The we loooooove Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek Part 4

[PrincessMamma4]

Woo hoo. We were on the waitlist for a 3 BR for our December trip. One opened up last week and we got it! We are so excited. I had a 3 BR reserved somewhere else but THIS is where I wanted to stay.

That's great!You really got lucky. if you've never stayed before you're going to love it!! I'll be there again in October.

 

[supedewoop]

I'm back home after a 10 day stay. I don't know if I'll be lucky enough to do this again in the next few years, but if I do, I'd stay here--and insist to the others joining me that they should too.

Honestly, my biggest mistake was not planning enough "enjoy the hotel and my room" time. A one-bedroom was, in fact, bigger than my apartment. I was in Tower 6, but my USB powerbar worked as expected. Everything was in good condition, I'd be surprised if it's renovated in the near future. The nearest lazy river was so, so nice, as well as both hotel pools I spent time in. Neither was particularly crowded, though the lazy river was a little. I didn't get the opportunity to go to any activities, though I had wanted to. I just ended spending up too much at the parks and was too tired or too late when I got back. They looked nice though. I was also impressed by how nice the minigolf was when I walked by, with real obstacles and decor, not just 18 little spots of green with a hole, like some hotel minigolf.

I didn't realize that if the stay was longer, they'd do a cleaning, after 4 or 5 days so my place was messy (mostly clothes waiting to be thrown in the washer) but they still exchanged towels and made my bed, despite my largest suitcase open on the floor at the foot of the bed and a tangle of charging cords and things being piled on the bed beforehand. Weirdly, though, someone came by later that same day, in afternoon, but I was taking a nap and yelled at them to come back later. They didn't?

I got some breakfast burritos because I was hungry. I also checked out the menus of a few of the restaurants but was never sufficiently impressed to order. Using the kitchen or even ordering a pizza from a legit place and eating leftovers for the next day or two seemed like a better option. (I mostly ate at the parks--my family was on a dining plan, but my budget worked out well!)

I said I didn't need a parking pass and was instead told to get my "welcome pack" which had important hotel info. I did that, but late at night and subsequently had no interactions with the timeshare sales and I even expressed interest in the bribe (a gift card or a 7 night stay--allegedly easy to use in Asia). I did say I wasn't interested for the first half of my stay, since I was focused on family time, but might be willing in the second half--although I'm poor and sad, so I'd just listen, take the gift and not even be able to buy anything even if I wanted to. So, that might be why.

Finally, I was most concerned about transportation. Honestly, the shuttle is terrible, even for one person. It's 8 dollars for a round trip, for one but according to the schedule, it has to be reserved ONLY by speaking IN PERSON to the clerk at the transportation desk. Times are also terrible, with 1 or 2 options to each park, each way (basically morning there, and evening back to the hotel) for the TCC, Animal Kindgom, Epcot and Disney Springs (and maybe two of those were combined?). Of course, you could use them to go where ever and then use the excellent Disney buses, but that's a pain. And, the reservation system seems to be designed to limit to you to coming and going from the same place, though they did say you could call and change it. One day, I used the bus to get to Animal Kingdom because it was about 2 dollars cheaper than a one-way lyft but the return time was so early (5:45) and I didn't want to bother with calling and trying to get the late MKTCC bus (10:45, which was basically the only alternative) so I just took a lyft.

And that brings me to the best way to travel around if you're not renting a car or driving--especially if you're more than just one person. Splitting a lyft or uber between 2 people (or paying one way each) will be about the same, except to Animal Kingdom and maybe Magic Kingdom, and obviously, way more convenient. Most rides were about 8 bucks, and MK and AK were about 10, though I'd often tip a dollar or two. If you are looking to save a few dollars, it might be worth considering taking Disney transport to a closer hotel or Disney Springs. It's probably not worth the time investment, though I did do it a few times to avoid the rain and crowds more, (waiting under the cover of the nice bus queues vs. waiting out in the rain, and hoping your ride comes quickly, despite all the others also trying to catch a ride) and to spend a little more time with my family (who were at Port Orleans and also, I got to grab beignets). The rideshares were also able to go right to my tower and pretty close to most park entrances, if not as close as Disney transport gets, then second best. This would be complicated if you have a bigger group or children requiring a car seat, but if it's adults and teenagers, this is 100% the way to go.

