FW Cabins or House Rental

[cwnhokie]

We are going next year with a group of 12. 6 adults and 6 kids. Would you recommend a couple cabins or a private house rental?

 

[rt2dz]

I've stayed off site more times than I can remember; over 14, at least. Now that we have stayed onsite, I will NEVER stay offsite again. I'd rather get multiple rooms/villas/cabins. It can help keep the peace when everyone isn't really getting breaks from each other and with a large group who may have many different interests, the transportation & location can offer you a lot of freedom that would make everyone happy. So I guess what I'm saying is, getting a couple of cabins.

 

[Downtown393]

I have almost always stayed off site... I have been going to Disney since the year it opened and love it with all my heart. That being said, I prefer to save a little money by renting a house in near by Kissimmee.
With a large group you can rent a rather large home or two that have all the accomadations of home. Washer dryer, pool, ect...
And you get really great deals on them.
Yes the convenience of staying in the park is lost, but it also enables you to see the other parks easier (Sea World, Universal) or go to downtown Orlando and Church street station.
Also time is a factor. If you are going for a long period of 8 or more days the house will save you money and be more practical, enabling more money to do the dinners and shows you may want to see.
If your stay is a week or less then you may want to stay in the park just to be closer to everything.
Remeber the house cost the same regardless of the number of people. If it is $2000 for the week split into 3 couples it is a big savings vs. staying in Disney.

 

[txgirl]

I would love to hear more about this. We are staying on-site this year, but in coming years we have families interested in going who we never see anymore and we would like to spend time together in the evenings. Does anybody else have house rental experience?

 

[mommyarewegoingback]

I’ve been going to wdw since I was a babe and now I’m taking my kids (at 34). I’ve stayed onsite and offsite as a kid and as a parent. I love staying onsite when I didn’t need a kitchen. So when I was on my honeymoon or as a teenager, I loved staying onsite. However with kids I love being able to have a kitchen, laundry, whirlpool and doing “free” resort entertainment. So what I’m trying to say is if you don’t need a kitchen and all the home fixin’s definitely onsite. If you need a kitchen, laundry and you have the money do an onsite villas or fort wilderness resort. But I like to make my $’s last longer, so I can go to wdw more, I like to stay offsite at timeshares and villa rentals. Just my opinion though.

-Virginia

 

[cwnhokie]

I think we are leaning towards a house. I know my MIL would miss having a kitchen and I would miss the laundry with little ones. Also it is nice to put the kids to bed and hang out all together. If we got multiple rooms or even multiple cabins, this would be more difficult.

 

[rt2dz]

If you want to stay offsite, then stay offsite. You need to do what makes you happy. BUT, if all you want is a kitchen & washer/dryer and would still like the convience of staying onsite, have you considered renting DVC points getting maybe a grand villa at OKW? It will give you 3 bedrooms, a full kitchen, & washer/dryer. If that might interest you, you can get more info. on the DVC boards.

 

[Gillian]

If it's a group where you don't see each other all the time, it's nice to have a place to hang out, like in a house. If you have young children it's wonderful to put them to bed while you relax in the pool or living room. If you're going to be at the parks until midnight every night, it won't matter as much.

We like the onsite resorts a lot. But there are advantages either way. A big house in Windsor Palms or Emerald Island (?) is a very short drive away with little to no traffic.

As long as you'll have enough cars to be able to split up when you need to, a house can be the way to go.

DVC resorts are great too. It just depends on your budget. Renting points is a bargain, but it's still expensive. Does that make sense, LOL?

 

[mareed]

We stayed in a house (6 bed, 4 bath) over XMAS with 12 in our extended family group. We had between 3-4 vehicles at a given time, so we did have flexibility with transportation. It was great! I'd recommend a house in the area close to Animal Kingdom behind Splendid China (now closed). There are several great neighborhoods to choose from there.

 

[J&ADisneyMom]

We rented a house last Jan and it was great!!! We were about 8 miles to Disney which was perfect for us. The house had 6 bedrooms, 3 baths, large kitchen, livingroom, patio, washer/dryer... and the price was around $1000 for the week (low season, tax not included and we paid an additional $100 to heat the pool and spa-total was about $1215). The couple that owns the houses (they have 5 total) live right there and don't use a rental agency. They are available 24/7 for whatever you need. We paid $225 to book the house and then the remainder (in a money order) once we arrived and toured the house. The website is vacationears.com (hope it's OK to post it here). We rented Tropical Getaway III and have already reserved TGII for next year (they say you can see the fireworks at MK from the patio). Let me know if you have any questions.

Shell

 

[Cyndirella]

We usually travel with our friends so we rent a 4 bedroom house in one of the neighborhoods behind Splendid China as a previous poster mentioned. As much as I love Disney and the onsite resorts...I highly recommend it! It is a really short drive to the parks and we have the luxury of our own pool, hot tub, and game room. The kids don't even mind some relaxing "downtime" from the parks because there is so much to do at the house. Each bedroom has a TV/DVD and the kids' bedrooms each have a Playstation. The gameroom has a pool table, darts, and foozball. They provide sheets and towels so we don't have to worry about packing those.

The owner of the house has several in the same neighborhood (I think some are 5 and 6 bedrooms). If you're interested send me a PM and I'll give you the website address.

 

[PatricenPete]

I agree with rt2dz - rent a grand villa at one of the DVC resorts - then you get the best of both worlds.......

 

[EeyorePrincess79]

I have been to WDW more times that I can count. When I was younger we stayed onsite, then we got a condo offsite and stayed there. Now my family lives in Daytona so I have been staying there and driving in to Orlando one or two days during my trips. Last year DF and I took his family (mom, dad, sis, bro, aunt, uncle and 2 cousins- 10 people total!). We had to find something where we could all stay together and in the process of looking for rooms onsite I came across the website www.homes4uu.com
I thought it looked too good to be true. They have 2-3-4-5-6-7-8 bedroom house for rent. In July we paid like $140/night for a 4-br with 3baths. All have a built in screened in pool. It was so beautiful and so inexpensive and so hassle free. The houses are all about 5-12 minutes from the parks. They are sparkling clean and so spacious! And a bonus- you have your kitchen there so if you get hungry late at night or want to save on your food budget- voila! it's there for you to use! We loved it so much that we booked again for this coming October. This time it will be DF and I, my friend's 10yr old, and friends of ours with their 2 kids. In October we are paying $100/night I think (for 4 BR). In fact, DF and his friend have been discussing buying one of these houses as an investment. You shoudl definitely check it out!

 

[Time4Orlando]

I have stayed in vacation rental homes several times in the Orlando area in the last few years. I did the whole on-property stay and I don't think it is worth the money. The rental homes are great if you have large groups and are well worth the money. Shop around and you will find great deals, the best I've seen lately are on www.DoOrlando.com. Good luck!