The we loooooove Bonnet Creek thread Part 3

[JessB320]

I've perused threads about Bonnet Creek before and having just come back from WDW I have a couple of questions. As we drove from POR to the parks I saw a sign that said "Bonnet Creek Resort" on Disney property, is this the Bonnet Creek resort of this thread? If so, how did this resort get built on property and not be a Disney resort?

Yes that is it. The original owner had purchased the land before Disney bought land in Florida, and they would not sell it to Disney. There is a lot more to the history, I think there is a thread about it on here somewhere, or if you google it you can read the whole story if you're interested.

 

[syk731]

Can I ask 2 questions here about WBC that I haven't seen answered (and I tried to read most of the threads!).

1. Are the sleeper sofas at WBC comfortable enough for adults to sleep on? We've stayed in a few different suite hotels this summer, and we've found for all of them that the mattresses of the sleeper sofas are very thin and uncomfortable for adults (but fine for children).

2. Are there public bathrooms anywhere in each tower? Maybe on the first floor or something?

 

[DCTooTall]

I've perused threads about Bonnet Creek before and having just come back from WDW I have a couple of questions. As we drove from POR to the parks I saw a sign that said "Bonnet Creek Resort" on Disney property, is this the Bonnet Creek resort of this thread? If so, how did this resort get built on property and not be a Disney resort?

Yes that is it. The original owner had purchased the land before Disney bought land in Florida, and they would not sell it to Disney. There is a lot more to the history, I think there is a thread about it on here somewhere, or if you google it you can read the whole story if you're interested.

Jess got the broadstrokes right. More detail can be found here.
http://www.yesterland.com/bonnet.html

Basically, it was a piece of property that Disney didn't own, but because of I-4 and the Osceola Parkway interchange it landlocked so the only way you could access it is thru Disney property. The resort area is even hooked into the Reedy Creek utilities.

Can I ask 2 questions here about WBC that I haven't seen answered (and I tried to read most of the threads!).

1. Are the sleeper sofas at WBC comfortable enough for adults to sleep on? We've stayed in a few different suite hotels this summer, and we've found for all of them that the mattresses of the sleeper sofas are very thin and uncomfortable for adults (but fine for children).

2. Are there public bathrooms anywhere in each tower? Maybe on the first floor or something?

I haven't slept on the sofabed, but I had a couple adult friends who did and didn't say anything good or bad about it.

Generally though, I've never found a sofa bed that had a really good matress. Since the matress/bed is designed to fold up into the couch, it kinda negates the possibility of a nice, thick, supportive matress.


And I'm not sure about in each tower, but most of the pools have public restrooms nearby which you can use without needing to go back up to your room.

 

[carlbarry]

I've perused threads about Bonnet Creek before and having just come back from WDW I have a couple of questions. As we drove from POR to the parks I saw a sign that said "Bonnet Creek Resort" on Disney property, is this the Bonnet Creek resort of this thread? If so, how did this resort get built on property and not be a Disney resort?

Yes, it is.
How it got built is interesting. There are 2 stories I've heard:
1. The owner of the land found out that it was Disney buying up the land, and held out for a high price. Disney declined. So it sat vacant until Wyndham bought it.
2. The owner did not like Disney, so waited for another offer.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I've perused threads about Bonnet Creek before and having just come back from WDW I have a couple of questions. As we drove from POR to the parks I saw a sign that said "Bonnet Creek Resort" on Disney property, is this the Bonnet Creek resort of this thread? If so, how did this resort get built on property and not be a Disney resort?

Yes, it's the one. Way back when Walt was buying up land the guy who owned the parcel where BC is refused to sell. So the land has never been owned by Disney but is bordered on 3 sides by them. So, actually, it's not on property.

 

[ADVentive]

I have started planning for our Sept 2013 vacation. I've changed my mind a few times about where we should stay, but I'm currently thinking it should be
WBC.

We will be traveling with my in-laws, and they will be bringing my neice as well. They would prefer to stay separately from us, but preferably close such as next door or across the hall so that they can listen for our kids on a baby monitor so we can go out after bedtime. We probably prefer a 2 bedroom for ourselves, and they can get either a 1 or 2 bedroom. My question is, will we be able to get rooms very close together like this? Does it make a difference if they are both the same room type or if we have a 2 br and they have a 1 br? Or would it really be best to get a 4 br if we want them to be able to monitor our kids after bedtime?

 

[MickeyMickey]

Anyone know the hours of the fitness center at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and the Grand?

Thanks!

 

[Janet Hill]

I have started planning for our Sept 2013 vacation. I've changed my mind a few times about where we should stay, but I'm currently thinking it should be
WBC.