 

[mom24girlz]

We just finished our 1st stay and we fell in love with the resort. We skipped the parking pass thing and nobody ever called us about the timeshare presentation, but on our 4th day dh actually said he was going to talk with them about it because he thinks we'd enjoy being owners. LOL I talked him out of it by promising to do some research on the resale market. Thank you all so much for your contributions to this thread.

 

[Biggen]

We just finished our 1st stay and we fell in love with the resort. We skipped the parking pass thing and nobody ever called us about the timeshare presentation, but on our 4th day dh actually said he was going to talk with them about it because he thinks we'd enjoy being owners. LOL I talked him out of it by promising to do some research on the resale market. Thank you all so much for your contributions to this thread.

You just saved over $15K. Go over to TUG and buy from there after some research.

 

[staceywj]

We just finished our 1st stay and we fell in love with the resort. We skipped the parking pass thing and nobody ever called us about the timeshare presentation, but on our 4th day dh actually said he was going to talk with them about it because he thinks we'd enjoy being owners. LOL I talked him out of it by promising to do some research on the resale market. Thank you all so much for your contributions to this thread.

Perfect answer...in addition to saving $, you are also saving time on your vacation. It was a total waste of a few hours and such aggravation to go through the whole presentation. I told DH I would never get those hours of my life back and we never even used the "free" gift.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

I just called to confirm the rental is in my name for our arrival and the lady told me we have a 3BR Deluxe reserved. I thought I was getting a 2BR.

Is this a Pixie Dust upgrade? I'm cautiously giddy at the moment.

 

[Chippy4]

I just called to confirm the rental is in my name for our arrival and the lady told me we have a 3BR Deluxe reserved. I thought I was getting a 2BR.

Is this a Pixie Dust upgrade? I'm cautiously giddy at the moment.

Deluxe is what they call the standard units. The upgraded ones are presidential.

edit: Oops! Reading comprehension fail. It does sound like you got an upgrade to a 3BR. Nice!

 

[zebrastreyepz]

Deluxe is what they call the standard units. The upgraded ones are presidential.

edit: Oops! Reading comprehension fail. It does sound like you got an upgrade to a 3BR. Nice!

Thanks!

 

[Brojoef]

How far in advance do you usually book WBC? Previously we’ve booked 1 month in advance to 8 months in advance.
Just got a quote for March 2019, $1700 for a week. It’s definitely more than we usually pay for a 2 bedroom delux.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

How far in advance do you usually book WBC? Previously we’ve booked 1 month in advance to 8 months in advance.
Just got a quote for March 2019, $1700 for a week. It’s definitely more than we usually pay for a 2 bedroom delux.

I book more than 60 days out and that is a bit less than I am paying for 7 nights in June for. 2BR.

 

[Biggen]

How far in advance do you usually book WBC? Previously we’ve booked 1 month in advance to 8 months in advance.
Just got a quote for March 2019, $1700 for a week. It’s definitely more than we usually pay for a 2 bedroom delux.

I have an October stay booked and a January ‘19 stay booked now. I always book early. I’m not interested in gambling on getting a cheaper rate by waiting.

Everything at WBC has gone up about 25% with the Wyndham reservation changes. Still a bargain compared to staying on Disney so we still gladly pay it.

 

[beautifultomorrow]

Checking in today for our first visit at WBC. Any recommendations on room requests? We are staying in a 2 bedroom deluxe. Location to ask for that’s close to pools young kids would like/lazy river? Or should we try to get a renovated room? (Where are those?)

 

[zebrastreyepz]

Checking in today for our first visit at WBC. Any recommendations on room requests? We are staying in a 2 bedroom deluxe. Location to ask for that’s close to pools young kids would like/lazy river? Or should we try to get a renovated room? (Where are those?)

I don't have any advice about requests but I hope you love it!

