The we loooooove Bonnet Creek thread part2

[katallo]

Any updates on the renovation of Tower 3. I know they were working on it in May.

 

[MinnieTeacher]

Packing for my trip right now!!!! I will at Bonnet Creek on Sunday for 7 nights, but will arrive in Orlando Saturday morning. We are staying at Comfort Suites Sat. night. I'm so excited about our trip!!!!! It is finally here!! It will be our first time staying offsite, but I think we will love it! The resort and the ammenites look amazing. The kids are going to enjoy the lazy rivers, minigolf and spash pad.The only part I don't like is not having the dining plan.We have been able to get free dining for the past few years and had a very low cost trip. I know alot of people say they don't like it or it doesn't work for them, but it did for us.We really love it and enjoy eating at the nicer restaurants. I didn't make any ADR's this time and will miss going to the character meals because I can't bring myself to pay $150.00 for one meal. But not having ADR's will give us more freedom to eat when we are hungry and will leave us more time to slow down and enjoy the resort. We will also probably go in town and try out some new places there. I will have a trip report when I get back with pics (if I can figure out how to post them). I know there are alot onsite people that would like a review coming from someone who has never been offsite before. Better get back to packing

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Packing for my trip right now!!!! I will at Bonnet Creek on Sunday for 7 nights, but will arrive in Orlando Saturday morning. We are staying at Comfort Suites Sat. night. I'm so excited about our trip!!!!! It is finally here!! It will be our first time staying offsite, but I think we will love it! The resort and the ammenites look amazing. The kids are going to enjoy the lazy rivers, minigolf and spash pad.The only part I don't like is not having the dining plan.We have been able to get free dining for the past few years and had a very low cost trip. I know alot of people say they don't like it or it doesn't work for them, but it did for us.We really love it and enjoy eating at the nicer restaurants. I didn't make any ADR's this time and will miss going to the character meals because I can't bring myself to pay $150.00 for one meal. But not having ADR's will give us more freedom to eat when we are hungry and will leave us more time to slow down and enjoy the resort. We will also probably go in town and try out some new places there. I will have a trip report when I get back with pics (if I can figure out how to post them). I know there are alot onsite people that would like a review coming from someone who has never been offsite before. Better get back to packing

I thought we would miss having the dining plan too. We had free dining for 3 years in a row, but then we got a great room only discount and went without the dining plan that year. We were still on site and so did all the regular ADR's we usually do and came out ahead because we ate what we wanted...sometimes that's just too much food. Then we stayed off site and of course couldn't add the dining plan even if we wanted. We have saved so much money on accommodations and having breakfast and the odd lunch in our room that we still manage to eat at whatever restaurants we want onsite and now we come out WAY ahead. So, don't get sticker shocked and deprive yourself of those coveted ADR's. Treat yourself, you're on vacation, then just eat off site or in your room to off set the cost. I can't give up LeCellier just because of the price...

Hope you guys have a great vacation!!

 

[JayhawkFans]

Jayhawkfans - Rock Chalk! Where are you from?

I'm originally from Ellsworth, KS (small town near Salina) but have lived in Branson, Missouri the past 20 years. Always a faithful KU fan!!!

 

[Teacher03]

Packing for my trip right now!!!! I will at Bonnet Creek on Sunday for 7 nights, but will arrive in Orlando Saturday morning. We are staying at Comfort Suites Sat. night. I'm so excited about our trip!!!!! It is finally here!! It will be our first time staying offsite, but I think we will love it! The resort and the ammenites look amazing. The kids are going to enjoy the lazy rivers, minigolf and spash pad.The only part I don't like is not having the dining plan.We have been able to get free dining for the past few years and had a very low cost trip. I know alot of people say they don't like it or it doesn't work for them, but it did for us.We really love it and enjoy eating at the nicer restaurants. I didn't make any ADR's this time and will miss going to the character meals because I can't bring myself to pay $150.00 for one meal. But not having ADR's will give us more freedom to eat when we are hungry and will leave us more time to slow down and enjoy the resort. We will also probably go in town and try out some new places there. I will have a trip report when I get back with pics (if I can figure out how to post them). I know there are alot onsite people that would like a review coming from someone who has never been offsite before. Better get back to packing

Me too Packing now for 7 days starting Sunday! We have stayed offsite before; it is perfect for my family. We always do the dining plan when we stay onsite, but after offsite, we will probably never stay onsite again. Last time we stayed at WH but are very excited for BC!

 

[Destructsean]

Just started our PTR! We'll be here for 13 nights in December.

This thread has been so ridiculously helpful in easing my staying off site fears.

Couldn't be more excited about staying at WBC.

 

[MinnieTeacher]

Me too Packing now for 7 days starting Sunday! We have stayed offsite before; it is perfect for my family. We always do the dining plan when we stay onsite, but after offsite, we will probably never stay onsite again. Last time we stayed at WH but are very excited for BC!

We'll be there at the same time!! Hope you have a magical trip! I noticed your user name is teacher 03. Are you a teacher also? I've taught
1st grade for 17 years! So glad schools out and we're going to Disney!! Where I teach I'm the only teacher that goes to Disney World. Everyone else goes to the beach. They think my family is missing out on something, but they are the ones missing out! I can't imagine vacationing anywhere else! Wishing you lots of pixie dust on your trip!

