BCV or BWV?

[daduckman]

My family and I are planning a 10 day vacation for early Dec. 2010. We have two girls, ages 7 and 11. We stayed at BCV in Dec 2006 and loved it. Walking distance to our favorite park, Epcot, centrally located and great rooms! But we are thinking of trying BWV this time around. Any advice or opinions would be great. We will be renting the points as we are not owners... yet.

 

[drusba]

BWV has three categories of rooms: standard view, boardwalk view, and pool/garden view (all room sizes are comparable to BCV). Boardwalk views, which have the same point cost as the pool/garden, are the best rooms for view and it is one of the most impressive views on site. Standard view rooms face the front road/valet/parking lot/tennis courts but are very high in demand because they cost fewer points. Pool/garden is 60% of all rooms and face just what it sounds like. If you want boardwalk view or standard view, particularly for December, you will need the owner to call 11 months out because those will go quickly once the reservation window opens.

Moreover, early December is a very high DVC demand time and thus, even for BCV, you should assume you need to have owner call well in advance and as close to 11 months out as possible.

One advantage of BWV will be that all the rooms are being reburbished right now (Jan completion date) and thus for a December 2010 you will essentially be in a fairly new room. It is easier to walk to Studios from BWV than BCV and Epcot walk is only two to three minutes longer than BCV. Though pool is not as elaborate as BC/YC it is still fine in its own right. BWV has good restaurants although no counter service or buffet restaurant, and you have the boardwalk for evening events and entertainment.

 

[robertdangelo]

We own at BCV... it's our favorite. BWV is my 2nd favorite, however we're not staying at BLT till next year.(added on last month)
BCV and BWV both have the best location and proximity to parks.

 

[CarolMN]

You didn't ask, so free free to ignore this unsolicited advice.

Since you are renting, keep in mind that most owners consider the transaction as nonrefundable. (Think of it like a Priceline reservation). You will definitely need an owner to make the reservation at either BCV or BWV when the 11 month window opens. Most owners are very reluctant to waitlist for renters.

Keep in mind that you are assuming the risk if something changes and you can't go as planned. 11 months is a long time. Be sure you understand the owner's cancellation policy before money changes hands. Policies vary among owners who rent.

Hope it all works out for you. We love the BWV in early December and try to go at least every other year at that time.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We go to WDW every year in December and we alternate our visits at VWL (which we like the most of the DVC resorts) and BWV. It's an easy walk from BWV over to the BCV, which is lovely as well, but I prefer BWV's holiday decorations more than BCV's.

Bobbi

 

[djp0630]

We faced this dilemma as well! We are also renting. Both were available in May when we are gong again along with BLT. We decided to go with BCV based on the pool and dining choices. We want to try out the Cape May Clambake & character meal and maybe Beaches & Cream. Stormalong bay seems like a lot of fun, so we decided to do BCV. Good luck with the decision, but I think either seems fantastic!

 

[esrags01]

the pool is better at BCV--that is why no other guests are allowed to use it. The pool at BWV has a rather tall slide, which may be a bit scary for kids. The dining choices are also better at BC, but the boardwalk is a short walk away if you choose to go to the Bakery for some wonderful sweets.

 

[LSchrow]

we own at both, but greatly prefer the .BWVs.
your girls might like the pool, if its warm enough to swim (note that my kids, as well as our nephews did not like BCVs as much as BWVs. i think part of their dislike was b/c they are all excellent swimmers, & SAB is oft too crowded to swim in...a prob you might not even encounter if the weather is cool).
the bw has evening entertainment (street performers, carny games, etc.), community hall (video games, ping pong, books, bike rentals, etc), surrey bikes to rent, etc

since you are renting, i would try a different resort simply b/c it makes a vacation different. maybe the following years, try vak, blt, etc
we used to book a different resort every trip (have stayed at all the mods, deluxes & dvcs) until we found our favorite....it's a lot of fun that way.
enjoy!