A first time offsiter reflects on my WBC stay

[The Original~Mad4mky]

We are staying---for our first time off Disney property--and first time at WBC--in November.

Thank you for the great review. As Wyndham Vacation VIP owners--we figured we might as well give it a try. I'm a die hard Disney fan...so staying off property is tough...but this place seems very nice. And---as my husband keeps saying, we put a lot of $$ into this time share system...we need to use it... (We have stayed several other properties...Hawaii, Disneyland, etc)

 

[Cynt]

Awesome review! We had our 1st offsite stay at WBC last month and fell in love. We truly loved having a car as we were able to do some non-Disney things like Universal and Kennedy Space Ctr. Going offsite actually happened when I was planning the trip and my DS said to me, "Mom, we have been to Florida 3 times and I have seen the airport and Disney. Is there anything else?" Nearly broke my heart but I think we have found our vacation groove at WBC. Plenty of space, beautiful facilities, and not all Disney .

One of our favorite days was our last day. We had a 8pm flight and everyone wanted a resort day. We rented a cabana at the pirate pool for $50- the best money spent all week! We tried 4 pools, 2 lazy rivers, mini golf and listened to a musician at one of the bars- bliss. They had shower facilities to use before leaving. I do not seeing us staying onsite again unless I go alone with one of the kids.

We loved our pool evenings! The kids were excited to go to the parks but they're fish and were super excited to select which pool to visit in the evenings.

The strange thing is I don't think the kids would be happy anywhere else, especially at a value or moderate. You really don't realize how much space you have until you experience it. This was their 1st time and all they know is WBC and 5 pools. The 7 year old had homework. So it was great to put him at the dining room table so he could study and the 5 yr. old could nap in her bedroom. The adults on the patio with an adult beverage.

I definitely know I can't stay in a value or a moderate any more.

O, and I checked my email when I returned home and guess who got a PIN code for FREE DINING!?!?!


Once I get settled in and caught up at work I'm going to run the numbers. I've had the dining plan three times. I did feel more relaxed this time without it to eat at my leisure. I eat a lite breakfast, snack all day and eat a late lunch 3 or 4PM and snack in the evening. So although I usually get the meal plan for convenience reasons I probably won't get it again.

 

[Cynt]

Does that apply to a specific garage? I parked a few times in the garage (3 levels) between Towers 5 and 4 and I don't recall even seeing a gate that would control access...

I used the garage between Tower 6 and the hotel. You had to have the garage access key card to enter and exit the garage. I can't speak to the other garages.

 

[Cynt]

We are staying---for our first time off Disney property--and first time at WBC--in November.

Thank you for the great review. As Wyndham Vacation VIP owners--we figured we might as well give it a try. I'm a die hard Disney fan...so staying off property is tough...but this place seems very nice. And---as my husband keeps saying, we put a lot of $$ into this time share system...we need to use it... (We have stayed several other properties...Hawaii, Disneyland, etc)

No worries!! You will indeed enjoy it!

The thing that I didn't realize and it didn't sink in until I was there was that I was on WDW property. Once you go under the WDW arches you're onsite. I thought it was just me but the rest of my party who were 1st timers felt the same way. When we left the arches they would say we were leaving Disney. When we returned back they would say we're home when we went under the arches. When we drove on Chelonia Pkwy to Lake Buena Vista Dr. you see all the Disney Signs to the different parks and attractions. WBC isn't mentioned on the Disney signs but they're WBC signs as well so I felt like it was a part of Disney. And like I mentioned in my review if I booked WBC and didn't know about onsite offsite I would think that WBC is onsite.

 

[Cynt]

Fantastic review! And with that said, I feel exactly the same as you. Being a Disney nut, I was very worried about not feeling the magic at our first 'offsite' stay at WBC last December. I left there a week later saying I will NEVER stay on-property again. Having the ability to spread out after a long day in the parks was priceless. We all loved it so much, we are going back with friends next February. Just paid our deposit for a 3 BR to Vacation Strategy, woohoo!

JACKPOT!!! I felt the same way!! I already know values and mods are out for sure. And once I get the "I have to stay at a monorail resort" out of my system, I'm an offsiter for LIFE!!! I'm frugal and unless they come out with a 50% off code or I run across some deep discounted points - WBC it is. I'm in no hurry to stay at a monorail resort it's just on my bucketlist. LOL!!!

 

[aubriee]

How far is Celebration and is there a list somewhere of good restaurants there?

We were at BC May 10th-20th and usually ate dinner at DTD or the Cross Roads, though we did run over to Fogo de Chao one night.

I believe he's refering to http://celebrationtowncenter.com/dining-entertainment/.

It appears to be about 7 miles or so from Disney.

About 15-20 minutes from WBC, a little west and on the south side of I-4.

Here's a link to a list of the restaurants there: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34956129&postcount=463

Columbia is a must for us every trip.

