Where to stay in Orlando? The areas explained for vacation home renters

For a hotel stay, “where to stay in Orlando” usually means International Drive or a Disney resort. For a house with a private pool (what many British visitors call a villa), the map changes. Most vacation homes sit south and southwest of the parks, in Osceola and Polk counties, because of zoning law. Knowing that helps you pick the right area and spot a listing in the wrong place.

What is the best area to stay in Orlando in a vacation home?

There are four: Kissimmee and the US-192 corridor, the Four Corners area (ChampionsGate, Reunion and Davenport), the Universal and International Drive side, and Lake Buena Vista, right next to Disney.

Kissimmee and the US-192 corridor

US-192, called Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee, runs east to west across the area and reaches the southern edge of Walt Disney World. Along it and along Osceola Parkway you find many vacation home resorts, grocery stores, restaurants and shops, including Old Town Kissimmee.

Is Kissimmee close to Disney? Yes. It is the closest home area to the Disney parks from the south: Old Town to EPCOT is about 3.5 miles (6 km) in a straight line.

Among Orlando Best Place resorts, Storey Lake, Solara Resort, Bella Vida and Terra Esmeralda are in Kissimmee.

Four Corners: ChampionsGate, Reunion and Davenport

Four Corners is where four county lines meet: Lake, Orange, Osceola and Polk. Orange County puts the population at almost 60,000. On the Osceola side are ChampionsGate, by I-4, and Reunion. On the Polk side is Davenport, along US-27.

This is big house country. According to AirROI, a company that tracks short-term rental listings, 51.1% of the homes listed in Davenport have 5 or more bedrooms, compared with 35.2% in Kissimmee, for August 2025 to July 2026. In Davenport, 85.1% of listings sleep 8 or more. The average daily rate was nearly the same in both: $291 in Davenport and $290 in Kissimmee. Bigger homes at a similar average rate tend to mean a lower cost per person for large groups.

For golfers, Reunion has three 18-hole courses by Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus, according to Experience Kissimmee, the local tourism office, and the Omni at ChampionsGate has two by Greg Norman.

The Universal and International Drive side

International Drive is the strip of hotels, the convention center and attractions between Universal and SeaWorld. Epic Universe, Universal’s newest park, is on Universal Boulevard, about 2.5 miles (4 km) south of the two original parks. From the convention center to Epic Universe is 1.8 miles (3 km) in a straight line.

Here you mostly find condos and suite hotels, not pool homes. Vista Cay Resort and The Point Orlando Resort are condo communities on Universal Boulevard. Paradiso Grande is the exception: a vacation home resort on International Drive, near SeaWorld, in Orange County. Orlando Best Place also has units in suite buildings in this area, such as The Enclave and StaySky Suites.

Lake Buena Vista

Lake Buena Vista borders Disney and is home to Disney Springs, Disney’s shopping and dining district. From the center of Lake Buena Vista to EPCOT is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in a straight line. It is in Orange County, and because of the zoning rules explained below, lodging there is mostly hotels and suites, not homes.

How far is each area from the parks?

Area (reference point)	To Disney (Magic Kingdom), straight line	To Universal (Universal Studios), straight line	Best for
Lake Buena Vista	5 mi (8 km)	8 mi (13 km)	Mostly Disney trips, hotel or suite
Kissimmee, US-192 (Old Town)	7 mi (12 km)	10 mi (17 km)	Disney focus with a pool home, families of 4 to 10
International Drive (convention center)	7 mi (11 km)	3.5 mi (6 km)	Universal and Epic Universe, couples, short stays, condos
Reunion	10 mi (16 km)	16 mi (26 km)	Golf, groups, large homes
ChampionsGate	11 mi (18 km)	17 mi (28 km)	Large groups, several families, golf
Davenport, US-27 (Posner Park)	13.5 mi (22 km)	20 mi (32 km)	Large groups who want more house for a similar average rate

Distances are approximate straight lines between OpenStreetMap coordinates. The drive is always longer, and I-4 rush hour changes everything. Magic Kingdom is the northernmost Disney park. EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are closer to Kissimmee and Four Corners. For real drive times and tolls, read do you need a car in Orlando.

