time share help

[Leleluvsdis]

I was wondering if anyone know anything about the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort? Mom and Dad have two weeks banked with RCI, and want to use one to go to WDW next year. I found this resort online, and was wondering if it is an on-site resort. On the web-site, it has a sticker saying good-neighbor hotel. HELP?! PLEASE?!

 

[safetymom]

It is next to Caribbean Beach but it isn't considered onsite by Disney. They wouldn't have Disney transportation from their resort to the parks or be able to take advantage of emh.
I am going to move this to the Orlando forum for more information.

 

[ahill004]

We stayed at Bonnet Creek last fall and it is on-site but is not considered a Disney hotel. The location cannot be beat. safetymom is right that you cannot us EMH but when we were there we did have transportation to the parks. That being said, the transportation was not as regular as Disney hotels so we just used our rental car. The resort itself if beautiful with a lazy river pool, nice rooms, etc... Some rooms even have views of the Epcot fireworks. THis is a really nice timeshare. (We used RCI as well - my in-laws timeshare). ANd I am not a huge fan of timeshares!

 

[spiceycat]

It is not onsite. If it was onsite - it would be included in the extra benefits that Disney resorts get. It does not.

no emh, no DME, no WDW transportation, no resort deliver of your items, etc

the only onsite timeshares are Disney's DVC.

it between CBR and Pop Century on one side and 535 overpass on the other side. there is still construction going on in the area.

saw the place it is nice. too nice - I like OKW lay back better. but hey everyone is different.

 

[garmich]

Bonnet Creek is not on-site. It is the closest non-Disney resort. It is surrounded on three sides by WDW. The story goes that this is the only parcel of land that Walt Disney was not able to purchase.

It has a shuttle service to the parks and to DTD. But it is not a part of Disney transportation.

As far as securing a week through RCI, I've heard that they are very hard to get. The units in this resort get filled-up fast, especially during the peak seasons. You'd be extremely lucky to find the few weeks that are available through RCI.

 

[charlielinda]

I've tried for years to trade into Bonnett Creek and it's possible. Do some research and there are some lovely other resorts very close by -- Vistana Resort, the HGVC's Clubs, Polysesian Resorts, Village Village -- lots to choose from. We've never been disappointed trading into Orlando area with RCI.

 

[Brian Noble]

The question of "onsite or not" is surprisingly complicated.

To the casual fan, "onsite" means "has all the perks of staying 'at Disney'". Only resorts that are owned and operated by Disney meet this critiera. You can tell if a resort is wholly owned by Disney if (and only if) it is named "Disney's <something or other>".

There are hotels that are on Disney-owned land, but are not fully "onsite" by virtue of not being wholly owned by Disney. They include Shades of Green, Swan, Dolphin, and the seven DTD hotels. They provide various degrees of access to "onsite" perks, but none of them provide all of those perks.

Bonnet Creek is an oddity, because it is landlocked by Disney-owned land on three sides, and I-4 on the fourth. You can only get to/from it by "entering the gates", and there is Disney signage that points to it, so it seems like it is on Disney-owned land, but it technically isn't. As with some of the DTD resorts (which are on Disney-owned land), Bonnet Creek offers none of the standard "onsite" perks. However, it's closer to many other Disney destinations than some of Disney's own resorts. For example, folks staying at OKW or SSR will often find themselves going past Bonnet Creek on the way to or from the parks.

Depending on who you ask, Bonnet Creek's location is anything from a minor annoyance to a major concern for Disney and, especially, DVC. They have gone so far as to put a 3D billboard advertsing DVC smack-dab across from the driveway into Bonnet Creek, so that anyone leaving the BC site can be reminded that they don't really belong.

As for exchanging in: Wyndham controls all deposits from Bonnet Creek (as well as any other all-point resorts.) Up until about three months ago, there hadn't been a whiff of Bonnet Creek being deposited into RCI in years. Then, a few very-off-season units showed up. More recently, a handful of primetime units got deposited. I personally saw a 1BR during President's Week for '09. So, it's possible, but you have to be very flexible about when you are going, and you'll need a pretty good trader to see the larger units.

