Formosa Gardens Estates is a small gated community of around 130 luxury vacation rentals located in Kissimmee, Florida. Only 5 minutes from Walt Disney Worlds main gate, Formosa Gardens is one of the most sort after communities for any Orlando theme park vacation. Only about 30 minutes from Orlando International Airport it’s nice to know that once you have left the airport you can be in the pool having a cocktail within an hour of arriving.

All of the Orlando vacation homes on Formosa Gardens have there own private pools and nearly all have spa’s. Most of the villas to rent on Formosa Gardens are larger than your typical vacation home and tend to have larger pools to go with it, many overlooking Star Lake which is in the centre of the community.

Map of Formosa Gardens Estates in Orlando, Florida

Formosa Gardens is an exclusive development of spacious homes ranging from a 3000 sq ft 4 bedroom homes all the way up to nearly 9000 sq ft  8 bedroom homes. Located on larger than normal lots these Florida vacation homes are a great place to stay if you want privacy and luxury all rolled in to one.

Formosa Gardens is located just off Highway 192 and less than 2 minutes to restaurants such as Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Millers Ale House (Sports Bar), Red Lobster and many more. There is also a supermarket at the local plaza as well handy shops such as a Walgreens Pharmacy, Walk-in Clinic, Pizza Parlour, Subway sandwiches and the usual burger bars. Everything is within 2-3 minutes drive of Formosa Gardens making it a great place for your dream Florida holiday.

Formosa Gardens Estate is less than 5 minutes to Walt Disney Worlds main gate which then takes you to all the Disney theme parks but you are also close to all the other Orlando theme parks with SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove only 15 minutes away, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure about 20 minutes. If it’s water parks you are after to cool down on a typical hot Florida summers day then Wet’nWild and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are also about 15-20 minutes. Busch Gardens in Tampa and Legoland are the farthest parks from Formosa Gardens with these being about 60 mins away.

If you fancy a day trip to the beach you have Clearwater just past Tampa on the Gulf Coast which is about 80 minutes away and is great if you want still warm waters but if you are after surf then head to Cocoa Beach the home of the World famous Ron Jon’s Surf Shop and Cocoa Beach Pier. At both beaches you can hire jet ski’s, surf boards and anything else you are likely to need.

If you are not too tired from all the theme parks and fancy a night out then Formosa Gardens is also very close to Downtown Disney which has lots of restaurants like the House of Blues (which also has live music most nights), Wolf Gang Puck, Planet Hollywood and many more. It also has an AMC 24 screen cinema which also has in movie dining and a full bar. Opening in Fall 2012 is a new the Spitsville 30 lane 50,000 Sq Ft bowling alley. As you can see Formosa Gardens Estates is close to all the Orlando action but still very private if you just want to chill out by the pool.

On our web sites www.vr360homes.co.uk and www.vr360floridavillas.co.uk we have around 30 luxury vacation rentals on Formosa Gardens Estates all privately owned and locally managed. To check availability or to ask questions please contact the owners direct via the contact form or phone numbers on each homes listing page.

Below is just one of the luxury 6 Bedroom homes we have available on Formosa Gardens:

If you have stayed at Formosa Gardens before please let us know what you think and if you thought it was a good location for all the Orlando theme park attractions.

To find out more about renting one of these luxury vacation rentals on Formosa Gardens please visit are web sites where you can see lots of photos and also take a 360 Virtual Tour around most of the homes.

Formosa Gardens Estates Vacation Rentals – VR360homes.co.uk

Formosa Gardens Estates Orlando Villas to Rent – VR360FloridaVillas.co.uk

When ever the air temperature is below the temperature of the pool (85F on average) you are losing heat so it’s essential you put the pool cover on especially in January and February when the average day temp is 65F-70F and at night is can get in to the 30′s.

Most pool pumps run from 8-9am until 5-6pm and the pool heater will only run when the pump is on so over night the pool blanket is the only thing to stop you losing all the heat and it normally does a pretty good job but make sure it’s on properly.

One other thing to note is that most pool heaters are electric and not gas so they don’t have a flame. They take heat from the air outside (also known as heat exchangers) so if it’s very cold outside (below 50F) they may not produce any heat even if it runs all day.

So on cold days it’s even more important to keep the pool blanket/cover on when ever you are not swimming.

For Orlando Villas with a spa the process is the same so if you are trying to use it on a cold day/night it may take a long time to get hot if at all.

Ridgewood Lakes is located on HWY27 in Davenport Florida which is only 15 minutes from Disney World. This 24Hr a day gated community offers luxury Ridgewood Lakes vacation rentals in Orlando Florida and features a championship golf course, tennis courts plus much more.

Ridgewood Lakes - Main Entrance

Ridgewood Lakes - Gated Entrance

Ridgewood Lakes is an ideal location for your Orlando theme park vacation with access to the I4 (interstate 4) only 2 miles away, from there you can get to all the attractions with ease (Disney, Sea World, Universal, Downtown Disney etc).

Ridgewood Lakes - Entrance Drive Way

The main entrance to Ridgewood Lakes is one of the nicest in the whole of Orlando with it’s landscaped drive, the road winds though the golf course leading to the spacious homes. All of our Orlando holiday rental villas on Ridgewood Lakes have private pools and some even have a spa for those times when you want to relax after a round of golf on the championship course.

View down the Par 5 2nd Hole

Communal Tennis Courts

Just minutes from Ridgewood Lakes you have Publix Supermarket (1 mile) and Walmart (4 miles) where you can get everything you need for your self catering holiday. Along the way you also have a number of family restaurants so if you don’t feel like cooking these are great places for a very reasonably priced meal.

We have a number of villas / vacation rentals on Ridgewood Lakes from 3 to 5 bedrooms, all our vacation rentals have there own private pools and most have spas.

