The we loooooove Bonnet Creek thread part2

[aseyrick]

Huh. I was sure there were photos of pots and pans in there. Yes, they have a couple of basics pots and pans - good for quick dishes like pasta. I don't remember seeing a baking sheet. There is a toaster. Glass bowls, with lids, for prep and storage. In the 1 bedrooms, there's anywhere between 4-6 of an item, usually 8 for the 2 bedrooms.

During one stay, I only had 3 wine and water glasses - I didn't need them but I reported it so as not be be charged (paranoid). Shortly after I called, housekeeping had brought up replacements *and* extra glasses. I'm sure they'd do the same if you needed an extra pot or pan.

I'm on my iPad, making it hard to quote, but here are other questions.

Water play areas: There are a couple of children's water play areas - one near the main building, the other near building 3 (which has a small slide and is near the children's play structure and mini golf). But all the pools have fun details for kids, like the water cannons at the lazy river/pirate area. The ones in my pictures 38-39 are at the main building.

Fitness centers: There are two fitness centers, building 6 and the main building. Both are small - a couple of ellipticals, treadmills, bikes and weights/weight machines. There are wall TVs, towels, water. Truthfully, it's my biggest (minor) disappoinment for the resort - two small fitness not really bigger or better outfitted than most leisure-oriented hotels I've stayed at. (Not checked out facilities at the hotel.) I can work with it because I run outdoors while at WDW (WBC is okay, if not scenic for short runs - head to Disney's CBR). And at least in building 6 you can control the air temperature.

Thank you! There was a picture, but there was only 1 pan, no pots, etc. Thanks for all the other info too!!

 

[kleldridge]

I'm here now if anyone has any questions.

 

[jujube]

I'm here now if anyone has any questions.

Has there been any push to go to a presentation or any type of hard sell? I recommended this resort to my brother and his wife based on all of the glowing reports here on the DIS. If they have to go through this, i will never hear the end of it.

 

[disney-akj]

Has there been any push to go to a presentation or any type of hard sell? I recommended this resort to my brother and his wife based on all of the glowing reports here on the DIS. If they have to go through this, i will never hear the end of it.

When I checked in on the 16th, I just had to say a firm no several times. They offered me $100 too. I said no again, then it was over. Not too bad. You just have to be polite, but firm. $100 wasn't worth it to me to give up 3 hours of my time on vacation. It all probably lasted less than five minutes.

 

[mjohnson96]

I just want to say thanks to those that started this. I would never had thought to try here nor use Vacationupgrades. I booked a 3BR last night for our May trip and the price was outstanding

I'm really looking forward to staying!

 

[Tracey123]

Well... we did it!!!!
I poured over this thread the last few days. We have only ever stayed onsite. And while I loved each of those trips, we need more room.
We invited dd's friend along for our August trip. So all of a sudden it's 2 adults, 2 teen girls and an 8 year old boy. We looked at renting DVC points, or booking OKW, or two rooms at a Value or upgrading to a Deluxe.

My husband kept saying "What about that Bonnet Creek place you mentioned?
And finally I decided to submit a quote request with Vacation Strategy.
We need a 2 bedroom for 8 nights in the end of August. They came back to me with a quote just hours later.

It worked out to about 122 a night. SOLD!!!!!

With that savings we can happily rent a car. We are AP holders so all we have to do is get dd's friends tickets and make a budget for food for the week.
But I am THRILLED with the price and I love the look of Bonnet Creek. Very excited to try something new!!!

You may miss the food court and your refill cup, but that will be it!!! The villas are very nice and having all of that room with your family is awesome. You will not...I repeat not...go back to Disney after you stay at WBC...especially for the price! $122 a night for 5 people.

Try ordering groceries from Garden Grocer, we used them for our trip last year and it was nice having everything delivered to our room.

We rented a car and like driving to the parks, it's SO MUCH FASTER than taking any bus...including Diney's!!! Plus as AP members you won't pay for the daily parking. ($14) Try obtaining a AAA diamond parking pass and park in the front row!!!

 

[pigletto]

I'm here now if anyone has any questions.

I suppose I could ask anyone this question but maybe since you are there you can tell me
My ds LOVES waterslides. He's 8 and the bigger the better. Which building would be the best to request to be nice and close to a pool with a decent slide?
I think I saw a picture of a pool with a nice looking slide but I am not sure.. all the info is starting to run together now!

