Another great BWV trip , 6/29-7/5

[TheWho]

The BWV looked and felt great. We were in room 3041 (BW view) and the place continues to be fantastic. We joined in 2000 and this was our 8th July BWV stay. Once again, we were not disappointed. My goal is to stay at the new ALV next July, but my family and I can't seem to leave the BW!! Decisions, decisions........

Here are some random thoughts:

The Crowds - Of course the 4th was crazy packed. In regard to earlier in the week, I thought it was on par with previous years. I'm guessing the gas crunch might be more of an affect later in the year and definitely next year.

The Biggest surprise - The weather. Yea it was hot between 1pm to 5pm, but I thought the mornings and evenings was perfect. I thought the pool water temps were refreshing too. Maybe because the weather has been hot in NJ, but I didn't have a real problem with it. As a matter of fact, I got soaked from Kali and sat thru the Nemo show freezing. Going outside into the hot sun was perfect.

The Ho Hum meal- I thought Yak & Yeti was average. I would recommend it, but will probably pass next year. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was basically Chinese food.

The Surprise meal - We had breakfast at Spoodles the one morning we did not eat in the room. I loved it.

I'm sorry but I pool hopped illegally - We were looking for lunch one day and I remembered I had great flatbreads at Saratoga Springs once (Artist Palette). We all ordered different foods, and loved lunch. After we ate, I’ll admit we took a dip in the pool and it was great. Nice resort.

Doesn't anyone sleep - I went with DW and two kids (12 & 8) to MK on the night of July 3rd. I didn't think we'd make it to 4am but I wanted to stay to midnight. Well, we made it to 12:30am and it was fun. I have never been out this late in all the years we have gone. However, there were still plenty of people watching the 12:30am parade when we left. I can’t believe all the people (small kids included) who were still going strong at that hour.

Fast pass - I worked the FP's beautifully and got on all the attractions we wanted.

Toy Story Mania – I don’t think it is an E-ticket ride but definitely a D-ticket. We had fun, extremely popular.

I thought WDW in general looked clean and all the CM’s I came across were A+.

Any questions, let me know,

 

[Disneypirate85]

AWESOME...We were there the same time, 5th floor tho, went to MK for the late night and you were right there was alot of ppl there for the 12:30 parade including us . We made it till 3:30 and i'm old at 38...we pooped out!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Sounds like a very nice vacation! In June we did MK from 6pm to 2am, yes we were dragging near the end but still managed to climb Swiss Family Robinson under duress! 2 members of our party had never done it. I'm with you on the Yak and Yeti, it's just so-so Chinese Food!

 

[moredisneyplease]

Well, welcome back to your real home and I'm sorry that your trip had to end.

I'm glad you had a good time and loved (once again) BWV. I'm with you on this resort! No need to go anywhere else!!

 

[Mahusky]

Great report glad you had fun! We had neighbors there at the same time and they commented on how many little children were waiting for the parade at 12:30!!! Wow my little ones turn evil past 10:00PM!

 

[Cyndibear]

Sounds like a great trip! We make it till 2AM then we are done!! Our favorite resorts are BWV and AKV! Just love them!! Agree with you on Yak and Yeti, thought it was just so-so, most likely won't go back.

Nice to hear you enjoyed breakfast at Spoodles. We want to do a breakfast one morning and can't decide between Spoodles or Captain's Grill. What was good on Spoodles menu?

Cyndi

 

[TheWho]

Cyndibear,
I had the veg flatbread and my wife had breakfast fittata (?). The kids had the platter w/ the eggs, bacon and waffles. All were great except for the sausage which was just average. The coffee was outstanding and I enjoyed eating in a room with an open kitchen. Very casual.

Finally, Here's some random photos:

Pizza on the BW

View from Room 3041:

Me and Oprah (notice she's wearing my DVC hat:

Our annual surrey ride:

Boma !!!

Rope drop at Studios on 7/3:

Taking a snooze in Mexico:

 

[bigsmooth]

Thanks for the report! I'm hoping to try BWV at some point. We stayed at BW in 2003 in the hotel part, where I first was introduced to the DVC concept. Loved it (of course the unsolicited upgrade to concierge didn't hurt).

