Comparing BCV and BWV for a prospective DVCer

[TNMomof3]

Hi! We've been bit by the DVC bug. We stayed a couple of weeks ago in a studio at BCV using rented points. We absolutely fell in love with the BCV! Our children are 9, 7, and 18 mos., so needless to say, they loved SAB. Heck, who am I kidding...we all loved it.

We decided to take the tour one day, and were really impressed. Since we've gotten home we've seriously looked at how many points we think we'd need to buy. First thought was that we'd buy at BCV. We loved them, and they were really the only thing for sale thru Disney. After looking at the points charts for each location...I realized that we'd be able to get a two bedroom std. view room at BWV for the same amount of points that a one bedroom at BCV would cost us. That is a great deal! Anyway, I've since talked to our guide, and looked at resale, and seen that BWV are available. There is probably no way you are getting one of those std. view rooms unless you are able to book it 11 months out though.

I've been looking into BWV a little more, and I'm just confused on what would be best for us. I love the BW, and being able to walk to both parks. I loved the beach, pool, and closeness of the bus stop at BCV. It just felt like home, but how do I know BWV wouldn't also? Boardwalk looks quite a bit bigger. How far are the lobby and the bus stop?

OK, I've rambled enough. I hope you don't mind a few questions from a prospective DVCer. It's just always helpful to me to hear others opinions, and take from them info that may be useful in the decision making process.

Thanks!

 

[disny4ever]

Both resorts are beautiful, it's really a personal choice. My DW and I bought @ BCV'S and really love it there. We also walk over to the Boardwalk and enjoy the atmosphere there too! The 1 thing you gain at BCV'S is SAB. Since you can not pool hop there, is that the 1 deciding factor.
Sorry I can not help, but either resort will give you years of enjoyment.

 

[JOC]

Oh Captain Midnight, where are you? FYI, Captain Midnight has a comprehensive list of what his pros and cons are for BCV and BWV. I'm sure he'll post soon!

We bought a BWV resale for the reason you stated, which is to be able to book standard view at 11 months out for less points. Also, we toured both BCV and BWV last December and we liked BWV better; for some reason it just "called out" to us more than BCV did.

Like disney4ever said, it boils down to personal choice. Good luck with your decision!

 

[bcvillastwo]

We own at BCV and we've never stayed at BWV. Therefore, I can't really comment on which is better. What I can say that may help you out (I think you already know this) is to consider the advantage you gain by the 11 month booking window. If you own at BWV and want a standard view so your points go bit further you should buy at BWV. Doing that will ensure you have a good chance getting one of those standard views.

As far as SAB is concerned, well you can always try to get in at BCV at the 7 month window or you could try the wait list route (others can explain that to you better than I can). There are any number of factors that can enhance your chances at the 7 month window (time of season, cancellations, etc.)

I can also tell you this, we will be staying at WLV in October. We waited until past the 7 month window (6 months) and didn't have any trouble getting a studio for 5 nights.

Like everything else in life we are constantly faced with a series of choices. Fortunately for folks like us we have choices like what Disney resort we should buy into and not "do I put gas in the car or buy milk for the kids."

Good luck...........

 

[Terry S]

As others have mentioned it is such a personal preference. Both are nice resorts, but our family really prefers BCV so we purchased there to give us the 11 month window there. We like the Beach Theme better. I love sitting on the beach at night and looking out at the lights of the boardwalk. One other big difference is that 25 of the 2 bedroom dedicated villas at BCV have 2 queen beds in the 2nd bedroom. This is nice because I have a boy and girl who don't want to share a bed. Since there are only 25 of these rooms, you will probably need to book them at the 11 month window.

As JOC mentioned. Cpt. Midnight has a really good list of pros and cons for both. Hopefully he will post soon.

 

[travelbug]

Wow, that's a tough one because both resorts are wonderful! You gave good reasons for each resort (SAB at BCV, 11mo. window to get standard rms. at BWV).

I'm not sure how many points you were thinking of buying. But what about the possibility of buying points at both BWV and BCV? You could bank your points in such a way that you could take alternating trips to the 2 resorts. Then you could get the benefit of both. I don't know if that's a realistic possibility for you or not.

