Slight complaint

[millie]

I have been posting on here for a while and have rented a villa form this site before but I have recently been looking at 3 bedroom villas for next year.

If I was a first timer I would, I believe, be misled into believing some villas are closer to Disney than they actually are.

I know there has been debate about this in the past - whether it is as the crow flies, by some magic short cut, to the ticket booths, main gate etc etc etc

Surely there should be some marker that this claim can be based on to keep it comparable. For example - claims should be based on taking the main route door to door to the WDW main gate?

Not naming a villa in particluar but I'm sure the claim of Indian Wells to Disney in 3 mins in very unrealistic.

If the owner is not being entirely truthful about distances - what else is not fully true. It would put me off renting that particular one.

Is this worth considering?

[Robert5988]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Not naming a villa in particluar but I'm sure the claim of Indian Wells to Disney in 3 mins in very unrealistic.[/quote]

Not in a helicopter!

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

We'd expect all advertisers to use realistic times but it's a tricky one to police without going out and trying out a route from each community.

I personally would think 3 minutes from Indian Wells is perhaps a little on the low side but it *could* possibly be done in that time as the community is *very* close to Disney. I have no idea for sure though.

[millie]

Not that close though! You would perhaps still be waiting at the junction to get out of the community.

It is a bit of false advertsing though is it not?

I have also stayed on the US27 and the drive times from there are also very unrealistic.

Just a thought as it does make you think twice about booking them!

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

As I say, it's a very hard one to police. Owners will obviously base their times on the best drive time they have done themselves and depending on the time of day a guest travels, they may or may not be able to achieve the same time.

If you have any specific adverts you think are way out then please do email me with the advert numbers and what times you think they should be and I can look into it for you - email me at john@orlandovillas.com

[Jules]

Hi Millie,

I think that drive times are always going to be open to debate.

Why not ask the owner of the villa you are interested in how far the home is from Disney in miles rather than minutes and which point on Disney property they are measuring to. Drive times can vary a lot depending on the traffic, how you hit the lights and of course on the speed you drive but the distance is always going to stay the same no matter what the road conditions are like.

[thornton]

We are on the 27 and take our drive time to Animal Kingdom the nearest park. We have actually done it in under 12 minutes but say realistically it take 15 minutes but in busy times it will take longer.

If you are in any doubt ask the owner of the home you are interested in.

[Fourdents]

I have taken the route I advise my guests to use and clocked mileage and the time taken in "normal" driving conditions.

I put down miles as you can never be sure of the traffic from day to day

[wilfy]

We've stayed in Indian Wells before, and they are telling the truth, and you could get to Disney in 3 minutes. I believe they are THE closest short term rental community to Disney. Disney in this case the the Disney arch just past the I4 underpass on the 536. Perhaps a better judgement would be to ask, how long to the nearest Disney theme park, which for Indian Wells i would put most certainly under 10 minutes to Epcot.

[E. Cosgrove]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by wilfy
We've stayed in Indian Wells before, and they are telling the truth, and you could get to Disney in 3 minutes. I believe they are THE closest short term rental community to Disney. Disney in this case the the Disney arch just past the I4 underpass on the 536. Perhaps a better judgement would be to ask, how long to the nearest Disney theme park, which for Indian Wells i would put most certainly under 10 minutes to Epcot.
[/quote]
I am with Wilf and Sarah on this one. We too have stayed at Indian Wells albeit some years ago and the distance to the "Disney Arch" via the 535 can be done in less than 5 mins certainly.

[Susan J]

I am with you on this -people should quote miles. Some communities can be 20 miles away, some 3 miles away -but to get anywhere in 3 minutes is silly. Go to end of Road , stop check for traffic, got to end of estate, stop check for traffic- that a couple of minutes, then you have to get across the 535, turning left, and go to the other set of lights further up, turn left again, and drive into Disney for some time before you get to a park. Indian Wells is very near, and very convenient without a doubt, but 3 minutes -no.

[luckylady]

IMHO it doesn't matter to 5/10 minutes. We can drive to Disney in 10 minures from Championsgate if we go at the right time. Then be held up parking the car and be stuck in the queue for the train taking us to our chosen park. [msnsmile2]

[mfairhurst]

We can do disney in 7 mins to the entrance but not to the car park and if it is busier we do it in 10 mins if peak times .
Hope this helps
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx

[rogerdunnaker]

We are on the 27 and advertise that we can get to Disney in around 10 minutes, we say around 10 minutes because at different times of the day, and with different traffic situations, it could be a little more or marginally less and this is to the nearest point at Disney, what you must remember is that you can be on Disney's property for more than 10 minutes.

