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

[Brian Noble]

Am I missing something? Is it really that much more expensive on property? Example - right now the Polynesian is about $4,000 for one week (two rooms). BC is looking like about $1,000 for the same time.

No, you aren't missing anything. But, "most families" don't stay at the Poly, or indeed at any of the MK-area Deluxe resorts. They only need to fill the several hundred rooms they have; as long as there are enough people who will pay the premium, Disney is happy. Ideally, Disney will price the rooms so that only *exactly* that many people think it is worth it, and everyone else thinks "too expensive for me." Any price lower means Disney leaves money on the table.

In general, there are three desirable properties of any Disney lodging choice:

1: That it be a Disney resort (with access to perks and "magic").
2: That it be spacious so that you aren't on top of each other for the trip.
3: That it cost a reasonable amount of money.

Most of the time, you can have only two of these three. So, you have to decide what you'll give up.

 

[JimMIA]

No, you're not wrong, it is insanely expensive to stay onsite. There are discounts here and there, but for the most part the pluses are:
1) Location Location Location - if you're staying at the Polynesian (or Contemporary and Grand Floridian, you're on the monorail. Boardwalk, Yacht/Beach Club is walking distance to Epcot and DHS).

True, but the location, location, location benefit stops right there -- monorail resorts and Epcot resorts. If you're anywhere else onsite, you don't have that benefit -- especially if you're at one of the values.

2) Extra magic hours - some people love these, I just think it makes the parks more crowded

Some do, but my experience has been that not all of the rides are open during EMH...and the ones closed are usually the ones I'm most interested in.

3) Disney Dining Plan -Prepay for all your meals. It used to be a better deal because appetizers and tip were included, but now it is just the entree and dessert.

We stopped that long ago; I don't consider it a benefit at all for our family. We drive, and we prefer to eat offsite, even when we're staying at DVC. The food is better, more varied, and less expensive.

4) Free transportation

Free transportation is NOT a perk of staying onsite. It's a perk of your theme park ticket. Once you're onsite, you can use any of the Disney transportation no matter where you are staying.

And I'll add two additional benefits to staying onsite:

5) Disney's Magical Express -- if you fly into Orlando, you can take the free DME to your onsite resort, and back to the airport at the end of your stay. That's not a huge benefit, but it's nice for many onsite guests.

6) Free theme park parking for those who drive. That saves $14 or so per day for those who don't have APs.

 

[truenancy]

I'm so excited - we just booked through Ken Price for 7 nights in Nov-Dec. We've never stayed off-site, and I was having real trouble looking outside the world even though it made all kinds of sense. We've stayed at ASMu in a family suite, then stayed in a bunkbed room at WL. How could possibly go up from there (without going bankrupt). The condo thing is perfect - and close. DH wanted to look into renting a house, but I don't like being that far away (ok, 15 minutes) and being in a neighborhood. I like the hotel feel when I'm on vacation, with pools, restaurants, and people.

But I have to say, my friends all look at me like I'm slightly mad when I say we're staying off-site. I think I only have two friends who have ever "strayed" - both have huge families so multiple rooms would have been impossible. I tell everyone all the percs of WBC, but they don't seem convinced.

Fewer crowds for us!

 

[cam&chris]

I took so many great pictures of WBC while I was there last week and want to share them. I uploaded them to photobucket and then I clicked on the little postcard icon above here but can't get the URL from the pic on photobucket to paste in the space. What am I doing wrong?

 

[jwisnefske]

Will I be asking too much?

We have just booked a 2 bedroom suite at WBC for my family of 6 this coming January. My parents are also going to meet us to help with our now 14 month twins and we have booked them a 1 bedroom suite. Both of these bookings were trades via RCI.

What I am wondering is that we would like to request that both rooms be near each other (same tower/floor). Can I call and put that request in and then also request a view of the fireworks or will I be asking for too much? I would prefer my parents to be closer to us, but would love to be able to look at the fireworks because I am not sure how many nights we will see them with 3 young children.

Any advice would be great and when do I call and make my requests?

Thanks everyone. Love reading all of the advice on this thread.

