DVC Grand(ish) tour - Nov/dec 2007.

[poggs]

Cast -

Me Justin - 37
DW - Louise - 30
Brat - Michael - 3

Just Back from our disney trip. Been a member of DVc since march 2003, but only been once, when we used all 600 of our beach club (3 years points) on a grand villa at OKW for our wedding. We are a Scottish family, which for some unknown reason, no-cast member could understand apart from Latinos and eastern Europeans!

So, this time we decided to see a few resorts. So we booked 12 nights at beach club and then at the 7 months switched via waitlists to 4 nights at VWL, 2 nights at OKW, 2 nights at BCV and 3 at VAK. Never got boardwalk through the waitlist and never tried to go to Saratoga for the obvious reason that no-one go there unless they have no choice (more on this contentious opinion later) We of course went to the parks, but this is a DVC review, so few mentions about that part!

Monday 26th November 2007 to Friday 30th November - 4 nights Wilderness Lodge Villas

3pm - Got off Virgin Atlantic at MCO and breezed onto Magical express for our trip to VWL. Got there about 4.30. (Magical express is brill) Walked into the lobby and found that massive tree. Smashing! Walked right up the the check-in. No wait and spoke with a nice African-American lady. Tried to check in but she hadn't a clue what I was saying. Handed over my DVC card and wrote 'check in' on a piece of paper. Had made (not guaranteed sir) request for not 1st or 5th floor, near the lobby. Got a 1st floor at the farthest point from the lobby! Requested another. Only other option was a 5th floor, so took that. Got room 5533 with a view of the lake through the trees. Hiked over to the villas, being quite surprised by how long it took, up the elevator, marched along the hall and got to our 1 bedroom. On entering found it to be roasting, but spotless, if a little bit small. Looked out onto the balcony. it was tiny! Ho hum! Turned the aircon down from 78 to 68 and went out to the park for a few hours. Walked to the boat via roaring forks to get the refillable cup. Again found it a bit of a hike. Boat came quickly (as it did all 4 days. service was brill) and was packed. On our return, room still roasting so turned the aircon down to 65 and set the fans on full.
Then had to chase the bell man up for our bags, but he came up toot sweet so he got his $2 tip! Tried to switch on the tv, but the remote didnt work. Went to get the remote from the bedroom but it didnt exist. Put new batteries in the remote and it worked fine. Oddly enough, this very minor issue, really riled me. Strange how tiredness does weird things! Only other negative was that I bought ice cream and soda for the fridge. Only to find the next morning that it was set to 0 and everything had melted or was warm!

Tried to sleep, but the pillows were hopeless and the room was still too warm. Eventually passed out.

Over the next three days, we sampled the Whispering canyon cafe, which was a hoot and 1st class and roaring fork a few times. (Always heaving. Once waited 15 mins in line to pay for breakfast!) Overall we found the wilderness lodge to be really busy and a bit like a zoo. Not at all the relaxing hotel its portrayed to be. The pool was way too crowded to use during the day, so we went to the villa's pool which was empty.

The room itself was Ok. It was very clean, but the pillows were too old and needed replaced. The aircon, might have been faulty as we could never get it to pump out cold enough air to make the room nice. And I never did get the faulty/missing remote out of my system. Oh and the fridge leaked water from its compressor if it was set higher than 4.

Overall, I was very disappointed in the Wilderness lodge and would probably not stay here again.

 

[poggs]

Friday 30th November to Sunday 2nd December – Old key west.

Checked out of Wilderness lodge with no problems and used the bell service to ship our bags. Very easy and highly recommended. Went to a park and then got to old key west about 3.30. No wait at counter and checked in. Got my requested water view and was taken buy a bell man to my room with all our bags. We were all breathless at the beauty of this resort and the initally service that we had received. I have never experienced anything so good as this. So when we arrived at our 1bed (3353) and went in my wife almost burst into tears of joy. It was huge. Gorgeous, spotless and just awesome in everyway. Went to the balcony and marvelled at its size. Then the ducks came over for a feeding. This place is incredible! On exploring we found the tub. Ohhhhh! What a size! Could do laps in it. My DS immediately was at peace and began to drive his cars around the villa. We just fell in love with key west. I was all for phoning member services to check if we could spend the rest of the holiday here! The two days flew in with great sleeps on very good beds with nice new pillows. All the buses were rapid and efficient. Even the walked to get the cup filled took less time that at wilderness lodge. We we not close to the HH either! Went to the pool once and it was magic. Way better than the WL pool. Great slide. DS went on it at least 50 times.

