Review Live from Windsor Hills!!!! WOW!

[WisconsinDisneyGirl]

We are currently at Windsor Hills in a 4br vacation home. Rented it from floridasunvacations.com. Just love having a house! i don't think we will ever stay at Disney again!

 

[two*little*birds]

We stayed at WH in November for 12 nights and feel the same way... doubt we'll stay on property ever again - we've already booked for 2009 too!

 

[chicagoshannon]

What do you like about it? We're considering staying there when we go in early 2010.

What's the pool like? How long did it take you to get to Disney?

 

[James65]

We're staying at a WH condo in Feb. Any info that you have on traffic, stores, etc. to share would be greatly appreciated.

 

[two*little*birds]

What’s not to like?

• You have your own pool, and the resort pool is awesome too!
• You have your own laundry facilities, which is a huge bonus!
• Your kids can have their own rooms, no more sharing a cramped hotel room!
• No need to eat on property, endless options are everywhere around WH!
• Privacy and lots of it!
• ALL the parks were within 5-10 minutes, on average we were at the parking lot within 7 minutes.
• More relaxed and less “hustle” than within the parks – especially with transportation.

 

[crgfsu1]

We too are staying in a 4BR house at WH in February - hope we have a great time, this will be new to us too

Cathy

 

[daytondisney]

We're staying at a WH condo in Feb. Any info that you have on traffic, stores, etc. to share would be greatly appreciated.

Dont know about traffic in February, but in early November it was light.

WH sits on Old Lake Wilson Rd, about 1 mile south of 192, and about 1 mile west of World Blvd (the entrance to all Disney parks). 192 is the Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy.

The area of 192 near WH is built up, but seems a little cheesy to me. No reflection on WH, which is 1st class all the way. We ate at Shoney's and compared to a dozen other Shoney's I've eaten at, this one was atrocious. Did not seem to be affiliated with national chain.

When we wanted to eat out at night, we simply went east on 192 about 4-5 miles into the heart of Kissimmee, where you can find any chain restaurant imaginable. Restaurants felt more like they were company stores (cleaner and more professional).

HERE'S A DRIVING TIP: When returning to WH at night, you'll almost always be travelling west on 192 (except from AK, when you take the local shortcut). Logic will tell you to turn onto Old Lake Wilson, which is a large intersection with 2 lanes turning left. No kidding, you will wait 5-7 minutes for a left turn signal. That doesn't seem like much, but pause here for that amount of time and see how long it really is. Most likes cycle in less than 1 minutes. SOOO, go through the light one block, turn onto Lake Wilson Rd (no signal) which intersects Old Lake Wilson about 2 blocks south.

If traffic is backed up at all in morning, you can reverse this process.

And the Sherberth Road route to AK is a real time saver. Just Google the area and you'll see it. Saves you from going east out to World Blvd only to come back west into park.

ANOTHER TIP (sort of): We had a handicap parking pass for my in-law. I noticed at the TC that the AAA Diamond lots were open next to the handicap lot. So if you buy one of those passes on eBay for about $5, you can get really close. I didn't look for/notice this at other parks.

ANOTHER TIP: When leaving MK at closing, take monorail to "resorts", not TC. You stop briely at Contemporary and then at TC. The line was 1/10th that of the line going straight to the TC. I had read this, then asked before I did it. It works, and you'll be seated comfortably on the first tram instead of packed and standing on the 4th tram.

If you do this in morning at TC going to park, you have to go through GF and Pol first, so not worth it.

 

[James65]

THANKS for the awesoem info DaytonDisney. Have saved all of it to reference in Feb!!!

 

[ekball]

Good info! Quick question...how's the water temp in the pool??? We'll be down there in two weeks to celebrate Christmas with my family (no Disney this time....I KNOW! ), would looooove to do some swimming with the kiddos if it isn't too chilly! We rented a townhouse with heated splash pool so we're really hoping to do some swimming there as well.

 

[DisnLuvr]

We are currently at Windsor Hills in a 4br vacation home. Rented it from floridasunvacations.com. Just love having a house! i don't think we will ever stay at Disney again!

Many people share your views. We are due to visit disney at the end of this year. we would like to have a home too

 

[Jennifer in MI]

I'm SO confused! We need a vacation home for our next trip down. I looked at Florida Sun Vacations and there was no mention of WH. I googled WHKissimmee and got only a 6 br 4 bath home. WE don't need anything that big!

So, where do I look for a 2 or 3 bedroom condo at WH?

Thanks!

 

[Teacher03]

I'm SO confused! We need a vacation home for our next trip down. I looked at Florida Sun Vacations and there was no mention of WH. I googled WHKissimmee and got only a 6 br 4 bath home. WE don't need anything that big!

