The I Love BWV (yes, Hallways and Clown Pool too!) Thread

[JulieWent]

Sure, here you go!

View attachment 751707

Thank you!

 

[Best Aunt]

Hi all! I've been a BWV owner for years, but I've never even looked at the area around the quiet pool where there is a grill. Does anyone have pictures? (I'm thinking about having a small get together out there, and I want to see what it looks like.)

Not sure when you will be there, but I saw this on Twitter yesterday. It's not from an official Disney source, but there was so much Disney news yesterday it was hard to keep up.

Open Flame Ban to Be In Effect Throughout Walt Disney World Until Further Notice​

Thursday, April 06, 2023 Advisory, Disney Hotels, Walt Disney World
Due to the drought conditions currently affecting the Central Florida area, Walt Disney World is asking Guests staying at any of the on-site resorts to refrain from using open flames in most outdoor settings. Here you are additional information:

NOT APPROVED:
Any outdoor cooking with charcoal/wood, or other solid fuel is prohibited. These restrictions include the use of Walt Disney World-provided charcoal grills at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and DVC sites, personal fire pits, consumer-grade fireworks (i.e. sparklers), or Guest-owned hibachi-style grills that utilize charcoal, wood, etc.

As a result of these temporary restrictions, the following grills are not available to Guests:

• Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, near Kidani sports court – 3 under Pavilion
• Disney's Bay Lake Tower – 4 at Pavilion by pool
• Disney's Beach Club Villas – 2 behind the Villas near pool
• Disney's Boardwalk Villas – 1 outside Community Hall
• Disney's Old Key West – 2 at Miller’s Road Pool, 4 at Turtle Pond Pool, 3 at Southpoint Pool
• Disney's Saratoga Springs Treehouses – Each unit has their own grill (60 total)
• Disney's Saratoga Springs – 2 at Playground at Congress Park Pool, 2 at Fountain at Carousel, 2 Outside Grandstand Pool

APPROVED:

• Gas cooking grills in proper working order that contain fire, heat, and flames are allowed to be used where constantly attended;
• Campfires that have been permitted through the Fire Prevention Division; this covers all Walt Disney World Recreation Campfire Activities, as well as gas fire pits in common areas such as Coronado Springs, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House, and Bay Lake Tower;

 

[JulieWent]

Not sure when you will be there, but I saw this on Twitter yesterday. It's not from an official Disney source, but there was so much Disney news yesterday it was hard to keep up.

Open Flame Ban to Be In Effect Throughout Walt Disney World Until Further Notice​

Thursday, April 06, 2023 Advisory, Disney Hotels, Walt Disney World
Due to the drought conditions currently affecting the Central Florida area, Walt Disney World is asking Guests staying at any of the on-site resorts to refrain from using open flames in most outdoor settings. Here you are additional information:

NOT APPROVED:
Any outdoor cooking with charcoal/wood, or other solid fuel is prohibited. These restrictions include the use of Walt Disney World-provided charcoal grills at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and DVC sites, personal fire pits, consumer-grade fireworks (i.e. sparklers), or Guest-owned hibachi-style grills that utilize charcoal, wood, etc.

As a result of these temporary restrictions, the following grills are not available to Guests:

• Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, near Kidani sports court – 3 under Pavilion
• Disney's Bay Lake Tower – 4 at Pavilion by pool
• Disney's Beach Club Villas – 2 behind the Villas near pool
• Disney's Boardwalk Villas – 1 outside Community Hall
• Disney's Old Key West – 2 at Miller’s Road Pool, 4 at Turtle Pond Pool, 3 at Southpoint Pool
• Disney's Saratoga Springs Treehouses – Each unit has their own grill (60 total)
• Disney's Saratoga Springs – 2 at Playground at Congress Park Pool, 2 at Fountain at Carousel, 2 Outside Grandstand Pool

APPROVED:

• Gas cooking grills in proper working order that contain fire, heat, and flames are allowed to be used where constantly attended;
• Campfires that have been permitted through the Fire Prevention Division; this covers all Walt Disney World Recreation Campfire Activities, as well as gas fire pits in common areas such as Coronado Springs, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House, and Bay Lake Tower;

Thank you! I saw the notice but didn't even think about it affecting the grills. (We really aren't going to use the grills, though. We just need the space for a picnic type get together.)

