[fjs08]

Hi,

Just got back from the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. Great event. We went last year and will go back next year too.

Anyway, noticed a beautiful gateway to the Bonnet Creek Resort. It was off of Buena Vista Blvd. What is Bonnet Creek Resort. I never hear anything about it??

Thanks.

Frank

[jodilt]

Bonnet Creek is a new resort being built but is not Disney owned. It actually sits just off Disney property, but it's entrance is on property...little confusing. Our shuttle driver filled us in on that bit of info.

[disneyguy]

Yes, this is all true. It was the starange way the whole property thing was laid out. Disney had to give a right of passage, so now you will have a non-Disney resort, on Disney property. (Don't expect Disney to give the same kindness as they do to Swan and Dolphin Resort Guests). The idea is for "Treehouses", so it would be similar to a Villa in WDW terms.

[Baloo85]

Hmm...I never heard of it before. Neat!

[fjs08]

I Googled Bonnet Creek/Orlando and came up with a Fairfield Inn. Is this it??
Frank

[mickey]

Actually, there will be about 5 resorts in there. There will be a Fairfield, but not the Inn by Marriott. It is the Fairfield Timeshares that will be in there. They own a big portion of the property. There will also be several upscale resorts, though I am not sure if they have been announced yet. The land size is about 400 acres. If you do a search here of Bonnet Creek, there are several threads about it, and it's history.

[pumpkin]

Originally Posted by disneyguy

Yes, this is all true. It was the starange way the whole property thing was laid out. Disney had to give a right of passage, so now you will have a non-Disney resort, on Disney property. (Don't expect Disney to give the same kindness as they do to Swan and Dolphin Resort Guests). The idea is for "Treehouses", so it would be similar to a Villa in WDW terms.

According to our Towncar driver in September, there is a very good reason why the Swan/Dolphin gets special treatment since "they are not a Disney Resort". I found out, according to our driver, Swan/Dolphin is actually owned by Disney, hence the Disney name "Disney Swan and Dolphin". What happened was Disney had alot on there plate when the Swan/Dolphin was developed, so Disney leased the resorts back to the builder for amount of time. He said that the big squares in the triangle of the resorts where actually made for monorails that where to be put in later. This makes since to me, since all of this time, the Dolphin/Swan was in the Entertainment Books for several years. For 2005, the coupon is not in there. Plus the fact that our driver said if it has the Disney name on it, Disney owns it, even though the resort will tell you they are not connected.

Just thought you guys might find this interesting. Has anyone ever heard this?

[mickey]

Actually, the Swan and Dolphin are not owned by Disney at all. The official name is the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. When EPCOT was being built, Disney decided they didn't want to run all the hotels around the parks, and granted a developer the rights to all future hotels on Disney property. The first two built were the Swan and the Dolphin. The Swan was managed by Westin, while the Dolphin was managed by Sheraton. (they have now merged into one company, Starwood). Eventually, someome woke up to the massive error they had made, and voided the contract with the developer, and started building Disney owned resorts. While the Dolphin and Swan do sit on Disney property, they are not Disney owned or operated. Direct from their website:

• Tishman Realty & Construction Corporation and MetLife own the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin.
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide manages the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin.

Guests there do have some of the same amenities as Disney guests, such as transportation, early entry, etc. They do not offer charging privileges as you get staying with Disney, so you can't charge your turkey leg to your room, you have to pay cash.

[disneyguy]

Thanks for all the info, Mickey. So Disney will never regain the rights to these hotels???

[pumpkin]

Originally Posted by disneyguy

Thanks for all the info, Mickey. So Disney will never regain the rights to these hotels???

According to our driver, who is a local, says that Disney will regain the rights to these hotels. I tend to trust him, because he has been driving around Disney for years and lives there. I would think he knows more than me living in another state. My opion.