 

[jwisnefske]

I took so many great pictures of WBC while I was there last week and want to share them. I uploaded them to photobucket and then I clicked on the little postcard icon above here but can't get the URL from the pic on photobucket to paste in the space. What am I doing wrong?

Would love to see your pics. Sorry I can't help but will keep watching to see if someone can. We are staying at WBC in January. Hope you had a great time. How was the transportation??

 

[SalandJeff]

...We've never stayed off-site, and I was having real trouble looking outside the world even though it made all kinds of sense...

I am just like you in this regard. We have been going to Disney every year for the past 20. Always stayed on-site, former DVC owners. We stayed at WBC last year because we went with family who were staying there. It is fabulous, and I think because it is on Disney property, you don't feel so "off-site" if you know what I mean. You are not going to believe how much room you have in the unit. We are going again in November and even though I still got that twinge to book at a Disney resort, we are staying in a 2 bdrm at WBC. We need an extra bedroom because my sister is coming. I don't think I can go back to just staying in a hotel room!

You made a great decision ... have a great time!

 

[kreed]

Does anyone know or can confirm what is in the 3rd bedroom of a 3 bedroom unit? I have seen that it is a queen and also seen that it is a second king. also have seen somewhere it is another set of full size beds. thks.

The Wyndham website shows the 3BR with 1 king room 1 queen room, 2doubles room and a queen or double pull out sofa.

 

[Belle599]

Just returned from WBC. Booked through Ken Price. Although our room request was not honored, we still got one on the 4th floor in building 5. The room was decent. Nothing spectacular and not spotless by any means. There was mold in some of the corners of the shower and in some areas of the grout between the tiles. The bathroom and kitchen floors were not real clean, with quite a bit of dust buildup in the corners. As we had to go to Wally World for food and supplies I picked up some cleaning materials and had the place looking much better in no time.

The room itself was in decent shape with nothing broken or worn out. The bed was not real comfortable. The only reason we got a half ways decent sleep is because we were tired from how busy we were during the day.

We enjoyed the grounds including the pools and grilling areas. With the exception of the above the resort was very nice and the people were very friendly.

We hit the water parks in the AM, then an afternoon break around the pool at the resort, and off to a theme park in the evening. We ate all our meals (but for the one below) in our room and grilled out each day. Not only was the money savings huge, but we really enjoy that kind of thing.

The weather was fantastic for the eight days we were there. Only one day did we have some afternoon t-storms and we just hung out inside during those.

As for the sales pitch, I politely made it clear right from the start we were not interested. They did not push the issue at all, not even a phone call to the room.

The real good news of the trip? I surprised my GF of 4+ years with an engagement ring during dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle the first night we were there. We got lucky as that was the first night in seven months they had the windows uncovered from the construction going on. With the window table and the fireworks launching outside of the window it was truly a magical evening. We will be returning in May 2012 for a wedding.

We plan on staying at WBC next May, although we hope the room is cleaner.

Thanks for your review! We stayed at WBC from May 8 to 19 and I am going to echo a couple things you mentioned. Overall, we had a lovely time, but I agree that the beds were not comfortable (were not supportive enough aka firm I suppose) and our room was not clean enough. Initially I thought that perhaps my clean is just too picky but my DH, who usually doesn't really notice dust in the corners/hanging off the air vents, also mentioned this. There was a lot of mould on the supershower and tub/shower.
We stayed in room 1296 in tower 5 (12th floor). Over New Years I stayed in a 1 BR on floor 11 of tower 5 and did not have these complaints.

Although neither of these complaints (yes I am probably picky) will keep me from returning to WBC, I think we will go back to a pool home for our next trip just for more privacy.

Overall, for location and value, WBC cannot be beat!

 

[DCTooTall]

Will I be asking too much?

We have just booked a 2 bedroom suite at WBC for my family of 6 this coming January. My parents are also going to meet us to help with our now 14 month twins and we have booked them a 1 bedroom suite. Both of these bookings were trades via RCI.

