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Anyone NOT like Bonnet Creek?

jenniferma

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 19, 2004
Hi, we are huge Disney resort lovers, but This trip we are on a budget and I think we are limited financially to a POR room with a trundle bed if we stay onsite.

As much as I love Disney, I think with three kids ages 11, 9, 5, we are going to be crammed in that room. We like EMH, but with our DD11 being $51 a day on the dining plan, it won't save us money at all (we sat down and did the calculations this week)

We are also renting a car regardless.

So.. I am thinking about a 2 bedroom suite at Bonnet Creek. To have that much space for the price of a Disney value resort almost seems like a no brainier.

Has anyone stayed at bonnet creek and hated it? Or regretted staying offsite? Are their any cons to the resort in your opinion?


Thanks!
 
It's a great value for the money and given your choices I would probably choose BC also. There were some things we didn't like:

Timeshare hard sell at the parking pass desk. Depends on how thin skinned you are, but this really bothered me and set the trip off on kind of an ugly note. I didn't know at the time that there are ways to get around this. You can enter a really low salary so they don't bother with you or wait until later at night when the timeshare people are gone and just get the pass from the front desk.

Cheap furnishings. Everything looks "fancy" but is kind of low quality. Appliances are cheap and loud, the (pull-out) sofa is uncomfortable to sit on, laminate countertops, the tv is poorly positioned in the living room, etc. It's a great value at the price and is clean, which I care most about, but it will be a step down in quality if you are used to a Disney moderate imo.

Customer service is adequate. We left a pillow pet behind by accident and they charged us $25 and it took over a week to mail it to us. That wouldn't have happened at Disney, but we saved a lot more than $25 by staying there. How much is Disney service and ambience worth to you?

We did miss being onsite. I liked Windsor Hills better because we could park right in front of the house and because it was something totally different than being onsite versus "kind of like onsite but not as good." Kids of your ages would like the variety of pool choices at BC where my kids were happy with the splash pool at WH. I would encourage you to at least try offsite. If you like it you could save so much money. If you're worried it might ruin the trip for you if you didn't like it, consider doing a split stay for the first offsite trip. We did the onsite portion first so we could move to more space and have our tickets on KTTW cards :)

Good luck!
 
It's a great value for the money and given your choices I would probably choose BC also. There were some things we didn't like:

Timeshare hard sell at the parking pass desk. Depends on how thin skinned you are, but this really bothered me and set the trip off on kind of an ugly note. I didn't know at the time that there are ways to get around this. You can enter a really low salary so they don't bother with you or wait until later at night when the timeshare people are gone and just get the pass from the front desk.

Cheap furnishings. Everything looks "fancy" but is kind of low quality. Appliances are cheap and loud, the (pull-out) sofa is uncomfortable to sit on, laminate countertops, the tv is poorly positioned in the living room, etc. It's a great value at the price and is clean, which I care most about, but it will be a step down in quality if you are used to a Disney moderate imo.

Customer service is adequate. We left a pillow pet behind by accident and they charged us $25 and it took over a week to mail it to us. That wouldn't have happened at Disney, but we saved a lot more than $25 by staying there. How much is Disney service and ambience worth to you?

We did miss being onsite. I liked Windsor Hills better because we could park right in front of the house and because it was something totally different than being onsite versus "kind of like onsite but not as good." Kids of your ages would like the variety of pool choices at BC where my kids were happy with the splash pool at WH. I would encourage you to at least try offsite. If you like it you could save so much money. If you're worried it might ruin the trip for you if you didn't like it, consider doing a split stay for the first offsite trip. We did the onsite portion first so we could move to more space and have our tickets on KTTW cards :)

Good luck!

hey i felt the same way.

now BC is nice - but it is not Disney. so when i heard how wonderful it was from this website though it would be great. to me it is not great - but it is definitely nice.

had a 2-bedroom villa and it was in good condition - what I did not like was trying to find the light switches (especially for the kitchen) was strange. they could be and generally were anywhere.

the whirlpool tub in the room is NOT a whirlpool tub - so don't expect the good back rub or feet rub you get with a real whirlpool tub.

other than that BC for the money is pretty nice. now there is a whirlpool tub outside (spa) like other timeshares. ask for a higher level villa if you can. the ones near the pool can be noisey unless you are higher.
 
Has anyone stayed at bonnet creek and hated it? Or regretted staying offsite? Are their any cons to the resort in your opinion?
There are three things you might want in your DVC lodging:

1: to be onsite.
2: to have a reasonable amount of space.
3: to spend a reasonable amount of money.

