Location Accuracy for Unknowing Orlando, FL and Disney World Vacation Rental Guests
Travel writers, marketers and vacation rental managers seem to constantly make-up or use wrong information and inaccurate maps in promoting their properties. It’s a particularly rampant problem in the Orlando/Walt Disney World area. It’s time for it to stop.
What I write below may stir up some controversy. Many people get very mad when they are told that something they have always understood for years is wrong, especially if it has been working for them. But just because something works, doesn’t mean that it can’t be improved. The Wright brother’s plane first flew, but it has been dramatically improved upon by people wanting to make things better. That means being willing to change.
Walt Disney bought all of the property that he did in Florida and created Walt Disney World because he wanted to have control over the mess that he knew would grow up around his parks. By buying a large enough area, he could control the experience outside his theme parks, and possibly do other things (like his original plan for EPCOT). Well, the presence of Walt Disney World has led to its own mess around its large borders, and without any central planning or control, the mess just keeps getting more convoluted and confusing.
I’m talking about addresses and place names of the areas that have all sprung up in the shadow of Walt Disney World. Between the stodgy US Post Office, marketers and sales types (perhaps the worst offenders) and just plain ignorant (meaning unknowing, not stupid as many people ignorantly think [Hah!]) the confusion about the areas around Walt Disney World and where and what they are, knows no limits.
Many Bend the Truth to Make Money
A particular pet peeve of mine is travel writers and others (often marketers) who bend or create the truth to suit their own needs and promote their own interests. I understand that many may just think “So what’s the big deal?” Well, in my view, a respect and concern for integrity and the truth is extremely important to maintain, and when we allow standards towards these characteristics to lapse, they spread, and we get problems like the troubles at Boeing that lead to the 737 Max crashes and groundings (does that date this?).
As I have always said, a marketer (I am one) has a responsibility to put their message forth in the best possible way, but it must be bound by facts and the truth. There are lines that should not be crossed, but for many the solution is to instead simply move the line. That doesn’t fly in my book. Like the vacation rental owner on VRBO who claims their home is located in ‘Bay Lake’ and has their map location pinned just outside of Epcot. Does that actually work for them? Even though that is an extreme example, there are thousands of other vacation rental owners who misinform their guests about where their homes are located. Why? They simply don’t know themselves.
Originally posted by Davy
Point/spell out ,for those who fail to see , what is wrong with these types of articles?
Hi Davy,
In my opinion, they often spew a bunch of information that is either misleading or completely wrong, and lazy travel writers who don’t bother to check up on their biased sources never bother to fact-check the drivel they are handed, and publish it with an authority that they simply don’t deserve. How is someone from hundreds or thousands of miles away to know that everything they are reading in an article like this is wrong?
So what is wrong here? Let’s take a good look at the one section I’m concerned by, because I happen to know something about the particular area:
Vacation rental management company Vacasa has compiled its own Top 10 list by “combing through a comprehensive set of Vacasa and partner data” (including combined occupancy during June, July and August from 2017 through June 2019) to determine the most popular destinations being booked in the markets it serves. (Vacasa operates in 30 U.S. states and 16 countries in Europe, South Africa and the Americas.)
The Top 10, in increasing order of popularity, are: Portland, Oregon; Kissimmee, Florida; Playa del Carmen, Mexico; New Orleans; Miami; Honolulu; Seattle; Milan, Italy; San Diego; and — topping the list — Rome, Italy.
This list is inaccurate, and self-serving. No disrespect to Rome, but does it really have more vacation rentals than the Orlando area? Do any of those listed as being more? Put another way, are the number of vacation rentals in the Orlando market on par with Portland, Oregon, Vacasa’s hometown? I really kind of doubt that.
But the article doesn’t consider the Orlando area as a whole. No, it attempts to make a definition between Kissimmee and Davenport. But to what end? All this does is create confusion for vacationers. But why should this be news? Most vacation rental OWNERS have no idea where their homes are even located! But more about that later. Let’s continue with the article for now:
Nice list — but the Portland, Oregon-based firm has gone one better: Aware that popularity necessarily means crowds, the firm also identified nearby “undiscovered towns and smaller cities,” with a similar look and feel to the Top 10.
“These hidden gems allow travelers to escape flocks of tourists, endless lines and crowded restaurants,” Vacasa says. “Plus, they can score some deals.”
“Popularity means crowds”? Really? So are they suggesting that folks staying in ‘Davenport’ will experience less crowds than those staying in ‘Kissimmee’? Does anyone believe that? Exactly how different is one’s experience staying in ‘Kissimmee’ vs. ‘Davenport’ when walking down Main Street USA? And are ‘Davenport’ Vacation Homes cheaper than ‘Kissimmee’ Vacation Homes? If not, how does one ‘score some deals’?
