Can you help an onsite family go offsite please....

[phorsenuf]

We are going to Disney from July 2-14. We usually stay onsite but this time we are going budget minded so we have decided to stay offsite. (I'm not dropping my POR ressies just yet though....LOL)

There will be 5 of us in all, me, DH, DS's 13, 15 and 18.
We are tossing around the idea of renting a house but truthfully, I'm on vacation.....I don't want to cook253 and clean. I know, it probably sounds silly...but its true.

Ideally we would like a place with a fridge, micro, breakfast included and onsite restaurant. A nice pool is a must. We will have our own car so shuttles are not necessary.

Where would be a nice place to stay? I see people talking about Vistana and other places like that but how do you go about getting them? I've been to skyauction to look, but the max stay is 7 days and they are set up like an auction. I just want to know the price upfront.

Can you help us??????????

 

[spiceycat]

how about 7 days in a timeshare(skyauction) auction - then the other 5 in a house?

to your bid you need to add $195 (exchange fee) and $15 (their fee) that all.

the Vistana are very nice - however - lately on skyauction they are overpriced (my opinion).

there is one out there - summer bay or silver lake - here it is (this doesn't always work with skyauction) don't bit on it until 3:30pm Eastern time today.

http://www.skyauction.com/action/offer/960087

for houses rental
www.vrbo.com

if you want a timeshare but don't want to bid
then go with II -
www.condodirect.com

 

[Emily and Jack's Dad]

We got a great promotional rate for a 2-bedroom at Vistana through allearsnet.com. You can't beat the price and I have been reading the reviews and most guests seem to enjoy the place. You can go to their website and see the room layouts. Seven heated pools and all the usual resort amenities - store, restaurants, plus it's relatively close to WDW. Having the kitchen and two bedrooms will be great in case we get closed out of any of the restaurants that we were interested in and don't have a PS.

Good luck.

 

[disneysteve]

A couple of comments.

Just because you stay in a house doesn't mean you need to cook and clean. You would probably have to do at least a load of laundry to wash towels, but other than that nothing you wouldn't do in a hotel room.

However, you say you'd prefer a place with breakfast included. How about the Residence Inn LBV? They have nice suites, breakfast included and a nice landscaped pool area. There is not a restaurant onsite but you are close to the Crossroads area where there are several restaurants. You can check them out at Marriott.com.

 

[SammieG]

we have often stayed in a Pool Villa and I can assure you .. I have NEVER cooked!

We like having breakfast at the house, but often also go out for breakfast too..

I agree with the previous poster.. just because you are in a villa doesnt mean you need to do anything you wouldnt do in a hotel room.. oh except these things.. sleep in your own rooms, spread out, and dont argue about who watches what on the tv as there will be 2 or 3 or 4 tv's, playstations, etc etc.

No question.. with 1 child, let alone 3 teenagers.. stay in a villa!!

 

[phorsenuf]

If we stay in a villa (home) which areas are the best. There are soooo many of them!
I like Windsor Palms because they seem to have some kid friendly amenities. What other areas have those too?
Time wise trying to figue everything out is why I tend to pay more to stay onsite! LOL
I just want to stay at a nice place........LOL

 

[crjack]

Almost every poster who has stayed at a vacation home has had a wonderful experience and finds it really hard to go back to a regular hotel room. We stayed on-site once in a moderate and just with two young children swore we could never do it again. The beds were too small and just not enough room. We loved Windsor Palms - the house, the location, the clubhouse pool but especially our own home pool and hot tub. We had drinks out on the lanai and watched them swim - best vacation ever and much more relaxing for us then being cramped. Many home owners also give an added discount for stays longer than one week. Windsor Palms did not have an on-site restaurant but there were tons nearby. We never really cooked meals there but snacks, fruit, drinks and some breakfasts during the week. Sometimes we stopped for take-out and just ate at home. It's really your choice about how much you do. Emerald Isle is another development nearby that always gets nice reviews. It also has a mixture of rental homes plus some community ammenities. Hotel Kingdom seems to have the best rates for suites and hotel rentals but for the money I would suggest checking out a few homes through www.vrbo.com to get an idea of what they are like and pricing. Good luck.

 

[digskat]

We stayed at Homewood suites on Parkway blvd. It was nice. There were 6 of us plenty of room. You could throw a rock at Disney maybe a 2min drive. We got it for around $800 canadian. This include a suite and hot breakfast buffet every morning and Mon-Thurs they had a manager's special featuring light meal ie pasta and salad (different items each night) and free unlimited beer wine and soda. This ran from 5-7pm. You can check it out on tripadvisor. Good luck and have fun. Kat

 

[UKDEB]

Just because you stay in a house doesn't mean you need to cook and clean

Exactly what I was going to say. We do use the laundry facilities, but that is a bonus to us - less clothes to pack on the way out and less to wash when we get home.

For me, the only dilemma when choosing accommodation is onsite or a villa. Both have obvious advantages and, in fact, we usually do a combination of both - a villa for the duration of the trip and maybe a couple of nights onsite mid-trip. We just pack an overnight bag. Yes, we're paying for two lots of accommodation for a couple of nights, but it's worth it for us and still cheaper than staying onsite for the entire trip. Anything else would just be a halfway house, losing the benefits of both, with the exception of The Ritz-Carlton - I'd stay there again in a heartbeat.

 

[Emily and Jack's Dad]

That last few postings represent the difference between staying on-site vs off-site for my family. We had reservations at Disney Dolphin, but then thought about the 7 days/nights in the room, eating at the nearby restaurants, room service and the other nice amenities of staying at a Disney Resort. Weighed that against having a 2-bedroom with a kitchen, washer and dryer, and though we don't plan to cook every day or do laundry often. Just having a little more space, rather than one room with 2 queen beds and a sofa, meant a big deal for us with our two small children. I agree that cooking is not a vacation, but with the kids as they are, if we can't get into a restaurant at 5-5:30, then at least we have the option of going back to the hotel, tossing together something they like, instead of wondering the resorts hoping to find something with open seating.