Is this possible? The answer is yes, but one must follow a few recommended steps or actions to find the best villa deals. Here are our Top 5 tips for slashing your holiday home and villa rental costs while planning an Orlando Florida vacation:

1. Consult the Calendar – Vacation resorts, just any other free market, closely follows supply and demand factors seasonally or during the year. If you can plan for flexible travel dates to Florida, this helps provide alternate options that increase your chances of saving money on nightly villa rates. Plan around the holiday periods so you avoid the heaviest demand periods. Management companies are most willing to negotiate on the cost to rent a holiday villa in the lowest historical occupancy periods. Consult our blog post on the best months to visit Orlando Florida for specific travel suggestions.

2. Plan as Early as Possible – One will want to plan your vacation and vacation villa accommodations out as early as possible, and especially if you are flying to Florida. Airlines consumer watchdog groups indicate that the best times for booking airfares are at the 6 week out time frame or as much as 3 1/2 months out (Source: ABC News). Making your Orlando travel plans early also allows you to assess the various resort and community options available plus grabbing good villas before they are rented.

3. Check the Communities – When one consults online resources, most sites focus on the rental villa itself. Although this is obviously very important for your personal comfort and enjoyment, the quality of the resort community is extremely vital as well. Our specific site contains detailed profiles on over 80 resort communities to give you that extra level of detail for your personal comfort and peace of mind. As we always say “all vacation home communities in Central Florida are not created equal”. Community recreational amenities, for example, may vary greatly from one resort to another.

4. Assess Your Family or Group Needs – Just as one might maintain flexible travel dates to find the best villa deals, one must also assess your specific needs to optimize sleeping arrangements. In other words and for example, a smaller home would be required if you can pair up kids for bedrooms with Twin beds (rather than King or Full). It obviously gets trickier for groups rather than families, but it nonetheless makes sense to sit down and assess the needs of every person to “right size” your rental home.

5. Itemize Your Itinerary – Haven’t made up what parks you wish to visit? It really does pay to consider what attractions you have in mind in advance so you can minimize your travel time to the parks. Moreover, the highest villa rental rates tend to be those nearest Walt Disney World® (see the supply and demand comments referenced above). However, for your family or group, the closest villas to WDW may not be what you need or want. There are some excellent rental values closer to Legoland® (to the south) or to the Orange County Convention Center (to the north). Itemizing your vacation itinerary helps you pinpoint the best location for renting a villa in Central Florida.

Click on the following link for more rental basics – How to Rent a Vacation Home in Orlando or for our visual video channel for vacation villas in Orlando. Although it took a lot of work to produce, our OVH 360 YouTube vacation home channel has over 328,000 visitors/hits as of this date.

If you need help finding a vacation villa in Orlando that meets your needs, give us a call at 407-966-4144. The OVH 360 team has reviewed most of the vacation resort communities in Central Florida to enable you as a consumer to find the best villa deals and values. There are some great vacation villa deals out there, but one must be selective.

We want to be very clear, we make no attempts to speculate or give advice concerning the value and price direction for real estate. We keep our keen focus on the status of the local vacation home rental market, and not buying a 2nd home in Orlando. The WSJ piece is interesting simply because so many predictions have been made about buying a rental home in the most recent economic downturn, and this is yet another one.

Having said that, the article does state that there are signs of a bottom in higher end markets mostly in California, Florida and Utah. The primary source of the article is Moody’s Analytics, an economic research and consulting firm, who clearly state that the signs of a bottom are forming. They balance this by also emphasizing the short term murkiness for local second home values. Once again, this is the company’s analysis, and not necessarily ours.

“… the bottom for vacation homes will be clear only in retrospect”   – Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics

In other words, purchasing a second home involves potential risk.

However, there is one thing we can state with certainty – second homes and vacation homes make great places to stay while on vacation. In Central Florida for instance, there are over 80 neighborhoods that cater to travelers coming for the theme parks or for conventions. Take your pick, there is a vacation resort in Orlando close to almost any destination. Be it SeaWorld®, Universal Orlando Resort®, Walt Disney World®, Legoland® Florida or the Orange County Convention Center, there is a perfect vacation villa within minutes of your selected vacation destination.

This website provides critiques and profiles for many of these resort communities. All details within the individual resort profile are designed to help one  make an educated decision. As we always say, not all vacation home rentals are created equal. We rate each community  from 1 to 5 stars based on an established criteria set forth in our disclaimer.

