Jecca
08-14-2002, 03:37 PM
DH and I just returned from 8 glorious nights at WDW. We spend the first two at AKL Concierge, which, if you can swing it, is definitely worth the splurge. I had requested a King room with a view of Arusha Savannah and we got both of our requests. We were in Room 5415 on Zebra Trail. The concierge staff at AKL is wonderful and very attentive. We ate all but one of our meals at the concierge lounge and constantly felt stuffed from all the food. The only time of day I felt was lacking in terms of food is the mid-day selection, which included chips, pumpkin seeds, crackers, trail mix and gummy bears. But with breakfast having just ended and afternoon tea with scones and pastries only a few hours away, it was no big deal. Plus I guess they assume most people are out at the parks at that time. The cappuccino machine and constant supply of ice tea and juices was wonderful, as were the dinnertime hors d'ouevres. We spent the majority of our time at AKL looking at the animals from our balcony, exploring the resort, and eating. We did splurge on the Sunrise Safari, which, again, was well worth doing at least once. The day was beautiful and every single animal was out on the savannah. Our safari leader was great, especially for it having been his first solo safari, and the brunch at Tusker House was excellent.
After our two relaxing days at AKL, we moved to BWV for 6 nights. We got there at around 10:00 am and, lo and behold, our villa was ready. This was a welcome treat after last year, when we had to wait until 4:30 pm for our room. We were in room 4083, a 1-bedroom standard view. We had a view of the driveway and porte cochere to the left and lawn and small pond with fountain to the right. At night, we had a great view of the higher firewords from Illuminations to the left, and you could just make out the music from the balcony. I do have to say, though, that the view detracted a bit from the magic. Once we had a boardwalk view and it was great. However, I did like being able to watch all the DVC vans pull up with prospective buyers on tour. I couldn't help rooting for them! All in all, it wasn't the best view, but certainly worth the difference in points.
We did have a few problems with the room, and with BWV in general. The cold water in the vanity sink had low pressure, the vanity sink was clogged, the refrigerator made a noisy rattle, and the light bulb in the shower was out. They were able to fix some of these, but not all. However, there were other things as well. Our villa looked ... worn. Paint was chipped, the walls were dirty in places, the refrigerator door had rust spots, one of the little knobs in the lamp in the living room was missing - lots of little things that wouldn't have mattered seperately, but when considered all together did make a difference. The elevators at BWV are a mess. They are in desperate need of a good paint job and cleaning, and also of repair. They came whenever called, regardless of what direction you wanted to go. The carpeting in the hallway was new (a shell and flower print, not the old boardwalk print) and they were painting different parts of our hallway every day. Made me wonder when they were going to get to the inside of the villas. I'm assuming that mine is not the only one in need of a refurb.
We spent very little time at the parks this year, even though the weather was perfect for the most part. We spent parts of different days at Epcot, stopping to see Illuminations a few times. We spent about half a day each at MGM, MK and AK. Overall, the only park that felt really crowded was MK. The security inspections outside of each park were a bit of a nuisance, but it was the kind of thing you quickly forgot once you got through. They wouldn't have been nearly as annoying if I'd felt that they actually did a thorough job of inspecting. I mean, they take a cursory look in every bag, but if someone wants to get something into a park, they definitely could. :(
We had a bunch of great meals this year. We ate at some of our standby's... Le Cellier, Primetime, House of Blues, Whispering Canyon; all of which were excellent as usual. We also tried some new places... Mara at AKL (GREAT food for the price), Beaches and Cream (yummy and fun), Restaurant Marrakesh (great atmosphere and I loved the mint ice tea), Flying Fish (I loved the NY Strip, DH wasn't thrilled with his salmon) and Kona Cafe for breakfast (finally had the Tonga Toast - good, but very sweet).
Anyway, for those that hung through til the end, thanks for reading. In spite of my little complaints above, we really had a great vacation and I still love my home at BWV. For some reason, WDW vacations feel long and restful to me. I guess I'm lucky. I set up an album at Ofoto for anyone that's interested in looking at some pictures. You need to set up an account to view them, but it is free to do so. Here's the URL:
http://www.ofoto.com/Slideshow2.jsp?index=1&UV=578198031165_17613093503&US=0&Upost_signin=OrderPhotos.jsp%3FshowSlide%3Dtrue&collid=79174973503
Please let me know if you have any trouble finding it. I'd be happy to answer anyone's questions.
After our two relaxing days at AKL, we moved to BWV for 6 nights. We got there at around 10:00 am and, lo and behold, our villa was ready. This was a welcome treat after last year, when we had to wait until 4:30 pm for our room. We were in room 4083, a 1-bedroom standard view. We had a view of the driveway and porte cochere to the left and lawn and small pond with fountain to the right. At night, we had a great view of the higher firewords from Illuminations to the left, and you could just make out the music from the balcony. I do have to say, though, that the view detracted a bit from the magic. Once we had a boardwalk view and it was great. However, I did like being able to watch all the DVC vans pull up with prospective buyers on tour. I couldn't help rooting for them! All in all, it wasn't the best view, but certainly worth the difference in points.
We did have a few problems with the room, and with BWV in general. The cold water in the vanity sink had low pressure, the vanity sink was clogged, the refrigerator made a noisy rattle, and the light bulb in the shower was out. They were able to fix some of these, but not all. However, there were other things as well. Our villa looked ... worn. Paint was chipped, the walls were dirty in places, the refrigerator door had rust spots, one of the little knobs in the lamp in the living room was missing - lots of little things that wouldn't have mattered seperately, but when considered all together did make a difference. The elevators at BWV are a mess. They are in desperate need of a good paint job and cleaning, and also of repair. They came whenever called, regardless of what direction you wanted to go. The carpeting in the hallway was new (a shell and flower print, not the old boardwalk print) and they were painting different parts of our hallway every day. Made me wonder when they were going to get to the inside of the villas. I'm assuming that mine is not the only one in need of a refurb.
We spent very little time at the parks this year, even though the weather was perfect for the most part. We spent parts of different days at Epcot, stopping to see Illuminations a few times. We spent about half a day each at MGM, MK and AK. Overall, the only park that felt really crowded was MK. The security inspections outside of each park were a bit of a nuisance, but it was the kind of thing you quickly forgot once you got through. They wouldn't have been nearly as annoying if I'd felt that they actually did a thorough job of inspecting. I mean, they take a cursory look in every bag, but if someone wants to get something into a park, they definitely could. :(
We had a bunch of great meals this year. We ate at some of our standby's... Le Cellier, Primetime, House of Blues, Whispering Canyon; all of which were excellent as usual. We also tried some new places... Mara at AKL (GREAT food for the price), Beaches and Cream (yummy and fun), Restaurant Marrakesh (great atmosphere and I loved the mint ice tea), Flying Fish (I loved the NY Strip, DH wasn't thrilled with his salmon) and Kona Cafe for breakfast (finally had the Tonga Toast - good, but very sweet).
Anyway, for those that hung through til the end, thanks for reading. In spite of my little complaints above, we really had a great vacation and I still love my home at BWV. For some reason, WDW vacations feel long and restful to me. I guess I'm lucky. I set up an album at Ofoto for anyone that's interested in looking at some pictures. You need to set up an account to view them, but it is free to do so. Here's the URL:
http://www.ofoto.com/Slideshow2.jsp?index=1&UV=578198031165_17613093503&US=0&Upost_signin=OrderPhotos.jsp%3FshowSlide%3Dtrue&collid=79174973503
Please let me know if you have any trouble finding it. I'd be happy to answer anyone's questions.