Bonnett Creek Resort - What Is It?

[nsalz]

I Just Got Back From A Week At Disney (about My 30th Trip) And Thought I Knew About Everything There Is To Know About New Projects At Disney......but I Cannot Figure Out What The Bonnett Creek Resort Is And Cannot Find Any Information On It. I Heard Once, A While Ago, That It Was Going To Be Resort On Disney Property, But Not Disney Owned. However, It Does Not Look Like Any Construction Is Going On, But There Is A Sign Up That Says Bonnett Creek Resort. Can Any One Help Me Out?

 

[coach4448]

Just returned from a long weekend at Disney and also noticed this.
What I was able to find out is that Bonnett Creek is a Fairfield Timeshare resort.
You have to utilize the 'Disney Roads' to get there so Disney and Fairfield had an agreement that Disney will get a certain percentage of $$ from Fairfield and Disney will provide transportation to and from the Fairfield timeshares to WDW. There will be 'Disney Castmember" employees working at Fairfield. There will be some but little Disney themes atmosphere at the resort. It is a very similiar agreement between the Dolphin/Swan and Disney. This is the info I got from a DVC Rep.

 

[nsalz]

Thank you so much.......I appreciate your help. I hope you got to ride on
Expedition Everest on your long weekend. We did, and it was sooo worth it!

 

[clkelley]

Just returned from a long weekend at Disney and also noticed this.
What I was able to find out is that Bonnett Creek is a Fairfield Timeshare resort.
You have to utilize the 'Disney Roads' to get there so Disney and Fairfield had an agreement that Disney will get a certain percentage of $$ from Fairfield and Disney will provide transportation to and from the Fairfield timeshares to WDW. There will be 'Disney Castmember" employees working at Fairfield. There will be some but little Disney themes atmosphere at the resort. It is a very similiar agreement between the Dolphin/Swan and Disney. This is the info I got from a DVC Rep.

I don't think that is totally correct. I have spoken with someone that owns a share at Bonnett Creek. Disney does NOT provide transportation from Bonnett Creek to the parks. Bonnett Creek does have some of their own transportation to the parks, but it is lots more limited. (You have to make arrangements the night before). I have heard the points cost a lot less than DVC. So if using your own vehicle (or a rental) doesn't bother you, then Bonnett Creek may be something to look into. There is no Extra Magic Hour, no resort charging, you are just a day guest at Disney.

Hope this helps.

Carol

 

[DisneyGirl]

I don't think that is totally correct. I have spoken with someone that owns a share at Bonnett Creek. Disney does NOT provide transportation from Bonnett Creek to the parks. Bonnett Creek does have some of their own transportation to the parks, but it is lots more limited. (You have to make arrangements the night before). I have heard the points cost a lot less than DVC. So if using your own vehicle (or a rental) doesn't bother you, then Bonnett Creek may be something to look into. There is no Extra Magic Hour, no resort charging, you are just a day guest at Disney.

Hope this helps.

Carol

I also heard something similar. In fact, I heard that the Bonnett Creek construction was the result of a long legal battle with the previous owner of that property who refused to sell to Disney (which makes sense, since it doesn't make sense that Disney would not buyout a small little piece of property in the middle of the rest of its property! Supposedly, after the previous owner sold to Fairfield, there were still battles because guests would have to use Disney roads to get to the Bonnett Creek property. Since it is landlocked, a court (or a settlement) granted rights to use the roadways to access the property.

So, I can't see there being too many good relationships between the two . I wonder if the DVC rep just said what she said (or she really thinks that...) because Disney wants to keep its reputation as the "nice guy," when in fact it is a business and fights battles just like any other business!

 

[nsalz]

Well....later on today I am calling Disney to get my DVC cards replaced because they are so worn out. I will ask that DVC Rep and see if I get the same answer that coach448 got or a different one. I will post their answer after I have spoken to them. It won't be until after 4:00pm eastern time.
Thank you for all the feed back.

