The we loooooove Bonnet Creek thread part2

[goNDmay9]

SOOOOOOO Excited. We are leaving tomorrow night for a quick weekend vacay at Bonnet Creek.

We will probably be getting in around 3AM ish Friday morning. I cannot wait!!!

This is our first stay. I so have pixie dust in my eyes about staying on-site, so I am excited to try the most coveted Bonnet Creek.

PS - literally 1/3 of the price versus on-site! YIPPPEEE SKIPPPEEE.

 

[goNDmay9]

That we will be taking DD (5 months) for her FIRST trip!!!!

Since we will only be there for the weekend, i am debating on whether to fight the spring break / easter crowds at MK - or just rent a cabana and hang out poolside.

soooo excited.

 

[MinnieTeacher]

SOOOOOOO Excited. We are leaving tomorrow night for a quick weekend vacay at Bonnet Creek.

We will probably be getting in around 3AM ish Friday morning. I cannot wait!!!

This is our first stay. I so have pixie dust in my eyes about staying on-site, so I am excited to try the most coveted Bonnet Creek.

PS - literally 1/3 of the price versus on-site! YIPPPEEE SKIPPPEEE.[/QUO

Have a wonderful trip!! Let us know how it goes!!

 

[deekaypee]

You are AWESOME! Thank you for those fantastic pictures! That's the most I've seen and in such detail!!

I noticed that there weren't any pots or add'l pans in your unit. It seems like that differs from condo to condo?? We do plan on cooking our breakfasts there, so I'm hoping ours will have all the pots & pans.

Thanks again!

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 are anywhere between 4-6 of an item like plates or glasses, 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) disappointment 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.

 

[kwhite1022]

We leave in a day and a half, and I really shouldnt be spending time on here anyways, I was wondering about the grills. I know I saw mention on this thread somewhere that grill were available, how does that work and where would you find them? TIA

 

[KYoung2000]

You may or may not be able to check in at 8am. I honestly don't know if they'll let you do the paperwork part that early, and there can be lots of additional factors involved such as the day of the week and how busy the resort is. (More likely when the resort isn't booked solid or there are orphan days with a mid-week checkin than if it's completely sold-old and 1/2 the resort is checking out that morning and refilling that evening with new guests.)

you Will however be able to stop by Bell Services at the main check-in building, retrieve the stroller that has been delivered for you, and have them hold your bags for you while you go to the parks. (Including using the shuttle if you aren't driving to the parks)

From my experience over the last couple years, I was able to check in at 8:30am on a Saturday as we usually arrive very early after driving trough the night. We are not able to get a room at that time, rather they took my cell number and called us when our room was usually around 2pm. Not sure if this will still be the case but it was for us so give it a try. Also if you check in that early (as posted by others as well) it appears that you have a better chance or switching into a room location that you would like since the large number of guests haven't checked in yet. Again, just my theory. enjoy your trip!!

 

[LynnTH]

Hi everyone. Just starting to think about a trip for 2013 - late May/Early June when kids are out of school. (They are done before Memorial Day). Have only stayed on site - last 3 trips rented DVC Points at AKV and BW. Loved being able to walk to Epcot and I don't have any issues with the Disney busses. This resort looks awesome but am afraid to step out of the comfort zone... So, a few questions.

1. Do the buses run quite frequently to parks or only a few times a day?
2. Does the resort have a food court type area? I love having my refillable mug at Disney and refilling anytime I want (love my fountain pop). Does BC have anything like that?
3. Do they have busses that go to other places (Universal, Seaworld etc).

Have never rented a car before at Disney cuz I don't like to think about anything and getting on a bus has worked fine for us so far.. Kids will be 14 and 12 when we go (if we go).

 

[DCTooTall]

Good to know that I can pick up my stroller early enough to make rope drop !! Thanks!!

As long as your rental company has dropped off the stroller by then. You may want to double check with them to find out when they would drop it off so that you don't get there at 8am and then discover the stroller isn't scheduled to be delivered until noon.

Hi everyone. Just starting to think about a trip for 2013 - late May/Early June when kids are out of school. (They are done before Memorial Day). Have only stayed on site - last 3 trips rented DVC Points at AKV and BW. Loved being able to walk to Epcot and I don't have any issues with the Disney busses. This resort looks awesome but am afraid to step out of the comfort zone... So, a few questions.

