Renting a pool home

[Frothy]

We stayed at Sunset Lakes a few years ago and we took a look at EI. Personally I thought it was ugly and awful. I wouldn't stay there under any circumstances and I heard that many of the homes were in foreclosure. In fact, I'd prefer Lindfields to EI and it's exactly the same distance to Disney in my opinion. EI is next door to Sunset Lakes on one side and Lindfields on the other. We really liked that area but now we stay on the East side of Disney because we can get to SeaWorld and Universal much quicker. I hear some new restaurants are going in on the west side and they were needed. Might try them out next visit.

 

[tiggerplus5]

Definitely didn't take me 12 minutes to AK from EI, more like 7 or 8. And it really depends who you rent from at EI. We got a 3 bedroom condo there for $450/week last summer.

I got my numbers directly from google maps and each time the route took me down Sherberth Road. There really aren't many stretches of road from EI that you can speed down with the stop signs and traffic lights. Funie Steed coming from sunset lakes or lindfields has a bit of a straightaway where you could make up some time. Just sayin'. I know the map takes you down past AK to turn around and come back but I could not get the map program to use the little road where you can take a left hand turn into AK parking lot. But in order to show the minimal difference, I went with what the program allows. EI is prolly 7 minutes if you use the cut off. Lindfields is 10 minutes. Until I googled it, I thought Lindfields was only about 10 minutes away. My point was that we are taking about a couple minutes difference between the two communities. If you actually looked at a map you would see how close these communities are. I have driven down Funie Steed dozens of times. It's a quiet back road where you barely meet another car. It's a straight away and quite easy to drive. No traffic until you get to Formosa Blvd.

Condos are definitely cheaper but I thought we were talking about larger pool homes. Our family would prolly just stay in a value resort onsite if we were interested in sharing a pool.

I would love to rent a 4-5 bedroom single family pool home in EI or Windsor Palms for $700 a week (maybe even $750). That's what we paid in lindfields for a 4 bedroom pool home. Seriously, does anyone know any out there? Please forward the link. I would love the info.

Now I have heard that Davenport is more like 20 minutes away and to the east in the Ponciana area there's lots of traffic. We had family stay there once and it was a pain to go visit them. Lots of traffic to the east of wdw entrance. We try to avoid 192 as much as possible when driving around, unless you go west to route 27. There's a super walmart, super target, a few restaurants and there isn't as much traffic.

 

[loveysbydesign]

I got my numbers directly from google maps and each time the route took me down Sherberth Road. There really aren't many stretches of road from EI that you can speed down with the stop signs and traffic lights. Funie Steed coming from sunset lakes or lindfields has a bit of a straightaway where you could make up some time. Just sayin'. I know the map takes you down past AK to turn around and come back but I could not get the map program to use the little road where you can take a left hand turn into AK parking lot. But in order to show the minimal difference, I went with what the program allows. EI is prolly 7 minutes if you use the cut off. Lindfields is 10 minutes. Until I googled it, I thought Lindfields was only about 10 minutes away. My point was that we are taking about a couple minutes difference between the two communities. If you actually looked at a map you would see how close these communities are. I have driven down Funie Steed dozens of times. It's a quiet back road where you barely meet another car. It's a straight away and quite easy to drive. No traffic until you get to Formosa Blvd.

Condos are definitely cheaper but I thought we were talking about larger pool homes. Our family would prolly just stay in a value resort onsite if we were interested in sharing a pool.

I would love to rent a 4-5 bedroom single family pool home in EI or Windsor Palms for $700 a week (maybe even $750). That's what we paid in lindfields for a 4 bedroom pool home. Seriously, does anyone know any out there? Please forward the link. I would love the info.

Now I have heard that Davenport is more like 20 minutes away and to the east in the Ponciana area there's lots of traffic. We had family stay there once and it was a pain to go visit them. Lots of traffic to the east of wdw entrance. We try to avoid 192 as much as possible when driving around, unless you go west to route 27. There's a super walmart, super target, a few restaurants and there isn't as much traffic.

You can get an Indian Creek rental for around $700-800 a week. We love staying there and use Sherberth Rd.

 

[torinsmom]

I got my numbers directly from google maps and each time the route took me down Sherberth Road. There really aren't many stretches of road from EI that you can speed down with the stop signs and traffic lights. Funie Steed coming from sunset lakes or lindfields has a bit of a straightaway where you could make up some time. Just sayin'. I know the map takes you down past AK to turn around and come back but I could not get the map program to use the little road where you can take a left hand turn into AK parking lot. But in order to show the minimal difference, I went with what the program allows. EI is prolly 7 minutes if you use the cut off. Lindfields is 10 minutes. Until I googled it, I thought Lindfields was only about 10 minutes away. My point was that we are taking about a couple minutes difference between the two communities. If you actually looked at a map you would see how close these communities are. I have driven down Funie Steed dozens of times. It's a quiet back road where you barely meet another car. It's a straight away and quite easy to drive. No traffic until you get to Formosa Blvd.

Condos are definitely cheaper but I thought we were talking about larger pool homes. Our family would prolly just stay in a value resort onsite if we were interested in sharing a pool.

