(CLOSED) Disney's BOARDWALK INN and VILLAS Information Thread ~2012~

[psac]

DH goes up every summer for 3 weeks with the kids. DH's family has a family run farm and ranch up in Montana. They cut sun up (when the dew point lowers) to sun down as long as it is hot and dry (they can't cut if the wheat and the equipment is wet). Here are some pics:

DH took this from his combine as they were traveling from one field to another. That's my BIL in the pic.

This is one of the combines loading wheat into the transportation truck. Definitely 'big sky' country!

Looks very peaceful, in the working your butt off kinda way.

 

[mastermind307]

Just rented points for standard view studio for June 1-8.

This will be our first time staying here. We've stayed at POR and POFQ so we're excited to try a new resort. We choose BWV because of the location, I like that we can walk to 2 different parks. Plus there's other resorts and stuff that's close.

 

[AirGoofy]

Just rented points for standard view studio for June 1-8.

This will be our first time staying here. We've stayed at POR and POFQ so we're excited to try a new resort. We choose BWV because of the location, I like that we can walk to 2 different parks. Plus there's other resorts and stuff that's close.

Yeah, the location is great. After we stayed there, we bought another small DVC contract there. Enjoy youe planning and have a great trip.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

What do I need to know about shipping a small Christmas tree to BW? I have read there is a charge for them to hold it b/c its a convention hotel. Is this still true? Do we need to be in the room for it to be delivered? We are staying CL (dont know if that makes any difference).

Thanks for any help

 

[Tltorrez]

What do I need to know about shipping a small Christmas tree to BW? I have read there is a charge for them to hold it b/c its a convention hotel. Is this still true? Do we need to be in the room for it to be delivered? We are staying CL (dont know if that makes any difference).

Thanks for any help

Check out the sticky: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2437212

We're doing the same thing. I found a nice 2-foot tree on Amazon Prime. They won't delver it to you're room. You'll have to pick it up from the Business Center. I don't know how much the fee is because I've only ever shipped home before. But I'm assuming it's nominal. Has to be cheaper than luggage fees.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to ditch the family so I can pick up the tree and set up the room on our arrival day.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Check out the sticky: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2437212

We're doing the same thing. I found a nice 2-foot tree on Amazon Prime. They won't delver it to you're room. You'll have to pick it up from the Business Center. I don't know how much the fee is because I've only ever shipped home before. But I'm assuming it's nominal. Has to be cheaper than luggage fees.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to ditch the family so I can pick up the tree and set up the room on our arrival day.

Great, I will check out that thread. Thank you

 

[psac]

Great, I will check out that thread. Thank you

In general I believe there is a $10 charge for anything shipped to the business center. Enjoy!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Hi everyone, just wanted to hear from previous guests of the BW and ask the all important question....Are the beds comfortable?

I agree with the others - the king bed in our 1 bdr villa was SO COMFORTABLE!!! I slept so well. And while I did not sleep on the pull out sofa, I did sit on it and they are different than the old pull outs. They are much sturdier and more comfortable. Also, Disney puts these mattress pads on the beds that are not only soft - but absorbent (I imagine they get lots of kid 'accidents' so it makes sense!)

Looks very peaceful, in the working your butt off kinda way.

Exactly It gives me peace of mind that if I ever wanted to give up this crazy corporate job in the rat race of a big suburban city, I could. But it is a rough life living on a farm and ranch - especially in Montana where your biggest city is 7 hours away and the population was so excited when they got an Old Navy

Just rented points for standard view studio for June 1-8.

This will be our first time staying here. We've stayed at POR and POFQ so we're excited to try a new resort. We choose BWV because of the location, I like that we can walk to 2 different parks. Plus there's other resorts and stuff that's close.

The walking to the parks is one of the best parts about this resort! If it is really hot while you are there, you can walk all the way to the end of the villas portion and take the end stairwell to get to the furthest point toward HS on the walkway. You can also enter this way as well, but you do need a room key to access the stairwell from the outside. It says 'after 8pm you need a room key' but I found that some of the doors did need a room key before 8 pm - some didn't. But I don't leave the room, let along the resort, without a room key anyway.

