Can you help me decide between Bonnet Creek and onsite?

[mom2connorandcaleb]

We are a group of 12 going at the end of October. We will be driving so we will have our own car. There are 7 adults and 5 kids, ages 10, 9, 7, 4, and 2. We would either get 3 rooms at POR and hope for the usual free dining or stay in two 2 bedrooms at WBC. For my family of 6, it will be cheaper to stay at Bonnet Creek, but I added up our meals in the parks (we want one character meal), and we might only save $100 at WBC. We would eat cereal in the room no matter where we stay. Is there any way we would not have to eat two meals in the parks each day? I don't know about a mid-day break, I'm afraid it might take too long to get to our car, to the hotel, eat, and back. What would you do in my situation? I could wait it out for free dining to be announced, but it's going to kill me not having a room reservation until August or so. I have a quote for WBC for $560 for 6 nights in a two bedroom. I feel like I need to decide now or I won't be able to find a rate that good. HELP!

 

[Mickfarland4]

This is me as well. We are a family of 4 with 2 young kids. I would be going about one year after your trip but, I can't decide either. I know we have a lot of time but, the more I look and think, the more I confuse myself further! Here is what I like about both:

WBC-
The pools look so much nicer and less crowded
I love lazy rivers
With 2 young boys under age 7 room could be a huge plus!
A balcony(we can only afford value or mod)
A kitchen so that we can have sandwiches, breakfast, etc. a lot cheaper

Onsite(would prob do ASsp because my son in a sports nut and will outgrow wanting to stay there, I like CBR's pool and the scenery at POR'S walkways and Alligator Bayou though but, I know we can stay there in the future when they are older.

Magic Express
Food Courts
Theming for the kids
The ability to book dining plan so that DH and I can splurge
busses to/from park for free(would save us a car rental and DH wouldn't have to worry about driving while on vacation)
The ability to book over a year in advance with a small down payment and then make payments on it so everything is essentially "prepaid".

I will be watching your thread!! Either way I am sure we will both have a lovely time!

For me, I think I am leaning slightly toward WBC because the space outweighs all else each night when my boys start running around the house! I like the idea of sitting on the balcony with a beer while they sleep but, then think I'll be too tired from the parks and probably in bed anyway! See, there I go again!

 

[mom2connorandcaleb]

This is me as well. We are a family of 4 with 2 young kids. I would be going about one year after your trip but, I can't decide either. I know we have a lot of time but, the more I look and think, the more I confuse myself further! Here is what I like about both:

WBC-
The pools look so much nicer and less crowded
I love lazy rivers
With 2 young boys under age 7 room could be a huge plus!
A balcony(we can only afford value or mod)
A kitchen so that we can have sandwiches, breakfast, etc. a lot cheaper

Onsite(would prob do ASsp because my son in a sports nut and will outgrow wanting to stay there, I like CBR's pool and the scenery at POR'S walkways and Alligator Bayou though but, I know we can stay there in the future when they are older.

Magic Express
Food Courts
Theming for the kids
The ability to book dining plan so that DH and I can splurge
busses to/from park for free(would save us a car rental and DH wouldn't have to worry about driving while on vacation)
The ability to book over a year in advance with a small down payment and then make payments on it so everything is essentially "prepaid".

I will be watching your thread!! Either way I am sure we will both have a lovely time!

For me, I think I am leaning slightly toward WBC because the space outweighs all else each night when my boys start running around the house! I like the idea of sitting on the balcony with a beer while they sleep but, then think I'll be too tired from the parks and probably in bed anyway! See, there I go again!

Thanks! If I weren't worried so much about not having FP+, I think the decision would be easier. I'm afraid I won't get to ride Soarin' and a lot of the more popular rides!

 

[thehogsters]

Thanks! If I weren't worried so much about not having FP+, I think the decision would be easier. I'm afraid I won't get to ride Soarin' and a lot of the more popular rides!

Off site guest still get to use FP+, no? WBC has a shuttle to all the parks ($6 per day) so no worries there.

 

[Spanky]

So I have made 22 trips to WDW over 35 years. I have stayed at Bonnet Creek 5 times. I agreed each has its good points. I would not stay at WBC without a car. The shuttle is not very accommodating. You will end up paying for a taxi. I personally rent a car even when staying on WDW property. I seem to always end up waiting 20 min or more for a Disney bus and at park closing it can be a lot longer. I prefer to be able to leave when I want to leave. I have learned to walk to CR at MK closing to be able to catch the monorail without such a long wait.
I love having a second bedroom and second bathroom. Sure makes getting ready in the morning a lot easier. It will cost you close to $100 for round trip taxi to & from the Orlando airport to WBC so that cost alone makes renting a car a better deal. Also the washing machine and dryer in the condo is a big plus.
With a family of 4, the Disney hotel rooms are very small and everyone is on top of each other.
Now if you live is a big city with public transportation and don't really drive much then I would recommend staying on Disney property. Disney does offer lots of transportation + the free ride from the airport & back is a really nice touch.
Fast pass + is another reason to stay on property and the ability to make dining reservations for your entire trip at the 180 day mark.

