Can you help me decide between Bonnet Creek and onsite?

[jaykorf001]

I should also mention that we stayed club level too and totally used the lounge as extra space to relax and let our son watch cartoons. We probably would have brained ourselves without the extra club space. But I like to have an area within my accommodations to relax while traveling. Again, others don't see the need for the extra space.

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[mom2connorandcaleb]

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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The price of POR with tickets is around $2800 for one room (my family alone). If we got free dining, we wouldn't have to pay for dining, except tips. The price of WBC including tickets and parking is around $2000. Before food. So if no free dining the last week of October, then WBC is the obvious choice b/c we'd save $800. Have I cleared it up or not?

 

[The Iron Giant]

We're a family of 6... two adults and 4 kids. We stayed at WBC last year and loved it. We really liked having two bedrooms, two bathrooms, washer, dryer, kitchen, living room and dining room for significantly cheaper than a moderate room. Although we have stayed on property over 10 times and liked it, our family is too big now to do it at a reasonable cost.

I'm pretty sure we will never stay on property again and not just because of the price. We like the WBC that much. The rooms and the pools are fantastic!

 

[jaykorf001]

The price of POR with tickets is around $2800 for one room (my family alone). If we got free dining, we wouldn't have to pay for dining, except tips. The price of WBC including tickets and parking is around $2000. Before food. So if no free dining the last week of October, then WBC is the obvious choice b/c we'd save $800. Have I cleared it up or not?

Ah, so the tickets were already included in the POR figure. If you don't get "free" dining offered within your trip, remember that the price of the POR room would likely be less expensive. You have to pay rack rate to get the dining or you could get a reduction in room rate. The more people per room generally means the dining would be a better option than a room discount. Plus, the discount generally works better for Disney Deluxes vs mods or values. So if the price is close for your family to me it comes down to space and where space ranks for you. It took me one trip to figure out we either need to rent points for DVC or stay offsite.

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[Amanda999]

The price of POR with tickets is around $2800 for one room (my family alone). If we got free dining, we wouldn't have to pay for dining, except tips. The price of WBC including tickets and parking is around $2000. Before food. So if no free dining the last week of October, then WBC is the obvious choice b/c we'd save $800. Have I cleared it up or not?

I'd book WBC and not look back: being in flux for months would be stressful for me, FD in Oct 2014 seems unlikely to happen (per posters far more in the know than me), and if you are weighing finances above things like theming etc. (the usual onsite v. offsite factors) then it will be far less costly offsite: POR $3,723 (cheapest rack rate, 3 rooms, in Oct.) v. $1,120 WBC (2 suites at your stated rate). So POR costs $2,603 more for 6 nights.

We had free dining last August, and booked it as a bounceback for this August/Sep. We're canceling: even for a family of just 4, $100 with tax at Windsor Hills (3 bed, 3 bath townhome with private splash pool) will be less than 1/2 the cost of POR, and I just didn't find FD worth the 'cons' of onsite. I do love the theming, landscaping, and lifeguarding at POR, but the food court was hectic (even tried eating dinner at 4:30pm - still crowded!) and I didn't like the stress of making and rushing to get to ADRs for TS. And, well, I really can't relax in a single room with 4 people anymore. We rent a car anyway, so that's a wash (except $15/day parking at Disney parks when staying offsite).

So, guess I'm saying that if its a financial decision, it's offsite. But maybe it isn't just a financial decision for you, and you'll have to weigh those factors.

Good luck!

 

[mom2connorandcaleb]

I'd book WBC and not look back: being in flux for months would be stressful for me, FD in Oct 2014 seems unlikely to happen (per posters far more in the know than me), and if you are weighing finances above things like theming etc. (the usual onsite v. offsite factors) then it will be far less costly offsite: POR $3,723 (cheapest rack rate, 3 rooms, in Oct.) v. $1,120 WBC (2 suites at your stated rate). So POR costs $2,603 more for 6 nights.

We had free dining last August, and booked it as a bounceback for this August/Sep. We're canceling: even for a family of just 4, $100 with tax at Windsor Hills (3 bed, 3 bath townhome with private splash pool) will be less than 1/2 the cost of POR, and I just didn't find FD worth the 'cons' of onsite. I do love the theming, landscaping, and lifeguarding at POR, but the food court was hectic (even tried eating dinner at 4:30pm - still crowded!) and I didn't like the stress of making and rushing to get to ADRs for TS. And, well, I really can't relax in a single room with 4 people anymore. We rent a car anyway, so that's a wash (except $15/day parking at Disney parks when staying offsite).

So, guess I'm saying that if its a financial decision, it's offsite. But maybe it isn't just a financial decision for you, and you'll have to weigh those factors.

Good luck!

Thanks! I think we have decided on Bonnet Creek!
I am trying to get all adults on our party to agree and put the money down!