So we regretfully checked out with nothing negative to say at all (The villa even had 2 remote controls. Both of which worked) used the excellent bell service to transfer the bags and off to the park.

 

[poggs]

Sunday 2nd December to tuesday 4th December – Beach club

Checked in at 2pm in the villas lobby. No requests here. No wait either. No problems being understood by the Russian lady checking us in. Got room 310. Just along from the elevator. Fab location. On entering the room, was pleasently surprised buy the apparent spaciousness of it. Seemed to be much bigger than the VWL room and far better designed. Really liked it. Everything worked (apart from one of the remotes having no batteries again) All the cast members here were delightful. On on afternoon we were knackered and came back to the BC. In the main lobby a 'play specialist' cast member ambushed us and played with my son for a hour in the middle of the lobby. How great is that? The little monster was calm and played like a star. I was very impressed with this cast member and told the manager when I bumped in to him later on. Its was little things like this that most impressed me with the beach club. It had the best CM's without a doubt. Spent the evenings on the beach watching the campfire being lit and toasting marshmallows. Practically on our own. My son loved this and the CM's again, were extra special.

So with a heavy heart we left the BC. Destined to return again. Loved it here.

 

[poggs]

Tuesday 4 December to friday 7th December – Animal Kingdom villas.

Ok this is the one we really looked forward to. We added on 50 points here earlier in the year to enable us to guarantee our stay here. We loved the promo videos and the view over the savannah from the balcony. So stumped up the points to get the savannah view.

Got to the Animal kingdom lodge at 3.30. At the door the medal floor design of animals and the wooden panels surrounding it were roped of, making the entry door seemed really small. he The lobby was also really cluttered with couches and other 'junk'. At least 10 people in line infront to check in. Only 2 people doing check in, but 5 or 6 at the concierge desk cahtting and laughing with each other. Initial impressions were not good. Waited in line for about 30 minutes until we got seen. Really poor this. I had requested a room on the 4th floor overlooking the central savannah, near to the lobby as possible. Never got this the Cm whom I would characterise as rude said 'I dont care what you requested. Thats your room and I cant change it) She wrote 5548 on the a bit of paper and sent us on our way. I asked for the welcome pack, but she told me they were too busy to build them up and to come back later.

So walked up to the room. Took 3 breaks and aged a bit, but eventually got to 5548. put the key in. red light. Tried all three. All red light. Then the door opened and another lady said that this was her room. ARRGH!!!!!!! After that hike, She's given me someone elses room.!!!

So back to the lobby. Waited another 20 mins in line to get dragon lady again. 'I never said 5548' says Ros (nice monsters inc link there) . 'Yes you did says I' whilst showing her the room layout card that she had written 5548 on. Tut tut goes it and says, its 5549 and sends us off with a flee in our ear. Sorry? Not a chance.

Repeat 1 mile walk to the far end of the hotel to the worst DVC room on property. Remember the number. Its Room 5549.

So we walk in and the lampshade falls of the ceiling and smashes on the floor. Oh. There's an omen. So straight to the balcony. Its a 5th floor room overlooking a circular fenced of mud pit! Totally shocking and utterly unacceptable. I just cant believe they call this a savannah view. Never saw so much as a bird the whole time we were there. DW burst into tears. This hotel was her dream. So back to the lobby and after a 15 minute wait (see getting better) got Ros to get us the floor manager. He hid in the back for 10 minutes before being very sorry but there was nothing else he could do. We got the VAK version of the dumpster view.

