boardwalk villas question

[snoopy352]

hi all,

we are looking at purchasing DVC and are considering BWV. Please lmk thoughts/responses to my comments/questions.

we stayed at BCV (rented) last summer and DD8 and DW49 and I (51) loved it. we liked the location most of all, and the pool too. but we also liked that when you went back to where the rooms were, you were isolated from the chaos and it was peaceful and drawn out. does BWV also have that same vibe? we know the front of the resort will be full of action and vitality, which we want, but we want a respite and some nice grounds to relax and walk through in the back to get away from it all too. we think that if we were buying for the next few years that BC would make more sense but we are thinking ahead too and believe that BWV would fit our needs nicely as time goes on. DD8 did love SAB but the BWV pool looks quite nice too (though not as big obviously).

i guess the final question/thought is how easy would it be to get BCV at the 7-month mark when staying in june or july for 10 nights. i have a feeling it won't be easy at all, but if it is, problem solved b/c we could buy at BWV and just try to stay at BCV over the next few years when our DD still craves SAB.

trying to balance the present, the near future, and the distant future.

but the key question i have, not having ever stayed there and only having witnessed first hand the front of the BW, is whether the back is peaceful and spread out. (the pix on the BW site don't tell enough)

TIA!

 

[MAO]

First of all, I'd go to the Resorts subforum (this is the Disney Vacation Subforum, by my definition) and look for the thread on the BWI/BWV resort. It has tons of pictures and information as well as lots of people who've stayed there - and possibly more people who've stayed at the Boardwalk and at the Beach Club.

Secondly, from what *very* little I remember of the Beach Club, no, the grounds are not as nice to walk through. The 'back', assuming you mean that the Boardwalk itself is the 'front', will consist of the front of the resort (i.e., parking lot) with some greenery to look at, the main pool, and the quiet pool/Community Hall. You could, of course, start walking towards the DHS which is a very nice, quiet and green walk -- then, just turn back when you've had your fill of quiet. I find the main pool area to be fairly busy but the quiet pool area is often pretty much deserted. Please note, however, that I'm there in October not during the summer as it seems you plan on being.

I've no input for you on getting a reservation at BCV during the summer. Good luck with whatever you decide!

eta: I see you've already thought of my first piece of advice. Good for you!

 

[gdrj]

BWV is our home resort. We have stayed there since our children were young. Rooms overlooking the quiet pool or the gardens can be quiet. Rooms near the main pool can be loud, especially during the mid day with music playing. You will hear concerns about the long hallways (too much walking) but to us if you are going to walk miles at the parks whats a few more to your room.

The location as you noted is great. If you truly want Beach Club at 7 months you would be best to buy there and book at 11 months.

Best of Luck

 

[Noelle]

We own at both. We have owned Beach Club since 2003 and only recently added on to BWV. We love the Beach Club and find that we need the 11 - 7 month advantage for most of our reservations. Summer is popular because of Stormalong Bay, Food & Wine is popular because of the location, & Xmas / NYE Holidays are popular since the resort is small. When we discussed adding on, we decided not to get more BCV points. We added on to BWV because of it's standard view point cost, lower purchase price, and basically the same location as BCV & room layout. Stormalong Bay is nice and we've definitely enjoyed it as a family over the years. I know that the BWV standard view studio is a popular booked category and if your plans are to use that then you'd probably want to buy your points at BWV. But in our years of determining where to stay, we have usually seen availability to get Garden / Pool view 1 BDRM or 2 BDRM at BWV at 7 months if we wanted to. Our new BWV add-on is to give us a 3 or 4 day weekend each year or every other year to enjoy Food & Wine in a 1 Bedroom or Studio. We'll keep the BCV points for our 10 day family stays.

