Best Villa Locations for Disney

This is one of the questions we hear over and over again, and it’s a good one to wrestle with – What are the best villa locations for visiting Walt Disney World?

And the answer is, well, not quite so simple.

Not because we’re trying to be funny, but because it’s a question with a lot of nuance. There are various ways of looking at this particular issue:

1) What are the CLOSEST villa communities to Disney? 2) What are the ones that avoid most of the traffic (and traffic, at least in certain places, is definitely an issue these days)? 3) What villas close to Disney offer community facilities 4) Where can I stay for the simplest drive to Disney?

You see, it’s not so straightforward. But there are a series of answers that can help you narrow down your choice of where to stay because, after all, here at Debbie’s Villas we have a LOT of options.

As they used to say in the 1970s TV comedy Soap: “Confused? You soon will be….!”

The CLOSEST Villa communities to Disney

This might seem the most obvious way to tackle this question, and there are definitely some positive points to take into account in this instance.

Just to start with, it’s worth knowing that the majority of Walt Disney World is situated in Orange County, and that particular county does not allow short-term villa rentals (albeit it’s an ongoing local issue). That means you need to look at the surrounding counties – Osceola, Lake and Polk – and locations such as Kissimmee, Clermont, Davenport and Haines City for your villa options.

There are also a few subtle variations thanks to the extraordinary size of the House of Mouse (which is roughly as large as Greater Manchester), where the theme parks can be as much as seven miles apart by road.

For example, the villa communities closest to the Animal Kingdom (for which you can get there via the back-door route of Highway 192 and Sherberth Road) might be those on North Old Lake Wilson Road and the Formosa Gardens Boulevard area.

Best Communities: Oakwater, Indian Ridge, Windsor Hills, Indian Ridge Oaks, Acadia Estates, Windsor Palms, Rolling Hills, Indian Creek, Formosa Gardens, Oak Island Cove, Oak Island Harbor.

However, for each of the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, it might be more beneficial to enter via the (toll road) 429 and the (new-ish) Western Way, with its burgeoning development of Flamingo Crossings, while Disney’s Hollywood Studios is most directly accessible from Osceola Parkway (see Simplest Drive to Disney below).

In that case, the actual closest villa communities are slightly different, including some of those in the above list but also another handful or so that are close to the western extent of Highway 192, with immediate access to the 429.

Just remember – the 429 is a toll road and (usually) an extremely quick way to access Disney territory, but it only has one access point on Highway 192, adjacent to the Island H2O water park.

Best Communities: Encantada, Sunset Lakes, Lindfield, Lindfield Reserve, Mango Key, Emerald Island, Oak Island Cove, Oak Island Harbor, Acadia Estates, Formosa Gardens.

Best communities near Disney to avoid the traffic

This is fast becoming the $60,000 question for anyone staying on or around Interstate 4 (I-4) south of Highway 192 (be sure to take a look at our map of villa communities if you’re unsure of the exact geography).

While I-4 still offers the most direct route to Disney for the vast majority of villa communities in Davenport and the Haines City area, it is becoming a regular morning sticking point from roughly 7.30 to 11am on the 13-mile stretch between junctions 55 (Highway 27) and 68 (Lake Buena Vista).

It can also be a bugbear on the return journey between junctions 62 and 55 from 5-8pm, but it’s easier to stagger your journey after leaving the Disney parks, or simply stop for dinner first.

If traffic is a key issue for you, and you are likely to be using your Disney tickets extensively there is definitely a better way than making this route your morning “commute.”

In this instance for proximity without the I-4 surge, we recommend staying in our communities in Clermont and Davenport, just off Highway 27 but close to the junction with Highway 192. This way you can avoid I-4 for Disney completely and just take the relatively short drive to the 429 for the Western Way entry to WDW.

Best Communities: Davenport Lakes, High Grove, Legacy Park, Vista Park, Tuscan Hills, Regal Palms, Windsor Island Resort, Bella Piazza, Highlands Reserve, Westside Windsor, Solara, Clear Creek, Silver Creek, Serenity Resort, Glenbrook, Greater Groves, Mission Park, Orange Tree.

Of course, the beauty of the 14-day Disney Magic Ticket is that you can spread out your park visits more and not feel like you have to be there every morning (Americans typically get only 5-7 days annual holiday a year, hence they have less leeway for their visits).

There is much to be said for arriving later in the day (around noon) and staying until later in the evening. In that case, you will avoid the worst of the traffic and can pick more widely from the villa choice.

What villas close to Disney still have community facilities?

This is another question we hear very often – how to get the best combination of villa style, resort amenities AND a relatively easy drive to the parks.

Because, when you need proximity to Disney but also the bonus of resort-style facilities, there are definitely a whole new range of options. To start with, you can check out our link to villas with an excellent range of community facilities.

Then, when we break it down into the ones that offer the shortest drive, the list becomes a bit shorter, but still features communities with those resort essentials of extensive pool, gym, clubhouse and children’s play area.

Best Communities: Oakwater, Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms, Emerald Island, Encantada, Paradise Palms, High Grove, Glenbrook, Tuscan Hills.

Where can I stay in Florida for the simplest drive to Disney?

We fully understand that you may be looking for the most relaxing Orlando holiday on offer, and that the idea of dealing with traffic, back-road routes and other vexing considerations is anathema to your vacation mood.

It’s OK to keep it simple!

From the earliest days of holiday villas and villa communities, visitors have been looking for ways to simplify the journey to Disney, Universal and Co, and it’s perfectly possible to keep the two ideas in mind when you’re booking your holiday accommodation.

And there’s one fairly sure-fire method when it comes to wanting that one, direct route to get you there and back each day.

The Osceola Parkway was built primarily to provide this very option back in 1995, linking the Buena Ventura Lakes area of north Kissimmee directly to the southern section of Walt Disney World.

It is a toll road, admittedly, but the only tolls are located at the Shingle Creek plaza just west of The Loop shopping centres ($2.50) and on the entry ramp to the Parkway at Poinciana Boulevard ($1.25). If you join the Parkway via Seralago Boulevard heading towards Disney, there are no tolls at all.

Even better, the Osceola Parkway provides relatively hassle-free links to I-4, the 429 and the Florida Turnpike, so it’s a very handy stretch of road to know about in general terms (albeit it does get busier with local traffic at the weekends).

But the essential message is that this makes for an excellent straight-line route into Disney, especially for Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios (you need an extra couple of junctions for the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Disney Springs once inside WDW).

This means you can be a bit further away than some of the other Kissimmee area villa communities but still have a more relaxed journey to see Mickey and Co each day. There are also a couple of terrific resort developments here, too, like Storey Lake.

Seralago Boulevard is also an extremely handy little link road to the Parkway off Kissimmee’s Highway 192, while villas along Poinciana Boulevard can also access the Parkway fairly easily, heading north.

Best Communities: Regal Oaks, Storey Lake, Lucaya Village, Crystal Cove, Terra Verde, Lake Berkley, Windward Cay, Bella Verde, Eagle Point, Liberty Village, Fiesta Key, Indian Point.

That’s all a very long-winded way of highlighting some of the ins and outs of getting the best out of your villa choice. Ultimately, you are going to encounter traffic at some stage and even villas that are genuinely close to the theme parks can experience delays en route.

But, if you do pay attention to the local roads and peak travel periods, you can definitely limit any traffic frustrations. And remember – this is a holiday, and there’s no need to rush!

What villa locations have you stayed at, and what tips did you discover to get to the theme parks? Tell us about them on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages… and don’t forget to interact with us on Pinterest, too!.