 

[skateshome]

Give Vacation Stategies another GOLD STAR!!!
We originally booked for 4 nights but after looking into it a little further
realized we could stay for 7 for only about $400 more TOTAL including
park passes. Well that was a no brainer so I called them back and they
didn't have anything but said they should get something about 2 weeks
before hand. Well that made me a little nervous but decided what the heck.
Got the email last night. Booked all 7 nights, 2 brm and leaving in 2 WEEKS!!!

Thank you VS!!!

 

[DCTooTall]

Well... we did it!!!!
I poured over this thread the last few days. We have only ever stayed onsite. And while I loved each of those trips, we need more room.
We invited dd's friend along for our August trip. So all of a sudden it's 2 adults, 2 teen girls and an 8 year old boy. We looked at renting DVC points, or booking OKW, or two rooms at a Value or upgrading to a Deluxe.

My husband kept saying "What about that Bonnet Creek place you mentioned?
And finally I decided to submit a quote request with Vacation Strategy.
We need a 2 bedroom for 8 nights in the end of August. They came back to me with a quote just hours later.

It worked out to about 122 a night. SOLD!!!!!

With that savings we can happily rent a car. We are AP holders so all we have to do is get dd's friends tickets and make a budget for food for the week.
But I am THRILLED with the price and I love the look of Bonnet Creek. Very excited to try something new!!!

And with 2 teen girls, Do not underestimate the advantage of having 2 bathrooms for morning prep.

As for food, one thing that i like about the full kitchen is that it's very easy to get milk and cereal (or other breakfast makings) so that while people are taking turns getting showered/cleaned up for the day you can have breakfast available for munch on. It saves time compared to going to a food court, and also can save a lot of money too because it's a lot cheaper to eat breakfast at the room compared to anyplace onsite at Disney, AND you'll have eaten breakfast so you might find you are less likely to pig out or get stuck during typical meal rushes at the parks during the day.

 

[pigletto]

The two bathrooms is going to be heavenly!!
My husband is absolutely thrilled with the price too! I think we just needed a shove to get us out of our onsite comfort zone.

We've always eaten breakfast in the room. We usually rent points for a studio. It's going to be so nice to have the option of a full dinner in the room. There are many times on our trips that I am just completely overwhelmed with heavy restaurant food. So I don't mind cooking a few nights and going out on the others.
And I've always done laundry once on vacation so we could pack less. It will be great to have the washer/dryer right in the Unit.

 

[hopeandtink]

I am so excited about our first stay here!! I won 7 nights in a 2 br for 340 on ebay!! This is prime season for $56 a night. This is turning into a the cheapest trip ever!
6 nights at Port Orleans Riverside $769-40% military rate
7 nights BC-$340
5-YES tickets, 8 day park hoppers with waterpark and more-$1107
driving-gas $500
Food and souvies-$750
total: $2936 for 13 nights for a family of 5!!

 

[nancy155]

I am so excited about our first stay here!! I won 7 nights in a 2 br for 340 on ebay!! This is prime season for $56 a night. This is turning into a the cheapest trip ever!
6 nights at Port Orleans Riverside $769-40% military rate
7 nights BC-$340
5-YES tickets, 8 day park hoppers with waterpark and more-$1107
driving-gas $500
Food and souvies-$750
total: $2936 for 13 nights for a family of 5!!

Congrats!!! That is a great deal, and thank you for serving for our country.
Have a great time in Disney!!

 

[hopeandtink]

Congrats!!! That is a great deal, and thank you for serving for our country.
Have a great time in Disney!!

My DH is the one serving, I will tell him for you. He doesn't really like Disney so he isn't coming this time:
I am sure we are going to love BC.

 

[mjohnson96]

I am coming in for a convention and thought of changing the first part of stay from HGVC to Bonnett Creek. It looks like from BC to the I-drive convention center is around 14 min. I can't remember since it has been 15 years since I lived there so is that about accurate first thing in the morning. I know the traffic toward Disney can be bad but what about traffic towards SW from Disney?

 

[wdw&sonny]

I am sure the answer is somewhere in the 133 pages of this thread, but can someone please tell me HOW to rent from an owner? Or tell me where to find this info?

Can you actually rent directly from the owner? How?

What are the best sites to use?
Can you use priceline, ebay, hotwire...?

Thanks.

 

[pigletto]

I am sure the answer is somewhere in the 133 pages of this thread, but can someone please tell me HOW to rent from an owner? Or tell me where to find this info?

Can you actually rent directly from the owner? How?

What are the best sites to use?
Can you use priceline, ebay, hotwire...?

Thanks.

