I know folks rave about Windsor Hills for WDW trips, but I’ve never noticed what neighborhoods or complexes folks like near Universal. Is there anything better/closer for a UOR focused trip?
I have thoughts.
Trouble with Universal, is that it seems most off site house rentals are on the far side of Disney. As such, we found our morning drive to UOR each morning taking close to 50 minutes. (traffic is horrible…so what is a 25 or 30 minute drive at off times is rare most other times.)
Anyhow, we have stayed in Windsor Hills, in Davenport, as well as Haines City. But these all have longer drives.
If you are willing to drive the distance, there are tons of great houses to rent. But if you want something close to UOR, you have to pay quite a bit more.
Now, we have stayed in places closer, such as Floriday’s Resort. But those are condos or former timeshares. Depends on what you are looking for.
We did stay in Windsor Hills (3 bedroom condo, not house) a few years ago. I wouldn’t rave about it, but it was decent enough. Since units are owned privately, the quality of one unit versus another can vary, so read reviews.
I wouldn’t say Windsor Hills is better than other houses or condos we have stayed elsewhere though.
Spend time on VRBO.com and see what you can find. Map out drive times in Google Maps to see drive estimates. Don’t trust listings…I haven’t found a single listing where the actual drive time matches what was said.
Also, we stayed at Surfside Inn at UOR last August. The family suite was decently priced, and super convenient. So it is worth considering staying on property if the trip is primarily the parks.
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thanks Ryan! I was casually looking at vrbo/google maps and didn’t see anything on the UOR side so I was wondering if I was just missing some kind of name or keyword to search, but what you say makes sense. I will do more digging on the on-site hotel options!
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Cabana Bay may be the best value on-site resort in Orlando with all the amenities. They have family suites and most rooms can connect to another for larger families. The prices are VERY reasonable. Here is a detailed TP article.
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We did a UOR/SeaWorld trip earlier this year and found a 3 bedroom Vista Cay condo that worked really well for our group.
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I did a quick search for off-site resorts with large living area/2 bedroom near UOR. Found these:
Sonesta ES Suites Orlando - International Drive
Club Wyndham Orlando International
I also have been to Floridays Resort. It’s about halfway between WDW & UOR.
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thank you, I somehow missed that blog post entirely and it was a delight 
Definitely makes me want to stay at Cabana Bay! Not sure I can sell my mom on it though, it is ‘of her era’ and she is the opposite of nostalgic, lol.
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thanks, that complex looks really nice! I also like the idea of a couple of condos so we can be together but not on top of each other, this might be a winner.
We’ve stayed at Cabana Bay the last two trips, and as DVC members and hotel snobs we were really surprised with how much we liked it. The only drawback for us was the transportation… having to go all the way back through CityWalk and then wait for busses at the end of the night was a bummer. We’re currently weighing whether we’d rather stay at Royal Pacific and have the easy ride home at the end of the night for our HHN trip, or if we should suck it up and spend the money on HHN XPs and/or RIP tour.
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