The we loooooove Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek Part 4

[KristinU]

Hey guys, FYI - I just read a post on the TUG Wyndham board that the lazy river at tower 5 is going to be resurfaced starting December 4th. Estimated 2 weeks that the pool will be closed, all other pools will be open during that time.

 

[missingdisneymore]

You do realize you don't have to be on the dining plan to eat at WDW restaurants, right? And, in fact, for a lot of people, probably most people, the Dining Plan is not the most cost-effective way to eat at Disney?

With 16 people, I would be looking at villas at Windsor Hills.

I've never heard of those where would I even begin? Yes, we know you can do Disney with out the Dining Plan, but it just "feels" easier to get the package and pay before we get there and feel like vacation is already paid and done when you get there.

As much as I love Disney, this is how they get you in the wallet-the “feels”. Off property condos/villas and paying out of pocket for meals will save you a TON of $ to be used on other fun things, even other Disney things if you so choose, especially when booking multiple rooms would be required on property. This is why we looooooove WBC!

 

[freecia]

As much as I love Disney, this is how they get you in the wallet-the “feels”. Off property condos/villas and paying out of pocket for meals will save you a TON of $ to be used on other fun things, even other Disney things if you so choose, especially when booking multiple rooms would be required on property. This is why we looooooove WBC!

There are DDP estimation calculators which can help crunch the numbers
https://www.distripplanner.com/

You could also put money into a special bank account or onto Disney Gift Cards if you really enjoy having it paid off before you get there.

The convenience of having something feel like it was paid off, if you'll be using the plan to a decent value, might be worth it if you are already planning to stay on property.

If your deciding criteria is cash cost, be sure you're comparing a cash/points stay, rental car(s), parking, and food costs (both Disney and non-Disney) to on-site, Disney transport, and DDP. There's a lot to consider in the value proposition and I tend to put total out of pocket costs, proximity, and quality of lodging (with access to a kettle & laundry) fairly high up in my criteria. Yours might be ease of transportation, allowing everyone to dine & order separately, and access to FastPass 60+ days out. A lot of people know how to plan a repeat trip to their favorite Disney Resort and that shouldn't be underestimated, too, as on-property and off have some differences in planning. Planning for 8 adults and 8 children can be a lot of logistics and time commitment.

 

[BostonEd]

Planning for 8 adults and 8 children can be a lot of logistics and time commitment.

Good point. Not having to worry about transport for 16 people is certainly worth a lot.

 

[missingdisneymore]

We’ve done multiple trips on/off property with multi-generations and families. We all try to spend at least one major holiday there together. Honestly, the transportation wasn’t really an issue for any of us. Some wanted to leave, they left. Others headed to Disney Springs, some took a bus from there, hung out at Epcot for a bit and came back, etc. Everyone gets to do what they want however we don’t have to fumble with safety seats. That would definitely add some hassle. Everyone does seem to like having larger living quarters and multiple kitchens, even for snacks, breakfast, kids munching and being able to be together in the condos.
I admit I was terrified to stay at a non-Dis resort at first.
As for fast passes, we decided to go to MK on Thanksgiving Day the Tuesday prior. I was able to get FP for everything, including 7DMT, by Tues evening. You just never know.

 

[cdd89]

I recently discovered Bonnet Creek having previously done a lot of stays at the Swan & Dolphin. It's a fantastic place to stay - and feels Disney in location and quality, if not the details. (I have never stayed at a Disney property at WDW, but I have visited all the hotels extensively).

The only disappointments are the (frankly extortionate) resort and parking charges. On my next visit I intend to try and cut the price a little with a hybrid approach combining Wyndham shuttles, Disney shuttles between parks and to DS/CBR/PCR, and taxis.

Without a rental car, I am wondering how I'll do my traditional visit to a nearby 7-11 and get some cokes, snacks etc to stock up the fridge with. I thought of grocery delivery, but delivery fees make that a non-starter, I'll only be buying about $15 of stuff. The vending machines at the Wyndham looked pretty expensive, in my opinion. My current plan is either to suck up the vending machine rip-off, or get a taxi to take me via LBV/S Apopka Vineland etc as part of another journey. Any better tips? Is there something I'm overlooking?

 

[KristinU]

I recently discovered Bonnet Creek having previously done a lot of stays at the Swan & Dolphin. It's a fantastic place to stay - and feels Disney in location and quality, if not the details. (I have never stayed at a Disney property at WDW, but I have visited all the hotels extensively).

The only disappointments are the (frankly extortionate) resort and parking charges. On my next visit I intend to try and cut the price a little with a hybrid approach combining Wyndham shuttles, Disney shuttles between parks and to DS/CBR/PCR, and taxis.

