Do you want to take your children to Orlando Florida, to meet Mickey but you want to avoid the expensive costs of a hotel? Does renting a vacation home near Disney Orlando sound like it would be too expensive? Do you dream of a luxurious vacation home that will be large enough to accommodate everyone – and still be affordable? Well – you can do it because a wide selection of rental vacation homes do indeed exist, at surprisingly affordable prices. All it takes is a little ingenuity to find the perfect place to meet your needs.

When you have groups of people that are vacationing together – whether family or friends – it makes much more sense to pool your resources and stay in one vacation home.  Rather than having to rent multiple rooms that might be on different floors in the same hotel you will have multiple bedrooms but they will all be together giving you much more space, privacy and the ability to communicate freely without interruptions or imposing on other people around you.

Costs for food alone make a vacation rental property a much more sensible solution – particularly with children as often when eating out they don’t even finish the food that is ordered, or don’t like it. In a villa you will have your own fully equipped kitchen so you can prepare meals whenever you want and the way your family likes it. You can snack in the middle of the night if you wish without a problem or have your meals on your time schedule – not only when the hotel kitchen is open. With a back yard you can also barbeque and eat outside if you want to, usually by a very inviting pool.

Parking is available in the garage or in the driveway of the vacation rental rather than paying a daily rate at a hotel plus the valet parking tips required every time you go in or out of the hotel! All of your amenities are provided in a villa rather than having to pay separately for them in a hotel. With large groups of people these fees can add up very quickly, particularly with children.

Many Florida villas come with a pool so you already will have recreational activities that will keep you occupied without paying extra. Many of the homes will have a full family entertainment centre so that you don’t have to pay fees for movie rentals or DVDs and can do all of these things without ever leaving your vacation home.

Remember also that villas are priced not per person but on a nightly or weekly basis regardless of whether one person or more stay in the villa, therefore the more of you that stay the cheaper the cost becomes per person. So book that Florida villa now and find out that you really can have an affordable vacation in a luxury villa.

Our family loves to visit the Water Parks. Our favourites Water Parks are the Disney ones, Disney Typhoon Lagoon, some times refered to as ”typoon lagoon” or ”typhone lagoon” being the best, closely followed by Disney Blizzard beach.  However the cost of the holiday can soon increase quickly when there are a number of parks to visit. Here are our top tips to assist keeping   the costs down whilst still having a fabulous time.

Parking is free at the water parks – saving you about $10 before you enter the park!

Disney Tickets – Depending on your plans its probably best not to buy a single day pass for the water parks. If you are visiting the other main parks, buy the main park tickets (ideally as a multi park package) and upgrade for around $50 to include a number of visits to either of the Disney Water Parks. The price for a 1 day ticket on its own is approaching $50 on the gate– so these multiple tickets offer fantastic value.

If you are not planning to visit any of the other main Disney Theme Parks why not opt for an annual water park pass. These cost around $99 so as long as your visit more than twice during your stay then this is the cheaper option by far.  That’s pretty easy to do if you are staying a fortnight. Compared to buying a single day pass you don’t feel obliged to stay all and try all the rides, just come and go as you please. On our last vacation we went 6 times so the savings soon add up.

Take towels with you for all the family – cheaper than renting and easy if you are staying a Florida villa in the Orlando area, if you are staying in a hotel this may not be possible.

Wear as little as possible when you go into the park e.g. your swim suit, water shoes and a wrap or shorts   - in this way you will only need to rent one small locker just for valuables and keys.

Buy an unlimited use drinks cup from the park on your first day – You pay once and then can get unlimited top ups throughout the day. Remember to take the cup back on subsequent visits and you just buy a cheaper sticker for that day and use the same cup.

Most parks allow you to take a cool box or bag in with water or light snacks. You may be cooler in the water however there is a lot of walking and climbing – it’s important to keep your energy high and hydrated. Again if you stay in a villa freeze some bottles of water and keep them in your cool bag, not only will you have iced water it will help keep your other food items cool.

Take suntan lotion and hats with you. There are many shops at the parks but the prices are higher than buying elsewhere outside the parks. Spray on lotion is much easier too.

Remember to take disposable waterproof camera with you - the parks do take photos of you on the main rides however the prices do add up.

Remember to leave some frozen water bottles in the car, they will be great for the trip home.