Hilton Resorts vs. Onsite

[polkadotminnie]

Having stayed on and off site at various hotels including HBC, I would recommend doing HBC first then the Disney hotel. HBC is a wonderful hotel but from a kid's perspective, it will feel more deluxe and adult. The first few days will be filled with park time so I would leave the Disney hotel to look forward to at the end of the trip.

 

[SwanVT2]

I think I can help... for the past few years, we've taken our boys (now 7 and 5) onsite four times (with the Poly twice) and this last trip, we stayed at Hilton Bonnet Creek. We'll never stay onsite again. Hilton Bonnet Creek is awesome! They have rooms where you can see the fireworks at Hollywood Studios. The lazy river is large and there are always plenty of tubes for everyone. There's a great water slide for kids. They do movie nights on Saturday nights in the pool. Dinner on site is free for kids 12 and under at Harvest (part of your $30 resort fee). They have free transportation to the parks on a set schedule so you know exactly when to leave and not wait 20 minutes for a bus to get you. The place is much more "deluxe" than a deluxe at Disney at a much better price. The staff always smiled and said hello, everywhere you went. They have a dedicated Disney store staffed with Disney Parks employees. You can actually see the Pop, Caribbean Beach and Tower of Terror from the parkview rooms. Plus, if you are a teacher, they offer a "teacher appreciation" rate, knocking down the price even more. We stayed this December and have already booked a return trip for this August before our Disney cruise. You lose Magic Express and the ability to buy things with your magic bands, but for us... it was well worth the change. We actually felt more relaxed and enjoyed going back to the hotel to relax by the pool bar, watch fireworks, and sit by a fire table.

The ONLY thing that would sway me to tell you to stay onsite is that it's your first time going to Disney. There is a magical feeling being at a Disney hotel. But if you want the most bang for your buck, especially being a Hilton Rewards member, eligible for free upgrades, I can't say enough good things about Hilton Bonnet Creek.

We just got a great rate at Waldorf for next February. How close of a walk is Waldorf to HBC to use their pool? Also, does Hilton have any type of quick service type restaurant for coffee in the morning and such? Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

[InTheWick]

The hotels are next door to each other with the conference center in between. You can either walk inside between the hotels through the conference center hallway or outside there is a path between the hotels that overlooks the golf course. While we never walked over to the Waldorf from the Hilton, we saw people of all ages coming from that way, so I don't think it could be very long. The Hilton has a great coffee/pastry shop just off the main lobby called Muse. We pretty much stopped there for breakfast on our way out every morning. Here's a link to it: http://www.hiltonbonnetcreek.com/dining/muse

 

[writerguyfl]

How close of a walk is Waldorf to HBC to use their pool?

According to the "Measure Distance" tool on Google Maps, the approximate distance is 1,300 feet (.25 miles).

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

For a first trip I would stay onsite at a hotel with the theme I loved. For me it's Animal kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge or Boardwalk. The Disney "bubble" and resort theme is some of what makes a Disney trip magical. I might even consider renting DVC points or go for a cabin at Fort Wilderness in order to stay onsite if needed.

If I were staying at a Hilton resort I would chose the Waldorf Astoria - but if I had kids, the Hilton Bonnet Creek - because of the lazy river. When I stayed at the Hilton Bonnet Creek, families at the Waldorf were hiking it over to the lazy river at HBC and I was chilling over at the Waldorf as you could use the facilities at both - but it is a walk from one to the other. Be aware of the extra charges as they do add up - resort fees and parking etc. I also really enjoyed the Bistro at Hilton Bonnet Creek as well. The location of the Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria is a bit more relaxing than the DTD properties (Lake Buena Vista, Hilton LBV) - though they are too nice properties - Bonnet Creek had a more "resort" feel to it, "calmer away from it" all atmosphere.

 

[Hawaii2Dis]

Do you rent a home? How do you score all of that for $75 a night?!?!

I don't know if this explains it but my boyfriend works for Grand Wailea here on Maui, he said as a worker for the Hilton group you can get the cheapest rate (during an off season/low booking season) for $75/night. But when we went to Vegas, my boyfriend had a really good rate for $45/night at Tropicana, but that was 3 years ago, and supposedly Hilton changed their whole Team Member booking system...

Anyway, we are looking at maybe staying off site at a Hilton to save some money on our next trip! The only problem is I love being in the Disney Bubble, but we also want to do more off site activities! We'll see