According to posts on this board, no more than 20% of the total number of rooms at the BWV have a view of the Boardwalk. It's the most frequently requested view. The only way to absolutely guarantee a Boardwalk view is to reserve a Grand Villa. All GVs have a view of the Boardwalk (which further reduces the number of studios, 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units that have that view).
Go ahead and request the BW view if that's what you want. You may (or may not) get it. IMHO, getting your request mostly depends on the number of vacant rooms available on the day you check in. Some say it helps to check in early in the day (so that a front desk CM can't give "your" room away to someone who isn't happy with the room they got and makes a fuss).
According to a former room assigner who occasionally posts here, requests are considered/granted in the order the reservation is made. A reservation at 11 months is considered before one made at 10 months, etc. However, requests made due to bonafide medical needs take precedence over other requests. If you have more than one request, make sure that they are listed in the order of importance because the assigners assume the first is the one you want the most. Most people list their smoking preference first. As far as I know, BWV pre-assigns rooms 3 or 4 days ahead of time (as opposed to OKW which is reported to assign most of the rooms as the guests check in).
Hope you get your requests, but if you don't, try not to be too disappointed. Bet you'll have a great trip no matter what room you end up with. Good luck!