anyone familiar with room assignments at BWV

[momtosydneyntodd]

We are new to DVC. We will be staying in a one bedroom at BWV. To stretch our points--we asked for a standard view. I would like to call MS and ask for a specific room number, if possible. I am afraid that we will be given a room that is less desirable because I wasn't assertive enough. Any ideas about possible room numbers (one bedroom/standard view/BWV)?? Near a pool would be nice. Am I asking for the world here ???????

 

[tjkraz]

Am I asking for the world here ???????

Quite simply, yes.

It's written in our DVC contracts that requests are not guaranteed. If you ask for a specific room number, and another guest is placed in that room the day before you arrive (or the day before that, or the day before that...) you simply will not get that room. Requesting a specific room is almost a surefire way to guarantee you will NOT get what you request, because when that single room isn't available, the resort has no idea what you want.

Most people recommend limiting requests to smoking preference, handicapped preference (if meaningful for you) and ONE other specification. That other criteria might be a floor, specific part of the resort or something else you value.

Also, in case you didn't know, "Standard View" does not mean "Crappy Room." The Standard View room class at the Boardwalk largely consists of rooms that face the entry drive to the resort. Many people book Standard View NOT just because of the point structure but because they actually LIKE the view. The "Preferred View" class includes rooms that overlook the boardwalk, pools and the canal to MGM.

Don't stress over requests...particularly if you've never been to the resort. Read this forum long enough and it's easy to get the impression that there are a lot of "bad" rooms out there to be avoided. That's really not the case. And one person's "bad" room may end up being your favorite.

Welcome to The Dis.

 

[momtosydneyntodd]

Thanks for your reply. I've been reading the unofficial guide. In it, it talks about good and not so good rooms (no numbers given) in the resort. We bought sight unseen and am not familiar with layouts. Rest assured, I would never expect a "crappy room" from Disney.

 

[EeyoreJMH]

We've had lovely standard rooms at BWV-- in fact I tend to request this view most often because I like the peaceful views we have. The 123 rooms (i.e. 4123 and 3123) are wrap-around 1-bedroom standard views offering a view of the tennis courts from the living room area and the Studios Canal (and TOT!) from the bedroom. I have been to BWV on standard views 3 times since joining DVC and have always loved my room

 

[tjkraz]

Thanks for your reply. I've been reading the unofficial guide. In it, it talks about good and not so good rooms (no numbers given) in the resort. We bought sight unseen and am not familiar with layouts.

Like I said, I would try to focus on requesting attributes that are important to you. If your only request is for "Room 1234" and that room is simply not available, the room assigner has absolutely no idea what you want. (No, they aren't intuitive enough to put you in a room some might consider comparable to Room 1234.)

Rest assured, I would never expect a "crappy room" from Disney.

Well, you may be in for a rude awakening there. The idea behind a timeshare is that the resort is booked to near-capacity just about year round. So, it's much more difficult for DVC resort staff to "hide" the...ahem...undesirables than a cash resort with an average occupancy around 80%. Even if there are one or two "bad" rooms in a 300+ unit resort, 100% occupancy means that SOMEONE is going to be in those rooms.

Not trying to scare you--just prepare you for the reality of vacationing over the next 35+ years.

Disney professes to use a room assignment system called Room Ready in which your room is not even assigned until you arrive at the front desk. Your best course of action may be to check-in as early as possible.

If all else fails, you can always request a room change after your trip has begun if a room opens up that is more to your liking. They normally charge a $25 fee to switch rooms, which is basically to cover the cost of housekeeping services associated with the room change.

So, do you have your first trip booked yet? What dates are you looking at?

 

[DebbieB]

When I book standard view, I request top floor, across from the bus stop. We usually got good views that way. That would give you a view of Illuminations fireworks. We did luck out and get one of the corner rooms one time, 3123. So the next time I requested 3123 or 4123 (2123 is smoking), we ended up all the way on the other end of the resort, near Jellyrolls. So that's why it's not a good idea to request an actual room #. If those rooms are filled, they just put you anywhere. In my experience, BWV usually preassigns rooms.

 

[JeanJoe]

As another new DVC member who has never stayed before, I think for our first visit home we'll just ask for non-smoking. The nice thing about DVC is that we have a few decades of visits, so I figure sometimes I'll be pleasantly surprised at a nice room, and sometimes I'll "only" be on-site, in luxurious accomodations, at WDW -- darn!

I also wonder whether it might be better for our first few visits to be in less "perfect" rooms. Seeing as we know we'll be going back, we'll have more to look forward to for future visits! If you start off at the "top", whatever that is, you only have one direction to go.

Hakuna matata, anyone?