I dont think that the owner is trying to mislead you in any way and think that you should not take the times given as literal but as they are meant, only as a guide.

[LiesaAnna]

probably get shot down with this... hey ho....
what does it really matter how long it takes to get to the parks???? if your planning a day there then surely it wont matter if it takes 5 minutes 10 minutes or an hour... well not for us it doesnt anyway...[stupid1]

[christhear]

Distance isnt the only thing to take int comparison. Before I had a villa we stayed on the 192 and it was less than 3 miles to Disney - however due to raodworks and traffic lights we never got there in less than 30 minutes and 45 - 60 minutes was a much more relaible time.
I have taken to mentioning that there is only one set of lights between the villa and disney main gate so this gives you a realistic view of how often you will be in stop start traffic.

[blott]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by christhear
Distance isnt the only thing to take int comparison. Before I had a villa we stayed on the 192 and it was less than 3 miles to Disney - however due to raodworks and traffic lights we never got there in less than 30 minutes and 45 - 60 minutes was a much more relaible time.
I have taken to mentioning that there is only one set of lights between the villa and disney main gate so this gives you a realistic view of how often you will be in stop start traffic.[/quote]I'm not really aware of any owner on or near the 192 who would actually advocate taking the 192 route to Disney when there are others which are far quicker to choose from.

[SunLover]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by blott
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by christhear
Distance isnt the only thing to take int comparison. Before I had a villa we stayed on the 192 and it was less than 3 miles to Disney - however due to raodworks and traffic lights we never got there in less than 30 minutes and 45 - 60 minutes was a much more relaible time.
I have taken to mentioning that there is only one set of lights between the villa and disney main gate so this gives you a realistic view of how often you will be in stop start traffic.[/quote]I'm not really aware of any owner on or near the 192 who would actually advocate taking the 192 route to Disney when there are others which are far quicker to choose from.[/quote]Quite so Blottie !

We are located on 192 west and have a fabulous short cut which misses out any periodic congestion, which our guests really appreciate. Just because your community is primarily on a specific road doesn't mean you HAVE to use it ! [msnwink]

[Albert the Frog]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by LiesaAnna
probably get shot down with this... hey ho....
what does it really matter how long it takes to get to the parks???? if your planning a day there then surely it wont matter if it takes 5 minutes 10 minutes or an hour... well not for us it doesnt anyway...[stupid1]
[/quote]
Well said that woman![msnwink]

[FraserLynn]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Albert the Frog
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by LiesaAnna
probably get shot down with this... hey ho....
what does it really matter how long it takes to get to the parks???? if your planning a day there then surely it wont matter if it takes 5 minutes 10 minutes or an hour... well not for us it doesnt anyway...[stupid1]
[/quote]
Well said that woman![msnwink]
[/quote]

I have to agree with this, it makes little difference to us, so why is it so important to over exaggerate the situation? I may be doing it all wrong going on the wrong routes etc, but all the communities I have stayed in either on the 192, or the 27 are at LEAST 20 - 25 mins away from the actual parks door to door.

I think Millie's point is a good one, If BA said that they could get you to Florida in 3 hours, you would question their business ethics!

[DLB-GOUROCK]

Not sure if I have made this point on this forum before but what is important is if you have to spend a whole day at the parks or if you are close enough to make two trips with ease.

Is the villa close enough to go to the park in the morning and be able to come back to the villa mid afternoon, chill by the pool, take a nap and be able to go back to DTD or City Walk for an evening?

Or is the villa too far away that the time it takes to go back and forth means that you have to spend the whole day away to make the most of your time?

Really 10 - 30 min is neither here nor there, but getting closer to an hour means that a trip to the parks has to be planned.

Not sure how you would word this in a advert for your villa.

Close enough for casual trips to the parks or ideal for a day trip to the parks.

Again each villa owner will be wanting to "sell" their home in the best light.

Remember not everyone who goes to Florida necessary intends to go to the parks every day and they may prefer to live a bit further out to get a different atmosphere, a more relaxed vacation. It could be preferable to know that the location was that bit further away.

The map on this site ( http://www.orlandovillas.com/Map.aspx )showing the location of the villa communities is very good to highlight exactly where each is. Also google maps will enable you to calculate the distance between places.

[letournerie]

I agree with Millie that information on websites is not always correct, whether it is driwing time to Disney or something else.
We have looked at loads and loads of villas through all kinds of websites, this one included.
They all seem to be situated 10 or 15 minutes from Disney, even as far down as Southern Dunes. Now, I wonder if that is true. However, the distance is not too important to us, we look at connections to the parks rather then miles.