We will be traveling with my in-laws, and they will be bringing my neice as well. They would prefer to stay separately from us, but preferably close such as next door or across the hall so that they can listen for our kids on a baby monitor so we can go out after bedtime. We probably prefer a 2 bedroom for ourselves, and they can get either a 1 or 2 bedroom. My question is, will we be able to get rooms very close together like this? Does it make a difference if they are both the same room type or if we have a 2 br and they have a 1 br? Or would it really be best to get a 4 br if we want them to be able to monitor our kids after bedtime?

Having the rooms close together is a request and not a guarantee. If this is really important you should book a 4BR.

 

[blessedby3]

I have started planning for our Sept 2013 vacation. I've changed my mind a few times about where we should stay, but I'm currently thinking it should be
WBC.

We will be traveling with my in-laws, and they will be bringing my neice as well. They would prefer to stay separately from us, but preferably close such as next door or across the hall so that they can listen for our kids on a baby monitor so we can go out after bedtime. We probably prefer a 2 bedroom for ourselves, and they can get either a 1 or 2 bedroom. My question is, will we be able to get rooms very close together like this? Does it make a difference if they are both the same room type or if we have a 2 br and they have a 1 br? Or would it really be best to get a 4 br if we want them to be able to monitor our kids after bedtime?

I wouldnt feel comfortable leaving my kids in a hotel room by themselves. I would definately go with the 4 BR and that will give you lots of room to spread out. You arent guarenteed to have rooms close together.

 

[eeyoresnr]

I wouldnt feel comfortable leaving my kids in a hotel room by themselves. I would definately go with the 4 BR and that will give you lots of room to spread out. You arent guarenteed to have rooms close together.

I agree

 

[NHDisneyFan]

Just have an in law com watch TV/sit on the patio in your suite while you go out. Wouldn't matter if they were in bldng 4 and you bldng 5. I agree with them, separate space on vacation.

 

[syk731]

Anyone know the hours of the fitness center at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and the Grand?

Thanks!

I would love to know this too. Thanks!

 

[clloyd01]

I wanted to thank everyone for such detailed and helpful information! This will be my family's second trip to Disney. We've stayed offsite at a house in Davenport the first time around and are staying at WBC via Vacation Strategy 11/2-11/8.

I was curious how busy WBC is during this time of year?

Thanks again so much for your insight!

 

[carlbarry]

I wanted to thank everyone for such detailed and helpful information! This will be my family's second trip to Disney. We've stayed offsite at a house in Davenport the first time around and are staying at WBC via Vacation Strategy 11/2-11/8.

I was curious how busy WBC is during this time of year?

Thanks again so much for your insight!

It should be OK. For the parks, I suggest you check: http://www.easywdw.com/

 

[DCTooTall]

I have started planning for our Sept 2013 vacation. I've changed my mind a few times about where we should stay, but I'm currently thinking it should be
WBC.

We will be traveling with my in-laws, and they will be bringing my neice as well. They would prefer to stay separately from us, but preferably close such as next door or across the hall so that they can listen for our kids on a baby monitor so we can go out after bedtime. We probably prefer a 2 bedroom for ourselves, and they can get either a 1 or 2 bedroom. My question is, will we be able to get rooms very close together like this? Does it make a difference if they are both the same room type or if we have a 2 br and they have a 1 br? Or would it really be best to get a 4 br if we want them to be able to monitor our kids after bedtime?

Having the rooms close together is a request and not a guarantee. If this is really important you should book a 4BR.

i'd agree with Janet on this. You can make the request to have the rooms close, but it's not guaranteed. You MIGHT be able to get 2 rooms in the same tower, but depending upon the locations within the tower there could be a good chance that the baby monitor wouldn't have the range to do it's job properly.

A 4br would definitely be the easiest.... but someone else made a decent suggestion on just having them spend the evening in your room while you are out. especially if "their own space" is within the same tower, it wouldn't be that difficult to make a quick run to their room if they needed/wanted something, and otherwise they'd be in the same suite as the kids if something happened and be able to enjoy TV, or the patio, etc while you guys are out.

I wanted to thank everyone for such detailed and helpful information! This will be my family's second trip to Disney. We've stayed offsite at a house in Davenport the first time around and are staying at WBC via Vacation Strategy 11/2-11/8.

I was curious how busy WBC is during this time of year?

Thanks again so much for your insight!

I've been a couple times during the early november time period and enjoyed myself both times. I'm sure the resort had a good occupancy rate, but generally I never felt the place was extremely crowded or crazy.

