Off site or on site??

[choirfarm]

Ok.. We could do a room at POR for 693 for 7 nights (with 40 percent off) or a 2 bedroom condo for 903 plus some 85 dollar processing fee or a 3 bedroom for 973 plus the 85. We are driving, so will have our car. I have two boys ages 11 and 13 and a girl 6, so we might be splitting up sometimes... The pools and places look great at Windsor Hills or Windsor Palms, but how convenient is it?? Is the extra space worth the extra money??
My dh is also going..so there are 5 of us.
Christine

 

[sympatico]

We stayed in a 6 br house at Windsor Hills in Nov with 4 grandkids and their parents. The kids are ages 2 - 4 yrs. We found it very easy to come back to the house from Disney just after lunch for naps and leave by 4 and go back to Disney. No big deal, a half hour at most and that would be for MK. The kids had their own beds, bedrooms and bathrooms and a nice warm swimming pool on the patio. They loved it and it made for kids that were well rested. The washer and dryer made it so easy to do the laundry. They want to go back to the Florida house.
Your kids are older but they and you will appreciate have your own beds, bedrooms, and extra bathrooms. I would go with the townhouse just because of the splash pool. It's great to have when it's too late to bother going to the main pool. They can play around in the splash pool while you're watching TV or getting something to eat. Your really can't compare the cost because you're getting 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, living / dining room, 3 bathrooms and a splash pool for very little more than one hotel room/bathroom. No contest, take the townhouse.

 

[SGMCO]

Since you have 5 that does make it more difficult.
We've stayed offsite before and did not care for it but
we only have 3 in our family.
We really enjoy ME and the Disney onsite tranportation.
We enjoy being surrounded by Disney on our Whole trip.
Plus, Onsite Guest have free parking at the parks, get to
use EMHs.
But on the other hand, If I had 5 I would problably
stay offsite because I couldn't afford a Deluxe resort.
The prices for where you're looking to stay are very good,
If you really wanted to stay onsite I would look into
the Family Suite at ASMU but I think it will still cost more
than the offsite that you are looking into.
POR can accomadate 5 with a trundle bed for the little one but
it would be cramped (it offers 2 full size beds + 1 trundle).
There are pros and cons to both choices and only you have to
decide what is worth to you.

 

[4forMe]

There was a recent discussion on this exact topic. You might want to check out the following thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1704859

Good luck with your decision and in planning your trip.

I also vote for staying offsite at Windsor Hills. We will be there in July.

 

[spiceycat]

I have two boys ages 11 and 13 and a girl 6, so we might be splitting up sometimes...
Christine

sorry but splitting up and offsite are a problem.

unless you are splitting at the same park and everyone has a cell phone.

if you stay onsite - WDW transportation will make sure everyone gets back to the resort.

offsite it is up to you.

you can get a better bargin offsite than what you have quoted.
www.skyauction.com
even
www.condodirect.com

 

[spiceycat]

condodirect is too high sorry

but these are not

www.rciholidaynetwork.com

even has Cypress Pointe grand villa in a 2-bedroom and cypress pointe in a 3-bedroom for May.

 

[FayeW]

I agree with Spicey that you can get a better deal offsite than you have been quoted (but, that may depend on the time of year you are going,as well).

If you are going Sat-Sat, try Dave at www.vacationcentralflorida.com. He has 2 AND 3 bdrm condo for $399 for the week, most weeks of the year, but the price is higher for peak times. He only rents Sat-Sat, though.

I found great rates at www.floridasunvacationhomes.com. I found a 3bdrm condo for $79 per night (less a 15% discount for staying more than 7 days). My total for 9 nights will be $762.

We are going early/mid Dec, just before peak season starts for most rentals.

 

[choirfarm]

I was looking at All Star Vacation rentals because they were recommended in the unofficial guide. I could see pictures of EXACTLY the condo I would be getting with tons of information about each one. I went to the one by spiceycat, but it kept giving me places for 4 and I didn't see how to show we would have 5. Plus the information seemed sketchy on some of the places. I am looking at Oct 27-Nov 2nd. I can't do the Sat to Sat because our choir concert is Oct 26th and we can't leave until after. So how do you know what you are getting or how close the places REALLY are. The places they showed are not shown on the map in the unofficial guide which has hundreds of the names of the condo/ subdivisions shown which made me leery.'

