Help me decide ... I'm so indecisive!!

[KerriMc]

Hello ... man oh man ... I'm having an awful time choosing a place to rent for our upcoming trip in March 2008. We thought we had found the nicest home and a really nice owner in Tuscan Hills, but our dates were mixed up on her end and she had someone still renting the first night we arrive. So I began my search again and have 6 places we like. I have three that are sooo nice and feel quite comfortable with, and I just can't decide!!!

Two places are in Sunrise Lakes ... neither are alarmed and the community isn't gated. I had hoped for an alarm, but they say they are in a very safe area and not to worry. I am still not one hundred percent sure about that though! The homes are both very child friendly, which is a plus for us!
One place is ... www.vrbo.com/68276 and the other is http://www.mickeys-sunrise-villa.com. The other really nice one is www.starvillasdisney.com. Now this third one has rented the dates I wanted and she feels really bad because she figured that since she hadn't heard back from me in a week that I had found another home (I didn't, but I was hired full time teaching and I haven't been on the computer at all!!). Anyways, she says she has the perfect place for us and will let us know in a couple of days! (She is in Tuscan Hills)

Another home http://www.vrbo.com/133911 is in West Haven and is nice too!! They need to know ASAP as they have had another inquiry for dates overlapping us. This house is alarmed and in a gated community.

And lastly www.ourorlandoretreat.com This is also in Tuscan Hills. This is who our original contact helped us to find after our date mix up.

Oh what to do, what to do ... my dh is no help ... he just says "whatever you want!" ... I feel like I have no time right now to be stressing about this and just want to decide!!

Can anyone help me out here? I thought for sure we wanted an alarm or a gated community, but the majority don't have alarms. Do you think that is a major issue? Gated is only coded, so I know that many delivery people know codes, so it isn't like the manned gates we had last year at WH (in a condo). The two in Sunrise Lakes are VERY child friendly and that is a plus for me. One is a mother herself and the other is a grandmother who has her grandkids visit often.

Anyways, I am rambling here and just would like your input to see what you think. I have checked on all owners and they are all verifiable.

Oh and I always thought I'd want a south facing pool ... the Tuscan Hills ones are all west facing, except for the nice woman who thinks she has another place that is really nice. We want maximum sun for March! The fellows in West Haven think they are East facing (morning sun until about 4pm)

Thanks so much if you have any ideas or comments ... I could use some help. The rest of the family likes to leave it to me to make the choice and I feel very pressured in case something doesn't go right!!!

Kerri

 

[allysmom1218]

We rented a villa in Davenport this past June which is where some of your homes are located. We loved the area and found it very easy to get to WDW and shopping, with easy access to all of the highways. We also found that you seem to get a better home (more for your money) if you don't rent really close to WDW. We rented our villa from an owner on vrbo.com and our villa was located in Grand Reserve which was a gated community in which we liked the security of. We are renting the same villa for June 2008 again for 12 days which shows that we really enjoyed it. You might want to check out the Grand Reserve area on vrbo, it is a smaller community with no community clubhouse but that didn't matter to us. The owner of our villa was very easy and great to work with which I did via emails and wire transfers for the funds. Oh, the villa we rented is #40175 on vrbo if you would like to check it out. I hope I was of some help to you, I looked for 3 months the first time before we found the villa that we liked. My DH said he wanted a villa that we would never want to leave, decorated better than a hotel suite would be, and I think I found one that was totally everything we wanted. The furnishings and decorations were more than I would of expected and the villa was exactly as the pictures.

If you have any ?'s or need more help, you can PM if you would like.

Mechelle

 

[sympatico]

All of them look nice. I would be concerned with the pool that only had solar heating, I don't think it will be enough for March. Check that the other pools are heated.
I've been through this many times and always feel that way when trying to decide between a few that's on my shortlist. Just take the plunge, pick one and don't look back. The longer you wait the more chance that someone else will book them ahead of you. They're all nice and each has it's pros and cons for you. Good luck!

 

[KerriMc]

Mechelle ... that house you stayed in is absolutely gorgeous!! If that was in my budget I would jump at it. Unfortunately because of the time frame we go, we are running into some Easter holiday rates, which makes some homes skyrocket their prices. We are trying to stay within our range!! It is just the six of us (four adults and two kids). I will keep that one in mind though for future travel. It is always nice to have previous guests give their opinion

Kerri

p.s. And as for the solar pool ... she also has electric heat and she would charge me half of the usual rate for each day ($10) and it would kick in as needed. I questioned that myself!

 

[dougsmom98]

They all look like lovely homes. I don't think you would be disappointed with any of them. That being said, I was particularly drawn to the first two homes and all the child equipment that was offered at no additional charge. Since your children are 6 and 4, you probably won't need all of that equipment, but it is a nice touch. The only thing with that first home is that it doesn't have a spa. That would be a deal breaker for me. In the second home there was a games room. Your kids would probably like the games room. The other thing that is important to our family and it may or may not be to your family is that there are more than one TV. I love to have TVs in each of the bedrooms. It really gives the kids a chance for down time when they can retreat to their own rooms after a very stimulating day and watch a few cartoons. The second home mentions that there are TVs in the bedrooms.
I think it is important to go with your gut on these decisions. If you like them all equally then go with the one with the best price. If you save $100 on the villa rate, you can go out to dinner an extra night or buy an souvenier.
Good luck.

 

[KerriMc]

ANyone else have any thoughts? Has anyone been to Sunrise Lakes (the first two are from there) or to Tuscan Hills? I'm worried about going to a house without an alarm, but don't know if I'm just being over cautious or not .... we also have a house we could rent in Orange Tree, but it is a bit more than the others, but is alarmed (www.vrbo.com/50840. I like the idea of an alarm and privacy, but she would be about one or two hundred more than the others! But the subdivision has two lovely playgrounds, backs onto orange groves, and is a lovely neighbourhood.

How important is an alarmed house to you??

Kerri

 

[disneyneighbors]

try Windsor Hills it's a really nice resort

 

[KerriMc]

We stayed at WH last year in a condo. I do like it a lot, but this year I would like our own pool. Houses at WH are more expensive than our budget allows, or I would do it in a heartbeat!!

 

[Camno's Mama]

I like the one in Orange Lake...just based purely on how pretty it is! I'm a sucker for the decorating!

I have no idea where any of these are located as I didn't look at a map or anything. You have so many choices still...no wonder you're fretting!