Kissimmee, Davenport or near Universal: which should you choose?

It depends on where you will spend most days and how many people are coming.

• Kissimmee is the middle ground for Disney-heavy trips: close to the southern Disney parks, lots of shopping nearby, and homes that are, on average, smaller than in Davenport, a good fit for one or two families.
• Davenport and ChampionsGate pay off for big groups and long stays. Homes are larger, and a few extra minutes of driving matter less when the bill is split among 12 or 16 people.
• The Universal side is right if most of your days are at Universal and Epic Universe, or for couples and small families who do not need a private pool.

If you want both, a pool home and Universal nearby, there are few vacation home resorts in Orange County, and that is where Paradiso Grande fits.

Why are there no vacation rentals in downtown Orlando?

Because the City of Orlando and Orange County ban whole-house rentals of a few nights in most of their territory.

In the City of Orlando, since July 1, 2018, only home sharing is allowed: the owner has to live in the home and be there during the stay. Renting out the whole house is not allowed, except in specific commercial zones. In unincorporated Orange County, renting a single-family home for under 30 days is allowed only in the R-3 zone. Stays of up to 179 days are limited to commercial and industrial zones and to Planned Developments that expressly allow it. Everywhere else, it is prohibited.

Florida law says local governments cannot ban vacation rentals, but it exempts rules adopted before June 1, 2011. Orange County’s rules predate that, so they still apply.

Osceola took another path. The county has a short-term rental overlay map and a list of approved subdivisions. The version revised in May 2022 has about 250 entries, including ChampionsGate, Reunion Resort & Club, Windsor Hills and The Cove at Storey Lake. In Polk, every vacation rental needs a county license, issued only with the state license from the DBPR. That is why the big vacation home resorts grew up in Osceola and Polk.

So be wary of a whole house listed for vacation stays in an ordinary residential neighborhood of Orlando. How to check that a home is legitimate is in how to avoid Orlando vacation rental scams.

Should you stay near Disney or Universal?

Stay near the resort where you will spend more days. Disney has four theme parks, and Universal has three since Epic Universe opened on May 22, 2025.

• Five or more Disney days and one or two at Universal: Kissimmee, Four Corners or Lake Buena Vista.
• Three or more days at Universal and Epic Universe: the International Drive side.
• An even split: the northern part of Kissimmee, near Osceola Parkway, or a resort between the two, such as Paradiso Grande.

In busy weeks, leaving early matters more than a few miles. See which weeks those are in the least crowded times at the Orlando parks. If you are still choosing the type of lodging, compare vacation home vs hotel in Orlando.

How do you choose a vacation home resort?

Pick the area first, then compare resorts by what your family will actually use:

• Gate. Ask whether the gate is controlled and how you get the entry code before arrival, especially if you land late or drive through the night.
• Clubhouse. Some have a big pool, a lazy river, slides, a gym and a restaurant; others, one community pool. Check guest access and hours.
• Water features. A clubhouse with slides can replace a water park day. Check it is not closed for renovation on your dates.
• Real distance. Measure on a map from the resort gate to the park parking lot, at the time you plan to leave.
• Rules. Noise, parking and car limits matter as much as bedroom count for big groups.
• Approval for vacation rentals. In Osceola, the resort must be on the county’s short-term rental list or map.

Each resort page shows the Orlando Best Place homes inside it: Bella Vida, ChampionsGate, Paradiso Grande, Solara Resort, Storey Lake, Terra Esmeralda, Vista Cay Resort and The Point Orlando Resort. The full list, including the Hawthorn Suites, StaySky Suites and The Enclave buildings, is on all resorts. To compare who to book with, see Orlando vacation rental companies compared.

In practice: count your Disney days and your Universal days before you look at homes. If Disney wins, search Kissimmee or Four Corners. If your group is over 10 people, compare Davenport and ChampionsGate too, where large homes are more common. Then measure the distance from the resort gate to the parking lot of the park you will visit most.

To filter by area, browse vacation homes near Disney, vacation homes near Universal, homes for large groups or search all homes. To see whether a home makes sense for your group, read is an Orlando vacation rental worth it.