Our Trip to the Dark Side and Other Tales of Survival *The Future?*

[tiggerfan77]

Helloooo everyone and welcome to my second Trip Report! We got back from our trip less than a week ago and I'm already suffering from Post Disney Vacation Depression or PDVD. So how do you cure the vacation blues? You constantly talk about at work till your co-workers are sick of your stories, then you go to the DIS and tell everyone there! So without further ado, let me introduce you to the cast.

First up is me, your friendly host Pam(36). (Hint: I'm the one on the left)


Favorite Character: Tigger, of course!
Favorite Park: Hollywood Studios
Favorite Ride: Splash Mountain
Favorite Snack: Dole Whip

Next up is Tom (27 yes, I know I robbed the cradle), my boyfriend and partner in crime.


Favorite Character: Carl, from UP
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Space Mountain
Favorite Snack: Frozen Lemonade

Then my super cool DS, EJ (7).


Favorite Character: Donald and Goofy
Favorite Park: Animal Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Tower of Terror
Favorite Snack: Chocolate covered marshmallows with sprinkles

Next is my lovely niece, Trinity (11).


Favorite Character: Minnie Mouse
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Rock N Roller Coaster
Favorite Snack: Anything chocolate

And finally my parents, Mom and Dad (??).


Favorite Character: Tinkerbell (Mom) Mickey (Dad)
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom (Mom) EPCOT (Dad)
Favorite Attraction: Muppets 3D (Mom) American Adventure (Dad)
Favorite Snack: Dole Whip (Mom) all Ice Cream (Dad)

Now that you know a little bit about us, I'll give you a little background on our trip.
When: July 13th-20th
Where: Wyndham Bonnet Creek
Why: This was our first family trip to Disney since 2007 so we were overdue. And there's no time like the present, right?

Now to explain my title. So why did we split our trip up and go to the Dark Side when Disney has so much to offer. Well there were two main reasons why we did this on this trip. My son has always been into dinosaurs and now that he is older we took him to see the re release of Jurassic Park and he LOVED it! So we thought a trip to see Jurassic Park at IOA will be worth it to him plus throwing in the fact that my niece LOVES Harry Potter and has been wanting to see Harry Potter World since it opened. The second reason is because of my boyfriend Tom. We have been together for 3 years now and he knew in the beginning that I am a Disney Fanatic but he had only been to WDW once when he was a kid and just thought it was ok. So over the years I have been giving him a taste of Disney by taking mini trips as an adult. This would be our first chance to be there for a whole week and get a better idea of what it's like. Plus when he added that he has never been to Universal Orlando, I knew we had to go so he can truly get an idea of what the difference between Universal and Disney is so he can have his own opinion. I want him to be into something because he enjoys it not because I'm into it even if it means spending time away from the mouse. So with that said, will Tom enjoy Universal better than Disney? Will he "get it" when it comes to Disney magic? Will my dad be able to enjoy some of the rides from the comfort of his wheelchair? Will we survive the massive amount of rain or drown in defeat? Will I get a picture with Tigger this year? All these burning questions and more will be answered in this trip report.

So please feel free to lurk, but I would be great to hear from you all too. I'm still a newbie here and I love meeting new people!​

 

[tiggerfan77]

Table of Contents

Day 1
The Sky is Peeing, Everybody!!
Our Room with a View
Rabbits and Ducks and Turtles, Oh My!

Day 2
A True Survivor
A Wild Time with Friends and Family

Day 3
Autobots, Roll Out!!
Krusty Burger vs. Krabby Patty
So Excited I Almost Pooped My Pants!

Day 4
Hooray for Hollywood!
"What's the matta with you people!!"
Our Thrilling End

Day 5
Breakfast with the Fab3?

Day 6
The Land of Super Heroes and Toons
Poop happens...and sometimes it doesn't...
Trinity's Turn

Day 7
Hopping from Mountain to Mountain
Afternoon in Adventureland
Our Wet, Sloppy Kiss Goodnight


THE FUTURE?
​

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[tiggerfan77]

Following along!

Thanks for joining in Wiigirl!

 

[tiggerfan77]

We begin our adventure at 3am on Saturday morning. My parents have already left the day before because they need to break the 12 hour trip up into two days. But us young wipper-snappers are driving it all in one day. I don't think any of us got much sleep that night and who can the night before vacation! Trinity was dropped off the afternoon before and it took them forever to go to sleep. The kids were up laughing and talking until late and then before they knew it, I was shaking them awake.
Tigger says, "Let's go already!"


