Disney-Area Resorts
Orlando resort communities near Disney
Nine gated communities close to Walt Disney World, each with its own clubhouse and its own character. Select one to explore its homes.
How the communities differ
They are closer together than the map suggests — every community here is inside a half-hour of the parks — so the choice is rarely about distance alone. It is usually about what the clubhouse gives you, how big the homes get, and how much is happening outside your front door.
If the park commute matters most, the two Kissimmee communities nearest the gates are Windsor Hills Resort — a lagoon-style pool and a clubhouse cinema, and the shortest drive we have — and Storey Lake Resort, which adds a lazy river and waterslides on a lakeside site about ten minutes out.
If you want the facilities to be the holiday, Reunion Resort is the largest by some distance: three championship golf courses, a five-acre water park and seven restaurants across a 2,300-acre site. ChampionsGate concentrates it instead into the Oasis Club — one clubhouse holding a restaurant, a cinema, a gym and a lazy river — and carries the widest range of home sizes we manage. Solara Resort is the one with a FlowRider surf simulator.
If you would rather it were quieter, the Davenport communities sit a little further out and feel it. Windsor Island is the newest of the Windsor communities and is built around its water park; Windsor at Westside is the calmest of the three, with a resort pool and a splash area rather than slides. Encore Resort runs closest to how a hotel behaves, which suits guests who would rather not think about logistics.
If Universal is the priority, be warned that our portfolio is Disney-side throughout. Paradise Palms Resort is the closest we come, and its own published figure is seventeen miles — a comfortable day trip, but not a base. Everything else here is further from Universal than it is from Disney.
How the resorts compare
Every one of these is a gated community within a short drive of the parks. Here is how they differ — select one to see its homes.
- Paradise Palms Resort5.2 miCompact and best-priced. Tiki bar and cinema room.4–6 bedrooms
- Windsor Island7.6 miNewest Windsor community, lazy river, near-new villas.5–10 bedrooms
- Solara Resort7.3 miFlowRider surf simulator and eSports lounge. Teen-proof.4–9 bedrooms
- Windsor at Westside7.1 miOur best hand-painted themed bedrooms, short park run.5–9 bedrooms
- Storey Lake Resort4.8 miLakeside with a lazy river and kayaks. Great townhome value.2–8 bedrooms
- ChampionsGate9.4 miTwo clubhouses, two Greg Norman courses, Publix at the gate.2–20 bedrooms
- Encore Resort5 miHotel-style concierge, restaurant and AquaPark.4–11 bedrooms
- Windsor Hills Resort2.8 miClosest to Disney. Cinema, zero-entry pool, mature and quiet.3–6 bedrooms
- Reunion Resort7.4 miThree golf courses, water park and true mansions.3–13 bedrooms
Choosing a resort
Which Orlando resort community is closest to Disney World?
Windsor Hills Resort, in Kissimmee, is the shortest drive of any community we rent in — about 2.8 miles from Walt Disney World. Storey Lake Resort is the next closest at roughly ten minutes. ChampionsGate and the Davenport communities sit about fifteen minutes out, on the western I-4 approach that avoids the busiest stretch of US-192.
What is the difference between a resort community and a hotel?
A resort community is a gated neighbourhood of private vacation homes that share a clubhouse and its facilities. You get a whole house — bedrooms, a full kitchen, a laundry, usually a private pool — and the pools, waterslides, gyms and games rooms come with the stay rather than being booked separately. There is no front desk, no daily housekeeping and no corridor between your room and the children's.
Are the resort facilities included in the rental?
The clubhouse facilities are. Pools, lazy rivers, waterslides, fitness centres and games rooms are part of staying in the community, and we put your party on the gate list before you arrive. Things run by a separate business inside the gates — golf at ChampionsGate and Reunion, cabana hire, spa treatments — are paid for directly and are not part of the rental.
Which resort is best for a large group?
ChampionsGate and Reunion Resort are the two we suggest first. Both carry the largest homes we manage and both have somewhere for a big party to go that is not the house — the Oasis Club at ChampionsGate, and three championship golf courses and a five-acre water park at Reunion. The bedroom span shown on each card is read from the homes we currently have available.
Can you stay in these resorts short-term?
Yes. Every community on this page is zoned for short-term rental, which is not true of every gated neighbourhood in the Orlando area — several nearby communities permit only long leases. At ChampionsGate specifically it is The Retreat, the short-term-rental neighbourhood, that our homes sit in.
