'question For The Vacation Home Veterans

[999thghost]

I am currently planning a dis trip sometime in 09' but im torn between a onsite disney hotel or a vacation home from All star vacation homes.My question to you is 1) are they worth it?? 2) Is an onsite hotel better? 3)Has anyone used ALLSTAR VACATION HOMES before and if so your thoughts on your own stay.Thanks in advance for your comments

 

[sympatico]

I am currently planning a dis trip sometime in 09' but im torn between a onsite disney hotel or a vacation home from All star vacation homes.My question to you is 1) are they worth it?? 2) Is an onsite hotel better? 3)Has anyone used ALLSTAR VACATION HOMES before and if so your thoughts on your own stay.Thanks in advance for your comments

1. Vacation homes are definitely worth it. To us having your own pool is great plus everyone has his own bedroom, big kitchen, w/d, living room, even a games room. Not to mention paying way less than staying on site.
2.My question would be " is staying on site in a hotel room worth it?" Hotel room vs. whole house with pool, no contest - house any day.

3. Many people use ALLSTAR. We always rent directly from owners but if I was going to use a company it would be Allstar or Floridasunvacationhomes.
They are two of the most reliable rental companies.
Considerations: Staying off site in a pool home requires a vehicle to get back and forth. If you won't have a car then stay on site. There is no maid service, you live like you do at home: looking after laundry, garbage, making beds (if you want them made) etc. ( I would rather stay where there's no maid coming in at inconvenient times .)
There are some subdivisions that have resort like facilities like Windsor Hill, Windsor Palms, Emerald Island, Terra Verde etc. and some subdivisions have just pool homes with no community facilities. How far away you are from Disney is another consideration. Here's a map to show where some of the subdivisions are: http://www.thedibb.co.uk/villa-map.php
You can zoom in to the area you want. The Formosa Gardens area is where we like best. It's just south of Disney Animal Kingdom on the south side of 192. Subdivisions include: Windsor Hills, Formosa Gardens, Rolling Hills, Indian Creek, Emerald Island etc. It would take about 5 min to AK and 10 -15 to other Disney parks.
Any other questions just post them.

 

[dougsmom98]

I have never stayed on site to compare it to, but I have stayed in hotel rooms and a villa beats a hotel room hands down. We research houses on www.vrbo.com and find a villa that will meet our needs exactly. We make sure that everyone gets their own room (well the kids double up but they get their own bed), and each bedroom usually comes with its own bathroom. We make sure that each bedroom has its own TV, so when I get home from the parks I can watch the news in the living room and the kids can catch some cartoons in their rooms. There is plenty of space so people can go in the sitting room and read, another group can watch TV in the living room, the kids can play in the games room, others can play a game of cribbage at the table, and others can be sunning by the pool. Villa vacations are the most relaxing vacations every! The best part is not tip-toeing around after the kids have gone to bed. DH and I can stay up and plan our next day at the park or have some wine and a good conversation!

 

[Keacc]

We have stayed at homes in Emerald Island, Formosa Gardens and Rolling Hills in past years and loved all of them. On our last two visits, we have stayed at homes in Westhaven. It is nearer to the Davenport area, but really easy to get to WDW. It is also cheaper than the homes closer to WDW. It only took us between 15-20 minutes to get to MK and it was an easy drive

Nothing beats having your own pool and kitchen. We were able to eat a nice breakfast every morning and pack snacks for the park. It was great to sit out at the pool after a day at the parks and enjoy a cold beer (or two). Everyone had their own bedrooms. We were also able to only pack for 4 days for a 7 day trip because we had a washer and dryer. This is becoming more important since many of the airlines are now charging for extra baggage.

 

[Frothy]

This might help

http://www.sayyestovacationhomes.com/

 

[Brian Noble]

It's hard to beat the value that a pool villa can offer, but onsite has its advantages too. Even staying onsite, though, we never stay in a hotel room. We need separate sleeping spaces for the kids, and enjoy the in-unit kitchen and laundry, so onsite generally would be a DVC 1BR or larger.

At that point, the big question is budget. DVC rooms are significantly more expensive than something offsite will be.

 

[mickeynut1]

We've used All Star Vacation Homes twice (March 2007 & March 2008) and have had nothing but great experiences each time . The homes we rented were in Acadia Estates (6 bedroom; 7 bedroom).....very convenient to everything . Since both trips were family trips to Orlando rather than "Disney" trips, staying in a vacation home was the way to go for us, being we had 13 one trip and 8 the other . But if our trip is to do Disney and only Disney, we stay onsite because we like being immersed in the Disney magic 24/7. We chose All Star Vacation Homes just by looking online for rental homes in Orlando and we were very happy with our choice.....what you see online is what you get.....the homes were absolutely beautiful and the service we received from the All Star staff was above and beyond excellent . As much as I love being on Disney property and being right in the middle of the magic, I must say vacation homes are very nice and they offer many ammenities that you won't get at a regular Disney resort (private pool, full kitchen, multiple bedrooms, etc). So if you're looking for more of a "homey" feel on vacation, I don't think you can go wrong with a vacation home and I would highly recommend All Star Vacation Homes as they are great to work with and their customer service can't be beat .