After packing the car and piling the kids in, we were off and driving by 3:45 I told the kids, "This is what 3 in the morning looks like, you won't see this again until college." They were not amused and went back to sleep. I feel asleep soon after since Tom was taking the first shift. We stopped about 7am at McDonald's in North Carolina and it starting pouring down rain. That's when EJ blurts out "The sky is peeing, everybody!" as we all tried to seek shelter under those glowing yellow arches. And let me tell you the sky peed the ENTIRE trip. I mean it wasn't pouring every second but it was cloudy with on and off rain storms the entire way. So it made for a quiet and boring trip.
The kids did a lot of this...


and Tom and I saw a lot of this...


But at least the kids weren't bugging us about when we were going to get there and such. They had their portable games, road trip bingo and some activity books. I must say they were pretty good at entertaining themselves and they didn't even play there video games that much.
We stopped at a Wendy's in Georgia and before we knew it we were almost to Orlando!!!

Up next is our room at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and wait till you see our view!!​

 

[natebenma]

Nice start!!!

I am a lover of Disney and the Dark Side. Can't wait to hear about your trip.

Dee

 

[OhMari]

I just started reading the thread on Bonnet Creek Resort. WDW is getting so expensive and I am looking at alternatives. Plus I think the food has gotten so expensive and has gone downhill too.

We are going to Universal next April, so I can't wait to hear how you all liked it.

 

[tiggerfan77]

Nice start!!!

I am a lover of Disney and the Dark Side. Can't wait to hear about your trip.

Dee

Thanks! and thanks for joining in! I haven't been to the Dark Side in over ten years so I had lots to report so stick around!

I just started reading the thread on Bonnet Creek Resort. WDW is getting so expensive and I am looking at alternatives. Plus I think the food has gotten so expensive and has gone downhill too.

We are going to Universal next April, so I can't wait to hear how you all liked it.

Thanks for joining in! I stayed at BC in 2007 so it has changed since then and I think for the better. I'm not sure of the price difference as my parents bought into timeshares in the early 90's so it's paid off except for yearly fees I think. But you do save a lot of money on food by having a kitchen. I didn't like the fact that their shuttle is no longer free. With $5 a person round trip, it was better for us to drive and pay the parking fee and have to freedom to come and go. So that is something else you may want to consider into your budget.
I'll have my report of our room coming soon so stick around

 

[tiggerfan77]

So we last left off with the three of us having a very soggy and gloomy trip down. Then the moment arrived when we saw the glorious Disney World sign and we were home. Sorry there is no picture of the Disney arches but as you would guess it, it was still pouring buckets. So we pulled up to Wyndham Bonnet Creek and I saw my parent's vehicle in the check-in parking lot. How is that for timing! My mom was still checking in so we waited in the car so we could follow them to our assigned building. I stayed at Bonnet Creek once before in 2007 when there were only 3 buildings. So they have expanded quite a bit and I was happy that we got to stay in one of the newer buildings. So we pulled into our parking deck, yes I said parking deck. You never know how much you appreciate parking in one of those things until your get into your nice cool car on a hot Florida day!

Because my dad is in a wheelchair our unit was a handicap unit. So if anyone is in the need for a handicap unit when they make their reservation, I highly recommend Building 4 room 936. It was a 3 bedroom deluxe with two baths. So without further delay, I give you the picture tour of our place.

Here is the living room. The kitchen is off to the left as well as the dining area.


Here is the kitchen/bar area.


The hallway that lead to the two guest bedrooms and the handicap bathroom.


Here are a few shots of the handicap bathroom with the roll in shower.




Here is one of the guest room with two double beds. The other guest room had a queen sized bed.


Here are the kids checking out the view from their bedroom.


Finally the master bedroom which Tom and I had because the bathroom attached to that room was handicap accessible but not a handicap shower or sink.


Our jacuzzi tub.


So our bed was next to our tub, our tub was next to a sink, the sink was next to our bathroom with another sink and shower.


Here were our toiletries although not as cute as Disney toiletries, they served their purpose.


But who wants to look at toiletries, when we have a balcony to check out! So we ran out to the balcony and saw this...
Hellooo Swan and Dolphin..

and hellooo EPCOT!!


Yep, that's right we had a head-on view of the Epcot ball and guess what that means....Fireworks tonight!! So after we unpacked, ordered pizza and ate dinner, the kids and I were ready for an adventure...​

 

[natebenma]

HOLY Geodesic Golf Ball, Batman!!!

Awesome room, but even AWESOMER view!!!

WOW!!!

Love it!



PS-great picture of the kids on the balcony, too, BTW

PPS- I spy with my little eye... Tower of Terror, too!

