Wondering about vacation homes

[jennifer6800]

We are planning a trip in early December, and the rates at Disney are incredibly high. We are considering renting a vacation home close to the resorts. Has anyone ever done this? What was your experience like, I have heard good and bad things about them.

Thanks,
Jenn

 

[kathie859]

I've stayed on and off site. The last three trips have been spent offsite in large 3 bedroom condos. There's usually 4-6 people who participate in our trips. I love having plenty of room to spread out In October, we're booked into Windsor Hills which gets good reviews but I haven't stayed there before but it seems extremely convenient to WDW. I have an AP so parking prices aren't an issue for us, plus I like having access to a car.

Another cost saver is having access to a full kitchen for breakfasts and the occasional meal. We like having one WDW meal per day and we plan our ADR's way in advance. Another thought is having the DDE card--it's a good buy if you eat at WDW enough--plus the free valet parking at the resorts.

Anyhow, I've never felt like it was any less of a WDW vacation staying offsite though I know there are some who would debate the point

 

[Keacc]

We have stayed in vacation homes ranging from 3 bdrm condos to 6 bdrm pool homes. I would never pay Disney prices again. A vacation to me is NOT having several people, (adults and kids) in one room. It is nice to have to room to spread out. You do have to factor in the cost of a car and parking but we still come out cheaper. It takes us less time to get to the parks when we are off site than it takes staying on site using WDW transportation and we do not have to stand on a crowded bus. Last year we rented a 4 bdrm pool home for the week of Dec 17-23 for $1050 including pool heat. It took us 16-17 minutes to get from the home to one of the parking lots at WDW. We had 6 adults. That works out to $25 per person per night. During that same week we had friends who stayed at the All Start Resorts for $120/night. They came by our home one night and decided that they would never stay on site again.

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

Pool homes would be our first choice every time! The space to spread out, our own pool at any time of the day or night, not having to watch TV with the sound off in the dark while waiting for the kids to get to sleep, no noisy neighbours to wake you up late at night/early in the morning......

 

[jennifer6800]

What about all the rules? So many of them say you can't do this or that, like change the temprature in the house. Can we set up a small Christmas Tree? We usually stay in a DVC studio because there are just two of us, and since we drive up from Fort Lauderdale we don't have to worry about Disney transportation. This trip though there will be at least 9 and possibly 12 people most of them flying in.

Those who have had a good experience who did you rent from and where did you stay? Some look like hotel rooms with the furnishings and bedding, others look like a real home. I want to stay in the latter. We want to stay somewhere that they respect the renter, and the renter will respect their house.

Jenn

 

[cinder-ellah]

Our family group of 10 (5yrs old to 75yrs young) stayed at the Windsor Hills in a 6 bedroom house 2 years ago and that's where we're re-booking for our next stay. We loved it ! Plenty of room for all. And especially good for accomadating early risers to the night owls. Private pool, game room with 3 computers hooked up to the internet, washer, dryer. Not that we had time for the internet but it was there if anyone needed it. And yes having a full size kitchen was great ! And the price was great ! We stayed 10 nights at a total of alittle less than $300 per night...........so only $30 per person per night was outstanding for the great accomodations and our sanity. And a quick drive to Disney World.

 

[horseshowmom]

If you do ebay, you may want to check out this link - http://cgi.ebay.com/DISNEY-ORLANDO-...oryZ3257QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

We rented from this seller last Christmas (Dec. 16th-23rd). We got three of the 2BR/2BA condos at Cypress Pointe Grande Villas (I think this link is for Cypress Pointe Resort, but it's part of the same property) for $300 per week for each of them. Her prices seem to have gone up since then, but it's still a great price.

Our auction was listed the same as this one (for a 1BR with an upgrade to 2BR), and I worried about it some, but everything was fine. She gives you the confirmation numbers right after you book with her. (You would just need to make sure she knew you wanted the 2BR. Also, she can get more units even though only the one is currently listed and do a special auction for you.)

The resort is probaby 2 blocks from Downtown Disney, and we loved it. The pools were great, and they have LOTS of activities for the kids. They even had Christmas music playing around the pools.

BTW, we took a Christmas tree too!



ETA: Another option to consider is Bonnet Creek (also comes up on ebay fairly frequently). While it's not technically on Disney property, you actually have to drive onto the Disney property to get to it. It's gorgeous and almost new. They have everything from 2BR to 4BR condos. Good luck!

