22 Days at Bonnet Creek -Live Trip Report

[Portugal1000]

I am a few days behind but I'll do my best to catch up. We are in Florida for 22 nights staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek for 9th time I think but this is our 13th trip since 2005. Just three of us, husband and son who will be 16 on 12th.
Day 1
Flew from Gatwick on Sunday on the 10.50am Virgin flight which for the second year running was on time. We had extra legroom seats at the front which were great. Usually fly PE but just so expensive this year and as this is our 4th holiday since February we decided to pay the £30 extra instead. Glad we did. Great service on Virgin and the food was really good. One of the first off the plane but still a big queue at immigration but were pulled out to go through the automatic kiosks. Car was booked with Virgin Holidays so went to Alamo desk and seen within ten minutes. Got a Ford 4x4 which is probably nicest car we have had so far. We were on the road within an hour of landing which was pretty good.
Checked into BC and got a room in tower 3. Usually stay in tower 4 but only high floors available so opted for floor 4 in tower 3. It's lovely as always. For those that don't know BC it's right next door to Caribbean Beach. It's a time share but we rent through www.vacationupgrades.com. The rooms are huge. Sleep 8 people so for three of us there's a lot of space. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms plus a jacuzzi bath in main bedroom. Huge living area, full kitchen. Laundry, big balcony. Everything you need. Haven't heard a single sound from anywhere since we have been here. Resort has six pools, two lazy rivers, lots of entertainment. It's just fantastic, which is why I won't stay anywhere else. Very few English people here, haven't heard any English accents yet. Everyone so friendly.
So after we had unpacked we headed off to Longhornes, our go to steak restaurant. Never had a bad meal. As always, food and service were great. We all had steaks but I learnt from last year and stuck with the smallest one on the menu. They have something called a Great American steak dinner for $12.99. Starter, salad, 6oz sirloin and one side. More than enough food. The guys had bigger steaks and all agreed that this was our favourite restaurant.
Really tired after all that food so just back to BC and straight to bed. Having a great time already.

 

[disneyholic family]

so just want to say that i hate you!! nah...not really....just soooooooooooo jealous!!!!
thanks for taking us along!!

.

 

[Tash87]

Love it! Sounds great

 

[pickers1982]

Look forward to following this!

How's the heat?

Always wondered about staying at bc

 

[Portugal1000]

Day 2 - Monday 8th August
Was up really early so had a walk round the lake and plenty of swimming. Then headed off to Blizzard Beach for opening at 10am. Definitely wasn't as warm as it normally is this time of year which was very welcome. Got on pretty much all the slides in a couple of hours and then the heavens opened. No lightening so the slides stayed opened.
Decided to head over to Disney Springs. It's so different than what it use to be like. Loads of shops now but all pretty expensive. I'm not a big shopper so doesn't really hold much interest to me but nice to walk around.
Then went over to do some shopping at Winn Dixie. The best thing about Winn Dixie is it is right next to a Twistee Treat that sell great ice cream!! $7 was two Hughes ice creams.
Came back to BC for more swimming and relaxing. Weather was just right, not too hot.
In the evening we went to Carrabbas for dinner. They have a good offer in Monday's called Amore Mondays but you have to ask for it. Three courses for either $12, 15, or 18. David and I had steak and Henry had the lasagne. Way too much food and had that "need to lay down in a dark room" feeling at the end. So headed back to BC and watched the Epcot and HS fireworks by the lake. Pretty good day.

 

[Portugal1000]

Look forward to following this!

How's the heat?

Always wondered about staying at bc

Definitely not as hot as usual for the first couple of days but then when we were in the car on Wednesday it was 99 degrees so warming up.

 

[Chilly]

Wish I was there. Really enjoyed our stay last year at WBC.

 

[Portugal1000]

Day 3 - Tuesday 9th August
Starting to get into a bit of a routine now. Up early (well David and I, Henry had not problem with the jet lag!), long walk around the lake then plenty of swimming. Henry wanted to see Suicide Squad so headed over to Disney Springs just before 12. Pretty good deal before midday, only $5.50. I opted for Finding Dory and met the guys after. Have a feeling my film was much better and neither of them were very enthusiastic about theirs. Then off to Sweet Tomatoes, another favourite. Guess we try and pretend we are being healthy but probably just as bad eating a big steak! We had a coupon for lunch and a soda for $9, pretty good. Food was fresh and tasty as always. I literally just had salad and baked potato but then my downfall are the chocolate brownies, delicious.
Back at the pool for a while, tried the hotel pool this time which is nice. Always amazes me that you can turn up anytime and always plent of sun beds available. Guess most people are at the parks.
Then at 4.30pm we went to Typhoon Lagoon. Should have said we had Disney Waterpark annual passes from last year and only four days left of them so going to a park every day. Don't have Disney tickets again this year, didn't last year and didn't miss it. Had a great time at TL. Henry got a Go Pro for Christmas and used it for first time in the water. Got some great film on the slides and in the waves. We usually go to the Waterparks at the end of the day and stay till close. It's usually pretty empty then and you can get on all the slides without queuing. Had a great time. We all decided we weren't hungry enough to go out and eat again so just made toasted sandwiches back at BC. In the past we would eat out for lunch and dinner but so many times we would be sitting at dinner not even hungry so now we tend to have just one good meal a day. Plus it takes up a lot of time and to be honest I prefer sitting by the pool for a while instead.
So another great day, pretty tiring and was fast asleep by 9.30!

