Boulder Ridge Renovation?

[DonMacGregor]

I couldn't guess however my HOPE is that it takes longer than the 3-4 weeks they spent on it last time. At the very least I'd think enough should be done by your trip to have a good chance that it's close to done, at least as long as they start in early fall and not Dec 21st. The resort is not large so will be faster than others.

I'm there 9/5-9/10, then back 3/9-3/16, so we're hoping the first trip will be our last pre-refurb.

 

[DonMacGregor]

based on the SSR reno, with the same amount of work per unit...less than 2 months. It all depends on how serious they are about getting it done.

Yeah, my semi-educated guess would be about that or maybe a slight bit longer. I haven't really seen any other refurbs beyond SSR to get a feel for their typical construction schedule, but I'd expect it to be a bit slower than SSR, only because the density of rooms is greater in the single building, and all rooms are interior access (versus SSR). In other words, BRV is equal to 2 SSR buildings, by number of units, but I'd expect it to take longer than 2 SSR buildings to complete since at any single moment, you still need access to the rooms still in use. Sequencing, access, etc.

How long did they take to flip OPK at VGF? That has 202 rooms (all resort studios), but might give another point of reference.

 

[4ParkFamily]

based on the SSR reno, with the same amount of work per unit...less than 2 months. It all depends on how serious they are about getting it done.

Well so far it dose not seem they are too serious so maybe 6 months?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yeah, my semi-educated guess would be about that or maybe a slight bit longer. I haven't really seen any other refurbs beyond SSR to get a feel for their typical construction schedule, but I'd expect it to be a bit slower than SSR, only because the density of rooms is greater in the single building, and all rooms are interior access (versus SSR). In other words, BRV is equal to 2 SSR buildings, by number of units, but I'd expect it to take longer than 2 SSR buildings to complete since at any single moment, you still need access to the rooms still in use. Sequencing, access, etc.

How long did they take to flip OPK at VGF? That has 202 rooms (all resort studios), but might give another point of reference.

They were full on into Big Pine Key when I was there at the end of March so they started before that. What was the opening date - mid June? Full access, nobody staying there and they had to have had multiple crews working as I saw them going at it even at 10-11pm at night.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I want to stay in a renovated VWL studio or one bedroom . I am waiting until they have finished renovating, THEN I will book 11 months out.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Point of clarification: DVC filed a Notice of Commencement in June, not an application for a building permit. NOC's are notarized legal documents filed with the county clerk and signify the start of project. They provide basic contact information for the property owner, contractor, lender and about the surety.

At the beginning of a project, owners must sign a Notice of Commencement, stating that they are the owner; list their contact information, give the legal description of the property, state the contractor's name and address, state surety information, identify the lender, describe the work being done and provide an expiration date of the Notice of Commencement.

NOC's are required under Florida statute for any work valued greater than $2,500, and are required to be filed prior to applying for a building permit.

 

[DonnaL]

Well I also received a response from a Patrick Sandberg on Thursday (Aug 5) to my email. As another poster who received a response stated “very canned” said not a thing about this fall, but, rather “we have no information at this time to report to DVC members regarding the planned refurbishment. However, please keep in mind projects such as this are always subject to change without notice”. IMO….not a very encouraging response by any means. I will not be the least bit surprised if the project has been put on the back burner “again”.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Also keep in mind, the refurbs aren’t out of the kindness of DVC’s heart. They are funded by reserves built up through membership dues. It’s our money they are sitting on and at some point they have a legal obligation to utilize those funds for the intended purpose.

 

[Lorana]

I received a reply this morning, also from Patrick. It was a canned response, though he did clearly add a few notes to address my frustration as he directly referenced my comments ("With it now being August and no announcement about a start date, in addition to other projects at a couple of our other Resort currently underway, I can appreciate you might be questioning whether plans to refurbish the Villas at this Resort have been scrapped entirely. I am sorry for the frustrations and disappointment this has caused you, especially considering your hopes of staying in a newly refurbished room come December when you visit us again.").

However, it still said "Unfortunately, we have no information to share with our Members at this time regarding the refurbishment of Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge." They did assure me they'd pass along my concerns.