 

[seb65]

I am nervous about my choice. We are a group of 5, that originally had a reservation for a preferred room at the Caribbean Beach. But when an opportunity came up with a good discount, I changed the booking to what I thought was the Boardwalk Inn. Turns out it is a Deluxe Studio at Boardwalk Villas. Do all rooms have a window? That's a deal breaker there for us. My mom will have an ECV and is 80 so what room area would be best to request (keeping in mind our reservation says garden/pool view). We always wanted to stay at Boardwalk or Beach Club, so I am not sure why I am nervous. The preferred room is now longer available at the Caribbean, so I feel stuck either way.

 

[Best Aunt]

I am nervous about my choice. We are a group of 5, that originally had a reservation for a preferred room at the Caribbean Beach. But when an opportunity came up with a good discount, I changed the booking to what I thought was the Boardwalk Inn. Turns out it is a Deluxe Studio at Boardwalk Villas. Do all rooms have a window? That's a deal breaker there for us. My mom will have an ECV and is 80 so what room area would be best to request (keeping in mind our reservation says garden/pool view). We always wanted to stay at Boardwalk or Beach Club, so I am not sure why I am nervous. The preferred room is now longer available at the Caribbean, so I feel stuck either way.

A window? Off the top of my head, the rooms have balconies with sliding glass doors, not windows.

Make sure you understand the bed situation for a BWV studio. There is a queen size bed, a double-size sofa bed, and a bed which pulls out from under the TV and is smaller than twin size. If you have the sofa bed open and the bed under the TV open and an ECV in the room, there isn't going to be much space to walk around. I'm not sure your mother will be comfortable on that sofa bed.

You might find this helpful re room locations:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/bwv-room-view-and-number-maps.3794835/

 

[CarolynFH]

I am nervous about my choice. We are a group of 5, that originally had a reservation for a preferred room at the Caribbean Beach. But when an opportunity came up with a good discount, I changed the booking to what I thought was the Boardwalk Inn. Turns out it is a Deluxe Studio at Boardwalk Villas. Do all rooms have a window? That's a deal breaker there for us. My mom will have an ECV and is 80 so what room area would be best to request (keeping in mind our reservation says garden/pool view). We always wanted to stay at Boardwalk or Beach Club, so I am not sure why I am nervous. The preferred room is now longer available at the Caribbean, so I feel stuck either way.

As above, all BWV studios have a balcony, usually with a small table and 2 chairs. For P/G view your choices are of the Luna Park pool (lots of activity, noisy in the afternoon when organized fun is going on), the quiet pool (farther from the elevators but much quieter), and the Croquet Lawn (a garden area on the end by Atlantic Dance and Jellyroll’s, also very quiet, nice views of the waterway to DHS and of the Swan/Dolphin). We usually ask for High Floor because they’re a little quieter and the view is less likely to be obstructed by trees.

 

[seb65]

A window? Off the top of my head, the rooms have balconies with sliding glass doors, not windows.

Make sure you understand the bed situation for a BWV studio. There is a queen size bed, a double-size sofa bed, and a bed which pulls out from under the TV and is smaller than twin size. If you have the sofa bed open and the bed under the TV open and an ECV in the room, there isn't going to be much space to walk around. I'm not sure your mother will be comfortable on that sofa bed.

You might find this helpful re room locations:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/bwv-room-view-and-number-maps.3794835/

Thank you very much. Balconies are perfectly fine. I just didn't know if there were inside rooms. I will look at the map. My mom would get the bed/share with me, and the kids will go on the others. I will have to think on this, or make sure when not sleeping, the beds are up.

 

[CarolynFH]

. I will look at the map.

