As Carol correctly noted, that's a great time to be at WDW, no matter where you sleep!
Compared to
DVC, there are pro's and con's and the comment you often hear is that people like some things better and other things not so much. I'll give you our observations after our very first offsite stay, which was at Bonnet Creek for five nights in May.
Like DVC better because:
- Over the top theming -- not necessarily DISNEY theming, but every DVC resort has a very definite character. Bonnet Creek is sort of Spanish influence with a little pirate thrown in. It's pretty -- prettier than some DVC resorts -- but I didn't sense an overall theme.
- Better dining options -- as opposed to nothing. Bonnet Creek has a couple of very small outlets that serve burgers, sandwiches and hot dogs, but no real dining options. The new Wyndham hotel will be opening in late 2011, and it will have 5 restaurants, but currently there's not much on-property. That's no biggie for us, but it may be for you.
- Transportation -- Like you, we drive, so this is a non-issue for us. But for those who bus, the DVC busses run much more often. On the bright side, the BC's free busses run on a regular schedule, and generally stick pretty close to schedule, so they might be more predictable.
- Compared to an OKW 1BR only, the BC 1BR is a little smaller. Compared to the SSR 1 BRs, it's about the same size, but laid out a little better. I had a nagging feeling that I'd rather have a little more room in the bedroom/bath area and a little less in the living room/kitchen area...but we were very comfortable with what we had.
On the plus side for BC:
- POOLS: In my book, SAB would rank no better than third-best pool at BC...probably 4th. Yes, it has soft white sand to wiggle your toes in as the duck poop floats by, but other than that, it doesn't compare. BC has FIVE pools, two with real, honest-to-goodness lazy rivers (not glorified whirlpools) with abundant FREE tubes, and two with decent water slides. Four of the pools are zero entry, and have separate kids play areas. Two of the pools have beautiful cabanas, featuring complete shade, refrigerators, and flat-screen TVs...for the very reasonable price of $50/day. I love DVC, but these pools are WAY better than anything I've seen at DVC.
- Amenities -- the villas are more nicely decorated, with better quality furniture, and they are better equipped with household goods than DVC. The main building contains an excellent exercise facility, two pool tables, a video arcade, and a complete activities center with great programs. Between Tower 2 and 3, there is a free minigolf course. There are three beautiful BBQ grilling sites, featuring shaded picnic tables and 4 enormous, high-quality LP gas grills...all free. There is frequent live entertainment at the Tower 4 pool (Escudos) and Karaoke at the Tower 2/3 pool.
- Convenience -- this will surprise some folks, but BC is more convenient to some theme parks than some DVC resorts. It's a little quicker to MK and Epcot (AND DTD) than OKW and SSR. It's much quicker to anywhere except AK than AKV, and probably about the same travel time to AK. It's quicker to great dining options offsite than DVC, with the exception of SSR to the Crossroads Shopping Center area...which is a matter of a minute or two difference.
- Cost -- I won't go into the cost difference, except to say that our Wyndham points stay worked out to about 1/4th of the cost we would have paid using DVC points for similar accommodations at OKW (the lowest cost DVC resort) during the same time period.
"hey honey, nevermind!"
