Bonnet Creek

[ANTSS2001]

I just need some FYI for Bonnet creek Disers who owns and or have stayed from this site. How can you compare it with DVC

 

[Slakk]

I just need some FYI for Bonnet creek Disers who owns and or have stayed from this site. How can you compare it with DVC

No comparison to any WDW resort for me. Resort is very nice but after viewing it and SSR it was a no brainer for us. What I like most about DVC is that for the most part my points have not lost much if any value - well except my BCV points which have increased.

But to make DVC work you must want to go to WDW at least every other year - if you do not want to and want to trade then you would probably want to choose a non DVC timeshare.

Understand as I mentioned above DVC is one of the few timeshares that tends to keep value - many others don't so you need to do your homework.

Overall I love the DVC accomodations and have never regretted my purchases.

 

[ANTSS2001]

hmmm anybody else ? who wants to throw their 2 cents in ?

 

[ANTSS2001]

No comparison to any WDW resort for me.

 

[Deb & Bill]

It's supposed to be a very nice resort. Operated by Fairfield. Not Disney of course, so no Disney transportation to the parks. Check out the Orlando Resorts and Hotels. I think there are a few posts there. Some try to tell guests there that it is on Disney property which is not true. It is surrounded on three sides by Disney, fourth side by I-4.

I've also heard that you can pick up a resale there for a lot less than a new purchase.

 

[ANTSS2001]

It's supposed to be a very nice resort. Operated by Fairfield. Not Disney of course, so no Disney transportation to the parks. Check out the Orlando Resorts and Hotels. I think there are a few posts there. Some try to tell guests there that it is on Disney property which is not true. It is surrounded on three sides by Disney, fourth side by I-4.

I've also heard that you can pick up a resale there for a lot less than a new purchase.

thanks... I need all the info I can get before I make a major decision!

 

[Lewisc]

Do a search, there is one poster who very knowledgeable. She said you can buy Fairfield in the secondary market for almost 70% off the price of buying direct.

 

[Chuck S]

There are no Disney perks, Bonnet Creek is like any other offsite resort or timeshare. No Disney transportation, no onsite room charging, no resort delivery of purchases, no free parking if you choose to drive to the parks, no DVC discounts (annual pass, dining, shopping), no magical express airport transportation, no extra magic hours in the parks, etc.

I'm sure it is a nice resort, but for us, we like DVC because we enjoy the "onsite" perks.

 

[TotoToo]

It's supposed to be a very nice resort. Operated by Fairfield. Not Disney of course, so no Disney transportation to the parks. Check out the Orlando Resorts and Hotels. I think there are a few posts there. Some try to tell guests there that it is on Disney property which is not true. It is surrounded on three sides by Disney, fourth side by I-4.

I've also heard that you can pick up a resale there for a lot less than a new purchase.

If you are strictly comparing units the FF will lack the heavy theming of the DVC resorts and the "free" (of course you are paying big time for it) transportation to the resort (but you still get all the other "free" transportation throughout Disney and there is a free shuttle to the TTC - just doesn't run as often as the Disney ones do). Personally I hate waiting and transferring on the various Disney transports so the value of yet another one to the resort is limited to no value to us.

As for the actual resort you'll find the units are much larger than DVC units - similar to offsite units rather than the DVC units. You are as close or closer to the parks as you are at most DVC resort but that doesn't mean you can walk to anything. You are very much dependent on some type of transport to get around (we prefer a car) just as you are at most DVC resorts.

As for purchase cost there is no comparison. As mentioned you can easily buy resale FF points for up to 70 or even 80% off the retail price. In fact it can be said that buying FF (actually now called Wyndham as of last week) at retail is a big error in judgement. The other big differences are that you own your points forever vs a RTU at DVC, annual fees are much lower and Wyndham has over 60 resorts and many more affiliates you can use vs only a few with DVC (and the limited II access they offer but doesn't represent a good value). With Wyndham you also get a full - not a limited - account with RCI which adds thousands of resorts to trade into, doesn't cost alot to use (the points you give up aren't as expensive as DVC would be) and has a "request first" feature,

Bottom line Wyndham can be a great value but it isn't "Disney". If you absolutely won't be happy if you aren't paying to be within the Disney envelope then don't consider anything less. For us the value of Wyndham and the far greater and ever expanding choices made the choice to switch from DVC to Wyndham a no-brainer. We have almost three times the available use time at 1/2 the annual cost and 1/4 of the initial purchase price. Thats magic to us!

 

[Deb & Bill]

... For us the value of Wyndham and the far greater and ever expanding choices made the choice to switch from DVC to Wyndham a no-brainer. We have almost three times the available use time at 1/2 the annual cost and 1/4 of the initial purchase price. Thats magic to us!

This is a good point. If you don't plan to go to WDW as much as travel to other places, Wyndham would be better choice than DVC. But if WDW is your destination most of the time, DVC might be better. But, if you can afford both, spread your cash out a little to get the best of both worlds.

 

[Slakk]

This is a good point. If you don't plan to go to WDW as much as travel to other places, Wyndham would be better choice than DVC. But if WDW is your destination most of the time, DVC might be better. But, if you can afford both, spread your cash out a little to get the best of both worlds.

Absolutely true. If WDW is not your destination of choice then DVC is not for you. I still would prefer other timeshares than Wyndham like Marriott but the resort itself is very nice.

