Looking for condo.. close to WDW

[becca74]

Here is our story.. We are a family of 6 and we are planning our 1st trip to WDW!! Our kids are 12,9,5,2 and we will also have our close family friend with us as well.
I am playing around with the idea of a 2 bedroom w/ kitchen and washer and dyer if possible. Thinking that DH and Myself would use the master bedroom and the kids would be in the 2nd bedroom and our family friend would use the pull out. We need 2 bathrooms, extra room and will be making alot of meals so we don't have to eat out.
I was looking at some condo's but my ? is do they make you sit down for a "timeshare" speech? I don't want to deal with that at all..but I want more space..not 2 hotel rooms side by side and no space to relax. We will be taking days off from the parks and just relaxing and swimming in the pool. We are not planning to go until Oct-Nov. Any suggestions for a totally overwelmed mom??
Thanks!

 

[spiceycat]

cypress pointe
www.hotelkingdom.com

sheraton vistana
http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/sheraton/vistana/svr-res.cfm

buena vista - although some bad reviews lately
http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/bvsuites/index.htm

if you want a timeshare then go with
www.skyauction.com - home & away - that say 2-bedroom are hard to find - not impossible -just hard.

no sales pitch required at any of these - doesn't mean they won't try - you just don't have to listen.

 

[englishteacha]

The condos at Grand Palms and at Villas at Island Club are quite nice, but the prices can't be beat! We rented from owners at Grand Palms twice for $65ish a night. We had a 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo, with full kitchen, washer/dryer, living room/dining room. It was great! Check out my review on this board. You can find great deals through vacationrentals.com or vrbo.com, if you're interested in renting from an owner. We were around 15 minutes to the Disney parks, and I guess there's a new toll road (we saw it but didn't try it) that will take you right to Animal Kingdom in just minutes. There was no timeshare presentation, because Grand Palms isn't a timeshare complex.

 

[dougsmom98]

We are also a family of six. I hope you will consider a 3 or 4 bedroom instead of a 2 bedroom. It is so nice for everyone to have their own space. That way if someone is tired and wants to go to bed, they don't have to wait for everyone else to go to bed before they can pull out the sofa bed. Like englishteacha, I was going to suggest Grand Palms. I have seen some good things about it and the price can't be beat. You can find listing on www.vrbo.com - search Kissimmee, and click on the Grand Palms link. If your budget allows, then you might like a town home at Windsor Hills. You can inquire about rates at www.windsorhillsrent.com. The nice thing about a town home in this community is that they have a splash pool. That might be nice so that you don't have to pack everyone and everything up to go to the community pool. The older kids can swim, while the little ones nap, you and DH can put your feet up while you supervise the pool or you can take turns supervising while the other one naps or relaxes in the town house. When you rent a condo or town home you do not need to sit through a "timeshare" speech. Most condos and town homes are self catering though, so no maid service or refilling of supplies. Most have their own washer and dryer though, so you can pack less and go home with clean laundry. You will have a full size refrigerator, a freezer, a stove, microwave and coffee maker. You can save money by buying snacks and drinks at the grocery store. You can eat a quick breakfast before you head to the parks and you have a place to store left overs. We will never stay in a hotel again. We love vacation rentals.
Good luck.

 

[Jrabbit910]

Hi Becca,
We just got back from a resort (friend has a time share there) Silver Lake Resorts. We never stayed at a "time share" resort before but they didnt hassle us at all. Upon check in they asked my DH if he would like to come to a 90 min seminar & gave him a sheet of paper w/ a bunch of things that he could get if he did go but that was it. There was no pressure at all. My DH didnt feel like they were pushing anything on him at all. The room next to us ( I went into the room when house keeping was there) was a two bedroom Villa & I have to say it was bigger then I imagined. I was really impressed. They had a Living Rm/ Dining Rm area w/ a High Chair, big kitchen, and the bedrooms were on nice as well. Both had thier own balconies that were screened in. The resort was very clean as well. I saw alot of people picnicing at the pool w/ thier own coolers.

(http://www.silverlakeresort.com/)

What I loved about the resort- Left out the main gate was Animal Kingdom (less then 5 min away) and driving was never easier. SIgns in WDW are great... right out the main gate was tons of shopping... Food Store (publix), Walgreens & a ton of restaurants inc Fast food restaurants...

Hope you find what you are looking for & GL w/ ur search.

 

[cindyw4]

I am getting worried now. Almost every house for rent by owner off site is rented for the week of March 16. Any suggestions or somewhere else to look?Thank you so much.

 

[sympatico]

I am getting worried now. Almost every house for rent by owner off site is rented for the week of March 16. Any suggestions or somewhere else to look?Thank you so much.

Did you try vrbo.com for Kissimmee, Davenport and Clermont ?
These are a few that seem to have availability but sometimes owners don't keep their calendars up to date.
http://www.vrbo.com/92663 Windsor Hills
http://www.vrbo.com/11516 Windsor Hills
http://www.vrbo.com/27055 Windsor Palms
http://www.vrbo.com/33562 Indian Creek
http://www.vrbo.com/62572 Crescent Lakes
http://www.vrbo.com/90808 Emerald Island
http://www.vrbo.com/122631 Terra Verde

I chose these randomly and they all seem to be open for your dates.