If you have any questions regarding rates, availability or specific vacation villa details, please give us a call at 407-966-4144. There are still some great values available. Have a great vacation!

The investment community is abuzz about the recent acquisitions of several privately held water parks. In fact, several “private equity” firms ended up in a bidding water for resorts that cater to the indoor water park concept. Business has been growing and cash flows from operations have been cited as the main reason for Wall Street’s current water park euphoria. Water parks in Orlando, although not the indoor kind,  are also a huge draw for families and visitors to Central Florida, and especially during the summer months.

Orlando Water Parks

As we get ready for Florida style summer fun, let’s look at some reviews of Orlando water parks that are getting some positive attention:

• Aquatica by SeaWorld - This is one of SeaWorld’s premiere water parks featuring 36 water slides and 8 rides. Our family favorite was the Dolphin Plunge and the water surf pools. Cabanas and restaurants are also on-site for those that wade out of the pools and onto land.
• Discovery Cove® Orlando – This is a slightly different water park promoting tropical adventures and individual encounters with nature. Swimming with dolphins and snorkeling through calming waters provide for a unique water park experience.
• Wet & Wild - Located on North International Drive in the heart of Orlando’s commercial and entertainment corridor, this traditional water park features 6 rides plus a lazy river and wave pool. The closest vacation rentals to Wet and Wild or Aquatica are Vista Cay on Universal Boulevard.
• The Legoland ® Florida water park is scheduled to open in the summer of 2012. This new water park attraction will feature a wave pool,  water slides, interactive soakers, and a toddler splash pool.

Any of these 4 water parks in Orlando will cool you off after a fun day at the parks or a long day of shopping at the outlet malls. Our water park reviews and photos from each of these attractions will give you some idea of what to expect before making a decision. For ticket pricing and water park hours, consult these attraction websites individually.

The time for these SeaWorld Summer Nights events begins at 6 p.m. and culminates in a spectacular “Reflections” fireworks show at 10 p.m. each summer evening.

Cost for this special attraction is included with a regular park admission for SeaWorld Summer Nights Orlando. Most of the booths around the park feature food, drinks and samplers, games and talented artists. Each of these special food and beverage offerings is a’ la carte and to be paid for by guests.

Summer Nights at SeaWorld Orlando

Additional fun includes Clyde and Seamore in a charming matinee appearance called Sea Lions Tonite. Park amenities including the thrilling Manta ride which opened in 2009 are available for guests.

Villas near SeaWorld Orlando are the perfect option for any families desiring to be near the park. From our resort community reviews, and for example, Vista Cay and the Island at Commons are both 4 Star resorts located within minutes of the popular SeaWorld Orlando attraction.

The address for SeaWorld Orlando is 7007 SeaWorld Drive, Orlando Fl 32821. The SeaWorld Orlando theme park is located between South International Drive and Sea Harbor Drive on the Central Florida Parkway. Orlando SeaWorld hours are typically 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. most times of the year, but expand to 10 p.m. as mentioned above for SeaWorld Summer Nights. Always check hours for SeaWorld Orlando before your visit, as they do change from time to time.

The team at Orlando Vacation Homes 360 (OVH 360) specializes in booking vacation home rentals in Central Florida. This site posts reviews for over 70+ resort including locational details and community information. Check-out these reviews, and call us with any questions you may have about any of these resort communities.

For those that need a little extra help, we wanted to provide cover the basics of how to rent a vacation home. These are defined within 6 easy steps that should be considered during the rental decision process:

