Wanted to give a final update for everybody.
The horse barn smell. It was actual feces on the backside of the toilet and on the toilet paper holder in the cabin. That was wonderful. Told management and all they did was send somebody to replace the toilet paper holder.
As I mentioned the cabins are rough. There is no effort being put into them to maintain them since new ones are here now. I get it but at the same time, if you're still paying the full price for a stay then you'd want the full, clean experience.
Outside of the cabin issues, our vacation was great. Two full weeks of fun. Tried lots of new things and did lots of old favorites.
I did the DVC tour. It was about 30 mins long, I initially did it just to see the new cabins but it turned out to be very informational. I don't really think DVC is for me however I understand it a lot more now. As for the cabin itself. I was very disappointed when they first announced the new cabins. I said there was no wilderness feel to them and I still stand by that statement. However, after constantly driving past them for 2 weeks and finally going inside one, they aren't that bad. Certainly not a fan of the grey walls and cabinets, and the bathroom being opposite of the bedroom, but there are a lot of improvements. The bathroom itself is awesome. Two sinks, a walk in shower, and it feels bigger than the current one (which already feels big). The kitchen is nicer with a full range and a pull out garbage can thing. The living room is awkward with the TV being where it is but I don't know where else they could've put it. The couch is just like every other Disney resort murphy bed couch. The chair is very nice compared to the current one. The dining chairs are also better. The murphy bed is a big improvement over the current pull out bed. The bedroom is great. The bed not being against the wall is the biggest improvement in the whole cabin. The bunks are nice and the decor is very cute. One thing I don't like is lack of storage space. If you're staying a week or more there is only enough storage in the bedroom for 2 maybe 3 people, and nothing else in the living room. Six people would have a horrible time with clothing storage, and there's not many places to lay a suitcase either.
Overall I think the functionality of the new cabins is a slight improvement over the current, but the theming is a huge downgrade. I did get a $200 Disney gift card for doing the tour, that was very nice.
I'm still gonna come back. Probably sooner rather than later. It actually flew by so fast! We did everything we had planned on but there were multiple little things like walking the dog walk area and looking for old train tracks that we just didn't have time to do which was wild.
