Boardwalk?

[Dawn T.]

They are changing it to an alligator. Too soon?

Yeah....too soon.

 

[Perelandra]

That clown slide is AWESOME! How could anyone not love it? Sure, bunnies and puppy dogs are nice sometimes, but we need gorillas, gators, and psychedelic clowns to balance it out sometimes too. There's a reason that this world has them all.

 

[ToddyLu]

A reptile will replace the clown....for real? Yeah...too soon

 

[graychef]

The standard rooms are, bar none, the best deal of the dvc properties...

Lots of truth here

 

[zavandor]

IMO you should stay at all resorts prior to buying. Thinking that you may like a resort based on other peoples opinions can be a mistake. Nothing worse than buying a resort and later realizing that you don't like the place.

Bill

In an ideal world: yes, sure.
But with so many resorts it would take years. I bought unseen years ago without even stay once at a DVC resort, I only visited the lobby of a couple of them. I bought during the recession, so for me the decision was a bit easier given how good the prices were. However I've spent months here researching and I had clear in mind which were my priorities: I wanted to visit all the resorts over time, so I bought the cheapest resort. I agree though, that before buying an expensive resort like PVB at direct prices, one should try it, expecially since it's so different from other DVC resorts given the studios only option.

 

[Popouri DVC]

Boardwalk is a fantastic resort for all the pluses mentioned above, especially the ability to walk to two parks, four resorts and so much dining.

We love our VGF, but am sorely tempted with addonitis for BWV.

 

[DebbieB]

I've owned BWV since 1999, no regrets. I like some variety so alternate with other resorts. I stay there for the hard to get times, October and Early December. Then stay at other resorts in the spring. I've stayed at all the WDW DVC except SSR, no problem at 7 months for slower times.

 

[ScubaCat]

BWV is basically BCV with a crappy pool.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

BWV is basically BCV with a crappy pool.

Uh, yeah, not really.

 

[LisaS]

BWV is basically BCV with a crappy pool.

Another perspective: BWV is basically BCV but with the option of a lovely view (Boardwalk View rooms) or a great bargain (Standard View rooms).

When we first considered DVC we knew we wanted an Epcot resort. We were considering whether to purchase BCV or BWV and were torn. We had stayed at YC a couple of times and liked the amenities of YC/BC. But we always booked a lake view room at YC and we thought we would miss the view if we opted for BCV so we purchased BWV instead and have never regretted the decision. It's great to have the option of a great view or a longer stay by booking a Standard View room where we've been fortunate to be assigned a room near the canal, with a great view of the Epcot fireworks.

 

[gharter]

Another perspective: BWV is basically BCV but with the option of a lovely view (Boardwalk View rooms) or a great bargain (Standard View rooms).

When we first considered DVC we knew we wanted an Epcot resort. We were considering whether to purchase BCV or BWV and were torn. We had stayed at YC a couple of times and liked the amenities of YC/BC. But we always booked a lake view room at YC and we thought we would miss the view if we opted for BCV so we purchased BWV instead and have never regretted the decision. It's great to have the option of a great view or a longer stay by booking a Standard View room where we've been fortunate to be assigned a room near the canal, with a great view of the Epcot fireworks.

We had similar thoughts. Knew we wanted an EPCOT resort. Always loved staying at BC and YC, but also really liked Boardwalk when we stayed there. In the end, looking at what BCV had to offer (or lack of a view), we decided Boardwalk was a better choice for us.

 

[ScubaCat]

True, much better views. So it's lousy view with awesome pool vs. lovely views and a little puddle ogled by a scary clown. . I'll sacrifice the view.

Although to be fair, if we didn't spend half of every day at the pool, I'd likely have bought elsewhere.

 

[CarolMN]

Hmmmm. I wish more people hated that "scary" clown. Maybe then BWV wouldn't be so hard to get!

Pool has its advantages if a family has more than one small child. SAB is a tough place for parents to keep an eye on the kids. BWV feature pool is much easier. YMMV.

 

[Dean]

This is good advice especially since you read so many posts now, on how there is limited availability at the 7 month window. This makes your home resort so much more important to get a room at the 11th month. If at all possible, before investing your hard earn $, if you can do a weekend trip to take the DVC tour at maybe your top 3 picks to get a better idea.

I'm responding on the general purchase concept, not necessarily the OP specific question though I think it applies there as well. I'm the first to tell people to spend TIME and real investigation prior to buying. I feel there are 3 areas of experience that can help one make a good decision, these include experience with good timeshares in general, on property Disney and DVC specifically. It's difficult to make a truly good decision without decent experience in at least 2 of these areas, having some experience in all 3 is even better.

The strategy of staying at all would give one significant information as long as they did their investigation on the other aspects. However, I think it's unrealistic to stay even at all on property options before buying when DVC makes sense otherwise. I think a trip or 2 possibly as a rental if one doesn't have direct DVC experience is very important and any potential cost savings lost on the rentals is well worth it there due to making a better decision. If one is still completely undecided then an additional trip that's well chosen should be more than enough to decide if one visits the other resorts. There comes a point where one needs to make a decision and move on. If that means that DVC makes sense, then buy the best option based on current info and try it out. If one is still unsure, buy the cheapest option that works for the situation, usually that's SSR or decline to purchase at the present time. Then one can do ongoing investigation over time and either add on or sell and buy the preferred choice later depending on specifics. That's especially true if one is looking at a larger points total and/or multiple or longer trips per year. When that's the case multiple home resorts is often the best choice anyway.

