Anyone else disappointed by VWL?

[Redbudlover]

I just returned from a trip to VWL and was very disappointed and wondered if my experience was an isolated one or shared by others. I would have posted about it while there but had no internet access. Because I own my own business it is critical I be able to stay in touch while at Disney and did so on a limited basis with my IPhone. No internet at a deluxe villa? What is going on? And when I called tech support they were rude and dismissive. I am my own tech support at my business and not a tech dummy. This to me was totally inexcusable.

From the moment we walked into the room I was disappointed. I stayed at AKV in August and December, at OKW in May and at BWV in Sept and December, so have current comparisons. I was really looking forward to VWL The room was tired and worn with dirty carpeting. The new flat panel TV did not operate correctly and required two tech people to fix it. At least they fixed it - something that did not happen with the internet regardless of my complaint to management. On top of that the speaker on my phone also did not work and when the maid replaced towels on the 4th day she did not replaxce the hand towels and didn't empty the trash in the kitchen or bedroom, just in the bath!

This resort did not measure up to the other deluxe villas and I will not be returning. There are just better choices out there. Oh and it took us almost an hour to reach AK on the bus! First it was a 30 minute wait for the bus and then we drove all over tarnation before heading out to AK. Yuck! And the ceiling was leaking in the hall to the main lodge - buckets and towels all over the floors.

We still managed to have a great time, but missing our breakfast at AK with Goofy and Donald really upset me - shouldn't take an hour to get to a park!

 

[nmmom95]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. We stayed at VWL in Nov., '09 and loved it. We were in a dedicated 2 bedroom and thought that it was wonderful. It is actually DS11's favorite resort.

 

[smcabee]

I had the same experience in Sept. No internet access for the week despite several calls to tech support. I know my computer worked fine since I used it the night before at SSR and its worked flawless since coming home. I agree the rooms looked dingy and wore out. We did not have any issues with the TV and Trash and Towel was as expected. We too nearly missed our breakfast at AK. Thankfully after a 25 min wait a CM called a bus who transported us directly to the AK and we made it in the nick of time.

Counter service was a joke for a resort that size. Cramming a bunch of folks into that little area during meal times was insane. They really need to revamp that. I spent one morning in there and elected to get in the car and head to the store for some eggs, bread and milk to make breakfast myself. Guess they did save me some money by having that cramped little area.

Oh well, We wont be staying there again. I guess its not one of the resorts that meets our needs. I know there are others who love it there and Im glad it fits their needs and expectations. I guess thats why Disney has multiple themes for multiple types of people.

 

[fla4fun]

As far as how long it takes to get to a park or restaurant, regardless of your starting point and destination they always recommend allowing 90 minutes to get to an ADR, so if it took you an hour you would be within that time frame. Just something to keep in mind for future reference. You could have had the same issue trying to get to MK from an Epcot resort, or Epcot from AKL, etc.

I've always used dial up internet at Disney because I can do that for free, so I've never tried their high speed. The dial up works fine for email and basic web surfing. So I can't say whether your problem was isolated to your resort or property wide. I agree that there is no excuse for anyone to be rude to a guest on the phone.

I'm sorry you were disappointed. I've stayed at VWL many times, and not had any of the issues you mentioned. However, I've stayed at other resorts and had similar things happen. Fortunately, I've stayed at all the resorts enough to know that one bad stay doesn't mean you necessarily have to write off the resort forever. Management teams change, and when they do, so do the conditions at a particular resort. I wouldn't blame you for not returning for a while, but I wouldn't write off VWL permanently.

 

[jackemail]

We stayed in a dedicated 2 bedroom, and loved it.....but didn't have a computer with us so never tried internet access. That must have been frustrating.

 

[jamie&Greg]

Hmmm Interesting, this is one of our favorite resorts!! I love the themeing and actually like it a tad more then AKV because it is smaller.

Not sure about the internet, we never had any probs. Also, I think that you are always going to have some travel issues wherever you stay!

Well at least now you know you don’t like it.

 

[n2mm]

Strangely we've never had problems using the free internet at VWL, but on the next trip we stayed at the BCV and could not get on at all and could not get anyone to help me. Then the next trip we were at the BWV and could not get on and I spent about 30 minutes with the techs and they had me change a ton of stuff and I got right on and have not had any trouble since. I've used my netbook now at least the last 3 trips (we go alot) and have not had any problem after the first tech changed all of my settings. OP, I agree about the transportation at the VWL, we have the worse luck using it and long waits. We stick with our rental car and only use the MK transportation there. We like the quietness of the VWL, but the rooms need to be refurbed like they did at BWV -- those rooms are very nice now.

