My family and I wanna go to Disney World for vacation this summer. Which villa place should we stay at though? My wife and I want a master bedroom with a whirlpool tub and shower in the bathroom there. Our 2 kids also want their own bed. So we need a place with 2 bedrooms, 3 beds, full kitchen, and maybe 1 to 2 balconies. And also a living room with dvd player and tv. Thanks!
I think your best bet is to stay on property. There are so many perks to staying in a Disney resort it is worth every penny.
First of all, You get Extra Magic Hours, where one park is open early and one late for resort guests only. You also have the Magical Express, where you get free shuttle service to and from Orlando Int’l Airport, complete with luggage service. There is the unlimited use of the free Disney transportation service as well. The off site resorts do offer a shuttle, however it is on a limited schedule, not door to door like the Disney transportation, and in some cases is an extra cost. Want to drive to the parks everyday, good luck. You also get the world famous Disney service, and an opportunity to utilize the Disney Dining Plan, which is a huge money saver. Again, only open to resort guests. Disney takes great care of their own.
Staying on property in the manner you want is pricey, but a few of the resorts do offer family suites. The All-Star Music resort is one, and will not be as expensive. If price is not an issue my favorite is Saratoga Springs. The resort is absolutely beautiful, the rooms are large even if you have a one-bedroom suite, and it is a short walk or boat ride to Downtown Disney. I have stayed there a couple of times in one of their two-bedroom villas and we loved it. In fact we are going over Easter break next year and staying in the new treehouse villas. The only drawback to that is if you are not a vacation club member the room choices may be limited.
I would suggest looking into one of the moderate or deluxe resorts. The Carribean Beach is very nice, with large rooms and beds, a great themed pool and plenty to do at the resort. You could do two rooms for less than the cost of a two bedroom at one of the Vacation Club resorts. Port Orleans is also an option, as is Coronado Springs. I have stayed at all of them, and would recommend any of them.
There is also the deluxe resorts. The difference is the amenities offered (and price!). The rooms at some of the deluxe resorts are HUGE. In fact, the Polynesian is probably my favorite overall. The rooms are large, view is unbelieveable, and there is something about being able to see Cinderella’s castle from your room. Again, I would check prices, but you may be able to do two rooms connecting rooms for the price of one two bedroom suite.
I put a few links and extra resources below for you to check out. First, go to the Disney website. You can check out their resort comparison tool to help you pick the resort for you, then check availability and price. Next is the disboards. The disboards is a message boards type website that is all about going to Disney. You can get resort reviews, restaurant reviews, tips and tricks for avoiding crowds, advice on where to stay and much more, all from people who go often and know what they are talking about. Finally, I would recommend picking up the newest edition of the Birnbaum’s guide to WDW. There are a ton of guide books out there, but that is the one that I have used the most. There is also a Birnbaum’s guide to WDW for Kids, written by kids that your children will love.
I hope this helps, have a great trip!
First Timers
If you have never been to Disney World before, then it is time to start doing your homework! Not only do you need to research the park layout and attractions, but you should also become familiar with ways to save money on travel, lodging, and park activities.
Look at the link on the right side of this bolg Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide
http://fortlauderdale-fl.blogspot.com/
References :
I would suggest either the Boardwalk or Animal Kingdom Lodge. We stayed at Saratoga Springs for 1 night last month and found it to be DISGUSTING. Animal Kingdom was my favorite but Boardwalk is also very nice. If you are staying late in the summer, try the Bay Tower which is opening in August at the Contemporary. They are all very nice.
References :
DVC member
The Boardwalk Inn or the Beach Club would be the way to go. Both of those resorts have fantastic pools and water slides.
They are also very convenient to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios along with other fun things like the Boardwalk and Fantasia mini golf.
References :
http://www.suitedisney.com is a good site for pictures of the resorts, their rooms and ameneties
Well, you have 2 options really – Staying on site at Disney or staying off site through a villa booking company. I’ll list the pro’s and con’s of each option then give you some examples.
DISNEY:
Pros: All perks that you get while staying on site, like the dining plan, extra magic hours, transportation to and from airport for no cost, safe
Cons: Being tied down to disney for your whole vacation, eating every meal out ($$) and not having the privacy you would have in your own home.
VILLA OUTSIDE:
Pros: Cooking meals to save $$, private pool, gated resorts, bigger house, washer + dryer free of cost, freedom to go to where ever you want (restaurants, other theme parks).. more cost effective
Cons: Renting your own car(if you don’t like that), Not getting all the extended Disney perks, not getting free transportation.
Anyways so here’s what I thought might suit what your looking for.
Disney:
The Villa’s at Animal Kingdom Lodge – starts at $630 a night for a 2 bedroom villa with 3 beds.
Beach Club Villas – also $630 a night for 2 bedroom villa with "# Includes a master bedroom with a king-size bed and bathroom with whirlpool tub, second bedroom area has a queen-size bed and a double-size sleeper sofa or 2 queen-size beds, and living room can have a queen-size or full-size sleeper sofa and fully-equipped kitchen
# Up to 3 private balconies"
VILLA DIRECT (http://www.villadirect.com)
Villa Sariki – $209 a night (http://www.villadirect.com/vacation_home/Villa_Sariki.html?&actiontp=slide_show&actionbt=description)
Orlando Bloom – $143 a night (http://www.villadirect.com/vacation_home/Orlando_Bloom.html)
There are tons of options on the website, just put in your criteria.. I chose Diamond rating because it has everything that you are looking for and more usually. We’ve been renting from them for 9 years and always had great customer service.
