Need help with accommodations for first time family of 7

[montauk]

Hello all,
I originally posted this on the "Disney for Families" board but after reading a few posts here I think this may be a better place for it. I’m looking for help planning our first trip to the World. We will be traveling as a family of 7, my wife and I, our three Little People (11 boy, 9 girl, 7 boy), and my Mother and Father in-law. Before you say “OH, NO!” I get along great with my in-laws and enjoy their company. We would like to go this October/November for a week and are on a fairly tight budget. Our requirements are as follow: (can you tell I’m a project manager?!)

1. Good value (remember we’re on a tight budget)
2. 3-4 bedrooms
3. Kitchen
4. Clean
5. Access to some type of pool would be nice

We were thinking some type or vacation home would be best but all suggestions will be considered. It would be helpful if you included specific company names/locations of places you have experienced good or bad. Thanks for the help.

 

[crazymomof4]

It's not often I read a request for info about renting a home here on the boards. (Seems most people stay on Disney property) This is our "accomodation of choice" with our family of 6. I cannot see us living out of 2 hotel rooms for 2 wks and the cost of most hotel "suites" (2 bdrms max) is equal to or even greater than renting a 4 bdrm home!
For our last florida trip we stayed in a villa (home) in Lindfields and were very pleased. This year we rented the villa you will find using the link below:

http://www.villas2go4.com/listings/villa-listing.asp?VillaID=857&From=search

We have it for 2 weeks (9/27-10/10) and are paying $1050 TOTAL (tax incl!) We think this is a great deal as we know a 2 bdrm, 2nd floor apartment w/o air conditioning at the Jersey shore rents for more than $525/wk!!

If you type "Disney area vacation homes" or "Kissimmee rental homes" or even "Florida pool homes" into the search box you'll get more results than you can handle! I spent about 2 MONTHS looking over the thousands of homes for rent! Almost all of them have private, screened in pools. As you would expect, the homes that are a closer driving distance to WDW generally rent for more $$$ and the ones farther away rent for less. Here is a link to maps of the many develpoments in the Disney area:

http://www.kissimmee-us192.com/orlandovacationhomes/subdivision_locator.htm

We booked our villa back in Nov '02 (I think) but if you're booking for a trip for this Oct/Nov. I'll bet you'll still find plenty of homes to choose from and most likely will get great rates bc. renters lower them to try to get some last minute bookings. I found that I would usually get a better rate quote (than what is shown on the website ) by e-mailing the owner.

Best Wishes on your search and post here if you have anymore questions.
crazymomof4

 

[dizneyrulz]

I couldn't recommend Florida Dream Villas enough. I have been working with them for the last 3 or so weeks for our December trip. They have bent over backwards for us answering questions. Their website is . www.FloridaDreamVillas.co.uk.

 

[Grand Canyon]

We have rented a house the last two time. Next summer we are renting the same house for 5 weeks. We pay around $80 a day for a 4 bedroom with a pool. The house we are renting is 15 min to Disney on 192. We think it is the way to go.
here is a good sight to go to. Don't be afraid to let the people know how much you want to spend. The house may list for more than you a willing to pay but it has been my experence that to fill a time slot they do come down.

Here the sight we use

http://www.vrbo.com/vrbo/flcentral.htm#Kissimmee/Indian+Creek

 

[momtotwinglesx4]

Check out Tropical Palms Resort (www.tropicalpalms.com). You can get a cottage with 2 bedrooms (one queen or dbl. bed in each) plus a sleeping loft (sleeps 2) and a sofa-bed in the living room for about $79/night. Has a full kitchen and dining area also. The resort has a pool with a little cafe next to it and a kiddie pool. Nice lush, tropical setting w/ lots of palm trees. We enjoyed our stay there.

Sue

 

[La_brer_bear]

We've stayed at several homes found on the vrbo.com site. Not sure if it's available during the time that you can go, but this home was very convient to the parks and a good value: http://www.vrbo.com/18292.