15+
FL State Income Tax
4
Bonus Depreciation
11-13.5%
Cost Seg First-Year Benefit
$1,400/mo
Max Effective Cap Gains
The greater Orlando area has more than 15 Orlando vacation rental resort communities within 20 minutes of Disney World. Every one of them looks great in listing photos. The differences show up in your HOA invoice, your property tax bill, and your end-of-year net income.
Most first-time investors start by asking “which community is the best?” Wrong question. The right question is which vacation rental community near Disney fits your budget, your risk tolerance, and your timeline to positive cash flow.
This is the evaluation framework we use when investors ask us how to choose between Orlando vacation rental resort communities. Six factors, in the order that matters.
What “Orlando” Actually Means for Resort Community Investors
Every vacation rental community near Disney sits in one of four counties. The county determines your total short-term rental tax rate, your property tax millage, and your permit requirements.
| County | State Sales Tax | Surtax | TDT | Total STR Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake | 6% | 1% | 4% | 11% |
| Polk | 6% | 1% | 5% | 12% |
| Orange | 6% | 0.5% | 6% | 12.5% |
| Osceola | 6% | 1.5% | 6% | 13.5% |
Your mailing address might say “Kissimmee” or “Orlando,” but that tells you nothing about your county. ChampionsGate straddles the Polk-Osceola county line. Windsor Cay is in Clermont (Lake County), not Kissimmee. Solterra and Windsor Island are Polk County, not Osceola.
If you don’t know which county your target property sits in, check the Orange County Property Appraiser (or the corresponding county appraiser) before anything else.
Entry Price and What It Gets You
Orlando vacation rental resort communities fall into three price tiers for a typical investor entry.
Under $400K
Solterra, Paradise Palms, Windsor Island, select Windsor Hills inventory. Mostly 4-5 bedroom homes. Older builds (2004-2015) in some communities.
Polk County tax advantage (12% vs 13.5%)
BALANCED
$400K to $700K
ChampionsGate resort section, Storey Lake, Solara, Windsor Cay, Windsor at Westside. 5-7 bedroom homes with newer builds and stronger amenity packages.
Highest-volume price band
The single biggest ROI lever is bedroom count. A 4-bedroom home at ChampionsGate nets 3.5% on a $400K purchase. A 5-bedroom at $550K nets 6.3%. That gap narrows once you hit 8+ bedrooms, but the jump from 4BR to 5BR is where first-time investors get the best return per dollar.
The Cost Stack: HOA, CDD, and What Listings Skip
Two investors can buy identical 5-bedroom homes in different Orlando vacation rental resort communities and end up with monthly fixed costs that differ by $800 or more. HOA is the number everyone checks. CDD is the one nobody warns you about.HOA Comparison
| Community | Monthly HOA | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Solterra | $200-$350 | Lowest end of market |
| Windsor Hills | $250-$400 | Established community |
| Storey Lake | $250-$450 | Mid-range |
| ChampionsGate | $343-$800 | Multiple layers (Retreat + Master + Club) |
| Windsor Cay | $475-$600 | Subsidized by builder, will rise to $650-$700 |
| Reunion | $395-$1,000+ | Varies by neighborhood |
| Vista Cay | $261 ($783/quarter) | Bundles cable, internet, water, sewer, trash |
For Davenport-area communities, our breakdown of HOA fees in Davenport covers the Polk County numbers.CDD Fees
CDD (Community Development District) fees are the cost most listing agents skip. They appear on your property tax bill, not your HOA statement.
The CDD fees vacation rental Florida communities charge range from zero to over $4,000 per year. Vista Cay, Solara, and Paradise Palms have no CDD at all. ChampionsGate runs $1,500 to $3,500 per year. Reunion runs $1,500 to $4,000+, and the Reunion East CDD (Series 2002/2005 bonds) has been in default since November 2022.
The bottom line:
Orlando resort community HOA fees plus CDD can run $500 to $1,400 per month before insurance, utilities, or management.
Tax Jurisdiction: Why 1.5% Changes Everything
The Polk County vs Osceola County vacation rental tax gap is 1.5 percentage points. On $60,000 in gross revenue, that gap costs $900 per year. On $100,000, it’s $1,500.
Windsor Cay advantage:
Windsor Cay sits in Lake County (11% total STR tax), making it the lowest-taxed vacation rental community near Disney. On $95,000 gross, a Windsor Cay owner saves $2,375 per year vs Osceola County.
Property tax millage also differs by county. Unincorporated Osceola applies 16.5 mills for non-homesteaded properties (1.6% of assessed value). Polk applies 17.5 mills.
