Cheap & Economical Accommodation Near Disney World

Now that we had phoned around for some quotes for our family of 5 to stay on site at Disney World, we decided to check out neighboring communities.  A deluxe "motel room" with a kitchenette would have been adequate, but we thought we'd look into condo's and townhouses.  We were quoted anywhere from $5000-$7000 for a week, or around $125 per night for a motel room near Disney.  Not exactly what we wanted.  We were looking for in the $50 / night range if possible.

Google Maps is your friend.  Or Map Quest, whatever.  I use Google Maps.

This was a stressful experience for me.  I used a lot of my scrap paper stash just writing down info and it was very overwhelming and at times stressful.  We had never done this before.  The more you search, the more you get your head wrapped around the whole thing.  I was dreaming of this at night though.  The best thing I did was give myself a 2 week deadline to find something.  Next time I should be able to get this done much much faster.

The easiest site I found for myself to navigate was VRBO.com Vacation Rental by Owner Click HERE to go to their website.  Making an account for yourself is easy, they don't ask a lot of questions.  Then you can keep track of who you've contacted, their responses, your favorites, etc etc etc.

We decided on the Kissimmee / West Orlando area.

Punch in your dates, whether you are flexible, your preferences and your budget and up pops a bunch of rentals.  Then you can weed those out based on their reviews, etc etc.  Reviews are most helpful.  Some will tell you exactly how many minutes it took them to drive to the Disney Gate, etc.  This is why it is so nice when guests leave reviews!

I struggle with posting exactly what we paid and at what townhouse, because I know we got a really good deal, straight from the owner.  Pick a slow time and either book well in advance so they don't fear that they will have no one, OR wait until last minute and gamble if you can find something.

So we had it narrowed down to a few favorites, based on price and location and being a townhouse.  We thought that with a condo, there would possibly be more stairs, less convenience with parking and perhaps more noise.

Most communities are gated, have an outdoor communal pool, and then some have more perks like exercise rooms, theatres, larger pool areas, etc.  They will be slightly more expensive, but would be nice if you were sticking around your rental and not traveling out each day.

Windsor Hills ~ there are some rentals that are done by the week/ by the owners.  Saturday to Saturday for $199/week, $299, $399 etc, depending on season.  Dave Robinson is a contact and you can sign up for his newsletter and the website is HERE .  You could also go directly to Windsor Hills website and go through them.  There are a lot of ways to book them, but here is another site click HERE.  We did drive by this once when we were going through Orlando.  Friends have stayed here as well, but we wanted 9 days, so staying for 1 week or 2 weeks was not what we wanted and the other methods of booking were out of our price range. Friends stayed here, in a house with another family, and they had a good time.

There are a tonne of booking sites to go through and I did look at reviews on numerous ones.
TripAdvisor.ca
Booking.com
Travelocity.ca
Expedia.ca
Homeaway.com
vrbo.com

What worked for me was VRBO.  I searched the area and then sent out a mass email to anyone who had a vacancy in our budget range.  Depending on the responses, I did more research.

We stayed May 4-13th ( 9 nights) at Crestwynd Bay Kissimmee Florida CLICK HERE for some TripAdvisor reviews on the area, etc.  Our actual rental was this one HERE 2689 Andros Lane.  We phoned the owners (who live in Ontario) and talked to them directly about the procedure to book it.  We had a quote from another place for $480 and just asked if anyone would meet it.  (I wasn't sure about the original one that quoted that...it was further away from Disney and very basic).  So with exchange rates, it cost us $528 for 9 nights in a townhouse 1.5 miles from Disney World.  It was so convenient that we even came back to the townhouse a few times during the afternoon for an early supper and a break. Driving time was an easy 10 minutes into a Disney World parking lot!

Now, we were having so much fun in Florida that my husband just couldn't stand the thought of leaving after 9 nights...so we set about searching for another townhouse.  (We also hadn't realized that we could indeed use 12 days of passes with our tickets).  Once again, we sent out mass emails through VRBO to different owners on their townhouses in Crestwynd and a few places nearby on the map.  An owner from Oak Water ( just across the street and slightly closer to Disney) responded to a plea for help.  So we stayed another 5 nights for $320. The link to our rental at Oak Water is HERE.  This was the nicer rental by far.  The kitchen was so much better equipped (a strainer, vegetable peeler, egg flipper, etc) and it was spacious and my oh my ~ the master bedroom was huge!  Walk in closet and a massive bathroom by our standards.  It was also quieter...less highway noise.

Our unit 2845 in Oakwater.  Garage and townhouse that could easily sleep 8-10

Oakwater grounds

Oakwater playground area, there is a pool as well 

Oakwater clubhouse

One of the streets on Oakwater

All places require a safety/damage deposit, usually paid through PayPal in advance to hold your lodging.  Both times our deposit was refunded within the week of checking out.  Both rentals could have easily accommodated more people...as in your parents or inlaws or another couple.

Hope this helps a little!