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

[Pedler]

ok, so thanks to people here, I got a great rate for our August trip through Ken Price. WOW, I cant believe after all these years of staying onsite in rooms where we were practically on top of eachother, for a fraction of what WDW rooms cost, Im gonna have tons of room!

Questions for those "repeaters":

Where should I do my grocery shopping?

Also looking for advice on your meals: do you go out for dinner, or eat in and do dessert in the parks , do you eat in for lunches, etc. Im just looking to plan the meals wisely, without over-shopping .I wont be able to take alot back home with me on the plane.

thank you everyone!!
Penny

We are kind of in the same situation. Our initial plan was to stay on site at the Beach Club with the dinning plan. Then we decided we wanted more space and looked at staying off site. Fortunately we were able to get a great deal on Bonnet Creek through Ken. The proximity to the parks and being on Disney property will make it seem less like we are staying off site. I am also digging the idea of having a car rather than Disney transportation.

Our thought is to proceed like we were still on the dinning plan. We have one TS meal scheduled for each day and then will "wing it" as far as the other meals go. Most of the breakfasts will be at the room. Lunches will be a mix depending upon where we are at and what mood we are in. Of course there will still be the daily snack in the parks. One of the big attractions for us, aside from the space, is the flexibility on the meals outside of the TS ones. Breakfast is always a hassle with everyone getting up a different times and trying to not wake everyone else up. I also like the flexibility with the TS and CS meals. I imagine that in some locations we may decide to get appetizers instead of desert or just to get a single entree for lunch and not a combo meal.

Either way the budget we are using is as if we were on the dinning plan. I figure it would have been $160 per day for the 4 of us along with a minimum of $20 per day for extra food and $20 per day for tips. I feel pretty comfortable that we should be able to do on TS a day and some misc. CS meals and snacks for $200 per day especially since some of the TS meals buffets.

 

[Brian Noble]

I like the Winn-Dixie that John mentioned above---you can get their frequent shopper card in advance to save a few bucks.

Breakfast is typically in the unit. Lunch is usually out (we get going to the parks for rope drop, and usually are hungry before we are ready to come back.) We typically take a break back in the unit in the afternoon during the heat of the day, and might have dinner in or out, depending.

It's easy to over-buy, so get a little less than you think you need---inevitably, I just decide I'd rather order in than cook a planned meal at least once or twice.

 

[scubamouse]

I'm staying there in August and have had great connections with Ken so far. He's been keeping me updated on rooms etc. to make sure we don't miss a 2 bedroom but get the lowest rate.

One thing we've decided to do is hit quiznos or subway and pick up a few days worth of sandwiches at once then keep them in the fridge and take them to the parks. We did this at DL and it was great.

On arrival day, we usually get groceries on the way to the resort. Someone mentioned they don't have refrigerated storage at BC. Is that true? If it is our plan is: arrive at resort, grab lunch and swim. One of us goes and gets groceries while the other checks us all in. Then an early dinner at Beaches and Cream. Does that sound like an ok plan?

To the person asking about meals - we're still doing a lot of table service. With the money we're saving on the room, we're doing meals at Jiko, Artist Point, CG and FF. We're also going to try offsite dinners too.

 

[Upatnoon]

I like the Publix at 2925 International Drive. It's about 15 minutes away. It has a large deli, bakery and everything else you will need. Not as cheap as Walmart, but like their slogan says, it's where "shopping is a pleasure."

We eat breakfast in the room and either lunch or dinner. We get food items that can be eaten for either. It's easy to buy too much food, so be conservative.

 

[wed100105]

I'm a gold VIP owner with Wyndham (actually Bonnet Creek is my home resort) and yes, the reservations lately have been a real booger with a night here, two nights there. The customer service reps at the front desk will do their best to keep you in the same unit. If you are concerned (and you have guest confirmations) call down there 2 weeks or so in advance and just reiterate that you would like to stay in the same unit if possible. I have twelve nights booked and have the following: one night, five nights, two nights, and four nights booked. (What is really a pain is that I had to keep booking them like that for discounts and upgrades!) I plan on doing exactly what I mentioned above. I have ALWAYS found the front desk reps to be as accommodating as possible. Enjoy your stay!

 

[wed100105]

Has anyone ever ordered a balloon bouquet from Bonnet Creek? I have read about them on my activity guides, but never ordered them. I'd like something special (but not a bank busting kind of special) delivered to our room for a welcome home kind of thing....

I'd appreciate any other suggestions, too.

Thanks,
Nicole

 

[SamiL]

Okay I'm going to try to post my photos from our trip in April/May. Let's see if this works! If something isn't showing up or the link doesn't work, please pm me. Thanks!

We were in a one bedroom in Building 1 on the 4th floor. I think I read somewhere that that building has been updated recently. We loved it.

Here's a link to the entire album on Picasa:
http://picasaweb.google.com/104883687637809556634/BonnetCreekResort2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCKO9ttafirGdOQ&feat=directlink

Here's a sampling of photos from that album:

This is the view from the entryway area. These photos take you around the unit (to the right) from there...

...to the living area...

...which connects to the bedroom...

...which connects to the tub area with vanity (that's DS who HAD to "swim" in the big tub the moment he saw it--he's not that blurry in person )...

...which connects to the bathroom...

...which connects to the dinning area. Then you're right back where you started.

The whole thing makes a loop around the kitchen. Hope that all makes sense.

I took this from our balcony one day while DH and DS were napping and I was getting a little work done. Sure would like to have that view from my office at work!

You can see a little bit of one of the boardwalks (it's brown) over to the left. There are a series of sidewalks/boardwalks that allow you to walk about 3/4 of the way around the pond/lake/body-of-water thing. It's a really nice walk. I'm assuming you'll be able to walk all the way around when they're finished with construction.