Here you go - BWV is on the left.
https://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/boardwalk.htm

Let me add there are a couple of P/G view villas that look toward DHS, at the very end of the wing at the bottom of the map. They’d count as “view of tennis courts” but most villas looking south along that wing are Standard view as opposed to P/G.

 

[drusba]

I am nervous about my choice. We are a group of 5, that originally had a reservation for a preferred room at the Caribbean Beach. But when an opportunity came up with a good discount, I changed the booking to what I thought was the Boardwalk Inn. Turns out it is a Deluxe Studio at Boardwalk Villas. Do all rooms have a window? That's a deal breaker there for us. My mom will have an ECV and is 80 so what room area would be best to request (keeping in mind our reservation says garden/pool view). We always wanted to stay at Boardwalk or Beach Club, so I am not sure why I am nervous. The preferred room is now longer available at the Caribbean, so I feel stuck either way.

The large "windows" in the BWV studios are all in fairly large sliding doors that lead to the balcony (or patio for ground level studios). As noted, you can have an ECV in any studio but the space for it will be somewhat limited if you have the pull-out-couch bed open, and more restrictive if you also use that Murphy bed that pulls out from the cabinet under the TV.

The main issue for an ECV is distance to an elevator. There is only one set of elevators for BWV, somewhat close to the lobby, and thus the further the room is from the lobby the longer the distance to an elevator and that can be quite a long distance for many rooms. If desire is to be closer to an elevator, you can request close to an elevator. Since it appears you have a cash reservation through Disney rather than a reservation through DVC, I am not sure of what other requests you can make, but if possible you might request a higher floor studio overlooking the Village Green (those are all fairly close to the elevator and have at least partial boardwalk view. Note, do not request a ground (first) floor room believing it would avoid elevators. The lobby is on the second flooring and that is also where the lobby exit to get to the buses are.

 

[Tess]

As above, all BWV studios have a balcony, usually with a small table and 2 chairs. For P/G view your choices are of the Luna Park pool (lots of activity, noisy in the afternoon when organized fun is going on), the quiet pool (farther from the elevators but much quieter), and the Croquet Lawn (a garden area on the end by Atlantic Dance and Jellyroll’s, also very quiet, nice views of the waterway to DHS and of the Swan/Dolphin). We usually ask for High Floor because they’re a little quieter and the view is less likely to be obstructed by trees.

And my personal favorite pool/garden view, Village Green overlooking the green space off the Boardwalk. I would request lobby floor, Village Green view, near elevator. From past experience, people tend to leave the ECVs in the hallway and charging rather than in the room. I know this ticks some folks off, but it never bothered us.

 

[CarolynFH]

And my personal favorite pool/garden view, Village Green overlooking the green space off the Boardwalk. I would request lobby floor, Village Green view, near elevator. From past experience, people tend to leave the ECVs in the hallway and charging rather than in the room. I know this ticks some folks off, but it never bothered us.

Ooo, thanks for adding this! I meant to include that view too but forgot.

I will add that VG views can be noisy, especially lower floors, from all the foot traffic through the breezeway between BW and elevators / pool area. DS had the 2nd floor studio directly above the breezeway some years ago and said it was quite noisy. Great people watching from those balconies though!

 

[seb65]

And my personal favorite pool/garden view, Village Green overlooking the green space off the Boardwalk. I would request lobby floor, Village Green view, near elevator. From past experience, people tend to leave the ECVs in the hallway and charging rather than in the room. I know this ticks some folks off, but it never bothered us.

Thank you for letting me know about charging in the hallway.

 

[crazycatlady]

We are new DVC owners and although I don't own at BWV, I was lucky enough to score two nights in a pool/garden studio in May before we move to CBR for the rest of our trip. I am really excited because I am hoping to convince DH to buy resale points here when we get home.

I have been taking notes on room requests for all resorts and I have "dedicated studio across from bus stop, high floor" written down for BWV but I didn't note which view this is for.
We are mainly looking for a quiet area with an open balcony that is not too far from everything, with a nice view. I'm not asking for much, right? Does the above fit the bill or is there something else you would suggest? I have been in the lobby of this resort many times but never in the DVC areas, so I am a little lost on what to ask for.