I'm going to cross my fingers that it starts later this year, and is done before April, though I've given up hope it will be done in time for the holidays. I'm holding onto some small hope that filing the Notice of Commencement means they'll actually do it, but I'm convinced they'll be completing it in April. I have a potential trip in mid-April, and I hope to do a 2BR at BRV for a few nights and invite my SIL's family to join us.

 

[Lorana]

Also keep in mind, the refurbs aren’t out of the kindness of DVC’s heart. They are funded by reserves built up through membership dues. It’s our money they are sitting on and at some point they have a legal obligation to utilize those funds for the intended purpose.

When does it become negligence on Disney's part, is what I'm wondering? They have been sitting on our capital reserves for years now. The refurb was supposed to take place in 2020. They bumped several resorts NOT scheduled for a refurb ahead of BRV. At what point does it become clear that Disney is NOT acting in the owner's best interest, such that they WILL be obligated to do the refurb? I'm admittedly writing this out of frustration, but it is beyond frustrating that my ownership at BRV is not being treated with the same care as my ownership at PVB, where I got a bonus refurb ahead of schedule* while BRV is still languishing and still no date announced.

*Of course, "bonus" means I'm going to pay more in dues to cover that ahead-of-schedule refurb, unless they intend on postponing the future refurb as a result. But at least my money is being used to upkeep my resort, instead of sitting in a bank not being used for its intended purpose... is Disney trying to delay this enough so they can make the argument to never do a full refurb at BRV again (as its ownership ends in just under 19 years 5 months).

 

[DonnaL]

I received a reply this morning, also from Patrick. It was a canned response, though he did clearly add a few notes to address my frustration as he directly referenced my comments ("With it now being August and no announcement about a start date, in addition to other projects at a couple of our other Resort currently underway, I can appreciate you might be questioning whether plans to refurbish the Villas at this Resort have been scrapped entirely. I am sorry for the frustrations and disappointment this has caused you, especially considering your hopes of staying in a newly refurbished room come December when you visit us again.").

However, it still said "Unfortunately, we have no information to share with our Members at this time regarding the refurbishment of Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge." They did assure me they'd pass along my concerns.

I'm going to cross my fingers that it starts later this year, and is done before April, though I've given up hope it will be done in time for the holidays. I'm holding onto some small hope that filing the Notice of Commencement means they'll actually do it, but I'm convinced they'll be completing it in April. I have a potential trip in mid-April, and I hope to do a 2BR at BRV for a few nights and invite my SIL's family to join us.

This is the exact email I received…also referencing my frustrations and concerns.

 

[DonnaL]

I think what bothers me the most about this whole situation is not really the fact that this project has been delayed for so long already. We have just come through some of the worst, tragic years in American history and it’s understandable that major projects were put on hold and now having trouble getting equipment, building materials, etc. However, that said, the project was to be done in 2020 prior to pandemic and management at DVC pushed not one, but TWO other DVC projects ahead of it and managed to get building supplies and furnishings for those projects. It’s very possible the projects at Grand Floridian and Poly were indeed on the drawing board, but, simply the fact that the BRV refurbish project, which was scheduled for 2020, was pushed to the back burner for two projects which had NEVER BEEN mentioned prior, should be a telling factor to all DVC members. DVC management is absolutely more interested in continuing to sell even more new memberships rather than servicing the long term membership relationships created more than 20 years ago when Boulder Ridge was first built.

 

[MickeyT]

I think what bothers me the most about this whole situation is not really the fact that this project has been delayed for so long already. We have just come through some of the worst, tragic years in American history and it’s understandable that major projects were put on hold and now having trouble getting equipment, building materials, etc. However, that said, the project was to be done in 2020 prior to pandemic and management at DVC pushed not one, but TWO other DVC projects ahead of it and managed to get building supplies and furnishings for those projects. It’s very possible the projects at Grand Floridian and Poly were indeed on the drawing board, but, simply the fact that the BRV refurbish project, which was scheduled for 2020, was pushed to the back burner for two projects which had NEVER BEEN mentioned prior, should be a telling factor to all DVC members. DVC management is absolutely more interested in continuing to sell even more new memberships rather than servicing the long term membership relationships created more than 20 years ago when Boulder Ridge was first built.

Couldn't have said it better Donna.

