StoryTime Townhomes

[wmson2000]

Just got home late last night

I'll post a full report soon but 6 BR Storytime villa was nice and vacation was fun

 

[bridget]

We stayed 3 nights at Story Time 2 last week. I liked it. I have a 1 year old and 5 year old. We just blocked the staircase with 2 dining room chairs. We were not there much- mostly to sleep, but it was nice.

Twice we went up to the castle park, and the kids had a blast!!!!

I love staying on site at Disney. My husband really wanted to try this out.

 

[wmson2000]

We got back last Tues night after our trip to Disney and Universal. I promised a trip report on the rental property so here we go. . .

We arrived Mon 5/5 at about noon. Went to Costco and bought groceries and then went to Chevy's at Lake Buena Vista/Downtown Disney (Cinco de Mayo, yeah). Then we went to the Storytime house. Gate check-in at the Windsor Hills gate was easy and the access code at the Storytime home worked like a charm.

FYI - there were 12 of us. My wife and I, my three married daughters and their spouses, and 4 grandchildren (one 4.5 year old, and three others under the age of two). Each family had a rental car - the driveway easily accomodated the 4 cars.

About the house: Great for a group! Great layout. Very well stocked with plates, utensils, some pool toys. Disney themes galore throughout the house! Every room, art, accessories - all point to the world of Walt Disney. Just like the pics on VRBO or on the Storytime website - this house looks like the Disney imagineers decorated it.
More info:

• Master bedroom and bath are big - lots of room
• Other bedrooms well appointed and comfortable
• Themed "Cars" and "Princess" rooms were loved by the kids (nearly had tears when the "little princess" grandaughter had to leave to come home. Her words, "this is certainly a sad day".
• House was quiet - even with little kids running around
• Game room is nice but didn't get used much - too busy with other stuff
• Game room is not air conditioned but garage door can be opened for airflow
• Initial roll of toilet paper was supplied as well as diswashing soap
• Tiny bar soaps are supplied for bathing - you'll probably want to get regular sized bars or liquid soap for bathing.
• Water heater seemed to handle out large group fine
• TV's all over the place. Family room TV is a 50+" flat-panel - nice!
• Windsor Hills is perfect. It never took us more than 10 minutes to get anywhere at Disney. It seems to be just about the closest residential facility to the park. There is a nice "castle themed" playground 1/2 block away from the house. The clubhouse has great amenities.

The pool at the home was a favorite of the family. Deep enough for careful and gentle diving. Big enough for the family to have lots of playful fun.

Any problems: yes, a couple.
1- pool heat wasn't on when we arrived (quickly resolved)
2- We thought the refrigerator was broken. It wasn't (it was our mistake). I guess it was turned down when we arrived and then we put in a bunch of room temp bottled water, etc. It took a couple of days to get down to the right internal temperature.
3- The house has two central furnace/air-conditioners (one for upstairs, one for downstairs). The one downstairs couldn't get the temp less than 82 when we arrived. It took a couple of days to get the problem resolved (repeated visits from repairmen!).

The owners were fantastic. I guess I could have been a jerk about the furnace problem and got verbally abusive with the owner on the phone. But how could I . . . he was working hard to get it fixed. I know he paid overtime costs to get people out late in the evening (the first night). He proactively called me multiple times on my cell phone to give me a status report. Elias couldn't have worked harder to resolve the problem and that made me happy. We dealt with the problem - it wasn't unbearably hot and anyway, we were gone much of the time at the parks. The multiple ceiling fans kept the air moving when we were there. And if you are a upcoming renter . . .it works fine now!

Again, I have no problems reccomending the owners (Elias was my primary contact).

One other note:
My wife and I keep a super clean house. The Storytime house is clean but it might be time for a "real good house cleaning" (my wife's words) . . . including carpets. Probably just our personal preference and just the nature of a rental vacation home.

All in all, a very good time for our family.

Would I rent a Storytime home again from these owners? If I were again sponsoring a family trip like this one . . . absolutely. It was great. But if Brenda and I go to Orlando for a getaway? . . . I'm not sure. Staying at a Disney property and letting someone else make my bed . . . that has advantages for a lazy guy like me, too!

Here's some pictures taken at the house:

And one of Brenda and I . . .

 

[cinderella73]

WMSON2000 ~ Thanks so much for the trip report! You have such a beautiful family! We are booked with Tonya and Elia's again this year for a townhome. Last year we stayed in ST2 this year it will be ST1 . We wanted to rent the house so badly but our dates just were not available again. I love how your grandaughter was so sad to leave. My kids were like that last time as well. Mine also loved the castle playground.

Sorry to hear about your tech problems. The fridge hopefully didnt spoil your food. Because I know that would have been pretty upsetting for me. The first thing I have to do when I get there ( having a kid with food allergies) is hit the grocery store. Maybe they cleaning people just forgot to turn it back up after cleaning? Your right about Elias being nice though. Its one of the reasons we are going back. They have been really nice to deal with.

Looks like you all had a good time. Thanks for sharing. If it comes open for our dates I will be sure to book it right away. They have some of the most popular homes at WH so you have to always watch the availability like a hawk. Sigh.. maybe next year I will get the house. If I dont move back down to Florida before then!

BTW how long did it take u guys to get from the house to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure ? We will be buying the 7 day ticket and was unsure how far we would be driving. Thanks! ~ Michelle

 

[wmson2000]

We booked the house/villa about a year in advance of our trip. I've noticed their calendar fills fast.

No food spoiled so we were fine.

It took about 15-20 minutes to get to Universal. Traffic isn't too bad in May. I've been in Orlando at other times of the year where the drive could've been double that time. We also had the 7-day ticket and went a couple of times. Do the "meal deal" at Universal - costs about $20 and you can eat all day. Food is pretty good too - ate at the "Burger Digs" and at some Diner near Spiderman - and then dinner at the end of the day at the italian resturant at the regular (non-islands) Universal.

By the way, the new Simpsons ride is a lot of fun!

 

[twob4him]

We love Storytime Castle too and only book off property with them. My husband is pretty picky and requests to stay here! So I rebooked for August! Looking forward to our trip!!