 

[Ksquared]

I can tell you I've stayed both onsite and offsite and we've stayed at Bonnet Creek. I loved our stay at Bonnet Creek. Because it is within the Disney complex it really doesn't feel that much like an offsite stay. I loved all the room we had, loved the different pools around the complex etc. We ate some of our meals at the parks and some in our room. Even going back and ordering from a pizza place is cheaper than eating out of pocket in the parks. If you are driving, consider making some dinners ahead of time and bringing them down in a cooler. Then you might not feel like you are cooking all the time while on vacation. Schedule a few dinners at Disney and you will still be saving money. I guess for me a priority is space and that pretty much drives allot of why we stay offsite.

 

[floridacrazy]

Hi Everyone. I haven't been on this site in about a year, but now that my 3-week vacation at Bonnet Creek is planned for July, I am back browsing again. There is so much helpful info.

Last year we spent 2 weeks at Bonnet Creek and we really enjoyed it. The only thing that bothered me was that no one in my family drives so we were there without a car and couldn't take a break in the afternoon from the parks and then go back to the parks in the evening. That is the only thing I miss about being onsite.

Having so much space with kids at Bonnet Creek was worth giving up the afternoon break. It was 2 adults and 2 kids. One of the kids is an over-active 3 year old so the extra space to roam around is great. He would climb the walls being in a regular hotel room. We were in a 2-bedroom and putting him to sleep in the bedroom and having the living-room and balcony to relax on late in the evening was great. I'm a morning person so being able to sit on the balcony with a cup of coffee and my magazine was so relaxing. I didn't have to worry about waking anyone.

There are so many pools, lazy river, mini golf, game room that there is enough for the kids to do without even going to the parks. I enjoy the parks, but not going every day. The parks have become so expensive that having a place like Bonnet Creek makes a vacation in Florida worth it even without the parks.

This summer we will only spend 5 days at the Disney parks/water parks. We also planned on going to Universal for 2 days and the SeaWorld/Aquatica & Busch Gardens.

All of the vacations that we ever took to Orlando were onsite at Disney except for one time that we stayed on International Drive. Even staying onsite at a Disney hotel (Pop Century) drove me crazy. I can't be in such a small space for a long period of time. I need the space that you get at Bonnet Creek. Having a dishwasher and washing machine is a lifesaver. We don't have to bring so many clothes, especially since a lot of airlines charge for luggage.

You will definitely enjoy your time at Bonnet Creek. Have a great trip.

 

[Lewisc]

You posted your question in the Orlando Hotels board. I'd expect most posters to suggest WBC. Larger accommodations. Kitchen. Location is close to Disney. Attractive pricing. Your responses are as expected.

Post in the Resort Board and I'd expect the opposite consensus. On site "magic". Complimentary bus transportation, from the airport to your rest, to the parks and back to the airport after your trip. EMH. Preferential FP. Availability of dining plan. Daily maid service. Mid day break opportunity. WBC works for mid day breaks, if you have a car.

We can't decide which amenities are important to you.

 

[gdrj]

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!

if you do stay offsite or don't do ddp you may want to invest in tables in wonderland. With a large party it will more than pay for itself.

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

shuttle at 6 bucks person and limited times is a nonstarter, the only good thing would be if part of your party wanted to go earlier or leave at a different time to return back to resort.

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 .

no offense, great price but to me eating at a gas station is not my idea of how to spend time on vacation. Drink water for a month or cut back on snacks at home, and sit down at Casey s on Main Street and splurge for a hot dog there. Spend 1000 for tickets but leave to eat at a gas station isn't for me. With all that said we all do our own quirky things, so I'm happy for you that it is a positive for you.

You posted your question in the Orlando Hotels board. I'd expect most posters to suggest WBC. Larger accommodations. Kitchen. Location is close to Disney. Attractive pricing. Your responses are as expected.

Post in the Resort Board and I'd expect the opposite consensus. On site "magic". Complimentary bus transportation, from the airport to your rest, to the parks and back to the airport after your trip. EMH. Preferential FP. Availability of dining plan. Daily maid service. Mid day break opportunity. WBC works for mid day breaks, if you have a car.

We can't decide which amenities are important to you.

. Agreed, I am a DVC owner, and stay on site 99% of the time. We stayed at bonnet creek, and enjoyed it. Doing a large villa with family could be fun, of course doing a villa with a large family can NOT be fun. The extra magic hours, and scheduling FP 60 days out is a plus. I would be tempted to stay at Bonnet creek.

 

[mom2connorandcaleb]

if you do stay offsite or don't do ddp you may want to invest in tables in wonderland. With a large party it will more than pay for itself.

Tables in wonderland? What is this?

 

[powellrj]

if you do stay offsite or don't do ddp you may want to invest in tables in wonderland. With a large party it will more than pay for itself.

Tables in wonderland? What is this?

Its a discount card that you can buy to use for your meals. You have to either be a season passholder, DVC owner or FL resident to buy it. I think it runs around $100, but I could be wrong about the price. It gives you 20% most meals at WDW owned restaurants.