Thanks! Gives us some good ideas for the next trip.

 

[twoglasslippers]

Thanks for the great review! We are staying at WBC for our first "off-site" trip in October. I'm very excited after reading your post and think it will be great for our family!

 

[Cynt]

Thanks for the great review! We are staying at WBC for our first "off-site" trip in October. I'm very excited after reading your post and think it will be great for our family!

Thanks.

I was a basket case until I drove onto WBC property, checked in and saw my suite. All of my doubts were washed away. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Kick back, relax and wait for your October vacation. You're going to have a wonderful time!

 

[eeyorepixie]

Thanks so much for the great review, I now have on my Disney bucket list a trip with my family in a 4 bedroom presidential suite! Our first trip at WBC was last year, I too hated the driving but we got in the swing of things the second half of our trip. However, I did like driving leaving the parks when leaving popular shows...no sardine bus
My DH fell in love with WBC and because of this we are going again this year.

I look for reviews just to get me excited for our next trip, thanks for sharing you pixiedust!

 

[aleksandr]

No worries!! You will indeed enjoy it!

The thing that I didn't realize and it didn't sink in until I was there was that I was on WDW property. Once you go under the WDW arches you're onsite. I thought it was just me but the rest of my party who were 1st timers felt the same way. When we left the arches they would say we were leaving Disney. When we returned back they would say we're home when we went under the arches. When we drove on Chelonia Pkwy to Lake Buena Vista Dr. you see all the Disney Signs to the different parks and attractions. WBC isn't mentioned on the Disney signs but they're WBC signs as well so I felt like it was a part of Disney. And like I mentioned in my review if I booked WBC and didn't know about onsite offsite I would think that WBC is onsite.

This is a very good point. We were asked to do a survey in one of the parks and one of the first questions asked was "Are you staying on-site or off-site?". It took a second to explain as you are technically on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort, but you are in a non-Disney affiliated property.

WBC is really the best of both worlds. Close to the center of WDW (amazing how near Downtown Disney, EPCOT, and DHS are), yet in a spacious timeshare that doesn't break the bank.

 

[Cynt]

WBC is really the best of both worlds. Close to the center of WDW (amazing how near Downtown Disney, EPCOT, and DHS are), yet in a spacious timeshare that doesn't break the bank.

We didn't realize how close we were to Downtown Disney. We were super excited when we found that out. With a group you need more than one option to dine. Downtown Disney was the answer.

 

[Cynt]

Thanks so much for the great review, I now have on my Disney bucket list a trip with my family in a 4 bedroom presidential suite! Our first trip at WBC was last year, I too hated the driving but we got in the swing of things the second half of our trip. However, I did like driving leaving the parks when leaving popular shows...no sardine bus
My DH fell in love with WBC and because of this we are going again this year.

I look for reviews just to get me excited for our next trip, thanks for sharing you pixiedust!

Your welcome. Thanks for reading.

Definitely try the 4 bdrm Presidential. It was still less expensive than renting a 2brdr villa at Disney using DVC points.

I too enjoyed leaving in the evenings. Another reason I just toughed it out. It wasn't a bad drive at all. 10-15 minutes and we were pulling into WBC parking garage. And we were never in a traffic jam except for Friday night at the 24 hour all nighter. I wasn't but my sisters were. I told them if they're going back to MK go between 5-7PM. We went at 6AM to get tshirts and everything was a walk on including Belle. They tried to go around 9PM. They had closed the TTC and were sending people to Epcot to park and ride monorail to MK. They gave up and came home. They headed back out around 11ish PM and they had opened TTC backup to park.

 

[DCTooTall]

Does that apply to a specific garage? I parked a few times in the garage (3 levels) between Towers 5 and 4 and I don't recall even seeing a gate that would control access...

The keycard is only required for the Tower 6 garage. The reason for this is that the Garage is shared with the Wyndham Grande hotel which charges for daily parking, and so the garage requires a bit more access control than the rest of the time share parking.

No worries!! You will indeed enjoy it!

The thing that I didn't realize and it didn't sink in until I was there was that I was on WDW property. Once you go under the WDW arches you're onsite. I thought it was just me but the rest of my party who were 1st timers felt the same way. When we left the arches they would say we were leaving Disney. When we returned back they would say we're home when we went under the arches. When we drove on Chelonia Pkwy to Lake Buena Vista Dr. you see all the Disney Signs to the different parks and attractions. WBC isn't mentioned on the Disney signs but they're WBC signs as well so I felt like it was a part of Disney. And like I mentioned in my review if I booked WBC and didn't know about onsite offsite I would think that WBC is onsite.

This is a very good point. We were asked to do a survey in one of the parks and one of the first questions asked was "Are you staying on-site or off-site?". It took a second to explain as you are technically on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort, but you are in a non-Disney affiliated property.

WBC is really the best of both worlds. Close to the center of WDW (amazing how near Downtown Disney, EPCOT, and DHS are), yet in a spacious timeshare that doesn't break the bank.

