a Really Bad Egg
Drink up me 'earties. Yo ho.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2004
- Messages
- 626
Hello...a note about our family trip to BCV - Dad/Mom/Son (12).
Room location:
Our room was not ready when we arrived at 12:30pm, but that was okay as we were ready to eat and get to the parks. We received a call sometime around 4:00pm with a message the room was ready. It was on the 1st floor facing the pool and a great location for us as we frequented the Villas pool often. The downside was some guests didnt seem to realize noises at the quiet pool echoed very loudly late at night.
Room decor/cleanliness:
The room was clean, smelled good and everything was in working order. Naturally, there was some furniture wear and the carpet was very worn - even torn in places. This didnt bother us so much, but I wonder how many people would find it completely unacceptable.
Resort appearance:
Very nice. The vegetation was lush and beautiful. There was a painting effort going on at the BC resort, so while the drop cloths and overspray canopy took away from the beauty, one understood this is a necessary part of keeping the place beautiful.
Recreation:
SAB - not much more to say here. We did play ping pong and our son dropped some cash in the arcade, but the feature pool was the star. At times, there were not many available chairs in the sun, but there were plenty available if you were not picky about location. The quiet pool at the Villas was a nice respite from the constant activity at SAB. It was never very busy and a great spot to relax.
One morning we took a short walk over to Fantasia Gardens - across the street from the Swan/Dolphin - and played mini golf.
Dining/refreshments:
The Cape May buffet for breakfast and dinner was very good - nothing special but a nice change from eating in the parks. The Captains Grille in the Yacht Club was a pretty average table service.
Hurricane Hannas - out in the middle of SAB was okay too - its similar to the bar/quick service at OKW. The quick service in the Marketplace had limited selections - though the hot ham & cheese was a great change from burgers and chicken nuggets. Were kind of spoiled on the larger quick service locations in some of the other resorts, so these seemed lacking a bit.
Beaches and Cream - and the To Go counter - seemed to be packed continuously.
Resort guests:
The Villas were full and everyone was happy and friendly. It seemed there were many more foreign guests than American staying at the YC/BC/BCV complex. Also, while there were many small kids, my impression was that there were a lot more older teens than at other resorts weve stayed.
Transportation/busses:
We did the Magic Express and had no issues either way. The busses to the parks were timely and we never had to wait long. There was one day around 11am however, that the MK bus coming from the Yacht Club was more than half full and our stop had become crowded. We missed that bus and had to wait for the next. Depending on the destination, buses may be shared with the Swan, Dolphin and Yacht Club.
Resort magic:
I dont know if there is anything in particular that made the visit to BCV special but here are a few things that were really neat - the close proximity to the Boardwalk and Epcot, the smores and movies on the beach, SAB, the Solarium, Art the Greeter, the friendliness of the staff, etc., etc. This place is really nice and moves up on the list of resorts to put on the must return list. Overall, we had a great stay at BCV and though it shows some age, it is a very cool place.
Other notes:
The park crowds seemed relatively light. Weve done several July trips in the past and this one was definitely less crowded. I dont have any facts, but my guess is the local and American crowd is way down. Also, the Brazilian Tour Groups were very small - and behaved!
Ride wait times were not bad (again relative to July) and several rides had no waits to speak of - PotC, HM. Even Space Mountain only had 40 minute waits - at the busiest time of day - where in the past weve seen these reach 100 minutes or more.
Weather was upper 80s and with the daily downpours.
LeCellier once again served up some really nice plates. Yum. The Mahi Mahi at Yak&Yeti was also a favorite.
We resort hopped over the WL for dinner at Whispering Canyon. There is definitely no whispering going on in there! We havent stayed at VWL but toured the grounds and it was a big change of atmosphere from BCV - and very nice. We also hopped through SSR on the way to DTD and have to say that the place is really gorgeous. Again, its a different look and feel from others, but after being away for a while, the ambiance of the place is really neat.
We were fortunate to watch Wishes on our last evening - in front of the Walt Disney & Mickey partners statue and under starry skies. What a great and magical show.
Weve been to WDW many times - enough that we always wonder if the magic will be gone. It wasnt this visit and we were just as sad to leave for home as all previous trips.
Okay, so now its time to start planning the next trip. Im really missing VB and the savanna view at VAKL is calling me home.