 

[Janet Hill]

For me the decision is easy - I don't stay more than 1 night in a hotel room.

Too crowded for me.

 

[mom2connorandcaleb]

So I have made 22 trips to WDW over 35 years. I have stayed at Bonnet Creek 5 times. I agreed each has its good points. I would not stay at WBC without a car. The shuttle is not very accommodating. You will end up paying for a taxi. I personally rent a car even when staying on WDW property. I seem to always end up waiting 20 min or more for a Disney bus and at park closing it can be a lot longer. I prefer to be able to leave when I want to leave. I have learned to walk to CR at MK closing to be able to catch the monorail without such a long wait.
I love having a second bedroom and second bathroom. Sure makes getting ready in the morning a lot easier. It will cost you close to $100 for round trip taxi to & from the Orlando airport to WBC so that cost alone makes renting a car a better deal. Also the washing machine and dryer in the condo is a big plus.
With a family of 4, the Disney hotel rooms are very small and everyone is on top of each other.
Now if you live is a big city with public transportation and don't really drive much then I would recommend staying on Disney property. Disney does offer lots of transportation + the free ride from the airport & back is a really nice touch.
Fast pass + is another reason to stay on property and the ability to make dining reservations for your entire trip at the 180 day mark.

We will have our own car! We are driving from North Carolina!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

If you are at MK I would suggest for lunch going to the Hess gas station right outside of the MK parking booths. There is a nice café inside that has plenty of seating for all of you. They serve whole pizza's for $8.00 and on certain days they also offer a free 2 litter of pop. We love their pizza and the hotdogs. We got 4 hotdogs, two 20oz pops and a bag of combo's and paid $7.35 total for lunch that fed two people.

Or what you could do is do a breakfast buffet at one of the resorts but eat late like 10:45 and that could serve as breakfast and lunch. The buffet at Trails end at Fort Wilderness is very reasonably priced.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Or what you could do is do a breakfast buffet at one of the resorts but eat late like 10:45 and that could serve as breakfast and lunch. The buffet at Trails end at Fort Wilderness is very reasonably priced.

And you can use a character breakfast for a brunch. We had 10:45 reservations at Tusker House. Our first go-around the buffet was breakfast, and they had the lunch stuff out by the time we had our second go-around.

 

[shell8558]

I have stayed at both - WBC does have great pools and the lazy river is wonderful . We had a balcony room and could watch the fireworks every night- that was a nice touch. We did leave for mid day breaks to swim and it was not a problem because WBC is on disney property . The biggest downfall for me was paying for parking everyday , because I like having my car. And the cost of the food . Everytime we have stayed on site , we were lucky enough to get the free dining - so we have become accustomed to eating at parks whenever we wanted . And I found that WBC just didn't have the "disney magic" feel. POR is beautiful, the boats to dd are awesome, the food court is good and they have a great pool and slide . If it cost the same - I would go with POR.

 

[kokomos]

To me it was easier and faster staying at BC to take breaks during the day. Not having to wait for bus. Eat breakfast b4 going to park, we cooked a couple of nights with left overs for lunch. The extra space makes trips much more relaxing.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

I have to agree with most of the PPs. WBC would be my choice. We have stayed both on and off, and we have even done split stays with on and off. Once staying off first and also staying on first.

Each time we have stayed onsite, we have come to the conclusion that we truly prefer staying at WBC. The location makes travel to and from the parks a cinch. The only long-ish travel is to AK and the only slightly hassled travel was to MK (boat or monorail). That being said, we have had MANY hellish travels with WDW transportation. Long waits, dangerously over crowded buses, and still long walks to and from the bus stops.

LOVE the pools there, and having an extra bedroom and bathroom can't be beat with a teen and a tween. Plus, with laundry IN room, we can pack more judiciously.

Last trip we did the onsite stay first, and when we turned down the road to WBC I believe I finally started to relax.