1. Do the buses run quite frequently to parks or only a few times a day?
2. Does the resort have a food court type area? I love having my refillable mug at Disney and refilling anytime I want (love my fountain pop). Does BC have anything like that?
3. Do they have busses that go to other places (Universal, Seaworld etc).

Have never rented a car before at Disney cuz I don't like to think about anything and getting on a bus has worked fine for us so far.. Kids will be 14 and 12 when we go (if we go).

1. The buses are scheduled but tend to run often enough for most people's needs. It's not the same as the "every 20min" of the Disney buses, but from what I've heard they are scheduled often enough that most bus-only people don't have much of an issue. The biggest thing tends to be that they do take a small break for a couple hours mid-afternoon so a mid-day resort break would be more difficult. Once you are at a Disney park you can also always take the Disney transportation between parks, resorts, and DTD.

2. No Food court at the Resort. There are 2 pool side bars which serve food at the resort proper, and a small coffee/sandwich shop up at the main building. The Wyndham Grand hotel on the property also has it's own pool bar, 2 table service restaurants, and a coffee shop. The onsite food options are sufficient, but if you are looking for a free-refill type of soda fountain type thing, there is not one of those.

3. No, The only buses go to the Disney Properties. There is no airport shuttle or shuttle to other area attractions.

 

[MinnieTeacher]

From my experience over the last couple years, I was able to check in at 8:30am on a Saturday as we usually arrive very early after driving trough the night. We are not able to get a room at that time, rather they took my cell number and called us when our room was usually around 2pm. Not sure if this will still be the case but it was for us so give it a try. Also if you check in that early (as posted by others as well) it appears that you have a better chance or switching into a room location that you would like since the large number of guests haven't checked in yet. Again, just my theory. enjoy your trip!!

This is what I'm going to try to do. I don't know what the big deal would be about checking in early if I know I'm not going to get a room. This is what we have always done at disney hotels and they would message us when our room was ready. I don't know why they would not want people to go ahead and check in as they arrive instead of everyone coming at the same time at 4:00. Thanks for the info!

 

[jaysmom4285]

Actually, they do have shuttles that go to other places like Seaworld and Universal and a couple of the big shopping attractions. It isn't free and the schedule is somewhat limited, but it was posted on the reverse side of the WDW shuttle schedule. I didn't pay much attention to it, as we weren't going to use it, but it was definitely offered. I posted a picture several pages back of the WDW shuttle schedule. If I can still find it, I'll post a picture of the shuttle schedule for other destinations.

 

[DCTooTall]

This is what I'm going to try to do. I don't know what the big deal would be about checking in early if I know I'm not going to get a room. This is what we have always done at disney hotels and they would message us when our room was ready. I don't know why they would not want people to go ahead and check in as they arrive instead of everyone coming at the same time at 4:00. Thanks for the info!

Remember that this is a Time Share Resort, not a hotel. Things work very differently. (Although I will admit that since my first stay several years ago, the resort has become more Hotel-like in it's operations...including check-out procedures)

Also one of the 'perks' for VIP level ownership is the ability for an early-checkin starting several hours earlier than the regular checkin time. Considering the money VIP owners have given the company, they need to be careful not to piss them off too much.

 

[DCTooTall]

Actually, they do have shuttles that go to other places like Seaworld and Universal and a couple of the big shopping attractions. It isn't free and the schedule is somewhat limited, but it was posted on the reverse side of the WDW shuttle schedule. I didn't pay much attention to it, as we weren't going to use it, but it was definitely offered. I posted a picture several pages back of the WDW shuttle schedule. If I can still find it, I'll post a picture of the shuttle schedule for other destinations.

I stand corrected. i never pay much attention to the shuttle schedules since I like driving to my destinations, but now that you mention it, I do seem to recall something about non-regular shuttles.

 

[LynnTH]

1. The buses are scheduled but tend to run often enough for most people's needs. It's not the same as the "every 20min" of the Disney buses, but from what I've heard they are scheduled often enough that most bus-only people don't have much of an issue. The biggest thing tends to be that they do take a small break for a couple hours mid-afternoon so a mid-day resort break would be more difficult. Once you are at a Disney park you can also always take the Disney transportation between parks, resorts, and DTD.

