The we loooooove Bonnet Creek thread part2

[under da UP]

I think they are upgrading all the rooms. We stayed in main building December 2010 and the room had new granite work tops, new sofa, flat screen tv's and had generally been spruced up. Assume main building is the oldest building so maybe they are doing them up according to age.

The staff said Building 3 is the last to refurbish and that will be completed in March. The granite in kitchen and bath is a nice touch, as are the new soft mattresses I wish they would invest in a dining room set with less bulky chairs so they can be pushed all the way in. But every wyndham place seems to have the space wasting chairs. Maybe I'm in a minority about that beef.

The grounds are all very well maintained and seemed to be constantly cleaned and worked on by a nice, friendly crew.

 

[under da UP]

I would love to know more about using the buses to get to the resorts for Rope Drop. I was told that the buses start running at 8 am. If we catch the first bus, will we be able to make RD at MK?

Also, does anyone have experience with using a cab to get to the TTC? We have early morning ADR's and will need to be at MK one day by 8:00am.

Any advice or insight is appreciated!!

The bus schedule for president's week didn't include any buses leaving WBC before 8am. We arrived 15 minutes early for one 9am rope drop using the bus for Hollywood studios. We drove most other days. MK would be a tough one because you have to ferry/monorail it after the bus drops you off. So you might make it to MK by 9am but then it'll take you 10-15 minutes waiting in the entrance lines.

We didn't use any taxis but there is a sign driving into the parks for taxi parking fee - $14. I assume they would just tack that onto your fare. Boo!

However, a little trick we learned is you can take a cab/car from WBC to one of the Disney resorts, like Poly, and catch the Disney transportation buses or monorail. You just say you are meeting someone or checking-in. I guess the security doesn't have the man power to care.

 

[under da UP]

I've never had any problems having local friends visit me. All you'd need to do is make sure they know which tower you are located in and you can meet them downstairs when they park to get them into the building and walk them to your room.

The biggest issue would be getting thru the front gate, but If they know your name and which tower (and maybe even room to be n the safe side) you are in they shouldn't have much of an issue getting past the gate security....assuming they are even questioned about it. (depending upon the time, i've found that they sometimes leave the gates open during heavy traffic times)

Oh you can skip the gate house completely if you like. Instead of turning into the main entrance just keep driving on that 2 lane blvd (I forget the name) It will take you around back to the Wyndham Grand Hotel entrance. Drive into the parking structure, down a couple levels and out the other side by Tower 6. It would be quite a long drive to get to Towers 1,2 and 3 though.

People wonder how those illegal pizza flyers get under everyone's door... they just use the back entrance haha.

 

[under da UP]

Also, we will be checking in after 9pm on a Friday....is that a "bad" time to check in.....in regards to getting a room with a nice view (doesn't have to be fireworks) we just have 2 young kids so I don't want an area that will be really loud at night.

I don't think noise is a problem unless you are in a ground floor, 2nd or maybe 3rd floor unit facing the lake/pools. The golf course view on the parking lot side of Tower 1 was awesome. It was so peaceful outside on the balcony. Any lake view above floor 4/5 is great. You just want to be above the palm trees on lakeside, unless you like to look at palm trees of course.

The walls are thick enough and windows are double pane insulated. I heard a few voices standing next to the unit door but I have very good hearing.

 

[disney-akj]

What are items I should plan on bring from home or buying when we get there (we are driving so we do not have the airline baggage addition). How many of these items are provided.

Coffee Filters?
Laundry or Dishwashing detergent?
Paper towels?
Toilet Paper?

What else am I forgetting? Anything else you can think I may need at WBC?

 

[blessedby3]

What are items I should plan on bring from home or buying when we get there (we are driving so we do not have the airline baggage addition). How many of these items are provided.

Coffee Filters?
Laundry or Dishwashing detergent?
Paper towels?
Toilet Paper?

What else am I forgetting? Anything else you can think I may need at WBC?

I was wondering the same thing. Do they give you more of this stuff if/when you run out, or do you have to provide "refills".

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

I can't answer your question (re: what to bring), but here's a thread you might be interested in:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2663580

 

[carlbarry]

Oh you can skip the gate house completely if you like. Instead of turning into the main entrance just keep driving on that 2 lane blvd (I forget the name) It will take you around back to the Wyndham Grand Hotel entrance. Drive into the parking structure, down a couple levels and out the other side by Tower 6. It would be quite a long drive to get to Towers 1,2 and 3 though.

People wonder how those illegal pizza flyers get under everyone's door... they just use the back entrance haha.

When I stayed at the Grand via a Wyndham timeshare owner promotion, I tried every which way not to pay the parking fee. But what you're saying--my memory is that getting into that parking garage required a swipe of a room key at the gated entrance.

 

[carlbarry]

The gifts that they give is usually $100, but if you are not an owner, that is 2 hours that you have wasted of your precious vacation time. For owners it is 45 minutes, that is all they an keep you according to Florida state law. They also usually have discounted tickets, but we always go for the cash. I am not sure if this time I will good not, since we are owners it is only 45 min. I might do this whenmy DH is playing golf one morning. We'll just have to see!