Something that does bother us however is that owners seem to lie about which side their pool faces. We are definitely looking for a villa with west or south west facing pool since we are going in the winter. Whe we look at villas which advertise "south facing pool" and we look up that villa on bing.maps, we find that some villas actually face north and still claim to be south facing. That is just deceiving guests. And when we email to that owner about their pool direction, we just don't hear from them again.

I wonder, is it that some owners do not know the difference between south and north or that they just have no idea which way their pool faces? In that case they shouldn't mention any side though.

I know it is important to "sell" your villa and hope to get as many guests as possible but isn't it much better to be honest so that a guest knows what he'll get and may even come back?

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

If you know of any adverts on any of our sites like this then please do let us know in total confidence. We take the accuracy of adverts very seriously but obviously cannot spot all things unless people let us know.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by letournerie
Something that does bother us however is that owners seem to lie about which side their pool faces. We are definitely looking for a villa with west or south west facing pool since we are goin
[/quote]

[andrewmckay5]

I know I've tried the " Short drive to Disney" on our advert but it doesn't seem to work :D

[Andrena]

Our home is on Lindfields and we say that it is approx. 5 miles from Disney property. We also give guests the shortcut route and have measured it ourselves and that mileage is to the traffic lights at the turn to Animal Kingdom. We also say that it close enough to return home mid-day which is great especially if you have young children who get tired.

As to the pool issue we tell our guests that although it faces north, it gets the sun most of the day as there are no 2-storey homes around it and it is a single storey property. That is the truth, we are there in the winter months and always get the sun. We chose it for that reason and there is a lanai for extra shelter from the sun in high summer. We find that lots of people like a bit of shade especially if they are from the UK and have small children.

We never knowingly lie to our guests, why would we when they will only complain if we do and we want them to have a great holiday and hopefully want to return in the future or to recommend us to friends.

Andrena

[letournerie]

Hi Andrena,
If you tell people you are facing north that way they can decide for themselves if they like that or not.
As we are only going in Feb, have teens, plus we leave the villa around 7 AM we would be around the pool from around 4 PM. That's when we want the sun. We also like lanais but more to be able to sit outside when it rains, and yes, when you go in summer you need it for shade.

Last year we had a villa with a north facing pool, we did not get any sun......mind you, we had a small deck too and rented through an angency. Never again!!

[Katys Grandad]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by letournerie
Hi Andrena,
If you tell people you are facing north that way they can decide for themselves if they like that or not.
As we are only going in Feb, have teens, plus we leave the villa around 7 AM we would be around the pool from around 4 PM. That's when we want the sun.
[/quote]

I might not matter too much at that time of year. It'll start to go dark from around 5 o'clock and the sun sets not much after 6.00 pm.

[domster]

The time it takes to get to disney depends on many factors. To be honest the time of day you travel makes all the difference. Where some villas are closer they actually have more trafic on the roads you have to use, those that are farer obviously take a little longer. Swings and roundabouts really, as long as they are all within 20 minutes of Disney it should not really casue too many problems.

[letournerie]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Katys Grandad
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by letournerie
Hi Andrena,
If you tell people you are facing north that way they can decide for themselves if they like that or not.
As we are only going in Feb, have teens, plus we leave the villa around 7 AM we would be around the pool from around 4 PM. That's when we want the sun.
[/quote]

I might not matter too much at that time of year. It'll start to go dark from around 5 o'clock and the sun sets not much after 6.00 pm.
[/quote]

We've been there before in that time of year and it doesn't get dark at 5. We just want the un until it sets. And then you need west facing.

[Katys Grandad]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by letournerie
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Katys Grandad
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by letournerie
Hi Andrena,
If you tell people you are facing north that way they can decide for themselves if they like that or not.
As we are only going in Feb, have teens, plus we leave the villa around 7 AM we would be around the pool from around 4 PM. That's when we want the sun.
[/quote]

I might not matter too much at that time of year. It'll start to go dark from around 5 o'clock and the sun sets not much after 6.00 pm.
[/quote]

We've been there before in that time of year and it doesn't get dark at 5. We just want the un until it sets. And then you need west facing.
[/quote]

I don't think I said it gets dark at 5.00 pm.

[ujpest doza]

It's dark by 7 at the minute and pitch black by 7.15.

Vague recollections of late February and early march have it dusk by 5.30 and dark not long after 6.

Agree you'd need a west facing pool to take advantage of the sun in the late afternoon and early evening but it also turns cold almost as soon as the sun goes down.

It certainly did last weekend when the daytime high was only 17C:(