 

[LSchrow]

one of the things we love about the BWVs is its tranquil elegance
we often just walk along the canal, over to the BWI pool (gorgeous!), borrow a DVD or book at the community center, sit on (or in the alcove under) the balcony off the lobby, or simply stroll......
we have found BCV notably noisier than BWV (SAB & character meals tend to create higher, more constant noise & crowds throughout the day; the BW has a bit of increased noise only for a few hours in the evening, and we just close our - BW view - balcony doors if we want quiet).
btw, we own at both BWV & BCV - and just put in an offer for more BWV points lack of a gorgeous view is a deal-breaker for us, and it has become increasingly difficult to get BW view using our BCV points. since there are so few, both BW & standard views are usually very limited or unavailable at 7 months.
in addition, BCV has both lock-off and dedicated 2 bedrooms (2 queen beds), BWV only has lock-offs. BWV has Grand Villas, BCV does not.
both resorts are beautiful: BCV is perfect for many, just as BWV is perfect for many others.
enjoy your decision

 

[daisyduck123]

Hi! BCV summer regular here....

This June (for 9 nights) will be our 8th summer stay at BCV. I book every year at the 7th month mark and have never, ever had a problem getting my dates at 7 months out.

You can see by my signature that we have stayed there every summer since 2007 (except for 2011, when I had to change my trip dates at the last minute).

BCV is my family's favorite.

 

[DebbieB]

I bought BWV in 1999. Best vacation decision I ever made. At the time, there was only OKW and BWV at WDW. One night the year before my mom and I were sitting on the beach in front of Beach Club where we were staying. It was October, it was warm. Music was coming from the Dance Hall, the Friendship Boats were going by, we watched Illuminations fireworks. I kept saying, it doesn't get better than this.....

A few months later, a friend who owned OKW invited me on a weekend with some other friends at OKW, we had a 2 bedroom. I'll admit I thought she was nuts to put all that money in DVC. But that weekend turned my head. When deciding between OKW and BWV, I went with BWV because it was harder to get reservations.

When I bought, they just had standard and preferred view. You could book preferred view and request boardwalk view. I booked at 11 months and requested boardwalk view and didn't get it, got quiet pool view. I was really bummed. After that, I just booked standard view to save the points.

In 2003, they made boardwalk view a booking category. Since then, I always book boardwalk view, I find ways to stretch my points. I originally bought DVC for trips with my mom but she passed away in 2005. We had a reservation planned and I decided to go anyway. I was thinking it would be one last trip before I sold DVC. The last night of the trip, I was walking on the boardwalk, watching the street performers, watching the boats on the lake. I realized I couldn't give it up. I either go with friends or go solo.

 

[drusba]

BWV is not necessarily the place to go and seek peace and quiet. The quitest room area is that overlooking the quiet pool area (that pool is never full of guests). However, no matter where you are you risk noise at least from boat horns. The actual quitest area is the backside of the connecting BWI, to which you can walk over to, where its quiet pool is. I have spent many times walking through that large area and never seeing anyone else including anyone in the pool. In any event, the rooms anywhere are mostly quiet when the balcony doors are closed.

As an owner, BWV offers two highly desired things that you may not want because of possible noise occurrences: boardwalk view, the best view on site, and standard view, which view is OK and it is the best point per night bargain on site giving ideal near park location for about the points it costs to stay at OKW. You need to be an owner to assure getting either of those because they are gone at 7 months out much of the year.

BCV lacks any great views or bargain units but apparently you may be fine with that as long as there is a lack of noise. Stormalong Bay is the best pool on site and Cape May Cafe one the best buffets. Boardwalk's Luna Park pool is fine but not in the same class as SAB, but it does have good restaurants and lots of activities on the boardwalk, but of course you can get to those easily from BCV. As to BCV availability at 7 months out in June and July, the existing patterns show that it is usually open during those months with a risk otherwise during Star Wars Weekends and time around July 4. At the same tiime BWV pool/garden view is usually open at 7 months out during the entirety of June and July. In choosing what to do, be aware that DVC's current high demand periods at WDW are from late Sep to Marathon weekend in Jan and near park resorts like BCV and BWV are far more difficult to get during that quarter than any other time of year. Mid Jan to Mid Sep is low to moderate demand season. You can more easily get rooms at resorts at 7 months out during the Easter weeks and and time around July 4 than you can during any time in October through December.

