OK, OK, so I waited a little while to post. My only excuse is that these past few weeks have been VERY busy for me and I also needed some distance from this trip to really report on it. Reasons for that to be explained below...
I and 5 friends arrived on Sat., May 1, at BWV. I got my very first "Welcome Home" of the stay from the guard at the BWV entrance gate as our car pulled up, prompting a little happy dance from me. My friends looked at me like I was nuts. "You have to be a DISer to understand," I explained. They rolled their eyes at me anyway.
The 6 of us were to have a 2bdrm, BW preferred view with a request for a non-smoking suite due to medical reasons. The CM told me the resort was packed, so our room wasn't ready yet. Since we were all starving, we went for lunch at Big River Grille then went to get our registration packets for the skate race we'd be doing the next day. There was also time to check out Community Hall where three of us played air hockey to our hearts' content. I don't know who was having more fun - a group of 20+ year olds or the kids nearby! The Hall was smaller than I imagined it to by, however. By the time we got back, it was almost 4 PM and our rooms were ready.
We were assigned 2043 (the studio) and 2045 (the 1bdrm). I may have those reversed, I'm not sure. Now, after all the stories I'd heard on these boards about the endless hallways of the BWV, I was prepared to walk and walk and walk. So after heading towards the elevators, then making a right and coming to the first open area, I was suprised to find our rooms right there. This wasn't so bad! It got even better when I opened the door and looked out the balcony. We were over the Screen Door with a perfect view of where Illuminations would be. My friends were suitably impressed with the living situation.
The rooms were wonderful, but did have some wear and tear on them. However, I'm not one to let something like that dampen my trip. I was in Disney, the rooms were quite comfortable, a little wear and tear is to be expected.
Dinner the next night (5/2) was at Portobellos at Downtown Disney. While the food was excellent at the time, this is where the trip went downhill. Three of us woke up the next morning seriously ill. I won't get in to details, but we were miserable. We think it was food poisoning, but only three of us out of our large dinner party that night got sick. With a little more perspective now, I think the three of us may have come down with a 48-hour virus.
All I can say is thank goodness we were in these spacious, comfortable rooms. I would not want to have been this ill in a small, regular-size hotel room. The next two days were shot. We could not move from the room. Maybe we should have gone to see a dr., but since we thought it was food poisoning, we thought it would pass on its own. In retrospect, we should have at least contacted the resort and asked if there was any way medical help could have seen us in the rooms. Fortunately, by the 5th (the day we had to leave), we were mobile, though not 100%. We did get to see parts of the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom before going to the airport and heading home.
This is one of those times I am grateful I am in a situation where I have the privilege to be a part of DVC. Though I got sick and, as a result, the trip was not all I had been hoping it would be, I'm not as upset as if I'd paid lots of money for the rooms and tickets and then not been able to go to the parks. I know I'm going back. The two friends who also got sick know I'm going to ask them to come with me again. The tickets are good forever, so even though we didn't get to use them this time, we won't have to spend that money again when we go back. I do feel cheated out of a vacation. I guess this means I'll have to go to Disney twice this year instead of only once!
Trying to remain philosophical,
sk8belle
I and 5 friends arrived on Sat., May 1, at BWV. I got my very first "Welcome Home" of the stay from the guard at the BWV entrance gate as our car pulled up, prompting a little happy dance from me. My friends looked at me like I was nuts. "You have to be a DISer to understand," I explained. They rolled their eyes at me anyway.
The 6 of us were to have a 2bdrm, BW preferred view with a request for a non-smoking suite due to medical reasons. The CM told me the resort was packed, so our room wasn't ready yet. Since we were all starving, we went for lunch at Big River Grille then went to get our registration packets for the skate race we'd be doing the next day. There was also time to check out Community Hall where three of us played air hockey to our hearts' content. I don't know who was having more fun - a group of 20+ year olds or the kids nearby! The Hall was smaller than I imagined it to by, however. By the time we got back, it was almost 4 PM and our rooms were ready.
We were assigned 2043 (the studio) and 2045 (the 1bdrm). I may have those reversed, I'm not sure. Now, after all the stories I'd heard on these boards about the endless hallways of the BWV, I was prepared to walk and walk and walk. So after heading towards the elevators, then making a right and coming to the first open area, I was suprised to find our rooms right there. This wasn't so bad! It got even better when I opened the door and looked out the balcony. We were over the Screen Door with a perfect view of where Illuminations would be. My friends were suitably impressed with the living situation.
The rooms were wonderful, but did have some wear and tear on them. However, I'm not one to let something like that dampen my trip. I was in Disney, the rooms were quite comfortable, a little wear and tear is to be expected.
Dinner the next night (5/2) was at Portobellos at Downtown Disney. While the food was excellent at the time, this is where the trip went downhill. Three of us woke up the next morning seriously ill. I won't get in to details, but we were miserable. We think it was food poisoning, but only three of us out of our large dinner party that night got sick. With a little more perspective now, I think the three of us may have come down with a 48-hour virus.
All I can say is thank goodness we were in these spacious, comfortable rooms. I would not want to have been this ill in a small, regular-size hotel room. The next two days were shot. We could not move from the room. Maybe we should have gone to see a dr., but since we thought it was food poisoning, we thought it would pass on its own. In retrospect, we should have at least contacted the resort and asked if there was any way medical help could have seen us in the rooms. Fortunately, by the 5th (the day we had to leave), we were mobile, though not 100%. We did get to see parts of the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom before going to the airport and heading home.
This is one of those times I am grateful I am in a situation where I have the privilege to be a part of DVC. Though I got sick and, as a result, the trip was not all I had been hoping it would be, I'm not as upset as if I'd paid lots of money for the rooms and tickets and then not been able to go to the parks. I know I'm going back. The two friends who also got sick know I'm going to ask them to come with me again. The tickets are good forever, so even though we didn't get to use them this time, we won't have to spend that money again when we go back. I do feel cheated out of a vacation. I guess this means I'll have to go to Disney twice this year instead of only once!
Trying to remain philosophical,
sk8belle
Glad you enjoyed BWV, we'll be trying it for the first time in July. Do you have any pictures of your villa? Thanks! 
