The we loooooove Bonnet Creek thread Part 3

[sersee05]

Ok..so I have questions. I came to the expert thread I started going through all the pages...but it is going to take me all day So I thought I would just ask.

Basically my story is that we have a ressie at a deluxe resort in disney booked with free dining. Trying to get that was crazy.. nothing was open. We have a family of 5(ages 16, 11, 8) so have less choice where we stay. When I finally got a ressie the cost was really high. We decided this was not something we wanted to spend even with free dining. I started pricing out offsite and felt the value was better not to mention getting the upscale hotel that I would want. For some it's just a place to lay there head. For my family, the hotel is part of the vacation. I have been given many suggestions and WBC is one that keeps coming up. My 16 year old is very sad not to have the Disney "feel". I was sad to lose the dining and to be able to eat at all the restaurants and lose a little bit of the "feel" also. I have been told that WBC would be a good choice to help remedy that.


Sooooo I have seen a lot of people go through vacation strategy. I don't know them so of course it makes me nervous. I have been told not to go on the wyndham website to book..Where are places that I could try and book a room that you can suggest as reputable. I don't want to do anything with ebay at all.

It's my vacation...so Im not really into cooking except breakfast. Where do you guys go to eat? Do you feel the Disney magic still? Please make me feel better about considering WBC I have to make a decision fairly quickly or I won't have any place to stay!! hahaha.

We are coming before Thanksgiving in November. I am thinking this is a place I would want. When the parks close, we aren't necessarily going straight back to our rooms to sleep. We usually like to unwind. My kids enjoy watching tv or reading ...In a hotel room it is always hard. I can only watch so much Disney channel or spongebob. So it will be nice to be able to have adult time and a couple of drinks.

Thank you so much for any advice and help.

 

[Bellamouse]

There are lots of reputable places to book, no need to be nervous. Something to remember though, this is not a hotel, it is a timeshare. So it works a little differently. You rent from someone who is selling their timeshare points basically. So your name won't be on the reservation at the property until shortly before you arrive, no matter how far in advance you book. That's just how it works, so you need to be comfortable with that. There are thousands upon thousands of us who do it and have no problems whatsoever, so it's just a matter of getting used to something different. There is nothing shady about any of the process, it's just different.

Also, there is no maid service, so it's not like a hotel. I personally love that. I don't really want strangers in my room. Others like the daily maid service. So if you are expecting that, it might not be for you.

Lastly, you can absolutely still dine at Disney. Not sure why you think you have to be staying on property in order to dine on property. We are going in 26 days ( ) and all of our dining will be taking place on property - even on the days we don't go to the parks. Our plans for this trip include 'Ohana, Cape May, Biergarten, Be our Guest, Raglan Road, Via Napoli, Grand Floridian Cafe, the Luau at the Poly and Cali Grill. I don't intend to eat off property at all except for lunch at Kennedy Space Center one day, and maybe something for lunch at the poolside bar at WBC one day.

I totally feel the magic when I'm at WBC. Does it have Mickey Mouse all over the place? No. But it has space. It has amenities. It has peace and quiet. It has space. It has lots of hot tubs (which Disney properties do not have!). Did I mention it has space? For me, space to spread out and relax and not feel crowded and on top of each other is worth so much. And I love having a full kitchen (even though we don't cook other than some quick breakfast either). And I love, love, love the washer and dryer in the room.

It's so close to the parks, you do feel like you're on property. We always have a car, so a quick ride down to DTD or to one of the resorts for a meal is no big deal at all. We're talking 5 to 10 minutes ride max.

We rent from any of the people we find at www.myresortnetwork.com . We also rented from Ebay which I know you said you weren't interested in. But we did it and it worked out great. The guy we rented from there has 100% positive feedback and only deals in timeshare rentals. So he's very reputable. We got a 2 BR for $100 a night last year. I loved having 2 bathrooms!

But I know that Vacation Strategies and the other one mentioned a lot here on this thread (I forget the name) always get rave reviews, so you can't go wrong with any of them. Don't be nervous. Once you have all the space at WBC for 1/4 the price you will never want to go back to onsite again.

 

[sersee05]

Thank you Bellamouse! Space is definitely a plus! We had to travel alot for my daughter's lacrosse tournaments. When all five of us go..I usually went on vrbo and booked a house through an owner. It has always worked out great. We did this when we went to MAss. I ended up spending less and we all were spread out. It was great.

I knew I could still eat on Disney property..but before I had the "free" dining..so I wouldn't have worried about a very expensive dinner. But I think with the money I would save offsite..it will be ok.