Room location:
Our room was not ready when we arrived at 12:30pm, but that was okay as we were ready to eat and get to the parks. We received a call sometime around 4:00pm with a message the room was ready. It was on the 1st floor facing the pool and a great location for us as we frequented the Villas pool often. The downside was some guests didnt seem to realize noises at the quiet pool echoed very loudly late at night.
Room decor/cleanliness:
The room was clean, smelled good and everything was in working order. Naturally, there was some furniture wear and the carpet was very worn - even torn in places. This didnt bother us so much, but I wonder how many people would find it completely unacceptable.
Resort appearance:
Very nice. The vegetation was lush and beautiful. There was a painting effort going on at the BC resort, so while the drop cloths and overspray canopy took away from the beauty, one understood this is a necessary part of keeping the place beautiful.
Recreation:
SAB - not much more to say here. We did play ping pong and our son dropped some cash in the arcade, but the feature pool was the star. At times, there were not many available chairs in the sun, but there were plenty available if you were not picky about location. The quiet pool at the Villas was a nice respite from the constant activity at SAB. It was never very busy and a great spot to relax.
One morning we took a short walk over to Fantasia Gardens - across the street from the Swan/Dolphin - and played mini golf.
Dining/refreshments:
The Cape May buffet for breakfast and dinner was very good - nothing special but a nice change from eating in the parks. The Captains Grille in the Yacht Club was a pretty average table service.
Hurricane Hannas - out in the middle of SAB was okay too - its similar to the bar/quick service at OKW. The quick service in the Marketplace had limited selections - though the hot ham & cheese was a great change from burgers and chicken nuggets. Were kind of spoiled on the larger quick service locations in some of the other resorts, so these seemed lacking a bit.
Beaches and Cream - and the To Go counter - seemed to be packed continuously.
Resort guests:
The Villas were full and everyone was happy and friendly. It seemed there were many more foreign guests than American staying at the YC/BC/BCV complex. Also, while there were many small kids, my impression was that there were a lot more older teens than at other resorts weve stayed.
Transportation/busses:
We did the Magic Express and had no issues either way. The busses to the parks were timely and we never had to wait long. There was one day around 11am however, that the MK bus coming from the Yacht Club was more than half full and our stop had become crowded. We missed that bus and had to wait for the next. Depending on the destination, buses may be shared with the Swan, Dolphin and Yacht Club.
Resort magic:
I dont know if there is anything in particular that made the visit to BCV special but here are a few things that were really neat - the close proximity to the Boardwalk and Epcot, the smores and movies on the beach, SAB, the Solarium, Art the Greeter, the friendliness of the staff, etc., etc. This place is really nice and moves up on the list of resorts to put on the must return list. Overall, we had a great stay at BCV and though it shows some age, it is a very cool place.
Other notes:
The park crowds seemed relatively light. Weve done several July trips in the past and this one was definitely less crowded. I dont have any facts, but my guess is the local and American crowd is way down. Also, the Brazilian Tour Groups were very small - and behaved!
Ride wait times were not bad (again relative to July) and several rides had no waits to speak of - PotC, HM. Even Space Mountain only had 40 minute waits - at the busiest time of day - where in the past weve seen these reach 100 minutes or more.
Weather was upper 80s and with the daily downpours.
LeCellier once again served up some really nice plates. Yum. The Mahi Mahi at Yak&Yeti was also a favorite.
We resort hopped over the WL for dinner at Whispering Canyon. There is definitely no whispering going on in there! We havent stayed at VWL but toured the grounds and it was a big change of atmosphere from BCV - and very nice. We also hopped through SSR on the way to DTD and have to say that the place is really gorgeous. Again, its a different look and feel from others, but after being away for a while, the ambiance of the place is really neat.
We were fortunate to watch Wishes on our last evening - in front of the Walt Disney & Mickey partners statue and under starry skies. What a great and magical show.
Weve been to WDW many times - enough that we always wonder if the magic will be gone. It wasnt this visit and we were just as sad to leave for home as all previous trips.
Okay, so now its time to start planning the next trip. Im really missing VB and the savanna view at VAKL is calling me home.
One of the things I love about WDW are the visitors from other countries, it's a people watching dream.
Andrea