9. Davenport, Florida … instead of Kissimmee
Beloved by Walt Disney World-bound vacationers, family fun hub Kissimmee, Florida, comes in at No. 9,
No it doesn’t. It comes in at Number 1 (well Orlando certainly does) perhaps just not in Vacasa’s books, but who cares about giving misleading information if one is self-promoting?
but travelers might also consider nearby Davenport. Located about 20 miles to Kissimmee’s southwest
But only if you are driving from downtown Kissimmee to downtown Davenport. But who cares about either? Most people rarely actually stay in Kissimmee or Davenport if playing tourist in the Disney World area.
20 miles apart? And yet vacation rental homes with either a Kissimmee address, or a Davenport address, or a Clermont address, can be found within two to four miles of each other. Telling unknowing vacation prospects that they are twenty miles apart is sewing nothing but confusion.
and 10 miles from Disney,
As has been discussed many times before on this site, Walt Disney World is an awfully big place. So what ‘part’ of ‘Davenport’ is 10 miles from ‘Disney’? I suppose Vacasa only cares to make it sound close, and ten miles serves their purpose, but without any explanation such a claim is either wrong or misleading.
the hidden gem of Davenport has “plenty of accommodation options and it’s often more affordable” than Kissimmee or Orlando, according to Vacasa.
Note that Vacasa no longer exists as a business entity. Like so many internet and vacation rental industry ‘success’ stories, it was more smoke and mirrors than real, and was taken over by Casago in 2025 after Vacasa’s stock lost 95% of it’s value! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacasa
Davenport and Kissimmee have very few vacation rentals
The city of Davenport has NO vacation rentals, and very little (if any) accommodations period. If someone not from the area (or familiar with it) looked up Davenport, FL as a place to stay, they would be very confused and/or disappointed. It is no ‘gem’. There is no reason to visit Davenport, and nothing in the city to attract tourists at all.
The actual truth is, NO ONE EVER stays in Davenport while visiting Disney, Orlando or Florida for that matter.
They stay in unincorporated areas of the far North East corner of Polk county, which are given MAILING addresses by the US Post Office which list the city portion of the address as ‘Davenport’, but none of the vacation rental homes with a ‘Davenport’ address are actually IN Davenport.
The same thing is true of Kissimmee.
If a vacation rental home is west of Poinciana Boulevard, it is NOT in Kissimmee at all. These homes are in subdivisions built in East Osceola county, basically out in the country, and they were given MAILING addresses by the US Post Office which list the city portion of the address as Kissimmee, but they are not in Kissimmee. Don’t believe me? Take a look at Kissimmee’s actual borders. (And you thought your home was in Kissimmee all along, didn’t you?)
What makes all of this even weirder is that this pattern by the Post Office started years ago, but then later the town of Celebration was created by Disney in the lower half of their property. As a result, lots of vacation home subdivisions are MUCH closer to Celebration, which has its own Post Office and Zip Code, then they are to Kissimmee, but the addresses haven’t been changed. So guests are given a street address saying ‘Kissimmee’ and led there by google maps or their GPS, and think they are staying in Kissimmee, but they are actually miles away.
Ask them, and they’ll say they have a house to stay in in Kissimmee, but they don’t. They’re actually in a place named Four Corners (because it is near a place where four counties come together at one point – the only one in Florida) or also known by its historical name; Citrus Ridge.
And the problem repeats itself with Clermont.
Clermont is quite north of Walt Disney World, but lots of owners along 27 west of WDW think they have homes in subdivisions in Clermont, but they don’t. They’re just out in the country, and were assigned Clermont addresses by the Post Office.
Take a look. How many vacation rentals actually are located IN Clermont?
And just like Celebration grew up later, so did Champions Gate, and Reunion, which are fairly sizeable in their own right.
Both of these developments started using their own names in the city designation of their address, and basically forced the usage of their new place names on the US Post Office. So an address in Champions Gate technically should be referred to as being in Davenport (Champions Gate is surrounded on all four sides by Davenport addresses). Champions Gate addresses and some Davenport addresses share the same Zip Code as a result, and mail with either town name will be delivered to the correct address. This being the case, things like Google, Wikipedia and other ‘authorities’ have started to follow suit and refer to the areas by both names at various times.
Loughman is home to Breezy Oak Villas
So I’ll bring the matter closer to home; my homes in particular, which are located in a subdivision called Thousand Oaks.