I would love to rent a 4-5 bedroom single family pool home in EI or Windsor Palms for $700 a week (maybe even $750). That's what we paid in lindfields for a 4 bedroom pool home. Seriously, does anyone know any out there? Please forward the link. I would love the info.

Now I have heard that Davenport is more like 20 minutes away and to the east in the Ponciana area there's lots of traffic. We had family stay there once and it was a pain to go visit them. Lots of traffic to the east of wdw entrance. We try to avoid 192 as much as possible when driving around, unless you go west to route 27. There's a super walmart, super target, a few restaurants and there isn't as much traffic.

We are staying in a 5 bedroom pool house in Indian Creek in August for $625/week. This is the one.....

http://www.vrbo.com/229838

 

[tiggerplus5]

Indian Creek is an older community but $625 is really cheap for staying so close. I was looking in this area a month or two ago and there was nothing even close to $625. How long ago did you book?

 

[torinsmom]

Indian Creek is an older community but $625 is really cheap for staying so close. I was looking in this area a month or two ago and there was nothing even close to $625. How long ago did you book?

We booked in February. Looks like she's booked pretty solid now. I thought it was a great deal. We are there from August 12-20. It's just me and DS until then, so we Pricelined a hotel.

 

[onecoolpilot]

Just wanted to throw this out there. We are scheduled for a week in a vacation home I found at elitevacationhomes.com. Price is not too bad, $700 for 6 days including tax.

 

[tiggerplus5]

Just wanted to throw this out there. We are scheduled for a week in a vacation home I found at elitevacationhomes.com. Price is not too bad, $700 for 6 days including tax.

That's not a bad price depending on where you will be staying. We love staying in vacation homes, even if it's a mini commute. You just have to manage your expectations. When we stay farther away, we tend to be more laid back and take a day or two away from the parks. If you want to do rope drop every day, you have to plan your commute accordingly.

Is this a pool home in Emerald Isle or Windsor Palms? It's hard to compare the $700 figure without knowing # of bedrooms, # of living rooms, jacuzzi, time of year, etc. I just don't see anything that inexpensive here. Did they negotiate with you on the price?

I checked out the website briefly and see most homes are pretty far away. Cumbrian Lakes and Eagle Point are 20-25 minutes away. I see some condos in WP and EI. The pool homes are much more expensive.

IC 5 bed-$159 per night low season
IC 4 bed $129 per night low season
EI 5 bed $149 low season

I have to confess I can't stand the disney buses. Our last trip, we stayed at POP and one night leaving the MK had to wait for 2 hours to arrive "home". It was difficult (to say the least) with a 2 year old that doesn't understand waiting in lines. So the commute outside the parks is gravy to me and I don't mind driving.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[loveysbydesign]

We are paying $869 for a week in IC but the home we are staying in has Disney themed kids bedrooms that my kids love. We stayed there this past Nov. and are staying there agin in October! we stay in Happiness House but the owner does have 4 other homes he rents out in IC! Here's a link to his website and you can also find his info on homeaway.com and vrbo.com http://www.houseforrentflorida.net/en/houses.php

 

[eliewriter]

Hi all,

I was on the Disboards quite a bit before we planned our 2009 trip, but life got busy and I never reported back like I'd planned.

We stayed at Palm View Villa in the Terra Verde Resort, and absolutely loved it. The owners were so thoughtful and kind. I was a bit apprehensive about renting out a place sight unseen, so I did quite a bit of online digging and wasn't disappointed. It was wonderful and lovely.

Although we loved our days at WDW, my only regret is we didn't have more time at the condo (aka the Villa). There was a game room in the garage, the setup was perfect for the six of us and the development itself was also lovely. I can't recall exactly how far it was from Disney but it didn't seem to take long to get there. We were also just minutes from stores and restaurants.

I just updated my blog regarding a party we held there, if anyone is interested: http://giftsgatheringsandgusto.blogspot.com/.

 

[Emjay0074]

Hi- we are planning a VERY last minute vacation and I've been learning a lot from all of your posts, so thank you! We are interested in a private pool home for Spring Break week, but of course that may be difficult to find. I've decided if we can find one, I'll be ok with whatever location it's in. However, if we can't, we might get a condo/townhouse. In that case, I want to pick the best choice traffic wise that's available- so a few questions if anyone can answer them:

We are planning on going to WDW and Universal- thinking we might spend an equal amount of time at both- it's our third time at Disney, and we've never been to Universal.

So I'm confused about rte 192- should I avoid it? What would be the best area for WDW and Universal? Should I be looking more East? Wondering because I saw someone mention Indian Creek and Sherlock Rd. and I liked what you had to say about getting in and out easier from those sites. Don't know the area too well- so maybe you still have to use rte 192? Sorry if this is confusing, but if we have to make a last minute decision on a townhouse/condo wanted pick a semi-good location if one is even available at this point! Thanks for any help you can give me.

MJ

 

[vfb2girls]

Hi all,

I was on the Disboards quite a bit before we planned our 2009 trip, but life got busy and I never reported back like I'd planned.

