comments about vwl needed?

[dianeschlicht]

If you like the Lodge, you'll LOVE the villas!

 

[Disney Doll]

I have always loved the WL area. It's quiet, serene, and quite lovely.

The decor is dark, but not in a depressing way. In a cozy, rustic way.

 

[ddhoeg]

VWL is our favorite DVC resort because it transforms us to a different state of mind where we can relax and enjoy our time together as a family. We will be at the lodge in 17 days and cannot wait! We made a countdown chain in which each link has a favorite memory of past VWL trips to get us psyched up and make the wait more bearable. We had many more memories than links on our chain! It is smaller than the other DVC resorts, which just adds to the relaxed pace and quiet community. It can be difficult to book inside the 7 month window, especially during the holidays.

We have only stayed in 2 bedrooms, but have found the rooms to be clean and comfortable. We are spoiled by the extra space when comparing to the hotel side of the lodge and enjoy the washer/dryer tremendously. It has completely changed the way we pack for a vacation!

Hopefully we will be there early enough this year (before Thanksgiving) to hear the regular theme music as well as the transition to the Christmas tunes. We love the music playing down the walkway to the villas, as well as the lobby, the fireplaces, the Christmas décor, the EWP, the walking trail to Fort Wilderness, and well, you get the idea.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

 

[jimmytammy]

Another owner and lover of The Lodge. We love it there! It is so guiet, peaceful and relaxing. It is a place we can go to get away from it all. We like the dark decor. In the evenings, we close the blinds before bedtime, and in the mornings we are able to sleep in. I know that sounds crazy, but it is a part of being a DVC owner in that we know we will be going back. Somedays we dont mosey into the parks til after lunchtime.
VWL is a wonderful resort, from the soft background music, to the crickets chirping by the flickering lanterns at night. We love our VWL!!

 

[simpilotswife]

Another family who loves VWL. In fact, the only thing that would make it more perfect is if they plopped SAB there. Then my family would be in heaven.

 

[MaryJ]

Uh-oh.....hope that wasn't us ! Our favorite place to stay is OKW and feeding the wildlife there is one of our fav things to do
That being said, VWL/WL is our second fav place to stay. We were just there earlier this month. Here's a couple pics :

These pictures show one of my favorite things about VWL...specifically studio rooms! I love the fact that the wet bar area has drawers for dinnerware etc. We just got back from staying in a studio at BWV and no drawers. No drawers at SSR or OKW either IIRC. We've never stayed in a studio at BCV, so I can't comment on that one.

Guess that makes me another satisfied VWL owner!!

 

[DiznEeyore]

Okay, I'll be the (slightly) dissenting opinion. We own at VWL and had always stayed in one- and two-bedrooms until this past weekend. Dh and I spent two nights at the Poly and then 3 in a VWL studio. After the spaciousness of the room at the Poly we felt sooo cramped in the studio! IMHO, the "entry" area is much larger than it needs to be ... the living area and bathroom could've been made slightly larger by reducing that unnecessary space.

And while the larger villas have the neat border around the ceiling, the ONLY decoration in the studios is the print over the couch. With the stucco walls and "paneled"-looking counters, we felt like we were in a walkout basement.

The Lodge itself and the CMs were all wonderful as usual. We were just really disappointed in the studio. YMMV of course.

 

[jpolak]

I really wanted to like VWL but, I have to say I was really disappointed. We went this past August and the dark woodsy feel didn't really do it for me. I am sure that VWL must be beautiful for x-mas but I wasn't feeling it in the summer. We did enjoy all of the amnenities that the resort had to offer and taking the boat to MK was great. Beyond that I really didn't think it was worth the points and would probably not stay there again.

 

[diznyfanatic]

Another family who loves VWL. I really can't add much to what's already been said other than what is in my signature.

 

[vbalacek]

One thing my family likes about the VWL are the dining options. We love both Artist Point and Whispering Canyon, and have enjoyed the room service on hectic days were were just too tired to eat out (or actually cook!)

We also like the fact you could pretty easily boat over to the Contemporary, and partake in their wonderful dining options there as well.

 

[Northeast Rose]

VWL is our home resort and we love it. In fact, my dh and kids gave me a really hard time when I wanted to stay at BCV during our last visit, We really enjoy the boat to the MK, and we love the decor and the surroundings. I have tons of pics - if your interested just let me know and I can post a link.

 

[ReneeQ]

Put us down for LOVING VWL also! And it was a total accident!! We own 200 points at BWV, which is way more our style. We're not "woodsy decor" people. DH didn't sit through the DVC presentation when we bought those 200 BWV points in 1999. In 2001 on the Disney Cruise he went to his first DVC presentation and suddenly we "needed more points!" (And he's NOT a huge Disney fan!) But he liked all the trade out options you could do with DVC.

