Bonnet Creek

[PatricenPete]

Anyone know the scoop on Bonnet Creek? Our bus driver told us this past week that Disney does not allow Bonnet Creek to bus their patrons on and off Disney property? Anyone know the back story to that?

 

[pugluver31902]

Yeah I saw that place too. What exactly is it?

 

[fla4fun]

I have read posts on the transportation board that Bonnet Creek has bus service similar to the DTD hotels bus service. It's not as frequent or convenient as Disney transport, but if you don't have a car, you'll get there.

Bonnet Creek is an area of development in a small pocket of land that is bordered on three sides by Disney property and on the fourth side by I-4. There is a timeshare resort there right now, and Hilton is building a big resort hotel there that is set to open in 2009. You access the area at the traffic light just east of CBR off of Buena Vista Drive.

 

[PatricenPete]

According to our bus driver, Disney tried to purchase Bonnet Creek, but they have continually refused to sell so Disney refuses to allow them to send buses to the parks.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Bonnet Creek Resort is not located on Disney property. Disney tried to purchase that space several years ago, but the owners would not sell at the price Disney wanted to pay. It is landlocked on three side by highways and Disney property on the fourth side. Another party bought the land and built the Bonnet Creek resort on the land. There is a timeshare operated by Wynham on the site as well as future plans for other hotels and timeshares.

Since it is not a Disney resort, it does not get Disney transportation provided to it. Not much different than the Downtown Disney hotels in that way.

 

[HopperFan]

Several cranes are busy over there. There are two Hilton resorts being built. Hilton Orlando/Bonnet Creek Resort and Waldorf Astoria/Bonnet Creek.
I know the Hilton is on their website already but not taking reservations yet. I thought the Waldorf was but now I don't see it.
Here is an article and map. http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2006_2nd/May06_BonnetCreek.html

 

[Brian Noble]

It is landlocked on three side by highways and Disney property on the fourth side.

Minor correction: three sides are Disney, and the fourth side is I-4. It is right next to CBR. Here is a map:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DisneyLandByCompany.png

While Disney is effectively "the government" in the area (the only "residents" in the Reedy Creek Improvement District are Disney employees), Florida law still provides for some provision of access to landlocked parcels (Title XL, Chapter 704), though I'm not a lawyer, so don't understand the specifics. But, you have to cross Disney property to get to BC, so it feels like it is "inside" the resort, even though it is not.

From all that I can tell, Disney is none too pleased that the development is there, particularly the timeshare. If you ever drive by that stretch, you'll notice a big, themed, 3D billboard for DVC set directly across the road from the entrance to the Bonnet Creek resort area.

 

[pwrflpills]

I was disappointed the day I found out it was not a Disney resort. Such a cool sign on Buena Vista Dr. Indeed they are putting a Waldorf Astoria in there...for some reason Hilton sure is busy in the area with the other hotel they're putting in at the OCCC.

 

[Lisa P.]

The Wyndham-Fairfield timeshare that's open now will be joined by a Wyndham Resort & Spa on shared land surrounding the lake. This new hotel, the new Hilton hotel and the new Waldorf hotel are all supposed to open sometime in 2009, IIRC. All three of these hotels are planned to include several restaurants and shops each. They will be large hotel facilities.

Currently, transportation to the Disney parks is contracted to an outside vendor service, similar to the contracts for the DTD hotels. It is limited to several hourly departures in the mornings and several hourly returns in the afternoon/evening and they ask for transport reservations to be made the evening prior. There is no fee to Wyndham guests for this shuttle service at this time.

At least one other Wyndham resort in the area (Cypress Palms in Kissimmee) has limited daily shuttle service to all area theme parks (WDW, Univ, SW) for $6 per day per person and free van shuttles to nearby grocery stores for resort guests. I could see them offering something similar at BC as it grows.

Once the Bonnet Creek development includes all three large resorts (plus one more hotel, for which space has apparently been set aside), the frequency of transportation to the Disney parks will likely increase. I would expect it to become more similar to the transportation available at DTD hotels, every half hour. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

FWIW, can you imagine Di$ney denying ANYone the ability to contract with an outside company to bus paying gue$t$ into and out of a Disney theme park's parking lot?!!?! LOL! That should've been the first tip-off that this rumor was false.