Ask for their address, and I have to say ‘street number, street’, Davenport, FL 33896 (That also happens to be Champions Gate’s Zip Code.) because that is what the Post Office decided to do, and the county adopts what the Post Office (which is a Federal institution) says. But if I look on a map, Davenport is six miles away as the crow flies, further if driven.
But there is a place with a historical name, much closer as a matter of fact, called Loughman, FL, and it is what I would call a small town or hamlet. Loughman has a Post Office! The zip code there is 33858. And that Post Office, which is at the very centre of Loughman, is 2500 feet away (about 750 meters) so it’s a comfortable walk. But my home addresses don’t legally say Loughman, which I think they should, they say Davenport, which is at least six miles away. Many ‘Davenport’ addresses are much farther away from Davenport than my homes are, around 15 miles!
If you look up Loughman, FL, you will learn that it is what is referred to as a Census Designated Place, which is a term for a particular place as defined for the purposes of the US Census Bureau, and it has a population of about 1400 people. Not huge, but recognizable. And because of how long Loughman has been there (and how it used to be more populous and isolated) it still shows on any map of Florida you can find.
But as far as addresses go… mail addressed to my house number and street and zip code, will all get delivered, whether the town/city is Loughman, Champions Gate, or Davenport. It has been referred to at various times with all THREE different addresses.
I will tell people that my homes are near Loughman, FL because it is true (technically, they are actually IN the CDP of Loughman, FL), and it is a far more accurate and less misleading description than saying they are in Davenport. If someone looks on a map for Loughman, they will find it, and my homes are about 2500-3000 ft from the Loughman Post Office (which has a different postal code).
Encouraging all Orlando area vacation rentals do the same
Better and more accurate information for guests is always a good thing.
If your home is in, or near, Four Corners (Citrus Ridge) why not use that name when giving out directions to your guests? Help them understand exactly where your home is located, and distinguish it from homes which actually ARE in Kissimmee. I’m not commenting on which location is best, only that all of these areas are NOT the same places, and calling them so just creates confusion and misunderstanding.
Just like the Vacasa article does. I highly doubt that anyone at Vacasa understands that most of the homes they manage in the Orlando area are neither IN Kissimmee OR Davenport!
And given that subdivisions using the two different addresses are ONLY 2-3 miles apart, and again only 2-3 miles away from those using Clermont addresses, telling visitors who don’t know any better that they are “20 miles apart” is, in my view, irresponsible, and dishonest. It is a falsehood offered to gain bookings, and in my view that is just unacceptable conduct.
In reality, Four Corners is CLOSER to Walt Disney World than Kissimmee is, so you may be doing yourself a disservice by using a Kissimmee address (with apologies to actual Kissimmee owners, but you have the value of historical name recognition!) if you’re in Four Corners. That’s also possibly true if you tell guests you’re in Clermont. If they go look up Clermont on a map, what will they see? Is that really where your home is located?
Too much information?
I completely realize that this is far more information and detail than most people want, or some need. But I offer it here to make a very valid point, which is this; offer to everyone you can the most accurate and helpful information possible.
Keep it simple, yes, but first and foremost, keep it accurate.
Show guests an ACCURATE map (not the BS ones created by many vacation home owners and or their managers which are distorted to show things as being closer to attractions than they really are) and give them realistic driving times to local attractions. Help them to understand exactly where your home is located (for security purposes not the specific address, but the exact location of the subdivision) and just because the US Post Office uses one name for your mailing address, doesn’t mean you MUST use that address for your location. If something else is more accurate, use it! And check it out like I have. You may find that with your street address and Zip Code, that the correct Location name (Four Corners, for example) will also be just fine for mail delivery and GPS directions too.
The US Post Office is a pretty staid and old institution. They likely won’t correct this mess they have created unless it is forced upon them by the property owners affected.
I love that Champions Gate and Reunion have managed to get their locations recognized as town names for mailing purposes. Every other area can do it too… simply by using the most appropriate location name possible. I’m not saying make something up, but find out if there is a better, more specific location name for where your vacation home is, and use it.
Educating yourself, and your guests, is in my experience never a bad thing.
And that’s why I hate articles that just continue to spread misleading or downright false information around. As an individual vacation rental owner, I have to deal with a skeptical attitude of a prospective guest, who may look at me with an unsure attitude when I’m just a single home owner disputing what a magazine article is telling them.
The article may be trusted to be accurate, but I know better.
A commitment to truth and integrity, and a desire to share accurate information, would make everyone’s job much easier.
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