BWV vs BCV Need help!

[lingber]

Between the two, which resort would you pick as your home resort? All opinions are appreciated. We are a family of four with children 9 and 13. We love the location, but can't decide if BCV is worth the additional cost. Thanks!

 

[codysmom1990]

Between Boardwalk and Beachclub, I think Beachclub is so much better for families with children. Boardwalk didn't feel family like, more for couples etc who like the dancing club stuff. It is an easy walk to go and visit while staying at Beach Club. The bikes are fun to rent from Boardwalk, I suggest doing that for nice family fun. They have bikes to fit 4- 6 maybe even 8 people. The Beach Club has a very good family feel. The pool there, Storm Along Bay is fantastic, they even have a lazy river. There is also Beaches and Cream by the pool where you can eat hamburgers and hot dogs and some very good ice cream and then jump right back in the pool. There is usually a wait though so put your name on list like 30 mins before you want to eat. The pool is so good there you wouldn't miss not going to Blizzard Beach or Typhoon, unless you want to do their water slides. And the best part is no one is allowed to pool hop at Beach Club like you can at other pools so it is just for the peeople staying at Beach Club & Yacht Club. If you go say hi to Art the Greeter, he is so so nice. Also they have a character breakfast there in the mornings, just ask at front desk.

 

[tigger813]

We're off to BCV in Oct, Dh and I stayed there last summer and loved it. Our DDs are really excited about meeting Art. He was out sick when we stopped by BCV in Dec. DH and I have a nice picutre with Art. He gave us an anniversary pin that DH said to make sure we have in Oct. DDs get so excited when they see him on Samantha Browns's special on BC. I'm really excited to see him again. He's like a dear old friend.

Tracey

 

[CarolMN]

Differences:

• Locations are similar - BCV is closer to EPCOT, but IMHO not really within walking distance to DHS (esp if it's hot & humid). BWV is walking distance to both parks.

• 
  BCV has SAB.

• BWV has lower point SV units and guaranteed Boardwalk view units. (Only relevant if you can plan well in advance).

• BWV has a Community Hall, BCV does not.

• BCV has dedicated 2 bedroom units - some have two queen beds in the 2nd bedroom and the rest have a queen sleep sofa. All 2 bedroom units at BWV are lock off units (double sleep sofa and 1 queen bed in the second bedroom)

• Parking is closer at BCV

My DH & I are not pool people and the 2 bedroom unit differences are not important to us. So we strongly prefer BWV.

 

[CarolA]

Differences:

• Locations are similar - BCV is closer to EPCOT, but IMHO not really within walking distance to DHS (esp if it's hot & humid). BWV is walking distance to both parks.

• 
  BCV has SAB.

• BWV has lower point SV units and guaranteed Boardwalk view units. (Only relevant if you can plan well in advance).

• BWV has a Community Hall, BCV does not.

• BCV has dedicated 2 bedroom units - some have two queen beds in the 2nd bedroom and the rest have a queen sleep sofa. All 2 bedroom units at BWV are lock off units (double sleep sofa and 1 queen bed in the second bedroom)

• Parking is closer at BCV

My DH & I are not pool people and the 2 bedroom unit differences are not important to us. So we strongly prefer BWV.

I think this is a great comparison.

I went with BCV. I much perfer the pool and I like the fact that it is closer to Epcot then BWV.

 

[bangzoom6877]

We are not members yet, but will be purchasing a resale at BWV in the near future. We were first looking at BCV because of the location, but we decided to go with BWV for a few reasons. We have two children, ages 1 and 3 currently, and they will be 3 and 5 on our first trip "home" in summer 2010. Here are our reasons for choosing BWV over BCV:

-the pool at BWV is beautiful and definitely enjoyable for all of us, so we are not choosing BCV just because of Stormalong Bay (remember you cannot pool hop to SAB)

-you can easily walk to both Epcot and DHS from BWV (we LOVE both these parks!)

-lower point costs for standard view, but you can still get preferred/BW view for the same points as it costs for any room of the same size at BCV (we plan our vacations well in advance because we always know we are going in July, so we will book 11 months out, at the moment they open the phone lines! This makes a difference in availability of standard rooms at BWV)

-we can still walk over to BC/YC for dining (great restaurants though at all 3 resorts...BW, BC, YC)

-Community Hall at BWV...we are going to do 10-night stays every other year with only 5 days at the parks to make it a nice relaxing vacation too, and love the idea of Community Hall's activities

-entertainment on the Boardwalk

-could still use Sandcastle Kids' Club once my little one is 4 years old so DH and I can go out to some evening entertainment on the BW

We just love the area in general, and after doing lots of research we decided BWV is for us!