I own at both BWV and BCV. I have more points at BWV, so I'll tend to use those points for longer stays or larger units on a less frequent basis. My BCV points are used more for shorter visits in studios. That usage of points may change over the years, but I think I'll continue to love having points at both places.

Good luck as you decide! I hope that we'll be able to officially say "Welcome home!" very soon!

 

[Poorman]

travelbug took the words right out of my mouth. If you can afford to buy points in both. A small amount of points and bank and borrow to do both every other time you go there. Sorry, there are no easy decisions here. You could also buy in BCV and try to have someone that has BWV and wants to stay at BCV book the room for you and you for them. You can really get creative when you have to. Good luck, as a new DVC member I want to say you will not be sorry you bought in. Regards, Rich

 

[Granny]

As we've all said, it's a personal choice....and you can't go wrong with either one.


So now I'll weigh in with an opinion. If I were you, I'd buy at BCV unless that standard room "point discount" is really, really important to you.

Why BCV? Well, SAB is an awesome pool and your children are at ages where you'll be enjoying that for many years to come.


But more than that, I think that there's something to be said for "falling in love" with a resort at Disney. It means that everytime you go there, it will remind you of the first time and all that magic that brought. You will truly feel like you are "going home" when you go on vacation.


Since DVC has an emotional element in the decision process, I'd go with BCV if I were you. Can you imagine your kids out on the Boardwalk, looking longingly across Crescent Lake at SAB?


By the way, we own at VWL and BWV. So this is truly an unbiased opinion.

Good luck.

 

[Terry S]

Wow Granny, you described me and my family to a tee. First off when I first thought of buying into DVC, the BWV were on sale. We had been staying at the BC at the time and I stood on the Boardwalk and looked longingly over at BC and said, if they ever build a DVC there I would be first in line.

Then on another trip we had stayed along with my parents at AKL. Even though it was a nice resort, the whole time my Mom and I both kept saying. I wish we were at the Beach Club.

It is just a sentimental thing and it feels like "Home".

 

[Lizziemom]

My husband and I fell in love with the Wilderness Lodge. We toured OKW during one of our stays there. (It was still for sale at that time) We didn't buy, we didn't fall in love with it.

We waited many years and when we heard of the VWL we bought at once!!

I put alot of stock in the fall in love with a resort factor.

Lizie

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Thanks for the plug, JOC. The question of BCV vs BWV seems to come up alot. Here's my comparison:

I like the BCV room layout better. Table seats 8 whereas BWV, WLV does not. Bathroom layout nice, desk in bedroom in BCV.
BCV is newer.
Seemed slower and a little more quiet and relaxed than BC, YC and BWV, yet still close to activities.
Distance to the elevator is better.
Nice quiet pool
Lots of nice internal spaces for when it's raining, drawing room, breezeway, solarium, BC lobby.
Sandcastle club availability
Outstanding location, boat to MGM, walk to Epcot, Baordwalk area activities closeby, swan and Dolphin restaraunts.
Love the Beach Theme
Great at access to Beach Club amenities, and restaraunts, Jellyrolls, stores, Beaches and Cream, Arcade, etc.
Prefer the sand beach along crescent lake instead of the boardswalk, sitting on the porch style swings an night looking across the water at the Boardwalk.
SAB is nice
Nice Beach Club Workout facility.
Nice access to the parking lot
Bus service fine.
Hotel services available like in-room dining, valet services, front staff.
Nice entrance to the resort walking in BC entrance with large fresh flower arrangements, sometimes music in lobby (saw harpist) front door greetings.
Marina activites, can take boats to see illuminations.
Nice access to parking lot for villas, closer than valet for many units. Just go in the back door or walk along the canal to the middle elevator
Second elevator available in the middle of the resort for pool, parking access.
BCVs has access to a marina along with the YC and BC. WLV and OKW also has a marina. BWV does not.
For us, the circus/clown/boardwalk theme isn't as appealing as the beach theme, circuses don't have a good reputation for cleanliness or humane treatment towards animals, or the most friendly workers, but that's just us.

BCV has -
No community Hall and Community Hall activities like BWV, Vero, others.
Uses all preferred view point structure, no advantage of standards view lower point structure like at BWV or lower points requirements like at OWK to stretch point value
Rooms smaller than OKW, less storage space - OKW, Vero and HH rooms are larger.
No three bedroom grand villas available (this is a big one, usually requires 11 month window at other resorts)
No outstanding crecent lake views like BWV
Villas in back are too close to roadway, some noise.