I'm glad you got stuck for only 45 minutes. On my one and only "Owners' Update" in September 2009, they kept me for 2 hours until I finally said "Enough, I'm here on a vacation not to sit in here." They then ran me through the wringer with 2 other sales weasels for another half hour.
As far as doing it without your husband, they will not allow that.

 

[jaysmom4285]

blessedby3, the units provide laundry/dishwashing detergent, paper towels and toilet paper. We don't drink coffee, so I can't swear to the coffee filters, although I'm quite certain I remember that there were a few there. There was dishwasher detergent for two loads and enough laundry detergent for a few loads. The only thing we had to ask for was more toilet paper, and they brought that for us when we asked for it. That was the only thing we had to request, and that was gratis.

 

[under da UP]

When I stayed at the Grand via a Wyndham timeshare owner promotion, I tried every which way not to pay the parking fee. But what you're saying--my memory is that getting into that parking garage required a swipe of a room key at the gated entrance.

The hotel guests have to pay a parking fee? Didn't know that. Parking for the timeshare part of the resort is free w/ a parking thing to hang in your window. The entrance to the garage by the hotel had a gate arm but it was never down and we never needed to swipe a room key or anything. Major security loop hole if you ask me.

 

[under da UP]

What are items I should plan on bring from home or buying when we get there (we are driving so we do not have the airline baggage addition). How many of these items are provided.

Coffee Filters?
Laundry or Dishwashing detergent?
Paper towels?
Toilet Paper?

What else am I forgetting? Anything else you can think I may need at WBC?

The coffee maker had one of those permanent filters in it. Clorox wipes and air freshener might be useful

 

[carlbarry]

The hotel guests have to pay a parking fee? Didn't know that. Parking for the timeshare part of the resort is free w/ a parking thing to hang in your window. The entrance to the garage by the hotel had a gate arm but it was never down and we never needed to swipe a room key or anything. Major security loop hole if you ask me.

Yes, there is a daily charge for parking at the Grand! You can park yourself, or pay extra for valet parking. Apparently in an attempt to keep Grand guests from parking for free in TS parking lots, you will notice that all the "side" entrances/exits to the parking lots have been closed, and the only entrance now is through the front guard gate.
I don't want to spoil things for future Grand guests, but I did manage to park a few times in the TS parking lot and walk over to the Grand. There was no problem with my lack of a parking permit.

 

[Upatnoon]

What are items I should plan on bring from home or buying when we get there (we are driving so we do not have the airline baggage addition). How many of these items are provided.

Coffee Filters?
Laundry or Dishwashing detergent?
Paper towels?
Toilet Paper?

What else am I forgetting? Anything else you can think I may need at WBC?

These things are all provided. You may want to bring some dryer sheets though.

 

[disney-akj]

Great thanks! So all of these things are free of charge when they need to be replaced then! Good to know

 

[blessedby3]

blessedby3, the units provide laundry/dishwashing detergent, paper towels and toilet paper. We don't drink coffee, so I can't swear to the coffee filters, although I'm quite certain I remember that there were a few there. There was dishwasher detergent for two loads and enough laundry detergent for a few loads. The only thing we had to ask for was more toilet paper, and they brought that for us when we asked for it. That was the only thing we had to request, and that was gratis.

Thanks

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

I'm not trying to contradict anybody - and I have NOT stayed at WBC yet...

However, I remember reading here that there may be a charge for replacing some of these items such as laundry/dishwasher soap. At one time I believe there was free replacement, but that has changed recently.

I hope someone in the know will come along and clarify for us.

 

[skateshome]

Hello everyone!
First time poster but thank you all so much for the info provided here.

My question is.....we have 4 nights booked Apr 17th - Apr 21st 2012 but have
found out that we can actually get there a few days earlier on the 14th so we can make a whole week of it.
The issue is how do I get 3 more nights.
The folks we are using "listed on here numerous times" have been great and
state that they believe something will open up the end of March first
of April and they will be able to add the additional days but no guarantees of
course.

So.....wait to see if this happens or make other arrangements for the first 3 days?

Anyone else had this experience? Did you wait it out or where did you book
the first 3 days?

Thanks all!!!

 

[jaysmom4285]

Gretchenohar, you're probably right. There was a note on the counter next to the little pile of coffee packs, the wee little salt & pepper shakers, etc, stating something about they hoped we enjoyed the freebies (my term, not theirs), and that they would be happy to replace them for a nominal fee, or something like that. They didn't specify which items they were talking about, and I honestly didn't pay much attention to it. We didn't run out of anything that needed replacing, except for toilet paper which is apparently free. So there may very well be a fee for the other items. Hopefully someone who has run into this issue can respond with more concrete information. I didn't mean to imply that I knew there was no fee for replacing the various items - only that I didn't run into it head on.

 

[61maris61]

Haven't read through all the pages (who has that kind of time!), but I did a search for grocery, and for Publix without the desired responses. I know there is a Walmart somewhat nearby BC, but are there any other grocery stores?

We'll be there in August - right now it looks like we'll (4 adults, 3 yr old) use a van from the airport that offers a grocery stop along the way. Just wondering if there is another option besides Walmart.

All responses will be appreciated.

PS: Yes, I read about the deliveries available - I just like seeing different stores; Walmart is something I can see at home anytime.