The we loooooove Bonnet Creek thread! (pics and reviews)

[Tracey123]

We are converted Disney Vacation Club vacationers, LOVE the value of Bonnet Creek! We've stayed here 4 or 5 times, but always in building 5 in a 2BR. We have the presidential suite for an upcoming trip in building 1 (#720). Does anyone know anything about view from that room? We've loved our fireworks views in the past, but I know this building is much shorter than the others. Also, how is Bonnet Creek at updating the older rooms? Will we notice much difference from building 5? Any info is appreciated!

Hi Shammett,

What do you miss from DVC compared to Bonnet Creek? Looking forward to our May 2011 trip.

 

[lillygator]

today is our lazy day - going to the halloween party tonight.
dh and I decided that in future bc is the only place for us. which says alot coming from people who only stayed on property. I've come to realize that eating on property is not the be all end all I thought it as - well we've probably eaten everyhere but v and a too. we had reservations for teppan edo last night but were having such a good time at the pool that we did a grocery run and cooked steak on the grill. some people may not like cooking on vacation, but we both actually love to cook and have a nice kitchen to do it in help (ours is a bit outdated!!!)

you are smack dab in the middle of everything, right next door to caribbean beach...we drive to the parks anyay so busess are not an issue for us, not having a disney packet?? that is really the only thing missing. but you gain a huge room, kitchen, etc.

I really love this place and we'll be back for sure!! especially since we upgraded to ap's!!

 

[SHammett]

Hi Shammett,

What do you miss from DVC compared to Bonnet Creek? Looking forward to our May 2011 trip.

Our favorite Disney resorts are Beach Club and Boardwalk. We love the overall theming of both and do miss being able to walk to Epcot since that is our favorite park. Bonnet Creek is every bit as nice or nicer than either of these resorts (we have had rooms at both beach club and boardwalk that were in need of repair- torn carpet, etc, but have never experienced this at Bonnet Creek). However, Bonnet Creek doesn't have that "Magical Disney" feel to us. It is a beautiful resort, just not as heavily themed, I guess.

That being said, the cost savings more than make up for anything we miss. In our experience, DVC costs at least twice as much for a smaller room. We paid $1200 for a presidential suite that sleeps 12 at Bonnet Creek. A grand villa at Boardwalk that also sleeps 12 for the same week would cost over $5,000 if renting thru a DVC member. It would take an awful lot of Disney magic to justify an extra $3,800 for us. Now that we've discovered Bonnet Creek, I don't know that we'll ever go back even if cost is not an issue. It truly is a beautiful resort!

The only other thing I can think of is the lack of food court, but we always bring groceries so that doesn't affect us much. We were never crazy about the Disney buses either, so driving our car is no big deal. I'm sure you will love it just as much as I do!

 

[vettechick99]

today is our lazy day - going to the halloween party tonight.
dh and I decided that in future bc is the only place for us. which says alot coming from people who only stayed on property. I've come to realize that eating on property is not the be all end all I thought it as - well we've probably eaten everyhere but v and a too. we had reservations for teppan edo last night but were having such a good time at the pool that we did a grocery run and cooked steak on the grill. some people may not like cooking on vacation, but we both actually love to cook and have a nice kitchen to do it in help (ours is a bit outdated!!!)

you are smack dab in the middle of everything, right next door to caribbean beach...we drive to the parks anyay so busess are not an issue for us, not having a disney packet?? that is really the only thing missing. but you gain a huge room, kitchen, etc.

I really love this place and we'll be back for sure!! especially since we upgraded to ap's!!

 

[Tracey123]

Our favorite Disney resorts are Beach Club and Boardwalk. We love the overall theming of both and do miss being able to walk to Epcot since that is our favorite park. Bonnet Creek is every bit as nice or nicer than either of these resorts (we have had rooms at both beach club and boardwalk that were in need of repair- torn carpet, etc, but have never experienced this at Bonnet Creek). However, Bonnet Creek doesn't have that "Magical Disney" feel to us. It is a beautiful resort, just not as heavily themed, I guess.

That being said, the cost savings more than make up for anything we miss. In our experience, DVC costs at least twice as much for a smaller room. We paid $1200 for a presidential suite that sleeps 12 at Bonnet Creek. A grand villa at Boardwalk that also sleeps 12 for the same week would cost over $5,000 if renting thru a DVC member. It would take an awful lot of Disney magic to justify an extra $3,800 for us. Now that we've discovered Bonnet Creek, I don't know that we'll ever go back even if cost is not an issue. It truly is a beautiful resort!

The only other thing I can think of is the lack of food court, but we always bring groceries so that doesn't affect us much. We were never crazy about the Disney buses either, so driving our car is no big deal. I'm sure you will love it just as much as I do!

Thank you for your post and comparing on/off the property. For the amount of money you would be saving you could go on another vacation!!

 

[Echo queen]

Our favorite Disney resorts are Beach Club and Boardwalk. We love the overall theming of both and do miss being able to walk to Epcot since that is our favorite park. Bonnet Creek is every bit as nice or nicer than either of these resorts (we have had rooms at both beach club and boardwalk that were in need of repair- torn carpet, etc, but have never experienced this at Bonnet Creek). However, Bonnet Creek doesn't have that "Magical Disney" feel to us. It is a beautiful resort, just not as heavily themed, I guess.

That being said, the cost savings more than make up for anything we miss. In our experience, DVC costs at least twice as much for a smaller room. We paid $1200 for a presidential suite that sleeps 12 at Bonnet Creek. A grand villa at Boardwalk that also sleeps 12 for the same week would cost over $5,000 if renting thru a DVC member. It would take an awful lot of Disney magic to justify an extra $3,800 for us. Now that we've discovered Bonnet Creek, I don't know that we'll ever go back even if cost is not an issue. It truly is a beautiful resort!