• The first most obvious step in the planning process is to determine where and when should I take our vacation? Although impacted by established personal work and school schedules, anyone with flexibility should consider the seasonal demand fluctuations for your desired destination and its impact on rental pricing. This may include the overall cost for airfare, entertainment and of course lodging.
• Once you’ve determined a destination and the best time of year for your vacation, it’s now time to assess your group or family needs for Step 2. Questions such as the size of your party and number of desired bedrooms, privacy considerations for each member of your party (who can share bedrooms and bathrooms) and amenities desired will all impact your decision. The key here is to initially keep as many options open as possible so one can make an informed and successful choice.
• The next step is to begin your vacation home search. Many major media outlets suggest renting directly from an owner via vacation rental by owner websites,  but these owner rental outlets are a mistake in our opinion. For example, unless you know the owner personally, will their standards of cleanliness and maintenance be up to your personal expectations? Often these house rentals are often price and rate discounted for a reason – inconsistent quality. We highly recommend renting from a professional management company with consistently high ethical and professional operational standards. be sure to consult listings of professional vacation rental managers and Better Business Bureau rated vacation rental companies for your desired locale during this step.
• Once you have honed in on a professional management company or companies using your consumer powers (quality and functionality of company website, testimonials or trust indicators, etc…) start looking at rates for your selected times of year and size of home desired. This will often narrow your budgetary options based on a myriad of subdivision locations, neighborhood quality and resort amenities associated with the individual vacation homes to rent.
• If you do decide to personally call a management company, write down a few of your concerns and questions after reviewing their website. Consider that rental policies will also vary among the companies including refund policy, deposits, and security. Conscious awareness of the highs and lows will help you frame what is reasonable to pay for each.
• Finally, assess each rental home in terms of overall quality and location when possible. This together with size of home desired plus in-home and community amenities should help firm up your confidence in making a final decision and determine the best means of how to rent a vacation home in Orlando.

The team at Orlando Vacation Homes 360 (OVH 360) has designed the resources of this online website to achieve all of these goals. Over 80 resort reviews are posted on our main page along with essential community information. We assign a star rating based on opinions associated with each important aspect.

How to Rent a Vacation Home

If Orlando and Central Florida is your destination, the OVH reviews will be helpful winnowing down the many resort community options down to the one that best fits your individual needs and budgetary requirements. We also hand pick all of our Orlando vacation rental houses to ensure the highest quality vacation experience. As we always say, not all vacation homes are created equal, and our website can be the tool you need to make the best educated choice. If you have any questions about any of the above on how to rent a vacation home in Orlando, be sure to contact us directly.

We were surprised at how many coasters and rides there were in the Legoland Park. Besides the Legoland cities and attractions, the rides included Coastersaurus, Flying School, Lego® Technic™ and The Dragon. Each of these themed rides were age appropriate and the kids had a great time.

Legoland Florida

The next main attraction were of course the Lego® structures in the middle of the park that overlooked the beautiful Lake Eloise. This are is called Miniland. Some of the creative mini Legoland® themed areas include Miami Beach, the Las Vegas Strip, The First Family at the White House, US Capitol Rotunda and Grounds in Washington DC, the Golden Gate Bridge, Daytona 500 Speedway, Kennedy Space Center and New York City. Our Legoland photos of the White House and Miami Beach capture just a few of these scenes.

Our boys enjoyed the Lego® Kingdoms portion of the park which is envisioned as a Medieval castle replica and local town square. Knightly shields and replica swords make this area the “Retailing Renaissance” of the park.

Legoland Florida - White House Scene

Another favorite of the kids was the Pirates’ Cove water show on the Lake Eloise pavilion. The Blackbeard’s Bounty Water Ski Show was a big hit and was reminiscent of the original Cypress Gardens show. A fabulous manmade waterfall leads you into the picturesque part of the park along with a 75 year old Indian Banyan tree nearby.

Adults in our party enjoyed the Cypress Gardens botanical areas in the 150 acre park. Legoland did a great job preserving the native plans and vegetation throughout the park. The shady oaks and sitting benches provide a nice respite while the kids are awed by the Lego structures around the park.

Food and beverage offerings are ample around the park. Whether you are looking for a hamburger, grab n’ go sandwiches, pizza or other casual dining options, each of the 10 dining outlets should provide good quality food. Our family’s personal favorite was in fact the park’s signature culinary item, Granny Smith apple fries. These were originated in the Legoland California park, but nonetheless they were excellent and unique.

Legoland Florida -- Miami Beach Scene

Other notable areas of Legoland in Florida include the Duplo® Village and factory as you enter the park,  plus Lego® City, Imagination Zone , and Rescue Academy on the west, side of the park. Our smaller ones also enjoyed Lost Kindgom Adventure, a low risk ride through the park, Fun Town Theater and Fun Town itself with more replica scenes from American life. All  of these images of Legoland should give you a good idea of what to expect.

Be sure to check the Legoland Florida hours before you go. The park is typically open from 10 am to 5 pm and is closed a few Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the month.

Vacation homes near Legoland Florida are within 35-45 minutes of the park. Since Legoland Fl is well south of Kissimmee and Davenport, one will want to book something in the southern quadrant of these cities if the family wants to spend extended time at Lego Land. Consult our individual resort reviews and profiles for this locational information.

