Living Near Disney World

[Sledge]

Since we love Disney so much we are looking to move to Orlando in January so we can go to Disney on a weekly basis. The hardest part seems to be finding a good apartment. I know there are a lot of locals on WDWMagic so I wanted to see if we could possibly get any help and suggestions. We need a three bedroom/two bath apartment that's no greater than $1,200 a month. We need it to have a washer and dryer in unit, pool and jacuzzi, and gated or patrol security and want it to be no more than 25 minutes from Disney and UCF. It MUST be a safe area. An intrusion alarm, covered and assigned parking, and personal patio area is preferred also.

It seems most of the Orlando Apartments in our price range were rated poorly. We found The Summit at Metrowest online and absolutely loved it, but once we started reading reviews and saw the ratings we started to have doubts. It was rated poorly so we aren't sure what to think.

Does anyone have any experience with The Summit or know of any apartments we should check out that meet are criteria Thanks in advance.

 

[Scar Junior]

Even though this is in the wrong section, I am looking forward to the replies as I am planning to move to the Disney area at the beginning of next year to work at Disney and possibly go to grad school at UCF.

 

[Siege898]

I live in Orlando but don't know much about the apartment situation. The only apartment I ever lived in were on Crane's Roost Park in Altamonte Springs. They changed the name of the complex after I left, but I really loved being on the lake. Its just something to look into!

 

[Sledge]

Even though this is in the wrong section

Weird. I was certain I put this in the General Discussion. Sorry, bro.

 

[Hakunamatata]

You might try getting in contact with an apartment hunter in Orlando now to send you some information. Most of the time, their service to you is free.

 

[Plutoboy]

Try and stay clear of the MetroWest area!!!! While that was a nice area at one point they are starting to have a problem through there. Any of the Alexan properties are nice and would probably be more to your needs. There is one behind WDW itself and another that sit off of 535 which is near Gaylord Palms. Another place to consider is Park Central..... I lived there for several years and I loved it. It has it's own bar and restaurant inside the complex itself and I believe they are considering building a small grocery store. The complex is divided into neighborhoods with the newst addition being condos. It's about 20 minutes from WDW and to be honest I'm not sure how far from UCF.

 

[LiveInOrlando]

Definitely stay clear of MetroWest. Many people I know that have lived there have moved out. One great area is Hunter’s Creek. It is in south Orlando, you are near 417, the Beach Line, and I-4. 417 would take you to UCF and to WDW. The only problem you are going to have is finding any apartment. Most have been turned into Condo’s or Townhouses. Good Luck!

 

[WDWScottieBoy]

I'd be more than willing to help you out. Send me a PM and I'll get back to you about some places. I just moved into my new place a couple of months ago, I'm 2.2 miles away from Disney and about 20-30 mins away from UCF main campus but only 5-10 mins away from the Rosen Campus (where I go).

It's gated, has security, never known of any crime here, you can get a W/D for cheap or rent one...or they do have laundry facilities here. They have a resort style pool and a very nice workout facility as well, along with tennis and basketball courts.

:wave:

 

[Hakunamatata]

I'd be more than willing to help you out. Send me a PM and I'll get back to you about some places. I just moved into my new place a couple of months ago, I'm 2.2 miles away from Disney and about 20-30 mins away from UCF main campus but only 5-10 mins away from the Rosen Campus (where I go).

It's gated, has security, never known of any crime here, you can get a W/D for cheap or rent one...or they do have laundry facilities here. They have a resort style pool and a very nice workout facility as well, along with tennis and basketball courts.

:wave:

I was going to recomend Sledge contact you Scottie, but just wasnt fast enough....

 

[WDWScottieBoy]

What can I say...I'm quick!

And trust me, it took me forever to find a place as I am VERY VERY picky as to where I live. Took me almost a year to find this place and I couldn't be any happier!

 

[Hakunamatata]

What can I say...I'm quick!

And trust me, it took me forever to find a place as I am VERY VERY picky as to where I live. Took me almost a year to find this place and I couldn't be any happier!

Good. Cant wait until we come stay with you in January. :lookaroun

 

[WDWScottieBoy]

Good. Cant wait until we come stay with you in January. :lookaroun

Good, I can't wait either!!! (The futon is very comfortable, unless you prefer the floor!)