 

[jacksonfarms46147]

My family and I loved Bonnet Creek. We stayed there in Dec of 07 and will be doing so again in March 09. The units are BEAUTIFUL and the grounds well maintained. My three year old son loved the pools and he was actually at the age where we could have just stayed at the resort and maybe visted the Magic Kingdom and he would have been fine. We own a timeshare through Wyndham that we purchased from ebay so trading in was not a problem and right now it looks like they are wide open for Spring Break 09. They do have a bus that runs to the parks but it is not as often as the Disney buses and the last bus is at an odd hour where you probably would miss some of the night time shows. The upshot to that was that we coud see Epcot's firewords from our room which was great. Like others have said they do not have the Disney resort perks but you can't beat the location. We have a friend who is DVC and even she had to admit that our unit at Bonnet Creek beat hers hands down. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me.


Jo

 

[Lisa P.]

RCI exchangers, take note of the Wyndham Bonnet Creek weeks that were spotted this morning online at RCI. As Brian mentioned, this would have been rare to non-existent, just a few months ago. With the recent opening of a new tower at Wyn BC, they seem to be depositing some weeks. However, they did this when the resort first opened too and it didn't last. So, outside of the quietest weeks, I would not necessarily expect this to continue for very long. Anyway, here they are:

Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort (#6369)
2 Bedrooms 8 / 6 Full 08/30/2008 09/06/2008
2 Bedrooms 8 / 6 Full 10/18/2008 10/25/2008
2 Bedrooms 8 / 6 Full 11/02/2008 11/09/2008
1 Bedroom 4 / 4 Full 02/27/2009 03/06/2009
2 Bedrooms 8 / 6 Full 03/01/2009 03/08/2009
1 Bedroom 4 / 4 Full 03/01/2009 03/08/2009
1 Bedroom 4 / 4 Full 03/08/2009 03/15/2009
1 Bedroom 4 / 4 Full 03/15/2009 03/22/2009
1 Bedroom 4 / 4 Full 03/22/2009 03/29/2009
1 Bedroom 4 / 4 Full 03/29/2009 04/05/2009

Pretty nice, if you can act quickly and get 'em!!!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Thanks so much for the responces. this def clears things up. We are thinking of going 3/8/09 for the princess 1/2 marathon as that is my goal to run in it b/c I need to lose weight and my reward will be that and disney of course!!! Mom and Dad have both a 2 bd and a 1bd space banked and both are red weeks hopefully this will be in our favor!!! Wish me luck!!!

 

[Brian Noble]

It looks like you are already too late for March 09 at Bonnet Creek. Those March weeks Lisa listed above are already all gone (though there is the odd unit here in there for Fall '08 still).

You might snag a cancellation, but the next batch that should be deposited are likely to come from April 09 and beyond.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Brian....
Thanks....your post was one of the most informative and easy to understand in regards to Bonnet Creek and the question of it being on or offsite.

jacksonfarms: We have a friend who is DVC and even she had to admit that our unit at Bonnet Creek beat hers hands down.

Well...this, of course is highly subjective. We own both offsite timeshare (Vistana) as well as DVC. We LOVE our DVC hand's down. We are looking into selling Vistana and have no desire to buy Bonnet Creek (despite it being a beautiful resort) or any other offiste timeshare. Our plan is for more DVC points. So if your friend is not as happy with her DVC it is subjective.

That being said, Bonnet Creek does really have the feel of being onsite----no doubt about that. When we stay at OKW, we do pass right by it as Brian stated.

 

[Brian Noble]

Amusingly, I bought Wyndham to be able to get into Bonnet Creek, have been to Disney twice since then, and have stayed at OKW both times.

I think it is highly subjective. The units at the Disney resorts (except for OKW) tend to be smaller, and (except for SSR and maybe AKV---I haven't seen that yet) have furnishings that are a bit less "upscale". On the other hand, the Disney resorts have a bit more character, and are a little more "resort-y" in that they have credible onsite dining options, marinas (except for AKV), etc. The dining picture at Bonnet Creek will get a little bit better when the hotels open, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to get to them from some of the more remote BC towers.

The tipping point for me is that, resale, BC is dimes on the dollar, while DVC isn't a "bargain" no matter how you slice it. It can be a very good value, but it's not a "bargain". And, I inherited "bargain" from both sides of the family, in spades.