 

[Wyatt's Grandma]

We've always stayed onsite until last spring when we were offered a room at Bonnet Creek. We're headed back there in May. We loved the space, the washer and dryer, and the uncrowded pools. It was a relief to go back to a quiet spot every night after fighting the crowds in the parks each day. The glass of wine on the balcony didn't hurt either. We rented a car so no problems with busses. We could wash the kids clothes at night, keep cold pop, beer and milk in the frig and have room to spread out. Plus it cost a fraction of what staying onsite would have cost. With what we saved we didn't feel bad about paying park prices for our food. Check out the We loooove Bonnet Creek thread.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Another vote for Bonnet Creek here. Six stays so far and two more booked.

 

[Brian Noble]

You have to pick two of the following three:

1: Be onsite.
2: Have a reasonable amount of space.
3: Spend a reasonable amount of money.

You're looking at two options that aren't too far from one another price-wise. So, you have to decide what is more important to you: space or the onsite perks?

If I had to pick between the two, I'd pick space. But, my priorities might not be the same as yours.

 

[*disgal*]

We are a group of 12 going at the end of October. We will be driving so we will have our own car. There are 7 adults and 5 kids, ages 10, 9, 7, 4, and 2. We would either get 3 rooms at POR and hope for the usual free dining or stay in two 2 bedrooms at WBC. For my family of 6, it will be cheaper to stay at Bonnet Creek, but I added up our meals in the parks (we want one character meal), and we might only save $100 at WBC. We would eat cereal in the room no matter where we stay. Is there any way we would not have to eat two meals in the parks each day? I don't know about a mid-day break, I'm afraid it might take too long to get to our car, to the hotel, eat, and back. What would you do in my situation? I could wait it out for free dining to be announced, but it's going to kill me not having a room reservation until August or so. I have a quote for WBC for $560 for 6 nights in a two bedroom. I feel like I need to decide now or I won't be able to find a rate that good. HELP!

I think I must be missing something cause I would think even with food WBC would be a lot cheaper. You said $560 for a 2 bedroom and you would need 2 of them? So like $1100-1200? And 3 rooms at POR for Aug at 6 nights would be about $3600 with tax. That's a lot of money for food. I'm sure I am not seeing something.....

we have a 3 bedroom booked for next month and we have also stayed at POR many times including with free dining. When I come back I am planning on making a trip report.

 

[Inhislove]

I think fast pass plus is now available to everybody, although staying onsite allows you a 60 day window to pre-plan.

 

[mom2connorandcaleb]

I think I must be missing something cause I would think even with food WBC would be a lot cheaper. You said $560 for a 2 bedroom and you would need 2 of them? So like $1100-1200? And 3 rooms at POR for Aug at 6 nights would be about $3600 with tax. That's a lot of money for food. I'm sure I am not seeing something.....

we have a 3 bedroom booked for next month and we have also stayed at POR many times including with free dining. When I come back I am planning on making a trip report.

I didn't include the price of tickets. Our BC room is $562, well we are sharing it with my parents but we will pay the majority of it, maybe $400. Add $1555 for tickets and $75 for parking and that brings my family of 6 right above $2000. POR for us alone is going to be about $2800 (and that is hoping for free dining). So, food for us at Bonnet Creek will add $400-$600, so we won't be a whole lot less than POR. But definitely less

 

[powellrj]

Everytime people mention free dining, I wonder if they are adding the tips into the totals. To me, the meals are so over priced at WDW, that once you add the tips onto free dining, paying for your meals out of pocket off-site will still be cheaper!

We love staying off-site because we love all the extra room, so its a no brainer for us.

 

[jaykorf001]

I didn't include the price of tickets. Our BC room is $562, well we are sharing it with my parents but we will pay the majority of it, maybe $400. Add $1555 for tickets and $75 for parking and that brings my family of 6 right above $2000. POR for us alone is going to be about $2800 (and that is hoping for free dining). So, food for us at Bonnet Creek will add $400-$600, so we won't be a whole lot less than POR. But definitely less

Now I'm confused. You'll have to pay for tickets if you stay at POR, right? Why add them to the WBC price when comparing? Maybe I missed something. And I agree with another poster, the "free" dining isn't all that great of a deal for many. I can't imagine that WBC wouldn't be significantly cheaper.

We are arriving for our first trip to WBC on Friday. Last summer we stayed at AKL. Even with just my husband and my then 4 year old, I would not have wanted to stay crammed in a hotel room for more than a few days. We did enjoy AKL but relish more space. My husband would NEVER willingly stay at a Disney hotel for a week -- I guess I wouldn't either. You'd have even more people in each room at POR, right? How important is space to your group? Some people don't mind the small accommodations and just use the rooms to sleep. It really depends on your personal preference.

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