Beach Club Villa Trip

[HeatherPage]

Hi all! Just back (well Saturday anyway) from a 6 day trip to BCV with husband, baby and parents and it was great. We got there around 12:30 Sunday the 22nd but the room wasn't ready which I didn't really expect it to be (2 bedroom lock-off and we had requested Epcot view) so the girl at the front desk told us that the room she had us assigned to was on the 5th floor with view of Epcot. I wish I could remember her name but she was very nice wished us a welcome home when asked where we would be staying and was overall a pleasure to deal with. My dad and husband wanted to check out the NFL games so we headed over to ESPN club. After a decent wait and then half-way through lunch we called to see if room was ready (was probably about 2:30) but not yet. Still no problem we had a/c, the baby was still happy so we just went with the flow. We walked back to the BCV and waited about another 1/2 hour and our room was ready by about 4:15. We ended up being in rooms 557 and 559. They were great! When you looked out the balconies-Spaceship Earth was to the left and I think it was Canada and the building that looks like Pyramids were right in front. The room itself was very pretty, nice kitchen and bathroom. I don't have a whole lot to compare to as I've stayed at BWV once in a studio for 4 days (which I remember was also nice) and OKW studio for one night. Of course I had to go check out he VWL and said to my husband, I think we'll stay here next time. Being that we went mainly to Magic Kingdom, that short boat ride would have been awesome as opposed to loading up in the van and driving everday. One word of caution - I decided to go by bus to the Magic Kingdom on our last day, just me and my baby who is about 11 months old- big mistake! The bus driver was nice enough on the way there to fold up my stroller for me (baby can walk but has only been for about three weeks so not exactly a pro yet) and I held him and then she opened the stroller for me getting out to the MK, but on the way back the bus was so packed I had to put Justin down to hopefully stand by me while I folded up the stroller then stuff started to fall out the bottom of the stroller, luckily a nice woman folded it for me and carried it on and another gentlemen got it out for me at the BCV. I don't know what I was thinking. Anyways, overall the trip and room were great. It was a big plus having a separate living room so my baby could nap and sleep at night (when the fireworks weren't waking him up.) Oh yeah, that's another thing the fireworks from Illuminations were directly in front of us and you could hear the music to Illuminations. Well, now I get to start planning our next trip to the VWL. It's like I had told my husband, I started wishing that I had made reservations at the VWL instead (which is ironic because I had originally had them there there but changed them thinking that type of decor would seem to hot at that time of year) but if I had stayed there and went and visited the BCV I probably would have been saying the same thing. But as my dad pointed out, we have 40 more years to test them out. But I did very much enjoy the BCV and will definitely be back!
P.S. Husband and parents were very impressed with accomodations!

 

[pluto109]

great report..we have a two bedroom at bcv..oct 20,,can t wait.I will have to try to get those same rooms..sounds like a great view

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Glad you had a good trip. Sorry our paths did not cross.

Curious to know if the lights from the balcony were a problem for you? Ours were very bright and came in over the curtains.

Did you ever see the alligator in the lagoon, we didn't, but I did look several times.

 

[Lesley]

Heather...an absolute essential when traveling around WDW alone with a baby or toddler is a babysling! Baby can ride while the stroller is being folded, etc. It also helps to sort of have a system in place. Toss all lose items in whatever bag you're carrying, put baby in sling if not already there, then fold stroller. It does also help to have a stroller that can be folded with a minimum of fuss. Mine can be done with one foot and one hand. Its crazy but it can be done!

Also the sling helps a lot when a child insists on being carried.....your arms don't wear out as quickly! I'm still bringing it in Dec. for my 2 1/2 yo. We also used it for our ds when he was 4, before his sister came along. There are just times when you can't use a stroller and they can't manage by themselves.

Glad to hear you had a good time!

 

[HeatherPage]

Lesley, I'll have to remember that next time, luckily he was having a good time whizzing by in his stroller - had his little arms up in the air and everything

RWTY The lights on the balcony were kind of annoying, but our shades blocked them out pretty much. They must run on a photocell or something because we couldn't figure out how to turn them off. Yes we saw the alligator, it was pretty small maybe about three feet. We saw some people looking out into the canal and my mom had told me earlier that they had seen it so I figured that's what they were looking at, sure enough the gator was just staring back at everyone I assume waiting for someone to throw him/her a snack

 

[lsutigger2]

Thanks for the report! We're off to BCV in 10 days and I'm getting so anxious, I'm making myself nuts!! And probably everyone around me! LOL!!

