Totally overwhelmed by the offsite options!

[kkayluvsdis]

Hi All,
I am in the beginning stages of planning a trip for our family of 5 for November 2012. I think we have decided that it makes more sense both financially and logistically to go with a townhouse/condo/house off DIS property. We have three children that when we travel will be 6, almost 3, and 1. I have never planned a trip off-site as the last time I stayed off property was before children and my parents planned the trip! So...my question I guess is where do I begin?! How did you decide what the best option was for your family? How did you determine condo vs. house? How did you find the company/person to rent from? I am a bit sad and hesitant to be planning a trip not at a DIS resort, but I just don't think we can justify paying the huge price difference-especially since the perks of the on site transportation aren't as great when we're 2 parents hauling 3 kids and 3 kids stuff around!! Thanks in advance for all your help!
-Kelly

 

[Lisa_M]

The first time, we rented DVC points on Ebay, certainly not very economical. Now we just rent my parents timeshares for a week and stay off site through RCI. I've never rented a house, I prefer condos as it's most economical for us and we get to stay at a nice resort with pools, etc. Also, we're a family of 3 so we don't need a ton of room, but like a 1-2 bedroom condo. Some timeshare owners rent on Timeshare Users Group or Redweek.com. Also, skyauction has vacation rentals as well. Through my union, I often get emails about weekly vacation rentals ranging from 250-350 dollars, but those are much older units.

Alot of people like Bonnet Creek on the Dis, but we haven't stayed there yet. We've stayed at Vistana Resort, Hilton Grand Vacation Club on International Drive and Vacation Village at Parkway. I much preferred the first two resorts over the third.

THe other thing you could do is contact the resort you want to stay at and get a reduced cost for attending a presentation. It's an option, but costly in terms of time and money if you can't say no.

 

[kalc12345]

I would HIGHLY recommend Bonnet Creek! We have stayed at several Disney Resorts. Everything from Pop to Saratoga Springs but we like Bonnet Creek best of all. Bonnet Creek isn't a Disney Resort but it is on property. You can actually see the Epcot fireworks there. We are going again in October and have requested a fireworks view room.

The resort is huge and it has several pools to choose from. One has a pirate ship another has a lazy river type thing. The resort has activities going on all throughout the day for kids and adults.

We always get a two bedroom. The second bedroom has two beds which is perfect for the kids to stay in. There is a full size kitchen and even a washer and dryer. I always rent from a lady who has the best prices I have found. When we went in Dec we only paid $65 a night. We are paying $85 a night for our upcoming trip.

 

[epgirl]

Are you able to share the info of the lady you rent from? I am also interested in renting a unit at Bonnet Creek. Also, we are talking about Wyndham Bonnet Creek, correct?

 

[brer rabbit 28]

We stayed in a great 3 bedroom villa last year which was only a 10 mins drive to Disney.

If you are interested then PM me and I'll send you the website link.

 

[epgirl]

Brer Rabbit, I tried PMing you but I was unable to. Please PM me so that I can communicate with you regarding the link.

Thanks!

 

[Ed J]

I'd be very leary of dealing with a link that is not for public view, screams scam to me.


Your not going to send or receive PMs till you have a minimum amount of posts, sorry but I don't the amount you need to meet that minimum.

We really like the Marriott properties, to get good deals ($600 range per week in November) it might be worth your while to join interval international to have acsess to those prices.

 

[kalc12345]

Are you able to share the info of the lady you rent from? I am also interested in renting a unit at Bonnet Creek. Also, we are talking about Wyndham Bonnet Creek, correct?

I am not sure if I can share that info on the board but I sent you a PM with the info

 

[RCMommy]

We have stayed in a home in the Windsor Palms subdivision. It was great with plenty of amenities nearby. I recall it being about a 10 minute drive to the Magic Kingdom. I have referred a number of people to the same house and they also found the house a positive experience.

 

[Missy13d69]

Try http://www.vrbo.com/search/keywords:Windsor Hills Resort Orlando FL They have some really nice condos, and some are really great priced. You may have to look at a lot of them though. I looked at dozens of townhouses on there, and eventually found a great one for $69 a night.

 

[flagdaytwins]

My main advice, speaking from experience, is to rent a pool home if you can afford it. A home is usually one floor. We rented a townhome -- two stories -- without a pool and while the townhome was beautiful & comfortable, dragging the kids to the clubhouse pool was not fun. And the stairs inside the town home were steep, this is not safe for your children seeing how young they are.

We are renting a one-story pool home -- heading there on Friday. I dealt only with the actual homeowner -- not a company. I found her on vrbo.

Good luck! You'll be happy to stayed offsite (yup, I'm not an onsite fan at all!).

 

[Brian Noble]

The thing I found helpful: you don't need the very single best possible place to stay. You just need a really great place to stay that fits your needs and budget. And, there are TONS of places like that. So, don't drive yourself crazy; just pick a good fit, and enjoy it!

