BWV question...stairs, views, and such?!?

[gopherit]

We have a 2br std view booked for this August. I elected to go with std view because (a) it was a pts saver so we could bring fanmily along and stay longer and (b) thought it might be quieter than the BWV view. In any case -- am now wondering about where precisely I should, if given the option, elect to stay -- higher floor, down on the end, for Illuminations view? Or up closer to the elevators for ease on the feet? Or down the hall but lower floor for quick access to parking lot and MGM walkway? Or second floor to eliminate need for elevator/stairwell altogether? We will have an infant in our party (8 mos old) -- would second floor lobby level be a good deal for us from a stroller perspective? Or is second floor noisier due to being on lobby level? How are the views from second floor? (Not that the view is a huge issue... the "std view" is after all just that -- std. But what the hey, may as well ask!) Can you see Illum. from 2nd floor? And is that view any better / worse than a higher floor? What are porches / balconies like on the 2nd floor? (Which floor has those non-covered porches? I would think they would be very hot and bird-doo enriched in August...) Where are the smoking floors? The only real request we have made for this room is non-smoking -- medical reasons. Have a child w/ heart condition in group and also not keen on exposing the other kids in party to any smoke; I myself have asthma -- wouldn't want to sandwich myself smack dab in the middle of a smoking floor or squarely above it on my balcony (I know that can happen even in the NS villas but just trying to minimize the risk).

This was supposed to be a brief post -- guess I had more questions than I thought. Any help?

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

The higher up you are and the further down the hall you are, the better view of the fireworks you will have. The balconies are different by section, not by floor. Some are covered and some are not on each floor.

Here's a picture of most of the standard view rooms.

Have a great trip.

HBC

 

[DebbieB]

I believe the smoking rooms are on the second floor towards the end of the hall. The best Illuminations views are across from the bus stop down to the pond on the upper floors.

I think the long hallway complaint is overblown, unless you have a disability. I've been on both ends of the resort and it isn't that bad. It's farther to walk from the turnstiles to the castle at MK, no one complains about that.

 

[las3888]

You ask alot of really good questions - I was wondering alot of the same things before our first visit last week. I did a long post of a review that is on the boards here if you want to look it up.

Anyways, we were at the end of the long hallway, and then even around the corner, (studio, standard view), so we couldn't see Illuminations at all. Not ALL of the standard view rooms can see Illuminations, so don't go in with that assumption at all. You can request it, as I tried several times, but the CM on the phone kept telling me (several different CM's by the way) that standard views don't see Illuminations, they just see the parking lot. If you're really bent on it, you should mention it at the front desk when you check in. Anyways, I'm not sure if that view would have been better than what we had. It seems the Illuminatins views mostly just look out ofver the front car port, and while the landscaping is nice, 23 hrs and 40 minutes of the day, your view is of the front car port...just 20 minutes is given to Illuminations. We could see a small pond, parking inthe distance, ToT to the right, and the pathway to MGM. It wasn't a bad view, but definitely a 'standard' view. We were on the 3rd floor (room 3125). I would say 8 times out of 10 we were either going to the pool or the car, so we were glad to be really close to stairwells that took us very quickly to both of those places. When we did go to the lobby area, it wasn't that big of a deal. It is a long walk, but we actually timed it and it took us 2 minutes. Because we were more frequently going to the car or the pool, I was glad to be where we were. I think I might have requested 2nd floor since you only need to climb 1 flight of stairs. I had originally requested top floor (which we didn't get) and I'm glad because we would have been climbing up those stairs several times a day.

Keeping all of this in mind, none of our requests were honored, so so much for that. We weren't bent on anything in particular, so it was just as well.

Also, if you haven't been before, the stairwells are really dingy and look like you are in service hallways - just be prepared...it's no big deal, but it was wierd at first!

BTW, 2nd floor is same level of lobby, but stairwells take you out to first floor.

Also, our porch was self-enclosed. It actually makes it cooler because the sun doesn't beat into the porch or the room at all. There was no issue with bird droppings either...

I hope this helps a bit...I think in the end, you have to realize it is a 6 of 1, half a dozen another situation...if you're close to the lobby, that's great for elevator, dining, EPCOT, and boardwalk activities. If you are at the end of the hallway, it is great for car access, bus access, pool access, and MGM access, and possibly a better view of Illuminations...it's just really kind of a toss-up.

 

[DebbieB]

I had a standard view room in April that was down the other end near Jellyrolls (3002 - 1 bedroom). It was over the former DVC offices (with Jellyrolls dumpster area to the right), Swan & Dolphin in front of us. No Illuminations view there. There were stairways down that end that led out to the path to MGM (if you went through a door that said cm's only - the bellman told us it was OK). I think the stairways were intended to just be fire escapes, that's why they are not fancy.

 

[gopherit]

Sounds like I should just wing it and let the room assignment fall where 'ere it may? Like I said -- we aren't especially "view particular"... I would take the end of the bldg view too (glimpsing TOT and pond, etc.) Is there any view to "avoid" in standard view (either due to noise or complete unattractiveness, such as ye ol' VWL dumpster view, or the road noise mentioned for some BCV views)?

And BTW -- what is the "top" floor in BWV? Are there 4 or 5 floors? I think I'd rather not be on the very top (higher chance of open / no shade balcony, and long stairs walking issue) nor do I want to be on the very bottom (too easy for kids to "escape" on us, and I always tend to think of 1st floor rooms having a slightly greater edge for bug possibilities, though certainly that could happen in any room... I just figure why would an ant travel 5 stories when he finds all he needs at ground zero?) I guess I always thought the smoking rooms would be on the top floor... wonder why they stick 'em on the 2nd floor, where they can potentially affect those above? And from fire risk too -- seems odd.

THANKS for the input!

 

[DebbieB]

On the standard views facing the front driveway, the first part of the hall is 5 floors, the rest is 4 floors.

I personally would not want to be close to the entrance (which is also close to the elevators), it seems busy with the valet area there. I prefer the area between the bus stop and the pond.

 

[las3888]

It is wierd - for a few days I thought we were in the 'middle' floor, being on the 3rd floor, then I realized that our room (the one at the end by the pond, parking, and MGM pathway) was actually 2nd from the top. The rooms are only 4 stories high at that section. When we were at the quiet pool, I took notice that some areas have 5 floors, while some have 4. It's too bad that 2nd floor is smoking - are we sure that is the case for every room? To me, that is the ideal floor...I am not crazy about first floor, but 2nd floor is okay...

To do it all over, I am probably more 'view-hung-up' than you, and I decided to let it lie and go with what we had...I wasn't disappointed. I think the best attitude is that it is 'standard view' but really none of the rooms that I could tell seem bad. The landscaping is fairly nice everywhere and really helps. I tell you I am glad I didn't pay the extra points for a 'preferred' view because some of those that overlook the 'preferred' areas didn't seem any better than what we had at all (if not worse). Now that being said, I am sure some preferred view rooms are very nice, but there was alot of variance.

Not sure about rooms to avoid - having just seen the one that we were in. Any of the standard view rooms that overlook the car port seemed decent enough...probably 2nd or 3rd floor being preferable (due to stair climbing and issues with strollers etc.).

Be sure to write a post after your stay to let us know what you get and the pro's and con's to it!!!

 

[Pig Pen]

We were near the elevators on the 3rd floor, towards MGM, and could NOT see Illuminations over the BWI buildings.

We overlooked the entrance drive, which was not that bad. The grounds around the driveway are so pretty you can't complain. My DH enjoyed sipping his coffee on the balcony and people-watching.