Completely dissappointed with BWV

[NJOYURLIFE]

Sorry you were disappointed with your stay.

 

[CarolA]

Let me get this straight?

You didn't like the resort for the first half of your vacation so you extended it?

 

[jade1]

Wow you guys I was never so dissappointed with a WDW stay in my life. What a complete dissappointment to say the least.

We had room 5075-73 which was right near the elevator. Other than that my family was blown away by to room and being right on the boardwalk. So everything was good so far.

So of course being so close to the elevators made me not realize the lack of planning by whomever designed the villas. After deciding we didn't feel like
changing resorts I asked if we could keep the studio portion of the 2 bedroom since most of our party was leaving. Well that was not available so they did have a studio available right away (should have been my red flag) 3136. The very last door of the THIRD hallway on the third floor. OMG were the people who laid out the Villas smoking dope? I used to think the long hallway complaint was just bellyachers but DH and I are fit people and love to walk but walking 3 hallways each comparable to a football field if not longer after a day at the parks and an hour bus ride is not my idea of fun. Once we started the trek to the room we knew EXACTLY what all the belly achers were talking about. God how I wish I had taken their advice. WHY would there be ONE set of elevators servicing an entire resort?

The busses good grief! Sharing the busses with 4 resorts is absurd! Getting anywhere was a nightmare and took forever! That was really aggrivating and also the wait for the bus was long. They were not spaced out properly and for example we would get 2 busses for MK right next to each other so if you missed them the wait till they came back was longer than usual. Going to Typhoon lagoon or Downtown was even more annoying since they would pick up at boardwalk drive through the swan dolphin YBC and then pass directly passed the Boardwalk entrance again. It made absolutely no sense on why the Boardwalk did not get picked up after rather than get on the bus go through every stop just to pass the stop again. It is completely absurd. If I owned at BWV I would definitely have issue with the bus sharing.

Also another thing that distrubed me was how long the room service dirty dishes would sit outside people's rooms. Filthy plates just sitting there one room had their stuff outside their door for at least 5 hours!!! We had left our room at about 7:30 am and returned to our room about 2pm and it was still there! This wasn't an isolated incident. The day we checked into the resort we noticed alot of stuff in the hallways thinking it was a fluke I ignored it but after noticing stuff ourside the doors frequently I started to take notice. I mean there were thise one set of chicken wings that were sitting there forever! The odd thing is that you could constantly smell food while walking the halls unfortunately it wasn't the smell of fresh food cooking but of what someone ate the night before.

So for those of you who love BWV I wish I had the same magical experience you guys do. My husband said he enjoyed POP Century better and he wanted me to make sure I posted our experience. It was definitely a waste of points.

So sign me up for
outside hallways (no smells)
more elevators
resort only busses (no sharing)
pool was great but the kids area not so great!


Now please remember this isn't to resort bash it is just my experince with this resort. There are some things I did like which was the boardwalk (especially the bakery), the proximity to Epcot, the lobby decorations, the themeing of the pool area and how much it reminded me of my late grandmother who was a Coney Island buff. The community center had alot for the kids. Also the keister coaster was cool but seemed to be the only thing to attract kids. No water play area. I am definitely a fan of zero entry. BUT it wasn't enough too give my recommendations to the place.

Too bad you were "completely" disappointed with the BW. Sounds like if you had stayed in the 2BR ("blown away") BW View, right next to the elavator with no long walk or chance to see any food trays and liking the "Close proximity to EPCOT" the bakery, community center, pool themeing and lobby instead of moving to a studio off the BW and down a long hall past the food trays and now "getting anywhere" became a nightmare you may have looked at it more favorably.

I suspect the reason you could not "downsize" to the 2BR you were blown away by, was because it was a guaranteed BW View held for someone coming in. Can you imagine bumping that family because you wanted to keep the studio-this is why owning at BWV is important (wish we did). You can reserve a 2BR BW View "GUARANTEED". It also shows the range of impressions people get when they have a BW View and then move way down the hall.

 

[TOMAR@SSR]

this past August, DH & I stood @ the BWV for 1 week, and then @ our home resort, SSR, for another 10 days following (first time for both resorts).
At first, I kept asking myself, (after completly loving the kaliedascope of colors, the closeness to 2 parks, the nearness of the Beauty of all the Epcot area resorts @ the BW), if I could feel the same way about SSR. We were getting the "Hotel" feel after all, (the inside corridors, not having the heat and humidity hit you the moment you opened your front door...etc.)
BUT....I have to say that the moment we arrived @ our home resort, we were both blown away!!!!
SSr is just beautiful. And very tranquil, even though we were actually in congress park, with a fantastic view of DTD, where the action is, day and night.
so, IMHO, it is (i think), after all, just a matter of "wonderful" differences , and how blessed we are, to experience them all.
I hope that your next trip is the most magical of all!!