 

[DonnaL]

When does it become negligence on Disney's part, is what I'm wondering? They have been sitting on our capital reserves for years now. The refurb was supposed to take place in 2020. They bumped several resorts NOT scheduled for a refurb ahead of BRV. At what point does it become clear that Disney is NOT acting in the owner's best interest, such that they WILL be obligated to do the refurb? I'm admittedly writing this out of frustration, but it is beyond frustrating that my ownership at BRV is not being treated with the same care as my ownership at PVB, where I got a bonus refurb ahead of schedule* while BRV is still languishing and still no date announced.

*Of course, "bonus" means I'm going to pay more in dues to cover that ahead-of-schedule refurb, unless they intend on postponing the future refurb as a result. But at least my money is being used to upkeep my resort, instead of sitting in a bank not being used for its intended purpose... is Disney trying to delay this enough so they can make the argument to never do a full refurb at BRV again (as its ownership ends in just under 19 years 5 months).

I totally agree with everything you’re saying. However, I’m also quite sure there Is very likely fine print somewhere in our contract that allows exceptions as to when major refurbs are to be done. I believe at this point the more vocal BRV owners get, the quicker some movement will be made to begin the project. Anyone have a contact at the Orlando Sentinel? Or perhaps WESH news? After all, DVC wants to sell new contracts…negative publicity from current owners would not help.

 

[danikoski]

I totally agree with everything you’re saying. However, I’m also quite sure there Is very likely fine print somewhere in our contract that allows exceptions as to when major refurbs are to be done. I believe at this point the more vocal BRV owners get, the quicker some movement will be made to begin the project. Anyone have a contact at the Orlando Sentinel? Or perhaps WESH news? After all, DVC wants to sell new contracts…negative publicity from current owners would not help.

I'm not an owner at BRV, although we rent points to stay there. However, we were seriously considering buying into DVC, and doing the DVC spiel on our trip in the fall, but the way BRV owners have been treated, and the major focus on new owners instead of maintaining current properties, has us holding off.

 

[TraJon]

I'm not an owner at BRV, although we rent points to stay there. However, we were seriously considering buying into DVC, and doing the DVC spiel on our trip in the fall, but the way BRV owners have been treated, and the major focus on new owners instead of maintaining current properties, has us holding off.

We went for it! The price was fantastic and we are keeping the faith about a renovation. The one little instagram post a few years back for the test room was enough to talk us into it. I look every day for info. One day…

 

[Lorana]

It’s very possible the projects at Grand Floridian and Poly were indeed on the drawing board, but, simply the fact that the BRV refurbish project, which was scheduled for 2020, was pushed to the back burner for two projects which had NEVER BEEN mentioned prior, should be a telling factor to all DVC members. DVC management is absolutely more interested in continuing to sell even more new memberships rather than servicing the long term membership relationships created more than 20 years ago when Boulder Ridge was first built.

This right here. This is the heart of my frustration. And so much more well said than I did. You’re right; It’s so clear that the interest is new sales and not in supporting existing owners or properties, and contacting member services does nothing meaningful. We don’t seem to have a true means of engaging DVC leadership on these kinds of issues, either.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Came here hoping for an update, but all I see is frustration.

 

[momtwoboys]

our 7 month mark is sept 16 so my guess is we will look for what is open and swap . Cannot risk another very crappy stay in April

 

[DonnaL]

Our last trip was late Feb 2020….right before the world shut down. Over the past 22 years we have never NOT been to WDW less than once per year….many years more than once per year. In the early years, it was the whole family …5 of us…then as the kids got older..it was whoever could make it that trip. This is the very FIRST time in all of our years of ownership we have placed our points for rental. We didn’t…at first….we simply banked 2021 points…but a few weeks ago made a firm family decision to rent out those banked points with one of the rental agencies. The limbo situation with the refurb of BRV has really left us wondering what happened to the DVC of the past? Yes….Disney does have a bottom line…I get that…and yes….they are a for profit company…I get the fact that their flagship resort, GF, had many, many empty rooms for multiple reasons….outrageously priced, no Convention traffic over the past 2+ years, etc…..so DVC to the rescue. The same with the Poly. However, DVC management absolutely needs to begin stepping up and realizing those of us who purchased many years ago deserve the same treatment potential new purchasers are receiving…..a beautiful, renovated resort we would love to visit frequently and call our home away from home. So much for “Welcome Home”…..