How Much Do Disney Vacation Rentals Really Earn? A 2026 ROI Breakdown

A themed six-bedroom pool home fifteen minutes from Walt Disney World can book more than 200 nights a year and gross over $90,000. That top-line number is what sells vacation homes. It is not what you keep.

What you keep is measured by the disney vacation rental cap rate, a property's yearly net income divided by its price. In 2026, a professionally managed Disney-area rental usually returns between 4% and 6%, and owner-managed homes return more. Two identical-priced homes on the same street can still earn very differently. The gap comes down to how often each books and how well it is run.

What Disney-Area Vacation Rentals Bring In Each Year

Income comes down to how often a home books and what it charges. Well-marketed corridor rentals run 55% to 70% annual occupancy. Bookings peak near 70% in March, April, July, and December. They dip into the mid-40s to low-50s around September. Shoulder months land between the two. Nightly rates climb with size:

3-bedroom townhome: roughly $180 to $250 per night
4 to 5-bedroom pool home: roughly $250 to $350 per night
6 to 8-bedroom themed villa: $350 to $600 or more on peak dates

A typical single property grosses around $35,000 to $46,000 a year. Larger resort homes in communities like Solara Resort earn well above that when run well.

Read: Florida Airbnb Investing: What Buyers Should Expect

What Counts as a Good Disney Vacation Rental Cap Rate

Cap rate takes net operating income, meaning gross revenue minus operating costs, and divides it by purchase price. The mortgage is left out, because cap rate measures the asset, not your loan. For the corridor in 2026:

Professionally managed homes most often land between 4% and 6%.
Owner-managed entry and mid-tier homes can reach 6% to 8%.
Million-dollar villas frequently sit at 3% to 5%, where appreciation carries more value than yield.

Financing changes your cash-on-cash return, but never the cap rate, which keeps property comparisons clean.

Operating Costs on a Disney Vacation Rental

Costs decide how much of that revenue you keep. Plan for management at 20% to 30% of revenue, resort HOA dues, property tax near 1% to 1.5% with no homestead exemption, short-term-rental insurance, and ongoing utilities and upkeep. Gated townhome communities like Encantada keep these fixed costs manageable for first-time investors.

Florida charges no state income tax, so rental profit is untaxed at the state level. The tourist tax runs around 12% in Davenport and 13.5% in Kissimmee. Guests pay it and you remit it, so it never comes out of your income.

Sample Pro Forma for a $500,000 Vacation Rental

This example runs a $500,000, 5-bedroom resort pool home grossing $60,000 a year at roughly 58% occupancy. Treat it as a model, not a quote, since your utilities, dues, and booking pace will move every line.

Annual line item	Amount
Gross rental revenue	$60,000
Professional management (22%)	-$13,200
HOA dues	-$6,000
Property tax (~1.2%)	-$6,000
Insurance (wind and STR liability)	-$4,500
Utilities, internet, pool, pest	-$6,000
Repairs, supplies, reserves	-$3,500
Licensing and miscellaneous	-$800
Net operating income	$20,000
Cap rate (NOI ÷ price)	4.0%

Professionally managed: the home runs hands-off from anywhere, and the 22% fee brings the cap rate to about 4.0%.

Self-managed: drop the fee, add roughly $2,000 for tools and your own time, and net income climbs near $31,000, lifting the cap rate to about 6.2% on the same property.

Before you offer, model the cost of getting in with FRM's closing cost calculator, not just the sticker price.

Cap Rates for Entry, Mid, and Luxury Rentals

Price tier	Example community	Typical price	Est. cap rate (managed)
Entry townhome (3 BR)	Encantada	~$300,000	~4%–5.5%
Mid pool home (4–5 BR)	Solara, Windsor Island	~$450K–$550K	~4%–6%

Mid-tier pool homes give the cleanest balance of yield and demand. Davenport options such as Windsor Island Resort offer full amenities at a friendlier entry price. Kissimmee holds the deepest inventory on the Kissimmee Vacation Homes For Sale page. A golf villa in Reunion Village earns a strong gross number but a lower cap rate, because its costs scale with the home. Premium buyers accept that trade for appreciation and personal stays.

How the Community Changes Your Cap Rate

The same $500,000 buys very different returns depending on whether the community allows short-term rentals, how heavy its HOA runs, and how close it sits to the parks. A home in a community that restricts nightly rentals has a cap rate of zero as an investment, no matter how good the listing photos look. Sorting the homes that cash flow from the ones that quietly erase your margin is local work that rewards experience, and it is exactly where Florida Realty Marketplace comes in.

As an independent, owner-operated brokerage that has specialized in the Disney corridor since 2015, Florida Realty Marketplace hires only seasoned Central Florida experts, not the inexperienced agents the industry is full of. The team works with vacation-rental and second-home buyers every week and maintains detailed pages on dozens of named resort communities, so it can tell you which ones actually cash flow before you make an offer.

Buying a Disney Vacation Rental With Florida Realty Marketplace

Buying a Disney rental that performs is a building-level exercise, not a zip-code average. Which resorts permit nightly rentals, how an HOA profile reads to lenders, and which communities are drawing stronger demand all come from working this corridor rather than pulling a national database.

If you are weighing a vacation home near Kissimmee, Davenport, or anywhere in the Disney corridor, contact us to pressure-test a pro forma before you commit, or call (863) 877-1915. You can also browse Vacation Homes Near Disney World or current Davenport Vacation Homes For Sale to see what is earning right now.

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Posted by Florida Realty Marketplace on August 25th, 2026