For those kids out late at the parades. Could be us West Coasters who start out the trip still on west coast time. I usually use the first two nights of our trip to do the late night activities with the kids, although I do try to get them onto east coast time to make it easier to get them out of bed.

 

[photobob]

I had friends down there the same time you were and they reported the same as you did. Crowds weren't crazy except for the 4th and temps weren't as bad as they were expecting.

 

[Cyndibear]

Cyndibear,
I had the veg flatbread and my wife had breakfast fittata (?). The kids had the platter w/ the eggs, bacon and waffles. All were great except for the sausage which was just average. The coffee was outstanding and I enjoyed eating in a room with an open kitchen. Very casual.

Thanks, may just have to try it out!

Cyndi

 

[tink6137130]

Thanks for sharing...love your pics!

 

[CarolAnnC]

Sounds like you had a great time! Ty for sharing..

 

[heaven2dc]

My DBFF & I have a boardwalk view 1-bedroom in December and your room's view was great! Was this a studio or 1-bedroom? Sure wish we could get your room if it is a 1-bedroom.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Thanks for your report we were there around the same time. 30-5th at BWV and 5-11 AKV.

I thought over all everything was just as good as you described. We were on the carousel with Goofy at 3:45am and hit MK the other night until 2am as well.\\SpcMt was still crowded at 3:30.

I do have to say BWV was our most dissappointing stay we have ever had on -sight. Our room stunk they wouldn't switch us ( i didn't want to make a sceen)
. I didn't like the Fact that they close the Selfpark lot down and told us we weren't important enough to park there ( directly out of the guards mouth) Only to pass it a few times to it being half filled.

Bellservices were just rude and maybe over stressed. Check-in CM gave no Welcome Home ,no Members folder had to ask for a Perks booklet and then was asked for my Blue card ( no Big deal as I had it right there with my DL and CC). tried to charge me for a second time for extra Towles after they took ours set we paid for as we were doing wash as well.

Our AKV stay was just the opposite

 

[LSchrow]

BWVs truly are amazing, aren't they?! & to ease your conscience: you are allowed to pool hop to SSR .
btw, in about 20 vacations there, we've never experienced the troubles i'mnoprince cited (while there have been a few minor "bumps in the road", similar ones have occurred at literally every resort we've stayed at: moderate, deluxe & DVC. the only major "bump" ~ worthy of a complaint ~ was at the poly, where we wound up in an extremelly moldy room that we found out was not supposed to have anyone without separate breathing aparatus in it we would, however, try the poly again).
we've actually found BWVs to have some of the nicest bell services anywhere on property, rooms in good condition, never had a prob getting a space in self-parking, mousekeeping was as good, or better, than any other.

just curious, did you encounter any of the problems imnoprince reported? (personally, i would not be happy if told i couldn't self park, b/c i wasn't "important enough")

glad to hear you had a wonderful time!!

 

[CarolMN]

Thanks for your report we were there around the same time. 30-5th at BWV and 5-11 AKV.

I thought over all everything was just as good as you described. We were on the carousel with Goofy at 3:45am and hit MK the other night until 2am as well.\\SpcMt was still crowded at 3:30.

I do have to say BWV was our most dissappointing stay we have ever had on -sight. Our room stunk they wouldn't switch us ( i didn't want to make a sceen)
. I didn't like the Fact that they close the Selfpark lot down and told us we weren't important enough to park there ( directly out of the guards mouth) Only to pass it a few times to it being half filled.......

Not sure I understand - you were staying at the BWV and not allowed to park there?

If you meant you weren't allowed to park there while staying at the AKV, I'm glad they are finally doing something about the BWI/BWV parking. We have often had trouble getting a spot to park in the lot for self parking when we stay at the BWV. It's due to people parking there for access to EPCOT. Very disheartening to see the lot empty out right after IllumNations. I think the self park lot should be reserved for guests who are staying at the BWI or BWV. DVC members staying elsewhere can valet park if they don't want to park at the EPCOT lot - can't believe that lot is full very often.

