BWV or WL

[Lauraswi]

I am renting dvc points for November 2020. I am taking my son, his wife and two boys 5 and 2. I really wanted the wilderness lodge but it is impossible to get points for our dates. It is looking like we can get BWV. I think it’s great that we will be able to walk to Epcot and HS but I am worried that the theming won’t be as great for the two young boys and we are not as close to magic kingdom. Any opinions?

 

[rwdavis2]

If theming and MK proximity is that important then skip BWV. We stayed there in 2016 and liked It due to its location. We rented points there for that trip as well. It was about half price compared to full rack rate. A great deal.

 

[Krystal659]

I wonder how important restaurants and pools are with the children? With the boardwalk, there are several resort restaurants within walking distance to pick from, and the pool (if they like clowns). However, I have always thought staying at Wilderness during the winter would be ideal

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Personally, I would grab BWV if you can get it. And if you are able and willing to walk to both parks. The location is absolutely fantastic, and to be honest I wouldn’t and don’t make resort decisions based on what would appeal most to my kids. I think WL’s proximity to MK does not overshadow the need to take (shared, I think) buses to the other 3 parks.

If you want MK proximity but can’t get WL, what about BLT? Theming isn’t there like WL, but it’s even better for MK.

 

[Disneykate605]

BWV is really fun for kids! The boardwalk area is great...tons of restaurants in walking distance as well as a couple of ice cream places. The boardwalk also has entertainers that do magic shows and carnival like entertainment every night. My kids loved it when they were young and still do!

 

[Babsy]

With kids age 5 and 2 I would try for an MK resort, if it is in the budget. We personally loved BLT at the CR last month! Our grandsons loved it there!

 

[Lauraswi]

Thanks everyone! Seems like copper creek is almost impossible to get. I put in my request for dvc one year ahead and couldn’t get it. Then tried for beach club and couldn’t get that either. Poly was too expensive. I’m hoping boardwalk won’t be a let down as I may be going that route.

 

[Lauraswi]

Thanks everyone! Seems like copper creek is almost impossible to get. I put in my request for dvc one year ahead and couldn’t get it. Then tried for beach club and couldn’t get that either. Poly was too expensive. I’m hoping boardwalk won’t be a let down as I may be going that route.

And also, I was surprised at how hard it was to get a dvc rental when I called a year ahead. Also poly would have been impossible to get anyways. I think it used to be easier to find a place through dvc.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

And also, I was surprised at how hard it was to get a dvc rental when I called a year ahead. Also poly would have been impossible to get anyways. I think it used to be easier to find a place through dvc.

IME with point rentals you need to sit and wait for some amount of time past when your 11 month window opens to be successful. We have successfully rented at BLT, BWV, and PVB. Only BWV came through same day, likely because it was a shorter trip.

November might be making things challenging for you too.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Did you try requesting for BRV?

 

[Lauraswi]

Did you try requesting for BRV?

No I didn’t, they didn’t seem to think I would get either. But I guess the other problem may have been that we needed two villas so it was hard to find someone with that many points. I just thought it would be a lot easier and it seemed hard to find someone who was an owner on my own. But I am starting to think maybe I will really like BWV due to the location. And we saved a lot of money renting points vs getting a room directly through Disney.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

No I didn’t, they didn’t seem to think I would get either. But I guess the other problem may have been that we needed two villas so it was hard to find someone with that many points. I just thought it would be a lot easier and it seemed hard to find someone who was an owner on my own. But I am starting to think maybe I will really like BWV due to the location. And we saved a lot of money renting points vs getting a room directly through Disney.

I’m not DVC so someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it can be challenging to reserve studios at CCV, and you have the added complication of needing 2 and an owner who has enough points to cover it. And then trying to book in a DVC busy season. Wouldn’t hurt to see what the rental company thinks about your chances with BRV if you’re set on WL before you move on to BWV.

We waited a couple months (I think) for an owner to come through with enough points for us to rent 2 studios, not at CCV though.

 

[Canoook]

We jumped the DVC booking hurdles of booking for two rooms last trip. It's far easier to book as two separate parties at the same dates and same resort. Then, closer to you date, you can call Disney and ask for the rooms to be close to each other. They were able to get us same hall, 3 doors down from our other party at Kidani Village. Kids will enjoy almost anything at Disney World, and BWV will be just fine with them. I would also try BRV personally.

 

[Lauraswi]

We jumped the DVC booking hurdles of booking for two rooms last trip. It's far easier to book as two separate parties at the same dates and same resort. Then, closer to you date, you can call Disney and ask for the rooms to be close to each other. They were able to get us same hall, 3 doors down from our other party at Kidani Village. Kids will enjoy almost anything at Disney World, and BWV will be just fine with them. I would also try BRV personally.

