First trip as DVC member end of Jan 2006 report ***

[bounceliketigger]

All I can say, especially with regard to the cost of food is DINING PLAN, DINING PLAN, DINING PLAN!

We spent around $475 for it for 7 nights last year and saved over $1100 worth of receipts! (I REALLY wanted to be sure it would pay off.) Granted, we ate more than we normally would have but we were able to eat anywhere we wanted, anything we wanted, without ever batting an eyelash or thinking about gratuity! Of course it depends on your eating habits...I've seen alot of comments about only eating sit-downs, but with tiny tots, spending 2 hrs at a meal just isn't always possible.

I've heard OKW is a bit more "laid back" & we'll be trying that in March for our first DVC trip.

Happy long weekend everyone! Wish I was there now!

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Thanks for the honest trip report Toesmom!

I can totally see all your points. While I love BWV, I do feel that the parking and quick food choices are slight draw backs. However, I expect that each trip, have learned to deal with it, and thus have learned not to be bothered by it anymore. But I can see where if it is the first time dealing with it. it might be a "shock."

Some people love the hotel feel where they don't have to touch their luggage or their car after they pull into the entrance of the hotel. We arenot one of those people! My DH hates to valet. We actually like to handle our our luggage. Besides the tipping, we hate to feel "rushed" getting all our stuff out and into the car.

That being said, we usually DO use bell services when checking in because the parking lot is so far away. I take the kids to go check-in while DH goes and parks the car himself. We hardly ever valet but it does come in handy when it is pouring rain when we are getting back from somewhere.

We have learned to use the side entrance from the villas closest to the parking lot when going to and coming from the parking lot. It's actually not too bad from there. Last trip we had a first floor unit and hardly ever even went through the lobby except when checking in.

We always haul all our luggage out to the car ourselves on check-out day no matter where we stay. Actually, DH does it. I'm usually in the room making sure that everything is packed, feeding the kids, just relaxing. DH makes several trips. He likes to make sure the car is clean, that the kids didn't leave anything "hidden" in the back seat or compartments, and that the luggage "fits" properly in the trunk.

I agree that you should try some of the other DVC resorts. If you like the BW location, give BCV a try. I found the parking lot much closer than that of BWV. You could park your car near the villa entrance, walk to the lobby and check-in, go to your room first and then get your luggage yourself. It's what I would do. Some people don't want to be handling luggage at all. We don't really mind. Besides Beaches and Cream, BCV now have a small fast food area.

VWL has Roaking Forks and I find the parking lot farther from the villas than BCV but closer to the lobby and more convenient than the parking at BWV.

But our all time favorite for parking is OKW where you are parked outside your room. The convenience store is not "right there" unless you are near HH though. I usually would only stay in a one bedroom at OKW though. It has the feel of a vaction home to us instead of a hotel so we tend to like to spend more time relaxing in the unit.

Good luck with planning your next trip home and deciding on where to stay.

 

[fatherAZ]

Thanks for your report about your trip to BWV. I too stayed there for the 1st time in Jan 2006, 2BR. I was a little disappointed of the condition of the room, not what I was expecting from a "deluxe" resort. One of the doors in the TV cabinet was completely off the hinge and fell off when I opened the cabinet. Also the handle to open the sliding door over the jacuzzi was corroded. There were many corners where the plaster had peeled away. The bathrooms did feel well-maintened, all tiles intact. I may be a little more sensitive since we just moved to a new house and perhaps was expecting perfection. Interestingly the display unit on the boardwalk is in tip-top condition --I just expected our room to be in similar shape. Just my thoughts. Have not stayed in other DVC resorts before but am interested to hear what the conditions are in the other resorts. I remember one post discussing the poor conditions in a OKW GV. Overall I was pleased with our trip, just wanted to get others' opinions.

 

[Slakk]

I just stayed at BWV and after our trip we decided Epcot area was not for us. We stayed at Yacht before and did not enjoy it - we had a BW view and while the room was nice we were about as far from the elevators as physically possible and the noise from the drunks screaching was annoying.

Our home resort is SSR but we wanted to try BWV because Epcot is our favorite park. We just figure that the Epcot resorts are not our cup of tea

We are going to stay at SSR next trip and are excited by the condo style rooms and quick serve options. It fits us better.

The way I figure is this is what makes DVC so great - there is something for everyone!

 

[NMW]

About the food, I should explain that we did try beaches and cream (really wasn't so great - we did it last year and was much better than this year), we went to ESPN and had wings everyone thinks are great (I got really sick within 1/2 hour of eating them), and we did have jumbo hotdog on boardwalk (my dh fell sick shortly after eating). So now our choices are limited.

That stinks that you got sick! When I was in college I got food poisoning from a salad bar at Pizza Hut. To this day I cringe whenever I see a Pizza Hut!

I didn't think about Tubbi's, that's a good idea!

