Onsite or Vacation home for family of 6?

[kanatamom]

I have been lurking around these forums for a long time but this is my first post.

I am currently planning a WDW vacation for early December 2007. I am really just researching my options at this point(which I really enjoy).

I will be going with my dh, ds(9), dd(11), dd(3.5) and my mother(mid 70s). We do have a limit to our budget and will be flying to Orlando. We will be going for 1 week and hope to spend 4 or 5 days at WDW. We are considering either staying in a ASMus family suite(with a separate room nearby for my mom) or in a 4br vacation home close to Disney. There is a vacation home I found in Emerald Island Resort that looks perfect. On one hand we would like the experience of being on site, the convenience, the fun atmosphere,and not having to drive. On the other hand, we like the space, the quiet, and the many amenities that a vacation home offers.

Other factors:
-It would cost us less to stay in a home as there would be room for my mom and we'd split the cost.

-My youngest dd is wonderful but rather a handful at times. We will probably need to split up the group at times.

-My other children have no preference about where to stay.

-I won't want to do much cooking but am concerned with the cost of food onsite

-I am a bit concerned ASMus might be noisy as we are light sleepers(though we do have and wear earplugs at times)

Anyone have any input as to which would work best for us? I am posting this on both Disney Resorts and Orlando hotels boards.

 

[horseshowmom]

If it were me, we would stay in the house. We've rented many times and have never regretted that decision. We like the extra room and flexibility.

It could make it more difficult for breaking the group up, and you'd have to rent a car though.

Food costs do go down by staying in the house. We get stuff for breakfast. It can be as simple as sausage and biscuits that you pop in the microwave (or cereal, etc.) plus some juice, etc. That alone will save a good bit when you multiply it times 6. We also got easy foods like frozen lasagna and baked potatoes (way cheaper than eating out and easy to fix).

We always liked having our "own pool" too (sure don't have one at home!).

I have been lurking around these forums for a long time but this is my first post.

I am currently planning a WDW vacation for early December 2007. I am really just researching my options at this point(which I really enjoy).

I will be going with my dh, ds(9), dd(11), dd(3.5) and my mother(mid 70s). We do have a limit to our budget and will be flying to Orlando. We will be going for 1 week and hope to spend 4 or 5 days at WDW. We are considering either staying in a ASMus family suite(with a separate room nearby for my mom) or in a 4br vacation home close to Disney. There is a vacation home I found in Emerald Island Resort that looks perfect. On one hand we would like the experience of being on site, the convenience, the fun atmosphere,and not having to drive. On the other hand, we like the space, the quiet, and the many amenities that a vacation home offers.

Other factors:
-It would cost us less to stay in a home as there would be room for my mom and we'd split the cost.

-My youngest dd is wonderful but rather a handful at times. We will probably need to split up the group at times.

-My other children have no preference about where to stay.

-I won't want to do much cooking but am concerned with the cost of food onsite

-I am a bit concerned ASMus might be noisy as we are light sleepers(though we do have and wear earplugs at times)

Anyone have any input as to which would work best for us? I am posting this on both Disney Resorts and Orlando hotels boards.

 

[JerJan]

Have you considered renting from a DVC member? That way you can stay on-site with all of the various perks & ammenities included. That is also low-point season for DVC members. You should check out the DVC boards for more info if your interested. A 2 bedroom villa (lock-out) sounds perfect for you. Good Luck!

 

[Midnight Belle]

I would go with the Villa having stayed onsite with my children I was itching to get into the villa for our 3rd week stay. The children also prefer a villa due to space and home from home feel. You will not be disappointed with a 4BR home, we did not stay at the ASM so cannot say what it would be like but I think the home would have a more luxurious feel to it plus you would be more relaxed with your youngest dd my youngest is now approaching 4 and being confined to a hotel room is not good. Whatever you decide I hope you have a good time

 

[crjack]

We love pool homes and have stayed in 3 so far. My Dh will stay anywhere as long as we have at least a queen bed to share (no moderates or values work for us on-site) and no sleep sofas for the week. A night or two is fine but to use one all week is just not a vacation for us because eventually the kids get tired of them and I get tired of pulling them in and out.

A pool home gives everyone a bed and a bedroom with doors, extra t.v's and our favorite thing.....a private pool! We live in New England and we dont have a pool so we really enjoy the daily swimming.

