Why We’re Booking a Disney Villa Rental Next Time – A Holiday Lesson Learned

After reading a few letters in the newspaper last Wednesday about people’s holiday experiences, I couldn’t resist sharing my own story, especially after realising how much better our trip to Florida could have been.

We got back from Florida about a month ago. Don’t get me wrong—Florida itself was fantastic. But when it comes to value for money, we missed the mark. And what makes it worse is that now I know we had a better option all along!

You see, we thought we were doing the smart thing by booking a hotel. Meanwhile, my friend Doris and her family booked a Disney villa rental in the same area for the same dates. At the time, we thought, “That’s not really a holiday—you have to cook your own meals and everything!” So, we invited them to come to our hotel from time to time for meals and some shared activities.

Fast forward to our arrival. The hotel was... fine. We checked into our rooms, had a look around the pool and restaurant, then went to bed early after a long flight. The problem? We didn’t sleep a wink thanks to the noise from the rooms around and above us. When we raised it with management, their response was something about "tolerance" and "shared spaces."

The next morning, Doris called us from her Disney villa rental, and let’s just say she was very enthusiastic. At the time, I wasn’t in the best mood after a sleepless night. She invited us to come and relax by their private pool. I’ll admit I was feeling a bit smug, imagining their pool was probably just a small splash pad compared to the hotel’s.

Later that day, after a rather unfortunate incident involving my husband, a cannonball, and a few sunbathers, we figured we might as well check out their Disney villa rental. We followed the directions—past a lake, down a scenic road—and were blown away when we arrived at a stunning villa near the fairways of Highlands Reserve Golf & Country Club in Davenport, just outside Orlando.

It was everything we hadn’t expected: spacious, beautifully decorated, peaceful, and equipped with a massive private pool. It was one of many Disney villa rentals available just 10 minutes from the parks, and it had all the comforts of home, plus a lot more tranquillity than our hotel.

From that point on, we spent most of our holiday with Doris and her family at their Disney villa rental. In fact, we even stayed over a few times just to avoid the hotel noise. And here’s the kicker: their entire trip cost significantly less than ours.

Doris even bought all their attraction tickets—Disney, Universal, SeaWorld—online through Kissimmee Guest Services, and had them delivered right to the villa. Talk about convenience.

Needless to say, we’ve seen the light. Next time, we’re going to skip the crowded hotel scene and book a Disney villa rental through I Want A Villa. Not only do you get more space, peace, and privacy, but you're also closer to the parks without all the chaos.

Lesson learned - and now we know better!