I never did figure out the closest entry point to Epcot so we just used the front entrances.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Just a fyi for those of you interested in using TIW at Belle Vue Lounge. I ordered a drink here one evening and got it to go. They do take TIW but they have to call a manager to get it applied. I didn't want to wait for the $1.50 or so it would have saved me so I didn't use it. I had the same issue at Tambu Lounge but there, we were sitting for awhile so right after we ordered our drinks, I had them call someone to apply the discount. It took a solid 10 minutes to get a manager to come and apply the discount. So I'm glad I didn't wait at Belle Vue. So just a fyi for those interested in using that discount at the lounge that it can take some time to get it applied.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Exactly It gives me peace of mind that if I ever wanted to give up this crazy corporate job in the rat race of a big suburban city, I could. But it is a rough life living on a farm and ranch - especially in Montana where your biggest city is 7 hours away and the population was so excited when they got an Old Navy ....

Old Navy? We would have been thrilled with Wal-Mart. When I lived in Montana I used to drive 160 miles to go to Taco Bell and Target. Each way. I'd be thrilled to go back there and live again. I lived in the biggest town in Eastern Montana. Population about 9,000.

We'd go to inspect Nursing Homes on the High Line and be gone for three days to inspect two homes.

 

[GAN]

Just a fyi for those of you interested in using TIW at Belle Vue Lounge. I ordered a drink here one evening and got it to go. They do take TIW but they have to call a manager to get it applied. I didn't want to wait for the $1.50 or so it would have saved me so I didn't use it. I had the same issue at Tambu Lounge but there, we were sitting for awhile so right after we ordered our drinks, I had them call someone to apply the discount. It took a solid 10 minutes to get a manager to come and apply the discount. So I'm glad I didn't wait at Belle Vue. So just a fyi for those interested in using that discount at the lounge that it can take some time to get it applied.

It's been a while since we've used the TIW card(maybe 4 years) but we had the same issue at the Rose and Crown -I felt like we were inconveniencing them by looking for the discount. But it was a $20 tab so it was $4 which I probably handed to Carl anyway. I don't understand why they don't make it easier at drinking establishments unless they purposely do it to discourage people from using it when not buying food. Do you remember if they added the 18% tip to the bill as well?

 

[debrapagliasotti]

In general I believe there is a $10 charge for anything shipped to the business center. Enjoy!

Thank you

 

[psac]

I never did figure out the closest entry point to Epcot so we just used the front entrances.

As far as I know, that is it. Any staircases from the Inn side bring you to the inner courtyard areas near the quiet pool, not on the Boardwalk side. Unlike the villa side, where you can walk around Jellyrolls if you're near the far end, I don't believe there is any way to walk around ESPN without going through CM-only areas. It's unfortunate there aren't more ways to access the Boardwalk, and supposedly at the last DVC annual meeting, they admitted they made big mistakes by not having more boardwalk access and/or elevators at the far ends when they built BWI/BWV, but there isn't much they can (or will) do about it now.

 

[elgerber]

As far as I know, that is it. Any staircases from the Inn side bring you to the inner courtyard areas near the quiet pool, not on the Boardwalk side. Unlike the villa side, where you can walk around Jellyrolls if you're near the far end, I don't believe there is any way to walk around ESPN without going through CM-only areas. It's unfortunate there aren't more ways to access the Boardwalk, and supposedly at the last DVC annual meeting, they admitted they made big mistakes by not having more boardwalk access and/or elevators at the far ends when they built BWI/BWV, but there isn't much they can (or will) do about it now.

Yes, we have tried to find one, with no luck, when it's pouring rain and we need to get from the villas to ESPN for dinner. Yep, we had to get wet!

 

[WDWKOOK]

It's been a while since we've used the TIW card(maybe 4 years) but we had the same issue at the Rose and Crown -I felt like we were inconveniencing them by looking for the discount. But it was a $20 tab so it was $4 which I probably handed to Carl anyway. I don't understand why they don't make it easier at drinking establishments unless they purposely do it to discourage people from using it when not buying food. Do you remember if they added the 18% tip to the bill as well?

The 18% gratuity is still added to all TIW checks and I've had to have our TIW go through managerial approval at table service restaurants. However, it doesn't seem to be a consistent requirement. We love the 20% savings and for us, it's well worth the $75 cost with an AP.

 

[BabyFu18]

Anyone have success booking a standard view at the BWI and having a nice view? I am thinking about booking at the BWI but worried that it won't be as magical without the boardwalk view room (which isn't available for our dates/code we are using).

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Anyone have success booking a standard view at the BWI and having a nice view? I am thinking about booking at the BWI but worried that it won't be as magical without the boardwalk view room (which isn't available for our dates/code we are using).

We had a standard room on the 5th floor that we could see Spaceship Earth, the Eiffel Tower, IllumiNations, and the DTD hot air balloon from!