 

[ANTSS2001]

Thank you for all the input. My situation with Disney is we have been going to see the Mouse about 3x a year. Yes we love all the perks we get when we stay on site but staying off site is also not a problem since we always have a car on and off site, so far had not particiapte in EMH, parking I have not any problem paying. I am not saying am leaning on anything. I just want to cross my t's correctly before I make my final decision. I love the thought of DVC but when I look at the resort that's when I get stump. I know it would be a no second look if Contemporary is included in the list. That's where I get stump... I am not a big fan of YB or BW but love OKW.

 

[evedoe]

We own Fairfield and have stayed at Bonnet Creek. We also trade into DVC a lot. Each resort has advantages and disadvantages. If we are going on a strictly Disney vacation, we trade into DVC and stay there (unless it's during free dining, then we stay at Bonnet Creek and get a Disney value resort room too). We love extra magic hours, but never use disney transportation.

Bonnet Creek rooms are bigger and the kitchens are better equipped and you get a real dining room table. Maintenance fees are lower. The points can be purchased resale inexpensively.

As far as the points maintaining their value that is only important if you ever wish to sell them. To me the important cost is the yearly cost. To me DVC is too expensive to own, but we love to trade in. My trade in cost (including exchange fee, maintenance fee on trade in, and the resort fee) is about 30% less than the maintenance fees on the amount of DVC points that would be required for the same week.

However, if you want to get into DVC duing peak times, then buy DVC. We only go during the off season so trading in is never a problem.

If you want to own FF, but wish to trade into DVC just make sure your initial purchase is a FF resort that trades with II (Bonnet Creek does not).

It's a personal choice and we like both. We've been tempted to buy DVC, but decided that until we can't get the trades we want DVC would be a waste of money to us. Also, we take about 5 weeks of vacation per year and many weekend trips, so we like the flexibility of FF and its many resorts.

 

[utahkennedys]

Your other option is not to buy anywhere and just rent. I can't believe the deals I see for timeshares. You can even rent at Bonnet Creek for so little, send me a PM if you want a link to a rental site for all Fairfield properties. We own DVC and love it, but I know we will continue to rent at Marriott, HGVC and others if we find great steals, which we have consistently. The one thing I don't like about DVC is that we refuse to stay weekends b/c of high points, which makes for a shorter trip and/or a move to another hotel to save points. This stinks when flying all the way from Salt Lake City, which is why we will sometimes just rent at Marriott or others and stay all 7 nights.

 

[ANTSS2001]

Your other option is not to buy anywhere and just rent. I can't believe the deals I see for timeshares. You can even rent at Bonnet Creek for so little, send me a PM if you want a link to a rental site for all Fairfield properties. We own DVC and love it, but I know we will continue to rent at Marriott, HGVC and others if we find great steals, which we have consistently. The one thing I don't like about DVC is that we refuse to stay weekends b/c of high points, which makes for a shorter trip and/or a move to another hotel to save points. This stinks when flying all the way from Salt Lake City, which is why we will sometimes just rent at Marriott or others and stay all 7 nights.

rent ?? PM on it's way this is another avenue...

thank you for all your time !!!

 

[Muushka]

I agree with the renting of Bonnet Creek. We own DVC, love it. We rent at Bonnet Creek, love it also, but unless I got a really great deal there, it would not be my primary WDW timeshare. It is a beautiful timeshare though, that is for sure. We are not able to stay there this Dec, but plan on supplementing our DVC Dec vacation next Dec. at BC.

 

[carolina traveler]

I have learned that Fairfield has a lot of EXTRA fees that you have to be watching. Fees like transaction fee, housekeeping fees, club fee, guest fee and on. With DVC you pay once and there is no additional fees no matter if you go one or ten times a year. I like the Fairfield resorts but prefer to rent or exchange to them than own them. DVC is simpler and easier to use and sell (if you have to). Run your numbers because my experience is that the Fairfield points are not that much cheaper.

 

[ANTSS2001]

I have learned that Fairfield has a lot of EXTRA fees that you have to be watching. Fees like transaction fee, housekeeping fees, club fee, guest fee and on. With DVC you pay once and there is no additional fees no matter if you go one or ten times a year. I like the Fairfield resorts but prefer to rent or exchange to them than own them. DVC is simpler and easier to use and sell (if you have to). Run your numbers because my experience is that the Fairfield points are not that much cheaper.

Thank You for the heads up...

 

[Lisa P.]

You've gotten a good cross-section of responses and opinions. That's great! We've enjoyed our Fairfield/Wyndham points, staying in their resorts at least twice a year - sometimes for full weeks (usually trading up via RCI, saving points), sometimes for shorter stays. We're in the southeast, where the bulk of their resorts have been, though they are aggressively expanding. Wyndham Bonnet Creek is one of the newer ones and it's very nice.

Given your particular style of vacationing at WDW and your expressed preferences, I would think that you would enjoy either DVC or Bonnet Creek and that either of them could work well for you. It's probably a good idea to hold off on a purchase until your next WDW vacation so that you can tour them both.

Fairfield/Wyndham does have a lot of extra fees but we never pay any of them. If you are using the points to secure vacation time at their own properties and you are staying for 4 nights or longer in high season or full weeks in offseasons, you will always have enough free housekeeping credits to avoid the fees. If you rarely cancel and reschedule, you will have enough free transactions annually to avoid those fees too. Guest certificates are $25 and we usually vacation with our guests and have always been able to add their names to the reservations directly at the resorts. Bottom line is that the added fees are for those who use certain services more than the typical owner. So I would only see these as a concern if you fit that usage description. HTH!

 

[ANTSS2001]

It's probably a good idea to hold off on a purchase until your next WDW vacation so that you can tour them both.

Bottom line is that the added fees are for those who use certain services more than the typical owner. So I would only see these as a concern if you fit that usage description. HTH!