What I am wondering is that we would like to request that both rooms be near each other (same tower/floor). Can I call and put that request in and then also request a view of the fireworks or will I be asking for too much? I would prefer my parents to be closer to us, but would love to be able to look at the fireworks because I am not sure how many nights we will see them with 3 young children.

Any advice would be great and when do I call and make my requests?

Thanks everyone. Love reading all of the advice on this thread.

You can always try. Room Requests are best made by contacting the resort itself once they have your reservation in their system. Based off the information that people have reported, It does not appear that the resort gets the reservation from the Master Wyndham system until about 2 weeks prior to your arrival.... so you can always call them at the 2 week mark and make the room requests.

As for having both the rooms located near each other and a fireworks view, it may be more difficult to get both requests granted. 1bdrm units are not as plentiful as 2bdrm units, and I think in some towers they are only located on one side of the building. Ultimately because of that, there is a lot less flexibility in where your 1 bedroom unit would be located. If the only available 1bdrm rooms are on lower level floors, no matter which tower you are in you may not be able to get a firework view on that floor due to some obstruction (building across the lake, trees, parking garage, etc).

That being said, It never hurts to make your request known... both thru the pre-arrival call, and again when checking in. I would however decide which is more important to you... the firework view or the being on the same floor/building, and let them know which you'd prefer so that if there is a choice between 1 or the other, they have the information available to make the choice that would possibly make you happier.

 

[JimMIA]

The Wyndham website shows the 3BR with 1 king room 1 queen room, 2doubles room and a queen or double pull out sofa.

There are two types of 3-bedrooms -- 3 BR Deluxe and 3 BR Presidential.

On the Wyndham owners site it says the bed arrangement for the 3 BR Deluxe "varies," but it looks like King, King, 2 doubles, and a queen sleeper sofa on the floor plan. The 3 BR deluxes vary from 1503 - 1560 sq Ft. Max occupancy is listed at 10/6 or 10/8.

For the 3 BR Presidential, the description is K, K, 2 doubles, but in the floor plan the "doubles" appear to be the same size as the queen sleeper sofa. The floor plan also shows a queen sleeper sofa, so it might be K, K, 2Q and the sleeper sofa. However, the stated occupancy for the Presidential is only 8/6, so I'm not sure about that sleeper. The 3 BR Presidentials are 1580 sq ft.

Probably the only way to know for sure is to call the resort and ask.

 

[mnightin]

Thank you all for helping me understand why people book onsite. That helps!
It makes me more confident in booking BC for this October! I'll plan to book 60 days out as we're going at a relatively quiet time (10/15-10/22).

1) Location Location Location - if you're staying at the Polynesian (or Contemporary and Grand Floridian, you're on the monorail. Boardwalk, Yacht/Beach Club is walking distance to Epcot and DHS).
2) Extra magic hours - some people love these, I just think it makes the parks more crowded
3) Disney Dining Plan -Prepay for all your meals. It used to be a better deal because appetizers and tip were included, but now it is just the entree and dessert.
4) Free transportation

That makes sense. I can also understand how once you start onsite, you don't think to go offsite.

In general, there are three desirable properties of any Disney lodging choice:

1: That it be a Disney resort (with access to perks and "magic").
2: That it be spacious so that you aren't on top of each other for the trip.
3: That it cost a reasonable amount of money.

Most of the time, you can have only two of these three. So, you have to decide what you'll give up.

Great summary - so true!

Rooms at the Poly do sleep 5 so if your family includes everyone in your signature, you would only need 1 room.

We're actually bringing a nanny with us to manage the baby (yay - more time in the parks for me!), so do need that other bedroom.

And I'll add two additional benefits to staying onsite:

5) Disney's Magical Express -- if you fly into Orlando, you can take the free DME to your onsite resort, and back to the airport at the end of your stay. That's not a huge benefit, but it's nice for many onsite guests.

6) Free theme park parking for those who drive. That saves $14 or so per day for those who don't have APs.

Good points. Again, like your post said, not worth the tradeoffs for me.

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

There are two types of 3-bedrooms -- 3 BR Deluxe and 3 BR Presidential.

