a good point that if you do move down to a townhome or condo, you will lose your nice big private pool! And believe me, you will get used to that pool and not want to leave it!

 

[bearchele]

Traveljunkie, the 3 bedroom condos can only accomadate 8 and I noticed you had 10. For fire code reasons, they won't rent a condo for more than 8. Also you might be quite cramped.

 

[bdtracey]

Great tips! Thanks!

tiggerbaby - I've heard of Emerald Island but I'm not exactly sure where it is with respect to Windsor Hills. I'm going to check out that website you listed. When I was looking around initially $205/night was pretty good for one of these places. Romancing the Mouse has pretty well everything included in its price (pool heat, gas bbq, taxes, etc.) I'll have to check into the cleaning but it sounds really easy.

Apparently SIL/BIL may not be able to make it due to $$$. They just got married and want to take an official honeymoon. If they have enough $$$ they'll come with us but I kind of doubt that'll happen. I'm pretty sure that MIL/FIL will be coming but they usually don't know what they're doing until they get there. Our best bet will probably be to get something a little smaller as they're not going to be around a whole ton.

Ah the joys of planning with unpredictable people! But if we were all predictable there wouldn't be much fun in it all now would there?

 

[tiggerbaby]

BD Tracey
Just noticed you're from Canada. The owner of the place I'm renting from is Canadian too. I mailed my deposit to somewhere in Ontario.

I can't send PM yet since I don't have more than 10 posts otherwise I would let you know the unbelievable rate I paid. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post it on here either.

Anyways, you can do better on rates. Good luck!

 

[bdtracey]

From what I can see on Google Maps, VRBO, HomeAway, etc. Windsor Hills is probably the closest pool home/villa community to WDW. Does anyone know of a closer community that has pool homes/villas? Lake Bryan looks close but I think they only have condos.

 

[sympatico]

From what I can see on Google Maps, VRBO, HomeAway, etc. Windsor Hills is probably the closest pool home/villa community to WDW. Does anyone know of a closer community that has pool homes/villas? Lake Bryan looks close but I think they only have condos.

That Windsor Hills is the closest is true to a point but if your home is in the back section of WH then Rolling Hills and Formosa Gardens are just as close. Actually I think Formosa Gardens Estates is the very closest anyway. But we're only talking about 2 minutes at the most between Emerald Island and Windsor Hills .
Here's a map that will show you where all the subdivisions are. Windsor Hills is #1 and Emerald Island is #15 and you can click on the markers between them. They're all about the same distance from the Animal Kingdom section of Disney.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...8.272032,-81.608849&spn=0.068335,0.11055&z=13

These are the closest pool home communities to Disney. Other areas in Lake Buena Vista have condos or townhouses but no pool homes. It's a different county and it doesn't allow short-term rental homes.

 

[2meezers]

I think you can do much much better on the rates. I found Romancinng the Mouse (even with discounts) to be more expensive that comparable and often nicer homes IMHO. We have stayed offsite twice now and when I start planning I start hitting VRBO and Homeaway and get a short list of houses that are available and then start emailing the owners. Both times I have been able to negoiate a great deal. First time we stayed in Windsor Hills at a 4 bedrm pool house and paid about $140/night and this time we are staying in Glenbrook (farther away from Disney but we are doing other things besides the park this time) and got a 5 bedrm pool house for $100/night. It takes a lot of time to research but you can find a great house for a much better price...one that you and your family could probably stay at for the 2 weeks regardless of what family comes along.

Good Luck.

 

[bdtracey]

Sympatico - thanks for the map, that helps a TON!!!

2meezers - thanks for the info, that sounds like quite a bit of work! Just like everything else though, if you want to save a bit of money you have to put a bit of effort into it!

Cheers!

 

[dgaston]

One of the key things about Romancing the Mouse is that Holly is excellent to work with, they live at Windsor Palms, and personally meet all their guests.

 

[mrspopeye]

We are renting in Windsor Hills this fall with these folks:

http://www.storytimeorlandorental.com/index.html

They seem to have a lot of positive comments and have been nice to work with so far, price was very resonable.