Ridgewood Lakes – Orlando Vacation Villas to Rent on VR360homes.co.uk

Ridgewood Lakes Vacation Rentals on VR360FloridaVillas.co.uk

Windsor Hills Resort is one of the newer short term rental communities located in Orlando Florida, built over the last few years. Located only 3 miles from Disney’s main gate it is the perfect place for your dream holiday, with it’s large selection of accommodation from 3 bedroom Windsor Hills townhome through to 6 bedroom 4 bath Windsor Hills villas.

Windsor Hills - Gated Entrance

Windsor Hills Resort Villas is a gated resort community which is manned 24hrs a day, it has it’s own clubhouse which has plenty to do for all the family.

Windsor Hills Resort - Clubhouse Pool Area

There is a large communal pool which is heated all year round and is ideal for small children. It has lots of sun beds and shaded areas for those who want a break from the Florida sun. The Windsor Hills Resort clubhouse pool area also has a large spa and water slide which is surprisingly fast, this is manned by a lifeguard whenever open. The heated pool is open everyday of the year until around 10pm (Please check times on arrival).

Windsor Hills Resort - Clubhouse Water Slide

Windsor Hills - Nightime Pool

There clubhouse also has a small but well stocked shop where you can buy drinks, ice creams, bread plus all the essential thing you need when you arrive.

Windsor Hills - Clubhouse Shop

In the clubhouse there is a games room with pool tables and table football, there is also an arcade area and computer room with free internet access for all guests.

Windsor Hills - Games Room

Windsor Hills - Arcade Games

The Windsor Hills Resort clubhouse also has it’s own gym and cinema which plays a selection of movies everyday, you can even pick a movie from there large selection and they will give you a time when it will be played.

Windsor Hills - Clubhouse Cinema

Windsor Hills - Clubhouse Gym

Windsor Hills - Shaded seating areas

Windsor Hills - Clubhouse Ping Pong

We have a large selection of Florida villas to rent on Windsor Hills for more photos and 360 Virtual Tours of the homes and facilities please visit our web sites www.vr360homes.co.uk and www.vr360floridavillas.co.uk and click on Windsor Hills Resort villas link from the community list.

To all you Florida snowbirds out there looking for some winter sun in 2012 we have a selection of over 570 privately owned Florida rental villas. All our Orlando villas are close to the main attractions and lots of golf courses, restaurants and shops. Most are located in Kissimmee, Davenport, Clermont and surrounding areas.

Most of our villa owners offer weekly rates but will give you a good discount to snowbird vacation rental guests if you are renting over 4 weeks so please contact them with your dates to get a quote.

Please visit our web sites to see photos and a 360 Virtual Tour of every Florida vacation rentals and save money by booking direct with the owners.

Orlando Villas to Rent – VR360floridavillas.co.uk
Florida Snowbird Rentals – VR360homes.co.uk

The golf courses as a rules in Florida are very well priced except for January to the end of April which is when the snowbirds arrive in Florida and this puts the price up so a good place to get a great deal is from GolfNow.com .

GolfNow.com is a web site that offers cheap tee times from course all over the USA so all you need to do is register on the site and the select Florida/Orlando and you will see an up to date list of the current offers.

If you find a tee time you want all you need to do is click on the time and hit the book now button this then reserves the tee times for you for a small fee which I think is about $2 per booking, you will then receive an email with the date, time and price you paid which you take to the course with you on the day.

Once at the course you will pay the green fee listed the email regardless of there current rate.

This is a great site and I have used it many, many times.

Some great courses to play in the Orlando area are Ridgewood Lakes, Highlands Reserve and Southern Dunes which we have luxury villas to rent on so you stay right on the course.

Discount Tee Times GolfNow.com

City Walk if home to some of the bigger chains of bar and restaurants like the Hard Rock Cafe, Nascar Sports Grille, Margaritaville, NBA City and the all new Bubba Gump Shrimp Co plus many more.

At over 300 acres Epcot is the largest of all the Disney theme parks and you can easierly spend a whole day and night there so make sure you take a change of clothes if visiting in the winter as it can get cold in the evening and a wear some comfortable shoes.

They have a nightly firework show currently called Illuminations: Reflections of Earth which can’t be missed but check time guide to see when it’s on as weather can effect the show times.

Here are a few photos I took when we went to the Food and Wine Festival at Walt Disney World’s Epcot.

Below is a list of the countries and links to there rides and more information:

• Mexico
• Norway
• China
• Germany
• Italy
• United States
• Japan
• Morocco
• France
• United Kingdom
• Canada

Epcot also has loads of really good rides like Mission Space, Test Track and the brand new Soarin plus many more.

Walt Disney World – Epcot

One of the nicest places to visit whilst in Orlando is Celebration it’s located just of the HWY192 and is well sign posted. To me Celebration is like stepping on to a film set with it’s white picket fences and mixture of Colonial houses and modern condos, it also has it’s own golf course which is awesome but I will cover that in another post.

Celebration has it’s own town centre located on Market Street which has lots of shops and restaurants from a 50′s style dinner to a sushi bar, it even has an old school ice cream parlour.

After a good meal relax by the lake in one of the rocking chairs and see if you can spot the ever present gators, but don’t feed them!!

From Thanks-giving until Christmas they have snow fall every night starting at 7pm which is great for the kids, (it’s not real snow).

On Sundays they have a local market where you can by home made cakes, art work, memobilia and much more, after the market why not take the natual walk which starts by the lake and goes off into the woods.

It’s about $250 per day here is a link to the company I used – http://www.luxrentals.com/ they also have a number of other luxury cars to rent like a Corvette, Navigator and an awesome car called a Prowler.