Chrisitne

 

[stepnut]

Ok.. We could do a room at POR for 693 for 7 nights (with 40 percent off) or a 2 bedroom condo for 903 plus some 85 dollar processing fee or a 3 bedroom for 973 plus the 85. We are driving, so will have our car. I have two boys ages 11 and 13 and a girl 6, so we might be splitting up sometimes... The pools and places look great at Windsor Hills or Windsor Palms, but how convenient is it?? Is the extra space worth the extra money??
My dh is also going..so there are 5 of us.
Christine

Only you can decide if the extra space is worth it. For one thing, your condo price sounds high. I think you can do better, even at Windsor Hills. For another thing, WH is extremely convenient!!! For another thing, I can't imagine stuffing 5 people into one hotel room, but that's me. There's only 4 in our family, and having done both a hotel (although, not at WDW) and a condo (twice in Orlando, with one at WH), I vote condo hands down!!!! No contest! The roominess! The quiet! The access to my car just outside my door! No waits for bus or monorail! No crowds at the pool! The convenience of having my coffee within 4 milliseconds of me getting up, AND having it in my jammies. Being able to cook a meal, with a real kitchen, and not a styrofoam cooler and microwave. Having the kids have thier own room, own bathroom and thier own tvs! Not having housekeeping staff come in and nosy through my stuff. Not having to tiptoe around in a dark hotel room while they are sleeping and I am not...all of that is so much worth it to me!!!

Maybe it's all of my years travelling for business...I don't care for hotels in general. I'll even choose a bed & breakfast over a hotel.

 

[FayeW]

I was looking at All Star Vacation rentals because they were recommended in the unofficial guide. I could see pictures of EXACTLY the condo I would be getting with tons of information about each one. I went to the one by spiceycat, but it kept giving me places for 4 and I didn't see how to show we would have 5. Plus the information seemed sketchy on some of the places. I am looking at Oct 27-Nov 2nd. I can't do the Sat to Sat because our choir concert is Oct 26th and we can't leave until after. So how do you know what you are getting or how close the places REALLY are. The places they showed are not shown on the map in the unofficial guide which has hundreds of the names of the condo/ subdivisions shown which made me leery.'

Chrisitne

I just did a search on www.floridasunvacationhomes.com for a 3bdrm/2 bth condo for your dates and found 22 units available in Windsor Hills for your dates, at $79 per night. Just click on the picture of whichever one catches your eye, and when the screen enlarges it will show you whether it is located in Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms, Emerald Isle, etc. At that price you would be paying about $600 for 6 nights, including cleaning fee of $70 and taxes.

 

[spiceycat]

I was looking at All Star Vacation rentals because they were recommended in the unofficial guide. I could see pictures of EXACTLY the condo I would be getting with tons of information about each one. I went to the one by spiceycat, but it kept giving me places for 4 and I didn't see how to show we would have 5. Plus the information seemed sketchy on some of the places. I am looking at Oct 27-Nov 2nd. I can't do the Sat to Sat because our choir concert is Oct 26th and we can't leave until after. So how do you know what you are getting or how close the places REALLY are. The places they showed are not shown on the map in the unofficial guide which has hundreds of the names of the condo/ subdivisions shown which made me leery.'

Chrisitne

sorry should have explained better right now there is a orbit One vacation villa 2-bedroom $531.09, Polynesian Isles $610.91, silver lake $531.09, westgate $497.19 (but don't do this one), Celebrity Resort orlando $497.19.
all 2-bedroom - it sleeps 6 to 8.

would definitely recommend Silver Lakes, Polynesian Isles, and Orbit One - people from here have stayed there and were happy.

not sure about Celebrity resort,

the problem with westgate is not the resort but the sales people who won't leave you alone.

for 10/26/2008 to 11/2/2008 reservations. you just call the resort and say you be arriving on the 27 - this is not a problem if you call.

these are timeshares. the unoffically guide does not like timeshares except disney and then he had to be convienced.

since you are renting through RCI - you don't need to go to any sales pitch.

silver Lake is next to AKL - a disney resort - it is less than 1/4 mile from WDW property.

Orbit One is pretty close to - about a mile (probably less).

both of these are on AK side.

on the DD side- Cypress Pointe - but right now they don't have your dates.

 

[ALnRYSmom]

I agree with the others, the quote you were given for a 3 bdr at WH seems really high. We will be going at the beginning of June (peak season) and I was able to find a 3 bed 2 bath condo or $627 for 8 nights (the owner gave us 1 night free), that's including taxes and no cleaning fee since we are staying over 5 nights. There are no resort fees and since I am working directly with the owner there are no processing fees. Our condos owners like to use Paypal and did not charge any fee for that either, some do though. I like the Paypal option because if something goes wrong, I can always contact Paypal to get my money back.

If you do want to work directly with an owner, I suggest Windsor Hills Rents website which is run by the condo/town home owners. I was able to put in a request using the search feature and just researched the emails that I got in return from the owners.

Once we had chosen a condo and I had their name I was able to look them up on the Osceola County property appraiser website to verify ownership, which can give peace of mind that this is a not a fly by night person.

There are always going to be pro on and pro off people on these boards. All I can really say is that you need to factor in everything YOU and YOUR family want out of this vacation, how much YOUR family is willing to budget for it and what you view as must have conveniences to make this YOUR Disney Dream vacation.

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great vacation.

 

[deejay-55]

In our experience, once you have stayed in a home offsite you will wonder wehy you ever chose a hotel! And if you rent direct from an owner instead of through a company you will find some great deals. Windsor Hills & Windsor Palms are both in the Formosa Gardens area which is really close to Disney.