The only other thing I can think of is the lack of food court, but we always bring groceries so that doesn't affect us much. We were never crazy about the Disney buses either, so driving our car is no big deal. I'm sure you will love it just as much as I do!

Our fav is Beach club, so we will do 7 nights at bonnett creek and 4 nights at beach club for our 2011 vacation. Really looking forward to it. This will be our second stay at beach club and bonnett creek.

 

[Echo queen]

today is our lazy day - going to the halloween party tonight.
dh and I decided that in future bc is the only place for us. which says alot coming from people who only stayed on property. I've come to realize that eating on property is not the be all end all I thought it as - well we've probably eaten everyhere but v and a too. we had reservations for teppan edo last night but were having such a good time at the pool that we did a grocery run and cooked steak on the grill. some people may not like cooking on vacation, but we both actually love to cook and have a nice kitchen to do it in help (ours is a bit outdated!!!)

you are smack dab in the middle of everything, right next door to caribbean beach...we drive to the parks anyay so busess are not an issue for us, not having a disney packet?? that is really the only thing missing. but you gain a huge room, kitchen, etc.

I really love this place and we'll be back for sure!! especially since we upgraded to ap's!!

Glad your having a great trip, be glad you missed teppan edo, very over priced and not that great. I'm sure what you grilled was much better.

 

[Lisa0620]

Just booked a 2 BR through RCI and I have seen on here that people already know what building they are in. Do you have to call to find this out? Or is it somewhere on my confirmation that was e-mailed to me? I was thinking about calling to request a certain building/view - we are going in May 2011 so how far out should I call to make this request?

Presidential units are assigned when they make the reservation, so the posts you are seeing are people who have rented presidential units (All 4 BR are presidential.) Deluxe units are "assigned" 1-2 weeks before check in, but like at Disney you make a room request and hope for the best; you won't know what building or room you're getting until you check in. Earlier on this thread the conventional wisdom was to call 2 weeks before arrival with your request. Later posts suggest you should call one week prior (might not hurt to do both!)

 

[DisneyGerry]

I have 7 nights 1 bedroom dlx checking in Christmas eve i cant use now?

 

[mrs.basil]

Earlier on this thread the conventional wisdom was to call 2 weeks before arrival with your request. Later posts suggest you should call one week prior (might not hurt to do both!)

I called one week out and made a request. When I checked in (very late at night), the desk clerk looked at my information in the computer, said, "I see you requested a fireworks view, but we don't have any left at this time." I got the impression that they don't look at the request until you actually check in.

That being said, we ended up with a great room.

 

[cam&chris]

How far is it to Crossroads from BC and what restaurants/shops are there?

Is it walkable or do you have to drive there?

I did a google search to see if I could find a web site with a store directory but I didn't have any luck.

 

[Upatnoon]

How far is it to Crossroads from BC and what restaurants/shops are there?

Is it walkable or do you have to drive there?

I did a google search to see if I could find a web site with a store directory but I didn't have any luck.

There is a small store at Bonnet Creek that carries milk, pasta, cereal, and stuff like that, but it is pretty expensive.

You are better off going to a grocery store. There are several, but they are all around 5 miles away or so.

The Crossroads shopping center is 3.5 miles away, you can't walk. Taking a cab won't cost too much.

 

[skylizard]

Has anyone attended one of the timeshare presentations recently? I'll have some time to kill one morning and was wondering if it'd be worth attending one just to get a gift card. Are they even handing out Disney gift cards anymore in exchange for a 90-minute presentation?

I heard some people have gotten $100 or $150 gift cards. If that's the case, I'd definitely sit thru a presentation that pay for our dinner at Ohana's later in the week!

 

[JoeU]

Has anyone attended one of the timeshare presentations recently? I'll have some time to kill one morning and was wondering if it'd be worth attending one just to get a gift card. Are they even handing out Disney gift cards anymore in exchange for a 90-minute presentation?

I heard some people have gotten $100 or $150 gift cards. If that's the case, I'd definitely sit thru a presentation that pay for our dinner at Ohana's later in the week!

I sat through a very quick one 3 weeks ago at BC (like an hour or 2), and got a $100 AMEX card. Paid for parking back at the airport.

Joe

 

[skylizard]

I sat through a very quick one 3 weeks ago at BC (like an hour or 2), and got a $100 AMEX card. Paid for parking back at the airport.

Joe

Sweeet. That's definitely worth it.

 

[lillygator]

I have 7 nights 1 bedroom dlx checking in Christmas eve i cant use now?

i'm interested....

 

[horseshowmom]

Can you rent pts on here like you can with DVC?

What a wonderful idea! I wonder whether there's any chance of getting a board for that like with DVC?

 

[Upatnoon]

Places to find Bonnet Creek online: redweek.com, tugbbs.com, ebay.com

 

[plam]

Thanks for the great photos. I am going to at befor Christmas, and need to some information and good photo about than and can wait for too long. Specially for bar area and dining area pictures. Swimming pool also good for my children play. thanks for sharing photo.

 

[horseshowmom]

Thanks for the great photos. I am going to at befor Christmas, and need to some information and good photo about than and can wait for too long. Specially for bar area and dining area pictures. Swimming pool also good for my children play. thanks for sharing photo.

We loved our Christmas stay a couple of years ago. We'll be back in Orlando this year but will be staying at Sunset Lakes instead so our daughter's husband can fish while we go to the parks (he's not much into theme parks). I know we're going to enjoy our stay, but I sooooo much wanted to spend it at Bonnet Creek. (He's a really good son-in-law so he worth it though. )