First time home (Long)

[dkellumw]

Just got back yesterday from our first trip to our home resort VWL. We bought sight unseen last year and I want to thank everyone on this board for helping us make a decision to purchase DVC. We had a wonderful and relaxing time.

We left from Katy (west suburb of Houston) on Friday night and drove for 18 hours and stayed at AKL on Saturday night as one of my gifts for my wife's birthday. We had a Savannah view and this resort is very beautiful. Dinner at Boma was great.

We arrived Sunday morning at VWL and stayed six nights in a one bedroom. The room number was 5524. The room is just around the corner from the elevator which was great with a 16 month old and a stroller. The room has two balconies, but both are on the slope of the roof so you have to stand to look around. If you sit your looking at a wall. The room faces the bus stop so if you go out on the balcony you can listen to the buses coming and going. You can not hear the buses when you are in the room and the balcany door is closed.

Since the room is on the slope of the roof it has vaulted ceilings. For anyone that gets this type of room watch out, I'm 6'3 and I hit my head three times on the low slope of the ceiling.

We loved the boat ride from the lodge to MK. Transportation was good to all the parks via the buses.

The villas were lit up with Christmas lights and the Christmas tree in the Villas' lobby was also lit up. The whole time we were there they were playing Christmas music. What type of music do the villas play during the rest of the year? The main lobby of the WL had a Christmas tree up (but not lit up) when we arrived on Sunday the 17th. On Thursday the 21st they had the official tree lighting.

Any questions let me know.

 

[wdwnut]

hi: glad you had a good time.

 

[PalVal]

My husband is 6ft 5 and I have requested the top floor of the WL villas for our 10 day stay in March. Do you know if all the top floors have the low ceilings? I might have to change my request.

 

[dkellumw]

Since this was our first trip I do not know if all the rooms on the fifth floor have vaulted ceilings. Hopefully some of our VWL experts can answer that one for you.

I took some pictures so I will see if I took one of the room that will show how the ceiling slopes. If I did I will try to post it later this week.

 

[KyBill]

With regard to music. In the WL at non-Xmas time they play music from some of the old, great hollywood westerns. Gives you a feel of the Old West. Don't know about the Villa side. It may be the same.

 

[dkellumw]

I have the pictures that show how the ceiling slopes but it says at the bottom of the page that I can not post attachments. Do I need a certain amount of post to have that privilage?

 

[roelongo]

We were right next to you in room 5532. We had an open balcony which was actually the full length of our 1bdrm, we did not have vaulted ceilings. It was also our first time home and we loved it. We visited the rest of the DVC resorts and my DH actually said that WLV was his favorite, he really disliked the Boardwalk and BCV which totally surprised me because the Grand GFloridian is his favorite. We just got home last night so I'll write more about our trip later.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Thanx for the report, dkellumw!
We had room 5552 (I think). It was a dedicated 2br, and yes it had vaulted ceilings. It was awesome in the master bedroom, but didn't make much difference in the living room. I wonder if they are all vaulted the same??? For those of you doing room planning, we also had an open balcony with partial bus & dumpster veiw, but still a very good view (I say this with much bias, as I absolutely adore VWL).
The music at VWL/WL is awesome, and in a way, I feel the x-mas take away some of the feel.
I'm glad you enjoyed your trip....

 

[melk]

dkellumw,
We were there at the same exact time as you!! We probably crossed paths at some point. We were in 3507, overlooking the pool. It was also our first trip home, sight unseen, and we loved it! We're in the process of planning our next trip!
Thanks for the nice report.