I did know about the timeshare ...do you have to listen to a demonstration? I should stay away from the Wyndham website when booking? I don't know why I am afraid of ebay. I am not overly familiar with it I guess. I will look into the link you provided .

Im ok without the maid service. That isn't a big deal. Is it similar to renting a home for vacation? We rent a house and go to obx in the summer. No maid service and we have to dump the garbage before leaving and clean out the fridge.

 

[Kemorr]

Ok..so I have questions. I came to the expert thread I started going through all the pages...but it is going to take me all day So I thought I would just ask.

Basically my story is that we have a ressie at a deluxe resort in disney booked with free dining. Trying to get that was crazy.. nothing was open. We have a family of 5(ages 16, 11, 8) so have less choice where we stay. When I finally got a ressie the cost was really high. We decided this was not something we wanted to spend even with free dining. I started pricing out offsite and felt the value was better not to mention getting the upscale hotel that I would want. For some it's just a place to lay there head. For my family, the hotel is part of the vacation. I have been given many suggestions and WBC is one that keeps coming up. My 16 year old is very sad not to have the Disney "feel". I was sad to lose the dining and to be able to eat at all the restaurants and lose a little bit of the "feel" also. I have been told that WBC would be a good choice to help remedy that.


Sooooo I have seen a lot of people go through vacation strategy. I don't know them so of course it makes me nervous. I have been told not to go on the wyndham website to book..Where are places that I could try and book a room that you can suggest as reputable. I don't want to do anything with ebay at all.

It's my vacation...so Im not really into cooking except breakfast. Where do you guys go to eat? Do you feel the Disney magic still? Please make me feel better about considering WBC I have to make a decision fairly quickly or I won't have any place to stay!! hahaha.

We are coming before Thanksgiving in November. I am thinking this is a place I would want. When the parks close, we aren't necessarily going straight back to our rooms to sleep. We usually like to unwind. My kids enjoy watching tv or reading ...In a hotel room it is always hard. I can only watch so much Disney channel or spongebob. So it will be nice to be able to have adult time and a couple of drinks.

Thank you so much for any advice and help.

I was in a similar situation as you. I had a 2 bed villa at BLT booked, but didn't get any discount at all and honestly I couldn't see the $1000 per night value to be squished into a 2 bedroom. So, I cancelled it and booked a 4 bedroom at WBC (using VS). Now all my kids can get their own room. However, I, too, felt like I was missing some magic. I wanted magic bands, FP plus and the dining plan. So, I booked an 8 night ghost reservation at Pop. Now I get all the benefits of staying on site plus all the benefits of the space of WBC. BLT was going to cost me $8500 for 8 nights. A 4 bed at WBC plus a ghost reservation at Pop cost $3200. A BIG savings and no loss of magic.

 

[Bellamouse]

Thank you Bellamouse! Space is definitely a plus! We had to travel alot for my daughter's lacrosse tournaments. When all five of us go..I usually went on vrbo and booked a house through an owner. It has always worked out great. We did this when we went to MAss. I ended up spending less and we all were spread out. It was great.

I knew I could still eat on Disney property..but before I had the "free" dining..so I wouldn't have worried about a very expensive dinner. But I think with the money I would save offsite..it will be ok.

I did know about the timeshare ...do you have to listen to a demonstration? I should stay away from the Wyndham website when booking? I don't know why I am afraid of ebay. I am not overly familiar with it I guess. I will look into the link you provided .

Im ok without the maid service. That isn't a big deal. Is it similar to renting a home for vacation? We rent a house and go to obx in the summer. No maid service and we have to dump the garbage before leaving and clean out the fridge.

You definitely do NOT have to listen to any timeshare presentation. They offer it, and may try to talk you into going, but there is absolutely no obligation whatsoever to go. Just be firm and say no thanks (they usually ask when you go to the parking pass desk to get your parking pass).

And yes, stay away from the Wyndham website - renting directly from them is no bargain. They charge like 2.5 times what the going rate is if you rent from individuals.

And you will save sooo much money even without the "free" dining (which isn't actually free of course), so I wouldn't let that be a concern. How much is your deluxe room going to be per night? Do you usually get 2 rooms on property? WBC has 3 and 4 BR suites which are less than one night for a small Disney hotel room. And yes, it is very similar to renting the house. Just like that actually. Taking out garbage and cleaning out the fridge. That's it.

