Orlando with children in Style

Doing a different Disney destination

The entrance to Disney World and the other parks was two miles from our
VillaDirect front door and the Nick Hotel.

By Walter & Patricia Brooks

We've been visiting Mickey Mouse for over thirty years, first with our own sons and now with our grandchildren. The Central Florida we first visited was almost rural in comparison with today, but it was always fun. I have to agree with Walt Disney when he said, "I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I have ever known. "

Postcards from the past
Welcome to Orlando, circa 1973.

A motel like this one in Kissimmee was all we could handle back in 1973 when Disney World and Epcot was all there was except for a few alligator wrestlers.

And the restaurants looked like this.

We remember those first visits in the 1970's when all we could afford was the long-gone "Stagecoach Motel" in Kissimmee/St. Cloud, miles from the park but cheap. And it had a pool, which for kids in 1973 was a big kick.

Each return visit saw us booking an ever better lodging until this month we reached Nirvana, twice, and we both still love Mickey Mouse.

VillaDirect and the Nick Hotel

My wife Patricia who takes most the photos for these articles, is an incredible bargain-hunter and cyber-sleuth. She found VillaDirect and a dozen others, then spent a couple of hours checking them all out. Pat loves a bargain, but she also believes that "living well is the best revenge."

After looking at them all, she choose VillaDirect™ which is the brainchild of two Florida property owners who have used the Internet to great success in marketing and renting their own homes to an 80% occupancy rate. As vacationers, themselves they have experienced what it is like to rent a home from someone whom you have never met, and who may not even speak your language.

Our experience was more than satisfactory. Renting a new house with every amenity for $300-$345 a night is a real bargain even for one family, but for a group it's insane to do otherwise.

Every house we looked at had a screened-in, covered pool and the properties were spotless and equipped to the teeth.

VillaDirect has a web site which works fast and easy and has literally hundreds of townhouses, condos etc.  to choose from, all with full disclosures, photos galore and even a slide show for each property. They offer hundreds of houses in every price range.

The "poolhouse" we rented on the right was perfect. It had a huge screened-in swimming pool, seven bedrooms, 4-1/2 baths, a living room, dining room, family room, kitchen with dining area and a rec room with play station, fuzzball and a full size billiard table.

Our VillaDirect townhouse 2 miles from Mickey. See a slide show, click the house or here.
The screened-in, covered pool at VillaDirect was probably the one thing the children like best.

A photo-op with Snow White at Orlando Airport.

The new Nickelodeon Hotel is about a mile and a half fromDisney World. The monster pool was so much fun that we had trouble getting the kids to go to see Mickey.

The  suites start at $204 a night, rooms from $125, and ask for a special Sponge Bob decorated room.It made every morning a relaxing delight to be able to feed the kids whatever they wanted, and after seven hours in the parks (yes, Patricia forgot how hot Orlando can be in September even though we used to own a vacation magazine here ourselves) we could return to our own pool to cool off and not have to find a restaurant which everyone agreed upon.

Patricia calls it "condo cooking", and it's a welcome relief for weary parents or grand parents.

The advantage of having your own home ten minutes from Disney are legend:

1. You can control the food your children eats.
2. The money saved by avoiding eating in a restaurant three times a day (to say nothing of driving there and back in heavy traffic and waiting for a seat and service) can easily pay for this extra luxury.
3. You get totally away from the hustle and bustle of a vacation area for a few hours each morning and evening. It could save your marriage.
4. From our deck all we could see was a lake and the woods beyond our own pool (see the slide show).

For information about VillaDirect office: 6129 West Irlo Bronson Highway (Route 192), Kissimmee, FL. 34747-4512, Free from the USA: 1 (877) 259-9908U.S.A.

The Nick Hotel even has suites for Sponge Bob & Patrick

The new Nick Hotel is a wonder with probably the most elaborate water slide in Florida. Click here to see a short video of the pool.

This is a whole new concept in "KidsSuites", and the property keep the kids amused and excited for our entire stay.

From "Breakfast with Dora the Explorer" to nightly Nickelodeon shows and free character breakfasts, this is a great discovery for family seeking fun in the sun.

The only hotel with Nick-themed bedrooms

Not even KidSuites' creator, hotelier Terry Whaples, could foresee the family travel revolution that was to come.

The concept of KidSuites has catered to the ever-growing demographic of family travelers. From its inception in 1996 , which was modified and introduced in its current design in 1999 at Orlando's Holiday Inn Family Suites Resort, to its presence at the first-ever Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn, this is a hotel where kids lead and adults follow.

For information about Nick Hotel, call toll-free in the US and Canada: 866-462-6425, or write to: Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn, 14500 Continental Gateway, Orlando, FL 32821-5102.