We stayed at Palm View Villa in the Terra Verde Resort, and absolutely loved it. The owners were so thoughtful and kind. I was a bit apprehensive about renting out a place sight unseen, so I did quite a bit of online digging and wasn't disappointed. It was wonderful and lovely.

Although we loved our days at WDW, my only regret is we didn't have more time at the condo (aka the Villa). There was a game room in the garage, the setup was perfect for the six of us and the development itself was also lovely. I can't recall exactly how far it was from Disney but it didn't seem to take long to get there. We were also just minutes from stores and restaurants.

I just updated my blog regarding a party we held there, if anyone is interested: http://giftsgatheringsandgusto.blogspot.com/.

This is where we are considering staying when we do our Florida vacation. I am happy to hear that you were pleased with this property since it doesn't get a lot of reviews. I thought about finding a place closer to DW but it doesn't make much sense since our vacation also includes a night in Cocoa Beach and also a couple of days at Seaworld. I am responsible for putting together this big family reunion/vacation for next May so I need all the help I can get!

 

[Darcy03231]

Hi- we are planning a VERY last minute vacation and I've been learning a lot from all of your posts, so thank you! We are interested in a private pool home for Spring Break week, but of course that may be difficult to find. I've decided if we can find one, I'll be ok with whatever location it's in. However, if we can't, we might get a condo/townhouse. In that case, I want to pick the best choice traffic wise that's available- so a few questions if anyone can answer them:

We are planning on going to WDW and Universal- thinking we might spend an equal amount of time at both- it's our third time at Disney, and we've never been to Universal.

So I'm confused about rte 192- should I avoid it? What would be the best area for WDW and Universal? Should I be looking more East? Wondering because I saw someone mention Indian Creek and Sherlock Rd. and I liked what you had to say about getting in and out easier from those sites. Don't know the area too well- so maybe you still have to use rte 192? Sorry if this is confusing, but if we have to make a last minute decision on a townhouse/condo wanted pick a semi-good location if one is even available at this point! Thanks for any help you can give me.

MJ

We stayed in Clermont and the subdivision we were in was about a mile from the junction of 192 and 27. I didn't have any issues using 192 at all. We were about 15-20 min from WDW and about 30-40 min from US/IOA, depending on traffic. The only time I ran into major traffic was when we stayed until closing at WDW and were trying to leave at the same time as everyone else.

 

[Emjay0074]

Thank you for responding! Got our flights, and have been searching all day and there is stuff out there. That is really helpful to know!

Starting to get excited.....just need to book something haha! This may be our craziest vacation ever.....

 

[Frothy]

Emjay,
If you are planning to go to SeaWorld and Universal then you will want to be on the East side to save yourself sometime getting there. We really love SeaWorld and can be there in 15 mins from the house we rent on Cumbrian Lakes. Universal is about 20 mins if I4 traffic is flowing well. We used to stay at Sunset Lakes and that adds another 10 to 15 mins to the journey.

The company we rent from has some great homes but I doubt they have anything available for when you visit. You might like to give them a try or visit their web site. The name is in my signature as for some reason this forum blanks out the name when I post it. Crazy!

 

[Emjay0074]

Thank you Frothy!!- still looking and will check out Cumbrian Lakes at Signature. I saw your other posts about Cumbrian Lakes, and with wanting to go to Universal 2 days, was looking for something there, but I think it might be too late. Do you believe Home Away and all their sister sites are doing maintenance this am? Of course!

Do you have any advice on what I've got available to choose from right now (below)?
If theyre even still available! I'm really trying to be in a home with a private pool vs. a townhouse.

Our kids are 15,14,12 and 9

1. An older, home in High Grove, (possibility of hot water, pool not working well if older?) closest location, (less traffic jams?) no wireless, no game room ( we would like wireless, but my husband may have a smart phone w/a hot spot that we could use by then)
*I swear I saw a review that there was not enough hot water at this house, and the pool would not heat up, which would be a nightmare! but I can't find it now. Might be on vrbo which is down...but I've looked at so many houses I might be wrong.

2. Newer homes further away in Calabray Park, Hampton Lakes, The Abbey at West Haven.

 

[bobchwalek]

Then each time I got a response from the owner, I put the house in a spreadsheet with all it's information and used that to compare all the choices.

can i ask what your spreadsheet had in it to compare? we just started looking and its very over wheming and i dont even know what too look for.
Thank you heather

 

[Emjay0074]

Just saw that the companies name is not Signature, but in your signature. Got it thanks!

 

[Melknor]

We are paying $869 for a week in IC but the home we are staying in has Disney themed kids bedrooms that my kids love. We stayed there this past Nov. and are staying there agin in October! we stay in Happiness House but the owner does have 4 other homes he rents out in IC! Here's a link to his website and you can also find his info on homeaway.com and vrbo.com http://www.houseforrentflorida.net/en/houses.php

We are staying 8 nights in the Fantasy House listed on this same sight. The owner has been GREAT to deal with so far!!

 

[loveysbydesign]

We are staying 8 nights in the Fantasy House listed on this same sight. The owner has been GREAT to deal with so far!!

He has been very helpful and friendly to us. I just wish he offered discounts for repeat customers who also refer customers to him. I have referred many, many people to him!