 

[lingber]

Thanks for all the great input. Please keep it coming! We really appreciate the feedback. I didn't know about Community Hall. What types of activities do they have there? Also is it easier to get into BWV at 7 months than BCV?

These boards are great! Thank you all!

 

[bellazachmom]

We are BCV owners and LOVE it!!

That being said, there is one thing we are a bit sad about -- BCV does NOT have Grand Villas!! We would LOVE to have a trip or 2 with a bunch of our family and stay in one villa and I don't think that will be an option for us because they are just to hard to book at the 7 month mark. We are currently looking to add on at our 2nd favorite resort - VWL - but it doesn't have them either!! If you think that this type of accomidation could be important for your family at some point in your vacationing future then I would pick BWV.

As for your recent question, I think it is easier to book BWV at 7 months then it is to book BCV ... BCV is just a smaller resort with fewer rooms. You might not be able to get the "view"/room catagory that is your first choice at BWV, but you should be able to get a room.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Thanks for all the great input. Please keep it coming! We really appreciate the feedback. I didn't know about Community Hall. What types of activities do they have there? Also is it easier to get into BWV at 7 months than BCV?

These boards are great! Thank you all!

From what I have learned here, Community Hall has things like ping-pong, activities hosted by CMs throughout the day, things for the kids like coloring, and games and stuff. I called Jim McCoy the other day with my questions and he said that at SSR, they have craft seminars, and pottery-making classes, things like that. Also other fun things like water balloon tosses. I imagine these would vary depending on the resort, but he told me this to give me an idea.

From what I have also heard, it is next to impossible to get a standard view room at BW 7 months out. They book up quickly for the folks who have this as their home resort, who can book 11 months out. You would have to wait 4 months longer than those folks, and that can be a very long time in which the rooms can be gone that you really want to book. That is one reason we are choosing BWV over BCV...at least we have a shot at a standard view which is fewer points, although nothing is guaranteed even 11 months out. It also depends on the time of year. We normally vacation in middle of July, but are off for July and August so we are flexible. From what I have also learned here, the first 2 weeks of December are difficult because it is lowest points cost per night, plus decorated for the holidays without the crowds of Christmas week at the parks, so appealing to people to go then.

Now if you are a person who plans less in advance anyway, you would also have to consider that. We went to Disney last month. I was ready to book over a year ago, but my TA talked me out of it and said we had plenty of time. She told me to contact her around the New Year. In November I couldn't take it anymore and insisted on booking. That is me. Others are different. A friend of mine went in June and booked in April, 2 months before (non-DVC member at regular resort). So it all depends on your personal habits because those probably wouldn't change. If you are not used to booking a trip 11 months out and feel uncomfortable doing so, consider that as well.

Before we decided we are definitely buying, we considered lots of factors, mainly our vacation habits and also how much we would go to Disney if we were not DVC members. This pretty much made it final because we consistently go away in July for our big vacation, we planned to go to Disney every other year anyway and stay Deluxe so we could have a queen bed and still be on property, we wanted to stay at BW or BC when staying deluxe for the location, and we plan our vacations far in advance. So there it was...all fell into place. 150-point contract at BWV it will be for us!!!

Good luck in your decision!!

 

[DVC Mike]

Just do what we did: buy into both!

 

[Cherta]

Just wanted to add that BWV has grand villas-BCV does not (which was one of the reasons I chose BWV over BCV).

 

[hygienejean]

I own at BWV but have stayed at both resorts. I have 3 kiddos ages 8,6 and 2. While I loved the pool and quietness of BCV and would def stay there again, BWV has more plusses IMHO. They were previously mentioned but the availability of grand villas, and standard view booking at 11 months out are a prime reason. The closeness of both EPCOT and DHS is great. (Nice to be able to walk to both)The boardwalk views are TDF. (The BCV doesn't have any type of lake view if that is what you want.) There is nothing like sipping coffee in the AM and looking at the lake and Epcot. LOVE that! The excitement of the BW is for kids as well as adults. There are games and magicians etc. (and the knife guy!) The games shut off at something like 10:30...??? Can't remember exactly. Oh and we got BCV with no prob at 7 months out. I know that isn't always the case, maybe we were lucky?