There is one key downside to be aware if you purchase at either BCV or BWV (and also VWL and many contracts still with OKW). Their end date is January 2042, only 27 years from now. That might sound like a long time away to many but there are many earlier DVC purchasers in their 70s and 80s now that are still going regularly to WDW often with children and grandchildren.

 

[crisi]

I think BWV is the busiest feeling of the resorts. BCV are tucked behind the main resort - BWV are a separate wing and integral to the resort. BCV has lots of quiet barely used public spaces. BWV rooms can feel busy all day and the standard view rooms have the incoming traffic. It isn't disturbing, but its much less removed from the bustle than VWL or BCV is. There are quiet spots (I love the rose garden on the inn side as well), but fewer of them. The public spaces are the community hall, the lounge, and the porches.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

i guess the final question/thought is how easy would it be to get BCV at the 7-month mark when staying in june or july for 10 nights.

This June (for 9 nights) will be our 8th summer stay at BCV. I book every year at the 7th month mark and have never, ever had a problem getting my dates at 7 months out.

You have to do it 7 months to-the-day. I booked a 9 night BCV studio earlier this week, booking the first 7 nights online at 8 AM, then calling daily precisely at 9 AM to add the next two day. If I'd waited for the day when I could book all the nights, one night in the middle was sold-out. One day later (today) and three of the nights are sold out.

This is going to be my first BCV/7 month non-home resort reservation, so I don't know what happens typically.

 

[pamlet]

We love BWV .. mainly because of the location. We've stayed at both - but Boardwalk keeps calling us back! Mostly because of the location - we enjoy the boat ride to both DHS and Epcot.

Also - like others have said - back by the quiet pool it's quite peaceful!

Now - we don't have kids.. so I can see the draw of Stormalong Bay!

 

[jillgunter]

We own at BWV, we are newer owners. Stayed one time so far. We had a corner standard view 1 bedroom villa in October. It was a awesome room and never had any noise. We loved the resort. We go to Epcot a lot for food and wine. The boat ride is great, like a 4 min ride. We took it to HS also. We liked the vibe at BWV. Went over to BC and we thought it felt dark and stuffy. Was not us. We bought at BWV because that's were we want to stay most of the time. Good luck!

 

[goofy4wdw2]

I love both.

WL is great for the warm and cozy theming (the lobby is amazing!) and boat ride to MK. I like that the food choices are all in the main building and includes a counter service. It's a quieter resort and the villas are in a separate building divided by a short covered walkway but WL does offer fun poolside activities and my kids also made sand castles on the beach with the cast members. There is a small pin station and one medium size cute gift shop but no night life, area to walk around and shop in the evening.

BWV is the opposite with bright and cheery decor. I like that the villas are right off the main lobby rather than a separate building like at WL. The hallways can be long but the entering off the lobby makes me feel more immersed in the Disney feel. BWV doesn't have a traditional counter service which is a bummer to me (I'd prefer more choices for meals vs sandwiches, baked goods). However, there are several sit down restaurants plus a candy/ice cream shop right on the boardwalk which we love. The gift shop on the boardwalk is a good size and we like walking through a few times during our trip. We love being able to walk to two parks but the busses for the other parks and DTD stink in my opinion...they share with swan/dolphin/beach/yacht club. The time to go to each resort alone takes a long time when you're excited to get into the park.

Overall I love both resorts. Go for WL if you prefer quieter, BWV if you prefer being closer to the action.

 

[a742246]

To me the best thing about BWV is the standard room category. It save approx 20-30% point usage. Plus I like the quiet pools better at BWV than BC.

 

[n2mm]

To me the best thing about BWV is the standard room category. It save approx 20-30% point usage. Plus I like the quiet pools better at BWV than BC.

I agree. One of the reasons I own there. I book the standard rooms at the 11 month window. I almost got shut out at 8:00am on the exact day of my 11 month window this year, but managed to snag my ressie another October. It gets harder to get each year.