any advice on staying off property? About This Page:

[meganann]

Hello! I'm new here. My family is planning a trip to Disney this summer. There will be 6 or 7 of us and we want to all stay together in a 2 or 3 bedroom villa, condo, etc., that has a full kitchen also. And although it pains me to stay off property, we cannot afford Disney's villas for 7 nights. We don't want really cheap either, something moderately priced and Disney transportation would be a plus. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice about this? Any info would be so helpful!

Thank you [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[stretch2864]

My recommendation would be Allstar Vacation Homes. Link We rented a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bath 1400 square foot condo over the Christmas holidays a couple of years ago for around $1000 for the week. It was in a gated community called Windsor Palms which was located just three miles from the entrance to WDW. They also have townhouses and houses for rent as well. There was a pool, basketball courts, clubhouse with gameroom, snackbar, movies to rent etc. The condo itself was gorgeous with a full kitchen, dining area and living room. There was also a screened in porch off the living room. It was nice because we could breakfast at our condo before we hit the parks. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] The only downside is that there isn't a shuttle, but if there are six or seven of you; you could maybe split the cost of a rental car for the week which really isn't that bad especially if you are saving a lot of money on your accommadations. Good luck! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] P.S. All Star Vacation Homes is a recommended offsite property by www.allearsnet.com

[Huntermom]

We have stayed at the Wyndham Palms, Star Island and Sheraton Vistana Villages off site and been happy with all three. My daughter prefers the Wyndham Palms and my son Star Island. They all have two bedroom villas which we find fit the 5 of us fine. I think 6-7 in a two bedroom would be pushing it.

I know Wyndham Palms and Star Island also have 3 bedrooom units which are a two bedroom+a one bedroom so you get two livingrooms and kitchens and 3 baths, which might be nice if you have more than one family in your group.

Our family enjoys staying off site as well as on but I would rent a car. I even like a car if we stay on site.

Diane

[songbird]

Welcome to the boards! With a group that big, do you by chance have any active or retired military in the group? If so, check into Shades of Green at shadesofgreen.org.

[piratelady]

One time a few years ago we stayed at this place called Family First Vacation Homes. It was so nice I did not want to come home. It had 3 bdr., 2 full baths, huge livingroom, full kitchen, full size washer/dryer, private screened in pool. We stayed there about 5 yrs. ago and it was around $750 for 7 nights. There are so many of these houses, good luck picking one. I can't recomend a car rental, we always drive.
Necie

[meganann]

Thank you everyone! This info is great! We will be driving two cars down so we won't need to rent a car, but I know that with so many of us, everyone will want to do something different. I've checked out some of the places you guys have mentioned and they look good. It's nice to hear from people who've actually stayed there though. There are so many houses and condos, etc! It's very overwhelming. But again, thank you so much!

Megan

[MickeyMAC]

First of all well to the boards... [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/welcome3.gif[/img] The link to Allstar is a great place to start. We've stayed with Allstar several times (in fact we're renting from them again this summer). The service is great, very nice to work with. The homes are exactly like you see on the virtual tours. We love having our own pool and relaxing a bit out of the parks. It is also great to eat breakfast before heading for the parks. The homes Allstar offers are really about as close to Disney as you can get....it only takes a few minutes. If you have any questions I'll try to answer them and I can give you some tips about great places to buy groceries, etc.

[Philly]

welcome!

We rented a house, and it was great. we had our own pool, ant the kids loved that the most.

Did you look at staying at a log cabin?

[Cam22]

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/welcome3.gif[/img] to the boards! Sorry no advice -- we've only stayed off property once and won't do it again.

[wendybell]

A good friend of mine stayed in an All star vacation home last year and just loved it. There was plenty of space for her group of 9, a pool, full kitchen - all of the comforts of home. Good Luck... Welcome to the boards!

[dahuffy]

Welcome to this "Wonderful Family" [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/flowerred.gif[/img]

[WillCAD]

Welcome aboard!

I'll just put my vote in for AllStar Vacation homes. I've actually never stayed in one, because I usually go to WDW solo, but I do know a few people who have stayed in them and were very pleased. I have stayed in 2-BR condos, however, which are not quite the same as a vacation home but do have some of the same advantages.

Staying off-site is not the terrible burden that some people make it out to be. More than half of my trips have been off-site, either at cheap hotels in the lake Buena Vista area, or staying with friends in Kissimmee, but the off-site trips were just as Magical as those on-site.

Best bennefits of a vacation home over a hotel will be:

- No noisy neighbors running past your room like a herd of buffalo at 2am.
- Full kitchen available for snacks or even whole meals (great for breakfast)
- ACRES of extra space
- Private parking, so no haveing to park 2 miles away when you get back to the house exhausted from a long day in the parks
- Multiple bathrooms, essential for any group over 3 people
- Many vacation homes have their own pools

[CindyD]

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/welcome3.gif[/img] to the boards. Sorry no advise. Good Luck!!

[vin816]

<font color="blue"> DON'T! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] </font>

[perla]

Hi

We stayed at Marriotts Grande Vista last may in a 2 bedroom Villa. It was beautiful. We drove into the parks every day. It was no problem. I also heard Sheraton Viatana is very nice. We are staying on property this time but, it is a hard decision you get so much more offsite most of the two bedroom villas are 1000 square feet compared to a 3oo square foot room onsite.