The confusing thing for most people is that it really does appear to be onsite, but technically it isn't. The Bonnet Creek resort area property (The Wyndham, Hilton, and Waldorf properties, as well as the Waldorf Golf Course) is a piece of property that Disney never purchased during it's land-grab in the 60's. Because of the development of the area over the decades however, this property ended up getting landlocked (Epcot Center Drive, I-4, and the I-4/Osceola Pkway Interchange) with the only way to enter or exit the property being thru the Disney Property. The End result is that you have a small cluster of resorts that aren't on Disney Property, But because of it's landlocked status resulting in all access being from Disney's road network, It is quite easy to mistake it for being on-site.

Some Advertising, and MANY Wyndham sales people help to spread this perception despite being technically false.


There is a yesterland article on the Bonnet Creek property that goes into a bit more details as to the history of the property.

 

[aleksandr]

The keycard is only required for the Tower 6 garage. The reason for this is that the Garage is shared with the Wyndham Grande hotel which charges for daily parking, and so the garage requires a bit more access control than the rest of the time share parking.






The confusing thing for most people is that it really does appear to be onsite, but technically it isn't. The Bonnet Creek resort area property (The Wyndham, Hilton, and Waldorf properties, as well as the Waldorf Golf Course) is a piece of property that Disney never purchased during it's land-grab in the 60's. Because of the development of the area over the decades however, this property ended up getting landlocked (Epcot Center Drive, I-4, and the I-4/Osceola Pkway Interchange) with the only way to enter or exit the property being thru the Disney Property. The End result is that you have a small cluster of resorts that aren't on Disney Property, But because of it's landlocked status resulting in all access being from Disney's road network, It is quite easy to mistake it for being on-site.

Some Advertising, and MANY Wyndham sales people help to spread this perception despite being technically false.


There is a yesterland article on the Bonnet Creek property that goes into a bit more details as to the history of the property.

Do you have a link for the article? It sounds very interesting, and I never knew that. I had assumed that Disney sold off or leased small pieces of the property to other developers (obviously with restrictions as they wanted to avoid the mess around Disneyland in Anaheim).

 

[chekhovgirl]

Do you have a link for the article? It sounds very interesting, and I never knew that. I had assumed that Disney sold off or leased small pieces of the property to other developers (obviously with restrictions as they wanted to avoid the mess around Disneyland in Anaheim).

http://www.yesterland.com/bonnet.html

The land is not owned by Disney, but it's as on site as you can get for an off site property.

 

[Cynt]

Thanks for the insight. I think everyone understands technically it is not on Disney property nor owned by Disney. I was just making reference to how it feels like you're on Disney property once you go under the Disney Arches so those who are wondering exactly how close to Disney it is they will understand it's like being inside the Disney bubble.

 

[DCTooTall]

http://www.yesterland.com/bonnet.html

The land is not owned by Disney, but it's as on site as you can get for an off site property.

Thanks for the insight. I think everyone understands technically it is not on Disney property nor owned by Disney. I was just making reference to how it feels like you're on Disney property once you go under the Disney Arches so those who are wondering exactly how close to Disney it is they will understand it's like being inside the Disney bubble.

No problem, and I totally understand where you are coming from.

I only going into details because while those of us who've been here understand that it's not technically on Disney Property, There are those who may not be fully aware of all the technicalities, Think it's something similar to Celebration or the Four Seasons which are on de-annexed Property Disney has sold.... Or like the Swan/Dolphin or DTD hotels, which are on leased Disney Property.... or even like Shades of Green which is an old Disney resort that has been leased and no longer under Disney control.

It's also a popular misconception that is used by the sales weasels at the property that it's "On Disney Property", so I'm of the believe that it never hurts to mention the technicalities for those who may be new to the DIS or even just Lurking since it could help prevent more people from falling for the shady sales practices by Wyndham.


And it also doesn't hurt that the history of the property is quite fascinating and worth a quick read, especially for those of us who love Disney Trivia.

 

[Cynt]

DCTooTall are you an accountant? I am and every time I read one of your post I think must be an accountant. You are so detail oriented and your thoughts are well organized. LOVE IT!!!

 

[DCTooTall]

DCTooTall are you an accountant? I am and every time I read one of your post I think must be an accountant. You are so detail oriented and your thoughts are well organized. LOVE IT!!!

Nope, Not an accountant, and my bank account and lack of serious math skills can prove it.

I'm much more an old-school computer nerd who now working in network engineering.

 

[Cynt]

Nope, Not an accountant, and my bank account and lack of serious math skills can prove it.

I'm much more an old-school computer nerd who now working in network engineering.

LOL!! OK, I knew it had to be something along the analytical, computer, engineering, math profession line of work.

On another note,
I have finally uploaded my pics. I'll post some pics of my WBC experience this weekend.