Sorry about your stinky room - sounds like it is one that needs rehab. Hope your next BWV room is better.

 

[Eeyore18]

Glad you had a great time! We were at OKW right after- July 8-15. The weather wasn't much hotter than NJ these days. The crowds were tolerable especially in the am and at night. I'd like to try BWV next- we own at Saratoga. OKW was nice but the room although clean was alittle worn.
(pictures on the wall were faded- the artificial plants had seen better days)
I'm glad we tried it though. Are there some villas that are on the quieter side?
Not everything faces the Boardwalk, right?

 

[DeeCee735]

The BWV looked and felt great. We were in room 3041 (BW view) and the place continues to be fantastic. We joined in 2000 and this was our 8th July BWV stay. Once again, we were not disappointed. My goal is to stay at the new ALV next July, but my family and I can't seem to leave the BW!! Decisions, decisions........

The Surprise meal - We had breakfast at Spoodles the one morning we did not eat in the room. I loved it.

I'm sorry but I pool hopped illegally - We were looking for lunch one day and I remembered I had great flatbreads at Saratoga Springs once (Artist Palette). We all ordered different foods, and loved lunch. After we ate, I’ll admit we took a dip in the pool and it was great. Nice resort.

Great to hear you loved your BWV stay. We too bought BWV in 2000, and everytime we plan (planned) a trip BW was our first choice. We love it and have had awesome experiences each and every time. I understand needing to return here again and again, however, we did finally reach the point where we wanted to try something different and went to Hilton Head one year. It's awesome, and when you are finally ready I highly recommend it. We have also stayed at OKW once because it was last minute plans and we couldn't get into BW. OKW is great, but BW - stictly our own opinions here - blows it away. We've also stayed at AKV one night.....and just had to have an add on there - but in our hearts BWV is, was and always will be our favorite.

Spoodles - I've had good and not so good experiences here. The food is always good, the service at breakfast not so much - but I'd still go back, it's relaxing, and as I said good food.

Illegal pool hopping what more can I say...

Happy planning....

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Not sure I understand - you were staying at the BWV and not allowed to park there?

If you meant you weren't allowed to park there while staying at the AKV, I'm glad they are finally doing something about the BWI/BWV parking. We have often had trouble getting a spot to park in the lot for self parking when we stay at the BWV. It's due to people parking there for access to EPCOT. Very disheartening to see the lot empty out right after IllumNations. I think the self park lot should be reserved for guests who are staying at the BWI or BWV. DVC members staying elsewhere can valet park if they don't want to park at the EPCOT lot - can't believe that lot is full very often.

Sorry about your stinky room - sounds like it is one that needs rehab. Hope your next BWV room is better.

No we stayed at BWV from the 30th - 5th. I was parked in the Main Self Park Lot it was sorta crowded but not bad on the 4th. We left went to the Store and ate offsight. When we returned about 5pm or so it was blocked off and they told us to go to the BAck Overflow lot ( the one behind the Valets lot).
When I asked the Guard about it and why it was so empty He told me I didn't mean anything and the Guest of the Weddings and a special event were more important to have an empty lot for.

I had my Parking Permit on the Dash and all and was turned away.

I agree that lot should be for Guest , KTTK activated and all the rest should have to valet or park in the back .

 

[CarolMN]

No we stayed at BWV from the 30th - 5th. I was parked in the Main Self Park Lot it was sorta crowded but not bad on the 4th. We left went to the Store and ate offsight. When we returned about 5pm or so it was blocked off and they told us to go to the BAck Overflow lot ( the one behind the Valets lot).
When I asked the Guard about it and why it was so empty He told me I didn't mean anything and the Guest of the Weddings and a special event were more important to have an empty lot for.

I had my Parking Permit on the Dash and all and was turned away.

I agree that lot should be for Guest , KTTK activated and all the rest should have to valet or park in the back .

Wow! That would have upset me enough to complain in person to the BWV Manager and write to Member Satisfaction. Sorry it happened to you.