Suggestions for Villas in Kissimmee Location

[Raj_S1]

Hi Everybody,

Just joined DIS Board and would be grateful for your help.

We are ready to book our first WDW holiday sometime in the next few days for 3 weeks starting 1st May 2006.

We are a family of 6 and are considering a villa in the Kissimmee area.

Any personal recommendation of a villa/s? and or any particular or area of Kissimmee preferred?

Oh, One more thing, as we are going in May would the villa be unbearable if not air-conditioned?

We have never been to the States and so far have not been able to find out much information about Kissimmee, (not even from our Travel Agents), re. size, districts etc. so all info/suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[UKDEB]

Hi Raj_S1, and welcome to the DIS .

Firstly, yes, you will need air con, but I doubt very much you'll find a villa without it.

The villas in Kissimmee are grouped into 3 main areas and aren't actually in Downtown Kissimmee itself, but along the US192 (Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway) which runs west - east along the bottom of WDW property. There are new sub-divisions springing up all the time - it's hard to keep track of it all.

There are many communities on the US27 at the far west end of the US192. Next is the original vacation home sub-division of Lindfields together with several others (Sunset Lakes, Formosa Gardens, Rolling Hills, Oak Island Cove, Indian Creek, Acadia Estates, Windsor Palms are those which spring immediately to mind). These are the closest sub-divisions to WDW (just south of Animal Kingdom), but you will pay more for that benefit.

Next up, to the east of WDW Main Gate, are the Poinciana Boulevard sub-divisions. It's a fairly big area, so some sub-divisions are closer to WDW than others. I really wouldn't want to stay in a villa any further east than this, although you may come across a few.

You will find that villa owners and agents rarely quote times to WDW of more than 15 minutes. WDW property is vast, so they are probably all justified in their claims. Those properties west of WDW are closest to Animal Kingdom. Those east are closest to MGM and Epcot. Magic Kingdom is the furthest from them all, being at the far north of WDW property. We have stayed at Formosa Gardens many times and it is possible to be on WDW property in 5 minutes (there is a shortcut via Sherberth Road, which means you only have to travel a few hundred yards on the busy US192, or not at all if you are willing to use a short stretch of dirt track).

We have also stayed on the US27, just north of the junction with the US192, and I guess we were around 15 minutes away there. We once stayed at Cumbrian Lakes off Poinciana Boulevard and we could be on WDW property in around 10-15 minutes. The beauty there was that we didn't have to contend with the traffic on the US192 at all, as you simply need to cross it and enter WDW via the Osceola Parkway.

Check out this online map of the US192 for details of all the sub-divisions and then try doing some Google searches on some of the names. But, beware - it can take over your life!

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

The map Deb has referred to was invaluable when we were looking for a villa, Raj, since we'd never stayed in a villa before and didn't know where to begin

There are THOUSANDS of villas out there, all I would suggest is that you sit down and make a list of exactly what your criteria is, e.g.

- distance from parks
- number of bedrooms (and type of bedrooms, master suites, doubles, bunks)
- number of bathrooms
- size of pool
- jacuzzi/hot tub
- area to look for (conservation area, nr lake, privacy important type thing)
- do you need a TV in every room , Playstation
- internet access
- near to shops/restaurants
- budget $$

As you can see, the list can be large, but at least you will be able to find something which really suits exactly what you're looking for.

There are many sites out there, some very helpful, to choose your villa. Shout if you need any help.

May is one of our favourite times of the year to go; it's lovely and hot but not too humid.

Happy planning

 

[KayleeUK]

Welcome to the DIS

Moving this over to Trip Planning for you.

 

[Raj_S1]

Thanks guys for such a quick response!

Raj.