 

[CarolMN]

We are new to DVC. We will be staying in a one bedroom at BWV. To stretch our points--we asked for a standard view. I would like to call MS and ask for a specific room number, if possible. I am afraid that we will be given a room that is less desirable because I wasn't assertive enough. Any ideas about possible room numbers (one bedroom/standard view/BWV)?? Near a pool would be nice. Am I asking for the world here ???????

We've been members since 1999 and have stayed at our home resort (BWV) at least once every year since then. All but one of the trips was in a standard view - because we prefer them. We've never had a bad room.

Don't ask for a specific room number - it really is the best way I know to end up disappointed. Just ask for what you want - near a pool.

The standard view rooms do overlook the resort entrance, but the rooms across the hall overlook the Community Hall/quiet pool area. All you have to do is go down the stairs and out the exit and you're near the pool - and also near the pathway to MGM.

Debbit B has given you a good suggestion. Rooms in that area are wonderful. We usually ask for N/S, dedicated and near the bus stop.

Try not to worry about getting a bad room - I haven't read the Unofficial Guide, but I bet the author hasn't personally stayed in as many standard view rooms as we DVC DIS posters have!

Best wishes-

P.S. Be sure to post back after your trip and let us know how it all went.

 

[Dean]

Making requests that are too restrictive, like a certain room, is unreasonable. It adds a burden to DVC and also makes it unlikely the requester will get what they want. Even in full week timeshares, it's unworkable, but with the hotel set up of DVC, it's even more of a nightmare.

To digress a bit, we've seen a fair amount of posters over the years have unreasonable expectations. If you get a room where everything is clean and working and meets your reservation type, DVC has done what's currently required. The real problem with such restrictive requests is that the room controllers or front desk people (room ready) look at it and know they can't satisfy people so they just give up and the only way you get what you want is luck of the draw.

 

[NMW]

We are new to DVC. We will be staying in a one bedroom at BWV. To stretch our points--we asked for a standard view. I would like to call MS and ask for a specific room number, if possible. I am afraid that we will be given a room that is less desirable because I wasn't assertive enough. Any ideas about possible room numbers (one bedroom/standard view/BWV)?? Near a pool would be nice. Am I asking for the world here ???????

MS will not take a request for a specific room number. They will take requests for things like non-smoking, high floor, etc. but they will tell you that these are just requests. They are under no obligation to give you these things. If I were you I would list a couple of requests in order of importance. Others have said that if members put too many really specific requests in, they usually get none of them and are dissapointed.

Pool view is considered "preferred" view. There are actually 3 views: standard, preferred/Boardwalk view, and preferred/pool/water view. Don't be dissapointed if you see the parking lot/entrance, a lot of standard view rooms face this area. The grounds are very nicely landscaped and think of all the points you are saving!

Did you book your trip yet? Have fun!

 

[Tink10]

The Unofficial Guide was like my bible on my first couple of trips to WDW and I too, stressed about the room views and locations. And while the Unofficial Guide is a great book for some planning purposes, in my opinion, there really are no bad room views at BWV and people really put too much stock in their "Rooms to avoid". (this is true with many of the resorts) They describe the rooms a bit harshly and to the average first-time reader, it can really scare them, thinking that a room will be less than what it really is.

Like many, we actually enjoy overlooking the driveway & entrance (standard view). The landscaping was nice and we always have a hoot of a time people watching in the evenings (when we're actually in the room to do so).

Try to relax about the room, be happy to be a DVC member and most of all, have a wonderful time!

 

[deerh]

As an owner at BWV, we have always stayed in standard view, and loved it! Gotta love the point savings, and besides, as long as I am on my balcony overlooking the parking lot/front entrance that is "beautifully landscaped", and drinking my coffee in the am, and drinks in the pm, who cares? You are at WDW, and no grass to mow, bills to pay,etc, etc ........

As Doc would say: ENJOY!!

DeerH

 

[zurgswife]

As an owner at BWV, we have always stayed in standard view, and loved it! Gotta love the point savings, and besides, as long as I am on my balcony overlooking the parking lot/front entrance that is "beautifully landscaped", and drinking my coffee in the am, and drinks in the pm, who cares? You are at WDW, and no grass to mow, bills to pay,etc, etc ........

As Doc would say: ENJOY!!

DeerH

DITTO....standard views are my favorite...haven't had a CRAPPY one yet in 6 years of visits..

 

[momtosydneyntodd]

Thanks for all of the info. I knew this was the place to ask. To answer some of the above questions--

We will be in WDW in the middle of September 05 (one week). We are more than excited!! My husband and I have always been huge disney fans and can't wait to share our love of disney with the kids, Todd, 8 months and Sydney, 3 1/2. I think we are at about 100 days till Disney. Trying to keep track of days so that we can call at 7:00 AM, 90 days prior to get Cinderella's breakfast tickets. Whats nice about a DVC membership is that we don't feel pressured to do and see everything in one trip. We know that there is always next year.........