 

[Ihv2gratkids]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but some of the resorts offer discounted Disney or Universal tickets. Does anyone know if the Wyndham offers these tickets or if they're cheaper at undercover tourist.

 

[Teacher03]

We'll be there at the same time!! Hope you have a magical trip! I noticed your user name is teacher 03. Are you a teacher also? I've taught
1st grade for 17 years! So glad schools out and we're going to Disney!! Where I teach I'm the only teacher that goes to Disney World. Everyone else goes to the beach. They think my family is missing out on something, but they are the ones missing out! I can't imagine vacationing anywhere else! Wishing you lots of pixie dust on your trip!

Yes, I am also a teacher.....6 years in third grade, 2 years in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade reading and will be teaching kindergarten in the fall! Everyone at school thinks I am Disney crazy, but that's okay! Wishing you lots and lots of pixie dust! Have a safe trip!

 

[jaysmom4285]

Coming down in July and wondering if the shuttles will be crowded (especially for the first bus returning in the afternoon). What happens when there are too many people to hop on a shuttle? Does this ever happen? Do they rotate in additional buses, or do you just wait for the next one? Seeing the intervals during the afternoon, it seems like it could take a while to get back to the resort.

We'll have a car, but want to find out as much as possible just in case we opt for a shuttle one morning.

I have no firsthand experience with this. But the shuttle schedule does note, in bold print, that capacity is limited and services are provided on a first come, first served basis. So I would assume that, if the bus is full, you just have to wait for the next one.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

I had to walk over to the hotel check in desk.

Thank you for doing that and for posting the schedule for us.

 

[DCTooTall]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but some of the resorts offer discounted Disney or Universal tickets. Does anyone know if the Wyndham offers these tickets or if they're cheaper at undercover tourist.

Undercover is cheaper.

There is a Disney Ticket Desk at the main lobby where you can buy your park tickets before heading to the park, but it's actually staffed by Disney Cast Members and they charge regular gate rates.

 

[Echo queen]

Here is my link to the 2 bedroom presidential

http://youtu.be/tZTbnIigU8k

 

[AeroKU]

I'm originally from Ellsworth, KS (small town near Salina) but have lived in Branson, Missouri the past 20 years. Always a faithful KU fan!!!

I grew up in Topeka and graduated from KU in 02 before moving to Illinois. Huge KU Bball fan. Hope we have another great year next year with all the new guys coming in!

 

[Miz Diz]

Just booked with Ken at Vacation Upgrades. Less for a 2bedroom than Vac Strategy quoted me for a 1 bedroom.

This will be our first stay offsite.

 

[4mykidz127]

Vacation Strategy quoted me $151/night for 5 nights in July in a 1 bedroom deluxe or $175 for 2 bedroom. I thought I had read earlier that less than 60 days out was about $100-120 - or am I wrong about that?

Any other suggestions on who to rent from for less?

We used Ken and Denise Price from Vacation Upgrades for our July trip and we got a 2 bedroom deluxe for $120 a night but they booked us at the 60 day mark. Check with them for availability-they have been wonderful to work with.

 

[4mykidz127]

Just booked with Ken at Vacation Upgrades. Less for a 2bedroom than Vac Strategy quoted me for a 1 bedroom.

This will be our first stay offsite.

Sorry I didn't see this before I posted. That is awesome! Such a great rate!!

 

[Candleshoe]

3. Plus it's a lot less stress finding a parking spot at the end of the day. Rather than going back and forth trying to find an open spot in the surface lot, you can just pull into the garage and be virtually guaranteed to find an open spot.

Where is the parking lot in the resort? I need the shortest walk possible from the lot to the elevator (room) due to injured knees. I don't care about view whatsoever, or closeness to bus stop as we'll have our car. It would be nice to be near a lazy river. IIRC someone said there are two here. I have a 12 year old and to get her (with a short walk) to one of the pools where she might find tweens to swim with would be great.

So what do you advise and where is this parking lot?

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thank you for that video, EchoQueen.
You did an A#1 job!

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I'm joining the WBC party!!!

My DH and I celebrated our honeymoon the fist week of September last year, and out of the blue, he said, "hey, I still have 5 days of vacation left this year...if we go to WDW the first day of September again, it will only be using 4 days of vacation. And why don't we bring our mom's?"

We had the idea to bring some of our family on our next trip while on our honeymoon, and I'm so glad we'll be making it a reality! We will be there Sept 1-8 with our moms and my sister. More people = need bigger hotel. I'm deciding we will try out WBC soley based on all the fans the place has here on the Dis.

Any recommendations on when the best time would be to book the room for Sept?

We want a 2bdrm. Turns out that Sept 1 is still "high season" (which makes no sense because the parks are DEAD at that time--I have been to WDW for the last two Labor Day weekends and it is empty.)

I was quoted about $875 for Sept 1-8 and $715 for Sept 2-8 (I have a Marriott voucher I could use at a different hotel the first night...but I hate switching hotels.)

I've read through a lot of this board and it is so helpful to have such a wealth of information.