 

[JNPants]

Just a fyi for those of you interested in using TIW at Belle Vue Lounge. I ordered a drink here one evening and got it to go. They do take TIW but they have to call a manager to get it applied. I didn't want to wait for the $1.50 or so it would have saved me so I didn't use it. I had the same issue at Tambu Lounge but there, we were sitting for awhile so right after we ordered our drinks, I had them call someone to apply the discount. It took a solid 10 minutes to get a manager to come and apply the discount. So I'm glad I didn't wait at Belle Vue. So just a fyi for those interested in using that discount at the lounge that it can take some time to get it applied.

Good to know! My cohorts and I plan to take full advantage of TIW in under two weeks. We'll be sure to let the bartenders know we need the discount applied at the first mention of cashing out. One of my biggest restaurant pet peeves (in general, not necessarily at WDW) is when your party has decided to call it a night and no one seems to want to take your money!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Old Navy? We would have been thrilled with Wal-Mart. When I lived in Montana I used to drive 160 miles to go to Taco Bell and Target. Each way. I'd be thrilled to go back there and live again. I lived in the biggest town in Eastern Montana. Population about 9,000.

We'd go to inspect Nursing Homes on the High Line and be gone for three days to inspect two homes.

My DH is from the High Line! - Rudyard (and he went to Chester High School for 2 years as well). My FIL's family is all from Brockway and nearby. And it is funny because our last name is very 'cow' like and we raise cattle. Although the older generation doesn't get the joke So did you live in Miles City? That's where DH's folks have a house (to get away from the farm!) Oh, small world!

It's been a while since we've used the TIW card(maybe 4 years) but we had the same issue at the Rose and Crown -I felt like we were inconveniencing them by looking for the discount. But it was a $20 tab so it was $4 which I probably handed to Carl anyway. I don't understand why they don't make it easier at drinking establishments unless they purposely do it to discourage people from using it when not buying food. Do you remember if they added the 18% tip to the bill as well?

They did add 18% tip at all establishments I used TIW. And the first time, I tipped extra thinking that they put the 18% on the discounted amount but then I realized they were getting the 18% from the FULL amount of the bill. While I understand the practice, I do not like people telling me how much to tip considering it is a gratuity. I felt 18% was more than adequate for the majority of the waitstaff we encountered. At a few places, I did tip a little extra including at the Tambu Lounge. The bartender apologized for the inconvenience because he felt that if Disney was going to offer such a discount, they should not make it difficult to use (bonus points for him!)

As far as I know, that is it. Any staircases from the Inn side bring you to the inner courtyard areas near the quiet pool, not on the Boardwalk side. Unlike the villa side, where you can walk around Jellyrolls if you're near the far end, I don't believe there is any way to walk around ESPN without going through CM-only areas. It's unfortunate there aren't more ways to access the Boardwalk, and supposedly at the last DVC annual meeting, they admitted they made big mistakes by not having more boardwalk access and/or elevators at the far ends when they built BWI/BWV, but there isn't much they can (or will) do about it now.

Yes, we have tried to find one, with no luck, when it's pouring rain and we need to get from the villas to ESPN for dinner. Yep, we had to get wet!

Well I'm glad there wasn't a secret I didn't figure out But bummer too that there isn't a way to walk through BWI.

Anyone have success booking a standard view at the BWI and having a nice view? I am thinking about booking at the BWI but worried that it won't be as magical without the boardwalk view room (which isn't available for our dates/code we are using).

We were at BWV and had a view of the quiet pool/Swolphin and it was still magical

Good to know! My cohorts and I plan to take full advantage of TIW in under two weeks. We'll be sure to let the bartenders know we need the discount applied at the first mention of cashing out. One of my biggest restaurant pet peeves (in general, not necessarily at WDW) is when your party has decided to call it a night and no one seems to want to take your money!

I completely agree! In fact, everywhere we went, as SOON as I knew we wouldn't order more food or drinks, I asked for the bill so I could get it done. Typically, the wait was long to cash out so I was glad to get it done with before we sat there twiddling our thumbs wanting to get to the next thing.

And don't forget that if you have an AP (or Premium AP), you can get a discount on most merchandise. I have a premium AP and I LOVE the 20% discount!!! Even the spots that didn't do 20% (like RideMakerz) would sometimes offer 10% off.

Oh, and remember your AAA cards!!! I got 10% off at Earl of Sandwich and some other spots

 

[Ziggy]

I'm staying at the BWI CL and am wondering if its worth doing the online check-in or not? If I do it and don't like my room will I be able to change or if I do it will it speed up check-in? I can't make my mind up. I did send a room request for a room with twin beds, an Illuminations/garden view plus close to the lounge as my daughter has health problems.