 

[jmatias]

Sorry BWV wasn't up to your expectations. Hope you still had a good trip.

 

[Esmerelda]

I have only stayed at the BWV one time...and it didn't blow my skirt up either. The only plus it had for us was the location, everything else..thumbs down. Fortunately, that is what makes Disney so great...you can always chose other places to stay!

I say...chalk it up to a lesson learned and try a new place next round! (and I hope the next one is waay more magical)

bottoms up.....
Esmerelda

 

[DebbieB]

Too bad you were "completely" disappointed with the BW. Sounds like if you had stayed in the 2BR ("blown away") BW View, right next to the elavator with no long walk or chance to see any food trays and liking the "Close proximity to EPCOT" the bakery, community center, pool themeing and lobby instead of moving to a studio off the BW and down a long hall past the food trays and now "getting anywhere" became a nightmare you may have looked at it more favorably.

I suspect the reason you could not "downsize" to the 2BR you were blown away by, was because it was a guaranteed BW View held for someone coming in. Can you imagine bumping that family because you wanted to keep the studio-this is why owning at BWV is important (wish we did). You can reserve a 2BR BW View "GUARANTEED". It also shows the range of impressions people get when they have a BW View and then move way down the hall.

Was the original room boardwalk view? I think 5075 is a standard view.

http://members.aol.com/InstImpres/boardwalk.pdf

 

[WDWLVR]

Sorry to hear that your stay at BWV wasn't as magical as you expected.

It is our home resort and we love it. On our June trip we had room 4001 which was all the way at the end of the hall, but you know what - we loved it!

Thank goodness that DVC has so many options!

 

[jade1]

Was the original room boardwalk view? I think 5075 is a standard view.

http://members.aol.com/InstImpres/boardwalk.pdf

"Other than that my family was blown away by to room and being right on the boardwalk."

Not sure of room numbers, just taking the OP comments.

 

[SoCalKDG]

So sign me up for
outside hallways (no smells)
more elevators
resort only busses (no sharing)
pool was great but the kids area not so great!

The community center had alot for the kids. Also the keister coaster was cool but seemed to be the only thing to attract kids. No water play area.

You must have missed the childs pool with the elephant, as well as the childs play area right next to the pool. Its there, you just missed it.

Since you enter the lobby after valet parking or getting off the boat/bus, having the elevators right there at the lobby seems like the correct spot, doesn't it? I timed the complete walk from elevators to the end of the longest hallway, 3 minutes. We also used the stairs to get to the pool or go out the door near the Swan/Dolphin when that was the direction you needed to go. Took less than a minute. Much quicker at BWV than at SSR or OKW to get to a pool/restaurant/park by foot.

I never had a problem with the busses(only need to use for two parks) as we were always picked up first, and we would just get off at Swan/Dolphin when coming back and walk across the bridge, take stairs up, and be at our room. The length of time to wait for a bus was the same for me at BWV and VWL. Less than 5 minutes. The only bad experience I've ever had was waiting for a boat at the MK to get to VWL.

Sounds like you would enjoy BWV if you got a 2 bedroom boardwalk view close to the elevators for 7 days.

 

[Tamar]

We love the "136" rooms, I'm pretty sure we've stayed in 3136. We will even wait for a room in that area of BW (and for some reason, even tho we request "away from the elevator", we usually have to ask to be reassigned at checkin and wait to actually get off that main hallway)...no traffic past the room early in the morning or late at night, and you can go right down the stairs and out the door and you've got just a short walk to MGM.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your stay...we'll be at BoardWalk for the 5th time in early November, and I know we'll have a great time.

 

[crisi]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your stay.

I don't get the thing about the extra elevators. They are right in the middle of the cresent. Put in more elevators and you'd need to walk to get to them. They are convienient to the bus stop. I suppose you could stick some at the end of each wing - one down by Jellyrolls, one toward MGM - but it doesn't seem that convinent. Then again, we find most Disney resorts to be huge - you are walking one way or another. We got lucky with our WL stay and weren't far from the elevators, but my parents had an incredible hike to their room! At the Poly, our longhouse seemed a million miles from the monorail. At CBR it can be easier to take a bus than walk to the food court!

