Our Home Away from Home with Global Resort Homes

Our Home Away from Home with Global Resort Homes

When we started planning our next trip to the Orlando area, we knew we wanted to do something different this time.  We’ve stayed onsite at Walt Disney World multiple times before, but when we do that, we don’t see anything else that the surrounding area has to offer.  Since I used to live in Orlando, I know that there is more to this area than just Walt Disney World, and I wanted to show my kids some of the other sites.  We also wanted something a little less regimented.  So, we decided to give Global Resort Homes a try. 

One of the great things about renting with Global Resort Homes is that there are often community activities included in addition to the home itself.  We stayed at 8922 Majesty Palms Road in Paradise Palms Resort.  We were located right across from the community center where there were tennis courts, basketball hoops, sand volleyball, a large swimming pool, a small theater, and an arcade.  The first thing Marvel Boy had to try out was the arcade where he challenged his father to a race on the motorcycle games.

We stayed in a townhouse that was much nicer than any townhouse I’ve ever seen before!  Songbird found a floor plan and said that there was around 1900 square feet or so in this unit.  This picture was taken at the front door, looking in.  

Immediately to the right is the first of four bedrooms and the downstairs bathroom (one of three in the unit).  This downstairs bedroom has a bunkbed (twin over double).  We didn’t use the downstairs bedroom as we only needed three bedrooms, and there were three upstairs.

The living room was on the other side of the dining area and features a large TV with a DVD player.  Can you see the books on the coffee table?  These books included everything we needed to know about the unit, including what to do with the trash and what to do on checkout morning.  It also included information about the Wi-Fi.  Global Resort Homes gives very detailed and easy to understand information. 

This is one of my favorite reasons for renting a vacation home over staying in a hotel on vacation.  The kitchen!  One of the issues we have when traveling with a child on the Autism Spectrum is keeping a “routine”.  I don’t mean that we do the exact same things on vacation as we do at home.  Our biggest problem is food!  Marvel Boy has certain things that he likes to eat, and when he gets to eat those things, life is much easier.  While we were staying at our Global Resort Home, we were able to stick to his breakfast routine, and that made life a whole lot easier!  There was a Super Target not too far away from this resort, so we headed out the evening we checked in to stock our kitchen with familiar foods.  We also had a couple of dinners here, too.  It made our vacation dining bill cheaper.  Don’t worry, though, because I didn’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen over vacation!

This is another of my favorite parts of renting a vacation home!  No, we don’t like to do laundry, but it is a necessary evil.  Instead of schlepping our dirty clothes down to a hotel laundry, we were able to cycle laundry through while swimming or watching TV.  When we checked out, we had suitcases full of clean clothes.

Let’s talk about something that has now become one of the most important points of vacation for us.  Spontaneity.  While we were staying here, we were not on a timer.  We did not have to be anywhere at an specific time (except for one day trip), and we were free to change our minds and choose activities other than what we had planned.  One morning, we had planned to head out to the beach, but the kids asked to go swim in the community pool.  No problem!  If we wanted to go over to Downtown Disney, we went.  We saw things on this trip that we haven’t seen before.  We took side trips to Disney, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, ICE! at the Gaylord Palms, SeaWorld, and to Jetty Park to watch the ships leave.  Our vacation home was not far away from the local theme parks, and that made it easy to visit whichever park we chose to go to.  

Our experience with Global Resort Homes has changed the way we will view vacations in the future!  Both of the kids really enjoyed their time there and so did Don and I.  Staying at Global Resort Homes gave us the opportunity to spend more time having fun as a family. 

You can see the prices for the unit we stayed at on the Global Resort Homes website.  Like most resorts in the Orlando area, the price depends on time of year.  I’m going to talk bluntly about cost for a moment…  This 4 bedroom/3 bathroom townhouse in a gated community is just a little more expensive than a Moderate resort room onsite at Walt Disney World.  BUT look at the difference in what you get!  Instead of a small hotel room at Disney, you will get a sizable home with Global Resort Homes!  Plus, there is just so much more freedom to do what you want, when you want to do it.  Yes, you have to pay for parking when you go to the parks, but honestly, we stopped using the Disney busses long ago because the kids need to sit on the bus, and we rarely were able to get seats for them.  

I really think that Global Resort Homes has a lot to offer for families who have members with special needs.  We found it to be quieter than a hotel room.  There was more space to spread out, and that allowed Marvel Boy to have his own space to go to unwind.  Our townhouse had a small private pool, and the kids went out a couple of evenings to swim before having an evening shower.  It is also nice to have the kitchen for those who have special dietary needs.  Honestly, there are so many reasons to try a vacation home like Global Resort Homes, more than I could list here.