 

[Portugal1000]

Wish I was there. Really enjoyed our stay last year at WBC.

It really is a lovely resort. Everyone is so friendly.

 

[Tash87]

Sounds lovely

We have 3 nights booked at WBC in November, tagged onto the end of our on-site Disney stay. Cannot wait to see what it's like, we hear soo many good things about it! It's thanks to your TR last year that bought it to my attention.

 

[pickers1982]

What's the best way to book bc?

 

[Portugal1000]

What's the best way to book bc?

I have always booked with Ken Price at www.vacationupgrades.com
Can honestly say never had a bad experience, he and his wife Denise are fantastic to work with. I recommend 100%. We have met them st Bonnet Creek for drinks and they are lovely.
I was really worried the first time I booked but so happy I took a chance as I don't think we would have come back so often if we hadn't found BC. Loved SSR but too expensive now. Use to be a great deal.

 

[Portugal1000]

Sounds lovely

We have 3 nights booked at WBC in November, tagged onto the end of our on-site Disney stay. Cannot wait to see what it's like, we hear soo many good things about it! It's thanks to your TR last year that bought it to my attention.

I hope you love it as much as we do. My friends and family have all stayed here too and love it as much as us.
I have lost count of how many nights we have had here. Must be coming up on 200. Only thing that we had to call up about in all that time was a faulty safe, we couldn't get it open!
We just love it here. I especially love the pools in the morning. Always have them to myself.

 

[Portugal1000]

Day 4 - Wednesday 10th August
Another leisurely morning at BC. Took part in Aqua aerobics which was fun. Got chatting to a lady who is staying here for 5 months, now that's a holiday! Most of the time I get to the pool around 9 and still no one else around even after 10am. Where is everyone? I'm not complaining. Stayed by the main pool till about 11.30 and then drove to Mall of Millenia which took exactly 20 minutes. Easy access to the I 4 from here. We headed straight to Cheesecake Factory. We promised ourselves we would skip appetizers this time so Henry and I had the bang bang chicken and shrimp and David had fish and chips. Even that was way too much food but pretty good. Only Henry could manage a slice of cheesecake which was huge. Bill was $65 so not cheap but well worth it. Had about an hour looking at the shops then headed to target where we bought a Cheesecake Factory cheesecake selection. $23. 12 pieces so will last a while.
Back to BC for a quick swim and rest before heading off to Blizzard beach. I checked at guest services when our annual passes expired. We used them for first time in 12th August last year but I had this feeling they might be a year and a day and was really happy to find out we could use them again on 12th as that's Henry's 16th birthday.
So had a great time st BB. Love the family ride and Henry went on the scary rides. Did the mats a few times. It's just exhausting walking up those stairs. David and I finished off in the lazy river and there wasn't another soul in there. Left after closing and back to BC for a stroll around the lake.
Henry is at that age where he is constantly on his phone messaging friends but thankfully with the time difference they are not around in the evening. So we just watched a movie then off to bed.

 

[Portugal1000]

Day 5 - Thursday 11th August
Was going to be a busy day today but kept to my routine of going to main pool. I was sending pictures to friends at 10am showing that I was completely alone. Henry and David turned up before 11 which was good as I had time to catch up on my talking book. Listening to Harlan Coben, a favourite of mine. We were planning on Fun Spot and Universal today and Henry picked Steak n Shak for lunch. A great little burger place. Always coupons available but their meals are $4 and shakes $3.69. Their burgers are so tasty and shakes are amazing. David and I had double cheeseburgers (buy one get one free) and Henry had the new Cajun double. Onion rings, two shakes, two sliders, one soda was $23. Bargain. Always leave a good tip as slightly embarrassed to be using a coupon when it's so cheap to begin with! Oh and the black raspberry shake was the best I had. Added bonus, between 2 and 5 all shakes and drinks are half price.
Then off to fun spot. We had $150 worth of gift cards because we bought two lots of tickets from ATD. We put them towards two annual passes and only had to pay an extra $49. You get unlimited access to all the go carts which the guys love. They looked exhausted afterwards but Henry says it's his favourite thing to do here.
I sat in the shade people watching which was fine by me.
Then off to universal which I will continue with later.