On the Wyndham owners site it says the bed arrangement for the 3 BR Deluxe "varies," but it looks like King, King, 2 doubles, and a queen sleeper sofa on the floor plan. The 3 BR deluxes vary from 1503 - 1560 sq Ft. Max occupancy is listed at 10/6 or 10/8.

For the 3 BR Presidential, the description is K, K, 2 doubles, but in the floor plan the "doubles" appear to be the same size as the queen sleeper sofa. The floor plan also shows a queen sleeper sofa, so it might be K, K, 2Q and the sleeper sofa. However, the stated occupancy for the Presidential is only 8/6, so I'm not sure about that sleeper. The 3 BR Presidentials are 1580 sq ft.

Probably the only way to know for sure is to call the resort and ask.

That's why I was confused...we're in a 3BR presidential. I'm glad to know there's a second K room! Thanks!

 

[JimMIA]

That's why I was confused...we're in a 3BR presidential. I'm glad to know there's a second K room! Thanks!

If the bed arrangement in the 3 BR Presidential really matters, I would give them a call. The occupancy and "privacy" numbers make me think the couch in the living room is just that...not a sleeper.

WBC's number is 407-238-3500 and they can tell you very quickly.

 

[kreed]

Less than 3 weeks before our arrival at WBC! I'm scanned most of this thread over the past few weeks and while some things are more clear, others are not. I realize the internet is not wifi but some mentioned that they bring an inexpensive router with them. I asked the guy at Best Buy and he said you had to plug directly into the modem which I'm assuming is not in the room. How did some of you put your wifi in place?

We have a 2 bedroom deluxe reserved. Our children, 6 and 9, are strong swimmers and would not like the baby pool areas. They love lazy rivers and water slides. It sounds like asking for tower 5 would be best for us. Any other recommendations for when I call to make requests? Would love a fireworks view if possible. Not fond of noise coming from pool areas at night so lower floors would annoy the crap out of me. Since we are arriving on a Thursday, I'm guessing our requests will be more limited.

Thanks to all of you that have added so much to this thread. Its a wonderful resource!!!

Tower5 has a good fireworks view of both Magic Kingdom and Epcot which is on opposite side of pool. It is on the parking lot side though. There is a good pool and lazy river as well as a bar and grill.

 

[Zoebear]

Hey there,
We are booked with Mike for July. At the time of booking (a few months ago now) I mentioned a request for Building 5 at the time - do you think I should mention it again, or call BC directly ? Or should I just wait until I get there?



Any advice would be appreciated.
Tks.

 

[horseshowmom]

Hey there,
We are booked with Mike for July. At the time of booking (a few months ago now) I mentioned a request for Building 5 at the time - do you think I should mention it again, or call BC directly ? Or should I just wait until I get there?



Any advice would be appreciated.
Tks.

I called a week before I arrived. That said, when I actually arrived on Christmas Day, they had neglected to assign my room (which they generally do ahead of your arrival). I told them that I really wanted Building 5 with the fireworks view. She worked for a few minutes and was able to arrange it so I got what I wanted (loved watching the fireworks twice every night from our balcony ). Considering I was checking in on Christmas Day and got what I wanted, you probably will too (but I would still call a week ahead ).

 

[Zoebear]

Thanks!!!

 

[britt54311]

For those of you who stayed in a 3 bedroom unit. Does the 3rd bedroom have a ceiling fan in it? Just wondering if we should bring a fan because when we stayed in the 2 bedroom unit the double bed room didn't have a ceiling fan and was very warm in there. Thanks

 

[2ofUs]

For those of you who stayed in a 3 bedroom unit. Does the 3rd bedroom have a ceiling fan in it? Just wondering if we should bring a fan because when we stayed in the 2 bedroom unit the double bed room didn't have a ceiling fan and was very warm in there. Thanks

At my age, I take a folding fan & a shawl most places (restaurants, meetings, etc.) cause 'ya just never know'

Haven't stayed in a 3 bedroom, but I know what you mean about some rooms. It is possible that BC has fans for 'in-room' use, so you could call and ask. That being said, I have a small side-table sized Vordado fan I pack when we travel (even to MIL home). They sell for around $25 and are great!