Glad you had a "tiggerific" time!!

 

[Doctor P]

Thanks for your report. Glad you had a good trip.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Heatherpage, thanks for the report. Kinda funny, we just bought into DVC at VWL, but really wished it was BCV as it is my fav resort. A few weeks ago I just changed our reservations from VWL to BCV one bedroom.

I hadn't thought about the noise and lights from UN bothing the kid. Last Dec we were in Poly and our DD was 8 1/2 months old and the music and lights from the electric water parde was loud, but it didn't wake her up.

This year she will be 23 months old. Oh well, she normally doesn't go to bed until 9:00, so maybe she will stay up a little later or be soooo tired it won't bother her.


Thanks for the report. Our very first DVC trip will be there March 1-7!!!!!!

 

[queenof4hearts]

Hi, great for the great trip report.

We are new BCV owners and are going home in June.

I had just spoke with member services today and he said there are really no good views of illuminations, this surprised me.

My question to you is, in your opinion, did you have a nice "fireworks" view? I know you can't see the laser show. When we stayed at BWV this past May, SV, our kids really enjoyed the fireworks, when they were awake! Thanks.

 

[HeatherPage]

I thought it was a great view of the fireworks! You could even see some of the big torches around the lake. you could see a little bit of the lasers reflecting off Spaceship Earth but not enough to see what they were actually supposed to be. It starts at 9:00 with a few fireworks then it goes to the laser part for a while and then the grand finale of fireworks, so don't do what I did and go back inside after the first five minutes because that was all I thought there was to see. If you are out on your balcony watching you can hear the music too! We kept our balcony doors shut though (except the one time I went out alone on the balcony-in the rain no less ) because the one time my baby was awake to watch, it was a little too loud for him with the door open. Have a great time to all going soon!

 

[queenof4hearts]

Thanks for the quick reply. We can't wait to go home (Just like every DVC'er I'm sure)!!!!

 

[Halle]

Can you please tell me the approximate size of the balconies in your room? Thank you!!

 

[HeatherPage]

Hi Halle,
I think some balconies are different, but we were in a two bedroom lock-off, the studio had it's own balcony (maybe 5 feet long) and the living room and master bedroom each had their own probably that size or a little larger.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Thanx for taking the time to give us the report!

 

[wdwphanatic]

... but we were in room 559 beginning Saturday, Sept. 28 -- the day you guys checked out!!!!! Isn't that hilarious??!!?? Wow, it's really a small world!

We were never in the room for illuminations, so I can't comment on the noise factor. One thing that amazed me was, generally speaking, how close BCV is to Epcot. The music from the Beatles-type group in the World Showcase was loud enough to be heard pretty far back into the BCV complex (though not from our room). I liked being so close to everything, but I guess if you had little ones who were light sleepers and trying to get to sleep early, having a low floor with an Epcot view might not be a great strategy...

We saw the alligator too! Actually, we saw her/him several times, as well as lots of really big turtles and fish... Very cool!

Overall, we ADORED BCV. I would say it is our new favorite, in fact. We've also stayed at BWV and WLV, though never at OKW. We liked BCV so much that we're planning on returning with our 4-year-old, 7-year-old and newborn ds's in May!! Should be a very different experience than going as a twosome last month, eh??!!??

Speaking of which, have any of you DVC'ers been in early May?? How's the weather/crowds that time of year?? Just curious...

 

[nezy]

Thanks for all of your reports.We are going to VWL in Dec. but I have a little trip planned w/ my college roommate for March.
She has never been to WDW and we are planning a girls vacation-no kids, no hubbies and will be staying at BCV!!

I cannot wait, but it is too soon to get excitied about that. First things first--VWL in Dec.

 

[HeatherPage]

wdwphanatic - I hope you guys got to check in early, as we actually checked out that Friday - as much as I wanted to stay, we were driving back to NC and I kind of wanted to get home and rest before heading back to work Monday (yuck). Hope you had a great time! Nezy, hope you have fun on your two trips!

 

[invalid_char]

Lesley- can you tell me what kind of sling you use? The ones I have tried are all back killers. Thanks.