On our first trip renting a pool home I worried that my children would miss the feel of a hotel pool but boy was I wrong. We stayed in Windsor Palms and it had a large community pool just like most hotels but all of the kids on the trip loved our private pool home. Plenty of space to spread out, pool toys, etc. It also made it much easier on me since there was no worrying about keeping track of them with dozens of other kids.

Emerald Island is a great resort and it also has a community pool and other ammenities so you have the best of both worlds. Most posters here who have tried renting pool homes love it.

Have a wonderful trip wherever you stay.

 

[isla bonita]

I think a pool home is a great place to vacation but it is not for every one so decide before you do any thing what do I have to have on vacation for it to be a great one.

With a pool home there is no daily maid service
a little remote when not in a resort or on property if no car
can be quiet some times depending on or off season
pay to park can def. add up
no designer soap or towel animals
not a restaurant on site

If you can live without the items I listed then it will be a good fit. We do not spend every min. in the parks. We do not do comando disney for any straight days. We are big pool people or I should say my kids are big pool kids. We could go down and just do that and it would not be a bad vaca. Not a lot of people would consider that a good vaca.

Take a look at some the homes see if they are anything that would fit your group and go from there.

Here is a web site of some homes.

http://emeraldislandresortvacationhomes.com

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We have stayed onsite at AS-Sports and have rented pool homes 5 times after that. We will gladly trade daily maid service for the space and privacy you get with a pool home. "Sports" was very noisy; full of loud teens shouting as they walk past your door at 1 am. With the pool house, it's very quiet and there's no "trek" to the pool. My boys hop into swimsuits when they open their eyes and swim while I pack the cooler for the day.(depends on your kids' ages.) They swim again after returning from the parks. You have a choice of cooking or eating out. I personally don't feel like cooking on vacation but we do eat breakfast at "home" before we leave. Simple things like oatmeal, bagels, cereal, etc. We like having the fridge/freezer/microwave right there. We can eat popsicles by the pool at night or make microwave popcorn while watching a movie. We can freeze some bottled water and pack them in a collapsible cooler so that we're not paying $3 everytime someone wants a drink. The frozen waters keep the box juice cold for the kids. If you're a coffee addict, like me, you can sit out on the patio in your nightgown and drink coffee from a real mug, not a foam cup. Most pool homes have tv's in each bedroom so kids can watch their shows and we can still watch what we like. If you want to stay up late without waking your kids, you can. If your child gets sick and vomits (like mine once did) you can quickly/easily throw the clothes in the washer. Just like with cooking, you have a choice of washing clothes or not. We like to pack very light and wash more often. Some may not want to ever see a washer on vacation but at least you can choose.
As far as being "far away from WDW" the homes in the area around Emerald Island are only about 3 miles away from WDW. Since Disney property is 49 square miles, there is no single place that's close to everything Disney. We have stayed near Em. Island in Rolling Hills 3x and Windsor Palms once. Last time we had 9 of us (5 adults and 4 kids) and didn't feel the least bit cramped. Your mom will not feel so separated from your family.
I would highly recommend that you splurge for pool heat. You can still swim at night with steam coming out of the water. My boys loved this! Without pool heat, your swim time is very limited and will probably be during the time you're in the parks.
Both pool homes we rented had big-screen tvs but some others have converted the garage into a game room with air hockey and billiards, all free and kids love it. So many little things but they all add up to a way better experience than a hotel stay. We've used villadirect.com the last 4 times and they were great. You pick what home and neighborhood you want and can take virtual tours of the homes. Sorry this is so long. It's one of those things we feel very strongly about. Have a great time!

 

[isla bonita]

ruadisneyfan2

So good to hear how you and others feel about the pool homes. It is certainly catching on here in the states. I think it is because you get more bang for your buck. Very similar to the time share resorts just on a larger scale.

Just remember it is not for every one and if you do choose it and do not care for the experience you never have to do it again.

 

[kanatamom]

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information. I must say we are leaning toward a vacation home close to disney. Although we would want to spend a fair bit of time at Disney, it would be nice to have a peaceful place to come back and relax in. I like the idea of having lots of space, bedrooms for everyone, laundry,gameroom and pool for the kids. I am quite sensitive to noise so having our own place really appeals to me. We would certainly rent a van. We would go early and take shortcuts to avoid traffic.

Well, I still a few months to decide for sure but I'll keep these things in mind.