 

[coach4448]

Well....later on today I am calling Disney to get my DVC cards replaced because they are so worn out. I will ask that DVC Rep and see if I get the same answer that coach448 got or a different one. I will post their answer after I have spoken to them. It won't be until after 4:00pm eastern time.
Thank you for all the feed back.

Let us know what you find out. I was only repeating what I was told, so it will be nice to see if you get the same story.
And, yes we did make it on Expedition Everest, and you are right, it was worth it!

 

[spiceycat]

the property is owned by a developer.

Disney didn't buy the property - because the property owner found out it was Disney and wanted a fortune for the property.

Disney refused to pay it.

Anway this has been discussed over on the DVC boards.

The transportation is NOT disney. It is like the other offsite places only a few times in the morning and a few times in the evening. that say -this transportation is FREE... most offsite timeshare will charge you for their park buses...

Did you notice the BIG Sign across from the entrance....DVC is trying to attract Fairfield customers.....

 

[lawgs]

some fairfield timeshare salespeople like to tell prospective customers that the resort is located on disney property "above" Epcot as a selling point....he even pulled out a disney brochure to show us a circled space where he said Bonnet Creek was located....

the one we spoke to said he was told all this by people who worked for disney security....

of course, we knew better

 

[DonnaL]

Disney has nothing to do with Bonnet Creek Resort. Spiceycat is correct in saying the owner found out Walt was buying all the property in the area back in the early 1960's and then wanted a fortune for his swampland. Walt wouldn't pay it and therefore, the parcel of land became landlocked by all Disney property. The property was then sold by the heirs of the original owner to a developer. Originally, the plans were for the Fairfield timeshare and several upscale hotels, golf course, etc. This was several years ago. I heard the developer had approached some big names (Marriott, Hilton, etc.)
None of them would touch it for a hotel project. Disney has to allow access to property on Disney roadways. However, that's as far it goes. Disney provides no transportation, cast members or anything else. When Fairfield first opened, there was a lot of info on the Disboards about how the Fairfield reps were misrepresenting the relationship between Disney and Fairfield in so far as transportation and the like. In all honesty, I've looked on the Fairfield website at the pictures of the resort and it does look very nice. However, I have not heard a lot of good talk about the way the company operates. Someone who works with my husband did buy into Bonnet Creek last year. I don't know if they've actually vacationed there yet. As for us, we'll just stick with our DVC. If you check any timeshare websites you will see most Fairfields do not hold their value. Maybe because of location the same won't be true for Bonnet Creek, I can't say. If you'd like to check out their website, here's the link www.bonnetcreek.com

 

[DonnaL]

Also, what clkelley says above is also true. You are a "day guest" when you stay at Bonnet Creek. You are not staying onsite therefore receive none of the benefits from staying onsite such as EMH, dining plan, room key charging,
etc. It's basically the same as staying at any other offsite hotel or timeshare, except your travel time is less.

 

[MOMOFMNM]

fwiw


I stayed in a fairfield timeshare at myrtle beach this summer and it was AWESOME!!!

It was so gorgeous....blew me away...

maybe OT but thought I'd share

 

[VA_mouseman]

I just got back from WDW, and again noticed the Bonnett Creek road entrance. I've seen it before on recent prior trips, and have always wondered 'what it is.'

By my recollection, Buena Vista Drive (?) goes east-west to the south of Epcot; there's a stoplight intersection there - to the north is Backstage Lane - the CM entrance to Epcot (I believe), and the Bonnett Creek resort road is to the south. The road is labeled Chelonia Parkway, IIRC.

Caribbean Beach is slightly to the west of Bonnett Creek.

Went to maps.google.com and tried to look it up, but the satellite imagery for that area is too grainy.

 

[nsalz]

coach4448, if you are still out there...had a password problem and now it is resolve. I spoke to the DVC cast member the other night and asked her about Bonnett Creek.....she said to me it has absolutely nothing to do with
Disney....no Disney workers, no Disney transportation...no nothin'! Although I knew it was a Fairfield Time share from this post, she never even said there name. So it just confirms what we learned here is true. Thank you everyone for helping kill my curiosity.