orlando or kissamee villa

[alan47]

Due to our circumstances my wife and I will be able to take our four adult kids and three under 12 grandkids to Florida 2009, Julyish time.
We are from Edinburgh way and looking for the best advice and value for money, whch would us to give the bairns more money to spend when there.
I think we're looking for...at least a 5 bedroom villa, swimming pool, the lot.
Plenty advice or contacts would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Louise1234]

Not sure ifit quite what you are after but can 100% recommend Vistana Resort florida. Went there when I was two and been going back there every other year since. It is such an amazing place and I am sure you would really enjoy it. It is next to all the theme parks etc but yet far enough away to be able to relax. Google it and see what you think.

HTH

[candymandy]

If you go for a hotel,food and drinks are all there. you dont need to drive. If you go for a villa ,then you will have to drive about 20mins to get to the nearest store/pub etc. Hotels work out at around $25 a day, kids are free.Kids under 11 are all classed as infants, children over 11 pay adult prices on rooms,food drinks etc. Hope this has helped you. Have a good holiday,you will enjoy. Good chance of a lifetime experience. We stayed at Holiday Inn on International Drive. excellent for eating out and very cheap. Take a spare suit case with you, with nothing in, you will quickly fill it up. Only pack enough clothes for a couple of days, you can buy a new wardrobe for next to nothing.Wear trousers or shorts not skirts or dresses, as there is lots of walking to do.My children enjoyed it so much they would love to live out there.So would we!

[pink-kittens]

Louise

That hotel looks fabulous!
Will research more when my time to go comes

Ta

[tigwig]

We are going in 3 weeks and are stopping in a villa near disney that has 3 large bedrooms with huge american kingsize beds all with ensuite and a further 2 rooms one with ensuite with 2 single beds in it and it looks fantastic. The website is www.disneydreamin.com and the house we are stopping in is called Kahuna

[spudqueen]

We have been twice now to Florida and both times have stayed in a villa near Kissimmee. Personally I think that a villa is great. You have your own pool so the kids (and adults) can have a swim anytime they want. The last one we stayed in also had a games room (basically the garage converted), with table football, air hockey and pool. Where we have stayed has been about 20 minutes drive from Disney, yet in a lovely quiet area, so you have the best of both worlds, fun virtually on your doorstep yet nice and peaceful back at the villa. I have found that the villas I have rented have been cheaper than renting a house in Devon or South Wales. It's the flights and the theme park tickets that are the dear part. Shopping (especially in Walmart and Target) and eating out are certainly not dear, especially with such a good exchange rate at the moment.

I highly recommend the travel guide 'A Brits Guide to Orlando and Walt Disney World' which is available in Waterstones, W H Smith and all good bookshops. Have a good read of it, it is full of usefull tips.

[vehelpfulguy]

Think VERY VERY carefully about going in July.

One web site said this about an Orlando summer:

"Unless high humidity, afternoon thunderstorms, and masses of hot and sweaty tourists sound like your ideal vacation, then avoid Orlando in the summer months (June to August)"

I went in February once and we had temperatures in the high 70s (even low 80s). We were walking around in shorts and t shirts.

If it is like that in February then I hate to think how hot it would be in July.

The temperature in July can be in the low to mid 30s and spending a day in that heat walking round these huge theme parks will not be fun for anyone.

See if you can rearrange the date for a different time of the year.

Guide to the weather here

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g34515-s208/ Orlando:Florida:Weather.And.When.To.Go.html

[vehelpfulguy]

More about Orlando in July....

Details of temperatures for Florida

http://uk.weather.com/weather/climatology/USFL 0372

Article about the thunderstorms in the summer

http://www.meteogroup.co.uk/uk/home/weather/we ather_news/news_archive/archive/2007/may/artic le/the_sunshine_state.html

Also note the theme parks are packed in the summer with huge queues.

[Metz]

JMO but if you're not going to spend loads of time at a villa why waste money?
We stay on I-Drive at a hotel, we only use it for a bed and for the kids to go in the pool at night :o)

[alan47]

Hi, I'm watching all comments and would love to hear more.
Due to my Daughter in law being a teacher and the three grand kids being at school we only have the slot in Julyish. I do take the point that it may be better to take the hotel option, rather than every minute everyone being in each others face every day in a villa. The Kahuna villa looks brilliant. and I will look at the Vistana resort shortly.
If anyone knows other options for Grandma and Grandad, Son and Daughter in law, Daughter, son in law and the three grand kids, aged 7, 9, and 11. keep the info coming.

[Dee Sa]

Put one suitcase inside another suitcase for each person, as candyman says, take just one spare set of clothes, because clothes/trainers etc are much cheaper out there, dont do any clothes shop before you go, on day one you will be jet lagged, so go do some clothes shopping first day and relax and then on day two hit Disney etc.Have a great time.

[Dee Sa]

forgot to add, Best Western Hotels are always good for families and have a laundry room with washer, dryer and irons which helps with small kids.

[chazza]

I wouldn't worry about the scare stories about going to Orlando in July, they are all exaggerated!

We went every summer in July or sometimes August for years, and were never put off!

It does get hot yes, in summer, but we never found it too hot, never that much hotter than summer holidays in Spain, Greece etc, and the heat is a more humid heat with moisture in the air.

Also, everywhere is air conditioned, so if you feel too hot, pop into a shop for a minute!

We did get a few thunderstorms but not every day, and they don't last long, and as someone said on here recently, they aren't cold and are actually very refreshing! Just buy a poncho and wear it for a while during the shower!

The queues can be bad, but if you read up on how to beat them it won't be a problem (do the parks on the least busy days, which vary for each of them so you can work round this easily), arrive early and do the biggest rides first or use fast passes for them, and use the busiest times of day to do the big shows which have a much higher capacity!

Plus the disney and universal people have made loads of things to do and see in the queueing areas (pre-shows, entertainment etc) and we found that on the times we skipped the queues completely, we missed some of the pre-amble to the ride/show which would have been useful to know! The queues also move constantly so you are never standing still in the queueing area, and I don't think we have ever queued more than about 20 minutes for anything!

Don't let scare stories put you off, talking from (years of) experience, you will still have a fantastic time in July!

[chazza]

As for places to stay, International Drive used to be THE place, but it has now got very built up and very busy, try kissimmee, or lake buena vista areas which have improved greatly recently and are now lovely.

We found a brochure on villas in Easons or WH Smith which was just filled with ads for villas to rent and we always booked ours through there no problem!

You wil also find it cheaper to book everything separately (flights,care hire and accommodation) rather than as a package through travel agents.

Also research flights into sanford airport as well as orlando as we found this cheaper and much handier to get to and from!