Renting A House???

[cre8ivegrl]

Expanding on this a little further... is there a resource that shows different areas to rent a house and how close they are? Also are there shuttles or is renting a car the best way to go?

 

[Frothy]

Expanding on this a little further... is there a resource that shows different areas to rent a house and how close they are? Also are there shuttles or is renting a car the best way to go?

We seem to go over this time and time again but to me it's very simple. There's east of Disney and there's west of Disney. Both areas have good communities and great houses. Both areas have homes within 10 minutes of Disney and it really doesn't matter which side you stay if you don't have a personal preference as a result of a previous visit.

We've stayed on the west side (Sunset Lakes) and we now prefer to stay on the east side (Cumbrian Lakes) because it's a little more convienient to Florida Mall, Mall of Millennium, Sand Lake Rd., etc. If all you are doing is visiting Disney then staying either side is absolutely fine.

If you are renting a home you MUST have a car. There are no shuttles. Having a car will enable you to get out and about and see other parts of Orlando. Next month we're going to try out Kennedy Space Center and if you enjoy doing non park things then it's the only choice IMO.

My advice is to mapquest the address or the community.

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

THIS link will take you to a map which shows you all the usual villa locations and their proximity to WDW. Hope this helps!

 

[DCinNs]

We just returned from our 9 day vacation. this was our first time renting a home. We rented a home in Davenport @ Hampton Lakes from www.floridapoolhomes4u.com and loved it (the company was very easy to deal with). We were doing more than Disney this trip and it worked well for us. If I was only doing Disney, I would stay on Disney. It was nice to have the space, pool, laundry facilities, etc. We definately still felt like we were "on vacation".

 

[richmo]

Expanding on this a little further... is there a resource that shows different areas to rent a house and how close they are? Also are there shuttles or is renting a car the best way to go?

The link from Tiggernut_jadie is pretty good. I didn't realize there were so many developments. And some of those appear pretty far out.

My general rule for Disney is that if you stay offsite, you really need a car. I know some hotels have shuttles, but they really throw time restrictions on you. Unless you're on property or perhaps on Hotel Plaza Blvd., I would recommend a car.

Even more so for home rentals. I doubt many of the developments have shuttles. I know Windsor Hills does, but the owner I'm renting from recommends renting a car.

 

[liamsaunt]

I like staying on site when it is just me and DH, but when we go with my sister and her kids, the house is the only way to go. We tried doing 2 hotel rooms with them once and it was a real pain. I love having a bathroom for each person in the party, the games room where the kids can chill out, the private pool...being able to play music or watch movies on a flat screen TV, having a full kitchen, and laundry!

It's also a lot quieter at the vacation home--when staying on site, I always can hear the people in the rooms next to me, and of course the huge parade of people heading out to park opening. Not a big deal, but I prefer the quiet vacation home.

It's also nice to have the grown ups be able to hang out in the living room after the kids have been put to bed. I just feel that the extra space leads to us having a much more relaxing vacation.

The house I like at the moment is in Emerald Island. We use the Sherbeth Road shortcut and are on Disney property in about 5 minutes.

 

[bzlitme]

For years, my family would only stay on-site going back to the days when it was only the CR,Poly, and what's now for military families only. I never thought I would enjoy staying offsite but about 5 yrs ago, we did because of the large group we were traveling with. Now, I would never consider onsite again. We have been renting in WP for the past few years and could never go back to a motel room. We never cook and barely make coffee but it is wonderful having the room to spread out and most are equipped w/DVD,Playstations, etc. It makes for a GREAT vacation.

Deb

 

[eyckmans]

I agree with those that say that they would never go back to staying in hotels.
Coming from Europe I tend to wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning the first few nights and in a hotel it's a nightmare to have to lay there so as not to disturb anybody but in a house I can just go downstairs and watch the tv. It's great to have laundry facilities as we can travel with half the normal luggage.
I find the whole experience much more relaxing and more comfortable than a cramped hotel room.
We have so far always stayed at Emerald Island Resort which is about 15 mins. from Disney but next time are thinking about trying another resort.

 

[MickeyP]

We rented a pool home from LoyaltyUsa.com. Very good people and their homes are fantastic. The ONLY thing that beats their homes are DVC villas. If we were not staying DVC, we would rent from them again in a heartbeat. The house we rented is called Cinderellas Castle. All their homes are on their website. If you call them, tell Yvonne I said hi.