 

[Biggen]

Checking in today for our first visit at WBC. Any recommendations on room requests? We are staying in a 2 bedroom deluxe. Location to ask for that’s close to pools young kids would like/lazy river? Or should we try to get a renovated room? (Where are those?)

We prefer Tower 5. Has the pool and lazy river right below it plus access to a bar/restaurant. It is also close to the hotel portion of the resort that has the breakfast buffet inside it plus the little coffee/ice cream bar.

The actual "kids pool area" is up near the front of the resort where you check-in. You would probably want tower 1 or 4 if getting as close to that as possible is of importance.

 

[FriendofScrump]

Hi all-- I just put down a deposit for 5 nights at WBC. This is my first time staying offsite. My sons are 4 and 6 and I'm wondering about the pools. Is there a particular pool that's best for this age group? Are there lifeguards? From what I can tell, there aren't, but I wanted to be sure.

I've gotten a lot out of this thread. Thanks so much!

 

[Biggen]

Hi all-- I just put down a deposit for 5 nights at WBC. This is my first time staying offsite. My sons are 4 and 6 and I'm wondering about the pools. Is there a particular pool that's best for this age group? Are there lifeguards? From what I can tell, there aren't, but I wanted to be sure.

I've gotten a lot out of this thread. Thanks so much!

No lifeguards. The "kiddy pool area" is near the front of the resort where you check-in. Closest towers would be 1 or 4. As I noted above, we like tower 5 and we request that tower with a ground floor room every time. It has the lazy river, pool, hot tub, cabanas (if you want them), and a pool side bar restaurant.

 

[msb578]

Technically, there is (sometimes) one lifeguard on duty at Bonnet Creek. At the Tower 3 water slide. The lifeguard’s job is solely to monitor the slide. His/her gaze never veers toward the rest of the fairly deep pool.

I spent a lot of time thinking about the lifeguard situation. At first all I could think of was $$$- wages, insurance, law suits, etc. But, even if these types of resorts wanted to hire lifeguards, where would they find enough good ones? Disney, Universal, beaches, and a handful of offsite resorts hire hundreds (thousands?!) of them. There are only so many qualified lifeguards to go around in a metropolitan area.

I do wish Bonnet Creek had lifeguards. Especially the way our 9 year-old gets away from us on the lazy rivers.

 

[Brojoef]

I have an October stay booked and a January ‘19 stay booked now. I always book early. I’m not interested in gambling on getting a cheaper rate by waiting.

Everything at WBC has gone up about 25% with the Wyndham reservation changes. Still a bargain compared to staying on Disney so we still gladly pay it.

Ah, that explains it. I thought prices were higher than in previous times we’ve gone. Guess we will just book! Doesn’t sound like the price will get any better. Thanks!

 

[FriendofScrump]

No lifeguards. The "kiddy pool area" is near the front of the resort where you check-in. Closest towers would be 1 or 4. As I noted above, we like tower 5 and we request that tower with a ground floor room every time. It has the lazy river, pool, hot tub, cabanas (if you want them), and a pool side bar restaurant.

Thanks-- I wondered about the cabanas as well. I'll most likely be requesting one of those buildings.

 

[FriendofScrump]

Technically, there is (sometimes) one lifeguard on duty at Bonnet Creek. At the Tower 3 water slide. The lifeguard’s job is solely to monitor the slide. His/her gaze never veers toward the rest of the fairly deep pool.

I spent a lot of time thinking about the lifeguard situation. At first all I could think of was $$$- wages, insurance, law suits, etc. But, even if these types of resorts wanted to hire lifeguards, where would they find enough good ones? Disney, Universal, beaches, and a handful of offsite resorts hire hundreds (thousands?!) of them. There are only so many qualified lifeguards to go around in a metropolitan area.

I do wish Bonnet Creek had lifeguards. Especially the way our 9 year-old gets away from us on the lazy rivers.

When I was googling "Wyndham Bonnet Creek" and "lifeguards," a bunch of job postings for lifeguards at Bonnet Creek popped up. I can imagine there are a limited amount of qualified applicants, and that makes sense. I do always keep a close watch on my sons, and I'll have my brother with me on the trip to help. But I still worry, probably a little too much.