In general, it is impossible to have all three at the same time. So, you have to decide which one you are most willing to live without.

We absolutely require space---we consider a 2BR villa "just right" for our family of four, a 1BR is a needless sacrifice, and a hotel room is a complete non-starter. We've done 2BR DVC villas as a family at OKW (x2) and VWL, as well as Bonnet Creek and several other offsite resorts. Bonnet's location is a little more central than OKW, and it has better pools than either OKW or VWL. We thought the quality of furnishings was surprisingly comparable across all three---though many will tell you that DVC furnishings are not nearly as nice as that at the 'regular' Deluxe Disney resorts. Bonnet and OKW are much better equipped and more spacious than VWL, though even the latter was fine for the four of us. Our room at Bonnet had the best view---an overview of Epcot, with MK in the distance. Neither Bonnet nor OKW are nearly as well themed as VWL.

Overall, we thought Bonnet was comparable to OKW, and a small notch below VWL. But, for us, the cost for any one of them is about the same because we are using our non-Disney timeshares for exchanging. If we had to pay anything approaching market rates---including renting from a DVC owner---we'd stay at Bonnet and never look back.
 


Overall, we thought Bonnet was comparable to OKW, and a small notch below VWL. But, for us, the cost for any one of them is about the same because we are using our non-Disney timeshares for exchanging.

However, don't you have to use more trading power to trade into DVC rather than Bonnet Creek?
 
Timeshare hard sell at the parking pass desk. Depends on how thin skinned you are, but this really bothered me and set the trip off on kind of an ugly note. I didn't know at the time that there are ways to get around this. You can enter a really low salary so they don't bother with you or wait until later at night when the timeshare people are gone and just get the pass from the front desk.

The parking pass/timeshare desk is a breeze. They give you a sheet to fill your name and how much you make. Just circle < $30,000. Right away they will tell you to have a great trip. Takes like 3 minutes and they will never bother you again.
 
The parking pass/timeshare desk is a breeze. They give you a sheet to fill your name and how much you make. Just circle < $30,000. Right away they will tell you to have a great trip. Takes like 3 minutes and they will never bother you again.

Love it! Where is the like button when you need one?!:thumbsup2
 


We were just there in May for my son's Wish trip and we loved it! We stayed in the Boardwalk Villas our last trip and we were planning on booking there again, but decided to give BC a chance. We liked it so much DH and I are heading back there without the kids in October! :cool1: We'll never stay in a Disney resort again.

For the timeshare presentation - we just told them we already had our days planned and couldn't miss our reservations and we were not pushed to attend a presentation.
 
Jennifer - I hate time shares and hard sells. We'll just stay at whatever deluxe is discounted.

Thanks,
Your husband

:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2: this is funny! I am so glad my DH is not on the boards. HA! If he knew half of the schemes I plotted and planned to get a longer vacay or the fuzzy disney math....

too funny!:joker:
 
First let me start by saying my family of 8 loved Bonnet Creek, I would too anywhere else but at Disney. We left last week and I kept telling them something did not feel the same as other years. When I got home I realized I missed the whole disney magic of staying on site. If you do decide to stay at BC do as a previous poster said, circle the lowest income on the survey they ask you to fill out. When I handed mine back to the lady she turned it upside down, smiled and told me to enjoy my stay. We did not receive any calls. However, when I returned home I received a letter from Wyndham letting me know I was pre-approved for a loan.
 
sorry this thread was hijacked by my husband...

I am afraid he believes in the "magic" of Disney... (and I do too) I just wish the magic rates were better!!!
 
:rotfl:


Well here's what I can tell you.

Wyndham Bonnet Creek is definitely a different experience than staying onsite. Beyond the cost, there are going to be some other pros and cons for you.

The most obvious to begin with is that it is a timeshare, and in general, they will try and convince you to attend a sales presentation. The reality is that it's VERY simple to get around this if you know how. The first is to straight out lie when you get your parking pass. The 2 tricks that have been used successfully by others here on the DIS is to indicate your income level at the lowest level. The other is to tell them when you get your parking pass that you are married and your spouse isn't with you. Since they like to have both people in the room when they try to sell you, not having the spouse able to attend is usually a show stopper as well. outside of that, You can always turn off your room phone or turn off the ringer, which will keep their attempts to call you back from annoying you.