So, where do I look for a 2 or 3 bedroom condo at WH?

Thanks!

Do you mean Florida Sun Vacation Homes? On their site you plug in the dates you need, and underneath you can choose WH and what you're looking for. The address is www.floridasunvacationhomes.com. Hope this helps.

 

[Ginzu]

Try booking through vacationcentralflorida.com - we're here right now in our 3BR condo and love it! If you have any questions, fire away...

 

[daytondisney]

I'm SO confused! We need a vacation home for our next trip down. I looked at Florida Sun Vacations and there was no mention of WH. I googled WHKissimmee and got only a 6 br 4 bath home. WE don't need anything that big!

So, where do I look for a 2 or 3 bedroom condo at WH?

Thanks!

windsorhillsrents.com (I only have 9 posts, so I couldn't put the www in front)let's you choose parameters of search. Each unit has its own website link so you can see more photos, as well as detailed terms and info.

We stayed in 3BR townhome since they all seemed to be renting for about the same as the condos. If you have kids, the townhomes are great for several reasons, among them: private spash pool and parking at your front door.

We booked Mickey's World 2 from Dina at mickeysworld.net.

You'll get all kinds of emergency contact info, and there is WH staff onsite 24/7, but I was impressed that Dina had me call her directly with any questions. I had a few, and she never failed to answer phone. Aces in my book.

 

[sympatico]

I'm SO confused! We need a vacation home for our next trip down. I looked at Florida Sun Vacations and there was no mention of WH. I googled WHKissimmee and got only a 6 br 4 bath home. WE don't need anything that big!

So, where do I look for a 2 or 3 bedroom condo at WH?

Thanks!

It should be www.windsorhillsrent.com. This is only for Windsor Hills. You can also go to the vrbo site for listings:
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/florida/central-disney-orlando/kissimmee#a2568 For both of the above sites you'll be renting directly from the owners which is usually cheaper.
There's also www.floridasunvacationhomes.com and www.allstarvacationhomes.com which are good rental agencies.

 

[MississippiMom]

I'm SO confused! We need a vacation home for our next trip down. I looked at Florida Sun Vacations and there was no mention of WH. I googled WHKissimmee and got only a 6 br 4 bath home. WE don't need anything that big!

So, where do I look for a 2 or 3 bedroom condo at WH?

Thanks!

I had not even considered the possibility of a condo/townhouse until I started reading on this board. Now, I'm discovering that everything is really too large for us. Where do I find the 2 bedroom units?

Thank you!!

 

[sympatico]

You can try www.windsorhillsrent.com or any of the listing sites like vrbo.
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/florida/central-disney-orlando/kissimmee/west#a2568

The condos all have either 2 or 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The 3 bedroom townhouses have 3 bathrooms. (No 2 br. townhouses) There are many more 3 bedroom condos than 2 but as long as the price is right what makes the difference how big it is. DH and I stay in 4 br pool homes and have stayed in a 5 br. It doesn't matter to us how big as long as the price is right.

 

[MississippiMom]

You can try www.windsorhillsrent.com or any of the listing sites like vrbo.
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/florida/central-disney-orlando/kissimmee/west#a2568

The condos all have either 2 or 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The 3 bedroom townhouses have 3 bathrooms. (No 2 br. townhouses) There are many more 3 bedroom condos than 2 but as long as the price is right what makes the difference how big it is. DH and I stay in 4 br pool homes and have stayed in a 5 br. It doesn't matter to us how big as long as the price is right.

I appreciate the response. I had looked at a few other sites and kept seeing the larger units, which are, obviously, too expensive. I know that we are looking at Peak Season prices, so I want to be as economical as possible. (Not that a Disney vacation is economical, if you know what I mean. ) I'll spend some time checking out the links that you have passed on, and see what I can find.

 

[sympatico]

I appreciate the response. I had looked at a few other sites and kept seeing the larger units, which are, obviously, too expensive. I know that we are looking at Peak Season prices, so I want to be as economical as possible. (Not that a Disney vacation is economical, if you know what I mean. ) I'll spend some time checking out the links that you have passed on, and see what I can find.

You can also try Grand Palms, Crestwynd Bay, Emerald Island, Encantada etc. These are in the same general area. You can find them on the vrbo site.
Here's a map that will show you where they are:
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/florida/central-disney-orlando/kissimmee/west#a2568

Windsor Hills is #1, Grand Palms #184, Emerald Island #15, Crestwynd Bay#7, Encantada #17
This one at Grand Palms got good reviews by a DISer that stayed there:
http://www.vrbo.com/101631

 

[mcvixen]

With so many responder raving about this place, I've sent off an inquiry to their website!