We've visited the Wyn BC resort in the past, to look around. It's gorgeous! Can't wait for our first stay there this winter - 5 wonderful nights!!!

 

[mommy2boysaz]

We arrive in Nov. to stay for a 7 night stay in a 3 bdr. condo! I can't wait!!!!
It will be our first stay, but I've heard and read nothing but good!

 

[HeatherC]

Bonnet Creek is great. They may not have continuous buses running, but they do have a shuttle that works great.

The villas are beautiful and more spacious than their Disney counterparts. And ...you don't have to pay Disney prices to stay there.

You can rent from a private timeshare owner for pretty much the same price it would be to stay at one of the All- Stars - if not less. I know this for a fact because we have already done it twice and the resort is only two or three years old. This works great for a large family.

In my opinion, Disney really does not offer much incentive for large families to stay at their resorts. They do have the All Star Suites, which to me doesn't even compare to Bonnet Creeks Villas. Your other option is to pay $500 plus a night for a 2 bedroom at one of their deluxe resorts. The only other option is at the Fort Wilderness Cabins for a mere $300 something a night in a campground. And while it is a beautiful resort, it is still a campground and I can't fathom paying that much to stay at one. And I really do love camping.

Just for comparison, we stayed at Bonnet Creek on two separate occasions for about $70 a night including all the taxes. Of course this took some legwork to find, but what we saved overall was a couple thousand dollars on each trip from staying at a Disney resort. Now that to me is "magical".

I'd highly recommend Bonnet Creek.

Heather

 

[swilphil]

I highly recommend Bonnet Creek also. The pres. suite is absolutely stunning. It really does put the DVC resorts to shame. The Bonnet Creek two-bedroom is very nice as well. The mini-golf and pool are also tons of fun.

We had no problems with the free shuttle service. It dropped us off at MGM, Epcot, and TTC (for MK). We did not go to AK. We usually took a cab back to the resort for $10 to $15.

Driving from BC to the parks is a breeze. Bonnet Creek is next to Disney's Carribean Beach Resort. Yes, we had to pay a little for rental car, parking and cabs, but we saved money by being able to eat at the condo. And the room itself was thousands of dollars less than had we paid for a Disney deluxe.

 

[cnids00]

We loved our pres.suite at Bonnet Creek, it was huge and just gorgeous! There was no need to make reservations for the shuttle service, you just went to the front and waited for the time you wanted to leave. Maingate is the company that is handling the shuttle service. We also took cabs, mostly DTD as the first shuttle from BC didn't go until 3:30PM, it was between $8 - $16 fare one way with a cab. After MNSSHP we took the bus to CBR and called for a cab from the bus stop at Jamaica. it only took a couple of minutes, though we were told they can't pick up at the bus stops so we just moved to the parking lot behind the bus stop

All in all, BC is a beautiful resort and the suite was out of this world and for us much cheaper renting points then actually paying to stay on-site.

 

[JPS]

I've been trying to find more info on Bonnet Creek Resort espesially to find rates and availability, but it seems like it is a timeshare resort only. Is this the case or can I as an individual reserve 10nights for 2008 and if so how?

 

[Brian Noble]

It is strictly a timeshare resort. The most affordable way to get in is to find an owner with excess points willing to rent to you at the price you agree to. Sites like redweek and TUG are good places to look. Some mega-owners list rental units on ebay.

The developer (Wyndham) also owns some of the inventory and you can sometimes find rental units on Expedia. Owners who don't want to rent themselves can turn their units over to Wyndham to try to rent for them, through the Extra Holidays site: http://www.extraholidays.com/eh/index.do Both of these will be much much more expensive than renting directly from an owner.

 

[evenpar4me]

Have toured the property,its really nice,we are staying there 1/2608-2/2/08,gift from brother--in-law.....hes on top of my christmas list,lol....