The other big thing is that it's not a Disney Hotel, so that means certain onsite benefits won't apply, such as EMH, and free parking at the parks... As a Timeshare Condo, you also don't get daily house(or mouse)keeping. You do however still get a washer/dryer in your room which can come in handy allowing you to wash clothes/etc during your trip. Personally, I'll often throw a load in before bed or while at the parks.

On the flip side however, The resort is still located "within the gates", so you don't ever have to leave the Disney Bubble by going outside the Arches if you don't want too.

You also get a much larger unit for much less than what you'd pay for a Disney hotel room. With a family your size, The "Magic" of being able to spread out (kids in a room with 2 doubles of their own, or even a bed a kid if you include the pull-out couch), have some privacy with your husband after you send the kids to bed (Master suite with a king bed), or even of having 2 bathrooms available for the morning routine, could possibly outweigh the "Magic" you get from staying onsite at Disney in a regular hotel room.

Because of WBC's location, you are virtually surrounded by Disney. depending upon where you are on property, You could look out over Typhoon Lagoon and Downtown Disney, Or see EPCOT with the MK behind... Or even look over CBR/Pop/AoA towards MGM.



For those who are die-hard Onsite people, I personally feel WBC is probably the best option for a baby-step into your first offsite experience. There comes a time when money or space requirements start to make Disney onsite options less than ideal. WBC's location and resort amenities make it much less of a off-site transition than many of your other options. As your kids get older, and bigger, It's likely that sooner or later you are going to outgrow being able to have a comfortable and relaxing Disney Vacation all crammed into a single moderate or Deluxe room.



(Oh... and I know some people mentioned the place feeling cheap because of the laminate countertops or furniture. Reports are that recently refurbed buildings have started receiving granite countertops and the furniture has been replaced with some with a much nicer look/feel).
 
However, don't you have to use more trading power to trade into DVC rather than Bonnet Creek?
It depends on how I make the exchange. Using Wyndham points, no---the Wyndham RCI portal averages across an entire area. Even in straight weeks, so far the TPU differences have been small enough (and my per-TPU costs low enough) that the difference isn't large. Partly that's because I tend to go during high-demand times anyway, when the non-Disney resorts themselves cost a fair number of TPU.
 
Hi Jennifer,

I also have three children, ages 11,8, and 5. Last trip, when the kids were two years younger, we stayed at the Poly. It was fun, convenient, and the kids enjoyed it, but we were sooo crowded.

We have a two bedroom unit rented for July for $120 a night! That is a ridiculously low price for a kitchen, two bedrooms, washer and dryer, etc. I agree with previous comments that you have to decide between cost, space, and proximity.

I know I will miss being on site, but I also know I feel great knowing that I didn't have to sell a kidney to pay for this vacation :)! It's bad enough my eleven year old is considered an "adult".

Good luck. If you would like to message me in August, I can tell you all about the stay and compare the two experiences!
 
The parking pass/timeshare desk is a breeze. They give you a sheet to fill your name and how much you make. Just circle < $30,000. Right away they will tell you to have a great trip. Takes like 3 minutes and they will never bother you again.

Another great thing to say is that you are married but your spouse isn't vacationing with you. They will not/cannot sell you on a timeshare without your husband/wife with you. If your spouse is next to you, just say that they are your brother/sister. Works like a charm! :thumbsup2
 
However, don't you have to use more trading power to trade into DVC rather than Bonnet Creek?

It depends on how I make the exchange. Using Wyndham points, no---the Wyndham RCI portal averages across an entire area. Even in straight weeks, so far the TPU differences have been small enough (and my per-TPU costs low enough) that the difference isn't large. Partly that's because I tend to go during high-demand times anyway, when the non-Disney resorts themselves cost a fair number of TPU.

Hi Brian, I agree, RCI is the way to go. We tend to travel off season and sometimes try to book within the 60 day window. We got a 2 bedroom at AKV last year and on our second trip, got a 2 bedroom at SSR, right next to the new pool and childs water play area. Not bad for a $50 resale Wyndham contract!!:goodvibes Especially when you look at the DVC MF vs the Wyndham MF's.:woohoo:
 
Another great thing to say is that you are married but your spouse isn't vacationing with you. They will not/cannot sell you on a timeshare without your husband/wife with you. If your spouse is next to you, just say that they are your brother/sister. Works like a charm! :thumbsup2

Or with the kids, It'd probably just be easier to send the spouse off with the kids to explore the pools, activity center, and resort in general while you deal with the checkin process.
 

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