Without a rental car, I am wondering how I'll do my traditional visit to a nearby 7-11 and get some cokes, snacks etc to stock up the fridge with. I thought of grocery delivery, but delivery fees make that a non-starter, I'll only be buying about $15 of stuff. The vending machines at the Wyndham looked pretty expensive, in my opinion. My current plan is either to suck up the vending machine rip-off, or get a taxi to take me via LBV/S Apopka Vineland etc as part of another journey. Any better tips? Is there something I'm overlooking?

Uber/Lyft would be good options!

We have APs so parking is free for us, but even at $20 a day I still think a rental car is a cheap and easy way around. Rental cars can be usually be had for so cheap in Orlando (our last one had a daily rate of $12.70) and there isn't a parking fee at WBC. One offsite meal or meal cooked in your villa can offset a couple of days worth of parking fees...or beverages - sodas and waters from the grocery store are SO much cheaper than Disney and even vending machines.

That said, there are still times we Uber/Lyft for convenience, usually to Boardwalk to be able to enter and leave Epcot through International Gateway.

 

[Carla1183]

I recently discovered Bonnet Creek having previously done a lot of stays at the Swan & Dolphin. It's a fantastic place to stay - and feels Disney in location and quality, if not the details. (I have never stayed at a Disney property at WDW, but I have visited all the hotels extensively).

The only disappointments are the (frankly extortionate) resort and parking charges. On my next visit I intend to try and cut the price a little with a hybrid approach combining Wyndham shuttles, Disney shuttles between parks and to DS/CBR/PCR, and taxis.

Without a rental car, I am wondering how I'll do my traditional visit to a nearby 7-11 and get some cokes, snacks etc to stock up the fridge with. I thought of grocery delivery, but delivery fees make that a non-starter, I'll only be buying about $15 of stuff. The vending machines at the Wyndham looked pretty expensive, in my opinion. My current plan is either to suck up the vending machine rip-off, or get a taxi to take me via LBV/S Apopka Vineland etc as part of another journey. Any better tips? Is there something I'm overlooking?

We rented a car for $150, parking for 5 days was $100 at parks (remember if you hop you only pay once a day!). Since we paid only around $700 for a 1 bedroom suite, our total for transportation and room was under $1k, way less than we'd have spent at a Disney resort for the same. (especially since having the suite was a dealbreaker for us, we need separate sleeping area from our kids!). I can't imagine doing shuttles, etc would be much cheaper than that, since you'll need to work in airport transfers as well.

Not sure what resort charges you're referring to? It was free to park at resorts if we had dinner reservations, free to park at WBC, and we didnt feel nickel and dimed at WBC at all - i dont think we spent any money with them aside from our initial booking and tipping bellmen.

We also had Dizzy Dolphin deliver groceries, either they or Garden Grocer charge $14 and it was well worth it to have it all waiting for us when we arrived! I know there are cheaper ways to do it now too - Amazon Prime Now and my Instacart with Publix? But we were extremely happy with the customer service with DD. Though with the rental car you could always go get it yourself, we just didnt want to take the time!

 

[zebrastreyepz]

I just got my "check in" email from Vacation Strategy and they said I need a credit card for incidentals.

Does anyone know the details on this?

Over the years I've run the gamut from a resort fee to having a $50/night hold put on my card and later refunded.

This is the first I heard of this for WBC and I thought I was going to be without "fees".

 

[Upatnoon]

I just got my "check in" email from Vacation Strategy and they said I need a credit card for incidentals.

Does anyone know the details on this?

Over the years I've run the gamut from a resort fee to having a $50/night hold put on my card and later refunded.

This is the first I heard of this for WBC and I thought I was going to be without "fees".

There are no fees. This can be used for incidentals, like paying for resort activities. I used it for paying for ice cream sundaes. Many hotels do this when you check in. I don't know if it mandatory, but you won't be charged unless you buy extras.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I just got my "check in" email from Vacation Strategy and they said I need a credit card for incidentals.

Does anyone know the details on this?

Over the years I've run the gamut from a resort fee to having a $50/night hold put on my card and later refunded.

This is the first I heard of this for WBC and I thought I was going to be without "fees".

Last time we were there it was a $100 hold that they release upon check out.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

Last time we were there it was a $100 hold that they release upon check out.

Thank you.

And I do get this happens. I wasn't expecting it to happen with a timeshare rental for some reason.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Thank you.

And I do get this happens. I wasn't expecting it to happen with a timeshare rental for some reason.

It's actually nice because then you can just charge food/drinks and activities (some require a fee like tie dye) to your room.

