Advice on renting vacation home

[Newfiescotian]

Hi folks;
All the family are hoping to visit Orlando in April 2010, but really won't know how many are going until February. Is that too late to rent a home? We are hoping to find something in Windsor Hills/Palms b/c i've been told that it the closest rental home property to Disney and other parks. I have never rented a private home, so I don't know alot about the process. We only want our own pool, don't care about clubhouses or public pools. Also, for any of you Orlando experts out there ( and there are many, as i've received some wonderful information from this site), any idea if the "free on your bday" deal will still be on at Disney in 2010? I had read that the recession would have an affect on prices in Orlando but everything still seems to be expensive as usual - do you think 2010 will bring more deals, or just more of the same? Thanks in advance to all who offer their helpful advice

 

[sympatico]

Hi, fellow Nova Scotian. I think I've seen you on the TA boards also, I don't think 2 people would have the same name.
February isn't too late if you're not fussy. There's lots of homes available in that area so I'm sure they're will be some still available. We've stayed in Windsor Hills, Emerald Island and Indian Creek, all of which are only a couple of minutes apart. BUT April is a busy month so you may not get exactly what you want if you wait.
Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms and Emerald Island all have community pools and facilities. Indian Creek, Rolling Hills, Formosa Gardens Estates, Acadia Estates, Oak Island Cove/Harbour, Sunset Lakes just have pool homes. These are all in the same general area.
You can rent from a rental company or directly with an owner. A couple of companies that get good reviews are floridasunvacationhomes.com and allstarvacationhomes.com . Their prices are higher than renting from an owner but as some say you don't have to worry about a home being sold or entering foreclosure.
We usually rent from owners. You can reserve the home by paying a deposit then about 60 days before your vacation you pay the balance although this varies. You can check out the owners using tax record websites.
I don't know much about how long the Free Birthday promo will last.

 

[castanhope]

Hello! Windsor Hills is actually the closest resort to Disney. I've never been to Windsor Palms, but I know that is is considerably further. Try VRBO, Homeaway, or Windsorhillsrent.com to find properties. Most private owners are reliable, and I wouldn't pay the higher company prices personally. There are not a lot of "deals" for renting homes unless you really wait until the last minute. I would think you would be able to find something for April if you wait until Feb. It may not be your first choice, but there should still be something decent available.

 

[Newfiescotian]

Thanks so much folks! All great advice - much appreciated! I will let the rest of the family know and get them "on the go" to start planning our vacation. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again, and I will try to share some of my experiences, if applicable.

 

[KayR]

Hello! Windsor Hills is actually the closest resort to Disney. I've never been to Windsor Palms, but I know that is is considerably further.

That is not correct. In terms of traveling, WP is perhaps a minute or two extra on your traveling times. So not really "considerably further". In terms of location - we can see the WH homes as we are leaving WP -it is just the other side of Sand Hill Road behind Rolling Hills. So literally across the street (we are currently staying at Windsor Palms).

If you will be spending a lot of the times at the parks, find what you want in a house and an owner or company that you feel comfortable with. When we are in town we rarely use the clubhouse as we have everything we need at the home. Decide how many bedrooms you will need (rule of thumb, 2 people per bedroom, plus 2 - so a 4 bedroom home sleeps max 10)

There are plenty of communities in the Formosa area which is easy to get to the parks and there are lots of good restaurants/stores close by.

www.windsor-palms-florida.net for Windsor Palms
www.StayAtEmeraldIsland.com for Emerald Island
There is also Rolling Hills, Formosa Gardens, Acadia Estates, Windsor Hills, Indian Creek - all in the area known as Formosa Gardens.

Think about traveling times - a lot of homes claim 10 minutes to Disney, but sometimes that timing seems a little off to me, however if you don't mind a longer drive, you can sometimes get a trade off in price. From the Formosa Gardens area, you can be parked at Animal Kingdom in under 10 minutes, EPCOT and DHS 15 minutes. MK approx 20 mins. However timings to the gate (especially if you plan to get there for rope drop- highly recommended in the busy times - you need to allow more time)

re: the timing. You mention April, but bear in mind, the Easter weeks are in April - they book up fast. If you are planning on Easter, then I would look for something as soon as possible (many homes are already booking up, and traditionally Thanksgiving sees more homes starting to book). If its not the Easter weeks, then you may have more choices, but try not to leave it too late.

Also, consider trip insurance to cover your non-refundable costs. Its not expensive and can really help if something unforseen happens. www.insuremytrip.com offers a wide range of insurance. We used them for this current trip.

If you have any questions, please ask.

--Kay

 

[TrustedTraveler]

A lot of good advice has been offered: especially about the other neighborhoods that are still VERY close. We've stayed in Rolling Hills 4 times, but all of those neighborhoods are nice.
We never know ahead of time how many family members or friends are coming, so we go ahead and rent a 6 bedroom/4 bath pool home that costs about the same as a 4 bedroom. We've had days when it's just the two of us and we've had times when every bed is filled. We have no interest in a community pool but use our private pool every day (and several nights!).
We stayed in a hotel room at Niagara Falls a few weeks ago, and although it was a 4 star boutique hotel, it reminded us how much more comfortable a vacation pool home really is.
If I were you I would select about a dozen homes that meet your requirements and keep track of their availability calendars. If they start filling up for the week you ant then you will have to make a decision. There are some excellent deals out there.
Good luck and have a blast!

 

[7165red]

Ask yourself how important the pool is to you. I prefer to have a pvt. pool meaning I don't want to see my neighbors to the right or left. If it is important to you check the photos of each villa very carefully.

 

[lisajl]

This is where we are staying/own pool/laundry, etc

www.itsasunnydayinflorida.com

 

[Chelley00]

We always rent at Sunset Lakes. It's smaller and not as popular as Windsor Hills. Very quiet. Sunset Lakes does have community pools. We've use fabvillas.com or vrbo.com to find places (but we usually stay at the same house)

 

[castanhope]

That is not correct. In terms of traveling, WP is perhaps a minute or two extra on your traveling times. So not really "considerably further". In terms of location - we can see the WH homes as we are leaving WP -it is just the other side of Sand Hill Road behind Rolling Hills. So literally across the street (we are currently staying at Windsor Palms).
--Kay

Sorry about that misinformation! I really thought it was further! My sense of direction is not the best at times

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

Hi! We stayed last November at this house in Windsor Hills:

yourdisneyhouse.com


It was fantastic, beautiful, and super clean!! We were also 5 minutes from the park. I highly recommend it!

 

[megthewonderful]

We stayed at the Windsor Palms last April and we booked three weeks before our trip! We went the last week of April, so it was after the Spring Break and Easter rush, which is probably why we were able to book so easily at the last minute. Also, as mentioned earlier Windsor Palms is only about a minute away from Windsor Hills. We passed it each day on our way to Disney and I don't consider a minute away considerably farther. We rented a great place through All Star Vacation Homes and plan to rent through them again for our trip again next April. Windsor Palms was quiet, clean and we were able to get to the parks within 10 or 15 minutes.