Vacation / Pool Homes: The only way to go!

[BYC]

Our family only vacations once every four years or so. If I have to wash one dish, or make one bed, or cook one meal...it is not a vacation to me. I want a hotel with NO kitchen! I don't even want a microwave!

 

[Mainebound]

We are looking into the pool home right now for 2 families, 9 altogether. Did it make any difference to you if the pool home is a 5 minutes or 10-15 minutes?

My personal opinion is that it makes a big difference. We go to the parks EVERY day on a 10 day vacation, so that "extra 10 minutes each way" would equal 200 minutes sitting in a car! (and that's not counting our midday breaks!) We first look at location, then find the home.

I found that it was faster getting to most parks (except MK from MK resorts) using our rental car from Emerald Island than from WDW resorts -- and no waiting for busses. I REALLY liked using the car -- kids settled right down ratehr than my trying to make them behave on the bus. I would rent a a car again even when staying onsite.

Never got the "magic" thing, but I do I totally understand why people would want a resort, all the services and amenities. For me, that's not a priority. We love the space and privacy of a vacation home.

 

[BonnieA]

Our family only vacations once every four years or so. If I have to wash one dish, or make one bed, or cook one meal...it is not a vacation to me. I want a hotel with NO kitchen! I don't even want a microwave!

If I only went on a vacation every 4 years then I guess I would want that too. Fortunately I get to go more often and I don't mind having a kitchen.

 

[ujpest_doza]

Our family only vacations once every four years or so. If I have to wash one dish, or make one bed, or cook one meal...it is not a vacation to me. I want a hotel with NO kitchen! I don't even want a microwave!

Ah, but what about a fridge for your beer and chilled cans of coke?

 

[SammieG]

I have never got the magic onsite.. we have stayed onsite twice before we had a family
I didnt find being cramped into one room, sharing a bathroom , having no where to put our stuff, being in close proximity to lots of other people, some of whom were noisy coming back to their rooms at night,
one tv, no washer dryer, no kitchen, no fridge "magical"..
thats not a vacation to me! I wouldnt consider it at home, and I wont consider it on vacation!!

Ive never cooked a meal, we eat out or get take out..

I can see why people like the different facilities on a resort.
Actually as we only have one child, we rarely stay in a villa these days as he likes other children around to play with.

Of course we would love to stay on Disney Property for 6 weeks a year in a 2 bedroom apartment.. but its just WAY too expensive!

 

[disneysteve]

I have never got the magic onsite.. we have stayed onsite twice before we had a family
I didnt find being cramped into one room, sharing a bathroom , having no where to put our stuff, being in close proximity to lots of other people, some of whom were noisy coming back to their rooms at night,
one tv, no washer dryer, no kitchen, no fridge "magical"..
thats not a vacation to me! I wouldnt consider it at home, and I wont consider it on vacation!!

 

[mbb]

there's something for everyone - regardless of what you do, or don't, like on vacation

To each their own..and glad that in Orlando - you really can "have it all"!

 

[sammi]

We're in the "countdown mode" for our first time staying in a Villa and we can't wait!!! We won't be doing much cooking either but I'm really looking forward to relaxing by my very own pool and enjoying the ambiance of the home!

Hope you all have a wonderful time djkeenan!

 

[WIcruizer]

We have stayed onsite and offsite, but this is the first yr we're seriously considering a vacation home. We're a family of 4, so we wouldn't need anything larger than 3-4 BR. The only 2 things preventing us from trying a vacation home:
1) We want to be very, very close to WDW.
2) We're nervous that the home won't be as nice as it looks in the pictures. We would expect a very nice looking villa inside and out, and just as importantly a nice view, nice pool, etc. So when you step out back, you "feel like you're on vacation"

FOr those of you who have LOVED your home, can you let me know exactly which home you had, or at least a specific area of a community? We're stuck there a week, so I want to make sure it's a very nice home. If that means paying a couple hundred more dollars aweek, it's worth it.

As for the cooking,cleaning... My DW tends to clean the hotel room, quickly "make" the beds, etc when we stay in a hotel anyhow. I really don't care if the beds are ever made in our villa. As far as cooking, we won't ever cook lunch or dinner. Maybe a few days i'll make eggs or something for breakfast, but that's it.

 

[cwnhokie]

This year we are trying the best of both "worlds". We are staying in a vacation home with the whole extended family for a week and then our immediate family Dh, DS3 and DS5 are renting points for a studio at VWL for 2 nights. We have not stayed onsite and I'm anxious to see what it is like. I love to eat out so I like the idea of a hotel room so we have to eat out, but in the studio we also get a fridge for storing drinks and stuff and a microwave to reheat the leftovers that I always bring home when we eat out.

I don't think I would enjoy a hotel room for a week. I have a horrible time sleeping in the same room with my kids, I wake up with every little noise they make. I also love the idea of having all the space, game room, and private pool to hang out with the extended family after the kids have gone to bed. I also love having a washer and dryer. I hate doing laundry at home, but on vacation it doesn't seem that bad, I do a little every night.

 

[grammynelliebelle]

DJKeenan
I have a question if you care to answer?
What magic do you miss?
What I am asking is when you stay on site what do you really enjoy that in a pool home you do not get?
This information could help future guests if it is possible. So try to be specific if you would.
thanks Deb
If you would rather PM me that would be fine.

Isla,We stayed at Emerald Island last Nov and the house we stayed in offered a lot of "the magic". We (grandma & grandpa) booked a 4 bedroom and our kids and 3 grandkids were there with us (not all at the same time). Our 6 year old grandaugher loved the Tinkerbelle twin room and 2 year old grandson loved the Mickey room. There were disney themed toys in the closet for them to play with, and the pool towels were their favorite characters. The rest of the house was decorated very nicely and included tasteful but cute themed touches esp in the kitchen. Having access to a good size heated private pool was certainly magic. And we loved the kitchen as the kids are often hungry at different times than we were so we could all eat when we felt like it. Of course we did a lot of take out as well. For our family being together in such a lovely setting was great. Im sure your place is wonderful as well!