Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<There are going to be 9 of us in the group, and our accomodation costs for 14 nights at a value resort would be $4424. A very nice 5 bed villa is going to cost us $2000.>> A five bedroom unit for $143 per night? That seems almost impossible... off property or not. Are you sure? Perhaps you meant it literally – a five BED villa. That would seem more reasonable. Two beds each in two bedrooms and one hide-a-bed in the living room.
Originally Posted By MPierce I think it always boils down to two major points. Affordability, and just personal choice. If you have a large family a trip to WDW can definitely be a drain on a budget. I'm also sure there are people who can afford the most expensive resort, but choose not to. So if you are on a budget, find a nice inexpensive motel, and enjoy your time at The World. Always be happy with what you can afford, at that time of your life. It truly is one of the secrets of having a happy life.
Originally Posted By smedley <<A five bedroom unit for $143 per night? That seems almost impossible... off property or not. Are you sure? Perhaps you meant it literally – a five BED villa. That would seem more reasonable. Two beds each in two bedrooms and one hide-a-bed in the living room.>> Yes Trippy a 5 bedroom 3.5 bath villa with a private pool, sleeping up to 12, and it's not far off 192 West, so a short drive into the world. Rental prices for Orlando property from the UK this year have dropped considerably. I am obviously not complaining
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^Those are not the exception. You can get incredible deals on VACATION HOMES in the WDW area. It all comes down to what you want. I just feel as a longtime member of this community that a solid 85% of all posters stay on-property at WDW resorts exclusively, so they kind of push that as being best for all ... I spend most of my stays on property, but by no means would I ever say they provide the most bang for your buck if you're looking to spend wisely. And for the convenience factor people like to tout, if you have a rental car and are staying within 10 miles of WDW, it won't take you anytime to get where you want to vs. potentially taking 90 minutes or more to get from one resort to another using magical Disney buses.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj << And for the convenience factor people like to tout, if you have a rental car and are staying within 10 miles of WDW, it won't take you anytime to get where you want to vs. potentially taking 90 minutes or more to get from one resort to another using magical Disney buses. >> It may also be of interest to folks planning these sorts of trips that the need to travel between resorts (the example provided above) is uncommon. 99% of guests travel from the resort they are staying in to one of the parks. The need to travel between resorts seems like a ridiculous reason to justify a rental car and the extra expense associated there. However, even when I have traveled between resorts, I have never know the trip to take longer than a half hour including the wait time at the bus stop. It takes that long to get anywhere in a car when you factor in the time it takes to walk out to the parking lot, navigating through traffic, finding a spot to park in the new parking lot, and walking from the parking lot to your new destination. People usually forget the amount of time it takes to do those things when they compare the "expense" of driving vs. waiting on the bus. Of course, when it comes right down to it, most people are just uncomfortable riding buses and mass transit in general. But rather than just say that they prefer to do things themselves and not associate with common people on the bus, they like to make it sound like the mass transit system is somehow inefficient and can't meet their needs.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I just rented a Resort Villa (6 bedrooms) for a week and that came to $3000.00 but for 11 of us it was quite reasonable. One as cheap as mentioned previously would have to be in the low season, at best.
Originally Posted By smedley ^Yes it is in low season, as mentioned we are visiting in November, and yes it is a good quality villa on a relatively new development. I found also that there was a jump in cost between the 5 and 6 bed villas.
Originally Posted By Brian Noble RoadTrip/Goofyernmost: I am renting the following home for our next stay. <a href="http://www.luxuryorlandovilla.co.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.luxuryorlandovilla. co.uk/</a> It has a private heated pool, a private hot tub, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, an equipped kitchen, free telephone/wireless, located in a subdivision just off of Old Lake Wilson south of 192. It's a 12 minute drive to the MK parking lot, and closer to all of the other parks. I'm renting it for seven nights, starting February 24th, which is Peak season for Disney resorts. I am paying a grand total of $1,130. That includes tax and pool heat. That's $100 *less* than the cost of a Moderate room for the same dates, even with the AAA discount applied. Granted, it wasn't easy to find this place, and I booked it very early; almost 8 months ago. But, for those able to plan ahead and spend a little time on the search, the vacation home market is just a tremendous value.
Originally Posted By Coachbagfanatic1 When traveling from resort to resort for dinner/dining we always take a taxi. We take the bus every where else. For us to rent a car and have it sit at our resort the whole duration of our vacation does not make sense. We rented a car once and that was the last time. That's just for us though it's not for everyone. Wow, $3000 for 11 people is a great price. Does Disney have a suite to accommodate that many people and if they did I can only imagine how much it would cost?
Originally Posted By Coachbagfanatic1 Brian Noble - That looks exactly like the house that my cousins rented last year when they went down. I think it might be in the same place as they said it was about 10-12 minutes away from Disney. Really nice houses.
Originally Posted By seafairy For me, Ive only been to DW twice and stayed on site, AKL the first time June 2005($137 a night couldn't pass it up)and Aug 2006 at POFQ. I loved it!it seemed more magical to me.The service of the cast members there was fantastic. I love the themed atmosphere. Seafairy
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Brian...that is a good price but I need a 6 bedroom and even though the cost of this place is quite a bit higher it also includes a car rental (free) and a game room, home entertainment center and a jacuzzi with the pool. >>>Wow, $3000 for 11 people is a great price. Does Disney have a suite to accommodate that many people and if they did I can only imagine how much it would cost?<<< We would be having to get at least 4 rooms in a resort with the cheapest price being $79.00 per night per room and that would probably be during a low season. Then on top of that there would be no kitchen facilities etc. You can believe that there will be a tear forming when I pay the VISA bill but I think it is a pretty good deal. These are 4 miles away.
Originally Posted By Brian Noble As smedly pointed out, that 6th bedroom is a doozy price-wise. There are a ton of 4 and 5BRs, but not too many 6/7s. I don't think $3K for the week is bad at all for 6BRs. You can pack 12 into a 3BR DVC villa, but you wouldn't want to, that's for sure. That room is a minimum of $350/night renting at $10/pt.