The room itself was also pants. No en-suite and a toilet in a cupboard. Whats that all about. But, but,wheres the tub. Someone has shrunk it! Tiny wee thing.
Ok says DW phone up members services and get a move. I am not staying here. So I phone up member service and shockerooni, nothing available apart from Saratoga springs. Here was a dilema. Do we leave the 'mud pit view' for the poor relation of DVC? She hummed and hawed and decided that SS was a step too far. So we stayed put and tried to go to a park. Waited 40 mins on a bus to epcot. Waited 30 mins ona bus at 730pm to get back. Eventually got back to the room and thought we would try out the HD tv. Guess what only one remote. So tried it on the living room tv. Worked fine. Pulled out the sofa and put the wee man to bed. Tried the bedroom tv. Nope. Only 2 channels working. So its channel 2 or 3. Everything else is choppy and unwatchable as if the cable is not properly tuned in. Wife looks out the balcony and cries again. Went to find the Mara food place. Walked around for a while. No signs anywhere. Asked a Cm to be met with a shocked look. 'Its near the pool sir' Oh of course it is. How stupid of me not to know this. Had I had a welcome pack...... Got a rotten burger on stale brown bun (what is it with the brown buns now?)

So in the morning we phoned up member services to take them up on SS offer. VAK was that bad. But no, that room has been filled. Bah. So we simply checked out of Vak and checked into a nearby resort called bonnet creek and forgo the points at the VAK. I would advise everyone to avoid the VAK until the new building is built. Its far too great a risk book a savannah room right now in case you get the rotten views. There really are a lot of them.

So in summary.

!st place – Old Key west
2nd place – Beach club
3rd – Wilderness lodge
last – Animal kingdom. Will never return and am currently selling my 50 points

 

[3DisneyKids]

Thanks for a wonderfully detailed (and culturally colorful!) report. I am so sorry that you had such a bad experience at AKV! We had a lovely stay with a wonderful view and kind CMs! Perhaps you can wait it out a bit before selling your points?

In any case--sounds like the trip was an overall success, though I am sorry about your dreadful experience at AKV.

 

[DVC Mike]

Sorry you were disappointed with VWL and AKV. We've had great stays at both! I would try AKV again before selling; especially since you will probably loose money selling AKV so soon after buying it.

 

[AKV707]

Thanks for the report. Very detailed. I am not surprised that you liked OKW. It is a phenomenal resort. I am sorry to hear about your negative AKV experience. As an AKV owner, that is disheartening. I have read so many positive AKV reports and so many good comments on the CMs there, that i hope that your case was an unfortunate but rare one.

I agree with DVC Mike in saying that you should hold on to those AKV points, at least for a while.

 

[goldilocks_63]

Please,

before selling contact DVC satisfaction services, and tell them your story.... (Someone here must have the email). Maybe also cc AKV as well.

I know your not asking for any compensation. But they need to hear this stuff so they can fix it, and if they put your points back perhaps you can find it in your heart to give it a go once more when it's more built up.

Just a suggestion, and sorry for your troubles,

Goldi

 

[BroganMc]

Oh dear. What I don't understand is how you could fall in love with OKW and yet equate SSR to the kiss-of-death. The resorts share a great deal in common while SSR is a bit more upscale. Really, you missed the boat not moving to SSR when AKV was so dismal for you.

As for AKV, I am sorry you had such a miserable experience, especially since you had bought points there expressly to stay. Like others have said I'd hold off selling them for a bit. At least until Kidani is finished. The prices will go up and you'll get a better return on your investment.

As for VWL, what you experienced was the mad crush of Christmas Adventure Season. For two weeks this resort becomes insanely popular and loses its quiet character. I like it best in early Fall or Spring.

 

[tomandrobin]

Oh dear. What I don't understand is how you could fall in love with OKW and yet equate SSR to the kiss-of-death. The resorts share a great deal in common while SSR is a bit more upscale. Really, you missed the boat not moving to SSR when AKV was so dismal for you.

As for AKV, I am sorry you had such a miserable experience, especially since you had bought points there expressly to stay. Like others have said I'd hold off selling them for a bit. At least until Kidani is finished. The prices will go up and you'll get a better return on your investment.

