Where to stay? Vacation Home vs Disney property

[princess_disneymom]

There will be 6 of us (possibley 7 of us) going to WDW Dec of 2008. It will be myself, my DH, my DD8, my mom, dad, sister and maybe a baby (keeping our fingers crossed )

We will be staying for 8 nights. The last time we were at WDW (just me, DH and DD) we stayed at POP for 4 nights and it was great. This time since we have more people we were thinking of renting a vacation home.. I found a site www.disneyhomesonline.com and their homes look amazing. One in particular is a 5 bedroom with heated pool, full kitchen, W&D for $129 a night. Splitting that 2 ways (us and my parents) it only comes to about $70 a night once tax is added in.

Has anyone ever stayed in a vacation home before. I would like a place to come back to after the park and be able to relax with my whole family instead of us each having to go back to our small hotel rooms.

Any thoughts or previous experiences?

TIA

 

[C&C's Mom]

Can you do both? We are, because the vacation home we are renting only rents for 7 nights at a time, and we are staying 10. Since we saved so much money by using a vacation home, we splurged and are staying at AKL the other nights. This is my first time to WDW, so I have no idea how it is all going to work out - but it sounds good on paper!

We are going with a crowd, too..

 

[princess_disneymom]

Can you do both? We are, because the vacation home we are renting only rents for 7 nights at a time, and we are staying 10. Since we saved so much money by using a vacation home, we splurged and are staying at AKL the other nights. This is my first time to WDW, so I have no idea how it is all going to work out - but it sounds good on paper!

We are going with a crowd, too..

You know my DD would LOVE to stay at AKL.. I know we can stay more than 1 week at that home but you might have a good idea there. I will put that idea in my notebook. I am trying to figure out all of the pluses and minuses with staying on site vs not staying on site (also figuring out cost...)
Thanks!!

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

I would go with the rental home in your case, but would most definetly have more than one car.

We stayed in a Windsor Hills townhome last year with friends and it worked well for us. This year we are renting a bigger house with other friends for $ 1,650, and if you count our own private big pool, a bedroom for our dd, another for their ds, another for the baby and the nanny, another for our friends, another for us, and a spare in case anyone else wants to join, it is really much better value money wise.

When we go alone as a family, we tend to stay in a hotel.

 

[wdwluver]

We've rented a vacation home at least twice. The first time it was through a private owner - he drove use crazy, but that's another story. The second time it was from a rental company. American Vacation homes, I think. It was really nice having a bedroom for everyone, a nice pool, washer/ dryer, kitchen, etc.

We're doing it again this summer. We're actually renting from Families First through Bookit.com. Got a great rate of $149 nite for a 4bdrm. Your rate sounds great!

You'll luv it!

 

[PrincessBelle39]

We have gone for the vacation home this time because we are travelling children. Its really difficult in a hotel all in one room, especially with a baby. Last time we did this we had to sit in the bathroom after bedtime so we wouldn't wake the kids. The vacation home solves this problem.

 

[crjack]

We've stayed in vacation homes several times now near Disney and we love it. Spending a night or two on-sight sounds like a great combination and will give you the best of both worlds.

If you check in on the Orlando Attractions board there are tons of threads and some wonderful home owners who will walk you through the pool villa rental process.

My one piece of advice would be to know ahead of time which development you are renting in. They all advertise 10 min. to Disney but they're not. Doesnt mean they aren't beautiful homes but just something you want to know prior to booking.

Windsor Hills and Emerald Island are two beautiful developments that are very close to Disney (under 3 miles) We have had good luck using www.vrbo.com and also check out www.windsorhillsrent.com. There is quite a large supply of pool homes and condos available right now so there are bargains out there.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.