 

[calgarygary]

Amusingly, I bought Wyndham to be able to get into Bonnet Creek, have been to Disney twice since then, and have stayed at OKW both times.

I think it is highly subjective. The units at the Disney resorts (except for OKW) tend to be smaller, and (except for SSR and maybe AKV---I haven't seen that yet) have furnishings that are a bit less "upscale". On the other hand, the Disney resorts have a bit more character, and are a little more "resort-y" in that they have credible onsite dining options, marinas (except for AKV), etc. The dining picture at Bonnet Creek will get a little bit better when the hotels open, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to get to them from some of the more remote BC towers.

The tipping point for me is that, resale, BC is dimes on the dollar, while DVC isn't a "bargain" no matter how you slice it. It can be a very good value, but it's not a "bargain". And, I inherited "bargain" from both sides of the family, in spades.

Totally agree about the "tipping" point. Although I enjoy the onsite product (hotels - haven't stayed DVC yet) I can't imagine paying an extra $15K + carrying costs just to be onsite. Those extra carrying costs more than pay for my offsite (Vistana Villages) maintenance fees.

 

[MiaSRN62]

The units at the Disney resorts (except for OKW) tend to be smaller, and (except for SSR and maybe AKV---I haven't seen that yet) have furnishings that are a bit less "upscale". On the other hand, the Disney resorts have a bit more character, and are a little more "resort-y" in that they have credible onsite dining options, marinas (except for AKV), etc.

Totally agree Brian----DVC isn't a bargain from most people's perspective. And I agree with your above statements. I personally don't prefer the "upscale" furnishings (though I do feel SSR leans in that direction with their Thomasville decor as far as DVC goes). I prefer more whimsical/tropical/themed decor. So yep....it is subjective---we both agree on that for sure.

This year we're staying in a one bedroom at AKV with savanah view. So it's this sort of thing---a unique experience such as sitting out on your balcony and seeing giraffe and zebra---that to me, makes DVC "worth it" regardless of how it works out monetarily on paper. Sitting on the beach at the WL/VWl and watching and hearing WIshes.....and the Electric Water Pagent with the family. The EMH's are very important to us as well. So I think alot of DVC'ers are looking at the whole package---not just the dollars and cents ? But Bonnet Creek is about as nice as one can get that close to being on disney property. I have seen the resort from the outside (we drove in the gates by accident one time ! ) and I've seen several people post interior views. Definitely lovely decor.

 

[spiceycat]

got a tour a couple of years ago of BC - and I didn't like it - same reason I didn't like SSR - to upscale for my taste.

OKW fits me perfectly - of course rumor say it will be upgraded.... don't see why they (disney) can't leave it alone.

now I do love AKV - they are upscale and still Disney.

with DVC got my money out of the resort long, long ago. with my Westgate will NEVER get my money out. Only paid $7,000 for westgate - but it sometimes rent units out for $29 to $69 a night. If I known that would have NEVER brought there. When the resort works against and many in Orlando do. You can and generally do pay more out in maintence fees than the resort charges outsiders on a per night basis.

disney does not.

that too me make Disney worth it!

why buy OL or any of the others can get for less with RCI last minute exchanges, my very cheap timeshares, or even skyauction.

Of course also trade into Disney with my other timeshares. although heard on the DVC board that since more people than ever are going this route. It might not be as easy next year as this year. got BCV studio and SSR 1-bedroom for my timeshare this year.

 

[Brian Noble]

OKW fits me perfectly - of course rumor say it will be upgraded....

That would be a shame. While OKW isn't luxurious, it's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be a comfortable home---and it does that really really well! Our last trip there the two of us just spent an afternoon sitting on our villa's 1st floor patio, watching the birds and turtles around the pond.

although heard on the DVC board that since more people than ever are going this route. It might not be as easy next year as this year.

The folks on the DVC boards are not entirely disinterested observers. My experience watching for the past few years is that DVC has gotten easier to trade into, not harder---more units are being deposited, larger units, and units in more high-demand times. Some of those have sat around for several days before being taken.

That could always change, of course, but it looks like the new "fixed grids" combined with the automatic no-questions-asked confirmations have increased the number of Member exchanges.