As for VWL, what you experienced was the mad crush of Christmas Adventure Season. For two weeks this resort becomes insanely popular and loses its quiet character. I like it best in early Fall or Spring.

BroganMC, the voice of reason!

I would also recommend holding off on doing anything that AKV contract. The resort is still under construction and has a long way to go before its complete.

To bad you are so quick to dismiss SSR, even though you have never stayed at the resort. I bet you that before your trip OKW would not have been your favorite. So until you try it, you can't knock it. You never know, you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Muushka]

Can I assume you have no interest in one of these?

Quick question: Is BCV larger than VWL? I thought they were the same size.

Thanks for sharing your impressions.

 

[poggs]

BroganMC, the voice of reason!

I would also recommend holding off on doing anything that AKV contract. The resort is still under construction and has a long way to go before its complete.

To bad you are so quick to dismiss SSR, even though you have never stayed at the resort. I bet you that before your trip OKW would not have been your favorite. So until you try it, you can't knock it. You never know, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Hello,

Thanks for commenting. Its not that I dont like SSR. I do. It's lovely. Its just that its seems quite similar to OKW but less pretty. Also the rooms are smaller and its more expensive points wise. Also with a small child we wont be sampling the delights of pleasure island for a while. Thus it just seems a bit difficult to justify the points for us to stay there over say the beach club at the same price, or okw at less.

 

[poggs]

Can I assume you have no interest in one of these?

Quick question: Is BCV larger than VWL? I thought they were the same size.

Thanks for sharing your impressions.

Not a groupie at the moment. Think that I got the feeling that Villas were the poor relation somehow. Bolted on at the end as a bit of an afterthought. If there were more a part of the hotel then it would be different. It actually reminded me of a vacation in spain where we stayed at a hotel but was allowed to our the neighbours pool and restaurant as ours was closed for refurb. I wont say I didn't like the resort or have a nice time as I did. It just lacked that special 'Welcome home' feeling of the beach club or OKW.

I think the BCV / VWL rooms are the same size, just differently designed, THe BCV just seemed bigger and more spacious. May just have been the colour scheme, or the lobby area, but it did feel bigger to all of us. On opening the VWL villa door I walked into a wall and had to navigate around a cupboard. It just seemed badly thought out. May just have been that room as it is not the same as the floor plans on the DVC members website.

 

[Olaf]

Wow, I'm sorry you had such an awful experience. Some advice. You need to learn how to complain like an American. I would have been in the AKL's manager face after that quip about not having time to build a welcome package, and "Roz's" response to the wrong room number fiasco--totally unacceptable. I hope you got her name. You really do need to write a very detailed letter to DVC. Emphasis the fact that you're a Brit, that it costs you more than a few quid to fly over, and that you had such high expectations for AKL.

I'm sorry VWL didn't live up to your expectations either. Very bad time to be there, other than to enjoy the decorations. Again, you should have complained immediately about the air, the frig, and the batteries in remotes. Be nice, but be firm. DVC ain't cheap. You deserve an excellent experience. I agree with you completely about BCV. We own at VWL, but BCV is our favorite. Although, I'm pretty sure the rooms in both resorts are the same size. It's possible the dark decor makes VWL seem smaller. I think you would be disappointed with the rooms in the main resort at WL, they're very small compared to DVC.

You'll find that you're more likely to get your rooms requests if you check in very early in the morning. You won't get into your room until the afternoon, but they'll assign you a room once you check in. We often fly in on a Friday night, stay at the Poly or Shades of Green, until Sunday morning. When changing hotels, always go over and check in ASAP. Then go to the parks.

Hindsight is 20/20, but I'd have jumped at SSR too, or gutted it out at AKL. But then I'm a tightwad and I hate moving hotels.

