Anyone rented a vacation house near DW?

[McGeorge]

I've always stayed in hotels either onsite or offsite when going to DW, but recently found some great deals on vacation rental homes online. I'm traveling with my wife, daughter, and two sets of parents so this would be the ideal setting. Based on the low prices I'm seeing, though, it almost seems too good to be true. Has anyone ever done this?

[natstroop]

We did this back in 2007 when the kids were 10, 9, and 7. It was actually very nice. We had a kitchen, our own rooms, and own pool. It was private and out of the way of all the hustle and bussle. The only real downside was having to drive to DW every day, park in the massive lot, and try to find your rental at the end of a long day with tired kids in tow. We stayed onsite in 2010 and loved that just as much though. We went through Orlando Villas. The guy we rented from was from Great Britian. He was very nice and accommodating.

[disneynarula]

We are doing this in a month. I will let you know how it works out.

We are renting a place that costs $625 for eight nights. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms. There is what looks like a really nice pool with a waterslide.They claim it is really close to WDW. It is in the Windsor Hills community. I can pm you the website we used to find it.

We are splitting the stay between this unit and AoA. It was just too expensive to stay on property for the entire two weeks of our vacation.

[joonyer]

We have friends who did this last year. They rented through All-Star Vacation Homes (Intercot Sponsor) and they loved it. It saved them a bundle.
In general you can get much more space for your lodging $$ by renting a house, especially if you have a larger group. You can get however many BR's you need, and with multiple bathrooms, fully equipped kitchens, linens, towels, etc. and most of them have their own pool. And it's usually less than half the coast of renting resort rooms for that many people (6 or more).
Drawbacks: No on-site restaurant.
And unless you pay extra, you won't have daily housekeeping service. The other biggie is you have to provide your own transportation back and forth to the parks. For some that is a deal breaker, but if transportation is not an issue for you, then you can get some really nice digs for a lot less $$$.

[Jim&AngieMarriner]

We did this durring Christmas of 2008. We had 11 people in a 5 bedroom house. It was very nice and even had Disney themeing throughout the house. They deffinately knew who their customer base was. It had an in ground pool and all in all was very nice. We had it for a week and it was only $700.

Is it as "special" as staying on property. No, but it is cheaper (at least for us that trip). As others have said you dont get the perk of using Disney transportation to the parks but it isnt that bad.

[Tinksalot]

We always rent a house when we are traveling with the whole family. Nice having our own pool and we are all under the same roof. The downside is driving to the parks every day and having to pay for parking.

[rwdavis2]

I'll second All Star Vacation Homes. Stayed there in 2008 and loved it.

[McGeorge]

Thank you to everyone for this incredibly helpful feedback! I think we're definitely going to go with a rental house.

[Tigerinvestigator]

You can find really good deals on vacation homes, but be careful to go through a reputable company. The reason they are so affordable is they have to compete with Disney (and a thousand other hotels) which offers the immersion and transportation. The traffic in Orlando can be a deal breaker if you end up in a bad location. Imagine sitting in traffic for an hour while the family is excited to be going to WDW or being late for reservations. Also the traffic after park closing can be frustrating if you have been in the parks all day especially from MK where you have to take transportation to the TTC and then fight traffic back to your rental home. Parking fees can add up as well over a weeks time so make sure you figure in the cost of parking and toll fees from your rental as well as any rental car fees etc. If all that works out you can save money especially with a large group.

[epceddie]

We rented two five bedroom houses with pools about two years ago for something like $179 a night. There were 22 of us, including some young kids, and we had a blast. The kids loved the pools and we saved a lot of money buying our own food and using the kitchens. The only thing missing was the Disney Magic.

[Dracula766]

I'm planning my August trip and financially, renting a house or condo is our best option.

All Star Vacation Homes does have some amazing properties with great rates but I'm wondering if anyone can recommend another company so that I can shop for the best bargain.

[Katzateer]

We have rented several times from All Star. Never been disappointed and our girls loved the private pool.

[mrte62]

We are doing this in a month. I will let you know how it works out.

We are renting a place that costs $625 for eight nights. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms. There is what looks like a really nice pool with a waterslide.They claim it is really close to WDW. It is in the Windsor Hills community. I can pm you the website we used to find it.

We are splitting the stay between this unit and AoA. It was just too expensive to stay on property for the entire two weeks of our vacation.

We stayed at Windsor Hills a few years ago. Very nice. Very close to WDW and there is a "sneak route" that puts you close to the enterance of AK.

[mickeyman42]

I'm planning my August trip and financially, renting a house or condo is our best option.

All Star Vacation Homes does have some amazing properties with great rates but I'm wondering if anyone can recommend another company so that I can shop for the best bargain.

I sent you a PM

[MouseHouser]

As much as we LOVE staying on-site, and as much as it is a let-down exiting the Disney bubble and hitting the real world, we now typically stay off-site on any extended trip. Disney properties are just too expensive for us to justify more than a few days. And we're not fans of the Disney value resorts.

The savings goes a long way toward other vacations during the year, so we make due and have no problem looking at the bright side. Plus, plenty of resorts in Orlando are fantastic and cheap!

[eandrsmom]

We stayed in a townhouse at Windsor Hills last summer. It was very nice and the price was great. I did miss being in the middle of everything, but we were able to stay for 9 days because it was so reasonable. The secret back entrance near AK was a route that we always took, and hardly had any traffic.