VRBO Houses near Universal

[prairiesarah]

I have no idea where to put this topic, so hope it is ok in this forum. We were just in Orlando over Christmas and stayed in Windsor Hills. It was our first trip offsite, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed staying in a house vrs a hotel. We did have a large group of extended family members so it did allow us to stay together for this trip vrs our previous trips have always been just immediate family of 3.

That said, we are looking at a trip just the 3 of us (DH, DS and I) in February of 2017. We think that this next trip we will do Universal as my dh and I haven't ever been there, and DS LOVED it when he spent two days there with my BIL/SIL and inlaws before we arrived. DS is 10 and as we found out a thrill ride junkie. He loved every ride there, the more extreme the better.

So I am looking at options and onsite is definitely a possibility and I know the benefits are good for staying onsite at Universal. But I am wondering what options area nearby for houses or townhouses with pools? I am having a hard time limiting the search down on VRBO and thought I would ask for advice on where to start.

 

[sympatico]

Universal is in Orange County which isn't zoned for short-term rentals like the Kissimmmee area (Osceola County) is. Vista Cay (townhouses) is on Universal Blvd in the Convention Center area but I'm quite sure they don't have private pools like WH. If you search the Lake Buena Vista or Orlando area on vrbo you should find Vista Cay and some of the condo ressorts: Floridays, Fountains, Vistanna Villages etc.
Indian Wells is a pool home subdivision that would be closest to Lake Buena Vista (near the Walmart on 535). It has mostly permanent residents and is an older area but there are a few rentals in there. You can find what there is on the Kissimmee Central section of vrbo.

 

[2Gma]

Considering the above post there are a lot of rental options (houses, condos) that are about 20-25 minutes from Universal right off I-4 in Celebration. We didn't find the drive bad at all even during the work week. Onsite would be nice for the perks but ultimately we decided on more space/lower cost/privacy of condo.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

We too had a non Disney vacation and I was looking for options near Universal but in the end we went with WH again and just took the extra drive which isn't that bad. However, on our last holiday we did stay onsite at RPR, only for 1 night, and the express benefits were great.

 

[prairiesarah]

Thanks for all the info! The zoning regulations would explain why I was unable to come up with anything close by. I'll have to think about what we want to do and price out some options.