ALL STAR VACATION HOMES:
3 bedroom villa – Very nice, 4 star but still lots of living space. (http://www.allstarvacationhomes.com/res/property.asp?ID=511) $319 daily$2233 Includes Free Rental Car & Pool Heat! for the week!
4 bedroom villa – home theater, pool with views of Disney fireworks .. $359 daily$2513 Includes Free Rental Car and Pool Heat! for the week. (http://www.allstarvacationhomes.com/res/property.asp?ID=502)
Anyways, I hope this helps you out a bit. I really recommend renting your own house. My family finds it a lot more relaxing and then it’s not always go go go for the whole week or two that your on vacation.
References :
I think your best bet is to stay on property. There are so many perks to staying in a Disney resort it is worth every penny.
First of all, You get Extra Magic Hours, where one park is open early and one late for resort guests only. You also have the Magical Express, where you get free shuttle service to and from Orlando Int’l Airport, complete with luggage service. There is the unlimited use of the free Disney transportation service as well. The off site resorts do offer a shuttle, however it is on a limited schedule, not door to door like the Disney transportation, and in some cases is an extra cost. Want to drive to the parks everyday, good luck. You also get the world famous Disney service, and an opportunity to utilize the Disney Dining Plan, which is a huge money saver. Again, only open to resort guests. Disney takes great care of their own.
Staying on property in the manner you want is pricey, but a few of the resorts do offer family suites. The All-Star Music resort is one, and will not be as expensive. If price is not an issue my favorite is Saratoga Springs. The resort is absolutely beautiful, the rooms are large even if you have a one-bedroom suite, and it is a short walk or boat ride to Downtown Disney. I have stayed there a couple of times in one of their two-bedroom villas and we loved it. In fact we are going over Easter break next year and staying in the new treehouse villas. The only drawback to that is if you are not a vacation club member the room choices may be limited.
I would suggest looking into one of the moderate or deluxe resorts. The Carribean Beach is very nice, with large rooms and beds, a great themed pool and plenty to do at the resort. You could do two rooms for less than the cost of a two bedroom at one of the Vacation Club resorts. Port Orleans is also an option, as is Coronado Springs. I have stayed at all of them, and would recommend any of them.
There is also the deluxe resorts. The difference is the amenities offered (and price!). The rooms at some of the deluxe resorts are HUGE. In fact, the Polynesian is probably my favorite overall. The rooms are large, view is unbelieveable, and there is something about being able to see Cinderella’s castle from your room. Again, I would check prices, but you may be able to do two rooms connecting rooms for the price of one two bedroom suite.
I put a few links and extra resources below for you to check out. First, go to the Disney website. You can check out their resort comparison tool to help you pick the resort for you, then check availability and price. Next is the disboards. The disboards is a message boards type website that is all about going to Disney. You can get resort reviews, restaurant reviews, tips and tricks for avoiding crowds, advice on where to stay and much more, all from people who go often and know what they are talking about. Finally, I would recommend picking up the newest edition of the Birnbaum’s guide to WDW. There are a ton of guide books out there, but that is the one that I have used the most. There is also a Birnbaum’s guide to WDW for Kids, written by kids that your children will love.
I hope this helps, have a great trip!
References :
http://www.waltdisneyworld.com
http://www.disboards.com
Disney Vacation Club member
You can check out the Disney Villas at:
http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/index?bhcp=1
This website is to mainly learn about the Disney Vacation club, but it has a lot of great information on all of the Disney Villas with pictures, room layouts, descriptions, resort features & ammenities. I am not sure if price is a big consideration for you, but the villas can get to be very expensive. If you are still considering it, I think the Old Key West resort is usually the most affordable.
References :
To stay in a villa onsite at Disney with all the things you list above would cost over $600 a night.
If you stay offsite nearby you should get a place with all you want and more (private pool / games room etc) for just over $600 A WEEK !
Depends how much money you have to spend really. Check out the owner direct home rental websites below.
I would recommend the Windsor Hills / Palms and Formosa Gardens/ Lakes area as they are within a 5 minute drive of the Disney lot.
References :
http://www.vrbo.com
http://www.homeaway.com
I rented a vacation pool home from the owner at the vrbo.com webpage. Thats" vacation rental by owner". I looked online at different villas ~ there are so many to choose from.
Read all the information that is listed before you contact the owner. I googled their listed phone numbers to see if it was a rental agency # or what. I was worried that the home wouldn’t look as nice as the pics or it could be a scam of some sort. Plus there are more vacation homes that are in foreclosure ~ don’t want to pay rent/deposit and lose my money that way.
Anyway ~ I picked vrbo home #123231 after looking at loads of houses. Just got back home May 3 and I want to go back again. The house is wonderful, clean, well decorated, and had everything we needed. 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 6 tvs (one with DVD, VHS, tons of Disney movies, video games too). Garage is full of kids games, air hockey, etc ~ we didn’t use them. Extra linens, beach towels, etc etc. Was near a Publix, Subway, pizza and Chinese places, and liquor store.
It Takes about 10-15 mins to WDW. I’d go to parks in early morning, come back for late lunch, swim in pool, then go back to park in late afternoon.
I do NOT own this house and DO NOT know the owners ~ just talked with them via phone. Will rent from them again when we choose our return dates for September and if those days are available. Keeping fingers crossed for that ~ I bought an Annual Pass last week when at Downtown Disney. Yippie. Can’t wait to return.
Oh yes ~ The master suite didn’t have a whirlpool tub though it has a large size heart shape tub. And included a full size shower. The master bedroom opened up to the enclosed lanai and pool area!! Another bathroom opened up to the lanai as well so wet kids could step right into the tub/shower.
p.s. I saw May rates are $600 a week, believe it costs more for summer month ~ theme parks are busier then.
References :