Offsite help please

[Magical Mama]

I am so overwhelmed with the amount of options! Looking for advice and feedback please. Looking for a two BR (DMIL will be joining us) that's clean with a nice pool for the kids that won't break the bank.

These three are pretty budget friendly, any feedback on these?
1. Orbit one
2. Polynesian Isles
3. Mystic Dunes

Or any resorts that would fit this you just love???

 

[sscamarogirl2000]

We just stayed at mystic dunes it was nice. It is really close to the parks and longest it took us to get to any park was 14 minutes i think. We stayed in building 12 and they have just remodeled this building. They said we were first ones to stay in our room since had been remodeled so i don't know what ones that aren't remodeled look like. If you stay on a top floor you can see the fireworks at night. They have 3 pools but we didn't spend time at any of them.

The place we have always stayed in the past with the kids is called the liki tiki. It is a little further away like 20 or 30 minutes but they have an awesome pool for kids and have activities for the kids through out the day like water balloon races and art projects. I prefer to stay in the 1400 building which is a newer building and has nice big jacuzzi tubs in them and is near the waterpark pool. However they also have town houses that we stayed in last time. They were nice and a little more private but you could tell they had not been remodeled. We didn't stay there this year because we didn't have the kids with us was trying a new place.

 

[Shroog]

Check out vacationcentralflorida.com. They have GREAT rates on 2 and 3 BR condos at Windsor Hills. Windsor Hills is very close to Disney and they have an awesome pool area with slide! We stayed in a condo there last year, and are staying in one again this September.

 

[richmo]

Check out vacationcentralflorida.com. They have GREAT rates on 2 and 3 BR condos at Windsor Hills. Windsor Hills is very close to Disney and they have an awesome pool area with slide! We stayed in a condo there last year, and are staying in one again this September.

Ditto on that. We've stayed at Windsor Hills I think 3 times now With the website referenced above, keep in mind their rentals are usually Saturday to Saturday. If that time frame doesn't work for you, there are other Windsor Hills options...I'd look in vrbo to start.

 

[Carolina Beth]

Another Windsor Hills fan. Our condo had 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, full kitchen, wash and dryer, and balcony. The pool was amazing. We all loved it, and the price was great (less than $100/night). I used both Home Away and VRBO to shop around- you can use criteria such as price, number of bedrooms, etc to just look at the ones that fit what you are looking for. And you can see reviews and owner information. Some of the owners have their own website as well, which may save you even more money. Also, we were able to book a midweek rental with no problem.

 

[RobertK65]

I couldn't recommend vrbo.com more. We have used that service several times and the places we have rented were (surprise!) really as advertised, very reasonably priced, and very accessible to the parks.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We stayed here:
https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p450416vb

It was great. My only criticism was that the bedrooms were a bit dark, but everything else was great. The hot tub was nice and the internet was superfast. Best - everyone had their own bedroom.

 

[quagmire0]

I'll recommend Windsor Hills as well - we'll be staying there for the third time. It's super close to the parks and every time we've stayed there we've been impressed by how laid back and quiet it is.

We've had luck with vrbo as well, but be aware that they recently started charging an extra fee to book through them. So, you can do searches, but you may want to consider contacting the owner directly and asking to book outside of VRBO to avoid the fee.

Do you have a certain price point you are looking at? Also, when are you looking to stay?

 

[Shroog]

Yes, VRBO is now charging a fee for rentals. Check out windsorhillsrent.com also, you will be renting direct through the owners-so, I would think there would be no extra service fee. Also, again, check out vacationcentralflorida.com, they don't charge any extra service fees-just cleaning fee and tax.

 

[Magical Mama]

Thanks for all the replies! Still looking

 

[disneysteve]

We've stayed at Orbit One several times, most recently in November 2015. It's a great option. With Skyauction, you can usually get it for about $50/night. I think it's a steal at that price. Another place to look, in addition to Windsor Palms and Windsor Hills, is Crestwynd Bay. That borders Windsor Hills and is another gated community but doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of the two Windsor developments. There is a community pool but no clubhouse or other stuff (gym, theater, etc.). We stayed there in January and are renting the same house again in July for $75/night. That's for a 3-bedroom, 3-bath townhouse.

 

[bearzabout]

Timeshares vary depending on when they were last upgraded. We stayed at Mystic Dunes a few years back and got stuck in an unrenovated room. It was unacceptable. Luckily, the ac unit burned up and after repacking in a room filled with fumes from an electrical fire, we finally got moved to a slightly better room. Call the resort and ask if they have unrenovated buildings. I'm sure their new rooms are nice, but the old rooms were awful. We could not believe how nice the buildings looked on the outside and how bad the older rooms were inside. It had just been purchased by Diamond and they were planning a complete remodel. I would not stay again if there was any chance of getting an unrenovated room.

Orbit One has rooms that are a bit plain. Check the pictures on a site like tripadvisor and make sure you like the tile floors and simple furnishings.

I'd stay at Polynesian Isle in a heartbeat. It gets great views online.

We like the one bedroom deluxe or two bedroom units in the newly remodeled buildings at Wyndham Cypress Palms. The free internet works great. We love the large whirlpool tub, granite counters in kitchen, washers/dryers in every room. One building will not be redone until September, but most of the other units are newly upgraded.

Bottom line is that it is best to check recent reviews and call the resort to find out when the most recent renovation was and what buildings still need to be redone.