First time stay at Windsor Hills, a couple of questions....

[kerry34]

Hello everyone,

We are renting a villa in Windsor Hills in April. We were supposed to stay at the Polynesian, but due to some unexpected financial burdens that is no longer an option for us. At first I was a bit unsure about it but after reading many positive things about Windsor Hills on this board, I am feeling better. In any case, my kids saw a picture of the movie theater they have and thought that was just the best thing. They were wondering what types of movies they show and how you find out the times and frequencies they are shown. Is there a schedule you can get somewhere? The other question I have is in regards to its location. I have seen it on maps and was wondering how long it takes to get from the entrance to 192? Thanks.

 

[crjack]

Hi Kerry34,

We're from MA too and this past July we rented a 6-brdm home in Windsor Hills. We have rented vacation homes in the past and honestly we prefer them to hotel rooms, even on-site.

The homes, condos and townhouses are all very new. The movie theater isn't huge but it never seemed to have a big crowd. We have also stayed at Windsor Palms, which is the same developer but a few years earlier, and found the same to be true with their theater as well.

In the convenience store near the pool, gym and game room there is a movie schedule. If the theater isn't occupied, however, they will let you choose a movie and they will play it for you. There is so much to do there that it seems to fall down on most people's list I think once you are there.

What type of unit are you staying in? (Pool home, condo, townhouse, etc). The location is very close to the AK Lodge and you can be at the Disney property line in a very short time......from there you need to navigate to your park or restaurant. There is a back road called Sherbeth Rd that takes you into Disney very quickly.

Being from MA I will tell you that 192 reminded me a little of Rt. 1. Full of tourist shops, restaurants, etc. Many of the new resort home developments are located just off of it. It seems very busy but once you turn off of it you will be surprised at how different it is. The resort is very nice and brand new. Nearby is a grocery store, restaurants, and basically every type of store you will need.

Have fun and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Figment22]

The movie theater at Windsor Hills is just such a wonderful, yet relatively simple idea, that I'm actually surprised that other developments didn't think of it!

There are no pre-set schedules because the guests decide what movies are to be shown. In the sundry shop which is directly across the breezeway from the area where the theater is, they have a listing of about 400+ movies on DVD. You actually "rent" a DVD (except that it's free!), select an available time for the film to be shown and an attendant will run it in the theater. You can sign up the day before you want to see the film (or if times are still available on the same day.) I believe 10:00 a.m. is the first available time. The final film of the day begins at 7:00 p.m. There are no "R" rated films; all films are "G", "PG" or "PG-13" to keep it family friendly. This actually was a highlight of the trip for my kids. They're both Star Wars fans and while they've seen all six of the films, they had never seen the original trilogy on a large screen, so three nights of our vacation, we watched Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. They were in heaven.
During our stay, people selected POTC, Cars, and Hoodwinked. Obviously, just because someone else selected a specific film to be shown, anyone can attend the screening. I'd say the theatre seats about 35-40 people.

Your kids will love it!

 

[kerry34]

Thank you both for the info. Crjack, we are also renting a 6 bdrm pool home. I thought when I told all the kids that we werent staying at the Polynesian they would be upset but when I showed them pics of the house and private pool they were all excited. If it works out well then we may do that for all our future trips as well. Having a large family (5 kids) the costs really add up and this is much cheaper. The only down side is no dining plan which we all loved last trip. Thanks again.

 

[5mins2disney]

Our friends stayed in our home in Windsor Hills last month and said the movie theater was one of the highlights of their trip! They brought in popcorn, candy, drinks, etc, and "rented" and watched some of the Disney movies from the sundry shop! Of course you can always "rent" the movies and watch them in your home too for free!!

Seriously though, the resort is just incredible, it has all of the amenities of a very high end resort and the spaciousness and comfort of a high end private home... once you visit you will honestly never want to stay in a place like the Poly again! We look at people who stay onsite now and feel that THEY are the ones who don't "get it"...for the price of what people pay to stay onsite we can take 2-3 whole TRIPS to Windsor Hills, and stay in a place that is 10x nicer! You don't live in a single room with 2 beds and 1 bathroom...why on earth people would want to go on vacation and spend their vacation $$ that way is beyond me when you can have 10x the amenities at 1/3 the cost!

One of my kids favorite parts of any of our trips there is swimming in our pool, and they also love the video games we have in our home there as well....they're just as happy swimming in our pool or the resort pool as they are at the parks...and it sure is nice to kick back and watch the 50" HD plasma TV while the kids are 10 feet away in the pool! hehe

By the way... you can see / rent all of these places direct from the owner at:

http://www.windsorhillsrent.com

I'm a fairly new townhome owner at Windsor Hills and a big DISboards member...if you have any questions please feel free to ask!
- George

 

[5mins2disney]

By the way here's the shortcut directions map I give all of our guests using the backdoor route to the parks (sherbath) that takes just under 5 minutes!

http://www.5mins2disney.com/Avatar/WHshortcutdirections.jpg

 

[crjack]

Thank you both for the info. Crjack, we are also renting a 6 bdrm pool home. I thought when I told all the kids that we werent staying at the Polynesian they would be upset but when I showed them pics of the house and private pool they were all excited. If it works out well then we may do that for all our future trips as well. Having a large family (5 kids) the costs really add up and this is much cheaper. The only down side is no dining plan which we all loved last trip. Thanks again.