 

[summfam4]

We have stayed in these condos for many years, we love it there! We have stayed with as many as 12 and as little as 4. Very close to WDW.

 

[englishteacha]

This is where we stayed, and they have the whole month of March open!
http://www.vacationrentals.com/vacation-rentals/16253.html

 

[Stewy]

We are renting a 3 bedroom 2 bath condo from vacationcentralflorida.com for 2 weeks in August and it is only $625 per week. It is in Windsor Hills. They have been great to work with so far and some others have posted good reviews of the owners and Windsor Hills consistently gets good reviews. Good luck and have a great trip.
Cheryl

 

[becca74]

I just reserved a townhouse in "winsor hills"... 6 nights for $700.00. It has its own "splash pool", washer and dryer and full kitchen, 3 bedrooms! Sounds great..hoping I made the right decision...it took me awhile to decide whether on site or off. I think I made the right one...
Does anyone have any reviews or experiences from there? I would love to hear them..good or bad.

Thanks!
Becca and her gang...
ds 12, dd 9, dd 4, dd 2 and hubbie too

 

[sympatico]

I just reserved a townhouse in "winsor hills"... 6 nights for $700.00. It has its own "splash pool", washer and dryer and full kitchen, 3 bedrooms! Sounds great..hoping I made the right decision...it took me awhile to decide whether on site or off. I think I made the right one...
Does anyone have any reviews or experiences from there? I would love to hear them..good or bad.

Thanks!
Becca and her gang...
ds 12, dd 9, dd 4, dd 2 and hubbie too

Each townhouse is individually owned so it's hard to say anything about the one you have rented. We've stayed in two different townhouses. One was very nice with lots of amenities and high end furnishings etc, the other was very basic. Both were clean and having the splash pool was wonderful. Because of your kids ages, you'll probably use the main pool a lot but it's nice to have your own when you get home from parks. You can just step out your patio doors.
Also good is that you can park in your driveway right beside the door. Good for lugging in suitcases, groceries and sleepy kids.
We've stayed in WH 3 times (last time in a 6 br) and have never had a problem. Everything is new and clean.
When you first get there you'll have to go to the clubhouse office and get an access card(s) for the pool, clubhouse and playground. They cost $6. each which is refundable when you return it before you leave. The main pool is heated to around 85. I would also get pool heat for your splash pool, it will make your trip.

 

[O_Jr71]

last time i was in florida we went to visit a place called Venetian Bay Villages. it was really nice there, it was gated, had private security, 3 swimming pools, basketball court, gameroom, and the rooms were very big and nice. a full kitchen, 2 full bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, one master and one with 2 beds. it really was very nice and i highly suggest it if you are interested o and its about 10 or so minutes from disney

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Here is our story.. We are a family of 6 and we are planning our 1st trip to WDW!! Our kids are 12,9,5,2 and we will also have our close family friend with us as well.
I am playing around with the idea of a 2 bedroom w/ kitchen and washer and dyer if possible. Thinking that DH and Myself would use the master bedroom and the kids would be in the 2nd bedroom and our family friend would use the pull out. We need 2 bathrooms, extra room and will be making alot of meals so we don't have to eat out.
I was looking at some condo's but my ? is do they make you sit down for a "timeshare" speech? I don't want to deal with that at all..but I want more space..not 2 hotel rooms side by side and no space to relax. We will be taking days off from the parks and just relaxing and swimming in the pool. We are not planning to go until Oct-Nov. Any suggestions for a totally overwelmed mom??
Thanks!

For a little more than the price of a condo, you can get a single home with your own private, pool with a screened lanai. Many of the homes in the neighborhoods listed by Sympatico (also Rolling Hills) have had the 2 car garages converted to game rooms with full size billiards, air hockey and/or foosball tables. Many have big screen tvs too.

We have stayed in Windsor Palms once and Rolling Hills 3x. Friends of ours have stayed in Indian Creek twice. They are all very close to WDW. We rented thru www.villadirect.com. They were fine to deal with on many occasions though many disers have had problems with them. They were not very specific.
At least check out their website since their slide shows and virtual tours give you a good idea of what a rental home is like. It's sooooo nice to have all that space.
We will never cram all of us into a hotel room again. Well... except for an occasional couple nts at an onsite Universal hotel for FOTL!! but that's another story....

 

[NaplesRI]

We are a family of 5 adults (grandparents, son and wife, daughter and 6 yr old grandsonson) and just booked a 3 bedroom/3 bath suite at Lighthouse Key Resort. It has good reviews on Trip Advisor, was built in 2007 and has tons of space.
We are going there March 09 for our family vacation trip to Disney! Can't wait.

Has anyone stayed there?

 

[4Seasons]

I am getting worried now. Almost every house for rent by owner off site is rented for the week of March 16. Any suggestions or somewhere else to look?Thank you so much.

I've PM'd you, I'm showing a 6 bedroom house in Windsor for the week of 3/16/09 for $1341 including tax, no cleaning fee.

 

[Freaky]

You may find a townhouse with a little extra room at very little extra than a condo. We like to stay at Coral Cay - they have townhouses, mostly with a gamesroom and private hot-tub/spa on a nice small resort