We decided on a 100 point add on, and at the time Disney was selling VWL and HH. We ALMOST went with HH (remember, we were getting more points mainly to "trade out" with, so didn't care so much about home resort). But the CM advised if we ever wanted to sell the 100 points, VWL would be easier to sell than HH, so we went with VWL.

We didn't stay at VWL until 2005!! We were BLOWN AWAY. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!! It's our new place to go to RELAX. Stayed 5 nights this past Jan and went to Epcot ONE day. No other parks. I even love the decor, which totally surprised me!

Things I LOVE at VWL, some of which I think are lacking at BWV (our other home resort):
The Kid's Club - great for when my nephew's go, they LOVE it.
The Food Court - Sometimes we don't want to cook and just want a bite.
It's a smaller resort, so even the longest walk to a room isn't too bad.
Close proximity to MK and the monorail line.
All the different places to sit and relax in both the main and villa's side lobby.

We LOVE VWL!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Put us down for LOVING VWL also! And it was a total accident!! We own 200 points at BWV, which is way more our style. We're not "woodsy decor" people. DH didn't sit through the DVC presentation when we bought those 200 BWV points in 1999. In 2001 on the Disney Cruise he went to his first DVC presentation and suddenly we "needed more points!" (And he's NOT a huge Disney fan!) But he liked all the trade out options you could do with DVC.

We decided on a 100 point add on, and at the time Disney was selling VWL and HH. We ALMOST went with HH (remember, we were getting more points mainly to "trade out" with, so didn't care so much about home resort). But the CM advised if we ever wanted to sell the 100 points, VWL would be easier to sell than HH, so we went with VWL....

When we bought our VWL points, it was MY decision to do so. I insisted that we get some at VWL because I loved going to Yellowstone so much when we lived in Montana. My husband was against it, but said that if I got VWL points, then he could buy points at BCV when and if they built a DVC there (there was already talk). I agreed and we also did that when BCV sales started.

Fast forward to Jan 2004 for our first VWL stay. Well, my husband was the same as you. Blown away by it all. Now he would rather stay at VWL than BCV.

 

[lisaviolet]

VWL is our home resort and we love it. In fact, my dh and kids gave me a really hard time when I wanted to stay at BCV during our last visit, We really enjoy the boat to the MK, and we love the decor and the surroundings. I have tons of pics - if your interested just let me know and I can post a link.

I would love to see them Rose.

 

[mic_KY_mouses]

As I read this thread about VWL I knew I had to add this........ We love VWL also for all the reasons stated previously. As a matter of fact, no trip to WDW is complete without at least going through the lobby. We love the relaxing atmosphere.

On a funny note...... When we were staying at SSR last week we had a little time (or so we thought) before our ME bus from SSR was due to leave for the airport. We thought we'd take a little monorail and boat tour and see "our home" resort. What a nice way to end our vacation, right? It took much, much longer than we thought to make the rounds and by the time we got off the boat at VWL we literally had to sprint through the lobby and get on the next bus to DTD and then on to SSR. I guess we spent 10 second in all admiring "our home" this trip.

 

[SEC]

We have owned at WLV since 2000 and we bought there because we like the theming, it is the smallest DVC resort, you can take a boat to the Magic Kingdom and it is a short walking distance to the gift shop and restaurants at WL. We just got back late Friday night from Saratoga Springs because I only called two months before our trip and that was the only resort available. We did go to WLV one night because we wanted to see our home away from home!

 

[MiaSRN62]

We have owned at WLV since 2000

Really ?! When in 2000 ? I became Members in 2000 and when we asked our guide, the only resorts open to purchase were OKW, BWV, Vero and HH ? We purchased at OKW and love it, but we also wanted points at VWL. I had no idea they were selling VWL in 2000----it was not offered to us. This was August.

 

[Deb & Bill]

They didn't start selling VWL until 2001. We bought our points there in Nov 2001 and it was still pre-construction.

 

[MiaSRN62]

They didn't start selling VWL until 2001. We bought our points there in Nov 2001 and it was still pre-construction.

Thanks Deb & Bill.........I didn't think it was '00 because it would have been a tough call for us between OKW and VWL. Thanks for the clarification. They're both great resorts.

 

[Muushka]

I am pretty sure we bought in spring of 2001. They (if I remember correctly) didn't have pre-sales, they could only sell once VWL was complete. We had one of the first opened rooms in Dec of 2000, which we had to get from CRO at the whopping price (for a 1 BR) of $300 a night. Or I may be all wet!