The ones I see mentioned over and over in this thread are Vacationstrategy.com and Vacationupgrades.com (Or google both).
We went with vacation strategy. She explains everything on the site. You submit a request for a quote with your dates and she got back to me within a few hours (might be a bit longer on the weekend). The price was great and we decided to stop looking. Many people use Ebay as well, but for various reasons I wasn't as comfortable with that approach.

Those are two good places to start with people that have booked for many dis'ers in this thread. I've never seen a complaint about either one and I am happy with our experience thus far. We haven't gone on our trip yet but I don't anticipate any issues.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I'm booked for the whole week and we don't have to check out, and check back in anymore. The thought of it was driving me crazy.

Today while I was at lunch, Denise from Vacation Upgrades called me to say that she found something for our week so I booked with her. It's going to cost me a little more than before but it's worth every cent. She and her husband were so very nice to help me with my dates. Being Thanksgiving week it was a little harder. Looks like Disney & Bonnet Creek will be packed!

 

[webcreatrix]

I just booked Memorial week through Ken. I'm so excited! We had planned to stay at the Wyndham Grand, but I think we will appreciate the extra space and savings in our 2 bedroom suite!

 

[catra121]

Hi all! I am going to be staying at Bonnet Creek for the first time this coming October. My dad just booked our family (my parents, me, and my brother...all adults) a 2BR. They reserved room 6702 for us (though I know that's not guaranteed but that's what they put us down for). My parents prefer tower 6 because they say it has its own bus.

Anyway...I've been to Disney many times and am honestly a die hard onsite fan but as I am not payng for this trip I have no complaints because I get to go to DISNEY WORLD this year and I did not think that was going to happen. I am very excited about the trip and am already planning out our days but there is one small item that has me concerned and perhaps you kind folks here can help me out.

I have a disability and need to use a rollator (4 wheeled walker with a seat). I have seen it noted on the first page of this thread that people with disabilities need to call 2 hours ahead to schedule bus service...is this just for those with wheelchairs/scooters or would it apply to someone with a walker too? The walker can fold up like a stroller and I could sit in a regular seat...but I just wasn't sure. Also...would one need to call 2 hours ahead (if it is necessary) for the pick up from the parks as well? My primary concern is that this is my first trip since I have needed the walker (I'm only 28 years old) and I am not sure how I will do when it comes to touring the parks and if I will need to get back to the resort on short notice.

We will most likely have a car...but I was hoping to not inconvenience the rest of my family if I have one of my spells or something. In all likelihood, if the return to the resort is necessary I will not be able to drive myself back and the bus would be the easiest option...I think. I did read everything about the buses (times they run and that there is usually a mid day break in the bus schedule) so I know there may be issues even just with that. But what I am curious about is if I will just be able to get on the bus or if I will need to call ahead 2 hours like it says for wheelchairs.

Hopefully it won't be an issue at all...but I like to be prepared for whatever scenarios I might run into just so my expectation levels are set accordingly and so that I can have back up plans in place just in case, you know? I have a long time before my trip (October) but I am so excited that I can't help but be thinking of everything already. Thanks to everyone in advance and this thread has been incredibly helpful to me already.

 

[SalandJeff]

...I have a disability and need to use a rollator (4 wheeled walker with a seat). I have seen it noted on the first page of this thread that people with disabilities need to call 2 hours ahead to schedule bus service...is this just for those with wheelchairs/scooters or would it apply to someone with a walker too? The walker can fold up like a stroller and I could sit in a regular seat...but I just wasn't sure. Also...would one need to call 2 hours ahead (if it is necessary) for the pick up from the parks as well? My primary concern is that this is my first trip since I have needed the walker (I'm only 28 years old) and I am not sure how I will do when it comes to touring the parks and if I will need to get back to the resort on short notice.

We will most likely have a car...but I was hoping to not inconvenience the rest of my family if I have one of my spells or something. In all likelihood, if the return to the resort is necessary I will not be able to drive myself back and the bus would be the easiest option...I think. I did read everything about the buses (times they run and that there is usually a mid day break in the bus schedule) so I know there may be issues even just with that. But what I am curious about is if I will just be able to get on the bus or if I will need to call ahead 2 hours like it says for wheelchairs.

I'm sorry - I can't answer your question about the rollator on the buses. I just wanted to point out that the buses for WBC pick up & drop off much further away than the WDW buses. For example, at MK, you have to take the monorail or boat to the TTC, and then walk out to the bus parking area. I'm not sure if this would be an issue for you, but wanted you to know ahead of time. Have a great trip.