Looking Off Site: Need help

[mkpoohgirl]

We are planning a family trip in January 2009 for 7 days and will probably stay off site. Our last trip was January 2007 and stayed on-site at Broadway;this was a special trip for my oldest daugher and myself. Here are my requests: washer and dryer, full kitchen, and reasonably close to the parks. Any suggestions are appreciated. My husband has never been to WDW so I am under extreme pressure to have a perfect trip. Please help.

 

[can]

We usually stay on property, but for the first time (March '08)we will be staying at Windsor Hill Resort. They have condos, townhomes and homes from 2 br, 2 ba and up. They are supposed to be the closest off property resort to Disney. We are very excited, looks absolutely fabulous. You may want to check them out. Good luck!

 

[mkpoohgirl]

Thanks for the info. Please let us know how your stay is at Windsor. I have heard of them and would like to know more. Have fun in March.

 

[Lisa BC]

Do you want resort type amenities? pool.... pool bar, hot tubs, spa, fitness center, golf, tennis, arcade, etc

There are so many choices from very budget oriented to really extravagant. There can also be variations on accommodations within the same resort, especially if each unit is individually owned, like at Windsor Hills. There are some townhouses that are really luxuriously furnished, see www.5mins2disney.com, and others that are more basic, http://www.vrbo.com/75499.

Most of the townhouses, and many of the condos are going to have a washer & dryer... and all will have the kitchen, For us, we want a private hot tub at the residence, very comfy beds, and a nice sized walk-in shower, not some little 30" stall.

Here are some of the many choices:

Emerald Island
Windsor Hills
Coral Cay
Villas at Seven Dwarfs Lane (more budget oriented... but very new)
Ginn Reunion (pricier with great amenities)

You can save a little more money be being just a little further away at:
Hamilton's Reserve
Cumbrian Lakes etc.

So it is basically pick a budget, then pick amenities. You can get a lot of home for $550-$850 for the week in January.

Keep posting questions and giving more specific info. People will be able to give you help. You just haven't posted enough specific info for people to give you specific suggestions. Take a browse at some of the rental websites like Homeaway.com and VRBO.com, WindsorHillsrent.com This will help you see the array of what is available.

Lisa

 

[KayR]

The Formosa Gardens area is a great place to stay. There are several communities in the area with homes, condo's and townhomes. All have an easy drive into WDW.

There is Windsor Palms and Windsor Hills, both built by Pulte. Emerald Island by Park Square Homes. Those communities have condos and / or townhomes (as well as single family pool homes) and have community amenities. There are also other communities that have single family pool homes such as Formosa Gardens, Oak Island Rolling Hills and Indian Creek. These communities may have some community amenities, but not as many as WP, WH and EI.

Most places in the Formosa area will have what you request. (Washer Dryer, Full Kitchen and proximity to parks). Have a look at a site such as http://www.windsor-palms-florida.net / http://www.windsorhillsrent.com / http://www.StayAtEmeraldIsland.com . Have a look at some of the homes to see what they offer and ultimately what you would like from your WDW home from home.

 

[mkpoohgirl]

Lisa,
Thanks for the info. I guess I had not really thought about too many specifics; that is a great suggestion.
Things I would look for in an off-site location:

*a pool for the family (we do not need a private pool but somewhere fun for the girls to play). My girls really enjoy making new friends and having other children to play with while swimming.

*Comfortable beds

*Minimal distance (less than 10 minutes) to Magic Kingdom and Epcot as this is where we will spend most of our time

*Most important is somewhere clean. We usually stay in friend's/family's privately owned condos for other vacations so are spoiled with having a clean smoke free environment.

***We do not use/need: spa, fitness center, golf, tennis, arcade. We will spend most of our time at the parks and then at the pool.

Please let me know what other specifics I need to focus on for the trip. Thanks for your help.

Melanie

 

[mkpoohgirl]

Kay,
I will check out those sites. Thanks for the information.

Melanie

 

[Princess_Michelle]

mkpoohgirl.......we JUST stayed off-site at Windsor Hills. I am writing my trip report which has pictures of our 3 BR Condo, we used the company, florida sun vacation homes. Our condo (Windsor Hills) fits every one of your requirements. The beds were all comfy, right next to the pool area that has zero entry pool, water fountains, and water slide. I've included times from Condo to parks in my trip report and other details, please let me know if you have any questions

If you wanted to stay at the same condo we stayed at, I HIGHLY reccommend it, it was AWESOME!! You can view my pics on my report, but you can also go to www.floridasunvacationhomes.com and click on Windsor Hills, go to the bottom and you'll see all the properties, the one we stayed in was Treasure Cay.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1611826

 

[mkpoohgirl]

Michelle,
Thanks so much for the information. I will def. check out the website. Your trip report is EXCELLENT. Lots of great information.

Thanks,
Melanie

 

[DisneyKevin]

Hi there,

You might want to check out Dreams Villas of Orlando. They are sponsors of the boards and they support this site. It's always nice to support our sponsors.

They offer three and four bedroom townhouses. There is a full kitchen, 3 full bathrooms, washer dryer, television in each bedroom room, over 50 family friendly videos for guest's complimentary use in each townhouse and everyone that stays for 7 nights gets a free membership to Sam's Wholsesale club.

The units are smoke free and less than 2 years old.

There is ample parking and a huge pool and hot tub and all of this is within minutes to Disney. They are located just 5 miles east of Disney and 1 block off 192.

The prices are incredible. My family stayed there and thought it made their vacation.

Their prices start at $99 per night (can you believe that???)

You can find more info on their site. It can be found here:

http://www.dreamsvillas.com/

Hope you enjoy

Kevin

 

[hinodis]

We just got back from a 10 day stay at a home in Formosa Garden Estaes. It was really nice. The house was huge! Way too big for the 4 of us but it was so reasonably priced. We love having so much space. I will definately stay here again. The homeowners were wonderful. The house was beautigull!! The pool was the best part. I highly recommend a pool home. It was a 30 x 17 ft. pool with a mickey baby pool and a jacuzzi. It had a huge backyard and was very private. The best part was coming home and swimming and relaxing in the jacuzzi. The pool was the perfect temperature. You did not even have to get used to it just jump right in! No walk to the pool is the best. Here are some pictures. If you want more information let me know.

 

[mkpoohgirl]

Kevin,
Thanks for the information. I will check out their website.

Melanie

 

[mkpoohgirl]

Hinodis,
Sounds like you had a great trip.* Which home did you stay at within Famosa Gardens?* Did you go through a rental company or through an owner?* Thanks for the information.

Melanie

 

[spiceycat]

www.vrbo.com

you are looking at Lake buena Vista, and Kissimmee

www.windsorhillsrental.com
www.allstarvacations.com

here is a map
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/villa-map.php

 

[hinodis]

Hinodis,
Sounds like you had a great trip.* Which home did you stay at within Famosa Gardens?* Did you go through a rental company or through an owner?* Thanks for the information.

Melanie

Here is the website. We rented charachters corner 1. I found it on VRBO. I searched for months. The neighborhood was so nice and quiet. It was about 2 miles from WDW. It was a very easy drive and a very quick one. We never had a problem with traffic. Most importantly the homeowner could not have been nicer to us!! If you want to see more of my pictures of the house, just ask! The Master suite was amazing and had french doors out to the pool!



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