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(For the first page of this review of the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, click here.)

PHOTO TOUR OF A TWO QUEEN STANDARD ROOM AT THE HILTON ORLANDO BONNET CREEK

The Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek has several room types in its mid-rise tower, including rooms with two queens, room with one king, and multiple suite types. Bookable categories include “Disney View,” “Disney Fireworks View,” and “High Floor” rooms.

The Disney view rooms look towards Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot; rooms without specified views look out over a nature preserve; I’m not sure what “High Floor”  precisely means, but recreational marijuana is not yet legal in Florida.

This photo tour is of an upper floor, perhaps high, two queen room with a Disney view.

At the entry, the bath and closet are on one side.

The bath is  spacious, but has no extra help for family travels–it has room for double sinks but offers just a single sink, and is not divided.

Bath toiletries.

The tub/shower combo.

Back out in the entry hall, the small but likely adequate closet is right next to the door to the bath.

Deeper in the room on one side you’ll find two queen beds and an easy chair.

The bed side from the back.

A closer view of one of the beds.

Between the beds you’ll find this bedside table, with what appears to be two drawers.

The lower item is in fact a drawer, with plenty of room for your important books.

Above it, what looks like a drawer front flips away to reveal this safe.

My book is 6″ by 9″–showing how large this safe is.

The last item of note on this side is this easy chair, with a small table on one side and lamp on the other.

The other side of the room has a mini-fridge, dresser, and desk.

The TV side from the back of the room.

The mini-fridge is below the coffee service.

Inside the mini-fridge.

The dresser has a 54″ TV above and three drawers below.

The drawers are good sized.

The desk includes a rolling table which I’ve pulled out a bit that adds flexibility for actions ranging from typing to playing games with the kids–although seats are limited.

I can’t comment on how well the fireworks show up, as I was not in my room during any of them–that will be for another stay.

But here’s the view from my room, with the astonishing pool (a full review of the pool complex at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek is here) below, the golf course beyond, and in the distance you’ll note the Tower of Terror and the Dolphin.  Lenses make these seem further away than in fact they are.

At about 370 square feet (some sources claim these rooms have 414 square feet, mine was not even close to that) these spacious Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek rooms are comparable in size to the middle range of Disney deluxe resorts.

But with no balconies, no real concessions to larger families in the bath layout, and limited (but not bad) seating, they don’t have a lot to recommend them for typical families.  Couples, or families of three, should do just fine in these rooms.

And frankly, the color scheme and decor (how did you like that easy chair?) are at best uninteresting. Another Hilton property at Disney World that also has access to the two key perks, the Hilton Buena Vista Palace, has better accommodations, with balconies and divided baths.

AMENITIES AND DINING AT THE HILTON ORLANDO BONNET CREEK

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE HILTON ORLANDO BONNET CREEK

• Overview and summary
• Photo tour of a standard room
• Dining and amenities
• The pool complex

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

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Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM IS NOT A ZOO

Back in 2002, to try to get the general public to understand that Disney’s Animal Kingdom was not like the typical zoo a person might visit, but rather a new type of theme park, in 2002 WDW through its Yellow Shoes Creative Marketing division brought on Mark Simon to storyboard a thirty-second commercial spot.

The final commercial was produced by Jim Derusha of Alpha Wolf Productions and consisted of various DAK cast members declaring “Nahtazu”, a fictional word that when pronounced sounded like “not a zoo”.

The commercial ended with the tag line: “Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s many, many things but remember, it’s Nahtazu!”

Disney stopped using the term in 2006 as it strengthened its connections with the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums).

The idea of it not being a zoo came from Imagineer Joe Rohde, executive designer and senior vice president, Creative for Walt Disney Imagineering. In a presentation to DAK cast members on June 14, 1998, roughly a week before the park opened to the public, he stated:

“When I became involved in Disney’s Animal Kingdom it was late 1989, Disney sent a group of MBAs out across the country visiting and researching zoos around the nation and they came back with a terrifically negative report that basically said, “Look. There’s a zoo in every city, in every town in this country. They’re all subsidized by the city, by the state, by the federal government. People pay a third of what they pay to get into our parks to come in…they stay for two hours…they buy a drink…they can go whenever they want…why would we ever do a zoo?” End of question, right?

“We the Disney Company simply cannot do what is out there to be done if for no other reason than we’re gonna charge you $50 or more to do it. So it has to be different, it has to be new, it has to be unlike anything else you can do or we simply cannot pursue it as a line of business because we can’t make our per cap.

“There’s still people in the company who will refer to this as a ‘zoo’ and I mean, by no means, any disrespect or disdain to what a zoo is. [A zoo] is a thing that exists in the world and is loved and valued, obviously, by their presence around the country and the world, by gazillions of people.

“It serves a purpose, it occupies a niche and it does it really rather well. That’s the point. That job’s done. The world doesn’t need another big, expensive zoo with a bunch of immersion exhibits in it. That is not a real pressing need on the planet.

“A zoo sits in a category of places within a community that is sort of comparable to the museum, to the library, in that it’s regarded with a kind of respectful awe. It represents a scientific stance. It is a place you go for a kind of edification. There’s always a secondary use of a zoo as a garden, as a place to just go stroll with kids in the sunlight when the weather is good. There’s clearly a recognition that this is a place of edification.

