Wyndham Bonnet Creek without Car

[andyman8]

Planning a trip with a somewhat sizable group of friends (should be about 8 people) so was thinking about renting at WBC. I know some have gotten some really good and inexpensive deals there (some in this group have tighter budgets so inexpensive is good) but we will not have a car. I've heard conflicting info about this resort's shuttle service. How is it? What's the fee and what does the service entail (van, bus, etc...)? Any other suggestions for similar properties in the WDW area? Thanks!

 

[Spanky]

I would not stay at WBC without a car. It is $8per person each trip. You must sign up a day before. So you are looking at $64 to go to a park.I do not think uber has cars big enough for 8. You will need transportation from the airport which is 20 miles away. Transportation to grocery store-or order & have groceries delivered. You are not close enough to walk anywhere so that is $64 to go to Disney Springs. If you miss the shuttle pick up then you will have to hire 2 taxis to get back to WBC. The shuttle at WBC is not like the Disney buses that run all day long. Several runs in the morning then a few afternoon and only one after the fireworks so you need to hustle to get out of the park and to the shuttle pick up. This is a challenge at Magic Kingdom as the pick up location is TTC which means you have a long wait to get on a monorail or boat to reach TTC.

 

[serenitynow]

$8.00 per person, including infants

 

[KristinU]

Somebody on the super long "we looooove Bonnet Creek" thread had a good trip using Uber, but I believe that was just two people. You could use Uber and split up into two or three groups, which might be nice to have some independence within the group in case some want to head back early, etc.

I do think a car is easiest, but I know it can be done.

 

[JimMIA]

First of all, there are many wonderful people in this world for whom WDW may not be the perfect vacation. It's an expensive trip. If one of your party can't pay $10 per day for a rental car, how are they going to pay $100 per day for park tickets?

Those in your group who can't afford to go should recognize that and not burden the others with their constraints.

Second -- if you have 8 people and you want any semblance of comfort, you're going to need a 4 bedroom Presidential which will give every person a real bed to sleep in...and a reasonable shot at bathroom access. Your chances of scoring a 4BR Presidential are really remote unless you are planning 13+ months out.

There's a third and fourth, and fifth -- but I'm not going there.

Put together the pricing for a good trip and distribute it to your friends. If someone can't afford it -- or doesn't want to spend that kind of money for this kind of a trip -- that's perfectly understandable, sensible, and okay. But don't deprive the others because of the limitations of a few.

 

[pepperandchips]

Actually a 2 bedroom deluxe will sleep 8 adults (2 in the king in the master, 2 on the pullout couch, 4 split between two double beds in the second bedroom). Yes, if you are traveling with couples that might be a weird sleeping arrangement or if your folks spend more time getting ready in front of a mirror you may run into bathroom problems, but if this is 8 low-maintenance folks I would absolutely recommend Wyndham Bonnet Creek. We have booked it twice, once at $159 per night and more recently at $135 per night (during spring break season). I looked harder for the second deal and found what I wanted on VRBO. If you figure finding something at $160 per night divided by 8 people makes the accommodations only $20 per person per night so I would definitely use this rationale to justify the expense of a couple of rental sedans. You can probably find those at a low price as well if you watch sales and book at the right time. Parking is free at Wyndham Bonnet Creek.

Another property of similar quality which would also put four adults to a room in two queens rather than two doubles is the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista (Disney Springs). We recently snagged it for $85 or so per night after figuring in the resort fee and parking charge (which you won't have the latter, but it was only $7) which would also come out to about $20 per person per night. The shuttles there are included in the resort fee, but you can easily walk across the pedestrian bridge to Disney Springs and ride the Disney buses to any WDW resort you'd like (meaning you would not have to connect at the TTC for MK if you would like to walk to and from the Contemporary).

The advantage of Wyndham Bonnet Creek is the kitchen - if you plan to prepare meals there I'd pick the condo style room and bite the bullet on renting cars. If you'll eat all your meals in the parks I'd pick a Disney Springs hotel with a low rate and shuttle service included.

 

[pepperandchips]

Also check Sky Auction, ebay, VRBO, etc. for deals at the Sheraton Vistana Resort. It's another timeshare property located very close to Disney Springs. I have never heard of anyone staying there using shuttle service, but the parking would also be free there and I have seen Vistana 2BR units on Sky Auction for as little as $400 per week. You could definitely justify Uber or rental cars if the accommodations are that low in price!

 

[AeroKU]

We stayed at Bonnet Creek without a car and we had 8 people (4 BR Pres). We used Mears Cab to get to the parks. They have big vans that could fit all of us. We'd call about 15 minutes before we were ready to leave and they'd pick us up at tower 6. It was about $17 each way to EPCOT and HS, $23 to and from MK, and a little more to AK. We had a private ride each way and it was ready to go when we were - no worrying about the shuttle schedule. Much better in my opinion.

 

[friend2Figment]

Debating between OKW & WBC we would save a ton going with Bonnet Creek but we love just walking out to the bus stops and not having to drive. We will have two cars so we could drive just like to not worry. Where would you get dropped off or picked up at the parks if taking Mears? What I am saving on the resort will more than cover Mears so I think I like that better than relying on their bus and having to pay for each one of us traveling each way.

 

[AeroKU]

Mears will drop off at the TTT for Magic Kingdom, and you have to take the Monorail to the park. For the other parks, they drop off at the cab stand areas, not too far from the gates. For pickup, you just go to the cab stand area at each park (or TTT for MK). It's also super convenient, because they are ready to go when you are and there's no waiting for a bus and you don't ever have to go to any other resorts to drop other people off. I think if I was staying on Disney property in the future, I would still use a Mears cab instead of taking the bus.

 

[JimMIA]

With a party of 8, keep in mind that there is more to life than beds. Eight people sharing two bathrooms is not my idea of vacation delight!

 

[BadgerGirl84]

With a party of 8, keep in mind that there is more to life than beds. Eight people sharing two bathrooms is not my idea of vacation delight!

Sounds like a nightmare vacation to me.

 

[vcunning]

Our plan is to use Uber. We're only going to the parks for 4 out of our 7 days. Using a grocery delivery service. Then we head up to the dark side. The parking and rental cost drove our decision. I'll let you know how it works.

 

[supamaki]

Our plan is to use Uber. We're only going to the parks for 4 out of our 7 days. Using a grocery delivery service. Then we head up to the dark side. The parking and rental cost drove our decision. I'll let you know how it works.

How are you getting to/from the airport? The cost of that transportation is what pushed me to rent a car.

 

[vcunning]

How are you getting to/from the airport? The cost of that transportation is what pushed me to rent a car.

Were using a car service that we've used for a number of years. It's 4 of us, so it's just a town car. It's not one of the more publicized ones, but we know them personally.

 

[supamaki]

Were using a car service that we've used for a number of years. It's 4 of us, so it's just a town car. It's not one of the more publicized ones, but we know them personally.

I just learned it's $20 a day to park so I cancelled the car and we're going to Uber. Not sure about a grocery stop though, I guess we'll figure it out

 

[Chelley00]

Order Garden Grocer. They'll deliver directly to WBC.

 

[vcunning]

Order Garden Grocer. They'll deliver directly to WBC.

I've never used them, but they always get good reviews. We will be using we go shop for our upcoming trip. We've always had a great experience with them.