 

[Sledge]

I'd be more than willing to help you out. Send me a PM and I'll get back to you about some places. I just moved into my new place a couple of months ago, I'm 2.2 miles away from Disney and about 20-30 mins away from UCF main campus but only 5-10 mins away from the Rosen Campus (where I go).

It's gated, has security, never known of any crime here, you can get a W/D for cheap or rent one...or they do have laundry facilities here. They have a resort style pool and a very nice workout facility as well, along with tennis and basketball courts.

:wave:

Sounds great. This will be our first apartment so we don't know what we should realistically expect at this point. You and I are the same age so we probably have similar ideas on what is important in an apartment, and if it gets your approval it should be good enough for us also. I just shot you a PM, get back to me whenever you get a chance. Thanks again. We appreciate it.

 

[WDWScottieBoy]

Sledge, you should already have the PM by now! :wave:

 

[Hakunamatata]

Sounds great. This will be our first apartment so we don't know what we should realistically expect at this point. You and I are the same age so we probably have similar ideas on what is important in an apartment, and if it gets your approval it should be good enough for us also. I just shot you a PM, get back to me whenever you get a chance. Thanks again. We appreciate it.

Having lived in apartments for about 12 years off and on, I recomend:

Top floor, away from the pool, facing the east.

Reasoning...top floor is harder to break into and you have no one living above you. Apartments generally have the same floor plan living above and below you. So, your upstairs neighbors bedroom is right above yours, and if they have a squeeky matress and are "active" at night. You get no sleep. Second, top floor is more difficult to break into and more difficult to move your belongings out without someone else seeing it being done.

Away from pool. Although poolside is nice, you generally pay more and its noisy.

Facing the east. The sun rises in the east, so its cooler in the afternoon. And from my experience, apartments are not all that utility friendly. Having your apartment on the east side of the building allows your west side neighbor to act as a heat barrier and your appartment should not cost as much to cool during the summer.

Just some thoughts.....hope they are helpful.

 

[Sledge]

Sledge, you should already have the PM by now! :wave:

Got it. Sounds wonderful. We are looking into it right now. Couldn't find any clues on the price range though. Hopefully they will have openings in January. Is it pretty easy to get in or is there a waiting list?

 

[Sledge]

Having lived in apartments for about 12 years off and on, I recomend:

Top floor, away from the pool, facing the east.

Reasoning...top floor is harder to break into and you have no one living above you. Apartments generally have the same floor plan living above and below you. So, your upstairs neighbors bedroom is right above yours, and if they have a squeeky matress and are "active" at night. You get no sleep. Second, top floor is more difficult to break into and more difficult to move your belongings out without someone else seeing it being done.

Away from pool. Although poolside is nice, you generally pay more and its noisy.

Facing the east. The sun rises in the east, so its cooler in the afternoon. And from my experience, apartments are not all that utility friendly. Having your apartment on the east side of the building allows your west side neighbor to act as a heat barrier and your appartment should not cost as much to cool during the summer.

Just some thoughts.....hope they are helpful.

Very good tips. Makes sense. We'll keep that in mind but at this point we're TRYING not to be that picky, but I do agree with those ideas.

 

[WDWScottieBoy]

Shouldn't be hard. But since almost every property is going condo in Orlando, it might get to the point where there's a waiting list. Not sure though, don't think the 3/2 would be too much of a problem. Let me know what you find out!

 

[Hakunamatata]

Very good tips. Makes sense. We'll keep that in mind but at this point we're TRYING not to be that picky, but I do agree with those ideas.

Good luck in your search. I know when we were there in February, the Magical Express driver mentioned something about most everything going condo. Probably good that you are starting to look now, that way if there is a waiting list, you can get on it.

 

[Sledge]

Shouldn't be hard. But since almost every property is going condo in Orlando, it might get to the point where there's a waiting list. Not sure though, don't think the 3/2 would be too much of a problem. Let me know what you find out!

I'll get Angela to call in the morning and find out all the details. I found something that said the 3/2 was in our price range. So far so good. I'm glad we found this and a few other options tonight. I was really starting to stress. Now I can just stress over being able to actually GET the apartment. :lol: