Staying at resort vs visiting

[WDWOswald]

We have always stayed at bonnet creek and visited the boardwalk, poly, contemporary, and grand floridian. We have dinner, enjoy the lobby, lounges, and beaches. Then we drive 5 minutes back to bonnet creek. Are we really missing out on much by not staying at a deluxe 24/7? I feel like we get to take advantage of just about everything regular guests do at say the poly at night but do not have to pay to stay.

 

[Shaden]

We have always stayed at bonnet creek and visited the boardwalk, poly, contemporary, and grand floridian. We have dinner, enjoy the lobby, lounges, and beaches. Then we drive 5 minutes back to bonnet creek. Are we really missing out on much by not staying at a deluxe 24/7? I feel like we get to take advantage of just about everything regular guests do at say the poly at night but do not have to pay to stay.

IF you don't mind the 5 minute drive as you put it ... then I think you are doing what works for you, and thats all that matters.

 

[aubriee]

We have always stayed at bonnet creek and visited the boardwalk, poly, contemporary, and grand floridian. We have dinner, enjoy the lobby, lounges, and beaches. Then we drive 5 minutes back to bonnet creek. Are we really missing out on much by not staying at a deluxe 24/7? I feel like we get to take advantage of just about everything regular guests do at say the poly at night but do not have to pay to stay.

That's exactly what we are going to be doing in just a little over a month. We don't care for the buses and driving is so much quicker anyway. Other than the pools (which Bonnet Creek has nice pools too), you can enjoy any of the WDW resort amenities. Bonnet Creek is just a few minutes away from most WDW parks/resorts and you can get a condo cheaper than a WDW Value resort. We are paying just $89.60 per night total for a one bedroom at Bonnet Creek and will have a ton more space, plus a washer/dryer, a fully equipped kitchen, two TVs, a jacuzzi tub, more hot tubs and pools, and a free mini golf course to use. We've stayed at WL, AKL, YC, and BW, but just can see the value. I'd rather pay the $89.60 per night that I'm paying now for a one bedroom at Bonnet Creek than $200.00-300.00 per night for alot less space and amenities at a WDW Deluxe resort.

 

[mickeynut1]

We have always stayed at bonnet creek and visited the boardwalk, poly, contemporary, and grand floridian. We have dinner, enjoy the lobby, lounges, and beaches. Then we drive 5 minutes back to bonnet creek. Are we really missing out on much by not staying at a deluxe 24/7? I feel like we get to take advantage of just about everything regular guests do at say the poly at night but do not have to pay to stay.

Staying onsite doesn't work for everybody and a great trip can still be had even if you aren't on Disney property 24/7. After doing both onsite and off, we now only stay onsite as that works for us and we love being immersed in Disney magic 24/7. We also use Disney transportation as we are never in a hurry on vacation and don't mind if it takes a little longer getting around. With that said, our first Disney trip was offsite and we had a great time. We didn't mind having to drive everywhere and still felt the "Disney magic", but once we tried onsite, we found it to be a little easier and more to our liking.