Executive Pool Home?

[mama2abunch]

Has anyone ever stayed at one of these from Olando Vacations .com?

Or know anything about them...how close they are to Disney, are they nice, etc?

We have 6 children ages 9 & under & need a lot of room, a place to prepare meals (not a hotel) & reasonably priced...

 

[sympatico]

We usually rent vacation homes directly from the owners. You can choose the subdivision and exact home that way. Here is a map that shows where they are in relation to Disney.
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/villa-map.php
We use VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner) to contact the owners. This is the listing page for Kissimmee. You can also find rentals in Davenport and Clermont but they're further away.
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/florida/central-disney-orlando/kissimmee

We like the Formosa Gardens area and some of the subdivisions include Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms, Emerald Island, : these all have community facilities along with private homes, condos and townhouses. Others like Formosa Gardens Estates, Oak Island Cove/Harbor, Rolling Hills, Indian Creek etc just have pool homes. In this area you are 5 - 10 minutes from Disney property. The homes are very nice. Our extended family of 10 stayed in this one in Nov. http://www.vrbo.com/82681 but we've stayed in many more over the years. There's hundreds to choose from. Pick out a few that you like and email the owners with your dates, any questions and ask for a quote including taxes and pool heat if you need it. ( From Oct till April you'll need it. )
Some have their own listing sites:
Windsor Hills: www.windsorhillsrent.com
Emerald Island: www.StayAtEmeraldIsland.com
Windsor Palms: www.windsor-palms-florida.net
Indian Creek: http://www.indiancreekflorida.com

There are also some in the Poinciana area. If you pick Terra Verde from the list in the bottom right corner, it will zoom into to that area and you can see others.
If you don't want to deal with owners then two good rental companies are www.allstarvacationhomes.com and www.floridasunvacationhomes.com
But you'll get a better price directly from the owners.

 

[Brian Noble]

I also have rented directly from owners. Many folks prefer renting from an agency, because dealing with a company is a little more comfortable in a variety of ways. However, I would *not* rent from anyone who can't tell you what *specific* home you are getting, so you know exactly where it is, and exactly how it is furnished.

Don't settle for "all our homes are 15 minutes from Disney"---sure, 15 minutes from some remote corner of WDW property, but nowhere near that close to any park. Also, don't settle for "each home is exceptionally appointed." These are all individually owned, and will all have the quirks of their owners. Sometimes this really works, and sometimes it doesn't.

 

[KEVD]

I also have rented directly from owners. Many folks prefer renting from an agency, because dealing with a company is a little more comfortable in a variety of ways. However, I would *not* rent from anyone who can't tell you what *specific* home you are getting, so you know exactly where it is, and exactly how it is furnished.

Don't settle for "all our homes are 15 minutes from Disney"---sure, 15 minutes from some remote corner of WDW property, but nowhere near that close to any park. Also, don't settle for "each home is exceptionally appointed." These are all individually owned, and will all have the quirks of their owners. Sometimes this really works, and sometimes it doesn't.

So... If you rent from a management company can you chose the resort you want to rent in? Or do you just get whatever they have available?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

So... If you rent from a management company can you chose the resort you want to rent in? Or do you just get whatever they have available?

It depends on which management company you choose. Our first pool home was rented from Families First back in 2003. With them you don't book a specific home, just the # of BRs you request. We also requested the area behind Spendid China, any subdivision. They stuck us way down on Rt. 27, a few miles south of 192. Way too far away. Also the house was bare-bones minimum. Beige carpeting, white walls, nothing at all extra.
We still enjoyed having so much space and the private pool so next rental was thru villadirect.com. They let you choose which home you want and offers a slide show and virtual tour of each home. They were a little more expensive but we were happy with the decor and location of the homes we rented with them, 3x.
We've since bought a TS in Kissimmee so no longer rent pool homes but many disers don't recommend villadirect though we had no problems with them.

I would never rent from a company that doesn't let you choose the specific house.

 

[Brian Noble]

All Star Vacation homes is another (very large) management company that rents you a specific home so that you can see what you are getting.

They are typically more expensive than you would expect to pay direct to an owner, but quite convenient and as far as I know they have a good reputation.

 

[mama2abunch]

Thanks for all the info/help! We are going with a private rental, instead of that company that couldn't tell me where we'd be staying, or any details.

 

[mickeynut1]

All Star Vacation homes is another (very large) management company that rents you a specific home so that you can see what you are getting.

They are typically more expensive than you would expect to pay direct to an owner, but quite convenient and as far as I know they have a good reputation.

I can tell you from experience (2 times) that All Star Vacation Homes is an AWESOME company . We rented from them in March 2007 and March 2008 and were more than pleased both times . The staff is amazing and the homes are absolutely gorgeous. We stayed in Acadia Estates both times (6 bedrm then 7 bedrm) and the subdivision was convenient to everything. Plus what you see online is what you get. There are so many pictures of all the homes and different categories that you know just what you're getting before you arrive. And check-in and check-out couldn't be easier, IMO. But as this poster mentioned, they are more expensive than directly through an owner, but we won't use anyone else should we have a need for another vacation home .

 

[KEVD]

Great info in this thread. Our last two trips we got lucky as our friends let us use their time share for dirt cheap because they could not go. We probably won't get that opportunity again. Two trips in a multi BR villa/condo and we'll never go back to staying in a single room hotel!