any experinece with The Magic Orlando Rental - Magic Villa 1

[loriandmatt]

we are seriously considering this property thru this rental company - looking for any feedback. good or bad.

here is a link to their site - very annoying webpage i know, but besides that, any feedback?

http://www.themagicorlandorental.com/villa1.html

 

[loriandmatt]

bumping myself back up to try and get any feeback on this place.

 

[hlbrink]

I just got back from this townhouse last night. I am waaayyyyy too tired to work on my review now, but we had a great time and were very happy with everything. No horror stories I will post more details this week!

 

[loriandmatt]

AWESOME! i can't wait to hear from you.

i have a few questions if you don't mind....

how was the towel situation? were there beach towels available or should we bring our own?

how about access to the pool and clubhouse area? were their key cards in the villa or did you have to go somewhere to get them? was there a charge or deposite on them?

did anyone in your group use the sleeper sofa? was it comfortable? were there sheets and a blanket there to use with it or should we bring our own?

any other comments or tips would be greatly appreciated.

i truely am looking forward to hearing your feedback.

- lori

 

[splashmt]

I'm looking into this villa too. What did you think was annoying about the website? I liked all the photos etc.

 

[loriandmatt]

the website is geared towards kids. it is very animated and the wording is all as if they are talking to your kids. and example from their home page:

"Yes, you are not dreaming. This is The Magic Village. And you have the power.

The power to choose from 4 very special and swish vacation homes. Our most special is The Magic Palace.

Here at the Magic Village, fantasy becomes reality. Whatever you can dream of, you can do. Here, nothing is impossible.

Magic Village is located at the Windsor Hills Resort. It’s just a few minutes drive from our favorite – Disney!

The Magic Village is only two miles away from Disney. You wanna know how far that is? Well, let’s just say that you just ride the backseat, close your eyes, and sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star 3 times. Then open your eyes. You’re in Disney!

Yes, that’s how close you will be to Disney. We will delight you as much as we can in The Magic Village.

Tell your parents to go for The Magic Village. It’s the closest you can be to magic!"

"swish" - is that even an American slang term? Very annoying - but the villas look nice and so far (i have not stayed yet, but have booked it and paid in full) i have had a good experience. i did some investigating and the info on the owners has an address in Spain. that coupled with the fact that the "Rita Smith" who is the contact on the website is very clearly a very nice woman with a strong Indian or similar accent (if her real name is Rita Smith i will eat my hat) i am chaulking the tacky website up to a cultural thing and taking the villas for what they seem to be in the pics and descriptions - very nice.

i am dying for the feedback from hlbrink who has just returned from there.

 

[hlbrink]

OK, here is the first part of my review. I will write until my toddler wakes up from his nap and then finish later

I spoke with the owner and his employee/assistant several times before we stayed in his townhome and they were always friendly and helpful (and responded quickly). I was a bit leery about renting from someone out of the country but I don't think that is too out of the ordinary for the area. When I did the property search (found the site through this board) the owner's name came up and it was all legit.

We were very impressed when we first entered the townhouse. There is a numerical keypad on the door in lieu of a key, which works out great if you have more than one set of adults staying here (we had a couple of grandparents with us).

Everything was clean and comfortable and they had our requested high chair, pack and play and baby gate waiting for us. I was impressed with the quality of the two queen beds - very comfy! The twin beds were fine too, but we did not use the sofa sleeper at all. We had enough pillows, but we are used to a middle blanket between the sheet and comforter and we didn't have those for all the beds (there was one that was intended for the sofa sleeper).

It was a bit warm inside when we arrived, so we kicked the air down a few degrees. They did not have a lockbox over the thermostat (which was nice, because I know some owners install these) but they did ask that you not lower the a/c below 73, which was more than ok with us. Our daughter, of course, wanted to jump in the splash pool right away. It was freezing!!! We thought it would be really warm because it was so small and it was so hot down there, but they stay cold for some reason. She didn't care though, and she swam until her lips turned purple.

I'm going to start a new text box now.

 

[loriandmatt]

oh, thank you hlbrink. i have been so looking forward to your feedback. hanging out and waiting for more when you get that chance....

-lori

 

[hlbrink]

There was an adequate number of bath towels, but not a huge amount of washcloths, at least for four adults and two kids using them twice a day. We did a lot of laundry while we were there and just washed towels and washcloths as we went along. We had to bring our own beach towels. If you are driving, this isn't a big deal but if you are flying you may want to wait and buy some cheap ones at one of those huge souvenir stores once you get there.

A note about laundry -- having a washer and dryer there was a godsend! We could wash clothes as we went along and came home with suitcases full of clean clothes. They have a front loader (lift the door up as you are shutting, it took me awhile to figure this out) so make sure you buy the specific laundry detergent.