So you book separately but if one comes through and then the other doesn’t are you stuck? It makes sense though because then they wouldn’t need to find one owner who has to have a lot of points. I wish they would have suggested this to me.

 

[Deb & Bill]

MId-Sept through mid-January is the busiest time for DVC. You need an owner with the home resort advantage and not wait until seven months out. If you are looking at the holiday, that needs to be booked right at 11 months out. The problem with the brokers is that they might not have the owner with the points you need at 11 months out. The newer resorts are going to be much harder to book since the owners who bought their points at the new resort want to use them at the new resort and not rent them out. I take it you are booking at two bedroom villa and not a studio that sleeps five. Unless you aren't going and just need a villa for four persons. Every BWV two bedroom is a lockoff villa, meaning is it composed of a studio and a one bedroom. So when studios are booked, there are no two bedroom villas.

Whatever you wind up doing, DO NOT RESPOND TO ANY PRIVATE MESSAGES YOU GET OFFERING YOU POINTS OR A CONFIRMED RESERVATION FOR YOUR DATES. That is the way people get scammed. If you get any private messages doing this, notify the webmaster.

 

[Canoook]

So you book separately but if one comes through and then the other doesn’t are you stuck? It makes sense though because then they wouldn’t need to find one owner who has to have a lot of points. I wish they would have suggested this to me.

You are kind of stuck. You don't have to book the room when you get an offer from an owner, so you could wait it out. We got both parties AKL offers within 48 hours. We just recently booked a split stay at BWV and BRV, got offers for the two separate bookings on a Friday and Thursday, so nearly a full week apart. It's a gamble, odds are increased but risk of not getting both rooms is also increased. For us, the parties not being in the same hotel wasn't going to kill the trip so we rolled on it.

 

[Lauraswi]

You are kind of stuck. You don't have to book the room when you get an offer from an owner, so you could wait it out. We got both parties AKL offers within 48 hours. We just recently booked a split stay at BWV and BRV, got offers for the two separate bookings on a Friday and Thursday, so nearly a full week apart. It's a gamble, odds are increased but risk of not getting both rooms is also increased. For us, the parties not being in the same hotel wasn't going to kill the trip so we rolled on it.

Oh I see. Yes I guess I could kind of hope that they would come in around the same time. I guess I’ll try that next time. Thanks!

 

[Lauraswi]

MId-Sept through mid-January is the busiest time for DVC. You need an owner with the home resort advantage and not wait until seven months out. If you are looking at the holiday, that needs to be booked right at 11 months out. The problem with the brokers is that they might not have the owner with the points you need at 11 months out. The newer resorts are going to be much harder to book since the owners who bought their points at the new resort want to use them at the new resort and not rent them out. I take it you are booking at two bedroom villa and not a studio that sleeps five. Unless you aren't going and just need a villa for four persons. Every BWV two bedroom is a lockoff villa, meaning is it composed of a studio and a one bedroom. So when studios are booked, there are no two bedroom villas.

Whatever you wind up doing, DO NOT RESPOND TO ANY PRIVATE MESSAGES YOU GET OFFERING YOU POINTS OR A CONFIRMED RESERVATION FOR YOUR DATES. That is the way people get scammed. If you get any private messages doing this, notify the webmaster.

I was looking for two studios so I guess that was part of the problem. Hoping to get them next to each other but I have a feeling from what you said that there are not studios next to each other. I contacted David’s right at the 12 month mark but that didn’t seem to help. I’m going to go with boardwalk though I think it will be good. And I was very leery of just going with a stranger as you said above, I was worried about getting scammed. At least with David’s I feel safe. Thanks

 

[Marionnette]

I was looking for two studios so I guess that was part of the problem. Hoping to get them next to each other but I have a feeling from what you said that there are not studios next to each other. I contacted David’s right at the 12 month mark but that didn’t seem to help. I’m going to go with boardwalk though I think it will be good. And I was very leery of just going with a stranger as you said above, I was worried about getting scammed. At least with David’s I feel safe. Thanks

There are no connecting studios at BWV. Only Poly has connecting studios. The best they can do is get you near each other on the same floor. Getting studios right next to each other is not likely to happen because only a few abut one another.

At this point, changing your request to BWV will put you on a list below others who requested it before you did. And availability is quickly drying up for studios there. Just looking at the members’ website, I can already see that only random nights are open for boardwalk and standard views for the entire month. And depending on when you’re planning to go in November, you might also be out of luck for a pool/garden view studio as well. Two studios may be impossible at this point.

You might want to consider one of the larger resorts - SSR, OKW, or AKV. They have more studios and more owners (thus a greater chance of someone offering points up for rental).

 

[hockeybabe]

I'm renting one studio split stay BWV and BRV, and I got BRV right away but BWV took three weeks for someone to pick it up. I guess it all depends on who's interested in renting.