Bonnet Creek Vs Onsite

[fattymatty]

Hey Folks,

I am looking into the possibly of using my timeshare for bonnet creek. But was wondering how others have found it. I have 2 kids 6 & 8. plan is to spend 6-8 nights with 5 park days. My concern is the drive in and if going back to resort for a few hours(say leave park at 1 and then come back in around 5) how difficult would that be. I'm guessing renting a car is probably best option vs shuttle but if anyone could let me know their experiences that would be great

 

[BigredNole]

First, the shuttle is $6 for one RT per day per person. If you make two RTs, it is $6 for each of those RTs. Second, you have a $20 per day parking fee per day at WDW. After factoring in all of the cost of not having your own vehicle, it is almost a break-even staying at a Value. You didn't state your full party makeup. It looks like 3, but could be more. You also have to consider getting to WBC if you don't rent a car. That can add up as well.

I only suggest staying offsite if you have your own vehicle, have an AP for free parking, and plan to have your own meals at the resort. The reason is the cost benefit is simply not there. Here is how I breakdown the price at a high level. For us, we use the Offsite #3 option. We will get at least 3 1-week trips in which lowers the overall per trip cost.

Offsite #1 (3-people w/ own car)
Offsite (7-nights): $700
Passes (~$400 each): $1,200
Parking (7 days): $140
Memory Maker: $150
Meals (in room): $200
Total: $2,390

Offsite #2 (3-people w/ renting car)
Offsite #1 + $250 = $2,640

Onsite Value (3-people)
Resort (7 nights at $125+12.5% tax): $985
Passes (~$400): $1,200
Memory Maker: $150
Meals ($40/person per day): $840
Total: $3,175

Offsite #3 (assumes you take 2 1-week trips, price even lower if you get more trips)
Offsite (7-nights): $700
Premium APs ($840 * 3 people / 2 trips): $1,260
Parking (free with AP): $0
Memory Maker (free with AP): $0
Meals (in room): $200
Total: $2,160 (add another $250 if you rent a car)

 

[kokomos]

We love bonnet creek. It's doesn't take any longer to get from Epcot to bonnet creek than it does to get to Caribbean beach resort. The only park that will take longer is Magic kingdom since parking is further away so add an extra 15-20 minutes. It's so much easier to relax having the extra space. We always have a car even when we stay onsite.

 

[Tinknalli]

With a car Bonnet Creek is faster and more convenient to take a break than staying on-site using bus transportation. Using Disney buses is very inconvenient in my opinion, when you have to wait for the bus coming and going and the chance of having to stand. We drank the koolaid for years thinking that staying off-site would be so much worse in so many ways. We tried off-site once and with our current family dynamics we may never stay on-site again.

 

[BigredNole]

With a car Bonnet Creek is faster and more convenient to take a break than staying on-site using bus transportation.

I completely agree. For AK, DHS, Epcot, TL, BB, and DS, having your own car is so much faster. MK is a little bit longer. Turn the tram ride and monorail/ferry into a first ride of the day and you have a lot fun.

I have not found any takers that want to do a realistic take on times. I try to get someone that is willing to start their stopwatch when they leave their room and arrive at a park Security Check. Then, start it again after you exit the park and get to your room. Over the course of a week, I am willing to bet that I save at least 30 minutes RT vs Disney transportation. I plan to do it when we are at WBC in June.

 

[HopperFan]

LOVE Bonnet Creek. With a car, I am positive we are back in our condo before most are even on the bus at the end of the day. Taking breaks is no trouble at all. I would not stay without a car, but with a car it was no different than if I were at a Disney resort.

 

[spiceycat]

my stay was fine - did not what they called a whirlpool tub - but that was personal. Drove every day - accept when just staying around the place. there is enough to do - so be sure to do a non-park day - while there. you realize that like all timeshares - it will be 7 days - not 6 or 8. If you are trading your timeshare for it thru RCI - then Disney timeshares (DVC) you could also get - okay DVC has very few 2-bedroom condo in RCI and BC has a bunch. look for ssr or okw for DVC ones. then you don't need a car. Disney will take you back and forth to the airport and parks.

 

[Brian Noble]

Hey Folks,

I am looking into the possibly of using my timeshare for bonnet creek. But was wondering how others have found it. I have 2 kids 6 & 8. plan is to spend 6-8 nights with 5 park days. My concern is the drive in and if going back to resort for a few hours(say leave park at 1 and then come back in around 5) how difficult would that be. I'm guessing renting a car is probably best option vs shuttle but if anyone could let me know their experiences that would be great

Definitely rent the car. WBC is a more convenient location than many of the Disney resorts. Mid-day breaks are very doable (though a bit more time from MK with the TTC transfer.)