Oh and a new one, BCV has the problem of OKW people constantly trying to crash the pool, uninvited.... despite ongoing communication of SAB restrictions.....

Good luck with your decision. Each has it's strong points over the other. It's personal preference.

 

[SnowWitch]

First let me say buy the one you love. When we decided we would but into DVC we knew they were planning to build the WLV's. We had stayed at the lodge before on previous winter trips and loved it. Well the summer we bought we were staying at the WL when we decided "We know we're not going to buy until they build the WLV's but whats the harm in looking at the BWV's?' well we fell in love with the BWV's, so we bought right then and haven't regreted it yet.

As far as what others have said and I am only speaking from my experience. My kids love SAB so we ususally checkin to the BCV's on Fridays stay 2 nights, get some cool pool time and then checkin to the BWV's. Yes points are high for those nights but we have yet to have trouble getting our weekend's to swim. I have no clue how hard it is to book Sun-Thur from 7 monthes out for the BCV though because I have never tried.

Good luck with your choice, you can't make a wrong decision.

 

[WDWfantasy]

Let me start by saying that I don't think you can go wrong owning at BCV or BWV. We do own at BWV and have stayed there numerous times and have also stayed at BC and BCV. Our children are 12 and 10 now but were 8 and 6 when we initially purchased. We LOVE the Community Hall at BWV. The kids go in there all the time while the folks lounge by the quiet pool. We love the secluded feeling hot tub at BWV near the quiet pool too. I didn't care much for the hot tub at the quiet pool at BCV. Just a personal preference. Yes, SAB is great. However we prefer going to the Water Parks for that kind of swimming and like the quiet pools for sun bathing/swimming. We also like to play tennis and it's great to grab rackets at CH and then take the short path over to the courts. We envision the kids enjoying the BW area during the teen years. I would feel comfortable letting them go down for some pizza and people watching on the BW while DH and I relax at the room. I do agree about that falling in love feeling though. We feel home at BWV. We really like BCV and OKW too but we always end up talking about BWV when staying elsewhere. Anyway, good luck with your decision and I'm sure you will make the decision that's right for your family.

 

[Doug Wolfe]

Win-Win Situation!

The bottom line to all this is, you are in a win-win situation. If you buy BCV, you win. If you buy BWV, you win.

The bottom line is, which resort would you like to spend the most time at?

I have not stayed yet at BWV.

However, BCV is my home resort and I love it. The whole family loves it!

Sit down with a legal pad with your spouse and write down the pro's and con's of each resort, then decide. Maybe you want to treat yourself and get a few more points than you were thinking about.

Eventually you will make a solid decision, and you can let us all know what you decided to do!

 

[CaptainMidnight]

My humble advice is to buy where you really want to stay the most. You don't want to be looking across crescent lake wishing you'd made the other choice, buy where you like the most.

 

[mmmcq]

Here's my 2 cents....

We were at WDW offsite in '99 when I was pregnant with my 3rd child and had such a wonderful, relaxing stay over 8-10 days that we decided to look at timeshares. Then out of fairness we walked into the DVC office at BWV and had to restrain ourselves from buying that night. We came back the next day and did it!

We've only stayed at BWV in a 1BR once, but loved it. We were poolside with a patio which was wonderful. The older girls could swim with one of us while the baby was napping. We had to use "holding points" last August and stayed at Yacht Club (because of cancelled post 9/11 trip). All three of my girls fell in love with SAB and it was just that much closer to the gates at Epcot.

Because our older girls are now teens and our "baby" is 3, we will need a 2BR for future trips...thus we need more points. We thought about buying an add-on at BCV last fall after our trip, but just couldn't make up our mind. When our guide called us in May about the new BWV points, it took us a full week to make up our minds whether to add-on at BWV or buy new points at BCV. We've never stayed at BCV, but we love BWV....for all the same reasons folks have mentioned previously.

Ultimately we decided to add a small number of new points at BWV and the same total number of points at BCV. We can now book either resort at 11 mos, but have to borrow from the future year each time for a 2BR for a week's stay. We think this will work for us. We will go back and forth every other year between the resorts and can see a time in the future when we'll stay at BWV and our kids will stay with their kids at BCV!