This townhouse is very close to the clubhouse, which we loved. The pool over there was great (and warm). We had to pay $6 for a swipe card, but you get that back when you return the card. You can pick up a swipe card(s) in the clubhouse, they have a sign when you walk in directing you to where they are located.

My daughter loved the Disney-themed room and enjoyed having her own bathroom. She wanted to live there The other bedrooms were good, each room had a TV and there was a big TV/DVD/Playstation in the living room.

I would bring a good supply of paper plates and plastic cups, as they have ceramic plates, coffee mugs and other glassware. Trash was picked up daily, which was nice. Water pressure was not great, but I think that is a Florida/water conservation thing.

I really don't have a negative to share about this townhouse or the owners, we had a great time and were comfortable here. I give it a big thumbs up and recommend it highly.

 

[hlbrink]

No problem Lori, I was bummed when I rented because I could find no feedback at all on this place and the owners don't maintain an online guestbook that I could see.

Please let me know if I can answer any more questions, I'll be on the DIS a few more times (I have to back off for awhile because having my trip behind me and still being on the boards is kind of depressing ) We are going to DisneyLand next year, so at least I have that to look forward to

It was my first time offsite, but I think that it is the best thing we could have done, especially with having little ones. I'm not sure I can go back on-property for awhile, at least until we can afford something in the deluxe category

Hope you find this info helpful!

 

[loriandmatt]

great info - thanks so much.

your feedback really set my mind at ease. you are right, i had trouble finding any first hand reports from this owners previous renters, so your info was invaluable.

will be sure to remember the info about he special washer soap needed and the trick with the door.

you brought up an interesting point....as someone myself who has always done onsite or staying with friends/relatives....did you find that staying off site at Windsor Hills was that much less magical? more relaxing?

- lori

 

[hlbrink]

Well, this was my first trip since I had children so that skews the whole relaxation scale. I would say the things that made it more relaxing was the extra space (not being crammed into one hotel room), the kitchen (not eating breakfast out every day) and the laid-back atmosphere of the resort.
It may have been a tad less magical, but there was still plenty of pixie dust to spare. I would choose WH over a value or moderate Disney resort any day. If we could ever afford a Deluxe villa, that would sway me back to onsite I'll have to go back to work before that happens!

 

[loriandmatt]

i hear ya on the values....i don't mind them but prefer the moderates. could never (at least not for many many years) afford the deluxes. i still would stay onsite if i got a great deal but with at least one of my kids being of school age (or at least an age where it would hurt their grades to be out of school too long for a vaca) for quite a while in the future....all of our trips for a good many years will have to be at peak times. (higher prices for resorts.) even with the AP discounts, a room at a moderate is no where near as cheap as an offsite rental home. that's not even considering the space and other pluses.

anyway - thank you so much for the info - if you think of any other pearls that i might find interesting, please pass it along (PM me if you like)

i totally get you about not wanting to loom on the boards too long after a return - it's quite a bummer. (i can't help myself usually - it's kind of like crack....or potato chips. )

thanks again - lori (now very much looking forward to my stay at Magic Villa 1 in mid June. )

 

[mom2mek]

Just found this thread and was wondering how you liked it (you said your trip was mid June)? I saw this villa was available and am considering it for a future trip! Was it all you thought it would be? Thanks.

Sara

 

[New England]

I was so glad to find this thread! Loriandmatt I share all of your concerns and felt very uneasy about not being able to find much information on the company/owners. hlbrink thanks for putting us at ease. I sent you a PM since I was afriad you were off the forum sulking

The question I had was about towels for the pool and/or beach...were there any? I also saw in one of the photos you guys had a charcoal grill. When I asked I was told no grills. We grill all the time even in the New Hampshire winter and would love to have a grill to cook on at the house. Did you bring it or was it supplied? Were there any pool toys? any sand toys? OOPS after edit I realized the grill was on a photo on the company's website.....was the grill there when you rented?

 

[loriandmatt]

New England and mom2mek - here is a link to some more info about my trip.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1864671

to address your specific questions in your post:

The question I had was about towels for the pool and/or beach...were there any?

nope - plenty of bath towels but you have to supply your own beach/pool towels.

I also saw in one of the photos you guys had a charcoal grill. When I asked I was told no grills. We grill all the time even in the New Hampshire winter and would love to have a grill to cook on at the house. Did you bring it or was it supplied? OOPS after edit I realized the grill was on a photo on the company's website.....was the grill there when you rented?

nope, no grill.


Were there any pool toys? any sand toys?

none of either. i bought cheap ones from the dollar store and target at home before i came and they worked out fine.