 

[tiggerfan77]

HOLY Geodesic Golf Ball, Batman!!!

Awesome room, but even AWESOMER view!!!

WOW!!!

Love it!



PS-great picture of the kids on the balcony, too, BTW

PPS- I spy with my little eye... Tower of Terror, too!

Yes, it was a Great room! It was super spacious so my dad had plenty of room to maneuver around in his wheelchair. The kids were glued to the windows most of the time in their room. They could see the Tower of Terror better out of there room so they would leave the curtains open so they can look at it when they wake up!

 

[PrincessBrittany06]

What an AMAZING view!

I'm def subbing in! This TR sounds like its going to be a good one

I've never stayed at Bonnet Creek but from the looks of your pictures and research I've done, I don't think I would mind it one bit

Can't wait to read more!

 

[tiggerfan77]

What an AMAZING view!

I'm def subbing in! This TR sounds like its going to be a good one

I've never stayed at Bonnet Creek but from the looks of your pictures and research I've done, I don't think I would mind it one bit

Can't wait to read more!

Welcome Aboard! We definitely had a great trip with lots to tell!

We really liked our stay at Bonnet Creek. My dad needed the room plus having a kitchen helped with breakfast and meals on our rest days. Plus you can't beat the location

 

[tiggerfan77]

So while we waited for our pizza, I decided to turn on the TV for a bit and lo, and behold, who pops up? None other than, Stacey!


After watching a few minutes of her looping countdown show, our pizza arrived. We ordered delivery from one of the restaurants at Bonnet Creek. It was good but a little over priced. But we were so hungry that price didn't matter. So once our bellies were full, my mom decided to make a grocery store run. I was ready to go explore the property so the kids came with me while the unadventurous men stayed behind.

We went out of our building and decided we would make the loop around the property to scope everything out. We walked out onto the boardwalk and this was our view of some of the other buildings and that lovely fountain.


The theme of the resort had a Spanish/Pirate theme to it. There was a stone fort that we walked under that you could go on top and shoot water out of cannons onto unsuspecting lazy river folks.


There were 5 pools and 2 lazy rivers on the property. I don't know why I didn't get any pool shots. I guess I felt weird taking pictures of strangers hanging out in their bathing suits. Oh well, anyway we walked some more and came across a group of ducks. Everybody say "awwwww!"


We also saw a few bunnies that were scurrying about and were too fast for my slow camera. There was a good bit of nature around which made EJ happy as he is an avid animal lover. We saw turtles in pond and lots of Florida lizards and frogs about.
There were a few really nice gas grill set ups with picnic tables and we saw lots of families taking advantage of having some good ol' cookout meals. There was also these really nice swings that all looked out into the water and would make for a nice quiet evening.



As you can see both of the kids did not want their picture taken but I took them anyway So after we came full circle I decided we needed to head back in and get everyone showered so we can watch some fireworks before we all pass out. I got in a quick picture of the pool behind the check-in building from our balcony.


Beautiful sunset.


What a great start to our family vacation!


After watching Illuminations, everyone headed off to bed so that we could get our first full day of vacation started!!
​

 

[natebenma]

Nice little tour of the resort grounds! I don't know much about Bonnet Creek (I am devoted to a different BC), but it really looks great! Nice rooms, lots of activities.

And that view. OMG!

Beautiful sunset!

Awesome that you could see fireworks.

GREAT ROOM!!!

 

[OrangeJuice]

Great way to start off a trip. Didn't realize Wyndam bonnet had a view of the fireworks!

 

[tiggerfan77]

Nice little tour of the resort grounds! I don't know much about Bonnet Creek (I am devoted to a different BC), but it really looks great! Nice rooms, lots of activities.

And that view. OMG!

Beautiful sunset!

Awesome that you could see fireworks.

GREAT ROOM!!!

Yes, we were so excited to have such a great view! It worked out for my dad to watch the fireworks on nights he wasn't feeling well.

Great way to start off a trip. Didn't realize Wyndam bonnet had a view of the fireworks!

You have to be high enough and at the right angle, but there are some rooms that have a great view of the fireworks. We just got lucky I think building 6 had the best views since that's where most of the Presidential suites are but ours was pretty fantastic!

 

[TX Momof2]

Hi! I'm subbing! So excited to read more about staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. I definitely plan on trying it out sometime in the future. Your kids are precious!

 

[Britard]

Awesome view and great photos so far. Joining in for the rest of the fun!

 

[newtexan]

subbing in for the dark side info, we are considering a split stay next trip and I'm conducting research!