 

[CarolynFH]

We are new DVC owners and although I don't own at BWV, I was lucky enough to score two nights in a pool/garden studio in May before we move to CBR for the rest of our trip. I am really excited because I am hoping to convince DH to buy resale points here when we get home.

I have been taking notes on room requests for all resorts and I have "dedicated studio across from bus stop, high floor" written down for BWV but I didn't note which view this is for.
We are mainly looking for a quiet area with an open balcony that is not too far from everything, with a nice view. I'm not asking for much, right? Does the above fit the bill or is there something else you would suggest? I have been in the lobby of this resort many times but never in the DVC areas, so I am a little lost on what to ask for.

“Across from bus stop” would be Standard view, not P/G, sorry. And unfortunately, in my experience “quiet” and “not too far from everything” doesn’t come together very well at BWV. High floor is usually quieter than low floor, so that works, but there’s only one elevator bank, and “near elevator” means a view of the Luna Park pool, which can be noisy especially when afternoon fun & games are going on, or the Village Green, which can be noisy from pedestrian traffic traveling from the Boardwalk to the elevators or pool area. The quieter P/G villas overlook the quiet pool or the Croquet lawn, meaning a longer walk down the hall from the elevators. See map here: https://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/BoardWalkMap.pdf

 

[elgerber]

“Across from bus stop” would be Standard view, not P/G, sorry. And unfortunately, in my experience “quiet” and “not too far from everything” doesn’t come together very well at BWV. High floor is usually quieter than low floor, so that works, but there’s only one elevator bank, and “near elevator” means a view of the Luna Park pool, which can be noisy especially when afternoon fun & games are going on, or the Village Green, which can be noisy from pedestrian traffic traveling from the Boardwalk to the elevators or pool area. The quieter P/G villas overlook the quiet pool or the Croquet lawn, meaning a longer walk down the hall from the elevators. See map here: https://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/BoardWalkMap.pdf

Agreed. We always ask for far from the elevators for a quieter room. I also don’t believe they have any dedicated studios. I think all rooms are lock offs?

 

[Best Aunt]

We are new DVC owners and although I don't own at BWV, I was lucky enough to score two nights in a pool/garden studio in May before we move to CBR for the rest of our trip. I am really excited because I am hoping to convince DH to buy resale points here when we get home.

I have been taking notes on room requests for all resorts and I have "dedicated studio across from bus stop, high floor" written down for BWV but I didn't note which view this is for.
We are mainly looking for a quiet area with an open balcony that is not too far from everything, with a nice view. I'm not asking for much, right? Does the above fit the bill or is there something else you would suggest? I have been in the lobby of this resort many times but never in the DVC areas, so I am a little lost on what to ask for.

This might be helpful:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/bwv-room-view-and-number-maps.3794835/

 

[CarolynFH]

Agreed. We always ask for far from the elevators for a quieter room. I also don’t believe they have any dedicated studios. I think all rooms are lock offs?

There are some dedicated studios and 1BR. Village Green view are all dedicated, mostly studios but one 1BR per floor. All the 2BR are lockoffs.

 

[CarolynFH]

This might be helpful:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/bwv-room-view-and-number-maps.3794835/

Thanks - I had lost that link!

Note that what’s labeled Courtyard View in these excellent diagrams are what I’m calling Village Green view. At one time (shortly after Preferred view was divided into bookable categories Boardwalk view and P/G view) they were Boardwalk view but were moved to P/G view after complaints of not being “on” the BW. And the Activity Lawn is what I called the Croquet Court per the label on the map I linked.

 

[seb65]

Thank you for your suggestions; I have decided on another resort to have more space. Someday I will get to Boardwalk!

 

[Best Aunt]

Thank you for your suggestions; I have decided on another resort to have more space. Someday I will get to Boardwalk!

I think that was a wise decision.