Wyndham Bonnet Creek: Staying Off Property

Looking for the best hotels near Disney World? We just finished a stay at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and I'm sharing our full agenda, plus what it was like to stay off property!

Thank you to Wyndham Bonnet Creek for hosting our family.

Spring Break trip, complete! Our Disneyland Annual Passholder family just did the unthinkable…..we cheated on our own park.  We spent a week at Walt Disney World and we absolutely loved it.  I got a TON of questions about our experience, and I wanted to share as much as possible.

We flew in on a Sunday, and flew back home on a Friday morning.  We bought 4 one park a day tickets with one day in each park.  This was during a busy spring break week, and even with higher than usual crowds, this amount of time worked out perfectly.

Wyndham Bonnet Creek: The Best Hotels Near Disney World

We stayed at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek resort in a two bedroom villa (they have one, two, three and four bedroom suites), and I can't recommend this property highly enough.  Having stayed only ON property, I was very curious what it would be like to stay elsewhere, and we had the BEST experience.  Wyndham Bonnet Creek is one of the closest hotels near disney world with shuttle service, and bonus? The resort itself is amazing.  It has 5 pools including a lazy river and waterslide, bbq areas throughout, a market and places to eat, and you can even see the park fireworks from most of the pools.

The rooms were HUGE, and I loved having a full kitchen and laundry (gotta love the option of hotel suites near disney world for a great price).  We ordered groceries (be aware that grocery delivery times book up fairly quickly, we used Instacart to order that morning and to set an evening grocery arrival time).  Grocery deliveries will be brought to the front desk where you can pick them up easily (just be sure they arrive after you're on property).

We had multiple options for transportation.  We did NOT rent a car.  You could rent a car and park at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, then drive to the parks.  The hotel also has shuttles to each park.  They cost $8 per person each direction and you need to book a spot on the shuttles in advance (you can do so upon arrival).  We opted to Uber to and from the parks, each ride ranged from $8 to $15. TOTAL. Since Lydia is big enough for a booster seat (even though we still use a 5 point harness in our cars at home), we brought a foldable booster seat for Uber rides that fit into our backpacks during the day.  Younger kids? For slightly more, the Walt Disney World Minnie Vans do pick up at the Wyndham and they have car seats available if you need them!

When it came to fast passes, we did book them.  If you are staying ON property you have the option of booking a fast pass 60 days in advance.  For off property (or locals) you can book 30 days before the date on your ticket.  Dining reservations can be made at ANY time. We booked dining reservations a few months in advance and fast passes right at the 30 day mark.

Wyndham Bonnet Creek is one of 220 locations that Wyndham time share owners can enjoy every year, and it's also available to rent for those who aren't time share owners YET — the best of both worlds!

Want to book your own Wyndham vacation? Use code VACAY19 to save 15% off available resorts on ExtraHolidays.com.

Disney World: Our Schedule and Fast Passes

From beginning to end, here was our schedule.  It worked out well.  I highly suggest doing Magic Kingdom on a Tuesday or Wednesday if you can.  And we loved having a shorter third day with some down time at the pool.

Day 1: Animal Kingdom

8:30 am – Uber from Wyndham directly to Animal Kingdom Entrance

9:00 – enter park, pick up a Wilderness Explorers workbook (this allows kids to collect badges throughout the park in designated areas as they learn about different animals and habitats)

9:00 – 10:45 – Dinoland: TriceraTop Spin, meet and greet with Chip and Dale

11:00 – Finding Nemo Show

12:30 – Lunch at Satu'li Canteen (use mobile ordering)

1:45 – Festival of the Lion King (fast pass – my favorite show of all four days)

2:30 – 4:00 – explore Harumbe Market, Dole Whip Break, Boneyard Playground

4:30 – Kilimanjaro Safari (fast pass)

5:00 –  Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, earn badges for Wilderness Explorers Program

6:20 – Na'Vi River Journey (fast pass)

7:00 – Disney shuttle to Wilderness Creek Lodge (arrived early, sat by the pool and relaxed)

8:15 – Storybook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White (dining reservation)

Don't Miss: Lydia LOVED the Wilderness explorer program, it's a great activity to keep kids engaged.  The Safari was absolutely amazing, and the Festival of the Lion King might be my favorite Disney Park show EVER.

Day 2: Magic Kingdom

8:30 uber to Contemporary Resort, walk to Magic Kingdom (about a 5-10 minute walk)

9:00 – The Magic Carpets of Aladdin (fast pass), Swiss Family Treehouse

10:00 – Mickey's PhilHarMagic, Meet Rapunzel and Tiana at Princess Fairytale Hall

12:00 – lunch at Pecos Bill Tale Tall Inn and Cafe (use mobile ordering)

1:25 – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (fast pass)

2:00 – Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor

3:00 – Under the Sea! Journey of the Little Mermaid

3:45 – Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover

4:45 – get seat for Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It! Street Party (buy snack on the way)

5:45 – Dance Party

6:20 – Enchanted Tales with Belle and explore Beauty and the Beast Area (fast pass)

7:55 Be Our Guest Dinner (dining reservation)

Don't Miss: We loved the Street Party, Enchanted Tales with Belle is an adorable interactive show, and the Be Our Guest Dinner was worth every penny!

Day 3: Hollywood Studios

10:00 uber to Hollywood Studios parking lot

11:00 frozen sing along (fast pass)

12:00 – Celebrate with the Incredibles at Pixar Place (Edna Mode meet and greet, dance party) 

1:00 –  Lightning Mcqueen's Racing Academy 

2:00 – Explore Toy Story Land

3:20 Late Lunch / Early Dinner Sci-Fi Dine In (dining reservation)

5:00- Alien Swirling Saucers (fast pass)

5:45 – Mike and Sully meet and greet 

6:20 – Voyage of the Little Mermaid (fast pass)

7:00 – head back to Wyndham Bonnet Creek for night swimming and hot tub soaking (best call after 3 park days)

Don't Miss: We loved loved loved the Frozen Sing Along, Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy, and Sci-Fi Dine In was absolutely ADORABLE (Lydia thought eating in cars was so much fun!)

Day 4: Epcot

9:30 – uber to Epcot parking lot

10:00 – enter park and pick up a KidCot passport suitcase at any country (in each country children can stop at the KidCot stop where they receive a sticker to add to their passport and a postcard they can color at home)

10:40 – Akershus princess breakfast (dining reservation)

12:30 – Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros 

1:30 – Journey into Imagination with Figment (fast pass)

2:50  – The Seas with Nemo and Friends (fast pass) and explore aquarium area at exit

4:45 – Frozen Ever After  (fast pass)

6:30 – dinner at Disney Springs

Don't Miss: The princess breakfast was ADORABLE and a great price.  Frozen Ever After is a must must must do for Elsa fans.

There you have it.  Our stay at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek (I think it's one of the best hotels near disney world), fast passes and all!  We had the best time and would 100% do it the same way again!