We just got back last night, so I wanted to write a mini-review of my time at CCV, let me know if you have any specific questions, and please feel free to use any of the pictures in this post.
Stay: DH and I , split stay 1 night Kidani, 3 nights CCV, 2 nights BLT (lake view), April 2018.
Room: 7111- As I said earlier I was a little disappointed to get a 7th floor room with the enclosed balcony, but it was a great location, great view, and the balcony didn't bother us because there are so many places to hang out around the resort that I wouldn't want to spend all of my time on the balcony anyway. We had a walk in shower room which was very nice, even though I usually prefer a room with a bathtub. The room itself did not wow me, the resort is so beautiful that, to me, the room just did not measure up at all, we spent a lot of time at the resort, but I spent most of my time outside and not in the room, my husband was running the races so he spent more time there napping than I did. Room views:
View to the right:
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View to the Left:
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CMs: I cannot say enough good things about the CMs at this resort, everyone was so kind and helpful. I had an issue with my Kidani room and was in touch with a manager there who was going to also give me the name of someone at WL to speak with for follow up but had not gotten a name to me yet. I was mentioning this to the bell services CMs and a manager, Ken, overheard and right away came over to assist, he told me that he would take ownership of any followup on this end, and that he would track something down for me, and to visit him after dinner. He perfectly tracked down the issue and had everything resolved quickly. Victoria was the mousekeeper assigned to our room and we saw her every single morning in the hall, she was so kind and welcoming and seemed to genuinely enjoy her job and speaking with us.
Food:
Roaring Forks: I had heard some bad things about the limited menu at RF, thankfully, we were only there a couple days so that wasn't an issue, but I could see how the breakfast options especially could get pretty old if staying longer. I will say that of the three places we stayed the coffee in RF was the worst. I don't know if they use a different blend, or not enough grounds, but there was a clear difference in the coffee here, it was much lighter in color and had a strange after taste that I did not enjoy.
Perfect porch to enjoy lackluster coffee:
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Geyser Point: We had lunch and cocktails here our first day and enjoyed everything, especially the burger. I absolutely love the setup of this restaurant, but can see how it might be a bit less enjoyable during the hotter months, the day we went was perfect weather, low 80s and practically no humidity.
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Artist Point: We have not been back here in years, we remembered the food as good, but heavy, and nothing really stood out from that trip. We did the Deluxe dining plan for our Kidani night with the intention to use two of our credits at AP our first night there, which worked out fantastically. Our meal was extremely good and we are both looking forward to coming back. Everything we had was well seasoned and prepared, and it stood out as bringing really hot food to the table, at many WDW restaurants I feel like food sits out a bit before it gets to you, but everything here was so well timed. My husband had a glass of wine and I had a great cocktail as well and it was my favorite cocktail of the trip. My only disappointment was that they didn't have the donuts available for a dessert so we got the creme brulee and the cobbler, unfortunately, I remembered that I don't prefer this type of cobbler (I like the crumble top type better, although that is likely a crumble and not a cobbler lol) but we were so full that a couple bites was more than enough anyway.
Transportation: The boat to MK was great, all of the boat staff were so nice and fun. I wasn't a huge fan of the buses from here, I felt like stopping at Ft Wilderness added a lot of time, it certainly took us a bit longer to get to Epcot than from Kidani, and our buses were quite full most of the time. We also took the race bus from here to the Expo and that we would never do again, stopping at Ft Wilderness and The Contemporary took a very long time, especially getting all the way over to the stop at The Contemporary, which is at the convention center. We took Uber/Lyft more often than any other resort stay, but we also went to DS and Typhoon Lagoon, which we don't always do, and I just don't like the buses to either of those locations most of the time anyway.
Pool: This was the only negative for me, we really did not like the pool at all. We mostly stayed at the CCV pool, but the BRV pool had many of the same issues. I didn't think there was nearly enough seating for the number of people trying to enjoy the pool, DH and I took the last two chairs when we went the first time and they were no where near one another, after an hour or so the chair next to me opened up and he moved to sit next to me. We went early in the morning on other days so there was more room, but then the pool wasn't quite as necessary/refreshing that early. Many families came and it didn't appear that they could find seats, and if they did they usually only got a couple chairs in the full sun. DH usually loves the pool slides but he wasn't interested in this one at all. I did like the pool bar service from Geyser Point though, it was great having someone take my food and drink order poolside.
All-in-all we loved the resort and cannot wait to go back. I wish we had not moved to BLT, but I have always wanted to stay there and it worked out perfectly for this stay (plus we got a great room on the 16th floor near the TOTWL so it worked out). I feel like there are still so many things I didn't get to see or do at the resort, I would put this at the top of my list of a resort I would stay at if not planning any park days.
Random pics:
The first time I ever visited WL all I wanted to see was the Geyser, and of course my husband got to see it go off while I was inside (wasn't angry at all...), so this trip I made it a point to catch it.
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I loved this guy too!
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