My vote (I am biased!) is BWV but you really can't go wrong with either resort. They are both lovely! Good luck with your descision!

 

[jamstew]

I chose BCV because of the pool, the availability of the 2B/2Q units, the smaller size, and the closer proximity to Epcot. My grandchildren are very young and will enjoy my VWL points for a good while, but I thought BCV would be the best choice for when they're older. For my solo trips and trips with other adults, I much prefer BCV to BWV.

 

[Golden Rose]

DH, my mom, and I just jointly bought AKV with the intention to add on at either BCV or BWV. We've never stayed at the DVC parts of either hotel, but we've stayed at both BC and BW. We really like both but I slightly prefer BC and my mother slightly prefers BW.

We'll probably buy at BWV since the price is a little better. We really enjoy walking to both Epcot and the Studios from the BW... but I confess to preferring both the pool and the atmosphere over at BC. That said, we've never had Boardwalk view (we've worried about noise levels with it), and I hear such great things about it that we'll probably have to try it. I hope I'll be a convert.

I agree that you can't go wrong with either. I think that the price and the location put us slightly onto the BWV side...

 

[Jaaron2]

We prefer BCV over Boardwalk for several reasons:

1) Theme
2) Pool area
3) Overall feel and layout of resort
4) Restaurant's (inside versus outside at Boardwalk) also get Yachtsman Steakhouse!

The one time we stayed at the boardwalk we found ourselves looking across the water and wishing we were at the Beach Club!

Not that there is anything wrong with the boardwalk, just really comes down to preference.

 

[Gina35]

We bought at BWV more than 10 years ago. Our children are now grown (youngest is 19), and we have never regretted our decision. However, I do have to say that we STILL prefer staying at the BCV over BW. Had BCV been available when we were purchasing, we definitely would have bought there. Definite plusses and minuses to both (fewer minuses....after all, they're both great). My kids LOVED SAB as they were growing up and still MUCH prefer it to the BW pool. We prefer being (a little) closer to Epcot and we like having the restaurants and Beaches & Cream at our resort. It is most often easier to book BW at 7 months than BC; we sometimes have to give up on BCV after a 7-month wait list. We have not had a problem booking at BW unless we waited until VERY close to the trip. We have stayed in the BW view rooms and did thoroughly enjoy it; but if we had been given the choice back then, we would have chosen BCV....today we would still choose BCV. You really have to decide what's best for your family. I know how my kids are with SAB!! Good luck with your decision.

 

[brp]

I've been reading TUG for a while now, and only recently thought about Disney when we were there recently and went on one of their tours (for Kidani at AK). We're more EPCOT people, so we decided against that and started looking at BCV and BWV. We ended up putting offers on one of each (160 @ BCV and 100 @ BWV) through two different resale sites. Now we're just waiting on ROFR

We do plan to do some renting, although we also plan to stay there, of course. In doing some reading. it seems that there's a general feeling that renting occasionally is OK, but renting "frequently" is frowned upon. I've read elsewhere of people using this technique to, essentially, pay off their purchase. If these reservations are rented to non-DVC folks, they realize a substantial savings even while the owner can offset some of the initial investment.

I'm new here, and certainly don't want to annoy anyone, so I'm hoping to get the lay of the land

Cheers.

 

[MinnieLee]

We have points at BCV and at VWL. My H loves BCV and I love BWV. We initially purchased into VWL because that was the only place our guide told us that we could. After one year I purchased an additional contract in BCV so that we could be assured of being able to stay there and not be wait listed. We are definitely EPCOT people. Both offer such a variety of restaurants, activtites and have great pools and it is not a long walk to take advantage of either resort. I think you would not go wrong with either one.

 

[dizney4us]

We bought @ BWV because the standard view rooms are such a bargain. We wanted a home resort in the Epcot area, and we just found the ability to have the Boardwalk location for low OKW point range too much of a bargain to pass up. We tend to bring lots of family with us, so the ability to strech those points can really make a difference. I'm sure you can't go wrong with either place, but the low points on the standard view rooms were the deciding factor for us!

 

[lingber]

Thanks so much for all the feedback. Even though I spent hours reading this DVC board I was second guessing our decision to purchase at BCV. The locations are so similiar and you can get more for your points at BWV! They both seem great.

We have decided to stay with our original plan and go ahead with the purchase at BCV. We have stayed at the YC and really like the location and SAB. We like the idea of being so close to Epcot. It is our favorite park. So our first instinct wins out!