2. No Food court at the Resort. There are 2 pool side bars which serve food at the resort proper, and a small coffee/sandwich shop up at the main building. The Wyndham Grand hotel on the property also has it's own pool bar, 2 table service restaurants, and a coffee shop. The onsite food options are sufficient, but if you are looking for a free-refill type of soda fountain type thing, there is not one of those.

3. No, The only buses go to the Disney Properties. There is no airport shuttle or shuttle to other area attractions.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the reply. That answers those questions. I'm sure there will be more!!

 

[MinnieTeacher]

Remember that this is a Time Share Resort, not a hotel. Things work very differently. (Although I will admit that since my first stay several years ago, the resort has become more Hotel-like in it's operations...including check-out procedures)

Also one of the 'perks' for VIP level ownership is the ability for an early-checkin starting several hours earlier than the regular checkin time. Considering the money VIP owners have given the company, they need to be careful not to piss them off too much.

Yes, I'm well aware that this is a "timeshare" not a "hotel" But again as others have stated it never hurts to ask about an early check in and that's what I intend to do when I pick up my stroller. The worst thing that can happen is for them to tell me to come back at 4:00.

 

[jaysmom4285]

Regarding the early check-in issue, I don't think there's any problem in completing the check-in process whenever you get there. You just won't be able to actually get into the room until later. We got to the WBC around 8:30 AM and did whatever check-in paperwork we had to do, which as I recall was minimal, at the front desk. The front desk employee told us what tower and floor we were in, and I'm sure he knew the room number but for obvious reasons wasn't going to give it to us at that point. We could have left our luggage with bell services, but we chose to leave it in our rental car. We got our parking pass (which was absolutely hassle-free, thankfully) and went to Epcot for the day. The front desk took our cell phone number and said they would call when the room was ready and they called in the early afternoon. When we returned in the evening, we just stopped at the desk to get our room keys and went straight to our rooms.

 

[MinnieTeacher]

Regarding the early check-in issue, I don't think there's any problem in completing the check-in process whenever you get there. You just won't be able to actually get into the room until later. We got to the WBC around 8:30 AM and did whatever check-in paperwork we had to do, which as I recall was minimal, at the front desk. The front desk employee told us what tower and floor we were in, and I'm sure he knew the room number but for obvious reasons wasn't going to give it to us at that point. We could have left our luggage with bell services, but we chose to leave it in our rental car. We got our parking pass (which was absolutely hassle-free, thankfully) and went to Epcot for the day. The front desk took our cell phone number and said they would call when the room was ready and they called in the early afternoon. When we returned in the evening, we just stopped at the desk to get our room keys and went straight to our rooms.

Sounds great!! Hope it will work out for us like it did for you! Thanks!

 

[jaysmom4285]

Lynnth, on page 124 of this thread, post #1860, there are pictures of the WBC shuttle bus schedule that was in effect for our 2/11-1/8 vacation. Others have said that that is a fairly typical schedule. I think additional bus runs may be added at busier times. Maybe this will be helpful.

And just to reiterate, WBC does offer buses to Sea World, Universal and a couple other places, but those buses aren't free and don't run nearly as often. But they are available.

 

[DCTooTall]

Yes, I'm well aware that this is a "timeshare" not a "hotel" But again as others have stated it never hurts to ask about an early check in and that's what I intend to do when I pick up my stroller. The worst thing that can happen is for them to tell me to come back at 4:00.

By all means... Ask. I'm of the belief that it never hurts to ask.

My comment was more aimed towards the "Why don't they want people doing it all day..." side of things.

Plus, There is always a difference between what official policies are, and what the actual practice can be. From Anecdotal evidence lately, it appears they have no problems with letting people fill out the checkin paperwork earlier in the day. From a practical standpoint, it can help speed things up later in the day when they can start letting people check in because you have some people who've already filled out the paperwork. BUT, by still having the policies in place that they don't allow early checkins, it protects them if they are unable to do so one day, as well as still being able to offer the VIP ownership level perks of an early checkin.

 

[pigletto]

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!!!

 

[dtum]

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're going to get addicted to staying off-site. At least for us, when we saw how much more we can get we will never go back to on-site. EMHs and dining plan (while paying full rack rates for everything else) do not interest us.