Some will counter that this strategy won't work for VGF or value standard rooms and I'd suggest that it often is irrelevant but that it can even for VGF though the more difficult the reservation the more time, effort and flexibility one needs to try them owning elsewhere. For that purpose the Disney/DVC trips & experience need to focus on the aspects one needs to make an informed decision in their situation. For example, if one has significant Disney on property experience and is pretty sure that VGF is going to be what they want, do the rental there and possibly a second one at something like SSR or AKV as a comparison/contrast. Doing 2 rentals with one at BCV and one at BWV will give significantly less information due to the lack of significant difference between the 2.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

It is a horrible, nasty, terrible place to stay. I think everyone who currently owns points there should put them on the market and no one should buy any so the price drops. No way should anyone else buy there.

Now, once I scoop up the additional 100 points I want than you can all come back to what I think is the best DVC on property. Good views for reasonable points, standard rooms for great points, and the ability to walk to two parks can't be beat. SAB is way too crowded. It is ok for a day or two, but not for a whole week IMHO.

VWL was my favorite, but now that they killed off my favorite pool and all the trees I am not happy. I am glad we have half our points at Boardwalk as it is way too hard to book there in the fall when we normally travel without the 11 month window.

 

[ScubaCat]

It's a lovely property. Pretty lame pool though. Ok I'm done. LOL. I am going to walk over in September one evening and see what's going on over there. I have enjoyed a few bowl games at that ESPN zone. Pretty fun

 

[gr8tdame]

We bought at boardwak(waiting for estoppel) because we either go in the winter months and rarely use the pool. We wanted to have a view as I like to have my morning coffee and pre dinner cocktails sitting on the balcony.
When DS was younger, he would spend a lot of time in the pool and we would have bought BCV.
We also bought at AKV for the days we spend at Animal Kingdom for proximity.
I hate spending anymore time on the buses than necessary.

 

[ScubaCat]

We bought at boardwak(waiting for estoppel) because we either go in the winter months and rarely use the pool. We wanted to have a view as I like to have my morning coffee and pre dinner cocktails sitting on the balcony.
When DS was younger, he would spend a lot of time in the pool and we would have bought BCV.
We also bought at AKV for the days we spend at Animal Kingdom for proximity.
I hate spending anymore time on the buses than necessary.

My least favorite thing about BCV and BWV is the slow boat to DHS. I know it's technically walkable, but when it's 90 degrees in FL humidity and you're already going to be walking constantly once you're there, we opt for the transportation option. We don't do AK very often so that's not an issue. I agree that the bus to MK can take a while, but the MK resorts are otherwise vastly inferior to BCV and BWV (my opinion, obviously, not shared by others), so we just deal with it. The walk to Epcot and the amenities and views just can't be beat. (I still can't believe BWV doesn't have a better pool, but obviously it doesn't matter!)

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

My least favorite thing about BCV and BWV is the slow boat to DHS. I know it's technically walkable, but when it's 90 degrees in FL humidity and you're already going to be walking constantly once you're there, we opt for the transportation option. We don't do AKV very often so that's not an issue. I agree that the bus to MK can take a while, but the MK resorts are otherwise vastly inferior to BCV and BWV (my opinion, obviously, not shared by others), so we just deal with it. The walk to Epcot and the amenities and views just can't be beat. (I still can't believe BWV doesn't have a better pool, but obviously it doesn't matter!)

And the boat is in good part what places BWV much higher for us vs BCV. Putting aside that it is walking - if you dislike the boat service there it elevates BWV higher. We've had to hoof it 2-3 times from BCV boat dock to DHS because the boats kept arriving full - or not arriving at all on schedule and we had either FP or dining to get to. From BWV, it's an easy walk to either park. As usually, the nice thing is that we don't all have the same items of importance. And while someone may not consider something "splashy" enough (pardon the pun!) it may be pefect for someone else.

The pools. Well, this is just my opinion but the SAB slide - is just utterly boring. It definitely looks cool but BWV's slide is much, much better. For overall ambiance I do like SAB more than the clown pool but I like the quiet nature, hot tub, restrooms and community hall that are all right at the BWV quiet pool. But I'm surprised that your surprised that BWV doesn't have a better pool. SAB was an aberration for Disney but closer to what you will find at new "deluxe" vacation hotels elsewhere. My best guess is that they either think people will not care much about the pool since they'll be in the parks and just looking for a quick dip either before or after, or they don't want people to spend much time at the pools but instead to be in the parks.

What I'd like to see is the equivalent of Aulani's pool somewhere at WDW. SAB is closest but the slide at Aulani is actually a good one.

 

[Shellyred8]

We own a BWV and love it! As many others have said, the location is awesome! We love just walking around the boardwalk area at night. Also, if you happen to luck out an get a view that faces HS, you can see some of the fireworks at night.

I had to chuckle at some of the people that have commented that the hallways are so long. They clearly have not been to Kidani and been put in one of the rooms in the far end of the building. Definitely would've been nice to have one of these: