All Star Vacation Homes

[msr709]

I've always stayed onsite when at WDW but this time we are planning on 9 of us and 5 are young children so we have opted to stay at a vacation home. We are very impressed by the online pictures of the homes at All Star (which btw is sponsored here) and would love to hear of any experiences (good or bad) on these homes. We have our sites on a category 5 home, 4bdrm, 4bath, home theater, game room, play room and pool/spa at Windsor Hills[?]. Looks great on their website but I would love to hear from someone that has actually been there and I always trust the opinions of my fellow DISers! TIA

 

[megthewonderful]

We've used All Star Vacation Homes in the past for stays at both the Windsor Hills and the Windsor Palms. The houses are exactly as they appear in the pictures. The Windsor Hills is a great community and it's so close to Disney. We've never had any problems with the homes once we arrived. For our past few trips, I've noticed that All Star seems to be one of the pricier rental companies. I've gotten great deals through Florida Sun Vacation Homes. There are many threads on the DIS Boards about All Star Vacation Homes, Florida Sun Vacation Homes and the Windsor Hills. Happy planning!

 

[mousemom11]

Also check out http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/florida/central-disney-orlando/kissimmee. When I was researching our trip, I found that All Star was about $100 more per night than renting directly from the owner.

We rented this one and were highly satisfied. http://www.vrbo.com/63018 It's right on a small lake. Nice view and good privacy. Home is very well maintained.

 

[msr709]

We've used All Star Vacation Homes in the past for stays at both the Windsor Hills and the Windsor Palms. The houses are exactly as they appear in the pictures. The Windsor Hills is a great community and it's so close to Disney. We've never had any problems with the homes once we arrived. For our past few trips, I've noticed that All Star seems to be one of the pricier rental companies. I've gotten great deals through Florida Sun Vacation Homes. There are many threads on the DIS Boards about All Star Vacation Homes, Florida Sun Vacation Homes and the Windsor Hills. Happy planning!

Funny you should mention "many threads on the DIS" about this since I did a search and all I got were reviews on the All Star Disney Resorts. What was I doing wrong I wonder. Anyway, I did search first, not to be redundant but I'm going to try again. Its always nice to hear from my fellow DISers, your opinions I value a lot more than any published "critic". Thanks for the reply!

 

[7Le's]

We've stayed once before with All-Star Homes a couple years ago. We loved it & didnt have one problem at all! Everything was exactly like I found online on their website. They even delivered us pool toys! I realize they are on the higher end with their cost, but I like the piece of mind I have with them being a larger company vs. private owners. We are going to rent a vacation home from them once again this year after we leave Disney and enjoy Thanksgiving at the rental! SO excited!! Staying in a 3bed pool home in Windsor Palms.(where we stayed last time) I will say, though in the morning, traffic heading to WDW was a bit of a pain- but the house and company were great!!!

 

[4forMe]

We've used All Star Vacation Homes in the past for stays at both the Windsor Hills and the Windsor Palms. The houses are exactly as they appear in the pictures. The Windsor Hills is a great community and it's so close to Disney. We've never had any problems with the homes once we arrived. For our past few trips, I've noticed that All Star seems to be one of the pricier rental companies. I've gotten great deals through Florida Sun Vacation Homes. There are many threads on the DIS Boards about All Star Vacation Homes, Florida Sun Vacation Homes and the Windsor Hills. Happy planning!

I agree with the above. I've read many, many threads recommending All Star Vacation and Florida Sun Vacation Homes (we use Florida Sun Vacation Homes as they have better prices).

Here is a link to a prior thread recommending All Star Vaction Homes:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2496055&highlight=all+star

 

[hannymom]

we loved our all star vacation home. my husband said we will never stay on property again and as much as i hate to admit it, i totally agree with him.
our kids are grown and we are now going down to disney with them and starting new tradition including grandchildren. it was fun when we got there and everyone was checking out the house and claiming bedrooms. we had so much room, our very own pool, and we were only minutes away from disney.
there were no 'surprises', everything was just as advertised. pictures were completely accurate. have a great time

 

[msr709]

we loved our all star vacation home. my husband said we will never stay on property again and as much as i hate to admit it, i totally agree with him.
our kids are grown and we are now going down to disney with them and starting new tradition including grandchildren. it was fun when we got there and everyone was checking out the house and claiming bedrooms. we had so much room, our very own pool, and we were only minutes away from disney.
there were no 'surprises', everything was just as advertised. pictures were completely accurate. have a great time

I've read a couple of threads that say the same thing about it being exactly the way you see them online. We are planning on using a 5 star 4 or 5 bedroom (still haven't gotten confirmation on all of our family going) and they have a special promotion. When you stayed did they have the free car rental promotion? Did you use it, and if you did, what are the extras I'm sure that have to paid since they specified they "only pay for the rental" taxes and fees are extra? Anyone use this? TIA

 

[allie_to_you]

We used them for a stay at Windsor Hills in 2008 and are using them for a stay at Lighthouse Key Resort for this December. They are great to work with and I like knowing exactly what the condo I'm going to be staying in will look like. We got $125 off the price of our condo by mentioning the code Allears. I think you have to be staying a certain number of nights though

 

[Princesseng]

After a whole lot of research, we finally decided to rent on our own. We've used VRBO successfully for shore rentals and found a great deal for an Emerald Island rental. We loved it. The pool was private and got the perfect amount of sun (something you have to really consider in these communities as they can be very cramped). We were very close to the grocery store. Emerald Island is nearest to Animal Kingdom, but not too bad a drive to the rest of the parks. I would say at the most it took us 15 minutes and we were there during spring break.

I cannot post my link as I only have 4 posts - DIS rule. If you would like the link to our rental, I can email it to you, but you must email me first, as I am not allowed to email either

 

[Hasil72]

Which home are you thinking about? We've used All Star Vacation Homes in the past and LOVE them. We're staying on site this December thanks to amazing friends with DVC point but will return to ASVH for my birthday trip next year. There are pros and cons either way. Yes, ASVH are more money but no charges for pool heat, no "security" deposit when you check in, and they always have some sort of discount going. They used to include rental insurance as well. Don't get me wrong, I have had great experiences renting though vrbo too.

We've found that, especially in the smaller homes, they have fabulous amenities like tricked out game rooms, theaters, etc. that we could only find in larger homes on vrbo or homeaway. The office is right there on 192 and the people are always easy to get in touch with and happy to help. You'll love Windsor Hills. It is wonderful!

Good luck with the planning!

 

[msr709]

Which home are you thinking about? We've used All Star Vacation Homes in the past and LOVE them. We're staying on site this December thanks to amazing friends with DVC point but will return to ASVH for my birthday trip next year. .. . You'll love Windsor Hills. It is wonderful!

Good luck with the planning!

I'm so glad to read your reply . I tend to go the more expensive way when I travel, if I can that is, and I do a lot of research before I settle on any one thing so that is why I posted this now since I'm not going until 2013. We are getting a little larger that first planned so we are now looking at the 4 or 5 bedroom homes, and the reason we like ASVH so much they seem to be the only ones with "home theaters" and its a big plus for us since we have such small children with our group and will be staying at home most nights. Trying to decide btw 2711, 2577, 2709, 8009 and 7759. We'll be taking turns watching the kids and going out in small groups but the ones left behind we figured a "home theater" would give us at least the illusion of being out. LOL Have you used any of the homes with the home theaters? We will have 3 small boys (ages 5 to 3) and one 5 yo girl, so they will be probably be in bed by 9 (if they make it that late). When I'm on vacation I tend to go to bed really late trying to soak in as much as I can. Anyway, thats the plan and I'm glad to hear ASVH seem to be all they advertise to be (which in this economy right now is really rare!). Its really a matter on settling which on which home. Thanks again!

 

[Hasil72]

Any of those would be great choices with little ones! I have to admit that I'm partial to Windsor Hills though. I'll pm you two more homes that are direct from owner (one is DIS member owned) if your party grows and you want to go way over the top. Let me know when it gets closer and I can send you some great sites that show you what's in the area. Our first stop is always Super Target since we don't have them at home. Great for picking up snacks for the house, etc. We freeze juice/water for the parks to get a break from soda and nothing beats relaxing by the pool at night with the adult beverage of your choice. My DH won't even think about choosing the home for 2012 until we get home from our Dec trip but I already have a few narrowed down. I'm going to try their payment plan this time and see how that works.

 

[msr709]

Any of those would be great choices with little ones! I have to admit that I'm partial to Windsor Hills though. I'll pm you two more homes that are direct from owner (one is DIS member owned) if your party grows and you want to go way over the top. Let me know when it gets closer and I can send you some great sites that show you what's in the area. . . .. I'm going to try their payment plan this time and see how that works.

You sound as excited as I am. Please do PM me those 2 homes you referred to, I'm loving all this planning! From what I have seen so far, I'm also leaning towards the homes in Windsor Hills exclusively. I like the set up at the clubhouse and playground is seems perfect. If we could get a home near the playground would be great but not a deal breaker. Please do send me anything you can think of that we could use. We're planning on making a grocery stop somewhere, glad to hear there is a Target nearby, we have one here and love it. It will be the first time any of us will be driving down there so any suggestions would be greatly appreciate. I've done DW only staying and eating onsite, but with all these people I think our best bet is looking local so anything you could suggest would be great. My email address is msr709@yahoo.com. Thanks again.