Tips for staying offsite at Disney World – PREP130

There are lots of perks to staying offsite during Disney World trips, and we have some tips on doing that for you today.

I also have a quick tip about a handy new app feature.

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These are notes from this episode. There's much more info included in the audio so be sure to listen to the episode for a better explanation.

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Tips for offsite stays

Choosing offsite accommodations
Things to keep in mind:

• Size of rental
  • There's a large supply of places to rent around Disney World. From condos which are usually 2 -3 bedrooms to townhomes (which usually have 3-4 bedrooms and some may include splash pools) to private full sized homes which are usually 4 to 6 or even more bedrooms.
  • You’ll find that lots of the private homes have pools. You almost never will find a full-sized private pool in a house smaller than 4 bedrooms.
  • Just because there are more bedrooms doesn’t mean it will be more expensive.
  • Since there are lots and lots of houses that are 5 and 6 bedrooms you can often find those as cheap if not cheaper than the 4 bedrooms.
  • Heather has never rented anything smaller than a 5 bedroom.
• Location
  • The Dibb villa map is a handy resource to help narrow down locations
  • Heather prefers using a site that allows you to search not only by price and bedrooms, but also allows you to limit it to certain areas or even better, neighborhoods.
  • Location is important. There are lots of great places to stay but if you are planning on taking midday breaks you don’t want to go too far away or it won’t be as easy.
  • Sites like VRBO or Home Away let you narrow down by neighborhoods.
  • Some neighborhoods even have their own websites, for example Windsor Hills is a very popular neighborhood and some of the owners there have a website that they list their houses on called WindsorHillsRent.com
  • Different neighborhoods have different amenities. Consider if you want a gated community, community pool, playground, gym, etc.
• Tips after you narrow it down
  • When looking at places, don’t be afraid to ask questions. You can ask for referrals, how old the pictures you see are, if they have a management company and what the name of that management company is (and then do some research on them. A good management company gives you the peace of mind that if something goes wrong you’ll have somebody there and local that can help.)
  • As you research you may feel like you are seeing the same houses over and over, and sometimes that is true because houses can be listed by both the owner and sometimes you’ll see it listed by the management company. The same house can also be listed on multiple sites.
  • While it is important to rent a house that has a good management company that has positive reviews and is reliable, etc., it is almost always cheaper to rent directly from the owner instead of through the management company. When you rent from a management company the price is usually more expensive because if the management company secures the reservation they get to take a piece of it as a commission. However, if the owner secures the reservation they don’t have to pay that commission and therefore the cost to you is cheaper.
  • Once you know the owners names or address (not the management company name) you can check tax records to make sure the taxes are paid (which while isn’t perfect at least lets you know if the owners are paying 1 of their bills on time!). Check taxes here for most areas around Disney here -
    http://ira.property-appraiser.org/PropertySearch/ and http://www.lakecopropappr.com/property-search.aspx
  • Once you have the address you can check websites like Zillow or Realtor.com to see if the house is for sale.

Transportation for offsite guests

• Will need a car when staying offsite. Though some of the big neighborhoods may offer shuttles, it is never a good idea to rely on them.
• Renting a car
  • Lots of great deals to be had, it just takes a little research
  • Some of the popular places to look for discounts include
    MouseSavers
  • There's a service called AutoSlash which tracks prices and then notifies you when prices go down. If you book with them they automatically re-book when the price drops.
• Consider ordering or picking up a SunPass toll tag to make it much easier to navigate Orlando highways.

Annual Passes for offsite guests
It usually makes sense for offsite guests with trips of 5 days or more to have at least 1 Annual pass. Here's a chart to explain why.

Getting groceries for offsite stays
You can obviously drive to shop for groceries, but you may want to save a bit of time by ordering them ahead of time. Heather and I both like Walmart Grocery where you can order online and schedule a time for pick up, or you can check out 8 ways to get groceries on your Disney World trip for more ideas.

Quick tip of the day

Upgrade to the latest version of the My Disney Experience app for navigational information to help you during your Disney World trip.

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