Have a great time in Central Florida! We hope you enjoy our photos of Legoland Fl and our review of the Legoland Florida attraction. Also a quick reminder that the Legoland water park will open in May in time for the summer.

British and American transnational air travellers are not prepared for the magnitude of the passenger tax increases now or in the coming years.

So what is the big deal for Orlando and Florida tourism and the economic impact of the British aviation passenger duty?

• According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), an organization of senior level travel executives, this incremental tax rise would add another $100 per person in cost to fly to the United States from England in 2012.
• The Aviation Passenger Duty (APD) schedule is based on the length of the international air flight to the foreign country’s capital city. There are 4 travel bands that determine the rate of passenger tax due.
• For those that are math challenged, this would be an extra $400 for a British family of 4 to travelling to Disney World and Universal for the holidays. This is just the beginning.
• Additional rises of over 40%+ (8-10% annually) are scheduled out to the year 2016 which translates to an astounding additional tax each successive year. This means that if this rise is enacted, a family of 4 would pay even more to Florida from Britain just for this tax increase in 2016 over current costs. This may be alarming to many readers.

Obviously for any local Orlando business heavily dependent on British travellers, one had better take notice of what happens here…

For a full WTTC report on the aviation passenger duty and its economic impact on British tourism and travel, please click here. According to the WTTC, the proceeds of the aviation duty tax pay down the national British debt and offset the environmental impact of air travel.

What may be a little disconcerting for Americans is the fact that the tax is really aimed at international travel and not domestic travel within Britain. Moreover, new studies by the well respected Oxford Economics group indicate that this tax may have already cost the country at least 90,000 jobs and is strongly discouraging travel growth to the country in 2012 and beyond.

We’ll certainly keep our eye on how this APD tax increase moves forward. This will certainly have a measurable APD impact on Florida tourism. There were over 1.5 million British visitors to the United States in 2010 with an estimated economic impact of over $2 billion to the entire US economy. For the APD economic impact on Orlando tourism and for the state of Florida, the stakes are less but the impact is still well in to the hundreds of millions of dollars. For our readers and for vacation rental guests, Brits love Orlando villas, a fact that is well known locally.

Here are some additional resources to learn more about the APD “A Fair Tax on Flying” and to voice your concerns and opinions:

• Facebook Page  for more information on the “A Fair Tax on Flying” campaign.

Orlando Vacation Homes 360 (OVH 360) is a proud member of the British – American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida.

First, why do vacation rentals not comprise a larger share of the overall lodging accommodations market in the United States? In fact, according to PhoCus Wright hospitality research, only 10% of American households have experienced a vacation rental. According to a recent article in the Travel Weekly newspaper, this is related to:

• American consumers feeling a sense of confidence in the quality of  rental homes
• Americans purchasing a hospitality product often with no brand affiliation

We would like to add a third factor, which especially relates to vacation houses in Orlando Florida. This would be the stigma in some quarters relating to home foreclosures in some areas of Central Florida. However, this is a non-issue especially if one rents from a reputable management company which we always recommend.

In the last 9 months to a year, the market for vacation rentals continues to prosper especially in robust tourist markets. Vacation houses in Orlando for instance are being propelled by the improving economy and robust ticket sales at the Central Florida parks. HomeAway® and VRBO Florida® have added a needed brand presence for vacation home awareness, but a primary driver seems to be state of the overall economy more than most other factors.

Another primary factor for growth is the quality of the underlying vacation experience with a house rental. Our intuition that vacation houses for rent in Orlando will increase at a trajectory related to referrals and recommendations by trusted friends and family members is important for any business. As they say, positive word-of-mouth feedback by these trusted individuals will highly influence anyone thinking a about vacation houses for rent as a viable lodging option.

This vacation home blog is dedicated to solving or at least assisting with the quality levels assigned to various communities in Clermont, Davenport, Kissimmee and Orlando. We assign star ratings to various resort communities based on several factors including homes, location, amenities and resort facilities. Click on an individual community review on our home page.

We’ve also made the case that many of the resorts we review do have some brand awareness, but these relate to the resorts themselves and not a national brand per se. Just ask any guests that have stayed at Windsor Hills, Emerald Island, BellaVida or Encantada Resort. Our experiences have lead to very positive guest feedback from the guest experiences at these and other resorts.

Check-out our trusted reviews of over 80 resort communities in Central Florida. You’ll find that staying in a vacation house in Orlando Florida  is the best decision you or your group or family will ever make. Have a great vacation!

