Hi all,
Just hoping for a little advice. I generally try to visit WDW around once a year, just me and my wife and we generally stay on property. This year however is a little different…my sister who still lives in my native UK recently lost her husband so she is in need of some serious cheering up, as are her two young children. Trying to be a good brother and uncle I am going to pay for them all to vacation at Disney in October and my parents have also decided to tag along too. So altogether there will be 5 adults and 2 kids. I would love to pay for everyone to stay on property but getting a grand villa or even a large 2 bed villa is a little out of my price range and ideally I would like to have the whole family together.
I am thinking to maybe go for a private villa somewhere not too far from WDW that can accommodate us all, (I am thinking ideally 4 bedroom with a private pool). I see plenty on the market and the prices seem great…I just want to know if any of you have also taken this route in the past? Your experiences, recommendations etc.??
First off, my condolences to your family. You’re a fantastic brother and uncle to try to help them through this tough time and bring some cheer to their lives.
No personal experience but I know a lot of people have had great experiences in doing exactly what you are describing. There are many many villas near to WDW that would accomodate you and your family quite comfortably. Homeaway or VRBO are some good places to start.
Best wishes.
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I seriously looked into ALLSTAR - they seemed to be pretty reputable and close. How very nice of you to do this!! You may also want to try to RENT points. It is still pricey but not nearly as pricey as rack rates that DISNEY charges - WWW.DVCREQUEST.COM
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Yes we have booked via homeaway and vrbo. As long as you do your due diligence offsite is great. I won’t rent from anyone with less than 10 reviews or less than 3 years rental history. Common sense prevails. The 2 companies I mentioned also offer various safeguards through payment protection ( they hold your money until day 2of your stay before releasing it to rental owner) although not all owners accept this. I also look at Google maps for drive times to get an idea of where the property is. Speaking to the owner over the phone can help with the decision making process also.
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Thanks for the quick responses and advice everyone, really appreciate it. @davidtyost I did look into renting points also, its something I have done in the past with good success, but even so…when looking into a villa or purchasing 3 studios the cost for me is still pretty high as its hard to find anyone these days that doesnt want at least $13pp.
Does anyone have a particular villa that they have stayed in before that they could offer a first hand recommendation for?
Also try GRAND CYPRESS VILLAS. I have stayed at the Hyatt Grand Cypress - near Downtown Disney - nice hotel - they also have villas. Also friends of ours have stayed at http://www.wyndhambonnetcreek.com/ which they loved. It is surrounded by disney property on an island of land not owned by disney
You can also look at Redweek and TUGBBS for the option of renting a 3 or 4 bedroom villa at a nice place like Wyndham Bonnet Creek directly from a timeshare owner…
thanks for all the advice guys…hugely appreciated
Agree with others… a 4-bedroom home in Windsor Hills is VERY close, can be rented reliably from AllStar at http://www.allstarvacationhomes.com . We did it a few years ago and were VERY happy. If you need a little more space between people (i.e. not all stay in one unit, maybe spread out over a couple vacation units), consider suites at Wyndham Bonnet Creek at http://www.wyndhambonnetcreek.com . I’ve heard of people renting timeshare “points” to rent at Bonnet Creek much cheaper than posted rates on the site, but I don’t know any more details about this.
We like to rent a home. Most recently, we stayed in Davenport in the West Haven community. It’s quite close, but you do need a vehicle, as these are private homes off Disney property. You can get 4 or 5 (or more) bedrooms for a week for under $2000 in some cases. We find that many of the owners are British, but they have management companies that take care of things for them.
Check out Homeaway and search on Davenport or even on West Haven. We have also stayed at Sunset Ridge, but it was cheaper, but maybe not quite as nice.
One thing to remember is that these are not 5 star hotels. They are very comfortable, but they aren’t home as you might like it. So while they might have plenty of space, a pool, maybe hot tub, flat screen TVs and free wifi, maybe they are short on lighting fixtures or there are scratches in the leather or the games table is missing an 8 ball. That sort of thing. You just call the management company if there are any problems. They can usually help you out.
has anyone rented from greenway vacation homes before? they have some good properties at a decent price. Happened on them as they have a few properties on VRBO