THAT is the exact house!! Very misrepresented IMHO. And the neighborhood was run down. Did you stay there more than 5 years ago? Just wondering if it was a recent trip. I found it disgusting! (Very nice on their website though).

 

[mgilmer]

THAT is the exact house!! Very misrepresented IMHO. And the neighborhood was run down. Did you stay there more than 5 years ago? Just wondering if it was a recent trip. I found it disgusting! (Very nice on their website though).

2003 and 2004. I thought the house was outstanding. What did you not like? I know the subdivision is definitely middle class, but I did not think Indian Hills was run down by any stretch. You should drive thru some of Kissimmee. I do know that in the latest survey of all the home rental companies held in 2007 by the Orlando Sentinel, LoyaltyUSA finished second and their are literally hundreds of rental companies in and around Orlando. I think that speaks volumes about them.

 

[MickeyP]

Oh, I would love to see that survey. Maybe you can post a link.

 

[Chris]

We rented the same house for 3 years straight. This year we stayed onsite, just got home today and honestly, we'll go back to staying in the rented house, the kids liked it sooo much better and so did dh. I could do either honestly, wasn't overly impressed with the onsite experience.

 

[mgilmer]

Oh, I would love to see that survey. Maybe you can post a link.

Here is where the survey is found, but you have to buy it for about $30 to get a copy.

http://www.floridahomesandtravel.com/

You can also check them out here:

http://www.orlando.bbb.org/codbrep.html?wlcl=y&id=4001662

 

[superwy]

We rented a house two different years and a condo one in Emerald Island Resort. Last year we stayed on site and will do it again this year. We loved the house with a private pool and spa, two master suites and more; we were not fond of the condo. With a small baby it was wonderful to have high chairs, toys, and all the "luxuries" of home while travelling. We rented a car and drove the 10-15 minutes to the parks, ate some meals at the house and many in the parks. Last year we stayed on site and it was just a different type of vacation. I think it depends on what you want, and those needs may change. You get some nice quiet down time with the house that you don't get staying on site. In the end, I am not sure it saves that much money, though, if you need to pay for pool and spa heat, groceries, etc. Groceries at the market outside the Emerald Island resort were quite expensive!

I highly recommend Lucy & Mike's house the Emerald Hunny Pot (with website of the same name). They are from England and a lovely couple to work with. We found lots of rentals on VRBO. Good luck with your decision.

 

[cakesnjammom]

We stayed at Mickey's Clubhouse in Windsor Hills in March 2008 5bd/5ba pool home and we LOVED every minute. Super nice house with Disney theme! Owners are awesome to work with! As a matter of fact we are staying in one of their condos in WH when we go at Thanksgiving! The house was so comfortable and had top notch touches...nice beds, bedding, stocked kitchen, game room, baby needs including strollers, alarm on door leading to pool, etc... Also have a local and GREAT management co.. We had a problem with one of the showers draining and they came immediately and repaired it. I cannot say enough great things about them or the house!

http://www.mickeyscondo.com/clubhouse/


They also own three 3bd/2ba condos...we are staying at Mickey's hideaway in Nov.!! Tell her the Caffrey's sent you.

 

[Frothy]

Here is where the survey is found, but you have to buy it for about $30 to get a copy.

http://www.floridahomesandtravel.com/

You can also check them out here:

http://www.orlando.bbb.org/codbrep.html?wlcl=y&id=4001662

Is the Florida Homes and Travel survey still going? I certainly haven't seen it in the Orlando Sentinel or published anywhere else but I did see it about 6 years ago when looking into staying at a vacation home for the first time. Can't remember where but I do remember that the survey didn't seem that good as most of the responses to how good a management company was seemed to come from one or two people at most. For me, a survey is only any good when it has a lot more people being surveyed.

 

[figaromeetsmarie]

Anyone else??

 

[mgilmer]

fig:

If you want to rent DVC points, have you posted on the Disboard for DVC points rentals? As for Dec, 2009, the booking window for that month will open in January, 2009.

 

[figaromeetsmarie]

fig:

If you want to rent DVC points, have you posted on the Disboard for DVC points rentals? As for Dec, 2009, the booking window for that month will open in January, 2009.

Yes I have and I know that booking period starts Jan. but I have found most people have rented out all their points for Dec 09 already
I did think I found someone today so I will be taking it off

I am going to rent a house for a trip in about 10 months so I am looking for that too!!
Thanks