“Now, on the other hand, what we are trying to do is profoundly subjective, even in ways that I think many education professionals would consider to be almost dangerous. A theme park is all about you in a very specific context. Nothing happens to you…nothing is said to you…nothing is seen by you…that isn’t governed by the overarching narrative umbrella that holds you in that place. When you move through a space, the space is crafted to specific narrative impact on you. That’s what Disney’s Animal Kingdom is. It is not a zoo.”

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest,  The Vault of Walt Volume 7: Christmas Edition, and his Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: APRIL 27 TO MAY 5, 2019

The material below details next week’s Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

For more on April 2019 at Disney World, see this, and for more on May, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 4/27-5/5/19

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8a to 12MN 4/27, 9a-10p 4/28 through 5/2, 9a-11p 5/3, 8a-11p 5/4, and 9a-10p 5/5

Epcot will be open from 9a-9p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 9a-8.30p 4/27 and 9a-9p 4/28 through 5/5

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 8a-9.30p 4/27, 9a-9.30p 4/28,, 9a-9p 4/29 through 5/2, 9a-10p 5/3 and 5/4, and 9a-8.30p 5/5

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 4/27-5/5/19

Saturday 4/27 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 4/28  Morning:  Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 4/29 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 4/30 Morning: none Evening: Epcot

Wednesday 5/1 Morning:  none Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 5/2 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 5/3 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 5/4 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 5/5 Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 4/27-5/5/19

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon parade: 3p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 4/27-5/5/19

Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom 9.15p 4/27 ; 9p 4/28 through 5/5

IllumiNations at Epcot: 9p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8.30p 4/27; 9p 4/28 through 5/5

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p 4/27; 9.30p 4/28 through 5/5

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom:  8.30 and 9.30p 4/27 and 4/28; 8.45p 4/29 through 5/2; 8.45 and 9.45p 5/3 and 5/4; 8.45p 5/5

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 4/27/-5/5/19

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

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NEW DISNEY WORLD ROOM RATE (AND GIFT CARD) DEAL FOR SUMMER 2019

Disney World announced an offer this morning that over part of its dates involves both a room rate discount and a gift card. The overall offer is for May 28 through August 28, and needs to be booked by August 28.

Those who book this offer for arrivals May 28 to June 30, 2019, will receive both a room rate discount and a Disney Gift Card at check-in. Those whose arrival is after June 30 will get just a room rate discount.

Details on the offer are here.

The value of the Disney Gift Card will vary based on resort type:

• Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts: $25 per room per night
• Disney Deluxe Resorts: $20 per room per night
• Disney Moderate Resorts: $15 per room per night
• Disney Value Resorts: $10 per room per night

Room rate savings vary by resort:

Kelly, the long-time travel agent partner of this site, can try to book you into this deal—subject to availability. Contact her using the form below.

Kelly will be tied up moving her already eligible clients into the deal this morning, so please be patient with her getting back to you today!

A couple of other current deals expire at later this week (on April 27) so more deals may come out soon! You’ll be able to find any new Disney World deals here after they come out.

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NEW DISNEY WORLD DEAL FOR SUMMER 2019

A new deal for summer stays in certain Disney World value and moderate resorts came out this morning. It needs to be booked by June 30, 2019, and includes stays with arrival dates “most nights” May 28 through August 21st.

The deal requires full rates be paid for rooms and tickets, and offers one quick-service meal per person per night booked. As I write this minimum room nights and ticket days are unclear. It looks like 4 nights and five ticket days, but sometimes these items are “examples,” not minimums.

I’m in a couple of board committee meetings at my day job this morning, but should have more clarity on these minimums this afternoon. Disney’s material on this offer is here.

Resorts excluded from this offer are at the values All-Star Movies and the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation, and at the moderates, Port Orleans French Quarter.

Savings depend on family size and ages. For a four person family with one kid younger than ten, the savings would be on the order of $55 to $75 per day. At the low end at the least expensive value resorts, that’s on the order of 30% off standard room prices for this example family. Younger families and/or smaller families and/or families staying at more expensive resorts will save less as a percentage of room rates.

Kelly, the long-time travel agent partner of this site, can try to book you into this deal—subject to availability. Contact her using the form below.

Kelly will be tied up moving her already eligible clients into the deal this morning, so please be patient with her getting back to you today!

A couple of other current deals expire at later this week (on April 27) so more deals may come out soon! You’ll be able to find any new Disney World deals here after they come out.

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I’ve just revised my 2019 Disney World Crowd Calendar,  and–because crowds are a big part of it–also my 2019 Disney World week rankings.

These revisions were based on two things—the partial opening of Star Wars on August 29, and my new information on actual 2019 fall breaks.

Weeks affected by forecast crowd level changes were those starting 8/24/19 (the week of the partial opening) through 10/26/19. The opening date for the rest of Galaxy’s Edge, once announced, may require me to revise the later among these, and the later weeks of 2019, yet another time.

The basic approach I take to crowd forecasting is Bayesian:

• I use my knowledge of how crowds have varied over the course of the year to set my priors—I’ve been doing this for a decade now, so have a pretty good set of priors.
• I then gather new, relevant, future-oriented information, apply judgment and parallel examples to it, and then as needed revise my priors.

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