 

[wayneg]

Just caught up. Have a great trip.
We are not staying at WBC this year, had some American Airlines airmiles that were expiring so just booked 4 nights at Courtyard by Marriott LBV, £12/nt plus some airmiles.
Cheesecake Factory is about the dearest place we eat at but its good food.
I think we need to try Shake & Steak again sometime, first experience was a joke, useless staff that did not want to be there.

 

[disneyholic family]

sounds like a wonderful easy holiday so far!!!!!
we also go to typhoon lagoon before closing.....no lines, no crowds...the only way i can manage that water park...
which building are you in?
do you recommend a specific building at BC?
we were planning on staying there, but i've since reserved the 'free' dining package with disneyUK (for next summer for the big family trip)..
but i think DH and i might try BC for the week after the kids leave...
(i decided he and i should have an additional week in orlando on our own...2nd honeymoon (our 39th anniversary)
we don't need to be onsite and i'd love to try BC out as i've heard such great things about it from you and Wayne!!!

.

 

[Portugal1000]

Universal, continued
The sky was looking pretty dark when we arrived. We hadn't had any storms so far so we're thinking we were due one. Went to US as we wanted to see if we could get on Kong single rider but first saw that the single rider for Hulk was only ten minutes so Henry went there while we waited. Unfortunately that's when the lightening started so he was out again without riding. Problem with US is that most of the rides are outside so everything was there was closed. There was a little bit of rain but nothing that stopped us walking around. Went to Kong and single rider was closed and 90 minutes for main line so gave it a miss and decided we would go over to other park on the train but when we got there 60 minutes wait, never seen a queue for the train before so just decided to walk over. IOA was packed to and even MIB was closed so we ended up at the fear factor live show which we had never been to in all our visits. It was ok, nice to sit down for a while. The Harry Potter, no queue for single rider and as always the three of us ended up sat together. We always choose single rider and 9 times out of 10 we end up together, no matter what the ride, just lucky I guess. Still a great ride but don't know if it's me getting older but I can only go on it once, anymore than that and I start to feel a bit travel sick! We had ice creams which were good and then thankfully MIB was open. Henry had scored 550,000 last year, me, 510,000 but in three go's so we didn't get anywhere near our total.. Oh well, plenty of time, then got the train back to IOA and thought we'd give Kong another try. No wait for the train this time, I really love that ride, although Henry argues it's not a ride. I use to travel to work in a carriage just like that 25 years ago. Remember being really sad when they replaced them with the new trains.
Back in IOA and Kong was down. Sounded like the ride had been up and down all day so I hope we get to go on it. We have one night at PBH next week so we get early access and universal express, although I don't think you can use that on Kong. So just wandered round and went on Jurassic Park, Spider-Man and Dr Doom (only Henry on that one) and then called it a day as it was nearly 10. Never seen so many people leaving the park at one time. Hope it's quieter next week. Took 30 minutes to drive back to BC down Turkey Lake. Straight to bed as busy day ahead for Henry's 16th birthday.

 

[Portugal1000]

sounds like a wonderful easy holiday so far!!!!!
we also go to typhoon lagoon before closing.....no lines, no crowds...the only way i can manage that water park...
which building are you in?
do you recommend a specific building at BC?
we were planning on staying there, but i've since reserved the 'free' dining package with disneyUK (for next summer for the big family trip)..
but i think DH and i might try BC for the week after the kids leave...
(i decided he and i should have an additional week in orlando on our own...2nd honeymoon (our 39th anniversary)
we don't need to be onsite and i'd love to try BC out as i've heard such great things about it from you and Wayne!!!

.

We are in building 3, never been this side of the lake before. Our favourite is building 4 as we like being close to the main pool and like the building 4 pool. However, I am quite liking 3, so quiet and you have you own little pool downstairs and next to hotel pool too. We still walk around to main pool, only 5 minutes, not an issue. Ther are lots of firework view rooms which are popular but you can see the fireworks from the lake.
I hope you get to stay here.

 

[Portugal1000]

Just caught up. Have a great trip.
We are not staying at WBC this year, had some American Airlines airmiles that were expiring so just booked 4 nights at Courtyard by Marriott LBV, £12/nt plus some airmiles.
Cheesecake Factory is about the dearest place we eat at but its good food.
I think we need to try Shake & Steak again sometime, first experience was a joke, useless staff that did not want to be there.

£12 a night is great. Definitely can't pass on that. I remember your visit to Steak 'n Shake. Have to say never had a bad experience. Will definitely go back. When will you be in Orlando this year.