Forum Sponsor: ALL STAR Vacation Homes About This Page:

[Jennifer Marx]

Hi, folks!

Please join me in thanking ALL STAR Vacation Homes for sponsoring our "Staying in Style" forum.

Anyone who reads my articles knows how much I adore ALL STAR -- we've staying in one of the vacation homes every year for the last three years. It's a really relaxing way to do a Disney vacation, and particularly good (and cost-effective) for big families and groups. You can read my articles here:

ALL STAR Vacation Homes Review -- PassPorter.com
Home Sweet Home: Vacation Home Report -- PassPorter.com
Vacation Homes Offer Respite From Busy Disney Vacations - PassPorter.com

My articles have photos and trip reports, too.

I'm not the only one who thinks ALL STAR is great -- here are some other posts from community members:
All Star Vacation Homes
any advice on staying off property?
Where to Stay - I'm new to this
Best Rental (offsite) Condo, House-no hotel?
All Star Vacation Homes..

Thank you again, ALL STAR Vacation Homes -- we really appreciate your support!

[CRCrazy]

A big thank you to our new sponsor!

I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the All Star Vacation Homes from people who prefer to stay in villas during their Disney vacations!

Welcome aboard!

[Chrissi]

I just noticed our newest forum sponsor a few minutes ago! How exciting! I remember seeing your vacation rental photos once before, Jennifer. What a beautiful, low-cost option for big families!

[lauren-roxy]

Thanks so much for the sponsership!!

[vbradl1]

We took a 10-day family vacation in August to WDW. A total of 8 of us traveled-my mom, sister, 2 nieces aged 12 & 4, 2 nephews aged 3 & 21 months, a 13 yr. old cousin and I- whew! We stayed for 3 days, 2 nights at Disney's Old Key West in a 2 bedroom villa. We then switched to an All-Star vacation home at 2615 Pawnall in the Windsor Hills resort community for 7 days. It was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-ly awesome!!! It was a 5-bedroom house, with a private pool and spa, an in home movie theater with a projection screen, reclining leather movie theater seating, foosball table, and an arcade game that had both Galaga and Ms. Pacman (I was in 80's era heaven). The house also had a Wii game system, PS 2, stereo system and a gas grill. 3 of the bedrooms featured king-sized beds, 1 had a queen and the last had 2 sets of bunkbeds themed to Peter Pan. Each bedroom had its own connecting private bathroom and each also had a flat screen tv w/ cable. The gated community of Windsor Hills had its own clubhouse w/ an olympic sized pool and waterslide, an arcade, general store and a fitness room. The house was located 3 miles from Disney. It took us maybe 5 minutes to get from our house to the gates of Disney. There was a full eat-in kitchen and a separate formal dining area. With all of these amenities, the house cost $100 less per night than the 2-bedroom villa at OKW on property!!! We loved the place and did not want to leave. We could see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the hot tub. Every night we watched a Disney movie (free movie check out from All-Star) in our private theater. Everyday we came home and had a swim. The kids even enjoyed going to bed, b/c the bunkbeds were "pirate ships" and there was a treasure chest in the room. Their bathroom had a Tinkerbell shower curtain and Peter Pan on the wall. There were different Disney character "portraits" around the house, so the magic continued even when we were away from the parks. The only downside is that since it's not on Disney property, going to the Magic Kingdom was a bear (i usually stay at Wilderness Lodge and just hop a boat to the park), but that is with any stay off property, so I will not hold that against All-Star. This was as close to being on property as possible and we LOVED it. We were near several restaurants and eateries, which helped us save money since we were not a captive audience to Disney dining. We still ate at Chef Mickey's, Akershus, Crystal Palace, etc for some dinners or lunches, but we also stocked up at Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie and made our own hot dogs, hamburgers, sundaes and smores. We saved so much by not staying on property and got so many more amenities.
The All-Star people were the friendliest and most helpful people and that's even compared to the people at Disney! They couldn't do enough to help us. Fabulous, awesome, wonderful experience!! I'll definitely be coming back! I love staying on property and was very hesitant about staying off property for the 1st time in my adult life. (We had previously stayed at Orange Lake Resort when I was a kid but I much preferred staying on property to staying at Orange Lake. ) But now that I've tried All-Star, I want to keep coming back. My family and I just loved the experience. My 12 yr old niece never thought she would like anyplace as much as Wilderness Lodge, but she now has a new favorite. We even have a picture of the pool as a screensaver!

[melinda1234@hotmail.com]

I JUST BOUGHT MY THEME PARK TICKETS,IF I STAY OFF OF THE WALT DISNEY WORLD PROPERTY AT A VACATION RENTAL CAN I STIIL USE MY THEME PARK TICKETS?

[weavers17]

So glad I just read the previous post. We are staying in the exact same house for our next trip. I was feeling a little bummed about not staying on property but with a group of 9, this was our best option. Now I am so excited that I have read other feed back. Can't wait for our trip!