 

[cdd89]

Hi,

Regarding parking charges, I have an annual passport so don't pay charges at WDW. The Wyndham Grand, however, charged a painful $22 + Tax for self parking (per night) in the garage. Maybe this is because I was staying in the tower as a hotel guest rather than the WVO sections, it's understandable they'd be free parking? If there's a way to park there as a tower/hotel guest without paying $22 a night, I'd love to hear about it!

Chris

 

[ibob52]

Hi,

Regarding parking charges, I have an annual passport so don't pay charges at WDW. The Wyndham Grand, however, charged a painful $22 + Tax for self parking (per night) in the garage. Maybe this is because I was staying in the tower as a hotel guest rather than the WVO sections, it's understandable they'd be free parking? If there's a way to park there as a tower/hotel guest without paying $22 a night, I'd love to hear about it!

Chris

The majority of posts in this thread are about staying at the

* Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort * Timeshare * Buildings.

Your stay was at the Wyndham Grand Hotel and there are *Parking Fees*

WBC Timeshare stays *Do Not have Parking fees*

 

[pepperandchips]

I recently discovered Bonnet Creek having previously done a lot of stays at the Swan & Dolphin. It's a fantastic place to stay - and feels Disney in location and quality, if not the details. (I have never stayed at a Disney property at WDW, but I have visited all the hotels extensively).

The only disappointments are the (frankly extortionate) resort and parking charges. On my next visit I intend to try and cut the price a little with a hybrid approach combining Wyndham shuttles, Disney shuttles between parks and to DS/CBR/PCR, and taxis.

Without a rental car, I am wondering how I'll do my traditional visit to a nearby 7-11 and get some cokes, snacks etc to stock up the fridge with. I thought of grocery delivery, but delivery fees make that a non-starter, I'll only be buying about $15 of stuff. The vending machines at the Wyndham looked pretty expensive, in my opinion. My current plan is either to suck up the vending machine rip-off, or get a taxi to take me via LBV/S Apopka Vineland etc as part of another journey. Any better tips? Is there something I'm overlooking?

Hi,

Regarding parking charges, I have an annual passport so don't pay charges at WDW. The Wyndham Grand, however, charged a painful $22 + Tax for self parking (per night) in the garage. Maybe this is because I was staying in the tower as a hotel guest rather than the WVO sections, it's understandable they'd be free parking? If there's a way to park there as a tower/hotel guest without paying $22 a night, I'd love to hear about it!

Chris

As was already pointed out, this thread is largely information regarding the timeshare "vacation ownership" portion of Bonnet Creek. One reason my family loooooooooves it is the very inexpensive nightly rates we've gotten along with the free parking and lack of resort fees. I was just looking at rates around WDW for a long weekend stay in January and realized how spoiled I've gotten by WBC's "fee-free" pricing. Not to mention that the company I usually use doesn't charge me taxes on top of the nightly rate. That 12.5% tax, resort fee, and parking charge hurts! Even at a beautiful resort like the Swan or the lovely Hilton Bonnet Creek.

It's a trade off though. If you can forego daily housekeeping you should try the timeshare side some day.

 

[phinz]

It amazes me that the hotel charges for parking given that people can just park in the timeshare lots and walk to the hotel. It's not like you have to have a permit to park, since everybody here recommends skipping the parking permit desk so you don't get the sales spiel anyway.

 

[pepperandchips]

It amazes me that the hotel charges for parking given that people can just park in the timeshare lots and walk to the hotel. It's not like you have to have a permit to park, since everybody here recommends skipping the parking permit desk so you don't get the sales spiel anyway.

You don't need a parking pass but the timeshare lots are behind the gate at the front of the resort. You do need a key to enter. Not saying there aren't ways you could sneak in but most people aren't trying to do that...

Seems that the area around disney is notorious for charging resort fees and for parking, despite the fact that Orlando is not an area where space is scarce. Anything to make an extra buck, I suppose.

 

[phinz]

You don't need a parking pass but the timeshare lots are behind the gate at the front of the resort. You do need a key to enter. Not saying there aren't ways you could sneak in but most people aren't trying to do that...

It looked to me like you could drive to the hotel from the parking lot of the timeshares without going through a gate, but I didn't go that far back on the property because I had no reason to. I guess there must be a gate in the way. Carry on.

 

[Carla1183]

It looked to me like you could drive to the hotel from the parking lot of the timeshares without going through a gate, but I didn't go that far back on the property because I had no reason to. I guess there must be a gate in the way. Carry on.

The parking areas are separate and each has a gate. (I know because we try to drive all the way around to get to a pool on the opposite side and had to turn around when we got to the hotel tower lot as they arent connected!). To get into the timeshare parking lot at all you need a timeshare room key.