Lemme give this a shot...
I am pretty sure after reading and reading on here that our first trip October 2013, we will be staying at Bonnet Creek. It just seems to be the perfect place and cost for our family of 4 and my parents who are coming along.
Can someone recommend what size room we should reserve?
My two kids will be ages 3 and 5.
The others give some suggestions, so I think I'll just break down the bed situation for each size room.
2bdrm - 1 King Master bedroom, 2 Queens 2nd Bedroom.
3bdrm - 1 King Master Bedroom, 2 Queens 2nd Bedroom, 1 King 3rd Bedroom
'deluxe' units also have a pull out sofa-bed. Both the 2 and 3 bdrm units have 2 bathrooms, 1 as part of the Master Suite, and another full bathroom down by the other bedroom(s).
What is the number/person to contact to reserve dates and book a room?
There are several commercial renters and ways you can make a reservation. I would highly recommend going this route vs. renting thru wyndham directly as you will easily save $100-200+ a night by going thru an owner instead of Wyndham. (Also have more to choose from). You may want to check out the "I Loooooove" thread where people have mentioned who they've rented from.
the actual rooms you stay in will be the same no matter which owner you rent from. The differences between who you rent from will be mostly in things like price, and their cancelation/Deposit/Payment policies.... as well as the obvious customer service differences when dealing with the renter.
We really don't care too much about views or anything like that, but I do see us spending a decent amount of time near the pools and lazy rivers. Anyone recommend a particular Tower for that? Also, to be close to the parking lot since we will be renting a car.
The parking lots surround the resort buildings, which in turn are around the central lake. all buildings will be close to the parking lot. there are however 2 parking garages in addition to the general surface lots, so unless you are someone who prefers to park in a garage, there really isn't any real parking advantage from one tower to the next.
Pools and Lazy rivers are spread out around the resort. Again, the I Looooove thread will help give you an idea about the different pool options if you are wanting to be closer to one pool area vs. another. Worst case, the resort is pretty compact, so walking to the other side of the lake to get to another pool area isn't that long or hard of a hike.
I'm waiting until January to book because we need to see dates to get vacation time. So about 10 months in advance. What site do people use to buy the disney park tickets?
Personal preference. You can buy them directly from disney online, a
Disney Store,
Undercover Tourist, AAA, or any other AUTHORIZED disney ticket agent. DO NOT BUY YOUR TICKETS OFF EBAY OR CRAIGSLIST. (Those sites you don't have any guarantee the tickets are legitimate new tickets and will be good upon use).
If you wait until you get there, There is also a Disney ticket agent in the main lobby of the resort who you can buy your Disney tickets from. They are actually employed by Disney and you will be paying the same as if you bought them at the gate.... But you'll receive actual park tickets (not a voucher) so you can head straight to the park entrance and bypass the ticket booths (and lines) when you arrive at the park.
Thoughts on purchasing hopper passes? Are they worth it for my kids ages? Part of me thinks we'll just spend the day at one park and then return to the room and get in some pool time.
Park Hoppers are really a personal preference which have a lot to do with your personal way of touring. Some people can't live without them, while others just don't see the point. As someone else mentioned, The best bet would be to just wait and upgrade to the hoppers once you are there if you find you need/want them. You'll just need to go by Guest Relations and you can upgrade by just paying the cost difference between your ticket and the hopper ($57 per ticket now I believe). You can upgrade your ticket anytime within 14 days of it's first use as long as you do it before the end of your last day (ie. if you have a 4 day ticket, you would need to upgrade before leaving the park on your 4th day in the park.)
Do most folks bring in a cooler to the parks with some waters, snacks, etc?
Thank you in advance, I know I had alot of questions.
I wouldn't say most people, but I've seen some people who bring in some stuff. Disney's site has a list of things you cannot bring into the parks (such as I believe hard-sided coolers), but as long as you aren't violating those rules you can bring in water/snacks etc.