 

[Chelley00]

I have never stayed on site to compare it to, but I have stayed in hotel rooms and a villa beats a hotel room hands down.

Absolutely! Not just the space, but the quietness, the cost savings, the private pool and hot tub....totally worth it to us.

 

[KayR]

For me, with the kids, we need the extra space. It saves my sanity. Over Easter 07, we stayed at Disney Caribbean Beach Resort for one night as the vacation home we were staying in was booked for the first night. I had not stayed at Disney before and wanted to see what the magic was. For me, there was less magic staying at Disney - I found it more stressful than in a VR. (At the hotel I didn't like being in one room, having to go to the food court to get a snack/drink etc and it would have taken longer to take the Disney shuttle to the parks than to drive from the VR). I know that a VR is not for everyone, but I think it is worth trying in just once to see if you like it. I am sure if we could all afford it, the ideal would be staying in one of the villas on property, but I certainly couldn't afford the rate they charge (and I personally think, why pay that amount of money when I can get a similar thing down the road for less money. Just as a comparison, the one night we spent at CBR in one room was $190 before taxes and was without the food costs. You can get a 3 or 4 bedroom place offsite from $100 per night (you could probably get cheaper than that, but I believe in "you get what you pay for"!)

This quote is one received this week - and is not unusal

"All in all, we LOVED this experience. We had never stayed off of Disney property before, but likely won't stay on-site any more!"

There are lots of good and attentive owners out there, but if you are nervous about renting directly from an owner for the first time, Allstar are a highly reputable company.

Try it, you never know, you may love it.

-Kay

 

[Hasil72]

We've rented though All Star a couple of times and loved it. Since we were new to renting a villa, we were nervous about renting directly through an owner. They had great customer service, on a rainy day we were able to borrow movies for the kids, and their office is in the shopping center right in front of the developments they rent in. The homes were clean and exactly what you see online. Even homes they advertise as the lowest rating were nice. They are more money than renting through an owner but if you don't mind the cost, it saves time searching the web, pool heat is included, and you don't have to worry about the quality. They run specials like homes of the month where you get 10% off or if you subscribe to the All Ears website, I think they have a code for $175 off a weekly rental. They have a newly renovated home in WH that my kids love. It has a theater with the comfy chairs, huge beanbag chairs and a "wii zone". Plus the kids bunk room has a playhouse where the walk-in closet used to be. Just not sure I can justify the price yet but I'm working on it.

If I can answer any questions, please let me know.

Have a great time!

PS-Search the threads for the Sherberth Road shortcut onto World Drive, it saves you from 192.

 

[troobabiee7]

It's absolutely worth it! We've rented vacation homes and it's let us stay in Orlando for extended periods of time. In 2005 we rented a gorgeous condo in the Emerald Island resort for an entire month for $2000... you can't beat that! We had three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a full kitchen, dining room, living room, balcony, washer and dryer; it was great. In 2006 we wanted a pool so we rented a home instead of a condo and it was $1800 for three weeks for a home wit three bedrooms, two baths, a full kitchen, dining room, living room, and a private pool. We did the same last year and are renting again next year. We wantto save some extra money so we're forgoing the pool to rent another condo in Emerald Island... $1650 for three weeks for three bedrooms and two and a half baths! The price is always amazing, we have so much space to spread out and relax throughout the day, and it's nice to go back t some peace and quiet after a long day at the parks. There's no better way to d Orlando, in my opinion

Just as a warning for all you vacation home renters, make sure you look into who you're renting from. If you rent through a company you'll pay more money but have more of a guarantee. We've always rented trough the owner but last year we ran into some problems. The air-conditioner in the home was too old and too small to cool off the home (so said the company's maintenance man) and we were dying in there! The owner didn't care though, and the company she used (whom we sent the booking form to) didn't care either. They kept hanging up on us, calling us ridiculous and saying they didn't believe us, and they insulted the entire city of New York in the process We wound up having to call a random rental company the night we arrived and they found us a home that same night. The original company only gave us half of our money back, and it was only after we threatened getting the courts involved. It was a big mess and needless to say, do not rent from LOYALTY HOMES! They were the most unprofessional, inconsiderate and childish company we've ever dealt with and they have more than a few complaints on the BBB

Don't let that deter you, though! We've only had a problem once and it's because we didn't do our research and look up the company beforehand. We're renting again next year and aren't worried about it. All Star Homes is a huge company and MANY, MANY people use them when visiting Disney. I'd go for it!