 

[DVCPAT]

. The very last door of the THIRD hallway on the third floor. OMG were the people who laid out the Villas smoking dope? I used to think the long hallway complaint was just bellyachers but DH and I are fit people and love to walk but walking 3 hallways each comparable to a football field if not longer after a day at the parks and an hour bus ride is not my idea of fun. Once we started the trek to the room we knew EXACTLY what all the belly achers were talking about. God how I wish I had taken their advice. WHY would there be ONE set of elevators servicing an entire resort?

We recently stayed in one of the distant rooms and it’s actually a very short walk to the bus stop if you take the steps down to the first floor, and exit toward the sidewalk near the pond. The pool can also be accessed exiting on the opposite side. It really makes a difference if you know the layout of the resort.

When we check into a resort for the first time, I like to view a resort map and get my bearings. I’ll take the kids with me so they so they also become familiar with the resort.

It’s funny how we American’s hate to walk. I work with Europeans who joke about how we search for empty parking spots close to an entrance, just so we can avoid walking.

 

[JFrey4240]

We love getting a room far from the elevators. It makes going down the stairs and the short walk to MGM a breeze. It also makes walking to Epcot fine too. At first the hallways seemed to go on forever and then we got used to it and it wasn't a big deal. Now we prefer it. Try again in a few years--maybe you'll feel differently then.

 

[keishashadow]

Confused as to a couple comments by OP.

Long walks to room...can't be anything worse than the walk from Bus Stop to a far flung standard room @ the All Stars (many times in one of Orlando's standard afternoon downpours). Makes you yearn for an enclosed corridor.

Use the stairs, just think of the added workout you're getting.

Don't know about POP Cent.; but, the AS buses usually make all 3 stops. Although as it got closer to Pres. Day & more crowded, they added more buses & dedicated the morning pickups to each resort. I can't remember sitting down once on a bus during my last trip...not complaining, always just glad to see one come!

We bought DVC sight unseen - anything has to be more 'luxe than the sardine-like Value Resorts. Not intended as a "dig" @ the Values (plan on utilizing on weekends); just that I don't see how you can possibly begin to compare Value to Villa (i.e. apples to oranges IMO).

 

[vascubaguy]

To me it sounded like you really enjoyed your stay when you had the boardwalk view. If you were pleased with that and decide to stay at BWV again, book a Boardwalk View room.

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

Let me get this straight?

You didn't like the resort for the first half of your vacation so you extended it?

We were there for two nights with 9 people so we didn't get a feel of the resort till everyone left. It wasn't until the move in the morning that I knew it was a mistake. So my choices would have been to pay the change fee move resorts and God knows what would have happened with the extra points I borrowed to stay in BWV (I had OKW originally booked). Then spend the rest of the morning moving or just live with the mistake I made of extending the stay at BW. Because we were only there 3 more nights I decided to stay. So we only extended because I didn't feel like moving. I wish we had moved and never extended. But like DVCCOnvert said at least now we know. I always wanted to try it and we did. Totally not for us.

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

Too bad you were "completely" disappointed with the BW. Sounds like if you had stayed in the 2BR ("blown away") BW View, right next to the elavator with no long walk or chance to see any food trays and liking the "Close proximity to EPCOT" the bakery, community center, pool themeing and lobby instead of moving to a studio off the BW and down a long hall past the food trays and now "getting anywhere" became a nightmare you may have looked at it more favorably.

I suspect the reason you could not "downsize" to the 2BR you were blown away by, was because it was a guaranteed BW View held for someone coming in. Can you imagine bumping that family because you wanted to keep the studio-this is why owning at BWV is important (wish we did). You can reserve a 2BR BW View "GUARANTEED". It also shows the range of impressions people get when they have a BW View and then move way down the hall.

No actually it was parking lot view and I offered to pay premium view points just for the convience of not having to move. They couldn't do that. Our family never stayed in DVC before so they were blown away by the room set up. It was convienent to the elevators though and that is why (until we moved) I didn't notice any of the other things that I did once we moved.

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

Was the original room boardwalk view? I think 5075 is a standard view.

http://members.aol.com/InstImpres/boardwalk.pdf

Yeah it was parki9ng lot view. I actually wanted that since it was less points

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

"Other than that my family was blown away by to room and being right on the boardwalk."

Not sure of room numbers, just taking the OP comments.

I meant THE HOTEL being on the boardwalk not the view. Sorry for the misunderstanding. The room was parking lot view.