 

[Bellamouse]

I was in a similar situation as you. I had a 2 bed villa at BLT booked, but didn't get any discount at all and honestly I couldn't see the $1000 per night value to be squished into a 2 bedroom. So, I cancelled it and booked a 4 bedroom at WBC (using VS). Now all my kids can get their own room. However, I, too, felt like I was missing some magic. I wanted magic bands, FP plus and the dining plan. So, I booked an 8 night ghost reservation at Pop. Now I get all the benefits of staying on site plus all the benefits of the space of WBC. BLT was going to cost me $8500 for 8 nights. A 4 bed at WBC plus a ghost reservation at Pop cost $3200. A BIG savings and no loss of magic.

Interesting - so you actually paid for an 8 night stay at Pop? Did you go at the end of your stay to settle up your charges over at Pop? Never thought of that idea (although I'm too cheap to actually do that - FP+ and "free" dining aren't worth it to me), but I can see how that would be a good solution for you! And saving over $5000!!! That's some crazy big savings. I don't even have $5000 to spend on a vacation in the first place so that's at least 2 Disney trips for us.

 

[Spanky]

Our family has used Vacationupgrades.com. Which is Ken Price for several trips. We are Wyndham owners but needed more rooms than we had points to pay for so Ken was able to get us the rooms together for us. He is great to deal with so I would encourage you to go to his web site and see if he has anything left.
You are really short on time so I am not aure if there are any rooms left at WBC for your Nov. dates.
PS - Free dining just means that Disney raises the prices of the rooms to cover the cost of the food. Nowdays when the free dining no long covers tips or drinks it really is not a very good deal. I imagine you could eat and order whatever you wanted - pay the bill and pay for the room at WBC and still come out ahead on the money over the $1000 a night for the space you were considering. You can buy a lot of food for $880.00 a day.

 

[Bellamouse]

Nowdays when the free dining no long covers tips or drinks it really is not a very good deal. I imagine you could eat and order whatever you wanted - pay the bill and pay for the room at WBC and still come out ahead on the money over the $1000 a night for the space you were considering. You can buy a lot of food for $880.00 a day.

Exactly!

 

[sersee05]

I did contact Vacation strategy and upgrades. Thanks so much. Hopefully I can get something. Ugh.

We were going to stay at the Yacht club..it was going to cost me around $5300 with "free" dining. The free dining offer came out and it was really hard trying to even get that room. We tried for Port Orleans knowing it was cheaper...so did everyone else..

I held onto the ressie...but discussing it with my husband..We couldnt justify spending that much. My poly stay three years ago was about $1000 less than the YC ressie. We started looking elsewhere.

I just hope I can find some place!

 

[Bellamouse]

Do you need a 2 BR or a 3 BR? I can help you look. And what are your dates.

The 2 BR unit has a King bed in the first BR and the second BR has 2 Queens. There is a pull out couch as well.

I'm thinking you would want a 3 BR?

To get you started, here is a listing from the guy I bought from last year. The seller name is magicalholidays and the guy who runs it's name is Don. Price is amazing. But it's only for a 2 BR.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wyndham-Bon...90907077206?pt=US_Lodging&hash=item2c72f2d256

 

[Bellamouse]

This one might do it for you.... A 4 BR!


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wyndham-Orl...90984991308?pt=US_Lodging&hash=item43c00e9a4c

And here's a 3 BR

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Orlando-Flo...31021461707?pt=US_Lodging&hash=item4d126aa8cb

This 3BR is going for 1200 for the week. 5300 minus 1200 = 4100. You can buy a LOT of food for $4100! (almost $600 a day!).

 

[Kemorr]

I just wanted to add that I bought the dining plan because it actually saves me money. I am traveling solo with my 3 kids, all under 9 and we have a lot of character meals planned. This is about the one situation where the DP will actually save you cash.

 

[akadada]

PS - Free dining just means that Disney raises the prices of the rooms to cover the cost of the food. Nowdays when the free dining no long covers tips or drinks it really is not a very good deal. I imagine you could eat and order whatever you wanted - pay the bill and pay for the room at WBC and still come out ahead on the money over the $1000 a night for the space you were considering. You can buy a lot of food for $880.00 a day.

Exactly.

And most normal diets would likely never allow the body to eat as much as the Disney Dining allows you to eat so you have to budget what you would likely eat out of pocket as well. The math from our end comes out significantly better to not do dining. Plus you can then feel free to leave the property or eat at Swan Dolphin which have two to four of the best restaurants on property.

I think throughout disboards members have run calculations; the ones with the best details have concluded the same.