Honestly.....I think you are going to love all of the space! I can't imagine being in even 2 hotel rooms compared to all of the bedrooms, bathrooms, extra t.vs' and a private built in pool.

If someone wants to swim theres no need to take an elevator, walk to the pool, keep track of them in a crowded area, etc. You literally look out the kitchen and living room sliders and there is a wonderful patio area surrounding the screened-in pool! Coming for MA you definitely appreciate it because we dont have anything like that here at home.

Many of the homes have game rooms in the garage plus the resort has a community game room. Our home also had a PS2 Game system and about 10 games available. The boys in our group loved that and since we knew about it ahead of time we brought a few games to use while we were there. Many of the homes offer a game system, especially if they dont have a game room garage.

The resort offers many community ammenities like a large pool with slide, game room, fitness room, the movie theater, etc. We enjoyed the beautiful new home we rented so much that most of the time we were very content to just stay there and relax in our own private pool.

I do think that the majority of us who have rented pool homes become hooked on them and never look back at hotel rooms. Have a great time!

 

[kerry34]

5min2disney...thanks for the map. I am looking forward to using the back road. I have followed many of your posts over the past month and appreciate all your advice about renting. Windsor Hills looks very nice and I have heard nothing but positive things about it. You definately can't beat the price for the amenities that you get. I am looking forward to sitting out on the lanai at night with DH and just relax while all the kids swim. Thanks again for all your advice.
Crjack...I hope we have as good as a time as you had. My son is very happy about them having a PS2. He likes to play football games so I know he will be bringing those with him to play at night. The house we are renting also has a game room and the kids jaw dropped to the floor when I showed them the picture of that. They said that they would like to stay there for all of our trips to florida. So it looks like it will work out well. Thanks again for all your positive input.

 

[5mins2disney]

The list of resort amenities is really pretty amazing, it's just an incredible resort, one of the nicest places we've ever stayed... there's just so much to do in WHR and WDW that we have yet to do it all, that's why we keep coming back! Our friends just LOVED the movie theater when they visited, we have personally yet to go even use it! LOL

Have a GREAT time and do please report back in and let us know how you liked your trip so others can share in your experiences, and how you liked the home you rented as well!

- George


Resort Amenities:

• 
  24hr gated resort community
  24hr property management on call
  Only 2 traffic lights / 5 minutes to Disney parks
  Brand new multi-million $$ clubhouse
  10,000 sq foot clubhouse!
  Double olympic sized resort pool
  Waterpark slide, lagoon style hottub
  Lighted basketball
  Sand volleyball courts
  Tennis courts
  Putting/chipping green
  Free loaner sports equipment
  High-end kids castle themed play park
  Giant outdoor chess
  State of the art fitness facility
  Clubhouse with game room / arcade
  Outdoor ping pong
  Sundry shop
  Free DVD movie rentals in sundry shop
  50 seat private high def movie theater
  Shuttle service to/from Disney resorts
  Daily trash pickup at each house
  Free cable TV in each home / resort cable channel
  Close to numerous restaurants, shopping, more!

 

[AllesonWonderland]

I can't wait for our stay at Windsor Hills! We'll be in a 3 br townhouse, but I've already been scoping out bigger home for a trip back with friends. LOL Besides all the fabulous comments here, I read RAVE reviews on the Orlando Forum over at trip advisor, so I'm very happy with our decision. The kids are thrilled with the pics of the themed bedrooms and and the cool resort pool...I don't think we'll be missing out on any Disney magic. Plus, with all the $$ we'll be saving we'll get to go on another vacation sooner!

Anyone know if there is wireless internet access at the resort? I don't want hubby to have to work on our break, but he may have to check in. Plus, I'd like to do our Southwest checkin early to get a good boarding pass.

Thanks!

 

[5mins2disney]

The resort itself doesn't have free internet, but many of the homes, townhomes, and condos do! I hate to tell people this...lol...but if your unit doesn't have free internet, chances are there's probably an open / free WAP access point nearby you can most likely connect to in the neighborhood, when we're in our townhome we can see about 7-8 neighbors wide open WiFi access points! In our opinion they should really be locked down so only your paying guests are using your internet connection, but the reality is that there are tons of open access points all over the place.

 

[mimif1]

Thanks for posting the map! We just put a deposit on a 5 bedroom today for October. It's our first trip off-site too and I'm really interested in seeing how we like it. I always said I wouldn't stay off-site, but the cost of our house ended up being more than $200.00 less than having two rooms at a value. When I thought about 8 people sharing two rooms, the idea of "vacation" changed quite a bit! I really hope it's as great as it looks!

 

[stczt]

Thanks for all the great info, I am going to look into renting there.