Vacation Houses for Rent Orlando

All guests coming to Orlando for the major holidays in the spring and summer (Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day) must come to grips that major attractions will most likely reach capacity and will have to turn away park visitors. This is based on recent park attendance and re-emphasizes the need to plan ahead.

One of the first things you may want to think about is investing in Disney FASTPASSES® for the entire family. However, there are several things to keep in mind for the FASTPASS Service and for expedited service at the other area parks:

• Tickets are only good on the date of issue
• Every member of your party must have a Disney FASTPASS if you want to enjoy the attraction together
• Plan which attractions you wish to enjoy because there is a limit to how many you can take advantage of
• There are only roughly 4-5 attractions within each park (Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom) that honor the FASTPASS service. Again, plan early and choose wisely which Disney attractions you want to visit.
• Other Orlando parks have their own version of the FASTPASS including the Legoland Express Pass, the Universal Express Pass which includes expedited service at the Harry Potter attraction for the Flight of the Hippogriff and the Dragon Challenge, and SeaWorld Orlando’s Quick Queue program for rides. Each premium pass comes with their own set of rules.

The second tip we have for you is planning early for vacation package deals. Again, deals during the major holiday times will be hard to come by. For instance, the week of Easter 2012 is already full for most vacation home rentals. Planning early by matching your own personal calendar (and your family’s calendar) against the peak times in the parks may help get some of the better deals out there. We wrote one of our first blog posts on this topic – When is the best time to visit Orlando?

If you are looking for Orlando vacation home rental deals, we have been steadily adding opportunities for booking vacation rentals to our booking engine on the main page. This is still a work in progress for us since we are in the process of hand-picking all of our listings for quality.

Some of the current vacation rental opportunities we have at 4 Star Resorts in Central Florida include (Click on a community review link below for more information):

• Encantada Resort Kissimmee
• Hampton Lakes Davenport
• Vista Cay Orlando

Bookmark our site and check back often. Please remember, we review them all, but only select a hand-picked few for our rental inventory.

There are plenty of lakes in Kissimmee Florida which are located adjacent to Walt Disney World® for more the serious fishermen. There are 2 large lakes – Lake Tohopekaliga (Lake Toho) and Lake Kissimmee that are both over 18,000 acres in size. Both of these Kissimmee chain of lakes have plentiful amounts of Largemouth Bass, Bream and Bluegill. There are many points of public boating access for both of these lakes. Both of these freshwater lakes are known for some great bass fishing.

For those that want to maximize their experience, an Orlando fishing guide might be the answer. They can help you with the selection of bait and appropriate tackle, equipment and of course the best fishing spots in Kissimmee. If you love to fish and are staying in a nearby Kissimmee vacation home, a fishing guide is a good investment.

Moreover, if you are in the area for a Disney or Kissimmee vacation, there are some resort communities that combine the best of both worlds (vacation home accommodations plus a fishing lake nearby). These Kissimmee vacation home communities that are great for family vacation fishing include:

Disney Area Fishing

• Sunset Lakes – Fish from the pier in this gated resort community
• Terra Verde – Recently stocked the resort lake with more species to catch for the family
• Emerald Island – Excellent Kissimmee community with fishing nearby
• Cumbrian Lakes – Small stocked fishing lake on the east side of the Kissimmee community adjacent to Liberty Village
• Remington – East Lake Tohopekaliga is a huge lake fished by the professionals

Although some community lakes don’t offer the superior fishing as found in Lake Tohopekaliga and Lake Kissimmee, many do offer several hours of fun and smiles for the whole family.

Do I need a Florida fishing license if I am a non-resident? In most cases, the answer is yes unless you are under 16 years of age. Check the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rules as to whether you need a license. The easiest ways to purchase a resident or non-resident fishing license is to go online using the link above, call the Wildlife Commission at 1-888-347-4350 or drop by by any area Wal-Mart. The Kissimmee Wal-Mart is located at 4081 Vine Street which is at the intersection of Vine Street and US Highway 192 (Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway).

The final aspect of any Disney fishing fun is to be conscious of your kids’ safety. For starters, personal flotation devices for kids at all times, suntan/sunscreen lotion, first aid kits, bug repellent and observing fishing safety rules  should be discussed with your children beforehand. There are some harmful creatures in low lying areas of Kissimmee and Osceola County, and all family members need to be on alert. Otherwise, a little vacation fishin’ makes for a great time for the whole family!