Resort Outside Wdw For Family Of 4 (kids 6 & 2)

[pt8698]

Hi

I would like to gather information on resorts to stay at outside of WDW that would provide a small kitchen area (for meals in), great if not wonderful amenities, and closeness to the parks.

Thanks so much.

If you can also provide some REAL reasons for not staying outside of the WDW area, I would love to hear them.

 

[disneymom3]

First off, welcome welcome!! I see this is only your third post. I am sure you will find lots of great help and info here. If you are like I was when I first joined the ranks on these boards, you will be amazed at everything you can find out here.

Not sure about your question. At one point you say outside of WDW and then out of WDW area. You do mean offsite but within driving distance right? When are you going? Do you want separate sleeping accomodations or more like a hotel with a kitchenette? What kind of a budget do you have?

My suggestion would be to read several pages worth of threads on this board in particular. That will give you an excellent idea of what is available. There is a huge range of options when it comes to hotels and resorts in the area. Two I would personally start with are Vistana and Holiday inn family suites. Both consistently get good reviews on here. (And in fact, several of us want to live at Vistana.) I have three little ones and have been going to WDW since we had one who was three. We have never stayed onsite and have always loved it.

Post with some further info and I am sure you'll get lots of answers.

 

[MrsMud]

A favorite on these boards is Holiday Inn Family Suites (referred to as HIFS). We stayed there Dec '01 and will be there again in Oct.
It is a three room suite (living/dining/kitchen in one large room, master bedroom w/ King size bed and locking door, and Kidsroom with themed wallpaper, bunkbeds, TV, VCR, Nintendo and small table and chairs). In the Kitchenette there is a small refrigerator, microwave, sink, cabinets and coffeemaker.
There are a total of 3 TVs and 2 VCRs. The kids would LOVE the Kidsroom and also the pool (Zero entry up to maybe 5 feet? with several fountains, sprinklers, water toys). They have activities every night for the kids, including face painting, clown, magic show, bingo, kareoke. Also activities by the pool during the day. There is a small playground, miniature golf, and I think ping pong.
Free full buffet breakfast for everyone, and kids eat free for lunch and dinner with a paying adult. Besides the hotels own restaurant, there are Pizza Hut, A&W and Edy's ice cream on site.
You cannot get closer to the parks without being onsite, in fact it is closer to most of the parks than the Allstars.
If you're interested do a search on this board for HIFS or the full name. Check out the website at
www.hifamilysuites.com

 

[disneymom3]

Hi, Mrs Mud
Could you answer a question for me? In the kidsuites, do the walls around the kid room go all the way to the ceiling? I have never been able to tell from the picture on the website. It sort of looks like they don't.

Thanks.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I'm not Mrs. Mudd but I can answer the HIFS question.

Yes, the walls surrounding the kids room do go all the way to the ceiling. However, it doesn't have a solid door, just a curtain.

Let me know if you have any other questions, we have stayed 3 times in the past ( and loved it).

 

[disneysteve]

I would suggest checking out two sites.

http://www.vrbo.com
This site lists rental properties throughout the WDW area. Anything in Kissimmee would be within a reasonable distance to WDW. We have personally rented many times in Lindfields and highly recommend it.

http://www.windsor-palms-resort.com/
Windsor Palms is a gated community near WDW that has 2 and 3 bedroom condos and 3-5 bedroom pool homes. They are also listed on vrbo.com. The complex has a community pool, a beautiful clubhouse, theater, etc. Rentals are very reasonably priced. We are renting a 3-bedroom condo in November for $90/nite. No hotel can beat that.

Steve

 

[C.Ann]

I'll toss in the Tropical Palms Fun Resort.. Awesome place - stayed there in Sept. of 2001..

It's a combination RV resort and cottage resort.. As you drive on to their property the RV's are on the right and the cottages on the left..

We got a 2-bedroom cottage (that also included a sleeping loft and a full-size pull-out sofa bed), living room/dining area, full galley kitchen, bathroom, and huge deck with patio chairs and picnic table for $79 a night..

I can't say enough good things about this place.. There are two pools - a kiddie pool with the mushroom raining thing - and a heated adult pool that is open 24-hours.. There is a poolside cafe that serves breakfast and lunch for extremely cheap prices.. They also have a very nice, very large, very clean laundramat that I believe is open 24-hours.. There is a combination office/store with the nicest staff ever!

Time to the parks is 10 minutes tops.. It's also located within walking distance of Old Town - a really neat place to spend the evening when the parks close early.. It's centrally located to every kind of store and restaurant you could imagine, yet it's so far back off the main road you never hear any noise at all..

It's great to relax out on the deck in the evening after a day at the parks and if you're quiet, you'll see the armadillos come wandering out looking for bugs to eat..

There is no maid service and you need to pick up clean towels at the office but the good part is you can take as many as you want! Also, there are no telephones in the cottages but there are pay phones both inside and outside of the office if you need them..

It's a great place with lots of room to spread out and well worth the money in my estimation..

 

[magsmouse]

An additional vote for Vistana at Lake Buena Vista. We have stayed in a 2 bedroom for our family of 5. Even though there is no free breakfast, you have an entire kitchen, fully stocked, to eat as little or as much as you want. They also have 1 bedroom units for a little less, however, we just booked five nights in a 2 bedroom for October with Expedia and got the 5th night free! This property has a bunch of beautiful, kid friendly pools (check out the Sheraton website) and is just a couple minutes into the parks.

 

[antmaril]

We stayed last month at the Wyndham Palms Resort and Country Club, which was an easy five minute drive from WDW. I booked this two bedroom, two bath condo through hotelkingdom.com at the rate of $89 per night. This condo was 1500 square feet, with a full kitchen, washer and dryer, 52 inch tv, screened-in balcony. The master bedroom had a king sized bed with jacuzzi tub and separate shower. The second bedroom had two double beds and another bathroom. The complex had a golf course, mini-golf, three pools, etc. The building we were in was only two months old. This was a very nice place to stay and was a real bargain at $89 per night. We did not have to attend any timeshare presentation at this price.

 

[zaxmom]

I have never stayed there, but I would definitely check out the Wyndham Palms, if I were you. Seems to be the best value out there and looks like a nice place to stay. We stayed at the Vistana Villages after it opened at a very good rate through Hotelkingdom.com. Now we see that it goes for over $200. These timeshare resorts seem to offer really good prices when they first open and have not sold all their weeks yet. The Vistana Villages was wonderful. I would highly recommend. We also enjoyes the HIFS. It does not have nearly the amount of space that you get in a villa, but they have private spaces. The free breakfast was good for us, too. It is so nice to just stop in there and throw some food at the kids and get on your way. The Vistana also has a zero-depth pool with fountains and a waterfall. There were ping pong and pool tables by the pool also (I think). It was very pretty. The HIFS has a nice baby pool and a good zero-depth pool. There is also putt-putt, but it is not that good, and a playground. It is not pretty, but kids love it.