Disney Vacation Home

Renting a vacation home?

Who does that? As a matter of fact you don’t have to be a rock star or a multi-million dollar earning celebrity to afford a vacation home. So, let me dispel the beyond your means opulent lifestyle muy pronto. Not only is staying in a vacation affordable it is also pretty darn practical too. Especially if a family is planning a longer stay away. For instance, families who take a mini vacay for 3-4 days may typically end up spending more than those families vacationing for 7-10 days. Now, you may wonder what kind of strange voodoo math I am using to back up this claim. It’s simple. For example, it is like going to the grocery store with a list and going shopping without a list. Shoppers who make a grocery list and stick to it spend less money than those who shop without a list. Why? Because the tendency to shop impulsively is so much greater when your shopping by the seat of your pants. Same theory. Vacationers who go away for shorter jaunts tend to live it up. Thinking they’ll only be gone for a couple of days and as a result end up splurging. But when families plan out trips and stick to an allotted budget they save more and spend less. If you take the necessary time and plan well in advance you can save a bundle. Like I always say, plan, plan, plan and save, save save!

Time Is On Your Side

Who knew the story of The Ant and the Grasshopper would come in handy? Be smart like the grasshopper and plan well in advance. When you plan ahead and use your time wisely you can search out, find and use those money saving Groupon, LivingSocial and Travelzoo deals. And yes, just like all the big hotel and resort chains there are lots of vacation home deals to be had too. You just got to look!

Prioritize What’s Important

It is said you can’t put a value on what’s important. I say, you bet your butt you can. You work too hard for your money, so naturally you want to get more bang for your buck. I was talking to a mother today and she had never heard of a vacation home. I only mention this because just because you never heard of something doesn’t mean it is a negative. My family and I stayed at All Star Vacation Homes earlier this year and it was one of the best vacations we every had. Here’s why. You guys know me, I like to save money. So, I can say with confidence because our experience opened up my eyes to another viable option for vacationing. Our vacay back in February was for a week. This was our first foray into staying at a vacation home, and the reasons the whole family agreed on was the space, the privacy and the money one can save. Let’s examine the space aspect first.

• We all like our space don’t we? And how much more important is having “your space” when you’re one vacation? Isn’t the whole point of going on vacation about being able to stretch out and relax? Well, yeah. With a vacation home we had space and then some. Each family member had their own bedroom. Which meant no fussing over what to watch (each bedroom had it’s own flat screen t.v.), no arguments over blanket stealing, or he’s touching me or any other anxiety inducing quarrels that can erupt when kids and parents are cramped into too small accommodations. And the peace and quiet was very welcomed.
• Now, let’s talk about privacy. Unlike the hotel and resort options vacation homes offer a tremendous degree of privacy. The vacation home we booked had it’s own pool and hot tub. Which means we didn’t have to share it with anyone else. No having to see other barley clothed bodies and no one had to see my barley clothed body either, no one peeing in our pool but us (gross but funny). For me the privacy was a valued added commodity. Priceless.
• The final point I want to make is the money saved. I know, now I am talking your language. Because we planned this trip we packed a lot of our food and since the husband likes to cook, and our vacation home had a fully stocked gourmet kitchen it worked out well. Hotels do not have kitchens like the one we had, and although some resorts do have them they are usually small and not laid out very well. So, by bringing many of the items with us we only had to purchase dairy and meats item. Therefore, we saved money by preparing many of our meals at the vacation home and only ate out a few times. Our family has a rule while on vacation, we don’t eat out at places we have at home. So, it makes the occasions we do eat out more special. Hey, but that’s just us. We’re weird that way.

The Disney Factor

Who doesn’t love Disney? Our family will probably never out grow visiting the home of Mickey and Minnie. We have done Disney a lot. I won’t say how many times we traveled to Disney World and Disneyland. But I digress. Here is why I think vacation homes and Disney is a match made in heaven. Because I think they compliment each other. Here’s why. In regards to Disney World and Orlando, All Star Vacation Homes is located locally in Kissimmee just a stones throw away from all things Disney. Now, your going to have to do your due diligence here and not just take my word for it. But when if you plan ahead and find the right deals for both a vacation home and Disney tickets which suit your budgetary needs your family will win big time.

The Best Time To Go To Disney

When it comes to Disney there really isn’t really an off season. Disney attracts a steady influx of international travelers throughout the whole year. But there are lulls. I think the best times for out of state residents who aren’t close enough to execute weekend trips, would be:

• mid-September until a week or two before Thanksgiving, then again in May, before Memorial Day weekend. (a word of warning,, weekends tend to be highly congested due to locals flooding in)
• during the winter months, typically mid-January through March. Take note, weekends visits are still fairly busy regardless of which month you chose. Another important factor you may want to consider is the weather.
• from mid-January through March them temps can range from mild to slightly cool.
• the summer months, although ideal because the kids are on break is a big challenge, you and everybody will be there too. No joke, it’s utter madness! And the humidity in Florida during the hot months is downright suffocating. It is also the height of hurricane season so there’s that.

Again it all goes back to getting the family together and planning things out and prioritizing. What do the kids want to do? Every one who is old enough to have an opinion should have their concerns addressed. And in the end perhaps everyone will get a slice of the vacation they want.

So, go forth intrepid adventurer and make your vacation home and Disney getaway a reality. With a little bit of work you and your family will be having the best vacation ever and you’ll be saving money too.

Looking for other Tips for your next Disney Trip? Check out these other great posts HERE!