Help Choosing Rental

[rsmithx]

We're planning a big family trip to Disney World for January 2011. We're currently trying to find a rental home that fits our needs, which has not been easy. There are a lot of nice looking homes, but since there are only 2 kids in our party of 12 and 5 couples, most of the homes would have at least one of the couples sleeping in a child's themed room. I may mention that this trip is to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, so we'd like something as nice as we can afford. We're trying to not spend more than 1500 total on the house so that it's extremely affordable for all parties coming. I've found 3 rentals that fit our sleeping arrangements and another Windsor Hills home that I think we could push 2 twins together. From what I've read and seen on google maps, Windsor Hills has the best proximity to Disney World. One of the homes is from romancing the mouse, and the bed configuration is very nice, and their service looks amazing, but after seeing the pictures I was underwhelmed. I found a place at Lake Berkley that looked very nice that fit our needs, but it looks too far out of the way. My favorite home is at Solana Estates and has 5 masters and only 1 twin bedded theme room, which is PERFECT for our group. If it weren't for the location, I'd have already made the choice on this one. It sounds like it's maybe only 15 minutes further down the road than Windsor Hills, but this time is a big deal? We plan to mostly go to Disney World with our 2 preschoolers, but will also have a day at SeaWorld and possibly Universal Studios. I've read some threads about Solana, and it sounds nice, but some people decide it's distance is an issue. We may need some naps on a couple days. So, in the end, I'm trying to decide if the Romancing the Mouse rental will be a nice enough place for us and satisfy everyone's needs (good bathroom arrangements is an issue for the group - and DD saw a picture of a Disney themed room and is obsessed with that), or perhaps we would not be dissapointed with the distance of the Solana home? Though, it must be mentioned that we've only stayed on property, which we love, so the proximity could be an issue for us. Experiental advice would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[Brian Noble]

We plan to mostly go to Disney World with our 2 preschoolers

With kids of this age, you'll probably find that you want to take the parks in smaller doses, taking a mid-day break most days. In light of that, proximity to the parks is going to be very important. Two round trips turns 15 minutes one way into extra hour of transit time each day. We are "mid-day break" people, and we find that being farther out is noticeably less pleasant.

Would you consider two adjacent homes? With only one set of kids, you can use the common space in the "kid home" as an evening gathering spot. A little tight---especially because homes in these rental-oriented subdivisions tend to have less common space for the number of bedrooms than you might expect. But, this could widen your choices significantly. As you'd expect from such a family-oriented destination, a home with so few "kid rooms" per master suite will be hard to come by.

 

[lbklyn]

I would book directly with the owner. I use the sites www.windsorhillsrent.com and homeaway and vrbo to look at the homes. It seems like alot of the newer homes which I think tend to be further back in Windsor Hills have more adult bedrooms (less themed). And some of them are BEAUTIFUL! It would just be a longer walk (if you would walk) to the clubhouse. That is not good for my family as my mom is in a wheelchair. And I have noticed that the homes with less than spectacular back views seem to try harder with the furnishings and amenities. IMO. We rented a very nice 6 bedroom home at WH's around the lake in 2008. As much as we loved the home after the taxes and pool heat it was up around $1,800.00 and we can not afford that right now. $1,500 all included (maybe not pool heat) would be my limit. But these sites show MANY really nice homes at Windsor Hills. Good Luck!

 

[dougsmom98]

We stayed at Solana once. Here are two thread that I replied to in regards to this.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1732978&page=1&highlight=Solana+resort

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1733029&page=1&highlight=Solana+resort

While we didn't think the drive was too far at all, if you have never stayed off site, you might think it is too far. For our first three trips to Disney, we stayed in the vicinity of Windsor Hills. Once we were comfortable with the area, we decided staying further out was worth it to us to get the exact amenities we wanted at a price we could afford. Good luck.

 

[sympatico]

We're planning a big family trip to Disney World for January 2011. We're currently trying to find a rental home that fits our needs, which has not been easy. There are a lot of nice looking homes, but since there are only 2 kids in our party of 12 and 5 couples, most of the homes would have at least one of the couples sleeping in a child's themed room. I may mention that this trip is to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, so we'd like something as nice as we can afford. We're trying to not spend more than 1500 total on the house so that it's extremely affordable for all parties coming. I've found 3 rentals that fit our sleeping arrangements and another Windsor Hills home that I think we could push 2 twins together. From what I've read and seen on google maps, Windsor Hills has the best proximity to Disney World. One of the homes is from romancing the mouse, and the bed configuration is very nice, and their service looks amazing, but after seeing the pictures I was underwhelmed. I found a place at Lake Berkley that looked very nice that fit our needs, but it looks too far out of the way. My favorite home is at Solana Estates and has 5 masters and only 1 twin bedded theme room, which is PERFECT for our group. If it weren't for the location, I'd have already made the choice on this one. It sounds like it's maybe only 15 minutes further down the road than Windsor Hills, but this time is a big deal? We plan to mostly go to Disney World with our 2 preschoolers, but will also have a day at SeaWorld and possibly Universal Studios. I've read some threads about Solana, and it sounds nice, but some people decide it's distance is an issue. We may need some naps on a couple days. So, in the end, I'm trying to decide if the Romancing the Mouse rental will be a nice enough place for us and satisfy everyone's needs (good bathroom arrangements is an issue for the group - and DD saw a picture of a Disney themed room and is obsessed with that), or perhaps we would not be dissapointed with the distance of the Solana home? Though, it must be mentioned that we've only stayed on property, which we love, so the proximity could be an issue for us. Experiental advice would be helpful. Thanks.

Try looking at the homes in Emerald Island and Formosa Gardens Estates. These are in the same area as Windsor Hills. They have some nice 6 - 8 bedroom homes that should give you the bedroom arrangement that you need. Lots of listings on vrbo and homeaway. Also stayatemeraldisland.com

 

[Jeanieblue114]

Think about getting 2 rooms at the royale parc. We stayed there 1 1/2 years ago and the suites are lovely and huge and would give you a lot of space, several bathrooms, and privacy. Plus you would have maid service and a hot breakfast is included each day for everyone and a free poolside manager's reception in the afternoon with beer, wine, and soft drinks. It would be the same to have 2 huge suites next to each other as getting the house and you would have breakfast available for everyone as well.
It's a Disney Good Neighbor hotel and right near the town of Celebration.

http://www.royaleparcsuitesorlando.com/

 

[mnrose]

I stayed in a 6BR home in Emerald Island in October. One of it's BIG advantages (to me) was that 4 of the BR had king beds, with an ensuite bath. Very nice for couples traveling together to have that private bath, IMO. The 5th and 6th BRs shared a full bath, and had (respectively) a queen bed and two twins. Sounds like this could be perfect for your group. It is a very convenient location (5-7 minutes from AK via Sherbeth Road short cut, and 15-20 from Epcot, DHS and TTC for MK). Close to major grocery stores, and many, many restaurants of all types. The home had a private pool and hot tub. I rented directly from the owner, but the property is managed by All Star Vacation rentals, so you have the assurance of having available and responsive people to back up the owner. Rate from the owner is about 1/2 what it is through All Star.

This is the specific home we rented, but the owner has quite a number in Emerald Island and Formosa Gardens (equally convenient).

http://www.arnavhomes.com/emerald/8500/

His prices are VERY fair for the area (we paid $1150, all in...pool heat and taxes included).