To the right you can see the newest construction. There in the middle you might be able to make out the boardwalk that goes around the piratey area. There's second lazy river and zero entry pool over there. We never made it over there to swim since the kids area at the main pool was more DS's style. He also enjoyed the zero entry pool and lazy river there, at the main pool.

DS is obsessed with car washes, and this is the closest I've seen to a kid-wash, so of course he loved it!

This is our building (building 1) We were at the end (all the way to the right) on the fourth floor. Since we had the end unit we had the trash chute across the hall, the stairway on one side and the housekeeping closet on the other side. It was great since we had an occasionally rowdy preschooler with us. Plus, we never heard any noise from the hall or other units. The downside was a window over the tub. It was made of the frosted glass for privacy, but it let in a lot of light in the afternoons. Since there is no door between the whirlpool area and the bedroom it made the room really bright during nap time. I'm assuming you only have the window there if you're in an end unit. We moved DS to the living room to nap on the sofa bed a couple of times.

 

[Pedler]

Thanks for posting the pictures. I saw in one of them you mentioned you brought your own wireless router. Were you able to just plug it in and keep the settings from home or did you have to connect in and configure it to work? I hope to do the same thing for the family's collection of WIFI devices however I don't plan on bringing my notebook computer.

Thanks.

 

[lalew]

We were just there last week! Everything that Vettegirl says about Ken Price & the resort is true! We will be staying here through Ken from now on. One issue we had is with just one internet cable. I read some chat about bringing your own router. Please post more information on how to do this. We must have at least 2 connections. Thanks!

 

[SamiL]

Thanks for posting the pictures. I saw in one of them you mentioned you brought your own wireless router. Were you able to just plug it in and keep the settings from home or did you have to connect in and configure it to work? I hope to do the same thing for the family's collection of WIFI devices however I don't plan on bringing my notebook computer.

Thanks.

We were able to just unplug it at home and then plug it in when we got there. We didn't have to reconfigure anything. The name of the network and password stayed the same. Our computers were already set up since we use it at home, so we were ready to go!

I wasn't sure it would work myself, so before we left I asked our IT guy at work if I'd be able to do it. He was pretty confident it would work, even without me giving him any specifics, so I think it should work with any wireless router.

 

[indydisneymom]

We have reservations for a week at Bonet Creek in October and would like to bring our laptop and router but want to make sure these would fit in the wall safe. Our laptop is a wide screen style. Does anyone know dimensions of the safe....I have seen the photos in a post but cannot tell if ours would fit? Anyone onsite now or going soon that could verify this for me?

 

[Ringgold Tiger]

We have reservations for a week at Bonet Creek in October and would like to bring our laptop and router but want to make sure these would fit in the wall safe. Our laptop is a wide screen style. Does anyone know dimensions of the safe....I have seen the photos in a post but cannot tell if ours would fit? Anyone onsite now or going soon that could verify this for me?

We are at BC now in a 2 bdrm and the safe appears to be about 12x15. A laptop might fit, but I'm not sure about a router. I haven't had any issues with the high-speed connection.

 

[Cdn Gal]

Somebody mentioned earlier that Bonnet Creek doesn't not have cold storage for your food until your room is ready, is this correct? Will they store anything? I'm thinking that our cooler would be better in Air conditioning than in a hot car for the day. Thank- you.

 

[litlpixie]

Ken emailed me Friday night stating that he booked our dates, 8/6-8/13. I reserved our flights, and now working on preliminary supply list, lol. So excited about staying here. We will be first-timers in staying off-site, but Im not worried a bit (maybe a little about getting lost,lol) its going to be great having the space and not having to ride those Disney busses at night during park closing

REALLY want a fireworks view in the worst way, I dont care what the daytime view is!

 

[littlestar]

The granite countertops in the kitchen in Samil's pictures are beautiful. Was this a presidential 1 bedroom unit or just a unit that has been upgraded to granite countertops?

 

[twoplustwins]

thanks to everyone posting pics! This place looks amazing. We are hoping to go to WDW in November. I was thinking about two value rooms (with PIN codes), but we would prefer to have a kitchen and dedicated beds (not pullout chairs like at the ASMu Suites). The two bedroom looks perfect!

Is the $120 per night the best rate available?

 

[Upatnoon]

You can do better than $120 a night (perhaps excluding Thanksgiving week)

I would be shooting for $80-$100 a night for a 2 bedroom during this time. To get a rate like that, you will have to wait until the 60 days out mark and shop around.

A good place to start is on eBay. You can see there what Bonnet Creek rents for and when.

 

[steelebug]

Does anyone know if the shuttle goes to the waterparks? My husband may take the car fishing and I want to know if i will be stuck at the resort or not. Thanks

 

[chedtoon]

Can anyone answer just a few questions for me please... Sorry, I've tried to read all the posts but I'm new at this!
My family normally stays deluxe and I'm kind of leery about the timeshare thing. Usually I stay Boardwalk villas and go directly through disney reservations....The price is just outrageous now...
1)When you book with Ken how does that work? Do you get normal confirmation on your reservations? Do you know before leaving what you are getting as far as view?
2)If you book through the Hilton website is that with maid service or just like if you book through Ken with no maid service? If there an option?
3)Parking fee-I'm looking at the Waldorf of Wyndham
Sorry so many questions...I'm usually just a 'viewer' on the forum but these prices look just soooo good, I have to ask!
Thanking you in advance... all of you on this board are so great!!

 

[Shelli_5]

I am so impressed by everything that I've read here about Bonnet Creek! My dad will need to use a scooter while we're in the parks & I would like to rent one from a local company to save money. Do you think the scooter will fit in one of the two-bedroom suites? Will we be able to load the scooter on the park shuttles?

Thank you!