Too good to be true?

[Mitzie]

We are looking to spend some time in the Orlando area the first week of April. We are a party of six this trip, 2 adults, 4 children. Was shopping around for a place to stay and stumbled onto Bonnet Creek. To give a comparison, 3 nights(room only), two rooms at CSR is $1,378. Bonnet Creek, 2 bed room villa..687.00 for 3 nights...DH and I are asking ourselves what is wrong with this place to have that low of a price? We know there are some other options, but DH really wants his own bedroom. DH is even worried we will have to sit through a time share speel or something...:paranoid:

[disneymom2000]

I think it is what it says it is. A beautiful resort as a less expensive alternative to staying at one of Disney's more expensive resorts. Once it is around longer it may go up in price for offering transportation to the parks and such but I think you are getting a deal.

[CleveRocks]

Disney resorts are going to be more expensive than similar (or even better) non-Disney hotels. Staying at a Disney resort gives you things that an off-siter hotel doesn't: free airport transfers (including luggage delivery), free transportation to and from the Disney parks, access to Extra Magic Hours at the parks, a few other details, AND the overall "feel" of a Disney resort versus an off-site place.

A lot of people will say that it's not worth the money to pay for the intangible "feel" of a Disney resort. They may be right. But I pose this question to you: Have you ever received flowers? Flowers do nothing for you other than set a mood, give you a certain "feel," right? People buy and give flowers just for that feel, and people book Disney resorts in part because of that feel.

[BigRedDad]

It really depends on what you are looking for. You can definitely stay offsite for considerably less than on property. Disney gives nothing for free, so do not think that there are any "free" perks staying on site.

Note: I have never stayed at Bonnet Creek.

DME: This is not free. The cost is baked into the room price for every guest.

EMH: This is not free to resort guests. It is baked into your ticket prices and room prices.

Bus Transportation: Convenient not to have to drive. However, Bonnet Creek is so centrally located, driving is of no issue. If you have AP, you do not have to pay for parking.


A neighbor was about to cancel their trip due to the cost. I heard about bonnet Creek from here. They had 2 rooms at Pop for about $1400. I found them a 3 BR deluxe room at Bonnet Creek on eBay for $500. that $900 savings covered half of their tickets. It is not some small amount of money. It is significant enough for me to consider it in the future.

[CleveRocks]

DME: This is not free. The cost is baked into the room price for every guest.
Actually, this one IS free. It's what's called a loss leader. DME actually generates money for the resorts (and the parks), and therefore the cost of it is not figured into room rates. Long story short, in 2005 I priced resort stays before and after the launch of DME, and the price was identical before and after DME was offered.


EMH: This is not free to resort guests. It is baked into your ticket prices and room prices.You're correct, of course, that the "cost" of EMH is figured into room rates. But it simply can't be true that it's figured into resort guests' ticket prices. Why? Because tickets cost the same whether or not you are a resort guest. Resort guests do not pay more for tickets than people who are not staying at a Disney resort.

[Aurora]

I'm sure a moderator will be along shortly... :mickey:

[Mitzie]

We definitely get the Disney "feel". Will be at BWI in about 4 weeks...That 'feel' is addicting. We were just hoping to squeeze in two trips next year one in the spring and one in the fall. The spring trip we will have our car so airport trans. is not needed. We were going to do a Disney water park and then Seaworld since the kids have never seen that, so internal trans is not needed. DH is still leaning towards staying on property since we know what it is like and know that we like it.

[Mitzie]

So sorry to cause any kinds of problems...:(

[Hammer]

I'm sure a moderator will be along shortly... :mickey:

And here I am :mickey:! Folks, if you know what you are posting is constitutes cheating the system, don't bother posting it as it will just be removed anyway!


So sorry to cause any kinds of problems...:(

Don't worry, you did not do anything wrong!

[minnie04]

Thanks for the tip . Im going to look into it right now. I hope the deal is still there. :mickey:

[MCeee]

I would like to know why my post was removed. What was said that should be censored?

[Hammer]

I would like to know why my post was removed. What was said that should be censored?

Your post was directly referencing a portion of another post which was removed, so your post no longer made sense. That's why I deleted it.

[MCeee]

Got it... thanks Hammer. ;)

[princessgirls]

We stayed at the Bonnet Creek resort. It is very nice and has a GREAT location right next to the Caribbean Resort. We could see fireworks from Epcot and the Studios.

Yes, it is a "vacation" ownership resort, and they are going to leave you messages on your phone about coming to one of their "meetings". The price is really good that you mentioned.

MY ONLY COMPLAINT, is that we couldn't book a package with all the things that make Disney more magical to me. We drove and paid to park at the parks, no magic express or nice luggage service, no dining plan, everything was ala carte, and we spent a lot of money that week. I'm just saying...when you can travel during value season and get a free promo, you do get more for your money.

Would give the resort 4 out of 5 stars...
Julie:mickey:

[Jillirose]

My friend is an annual passholder and has a timeshare at Bonnet Creek. She flies from Michigan 3-4 times a year and loves it! and so do her kids (ages 12 - 20). They have been going for quite sometime. Features that she appreciates:

on property/close to parks (they rent a car)
larger rooms
kitchen to cook in
reasonable price
kid friendly

[LVT]

Try it. If you don't care for it, next time you can use the money saved for POP.
I even buy flowers for my home. I like the icons at POP and we do not drive after arrival. The traffic there is crazy. Too many lost and tired people. I have seem several car accidents there and I do not want to interrupt my vacation.

[phillydan]

I am a big fan of the all-inclusive vacation, so I look at it this way. If you get a cheaper room, you have to pay for transfers from the airport (either private or rental car), parking (or other private transportation), and meals. Plus, you are at a "stand-alone" property that may not have any influence outside of their loacation to help with vacation problems you may encounter along the way (illness, lost tickets, family emergencies, etc).

While dollar for dollar, the Disney experience is still going to be more, the difference usually is not so dramatic as people think. I realize that for many people, just a few hundred dollars can make or break the trip budget, but there are many promos and discounts that can really close the gap. Also, using the Disney Visa, we had 6 months to pay the bill - interest free. This helped to soften the blow and make it a bit more reasonable for us.

Consider this - if you go to Cancun, wouldn't you want to sit under a palm tree, eat Mexican food and drink Margaritas? It's the whole experience that makes the vacation. Same with Disney - why not get the most out of it?

We didn't do the Dining Plan on our first trip (before it was free!) and we really stressed about what we were paying for meals every day. Every trip since, we went with the dining plan (free or not) - it was worth it to us to not have that bill hanging over our head at the end of the meal.

Hope this helps!

(note: this is just my opinion on what works for us. As they say, your mileage may vary!). :)

[Mitzie]

Phillydan..great post. We are leaning towards staying on property for all the reasons you mentioned. DH just wants to stay with what he knows and we all love.

[Belster]

Disney resorts are going to be more expensive than similar (or even better) non-Disney hotels. Staying at a Disney resort gives you things that an off-siter hotel doesn't: free airport transfers (including luggage delivery), free transportation to and from the Disney parks, access to Extra Magic Hours at the parks, a few other details, AND the overall "feel" of a Disney resort versus an off-site place.

A lot of people will say that it's not worth the money to pay for the intangible "feel" of a Disney resort. They may be right. But I pose this question to you: Have you ever received flowers? Flowers do nothing for you other than set a mood, give you a certain "feel," right? People buy and give flowers just for that feel, and people book Disney resorts in part because of that feel.

Wow!! You hit the nail on the head. I now know how to explain why we only stay on WDW property. Thanks!:mickey: