Help me decide - Darn you, Bonnet Creek!

[5olearys]

We booked a 5 night/6 park day free dining package at CBR for my family of 5 for $3100. which is kind of a score, right? I just couldn't leave well enough alone and I had to compare with Bonnet Creek...and the same time frame for a 2br is $435 (room only). So now I'm torn! Do I pass up on the really good FD deal with the small-for-5-people on site resort (and EMH) for more space (and laundry) at BC? Price wise after tickets, dining and parking, it's almost a wash. Advice?

 

[sdoll]

I am biased. As you can tell by my signature... I absolutely love Bonnet Creek. We stayed onsite a few times. It was great. But once we tried Bonnet Creek we found a whole new way of traveling. The free dining is not free. I bet you would save money even if you paid out of pocket on the same meals. Add the fact that the kids will have their own room plus room in the unit for your whole family to stretch out. The grounds, the pools you name are top notch!! No matter what you decide you will have a great time. But for me I would hands down select Bonnet Creek!

 

[js]

Everyone is different and your asking so Ill say five people in one room is no vacation for me lol Even when my kids were young and we would cruise we got two connecting cabins. If you have never stayed in anything other ggan a hotel room, why not give it a try for somehing new. You can always use Garden Grocer or wegoshop and get some food in your room for snacks and breakfasts. Let us know what you decide.

 

[5olearys]

I'm all over the place, lol. We've stayed at BC before and loooooved it...also stayed twice at PORR and liked it a lot (but that was before we got to streeeeeetch out at BC). We utilize the EMH every day, though, and we've got the dining plan down to the point that we beat the heck out of it lol. We've resort hopped the last few trips so I'm anxious to go somewhere this trip and just move in for the long haul! We will figure it out somehow!

 

[cammie810]

Over the years we have stayed onsite, offsite, in rental condos and houses and Bonnet Creek. For me, nothing beats Bonnet Creek. It is the best of both worlds. Super close to WDW, still has a very resort feel but with the added bonus of space! I am not the best sleeper (even in my own bed) and being able to get up and move around without disturbing my husband or anyone else traveling with us is great. Plus, while I love to eat out and dont necessarily want to do a ton of cooking at Disney having the ability to have a cup of coffee in the morning w/out having to get dressed and being able to store drinks and leftovers is a bonus.

 

[babyruth]

Tough call! We can't survive in one room. If it was a wash for the same size rooms on property would be a no brainet IMO. But to at least triple your space with a 2 bedroom plus kitchen I would go with Bonnet Creek hands down. That's just us though. One room for us and all the kids is not vacation at all. It's worse than being home LOL

 

[pigletto]

I was a diehard onsite fan for many years. We've stayed at all levels of Disney resorts, and enjoy them all for different reasons. We just returned from 8 nights at Bonnet Creek and in your situation that would be my choice hands down. We are so much more relaxed and happy when we all have our own space. My kids are 12 and 19 now. It just doesn't work to cram us all into one room for a week anymore. I'd go back tomorrow if I could!

 

[5olearys]

Believe it or not, leaning towards keeping the CBR reservation. This is a short trip for us and we don't anticipate taking too many resort/room breaks. A lot of time in the parks. Plus, I loooooove Bonnet Creek, but with it being a free dining week in the parks, those 180 +10 ADRs, 60 day FP and EMH are hard to turn down! If I were a really twisted person I'd keep the on site package and stay at BC, but I'm not

 

[5olearys]

OK. We're doing both! Added three nights of Bonnet Creek goodness at the end of our trip! I almost feel like we're getting away with something shady with what we're paying for the free dining package...when I do the math, it's just too good to pass up. And then I get to come back to our lazy river at BC and chiiiiiiilll! SO Excited!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

OK. ... I almost feel like we're getting away with something shady with what we're paying for the free dining package...when I do the math, it's just too good to pass up.

I know what you mean. We usually stay offsite, and WBC is our preferred resort offsite, but FD at CBR got us this trip as well. We're a party of 5 too (technically 6, but our oldest is in Florida now doing the Disney Alumni Program) and after we factor in/out the cost of the 2 day tickets (we have APs so we're saving our tickets for a future trip), the room is $212 a night, but that includes food for all of us. It's going to be somewhat of a last hurrah for us as our middle daughter will be starting college in 2017 and we won't all be on the same schedule again. We're willing to sacrifice a bit on space for the convenience of having all of our meals paid for and for the flexibility of having our girls stay late at the parks and take Disney transportation back if they choose to do so.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Bete]

When it's a wash on monies, I would still stay onsite. For one, you get the total Disney experience. Also, you get sooner fastpass plus reservations (30 offsite vs. 60 onsite) and you get extra magic hours. You have Disney transportation, too.

You didn't mention Disney parking fees and extra gasoline costs to go everywhere. So, make sure you are comparing all the costs in your comparison.