I'm not much of a trip report writer, but I thought I'd drop a few lines about our recent trip to Windsor Hills.
We rented a 3 bedroom townhome through Florida Sun Vacation Homes (around $130 per night) for 9 nights - arrived Friday, May 31 and departed Sunday, June 9. In the past we have stayed onsite, but quickly outgrew that as our family expanded, and so we moved on to Wyndham Bonnet Creek - which we LOVE, and have stayed there 3 or 4 times. But this time, with myself and my husband, our three boys (ages 7, 5, and almost 2) and my mom, we wanted a 3 bedroom and because we were doing a last minute trip (6 weeks in advance), WBC only had 2 bedrooms available. So I researched, asked on here, visited websites, and finally found availability within our budget. The townhome ended up being cheaper than the 2br at WBC would have been for the same nights.
Our townhome was very close to the clubhouse, though we never used those amenities. (We thought we would, but the private pool at our townhome was more than adequate for our crowd.) The splash pad was the HIGHLIGHT of the trip for the 5 and 7 year old. It was about 10x10 foot, with stairs leading down and the deepest part was about 4.5 feet. We could sit inside in the A/C, cooking dinner or watching TV, and watch the boys swim through the sliding glass doors - the entire wall was glass! It was amazing. There was an alarm on the door that sounded after 7 seconds to alert that the door had been opened. That way the kids couldn't go outside without us knowing about it.
Shopping: at the Publix in Davenport and the Super Target on 192 in Kissimmee. Both were great. We didn't eat off-site.
Meals: each morning, I made bacon and pancakes for everyone after I got ready. I got up at 6:30 and we were all ready to go each day around 8:15 to make it for rope drop. We were always early. I put dinner in the crock pot (bbq chicken, Italian beef, etc.) and packed a picnic lunch. Lunches: sandwiches for everyone, fresh fruit, some kind of chip like goldfish, bottled water (frozen so it acted as ice packs to keep the food cool), yogurt, string cheese, and a couple of treats for the kids. We took the food in our backpack cooler, stored under the stroller, and when lunchtime came around 11:30, we either ate at a counter service restaurant if it wasn't terribly busy, or found a shady spot outside. Never felt uncomfortable doing this, and the security guards at baggage check joked that they were going to find us for their lunch hour. We returned to our townhome by 1 or 2 each day, and had dinner around 5 then headed back to the parks. Because we saved so much money on meals, we didn't feel guilty each night when we bought popcorn or ice cream or fudge to enjoy while we watched fireworks and parades.
Each afternoon, we would return for a rest and a swim to our townhome. 3 days we slept in as we had closed the parks down the night before.
Rain: we had a lot of rain last week! One day was so bad we didn't go to the parks as planned until around 4pm. That day, my mom and I took my oldest with us to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. The last night, it poured for hours, and we cut our plans short and will have to re-visit the MK next time.
It was really the best vacation we have had in ages. I did a load of laundry every day, easy-peasy; the laundry room was next to our bedroom, and I could just do it while I watched TV.
We purchased AP's this trip, so we plan to visit 3-4 more times in the next year. We will absolutely stay at Windsor Hills. Florida Sun Vacation Homes was fantastic - when the wheel popped off our stroller in the MK, I called to see if they had one we could rent. They delivered it the next morning. $35 for the week.
I was a tiny bit hesitant to rent a townhome, but I'm so glad we did. We'll be renting a larger house in February when my brother and his family join us.
What a great trip!
We rented a 3 bedroom townhome through Florida Sun Vacation Homes (around $130 per night) for 9 nights - arrived Friday, May 31 and departed Sunday, June 9. In the past we have stayed onsite, but quickly outgrew that as our family expanded, and so we moved on to Wyndham Bonnet Creek - which we LOVE, and have stayed there 3 or 4 times. But this time, with myself and my husband, our three boys (ages 7, 5, and almost 2) and my mom, we wanted a 3 bedroom and because we were doing a last minute trip (6 weeks in advance), WBC only had 2 bedrooms available. So I researched, asked on here, visited websites, and finally found availability within our budget. The townhome ended up being cheaper than the 2br at WBC would have been for the same nights.
Our townhome was very close to the clubhouse, though we never used those amenities. (We thought we would, but the private pool at our townhome was more than adequate for our crowd.) The splash pad was the HIGHLIGHT of the trip for the 5 and 7 year old. It was about 10x10 foot, with stairs leading down and the deepest part was about 4.5 feet. We could sit inside in the A/C, cooking dinner or watching TV, and watch the boys swim through the sliding glass doors - the entire wall was glass! It was amazing. There was an alarm on the door that sounded after 7 seconds to alert that the door had been opened. That way the kids couldn't go outside without us knowing about it.
Shopping: at the Publix in Davenport and the Super Target on 192 in Kissimmee. Both were great. We didn't eat off-site.
Meals: each morning, I made bacon and pancakes for everyone after I got ready. I got up at 6:30 and we were all ready to go each day around 8:15 to make it for rope drop. We were always early. I put dinner in the crock pot (bbq chicken, Italian beef, etc.) and packed a picnic lunch. Lunches: sandwiches for everyone, fresh fruit, some kind of chip like goldfish, bottled water (frozen so it acted as ice packs to keep the food cool), yogurt, string cheese, and a couple of treats for the kids. We took the food in our backpack cooler, stored under the stroller, and when lunchtime came around 11:30, we either ate at a counter service restaurant if it wasn't terribly busy, or found a shady spot outside. Never felt uncomfortable doing this, and the security guards at baggage check joked that they were going to find us for their lunch hour. We returned to our townhome by 1 or 2 each day, and had dinner around 5 then headed back to the parks. Because we saved so much money on meals, we didn't feel guilty each night when we bought popcorn or ice cream or fudge to enjoy while we watched fireworks and parades.
Each afternoon, we would return for a rest and a swim to our townhome. 3 days we slept in as we had closed the parks down the night before.
Rain: we had a lot of rain last week! One day was so bad we didn't go to the parks as planned until around 4pm. That day, my mom and I took my oldest with us to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. The last night, it poured for hours, and we cut our plans short and will have to re-visit the MK next time.
It was really the best vacation we have had in ages. I did a load of laundry every day, easy-peasy; the laundry room was next to our bedroom, and I could just do it while I watched TV.
We purchased AP's this trip, so we plan to visit 3-4 more times in the next year. We will absolutely stay at Windsor Hills. Florida Sun Vacation Homes was fantastic - when the wheel popped off our stroller in the MK, I called to see if they had one we could rent. They delivered it the next morning. $35 for the week.
I was a tiny bit hesitant to rent a townhome, but I'm so glad we did. We'll be renting a larger house in February when my brother and his family join us.
What a great trip!
