Thank you to Magical Vacation Homes for sponsoring our stay. As always, all opinions are my own.
Disney World is one of the top tourist destinations in the country which means there are a ton of options for places to stay. And as an avid weekender, I love getting over to the Disney area for frequent staycations. I’ve stayed at over a dozen different Disney properties, like Copper Creek and Yacht & Beach Club Resort, and as much as I love them, they aren’t always perfect for big groups. When the opportunity came up to stay with Magical Vacation Homes, I was so excited to get the experience of Disney plus a big house. I invited three couples plus a baby girl to join us on this weekend getaway, which made the huge home that much more fun.
For a lot of families, Disney World is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation because of the expense. The tickets to multiple theme parks can easily go over $1000 for a family of four. And while I’m a huge fan of Disney World resorts, it’s not always practical for a big group. For example, my immediate family is now a family of 9. When we want to all travel together, we love to book vacation homes over hotel rooms.
Perks of Choosing a Vacation Home
The Magical Vacation Home that we reserved for a few nights at Reunion Resort cost less than one room for a few nights at the majority of the Disney World Resorts. That, alone, makes choosing a vacation home over hotel rooms the number one reason I recommend it to bigger groups.
Vacation homes provide a totally different vibe from hotels. For us, being a group of 4 couples plus a baby, we not only all got to stay together under one roof, but also got our own rooms with private bathrooms. Sharing the common spaces, like the kitchen and dining room made the experience intimate and fun. We spent so much time together and I know that’s something we wouldn’t necessarily get if we were staying in 4 separate hotel rooms.
Cooking together was probably the highlight of the weekend for me! I loved whipping up breakfast for everyone and we all pitched in together for a “family dinner” on Saturday evening. We prepped, cooked, ate, drank, and cleaned up together. Once we were finished, we could head right upstairs to the game room. Being able to cook three meals a day and have the fridge stocked with snacks and drinks makes a vacation home a much more economical option for big groups on vacation. We had dinner out at Disney Springs one night and spent $400 between all of us. The groceries for our “family dinner” was less than $200! We saved hundreds of dollars by being able to have our meals at the home. I’d say that’s a major perk.
Even though you’re saving money, you don’t have to sacrifice a lot of the amenities that families and big groups love about resorts. Our vacation home featured a huge pool, hot tub, and game room with a 120″ projector and pool table. While we didn’t need to use any of Reunion Resort’s amenities, we had access to everything. From golf courses to restaurants to the spa and fitness center, we had it all right there and readily available.
Magical Vacation Homes
This family-owned company has an inventory of more than 250 homes in some of the most prestigious areas of Orlando. I’m totally impressed with all the different places to stay through Magical Vacation Homes. I sat on their website for way too long just browsing all the beautiful homes and condos. Whether you’re a party of 2 or a group of 25, they have something for you. They have a professional team for all areas of your stay. From making reservations to a concierge team, you know you’ll have a direct contact for your entire stay at one of their homes. We never had any issues during our stay so we didn’t need to contact the offices, but it was nice knowing that someone would be available if needed.
After securing our reservation, I signed a rental agreement covering the basics of most vacation properties. Then a few days before our stay, I was emailed all of the information we needed upon arrival. Everything from the code to get into the home to directions to the main entrance of Reunion Resort was in the email, making our arrival easy and I felt totally prepared.
Our Vacation Home at Reunion Resort & Golf Club
Reunion Resort & Golf Club sits on 2,300 acres and is located just about 6 miles from Walt Disney World Resort. Our Lyft XL rides were only about $24 each way to and from Disney Springs, which is a little further than the parks.
Our home, property ID: RVH_160M, was located right on a golf course with gorgeous views of a lake and the Reunion Resort. All three levels of the home featured full balconies with furnishings. They were a popular place for morning coffees and happy hour. The home was ready for our arrival with the A/C and a few lights turned on throughout the rooms. Our home had 4 bedrooms in the main house and an entire guest suite making up the 5th bedroom. The annexed area of the property would be perfect for in-laws or anyone in a group that wants a little extra privacy.
The home was beautifully decorated with a modern, Floridian vibe throughout. With 4 couples in the home, we loved the fact that almost every room had a king-sized bed. The dining room had seating for 8 and we took full advantage of the Star Wars themed game room! It was the heart of the home for us. Located on the top floor, it had gorgeous views, blackout curtains for movie nights, a wet bar and refrigerator to store some drinks, and a pool table with enough cue sticks for us all to play.
Our stay with Magical Vacation Homes was exactly that – magical. Spending time with each other in the home and being so close to everything that the parks have to offer was such a treat. If we had more time, we would’ve checked out at least a couple of the nine pools in Reunion Resort. They also have 6 restaurants and bars on the property and a boutique spa that would be perfect for pampering.
Related: The Best Tips for Visiting 4 Parks in 1 Day at Disney World
A Few Things to Note
- Magical Vacation Homes does stock the home with a few basics. Every bathroom had small toiletries to use and plenty of towels. The kitchen was fully equipped with pots, pans, utensils, plates, wine glasses, etc. However, we did notice they didn’t have a few items that we needed for our stay. With a Publix Supermarket right around the corner, we were able to quickly pick up items like paper towels and salt and pepper.
- The home had a 10:00am checkout time which is a little bit earlier than most hotels. Magical Vacation Homes also requested that we strip the beds, leave all the towels together in one area, and empty the garbage in the bathrooms and kitchen. We left the home pretty clean, but we weren’t required to do the dishes or wash anything, so that was really nice. With all of us just taking care of our rooms, prepping our checkout was a breeze.
- Magical Vacation Homes has additional charges for some things. For example, if we wanted a BBQ rental for the weekend, it would be $14 a day. We ended up just cooking our burgers on a pan inside which worked out well because it was the one afternoon that we got a thunderstorm. They offered pool heat for a small fee, but our pool was the perfect temperature in May!
- The cancellation policy is a little stricter than most hotels. You must cancel the reservation more than 45 days out to receive your deposit back. After that, you sacrifice a penalty that increases the closer you get to your vacation dates. They suggest vacation insurance and give you more details on their site.
- See the full house tour in this YouTube video:
So if you’re heading to the Disney World area with a big group, check out Magical Vacation Homes and see if they have a home that will make your vacation that much better!