 

[JANNYANS]

Jennifer
As all homes are individually owned there will be a set of do's and don'ts for each which will be different .All you can do is ask the owner about the things that are worrying you.I have a digital temperature thermometer in my home that has different time zones programmed in and it is set to assume the house will be empty during the day but if my guests stay in they can override it as it automatically resets it self at the end of the given time zone.
I -along with many owners -provide xmas decorations and trees -i have stockings in my decoration box ready for the children and if I didn't I wouldn't have any objection to a guest providing their own.
I suggest you start your search and ask questions until you find the home for you.

 

[deejay-55]

ther eare sevseral vacation rental resort communities close to Disney in the Formosa gardens area. If you go for a pool home you will wonderr why you ever stayed in a hotel!

 

[CoralCayTownhome]

As Jan says each home will have a different set of rules - some of which will be rules of the resort like cars to be parked off street (which we have at Coral Cay).

We have previously rented at Christmas and a tree and some decorations were provided but I can't really see any owner not agreeing to a guest putting up a tree if there is not one provided.

Start searching and once you find a suitable property then start asking the questions before you book. Any owner will be glad to answer any of your concerns.

Good luck

Tracey

 

[rwdavis]

We plan to rent from www.allstarvacationhomes.com for our trip in January. The only downside is the cancellation policy which is no refund if cancelled 30 days or less before the trip. The trip insurance is abou 7% so we'll probably do that. we're planning on 4bed/3bath house for around $179 (plus tax) a night.

Since we needed at least 3 bedrooms staying onsite was just too expensive and I didn't see any extra value to staying in WDW.
Bob

 

[horseshowmom]

The only downside is the cancellation policy which is no refund if cancelled 30 days or less before the trip.

Definitely a factor with ebay since once you've bought it, it's yours. We did have a family change their mind, but they were able to send a notarized letter authorizing someone else to check into their unit. Next time, I'll make all of the reservations in my own name to simplify things.

Also, the nice thing about a condo is that if you're going in December, you're going to have to pay extra for pool heat while the condos already have their pools heated. We've always rented houses for the most part but not during the cooler months, because I just hate to pay for heat and then still have it turn off too cold to swim (which happens from time to time).

Good luck finding what you need!

 

[wahoostampingirl]

We used AllStar Vacation Homes too. They are a little more expensive than going through an owner directly, but still much cheaper than staying on property. Also, they are very responsive to any problems that you might have. Our house last year had a toilet that wasn't flushing properly and they sent a maintenance person out very quickly.

We traveled with friends and loved being in a 4 bedroom/3 bath house with a pool. We were in Windsor Palms last year and one small problem was a bad smell outside that comes from a sewer treatment plant nearby. This was only noticeable at certain times of the day and did not impact our stay. However, this coming Jan. we are trying a 3 bedroom condo in Windsor Hills. Both Windsor Hills and Windsor Palms are very close to Disney.

 

[cinder-ellah]

We also used AllStar Vacation Homes to rent thru. They were fantastic !

The only problem we had was getting spoiled by the accomodations, which were great ! ! !

On our check out day we were able to use the internet at their office and printed out our boarding passes for South West Airlines for our journey home, so we didn't have to wait to get to the airport to get them.

 

[rrobin3051]

We had a 5 bedroom, 4 bath pool home at Indian Creek. It was very easy to get to DW. We went over the 4th of july and even with traffic it was about a 10 min drive, from driveway to parking lot. WE paid 1400 for 9 nights and 10 days plus a grill. The house was great and even let us arrive early. I can find the site and pics if you are interested. The whole process was very easy, he sent us a map to get to the house and a code to retrieve the keys. No checking in with anyone, it was so easy. This was our first time renting a house and we will always do it again it was so great and easy.

 

[jennifer6800]

Please, if you have the information I would love to see it.

 

[jennifer6800]

Wow! There are so many choices. So many companies, this is way harder than decided which DVC rental to stay in. I think the most important things to us are proximity to the parks, and the quality of the home.

Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[KayR]

Take a look at http://www.stayatemeraldisland.com/HomesForRent/GuideChoice.php which is a guide to help you choose the right home for your trip.

--Kay

 

[wmson2000]

We had a 5 bedroom, 4 bath pool home at Indian Creek. It was very easy to get to DW. We went over the 4th of july and even with traffic it was about a 10 min drive, from driveway to parking lot. WE paid 1400 for 9 nights and 10 days plus a grill. The house was great and even let us arrive early. I can find the site and pics if you are interested. The whole process was very easy, he sent us a map to get to the house and a code to retrieve the keys. No checking in with anyone, it was so easy. This was our first time renting a house and we will always do it again it was so great and easy.

Please post the name of or a link to the actual house - This sounds exactly like what I'm looking for - thx!!

 

[FLParadisevilla]

You can see a lot of homes in Indian Creek at
www.indiancreekflorida.com

Also you can check out the reviews on this forum too.