 

[akadada]

I just wanted to add that I bought the dining plan because it actually saves me money. I am traveling solo with my 3 kids, all under 9 and we have a lot of character meals planned. This is about the one situation where the DP will actually save you cash.

Unique situation... good points, well taken. In theory, you're essentially paying part of your food fee for the character experience and not the food quality...so comparing to other options is not realistic in your case.

 

[sersee05]

Bella ..thank you! Im going to check them out. Your awesome!
Im looking at 11/21 to 11/27. But we are driving in on the 21st..so that night I could let go.. If the price is right , we thought about stay to Friday the 29th. But I gotta remember to add tickets to the final price.

2 queens would work ok since my 11 and 8 could sleep together. However if it isn't horrible price wise..My 16 year old would probably prefer her own. When you rented from the ebay person...It was what you expected?


Kemorr...we have a couple of character meals we wanted to do also... specifically Cinderellas castle. My daughter had swine flu last time and couldn't enjoy it. I know it's expensive so I see why the dining works.

But I don't know that I would spend $600 a day...haha

 

[DCTooTall]

Bonnet Creek has banned the "call ahead and request" game --- no doubt from many people calling ahead.

Rooms are assigned before you check in, likely by some computer program. When you check in, you can make a request for a different location. It is up to the person taking your request to see if they will move you to a different room.

I can see where the whole "request game" is pain for the resort. People calling ahead for "fireworks views." Extra time to hunt for rooms with "fireworks views" at check in. Some guests upset that all the "good rooms" were taken by renters who arrived early, etc.

Anyway, I still think it more luck of the draw of who checks you in and what's available.

I do BELIEVE there is an exception to the pre-assigned room game [beyond the actual VIP Owner staying in the unit, which doesn't really apply to those in this thread]... Although I'll admit I may be wrong since it's been awhile since i've heard anything on this.

I'm thinking that the Presidential Reserve suites are actually booked by room #. Compared to the total resort room inventory, and even the complete Presidential suite inventory, The Presidential Reserve units make up an extremely small percentage of the total resort inventory.

 

[Bellamouse]

OK so you are doing a split stay since you're not doing a traditional Sat to Sat (or Sun to Sun) check in.

You might have to rent Friday to Friday and just not use the last two days. Would still be FAR cheaper.

I will look for those dates for you. And yes, when I rented from ebay I was very happy. I admit to being a bit nervous when I called the property and my reservation was not there in my name, but now I understand that's how it works (no matter who you rent from) and I'm fine with it.


Editing to add - here's a 3 BR I found - 11/22 to 11/29

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wyndham-Bon...21195111563?pt=US_Lodging&hash=item3380418c8b

 

[luvsvacations]

Can anyone tell me on the 3 bedroom - how many have ceiling fans ??

 

[LadyBeBop]

What are the chances of us getting our room at 10:30 on a Sunday morning?

Our plan now is to drive to Lake City from Cincinnati on Saturday, then get up early on Sunday and drive the remaining 2 1/2 hours to WBC. We'd check in and hit the Magic Kingdom by noon. It's a party night, so we'll be out by 7 PM.

If the room is not ready, should we leave our luggage at the front? We already have the Wyndham Preferred Guest Pre-registration Form. We're staying on our own Wyndham points.

As always, many thanks.

 

[Kemorr]

Interesting - so you actually paid for an 8 night stay at Pop? Did you go at the end of your stay to settle up your charges over at Pop? Never thought of that idea (although I'm too cheap to actually do that - FP+ and "free" dining aren't worth it to me), but I can see how that would be a good solution for you! And saving over $5000!!! That's some crazy big savings. I don't even have $5000 to spend on a vacation in the first place so that's at least 2 Disney trips for us.

I haven't done it yet, we leave on Saturday, but yes, my plan is to check into WBC, then drive over to Pop, check in there, eat dinner at the food court (since we have the dining plan), then go back to WBC and move into our room. On our last day, I will check out of WBC, drive to Pop, check out there, use our last QS credit for breakfast then head to the airport. It might make the first day and the last day a little stressful and rushed, however what I lose there I think I will gain with FP+ etc. I totally admit that I am spoiled, I really just wanted to be part of the whole Magic Band thing and I justified it to myself by the fact that I am still actually saving a whole heck of a lot of money by not staying at BLT. My only concern is that housekeeping will be a little weirded out by the fact that the room is totally empty for a week, but I paid for the room, they can't actually force me to stay in it, right?!