For details on state licensing and how STR taxes are filed, see licensing and tax requirements for Orlando vacation rentals.
Zoning and STR Compliance
Not every home in a vacation rental community near Disney is approved for short-term rentals. ChampionsGate has a resort section where STRs are permitted and a residential section where they are not. Same gates, same clubhouse, different rules.
Most Disney-area Orlando vacation rental resort communities sit inside Planned Development (PD) zones with STR provisions (our Kissimmee resort communities comparison covers which ones). That does not mean every parcel is cleared for nightly rental. Verify your lot’s zoning with the county, not the community’s marketing materials.
You also need a state DBPR vacation rental license ($230 first year, $180 annual renewal). Operating without one is a second-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statute 509.241. The DBPR licensing portal handles applications.
Our breakdown of Orlando short-term rental permit requirements covers the city vs county permit differences.
Revenue and Occupancy by Resort
Gross revenue at Orlando vacation rental resort communities varies more by bedroom count and management quality than by community name.From Our Portfolio
- ChampionsGate 5-bedroom homes gross $78,000 to $110,000 per year with resort-section occupancy of 68-78%.
- Windsor Cay 7-bedroom homes gross $85,000 to $110,000 with 62-67% occupancy.
- Reunion 5-7 bedroom villas gross $58,000 to $85,000. Bears Den 5-bedrooms reach $85,000 to $110,000.
Orlando Airbnb occupancy by resort tells part of the story. Revenue seasonality tells the rest. In our Reunion portfolio, March averages $5,500 per listing while September drops to $3,075. That 79% peak-to-trough swing holds across Disney-corridor communities.
The Kissimmee market runs about 8,849 active listings at 67% median occupancy and $188 ADR (AirROI, 2026). Top-10% properties earn $8,098+ per month.
Gross revenue means nothing without the cost stack. A ChampionsGate 5-bedroom grossing $94,000 nets $34,900 after all expenses (6.3% cap rate). A comparable Reunion 5-bedroom ($600K purchase) nets $15,600 per year (2.6% cap rate). The gap: mandatory club membership, higher HOA, and CDD eat the margin.
For community-specific numbers, our ChampionsGate rental income breakdown shows the full expense stack.
Amenities That Drive Guest Bookings
Amenities sell the first booking. Proximity and price sell the repeat ones.
Windsor Hills is three minutes from Disney’s front gate. That proximity has kept it competitive since 2004 despite older inventory needing $30,000 to $50,000 in renovation. Solara’s FlowRider surf simulator photographs well and shows up in search filters. ChampionsGate’s Oasis Club and Retreat delivers a full-scale resort amenity package.
What guests filter for when booking a vacation rental community near Disney: private pool (standard in this market), game room, proximity to parks, and recent reviews. Community amenities matter less than individual property quality in the mid-market. At premium-tier communities like Reunion and Encore, resort amenities (golf, spa, fine dining) support higher ADR but come with higher mandatory fees.
The practical question for a first time vacation rental investor: does the amenity package justify the higher HOA and CDD? A $500 HOA that includes a water park your guests use is different from a $500 HOA that maintains a golf course your guests ignore.
Three First-Time Investor Profiles
Every first time vacation rental investor lands in one of three categories. These are starting points for evaluating Orlando vacation rental resort communities, not rankings.
$300K to $450K
Priority: positive cash flow as fast as possible. Both sit in Polk County (12% STR tax). Lower entry prices, lower HOA, newer builds than Paradise Palms or Windsor Hills.
Consider: Solterra, Windsor Island
Trade-off: further from Disney (20 min), lower ADR ceiling
BALANCED
$450K to $700K
Priority: solid returns with modern inventory and strong amenity packages. Higher carrying costs but higher revenue ceiling. The 5-bedroom sweet spot lives in this price band.
Consider: ChampionsGate, Storey Lake, Solara
Trade-off: higher HOA/CDD, mixed county jurisdictions
Get Real Numbers From Our Portfolio
FunStay Florida manages properties across more than a dozen Orlando vacation rental resort communities spanning four counties. Every vacation rental community near Disney has a different cost structure, tax jurisdiction, and revenue profile.
Mike Chen
Owner, FunStay Florida | Florida Licensed Realtor, La Rosa Realty
(321) 430-8681 | Mike@MikeChenRealtor.com
Our vacation rental resort communities hub gives investors a full picture of each community we serve.
If you are evaluating communities and want real numbers from our portfolio, reach out. We will show you what properties actually cost to operate, not just what they cost to buy.
