This weekend Michael and I had the most magical getaway at Bonnet Creek. For Christmas, Michael’s big gift to me was a weekend retreat on Disney Property. While we are passholders we don’t typically stay on property. (Actually, I think we’ve only done it maybe twice since becoming passholders). Since it’s not something we typically do at Disney, it was of course extra magical. Here’s a look at our weekend getaway at Bonnet Creek.
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Bonnet Creek During Covid
Things at all hotels and resorts look a little bit different since covid. While many things are open again at Bonnet Creek, there is still limited capacity and a few things that are closed. Most notably the hot tub (such a bummer because it was chilly this weekend) and game rooms. For a full list on covid-19 restrictions and closures at Wyndham resorts, click here. However, the pool is opened with limited capacity which is nice. Like I said though, it was chilly last weekend so we did not utilize the pool. But that’s ok because the focus was on staying on Disney property and a few other things…
Disney World Weekend Getaway
The advantages to staying on Disney property used to be extra magic hours. With covid there are limited hours at all parks. So really the advantage now of staying on property is saving ourselves the 40 minute drive from home. This meant we really got to relax in the morning and could head back to the hotel for a mid-day break.
After Checking in to Bonnet Creek
We arrived around 5pm to check in to our room and then headed over to Epcot to enjoy the final days of the Festival of the Arts. As we were leaving the resort it started to rain so it was a pretty wet night. (But just another great thing about staying on property, we had a short drive to dry warm clothes). The main stop at the festival that we wanted to make was Pop Eats. We both got the french onion grilled cheese with bacon and tomato soup.(And we will definitely be trying to make this at home. WOW is was amazing). We continued around the world and had the warm brie bread bowl from France. And of course, we had to try the ratatouille from the festival center. All of them were perfect for the night and we headed out once we tried them all.
Saturday at Hollywood Studios
Saturday morning we had our alarms set for 5 till 7am so that we could get our boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance. We managed to get into a boarding group for the morning but not first thing so we could enjoy a slow morning at Bonnet Creek. We arrived at Hollywood Studios and picked up a light breakfast (which of course had a Mickey pretzel). Then we started to walk towards Toy Story Land to see what the wait times were like when our boarding group was called. After we rode Rise of the Resistance we waited in an excruciatingly long line for Tower of Terror. Before heading back to the resort we grabbed ice cream as a mid afternoon snack.
We made reservations for the Brown Derby at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for an early evening dinner. The Brown Derby has a dress code so really it was best that we went back to Bonnet Creek to change beforehand. (Though it didn’t seem like anyone cared about dress code). This dinner reservation was another perk of my Christmas gift. It was honestly so difficult choosing a place to eat. Did I want to do Character dining? Just themed dining? Or go all out. Brown Derby is my all out. We dressed up, enjoyed fantastic food and had a 5 minute drive back to the hotel after. Here’s what we had:
- Filet Mignon – If it didn’t melt in your mouth we’d have a problem. Perfectly cooked and delicious. We added a side of scallops as well.
- The Brown Derby Cioppino – If you’re a seafood lover, this is the dish for you! It had most every seafood I could think of and was so yummy.
- Fantasia Wine – This wine is directly from Silverado Vineyards in Napa, California. The Vineyard was founded by Walt Disney’s daughter, Diane, and her husband in 1981. As a hardcore Disney fan this was the perfect wine for us to grab a bottle of.
Sunday at Animal Kingdom
Sunday was sadly our last day at Bonnet Creek. We enjoyed coffee and packed to check out before we went off property to grab fresh Krispy Kreme donuts. I’m not sure why but there’s about half a dozen Krispy Kreme’s near Disney World and none near us. After eating almost a whole dozen between the two of us (they were fresh, we had to) we headed back on property to Animal Kingdom. We rode the Safari, Everest, and Dinosaur before saying goodbye to Disney World for at least a week.
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