 

[Andrea from PA]

My family of 5 opted for the hotel our 1st 2 family trips! And so HAPPY we did.

Here was our reasons:

I figuered it to be the same in cost for our 2005 trip & cheaper on site for our 2007 trip. Aside from $ you have to decide how your family likes to vacation.

We went in December & the pool wasn't a must.

We fly & didn't need a car rental because of staying on property.

My family likes to stay in the parks from open to close, so we were looking at eating in the parks no matter what & getting the dining plan was a savings that off set the overpriced room.

We have 3 kids & it was easy to break out & do something special with 1 parent/1 child because of transportation.

We tucker out before the kids so really didn't care about lights out for all.

No arguing with DH about how to get where.

All that said, now that we know the lay of the land & don't feel the need to be commendo mode, future trips will probably be staying at a vacation home.

 

[supersuperwendy]

We are 80 days away from out stay in Windsor Hills! We booked the house through allstarvacationhomes.com and I'm so excited! I started a pre-trip report with pics of the house! You can access it in my signature!

 

[Nora03]

We stayed in an AllStar Vacation Home in Windsor Palms for two weeks in May and loved it. We had a six bedroom, four bathroom home for our entire family and we had lots of room, pool, games room, etc. We made breakfast, snacks and some dinners. At the end of the day the kids were too tired to eat out, unless we had planned a later start, so eating on the lanai beside the pool was ideal. We just loved it.

We have rented condos in Maui and Treasure Island on the Gulf Coast privately and had no problems, but I understand that renting privately can be risky. We were and are lucky to rent from these people and feel like welcome guests in their second home. However, we decided to rent from AllStar as we had heard good things about them and we couldn't have been happier. The house was everything we hoped for and more. The staff were great and we have absolutely no complaints.

That said, we (husband and I) are going to stay at The Wilderness Lodge next March for a few days before heading to the Gulf Coast again. We've stayed at CBR on our own and liked it, but a vacation home is ideal for a group. We could sit by the pool, or use the hot tub after the grandkids were in bed for the night, and everyone was happy. It was no more than 20 minutes from driveway to parking lot. We certainly didn't feel like we missed out on any Disney magic. We had 10 day passes, so we spent lots of time there.

Have fun planning. You'll have fun no matter what you decide.

Nora

 

[Hasil72]

We are 80 days away from out stay in Windsor Hills! We booked the house through allstarvacationhomes.com and I'm so excited! I started a pre-trip report with pics of the house! You can access it in my signature!

I LOVE that house!!!! How could I have missed that one??? I would have to drag the kids from the DDR game.

I'll have to keep checking your report for updates.

 

[supersuperwendy]

I LOVE that house!!!! How could I have missed that one??? I would have to drag the kids from the DDR game.

I'll have to keep checking your report for updates.

The DDR was the hook, line and sinker! I looked at SOOO many houses! That one had cool games and the indoor theater and...it's across the street from a playground!

 

[Nanookz]

We stayed at emeraldislandorlando.com last year. This was our first time. we had 4 kids and 8 adults staying there and it was nice. We are looking to do the same this year. It looks like it is booked the week we want to go so I'm looking for some other places. We would probably only have 6 adults this year. Does anyone know of a place that lists vacation rental home sites?

 

[Frothy]

We're just a month away from our 4th stay at a Florida Leisure vacation home and I can't wait. We have always enjoyed staying in a vacation home as you get so much more space and everyone can do their own thing.

It's nice to have a laundry and it's great to have a proper kitchen where you can cook meals and save money. Also, you don't have to worry about waking other people up or waiting for them to wake up so you can go and get breakfast.

The swimming pool is the bonus and instead of wading down corridors to find it, it's just outside. Our kids love staying in a home and we have always enjoyed going to the parks for a few hours, coming home for a swim and a relax and then going back to the parks again later.

It's now the only choice for us and I just wish other places in US had them at such affordable prices.

 

[englishteacha]

We've rented a condo offsite our past 2 trips to Florida, and DH says we never have to look anywhere else! We loved the space, the development was quiet, the pool was very nice. I loved having a washer/dryer and a kitchen. We didn't "cook" but we had breakfast foods and cold drinks.

DH refers to the condo as "our" condo. It's like having a second home without the expense. I admit, we got an amazing deal from the owners last time. It was one week left in a month and they wanted to get it booked. Amazing deals can be found. Since we were return guests to this condo, we had no qualms about the very low rate.

My brother used All Star for his trip a few years ago and will never stay onsite again. They loved the pool, the space, the kitchen (My brother loves to cook!). They said they had great customer service, very helpful representatives, etc.

 

[KayR]

If you are looking for other places at Emerald Island try www.StayAtEmeraldIsland.com

Other communities include

Windsor Palms - www.windsor-palms-florida.net
Windsor Hills - www.windsorhillsrent.com