Close to Disney (Orlando, Plantation, Hunters Creek: relocating, gated, apartment complex)

[miller1984]

My daughter will be relocating from PA to work at Disney, her boyfriend will be coming with her and will look for work when he gets there (end of January 2008). While I want her to be fairly close to Disney and not deal with a lot of traffic (we are 'rural' PA with not much traffic), I am most concerned about safety. And of course their income will be very limited, especially in the beginning. I am trying to do the research while she is at work so she can follow up on the info when she gets home. Any recommendations for what areas to look in, or any apt complexes that would be good, or ones to stay away from. They will need just one bed, one bath unit. All info would be greatly appreciated. TIA

[VaNative]

Originally Posted by miller1984

My daughter will be relocating from PA to work at Disney, her boyfriend will be coming with her and will look for work when he gets there (end of January 2008). While I want her to be fairly close to Disney and not deal with a lot of traffic (we are 'rural' PA with not much traffic), I am most concerned about safety. And of course their income will be very limited, especially in the beginning. I am trying to do the research while she is at work so she can follow up on the info when she gets home. Any recommendations for what areas to look in, or any apt complexes that would be good, or ones to stay away from. They will need just one bed, one bath unit. All info would be greatly appreciated. TIA

I would check into the Davenport area and Hunters Creek...both are near Disney. The Hunters Creek area is more expensive than Davenport.

Check out: www.apartments.com and search in those areas to get an idea of what to expect.

[aclemons6970]

Be aware that if you are moving to Oceola County near Disney, there are alot of so-so areas and it is almost 80% spanish speaking. Depending upon cost, Hunters Creek is nice but I would look at Metro West or Millenia areas instead. A bit of a longer commute, but much more desireable.

[MMODAndrea]

Look in the Lake Buena Vista area when researching apartments. There are some apartments on the road that goes to the backside of Magic Kingdom. If that's where she's going to work, that would be a great place to check out.

I lived in the Lake Buena Vista area at Plantation Park when I was a cast member, but those have since been turned into condos. But its a great area. Everything is extremely convenient. And the cost of living isn't too bad.

[LakeBuenavista]

Originally Posted by miller1984

My daughter will be relocating from PA to work at Disney, her boyfriend will be coming with her and will look for work when he gets there (end of January 2008). While I want her to be fairly close to Disney and not deal with a lot of traffic (we are 'rural' PA with not much traffic), I am most concerned about safety. And of course their income will be very limited, especially in the beginning. I am trying to do the research while she is at work so she can follow up on the info when she gets home. Any recommendations for what areas to look in, or any apt complexes that would be good, or ones to stay away from. They will need just one bed, one bath unit. All info would be greatly appreciated. TIA

Hi
I was just searching information myself when i noticed your question.
We are British living in the UK but visit Orlando once or twice a year we have been coming to Lake buena Vista for the last 18 years as we feel its safe and a great place to have a vacation with a small family.its right by Down Town Disney so everything is on the doorstep. Security is much better around the Disney Resort Area as i presume its paid for by Disney.
We have looked at properties every time we go but this year we had to buy a place as the prices with the Dollar exchange rate and the economy meant we were saving 50%.
We have just bought a 1 bed 1 bath Condo gated with pool, excercise room, Basket ball court etc next door to where the Disney staff live! We are in the middle of trying to find a management company to rent it out for a minimum of 1 year. If anyone can help please let me know.

[cmj_fla]

I agree with MMODAndrea, there is no need to travel far from Disney. There are plenty of nice and safe apartment complexes near Disney. Look into the Camden World Gateway: http://www.camdenliving.com/internet...ar_orlando.htm
or Alexandria Parc Vue at Lake Buena Vista
10651 Demilo Place
Orlando, FL 32836

[miller1984]

Thanks for the suggestions. We have been searching but find that most of the desirable apts have waiting lists. My sister and I will actually fly down tomorrow and spend a few days visiting different units. It's better than committing to a 12-month lease and hating it. She doesn't yet know which park she will be at. She is a performer (dancer) and could be anywhere. The problem I am running into is that most places I have called don't take calls and you must leave a message, but very few ever call you back.

[mcbadhair]

Ok i can answer this as i used to work for disney and lived the boonies. THe drive from my house to the employee parking lot at was 10 to 15 minutes. THe Magic Kingdom employee parking lot is out in the woods. I lived off of 545 rd, it was nice rural. Now has some subdivision close by but is pretty because it has lots of rolling hills, Really florida is not all flat.

I would take a short cut, porter rd from 545 rd and arrive in less than 15 mins. But check out clermont which close, it is rural but still has stores close by and pretty lake & hills.

[miller1984]

I returned yesterday - We visited many areas and many apartments. Although I liked the Reams Road and Cagan Crossings area, and it looked more like our home area, everything we looked at had waiting lists and we couldn't find any reasonably priced short-term rentals for the interim. And I felt that going all the way to the Clermont city limits was just too far. Buena Vista Place was as close as you could get to the Disney employees parking lot, but they require 4 weeks of paychecks before allowing you to move in, although after 2 paychecks they will at least hold a unit for you but they only had 3 BR units available. We ended up deciding on Camden World Gateway. No waiting list, it looked nice, appeared safe, and is close enough to Disney. It is the best we could do without having my daughter along. We were able to send her some pictures by phone, talked about it and made a decision. If she decides to stay in the area she can always check out other areas and make a change when her lease is up.

I can honestly say it was quite an eye opener. I talked to residents, security guards, construction workers, and office staff at many of these complexes. I learned what areas to avoid rather quickly and narrowed down the search. I also learned that you get what you pay for.

[cmj_fla]

I'm glad you found something. I really hope it works out for your daughter. I hope our advice here on the board was helpful. Good luck!