 

[dzorn]

Everyone has their own preferences. We loved our stay last Nov. No problem with internet room in good condition. Loved the bike ride to the fort. Really did not use the food court since we were in a villa. We prefer to skip having housekeeping in our room so no clue how well it is, though room was clean when we arrived.

They do tell you to allow 90 minutes for transportation so if you followed reccomendations you would not have missed your breakfast. You must have just missed a bus when you arrived at the bus stop. We never had to wait very long, but always allowed the reccomended time.

You may want to let MS know of your problems if you are a DVC owner or disney comment e-mail otherwise.

Denise in MI

 

[n2mm]

I agree with dzorn, you should let member services know about your concern regarding your stay there. As a member you should tell them about your internet problem during your stay.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Two thoughts..

1. Do not hesitate to let Disney know what your experience was. That's just completely unacceptable.

2. If doing any business or work while at Disney is very important to you - I strongly recommend the convention resorts - BW, YC/BC, GF, CR/BLT etc. They are more responsive to business 'needs' like yours in my experience.

As with all things in life, your mileage may vary.

 

[Missus Toad]

I didn't love VWL. The transportation was a mess, the room size and decor were disappointing, and we had a ridiculous walk down a dark hallway straight out of The Shining to get to our 2BR villa. Every step we took, the hallway seemed to get longer. We love a nice long stroll but that was a dull slog. The quick service court was also a disappointment. We did enjoy the pool and the WL lobby, but it didn't make up for the resort's negatives for us. I'm not a fan, so I won't return, which is something I haven't said about any other property I've stayed at. I know many others adore it, but it is not for us.

 

[Redbudlover]

Hi, I found all your postings very interesting. I am a DVC member and in fact I own at VWL - as well as BCV and BWV. I go multiple times a year and have stayed at least once in most of the resorts with the exception of the values where i like ASMU and always go back there for inexpensive trips. I went 4 times last year and the last visit resort hopped to AKV, BWV and ASMU. I travel a lot on business as well. I always take my laptop and connect it to a portable wireless router so I am not hooked to a wall somewhere. It has always worked flawlessly for me on all my trips. And worked flawlessly at home when I returned though I have a wireless home network as well. So when the CM at VWL would not help me and was condescending and rude I was pretty upset and reported it to both his manager and the resort manager. The other problems with the TV and telephone were fixed quickly.

The reason I will not be going back is that my other DVC options are more desirable. I know I read about others having long bus trips, but I have never had one like I did at VWL. If I thought the 90 minute schedule was a reality I would take a cab - which I often do when in a hurry. But I paid a lot of money for DVC as does anyone who is a member. And I understand that renovations are made on a rotational basis. However I know that if I go to BLT, to AKV or to BCV that I will have a beautiful nicely rehabbed room, a choice of great restaurants that I like, and, at least, so far for me, a room where the electronics works. I don't hate VWL - after all I bought there. I love the boat to MK, love being able to go to the Contemporary and FW by boat. I like the beach and the pools and the guyser (sp?) But until they change the CS and rehab the rooms the rooms there I will go somewhere else.

I don't know what it is about tech people that makes them think it is acceptable to be rude to customers. And it isn't just Disney where that happens. I think it comes with the job. It is just I don't think Disney itself finds that sort of behavior to guests acceptable.

 

[Brian Noble]

Because I own my own business it is critical I be able to stay in touch while at Disney and did so on a limited basis with my IPhone.

It is possible (though technically Against The Rules) to tether your laptop to your iPhone. I have a side consulting business, and when I have a client, I also need constant connectivity. I've just purchased a Virgin Mobile prepaid broadband card for times when hotel access isn't up to snuff, or even working at all. I don't know if this is true at DVC, but most hotels use a third-party provider, and if they can't help you over the phone (i.e. you need a new modem) it takes hours or days to get it fixed---and that can happen anywhere. Virgin Mobile uses Sprint's EVDO network as their carrier, and it has relatively good coverage and performance. But, as it is prepaid, you only pay when you need it, rather than having to keep a contract year round.

I normally just get by with paid hotspots etc., but was stuck in BWI last month with a hotspot that kept kicking me off until I moved all the way to the other end of the terminal, and we had a deadline to file a report with the court that night, so I didn't have time to goof around. That was enough to convince me that another option was required.

The long bus trips can happen anywhere too---I had TWO afternoon returns to MK last February that took more than an hour from the time I arrived at the Miller's Road bus stop in OKW to the time we arrived at the MK depot. Once would have been written off as a fluke, but not twice in the same trip.

At the end of the day, either the resort works for you or it doesn't. We have our first VWL stay coming up this summer in a dedicated 2BR, and I'm looking forward to it, but can see why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.

But until they change the CS

If you think VWL's is bad, try OKW. Truly an afterthought. It's fine if you need a burger by the pool, but only barely so.

 

[eliza61]

Every one has their likes and dislikes. That's one of disney's strong suits, that they have a variety of resorts
I still can't understand how the Grand Floridian is the "Flagship" of Disney, we stayed there 2X's and both times the service was down right appalling. I'll go offsite before staying there again.

On the counter service note: Most deluxes are not going to have the CS or food court options that mods or values do. really not fair to compare because the selling point for the deluxes is that they have sit down restaurants. It's one of the main reasons I do stay at deluxes as I hate food courts. It's a very common complaint. BC just redid their counter service but it's still fairly small and AKV's food court is bizarre.

 

[korie]

Wow, we were just there a couple weeks ago and didn't have any real problems (aside from that toothbrush we found behind the couch - EWWWWW!) We used the internet with no problems (even had to contact tech support once to ask a question and we were helped immediately) and also had no problems with the bus service (most of the time we were the only ones ON the bus!) We made it to AK at about 7:45am for an 8am ADR and we were picked up around 7:20ish. Our room seemed clean and neat when we arrived (before we noticed the toothbrush...) and we only had trash service once during our stay which worked out fine. I will say that our refrigerator seemed to be on the fritz - it froze EVERYTHING liquid, no matter what temperature it was set at. We were in a studio room on the 2nd floor just off of the elevators, so our walk wasn't too bad.

ETA: Oh and I loved the CS there - I thought Roaring Forks was great!!

 

[Redbudlover]

Brian - bless you for telling me about Virgin Mobile. I don't need a mobile connection often enough to pay for a monthly fee card, but like you said, when you need it you need it! and I agree completely about OKW - horrible. And funny when I stayed at OKW last year there were buses all over the place - that was the bright spot in the resort!

Eliza yes everyone does have their likes and dislikes. I am not a GF fan either, though I like Narcoossies.

Korie. Roaring Forks for me was a disaster - they had lines snaking all over the place, I had a tray and had to move from one food line to a different food line for different foods and and then the third line for paying. I know that is how the food courts work as well but this is a tiny room and trying to maneuver with the tray and 4 year old by myself was hard. Also our refrigerator froze everything TOO! I had to throw out a bunch of stuff. I did like our room which was a quiet patio room close to the quiet pool Was really nice.

 

[korie]

When we there, Roaring Forks was EMPTY, so I'm sure it was a totally different experience. I can imagine having long lines in there would not be easy! Our room was also next to the quiet pool. I think we were in 2531.

 

[eliza61]

Brian - bless you for telling me about Virgin Mobile. I don't need a mobile connection often enough to pay for a monthly fee card, but like you said, when you need it you need it! and I agree completely about OKW - horrible. And funny when I stayed at OKW last year there were buses all over the place - that was the bright spot in the resort!

Eliza yes everyone does have their likes and dislikes. I am not a GF fan either, though I like Narcoossies.

Korie. Roaring Forks for me was a disaster - they had lines snaking all over the place, I had a tray and had to move from one food line to a different food line for different foods and and then the third line for paying. I know that is how the food courts work as well but this is a tiny room and trying to maneuver with the tray and 4 year old by myself was hard. Also our refrigerator froze everything TOO! I had to throw out a bunch of stuff. I did like our room which was a quiet patio room close to the quiet pool Was really nice.

Whew, boy can I relate. I think the small food courts at the deluxes were disney's attempt at having some thing besides sit down restaurants. I do agree that most of them are tiny. We own at BCV's which not only is it small, it also shares space with general merchandise that could probably go in a more "gift shop" type of a store. Since I go in August when it's almost full summer I tend to avoid them because they are soo crowded...

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

It's funny that a couple of your complaints were the same ones that we had when we stayed at AKV last year. It took us forever to get to some of the parks and the walk to our room was crazy!!!! And we had problems with our tv. I think that these kind of things can unfortunatly happen at any resort. I'm sorry that they happened to you at VWL. I hate to see anyone come away from there with a negative view. Eliza is right too about the size of the CS restaurant. The one at BCV is tiny and BWV doesn't even have one unless you count the bakery. Not sure how the other ones are but we were amazed at how large the one is at AKV. Sorry that you didn't come away loving the VWL as much as I do.

 

[Brian Noble]

Brian - bless you for telling me about Virgin Mobile.

My card just came in the mail today (free shipping). I plugged it in, spent about five-ten minutes signing up, and activated a 300MB/30 day plan to try it out. Spent about an hour using only the 3G connection. It wasn't as snappy as my home network (wifi front end on a comcast 6MB line) but it was better than about half the hotels I stay in---and for $20 for the bundle, much cheaper vs. the $15 a day I end up paying in most places. In the hour I used it (mostly web browsing) I burned about 20 of the 300MB, so it was right in line with advertised consumption rates.