Whichever way you decide....you really can't go wrong!

 

[erikthewise]

We bought at BCV and are very happy with it. I suspect we would be almost as happy with BWV.

One advantage of BWV that doesn't often get mentioned is proximity to parks.

BCV is closer to Epcot than BWV, but not by much! For walking distance, it may be a close call between the closest units in BWV and the most distant ones in BCV.

On the other hand BWV is a significantly shorter walk to MGM than BCV. BWV occupies a central location directly between the two parks.

 

[DeeP]

Granny,
You make an excellent point about falling in love with a DVC resort. I think it is something that happens to many DVC members. Although you like all the DVC resorts, there is just that one resort that wows you and captures your heart to the point that the financial cost of a DVC contract, yearly maintenance fees, juggling point schedules, the "doom" ending year of 2042, etc are no longer issues. You know you have found your magical spot for future WDW vacations and are more than happy to sign on the Mickey head dotted line! LOL!!
I know that is excatly how I felt the first time I visited BWV fully completed and open to guests. I will never forget it, we sat on the outdoor porch off of the Bellvue Lounge having drinks and it was a beautiful night; the lights were shining off the water, the boardwalk had happy people strolling along, the Friendship boats were coming and going and Spaceship Earth was all lit up in the background and I just KNEW that this was something I was more than willing to plunk down thousands of $ on, in return for the ability to stay here another 40+ years. I came home and bought a DVC membership with BWV as my home resort, over the phone the very next business day. Like everybody else, I never looked backed, I have since added on and I have never regretted a single moment of my DVC membership.
However, having said all that.........back to the OP's question. When it comes to trying to compare/weigh pros and cons of 2 DVC resorts, you will not find any 2 DVC resorts as similiar anywhere than BCV and BWV. They do have some differences like BWV is of course much closer to all the boardwalk offerings but let's face it BCV is a very easy walk or boat ride away. BCV is more quiet at most times vs the boardwalk area at BWV which does get activity from apprx 5-11 PM, but I must say I have never found BWV to be a noisy resort in any room I've been in including boardwalk views. BWV does have more rooms that have a better view due to the fact that none of their rooms overlook a busy road w/steady traffic and traffic noise. BWV has the lower cost pt standard views which are a nice pt savings. And of course, BCV has SAB, which is without a doubt the nicest pool at any resort on WDW property.
Other than that, BCV and BWV are really almost like being at the same resort with a few room layout changes. They both share the same wonderful location to Epcot, MGM, numerous and wonderful restaurants, nighttime entertainment and clubs, full deluxe hotel amenities, etc.
If you like one of these resorts, it is almost a given that you will also like the other.
I have my first stay at BCV booked for this Sept and I am really excited. I like all the WDW Epcot resorts, (I have never stayed at S&D, so I can't comment), and I am very anxious to try out DVC's newest kid on the block Epcot resort.

 

[TNMomof3]

Thank you! You guys are the best. This is exactly the kind of information I wanted to hear to help us make the best possible decision. My DH and I have both thouroghly enjoyed reading this thread, and getting some perspective on things we'd not even thought about. Captain Midnight, that is one heck of a list.

I sure would like to go down for a couple of days and hang out at the BWV. Then I'd really know. Thanks again, we're making our list, and checking it twice. I'd love to call one of those two places "home" very soon.

Originally posted by mmmcq
When our guide called us in May about the new BWV points, it took us a full week to make up our minds whether to add-on at BWV or buy new points at BCV. We've never stayed at BCV, but we love BWV....for all the same reasons folks have mentioned previously.

Ultimately we decided to add a small number of new points at BWV and the same total number of points at BCV. We can now book either resort at 11 mos, but have to borrow from the future year each time for a 2BR for a week's stay. We think this will work for us. We will go back and forth every other year between the resorts and can see a time in the future when we'll stay at BWV and our kids will stay with their kids at BCV!

Whichever way you decide....you really can't go wrong!

Do you have to own enough points at the resort you are booking at the 11 month window in order to make the entire reservation, or could you say own 100 pts. at BWV, 150 pts. at BCV and still make a 250 pt. 11 month reservation at BWV?

 

[Poorman]

Rent some points and go down to BWV and see for yourself.


Rich