 

[moesy4]

I completely agree. For AK, DHS, Epcot, TL, BB, and DS, having your own car is so much faster. MK is a little bit longer. Turn the tram ride and monorail/ferry into a first ride of the day and you have a lot fun.

I have not found any takers that want to do a realistic take on times. I try to get someone that is willing to start their stopwatch when they leave their room and arrive at a park Security Check. Then, start it again after you exit the park and get to your room. Over the course of a week, I am willing to bet that I save at least 30 minutes RT vs Disney transportation. I plan to do it when we are at WBC in June.

I will agree with you heartily in this point. We stayed 10 nights at Disney last year, 3 at ASMusic and 7 at the Fort. While we loved the theming and had an amazing time, I HATED the buses. ASMusic was great for Animal Kingdom, we were there in under 10 minutes and the bus was super fast to arrive, so probably similar to what you would experience at Bonnet Creek. Almost every other trip though was much longer. Our first day to TL, we waited probably 25 minutes for the bus to arrive, then had to bus for 15 minutes, get off at DTD, traipse over to the next bus, and take the ridiculously short ride over to TL. Same on the return trip.
We went to Epcot on 2 different days, with one day taking a mid day break. The day we did the mid day break it took us 2 HOURS from the start of our trip back to being at our camper...waiting for the Freedom Boat to take us up to FW, waiting forever for the bus to arrive, the ride back, waiting again at the Fort for the internal bus to arrive, and then walking to our campsite. Our return trips were both at park closing and almost equally as long...both were at least a 30 minute wait for a bus, the ride, and then waiting for another internal bus. Craziness.

 

[Rera2528]

We have done three on-site stays (including in March of this year), and one at Bonnet Creek in February 2016. We definitely saw perks to both, but on more than one occasion this past trip, my husband and I were commenting how much faster we made our way around when we had our own car. We liked having a kitchen, having a separate bedroom for our daughter, being able to do laundry, etc. We had park hoppers, and we would go back to the condo in between parks with no problems.

In hindsight, I think we were more relaxed in our touring when we were off site. I'm not really sure why. Maybe because we felt more in control of our schedule.

Our daughter was 8 when we stayed there, and she loved it. We never spent a whole day at the resort, but she would loved every minute in the pools. She also loved having her own room and bathroom.

 

[BigredNole]

There are definitely perks to both. It comes down to which matter to you most. For me, it is money. If I did not buy APs and only wanted to stay one week, we would have probably stayed onsite. Because our schedule becomes extremely hectic with soccer and school, vacation time gets limited. We decided we were going for 2 weeks. To do that, we had to stay offsite. APs ($2,640), onsite Value for 13 nights (~$2,000), meals for 3 @ $40pp/day (~$1,500). That would be about $6,000. WBC + Orange Lake ($1,300), APs ($2,640), meals/snacks in room ($400), totaling ~$4,300. $1,700 to me is too much to pass up. I know I give up EMH and 60-day FP window. We did book 1-night campsite that gave us FPs and EMH for those 2 days. I was able to get 5 additional days of FPs with that 1-night booking. There will not be any attraction that we will miss on the trip that we want to do. The only thing that could stop it would be weather. We have no control of that so we will just go with the flow.

 

[WDW-WOW]

I would NEVER choose a Disney value over WBC, even if the Value were $100 less per night. WBC is so pretty (the grounds, the views, the pools, etc.), it's on WDW property (essentially), the condos are enormous and I find huge value in having a washer and dryer (pack less; go home w/clean clothes) and a kitchen for breakfast (healthier and cheaper). You can get a great deal on a rental car, and it's much faster to drive yourself to and from the parks (other than MK) than it is to stay onsite and use the buses.

I think the Values look like cheap motels - tiny rooms, ugly decorations, and boring pools.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Trinity88]

I've never stayed at BC (we're staying at Windsor Hills on our next trip), but we've stayed both on site and off and definitely find off site faster than the disney transportation. The only exception was when we splurged and stayed at BLT - you can't beat the walk to MK. But the other parks were longer and I preferred our drives. We also have a family of 5 which makes staying on property too expensive and squishy.

 

[hedberg1661]

I really love Bonnet Creek. If you have a car, I think you should be fine traveling between the resort and the parks. I say go for it!