Last weekend the family and I had the pleasure of spending a weekend at the Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida as part of their SummerBlast! Promotion. To say it was an amazing weekend is an understatement - it was absolutely the perfect way to kick off the Summer.

IT’S BACK! This summer we’re celebrating 101-days of summer vacation! As part of SummerBlast!, you and your family can enjoy fabulous summer fun at the pool and throughout the resort. Join the SummerBlast! team at our pool, as they provide an afternoon of rockin’ pooltime fun, including music, games and prizes! Also, join us for Ducktona 500 on Saturdays, and you can win a prize if your duck is the first to cross the finish line… in our lazy river pool! You've gotta see this to believe it!

From the minute you step out of your car, you will fall in love with the Hilton Bonnet Creek. From the friendly valet service to the check in staff - everyone is so nice and accommodating. You can choose to have your room face the pool and Downtown Disney - which I highly suggest. Besides having a beautiful view every morning - there is another benefit which we would learn later in the weekend. More on that in a minute.

We arrived mid afternoon so we quickly showered and changed and headed off to dine at the Pirates Adventure Dinner Theater. There are several dinner theaters in the area - all of which are fantastic! I've been to Medieval Times, Arabian Nights, Sleuth's Mystery Theater, and now Pirates Adventure.  It was a blast! The Pirates Adventure really gets the audience involved more than any of the others which the girls thought was really cool. I highly recommend the dinner theaters - especially for older kids.  And check out KGSTickets.com for the best ticket prices on everything in the Kissimmee/Orlando area!

Pirates Adventure Dinner Theater starts nightly at 8:15 - and lasts a full two hours. So needless to say - we were ready for bed by the time it was over.  Thankfully it is just a few miles away from Hilton Bonnet Creek, so we were able to get back and get tucked in before anyone fell asleep. I was so happy for valet parking!

The next day we slept in and decided instead of going to any of the parks, we would spend the day right there at the hotel enjoying all of the SummerBlast festivities.  I think that was my favorite part of the entire weekend - not having to GO anywhere! The Hilton Bonnet Creek has so many things to do - you do not even have to walk off property to have an amazing time. We got up, got our bathing suits on, and headed down to the pool. Named #1 by TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Fantastic Pools - the Hilton Bonnet Creek pool is surrounded by a flowing lazy river that you can absolutely spend all day in... which is exactly what we did. 

We even had lunch right there on the pool deck thanks to Beech - their poolside grill! I had a cheeseburger that was to die for and the girls had chicken and french fries. Mike and I also had pina coladas... you know... for research purposes and all. It was great to get to eat and not even leave our spot!

One of the funniest things I have seen in a long time was the Ducktona 500 which happens every Saturday at the Hilton Bonnet Creek Pool. Hundreds of us lined up to purchase our numbered ducks - and then cheered them on like it was the Kentucky Derby. I think the adults enjoyed this even more than the kids did. The winner gets a giftcard that can be used anywhere at the hotel!

After a full day at the pool we decided to take the complimentary shuttle over to Downtown Disney for dinner. The Hilton Bonnet Creek has a complimentary shuttle that takes you to all of the different parks and some local attractions absolutely free! And don't think its those old hot, stinky shuttles you sometimes see at the airport - this was a huge, posh greyhound bus that was nice and cool! Fantastic ride! And perfect time to take a bus selfie with the Teen - wasn't she just like... two!?!

We dined at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe again like we did last year and though they no longer have my most favorite dish ever - the new menu was fantastic. After spending a full day in the pool I had zero guilt about loading up on the carbs. The chicken fetuccini alfredo was incredible. Mike and the Teen had pizzas and Midge had "chicken sushi." It was all delicious.  We walked around the shops after dinner before catching the shuttle back to the hotel. On the way back Midge and I met the sweetest couple who were also spending the weekend at Hilton Bonnet Creek. (Hi Harvey and Leslie!!) The ride back was a bit longer than the ride there as we dropped some people off at the Animal Kingdom - but we were having so much fun chatting I dont think any of us really noticed. Midge wanted a selfie too -

We arrived back at the hotel just in time to see the fireworks start at the Magic Kingdom. It was the perfect way to end the day - sitting in our room in our pajamas watching the fireworks show. All of the rooms that face the pool get a perfect view of the show! We may or may not have also eaten cookies and milk in bed... hey, its vacation!

Our plan was to get up early the next morning and head home - but that isnt exactly what we did. I will share how we wrapped up our trip later, but needless to say - this vacation is going to be hard to beat. If you are wanting to plan a vacation in Orlando and want the best place to stay on Disney property - I highly recommend the Hilton Bonnet Creek. For just the cost of the rooms we had a fun filled vacation - we didn't even need to spend the money on the parks! The girls - as well as Mike and I - had just as much fun staying right there at that amazing pool as we did last year at Disney.

Thank you so much to Hilton Bonnet Creek for having us check out your property and be part of the SummerBlast!  We are already planning a trip back in September!

Where are you going on vacation this Summer?