 

[kwhite1022]

I just got back from Bonnet Creek, and I was very happy with my stay there, so if you have any questions on that one Id be happy to answer them. We had a family of 5, and had a two bedroom condo. I really liked being able to let everyone get away from each other and have some space. We were on a budget so we did alot of cooking...all easy stuff, and it saved us some serious coin in the end. The bus system was good, I was there Spring Break, and considering how crazy busy it was, they did a good job of keeping us all moving! I have stayed on site previous times, and could not swing the cost. Previous visits were just with 4 of us....I was really glad we did the offsite stay with all 5 of us, the space to undwind was great. No matter what you decide, best wishes on your trip.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Thanks for all the advice! I think it is the fear of the "unknown" that has me the most overwhelmed. Staying onsite is familiar and we know what we're going to get. At the same time, I am excited to try something new and have the opportunity to have potentially some extra spending money!

 

[mrzrich]

We loved Wyndham Bonnet Creek, and rented from Ken Price at Vacationupgrades.com

Another option you may want to consider are Sheraton Vistana which is very close to DTD. You can get some great deals through Dreams Unlimited, the agency that actually owns the DISboards.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/Resorts/Sheraton/Vistana/index.html

 

[brer rabbit 28]

I'd be very leary of dealing with a link that is not for public view, screams scam to me.


Your not going to send or receive PMs till you have a minimum amount of posts, sorry but I don't the amount you need to meet that minimum.

We really like the Marriott properties, to get good deals ($600 range per week in November) it might be worth your while to join interval international to have acsess to those prices.

Bit rude Ed. This certainly is not a "scam". I was just offering an option of somewhere I personally have stayed and found to be lovely. I think you can see for my post count that I am not a scammer or advertiser.

To the OP, here is the link.They work with an agency and have two villas advertised across a few websites I believe.

http://www.disneyvilla2rent.com/1/index.php

 

[bheyman]

I felt the same way 6 months ago when I was trying to decide on-site vs. off-site (and where off-site!) for our June 2012 stay.

Over 5 years ago, we rented a pool townhouse in Windsor Hills . It was nice to have our own small pool for my kids, then 3 and 5 years old. I like having on-site washer and dryer for those accidents kids have! Plus, the playgrounds and community pool are nice.

For our 3 night stay in June, I went with a 4 bedroom home in Sunset Lakes that someone mentioned on this board. I got on Vrbo.com and checked out the home and others in the same location. I didn't go with a home in Windsor Hills because I didn't need a humongo house for our family of 4, and I knew I didn't want to do the townhome rental at Windsor Hills. I really wanted to rent a home with a pool in the back.

I have heard great things about Bonnet Creek, but I didn't want to go the condo route. Next time we might try Bonnet Creek!

Good luck on finding the best fit for your family!

 

[buckeev]

I hear ya KK.
Overwhelming, to see the least!
I just started seriously looking at putting together a potential surprise "end-of-school-year" trip and I am contemplating an off-site stay.
No free dining, plus I already have most of the WDW ticket requirements in hand...soooo..
WOW!..Tons of options!
Bonnet Creek does appear to be a very nice, "mid-priced" option, but I know we will want to do at least two US/IOA days...and I absolutely DREAD that commute!

Split stay again perhaps...of course...that really strains the budget.

 

[DCTooTall]

I hear ya KK.
Overwhelming, to see the least!
I just started seriously looking at putting together a potential surprise "end-of-school-year" trip and I am contemplating an off-site stay.
No free dining, plus I already have most of the WDW ticket requirements in hand...soooo..
WOW!..Tons of options!
Bonnet Creek does appear to be a very nice, "mid-priced" option, but I know we will want to do at least two US/IOA days...and I absolutely DREAD that commute!

Split stay again perhaps...of course...that really strains the budget.

For what it's worth, The Commute to Universal from Bonnet Creek isn't that bad, and if you are planning on doing a majority of your trip at Disney, It's definitely more convenient that someplace between the 2 resort areas or doing a split stay.

There are 2 really easy ways to get to Universal from BC (and the Disney Area in general).

1. Exit Bonnet Creek and hit EPCOT Center Drive towards I-4. Take I-4 Towards Orlando. It's a short trip up I-4 to Universal's Exit.

2. (If you prefer avoiding I-4). Exit Bonnet Creek and head towards Downtown Disney and the 535 Exit (the one by the Crossroads). Turn Left at the light onto 535. Turn Right at the Next Light. (Palm Parkway.). Just follow Palm Parkway past SandLake. (It changes into Turkey Lake Rd along the way). There will be a sign letting you know where to turn Right to head into the Universal Orlando resort area. (Hollywood Way if I remember the street name correctly).


Now admittedly, LEAVING can be a bit more confusing since you never really know which way they will have you exit the parking garages. (It depends in some ways on which of the 2 garages they direct you into). The Easiest ways would be to follow the signs that will be posted towards I-4 West (towards Tampa) which will send you back towards Disney.

 

[mjohnson96]

I hear ya KK.
Overwhelming, to see the least!
I just started seriously looking at putting together a potential surprise "end-of-school-year" trip and I am contemplating an off-site stay.
No free dining, plus I already have most of the WDW ticket requirements in hand...soooo..
WOW!..Tons of options!
Bonnet Creek does appear to be a very nice, "mid-priced" option, but I know we will want to do at least two US/IOA days...and I absolutely DREAD that commute!

Split stay again perhaps...of course...that really strains the budget.

We love staying on site at universal. This trip I am trying Bonnet Creek, have only stayed on site at WDW but the lure of a condo being that close pulls me. We are doing a split stay between there and Portofino this trip. The first part I will be at a convention over at Seaworld but I could not beat the price and it will be nice for my mom and the kids to have so much to do on property.