 

[momof3poohlovers]

I just wanted to say that we just got back two weeks ago from our first DVC stay at AKV's. We were in room 5543/5545(it was a 2BR) so we were in the room right next to yours(we were the corner room). I agree with you about the view. We saw very few animals and due to the stomach flu we were in our room all day for two days. It seemed the animals(a couple of giraffes and some other animals)were only out in the area for about an hour in the early morning, then they were let into another savannah area. The pen area took up most of the savannah so the animals when they were out there were quite a distance away. It really was probably the worst "savannah view" there is and probably the furthest wing from the lobby. Despite the room location, we loved our stay. I loved watching the giraffes for the hour they were out there and thought the rooms were beautiful. Everything else about our stay there was great and we can't wait to go back. Hopefully you will give it another try! At least we know now which area at AKV we don't want to stay in!

 

[Sammie]

Points at SSR are less the Beach club villas. I am truly sorry you did not give it a try. Rooms are very similar in layout and design to the Beach Club with much newer decor, bedding and furnishings.

They have some the best CMs on the property, wonderful pools and hot tubs and plenty of activities for the children to never set foot on Pleasure Island.

Downtown Disney is so much more than the Pleasure Island section. I am not sure where you got the predetermined idea that SSR is only a last resort, for us who have stayed at all DVC resorts and all Disney resort, it is truly the "first" resort for us.

As to your impression of AKV, I am not surprised, I will not be a guest until they finish the seperate building. As to the CM's reaction that does not surprise me either. It was the same at VWL, when they first opened and BCVs also.

Disney resort CMs, for the most part and there are exceptions, do not like DVC attaching to a pre-exisiting resort. For one thing the needs and wants of a DVC member are very different and they truly are not trained for that. For a while DVC members at the add on resorts are treated like the evil step child. I blame DVC for that. They need to realize you can't just add on DVC to an exisiting resort and not make the necessary changes to staff and the infrastructure to support it. As with the VWL, the main pool is way too small for the lodge and the villas, when both are at full occupancy.

 

[LisaS]

I'm sorry to hear your stay at AKV was less than magical. That really is a shame especially when you were so looking forward to it. I wanted to pass along a couple of comments that might help you on your next DVC stay.

Regarding the warm refrigerator, the first thing I do when we get into our villa is check the refrigerator setting. I think they turn them up between guests as an energy saving measure. I almost always find them on the warmest setting.

I had requested a room on the 4th floor overlooking the central savannah, near to the lobby as possible. Never got this the Cm whom I would characterise as rude said 'I dont care what you requested. Thats your room and I cant change it)

There is no excuse for rudeness but you will never get that particular request met in Jambo House since all of the DVC rooms are on the 5th and 6th floors.

I would advise everyone to avoid the VAK until the new building is built. Its far too great a risk book a savannah room right now in case you get the rotten views. There really are a lot of them.

AKV is the same as AKL in this regard. We've stayed at AKL several times. The first time we had a view of a watering hole and one of those guest evacuation pens (the area you described as a mud pit). We were a little disappointed when we first saw that the view wasn't as pretty as we had hoped but it turned out great -- we had giraffes coming to a feeding area there around 10-11pm every night. Sitting out on our balcony with a glass of wine watching the giraffes at night was wonderful, "mud pit" and all. On other visits we had a room facing the Arusha Savanna. The view there was very pretty and we had lots of animals within view, but I did miss our nightly giraffe viewing!

All in all, I've been very happy with our views. Some savanna views are better than others but I wouldn't advise anyone to avoid AKV because of that just as I wouldn't advise someone to avoid VWL because they might get the dumpster view. I think the odds of a great or good view are better than the odds of getting a poor view.

Again, I'm really sorry you had such a bad experience at AKV!

 

[poggs]

THanks for you comments. I wouldn't say I had a bad experience at VAK, it was just less good than everywhere else. THe CM's were less nice, the room was less nice and the view was less nice than expected. Thus it was a dissapointment. When we built ourselves up to expect that this would be the greatest place on earth, to find that its just like any other nice hotel was what made us dissapointed. Unlike OKW which is made out to have not a lot, but in turn was lovely, thus we seemed to value it more due to the surprise. If we could be assured a central savannah view or that the 'mud pit' view was a standard category, them I would have been far happier. The rude service, would not have bothered me at all if I'd gotten the savannah view I'd paid for. VAK desperately needs to revalue these duff 'Savannah' views as standards, or there will be many more disapointed DVC visitors to the VAK like me.