Windsor Hills and Bonnet Creek

[minerva78]

I know this has been asked before, but I'm trying to figure out which of these would be a better choice for my situation. I have a 6 night package booked onsite in June, but I think I want to split the trip up and spend 2 days onsite/4 days offsite or (my preference) 3 days onsite/3 days offsite. I'm trying to spend less on this trip than I had originally budgeted, and would probably prefer to spend the entire time offsite, but this whole FP+ thing is scaring me to stay onsite for at least part of the trip.

I've definitely narrowed it down to either Windsor Hills or Bonnet Creek for my offsite time, but I don't know which one would fit my family more. I know WBC has a more "resort" feel to it while Windosr Hills has more of a "home" feel to it. And I think I would prefer the resort experience, especially if we spend some time just exploring the resort. But DH said he did NOT want to have a down day at the resort, because why would we go to Disney to spend time at a resort? So I have a feeling we will be spending most of our days in the park, will it really matter how many more amenities WBC has over Windsor Hills? I can most likely get either a 2 or 3 bedroom condo at Winsdor Hills cheaper, based on the few quotes I've gotten, than a 2 BR at WBC. It sounds like Bonnet Creek is closer to the parks, but which one is an easier drive to the parks? I think I'm going to try to see if I can find any lower quotes for WBC, because that's where I would prefer to stay, but some of these Windsor Hills rates are hard to pass up! Especially when most of them have Disney decorated rooms my girls would love. Any thoughts?

 

[iamadisneynut]

Hi! We were trying to decide the same thing for our trip next month. We ended up going with WBC because I have heard so many good things on this board and want to try it, also it's so close and we are spending a lot more days in the parks this trip! Either way I think you'll have a great trip! Good luck with you decision!!

 

[blessedby3]

I know this has been asked before, but I'm trying to figure out which of these would be a better choice for my situation. I have a 6 night package booked onsite in June, but I think I want to split the trip up and spend 2 days onsite/4 days offsite or (my preference) 3 days onsite/3 days offsite. I'm trying to spend less on this trip than I had originally budgeted, and would probably prefer to spend the entire time offsite, but this whole FP+ thing is scaring me to stay onsite for at least part of the trip.

I've definitely narrowed it down to either Windsor Hills or Bonnet Creek for my offsite time, but I don't know which one would fit my family more. I know WBC has a more "resort" feel to it while Windosr Hills has more of a "home" feel to it. And I think I would prefer the resort experience, especially if we spend some time just exploring the resort. But DH said he did NOT want to have a down day at the resort, because why would we go to Disney to spend time at a resort? So I have a feeling we will be spending most of our days in the park, will it really matter how many more amenities WBC has over Windsor Hills? I can most likely get either a 2 or 3 bedroom condo at Winsdor Hills cheaper, based on the few quotes I've gotten, than a 2 BR at WBC. It sounds like Bonnet Creek is closer to the parks, but which one is an easier drive to the parks? I think I'm going to try to see if I can find any lower quotes for WBC, because that's where I would prefer to stay, but some of these Windsor Hills rates are hard to pass up! Especially when most of them have Disney decorated rooms my girls would love. Any thoughts?

I was in the same boat as you. We were trying to decide between WBC and WH. DH kept saying WBC for sure, but I was trying to save a little more money (since we are staying 2 weeks) and wanted to consider WH.
We finally decided to go with WBC. We stayed there in Oct 2012 and really loved it. It is so convenient to the parks...it is right by the Caribbean Beach...and you dont have to go on and off the property since it is on the WDW roadways.
I love the resort feel when we are on vacation. I dont think I would like the feeling of a "home" in WH. We bit the bullet and booked 2 weeks at BC and figured we are saving a TON of money from on property either way. I do have 2 nights booked at AOA in a LM room because DD6 is SO wanting to stay at a Disney hotel...so the girls will stay there 2 nights in the middle of our trip and we will leave the guys at BC

 

[nugov2]

We stayed at WH and loved it. Our house was so clean and the pool at the house and on resort were beautiful. I don't think you can go wrong with either. We did have a Disney themed house which was great. We had Disney magic the whole trip, but lots of space to spread out. You can do one day on site to get the perks(at least how it is being reported right now) and still book week at the house for the same price at 3 days on and 3 days off.

 

[minerva78]

Thanks. I think we are going to go with WBC. I would prefer WBC because of the resort feel too. I had asked DH's opinion about this 2 days ago, and he said he didn't care, but last night he said he'd rather stay in a resort rather than in someone's home. I swear, I am trying to include DH in decisions about this vacation, but he is driving me crazy because he always says he doesn't care, but he really does! Good grief. I've gotten some decent quotes from VRBO, my resort network, and I'm looking some at Ebay as well. So we'll just see where I can find the best deal.

I have considered just doing one day onsite, but I want to do a few days because I want to get the "feel" for onsite, to see how I would like it compared to offsite, for a future trip. But I'm also afraid Disney will somehow change this FP+ stuff so you can only get them for the length of your onsite stay - although realistically I don't know how their terrible IT will be able to link FP+, tickets, AND onsite reservation lengths, but who knows. At least with 3 days onsite, based on my projected park days, I would be able to get FP+ for HS, Epcot, and one of my two MK days, and HS and Epcot seem to be the days when FP+ is most needed. Despite all this craziness, I am determined to keep researching ways to make it work to my advantage.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I know that you stated you will probably go with Bonnet Creek, but I don’t think you can go wrong with either choice as both places are very popular offsite choices for vacationing families that have Disney World as the focal point of their trips. Given the choice between the two, we ended up renting a three bedroom condo at Windsor Hills for our trip this past May after initially having our sights on Bonnet Creek. We chose Windsor Hills primarily for two reasons: we got a three bedroom unit for a lot less than what Vacation Strategy quoted us for a two bedroom unit which was ultra nice for us being a family with four kids; and secondly for the ease of the rental process. We rented our condo through Florida Sun Vacation Homes (one of the well known property management companies) and the rental process was very easy. The unit we wanted was available for our trip dates, we sent them our reservation request and payment info and our rental agreement and confirmation was processed the next business day. We liked knowing ahead of time exactly which unit we were getting, what it looked like, and its building location. Our unit was very clean, in excellent condition, and just as pictured online. We felt that Windsor Hills was very family oriented and loved that it is a gated community, there was plenty of parking right outside our building, and we were an easy and quick drive away from the Disney parks (10 minutes to Epcot or HS, less than 15 minutes to MK, and 8 minutes to AK). As far as Windsor Hills having less of a “resort feel” and more of a “home like feel“, in a way I think that is kind of subjective and an issue that is a little overblown. When people say it has a "home like feel", based on my experience I think that is because each unit is privately owned so each unit will be decorated differently and have different decorative touches and layouts depending on the owner rather than there being a standard decorating theme/layout that you will find in timeshare units. We definitely did not have the feeling that we were staying in "somebody’s house" . The condo units/houses at Windsor Hills are primarily and frequently rented out to families who are also there for their vacations. Also, we were at the Disney parks for full days every day of our trip, so we weren’t really looking for a place with a lot of action in terms of having multiple pools, scheduled activities, etc. but I do think that Windsor Hills has some nice recreational amenities that are great for vacationing families including a very large zero depth entry pool with water slide and splash pad/fountain area, jacuzzi, tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball court, putting green, two playgrounds, picnic area with barbecue grills, and a clubhouse with a small movie theater, sundries shop, game room, and fitness center. So, I guess it all depends on what you are looking for and what your family’s needs and vacation plans are; but again, I don’t think you can go wrong with either choice. Happy planning!