 

[ADVentive]

Thanks for the info. I would prefer to just get the bigger unit, but it will take some convincing maybe for them. Part of the complication is that they will also have a 3yo in bed at the same time as my kids, so one of them could come over to our unit to babysit, but then they couldn't hang out together so that is prob less appealing for them. My thought is if we stayed in a larger unit together, we could easily swap babysitting nights. We were originally looking at a place with lockoff rooms, so that would have worked well in that situation, but I don't think WBC has lockoff rooms, right?

So, if we do opt to go for the 4 br unit, how far in advance should we try to book it? My understanding is that it is not hard to get 2 br units because they are plentiful, and 3 br units are the least plentiful, but I don't know where 4 br units fit in the equation. We are planning for Sept 2013.

 

[DCTooTall]

Thanks for the info. I would prefer to just get the bigger unit, but it will take some convincing maybe for them. Part of the complication is that they will also have a 3yo in bed at the same time as my kids, so one of them could come over to our unit to babysit, but then they couldn't hang out together so that is prob less appealing for them. My thought is if we stayed in a larger unit together, we could easily swap babysitting nights. We were originally looking at a place with lockoff rooms, so that would have worked well in that situation, but I don't think WBC has lockoff rooms, right?

So, if we do opt to go for the 4 br unit, how far in advance should we try to book it? My understanding is that it is not hard to get 2 br units because they are plentiful, and 3 br units are the least plentiful, but I don't know where 4 br units fit in the equation. We are planning for Sept 2013.

4bdrm presidentials would probably be the most rare at the resort....at least... prior to Tower 6. I don't know how much that changed the inventory ratio.

Sooo.. Generally... the earlier you can book, the better. For certain high-demand weeks or periods, I'd even say trying to book as soon as the window opens would be the smart thing to do.

(FYI... with a 4bdrm presidentials, The bedrooms are located on opposite sides of the unit. a Master Suite and a 2 bed 2nd bedroom on each side of the room, with the shared common areas (kitchen, living room, etc) in the center. As such, it might help with the "our own space" feeling since the bedrooms wouldn't be right next to each other.)

 

[ADVentive]

4bdrm presidentials would probably be the most rare at the resort....at least... prior to Tower 6. I don't know how much that changed the inventory ratio.

Sooo.. Generally... the earlier you can book, the better. For certain high-demand weeks or periods, I'd even say trying to book as soon as the window opens would be the smart thing to do.

(FYI... with a 4bdrm presidentials, The bedrooms are located on opposite sides of the unit. a Master Suite and a 2 bed 2nd bedroom on each side of the room, with the shared common areas (kitchen, living room, etc) in the center. As such, it might help with the "our own space" feeling since the bedrooms wouldn't be right next to each other.)

Thanks so much. That's why I was thinking a 4 br over a 3 br, even though we would fit fine in a 3 br. I think I'm more likely to convince them with the layout of the 4 br.

I am the only one in the family doing any research so far. Everyone else thinks we have plenty of time and don't need to start planning yet. So I get to do the research and narrow down the options and then convince them why I chose this over that. I'm going to send off for some quotes on the 4 br so that I can tell them the price of it too when I show them.

 

[DCTooTall]

Thanks so much. That's why I was thinking a 4 br over a 3 br, even though we would fit fine in a 3 br. I think I'm more likely to convince them with the layout of the 4 br.

I am the only one in the family doing any research so far. Everyone else thinks we have plenty of time and don't need to start planning yet. So I get to do the research and narrow down the options and then convince them why I chose this over that. I'm going to send off for some quotes on the 4 br so that I can tell them the price of it too when I show them.

Something else you can use to help convince them of the 4bdrm....

With the shared kitchen, You guys can take turns cooking breakfast or meals for everyone in the room. So one morning Family 1 can get a pre-park breakfast ready for the kids/adults while everyone gets ready in the AM, and the next morning Family 2 can do it. Even if it's just a case of making some coffee and getting cereal ready for the kids, it might make things more attractive for them knowing that they don't need to worry about looking afte the little one in the morning every day so they can spend more time relaxing or getting ready themselves.

 

[theks]

Good luck Adventive with your planning and the trip. We went with another family last summer and are looking forward to going just ourselves next spring. We had such different interests that after the second day we just split up. It was more of a challenge. I'd definitely suggest coordinating by interests and let them know up front what you are planning to do by park, rides, restaurants, going back to the resort to relax, etc.

I posted accidently in Part 2. We just booked a 2 br at WBC through RCI. I'm super excited. I was so upset that I couldn't book on property at Disney because even though my timeshare is in CO, the HQ of Legacy Vacation is Orlando and that is what is listed on my RCI account. Disney won't let you book through RCI if your timeshare is within 30 miles. So messed up.

I'm hoping WBC will provide the same or close to, convenience as on-property. Traffic can be a nightmare getting to Disney. Hopefully late-April will be off-season enough to help as well.