My Best Tips and Tricks as a Disney Expert #1
Tip #1
(My first tip may appear rooted in bias, but I lived by it for years, and it is what got me into my Florida vacation rentals in the first place.)
Ignore the advice of the vast majority of travel writers who write about a trip to Disney World as meaning staying on Disney property in a Disney resort.
Such stories are usually written by writers who were given a free trip to Disney World to promote Disney’s own offerings!
There are 35,000 vacation rentals in the area – where for far less than the cost of the cheapest Disney hotel room that sleeps four people, a family can stay in a four-bedroom two-bathroom home with a full kitchen, games area, and its own private pool; featuring five TV’s, room to stretch out and relax, parking at the door, and access to the theme parks as fast or faster than those staying on property. (Ask me why if you’re interested.)
>You can find out much more about this here.
Note: Vacation Rentals are NOT ‘AirBnBs. You can find out why here.
Vacation Rentals in the Disney World area are a professional, fully licensed industry. The best way to get a good value on a quality vacation rental is to book it directly from the owner. Yup! Avoid the big listing sites like AirBnB, VRBO and Booking.com and book directly with the owner and save yourself 15% to 20% off the cost of your rental!
How can you tell a good vacation rental from an average (or worse… BAD!) one? It’s easy! Any decent vacation rental worth your time will have its own website, like this one! Take a look around the site… does it contain good-quality helpful information (like this one)?, can you see availability of the properties on it (like this one)?, does it have lots of great positive reviews from past guests (like this one)?, can you request a quote for dates you want (like this one)?, can you generate your own quote without even waiting for a reply (like this one)?
Remember, book direct with an owner and save 15-20%! Is it safe? Absolutely, as long as you pay with a credit card. The only reason the big listing sites say it isn’t safe to book direct is because they don’t want to lose their big commissions!
My Background: Husband, Father, Grandfather – Disney Theme Park ‘Super’ Fan – Roughly 40 trips to Central Florida and Walt Disney World since 1997. Designer/builder with specific knowledge of theme park and attraction design, and history of Disney theme parks. Current Disney World Annual Passholder. My son worked as a Cast Member in Epcot for two years. Disney shareholder. Owner-Operator of three successful vacation rentals located two miles south of Disney World Resort Property since 2009, hosting over 800 couples and families visiting Florida from USA, Canada, Europe, Middle-East & South America. As part of our service I provide advice, trip planning and suggestions for our guests all the time.
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