Can you answer my question about value resorts and bell services? Do they just not have them? Who stores your luggage if you check in early and your room is not ready? Who helps you with your luggage is it's too much for your family to carry? I ask this because I am a serious over-packer. Our 2003 trip at the BC our family of 5 had 8 carry-ons, and 6 checked bags plus a stroller. I didn't think it would all fit on the bell serices cart, and it just barely did! The guy was struggling a little to push it too. Because of DVC and the washer and dryer in the villas, I now pack much less. That must make bell services very happy

 

[dallastxcpa]

Bell stand there or not most people don't utilize it. You walk quite a ways from there to get to check in. Also it really isn't a conventional pull up location like BWV or BCV. .........Also I've posted this in the past: Why aren't there bell carts near the elevators at SSR? If you build a condo style resort make it that way. Most condo style resorts I've stayed at have bell carts/shopping carts near the elevators. Even VB has them. You need those carts to get your stuff to the room, especially groceries. Most Marriott timeshares have them. Please don't give me the other reasons I've seen here about carts being a hazard or not getting returned, etc. Why have them at other DVC resorts and not SSR?


DAVE

Dave,

Maybe you just look like a guy that likes to schlep his bags all around DVC's largest resort!

Honestly, though I am a very demanding person. i have only stayed value once and I can tell you there are bellman there also (I have never actually taken my bag to a room). Just a preference. (I also never park my own car when a valet is available) My husband, who's name is also Dave, is a tightwad and would prefer to always do manual labor himself instead of having to tip someone. I love SSR and can tell you that the bellmen there are awesome. They have carried bags for me. Opened cab doors, when I was visiting the spa, and just been a general pleasure to have around. Maybe it was just a rare occasion that you were unable to find a bellman?

I do think the carts are a good idea. However, I can tell you from living in a high rise condo in the past that they tend to disappear.

Toesmom,

Just always remember that these services are optional and never feel like you have to use them. It is your decision.

One option for the Boardwalk Villas is to request a room near the tennis courts. This is at the very end of the hall the most possible farthest location from the lobby, however it is very close to the parking lot if you go out the exit at the end of the hall. (You can also enter through this door with your room card).

Best of luck on your future stays finding your perfect resort.

 

[mom2alix]

Sofabed was comfy. We removed it from couch and kept on floor at night. Room was very large, with daybed.

Did this work well for you? Could you sit on the couch with the mattress pulled out of it? I thought this was a brilliant idea when I read it as I'm not sure DS will consent to the pack and play, but I was a little concerned about him rolling of the sofa bed if I let him sleep with DD. PUtting it on the floor sounds like a good idea. I just wonder if we could put in on the floor in the master and have the LR still free for the grown ups. Has anyone else done this? TIA!

 

[westjones]

Did this work well for you? Could you sit on the couch with the mattress pulled out of it?

I was wondering this too. I never thought to do this. It would be nice to have the couch to sit on. What did you do with the mattress during the day? Lean it up on the side of a wall or something? Or did you put it away each day?

Great idea! More details please!
Thanks!
DJ

 

[toesmom]

In the morning we just put the mattress back into the sofabed. That worked fine. But the last day we left it out and we could sit on it quite comfortably. Actually a few nights my dd slept on the couch, she's 7.

Tubbi's was actually fine. I found out from the disboards that they are the only place in disney to serve Starbucks. So I purchased one of those mugs for $10 and visited more than a few times to get my dose of good coffee. It was just a bit far with young kids that's all.

As for tipping and all that, when we drove up, the staff is wonderful. They immediately started unloading our trunk and we didn't even have a chance to say a word. It would have actually been kind of rude to say "sorry, we'll do it ourselves"; then they reallly would think we are too cheap to hand out a few dollar bills. We never overpack ever, we always manage; little guy was in my carrier, stroller carried handbaggage and luggage all on wheels so no need for help. What do you do when bellmen do their job? Next time we'll park far from the entrance and just walk up I suppose.

The idea of a room near tennis court sounds great for distance to car parking.

At the value resorts we never really needed Bell services since rooms were always ready for us (we always seem to get there in early afternoon).

BWV and DVC resorts do not compare to values at all, it's just that there were certain things about DVC that I didn't expect to run into. But thank you to everyone for suggestions and ideas I can use to plan our next DVC trip.

 

[cdpa4d]

The car parking area was so so so so far from the hotel. Great exercise. We didn't want to use valet because if anything happened to our rental we would be responsible.

Just wanted to say thanks for the review. We are going to BWV at the end of March.

Also wanted to make sure you knew Valet was free at all Vacation Club resorts that offer Valet Parking. Tip not included.

 

[toesmom]

I know it is free at the resort you are staying at if you are dvc member, but we really didn't want to risk any type of damage at all to the rental vehicle for which we would be liable. So we got a lot of exercise, which is probably for the best anyways.

 

[wilderness01]

I agree with some of the other posters that really the BWV, BCV and WLV are not really deluxe. We have stayed in deluxe hotels before and these Disney resorts do not compare. Do I still love Disney? Yes. But really I only expect a clean unit and hope it is in relatively good shape. We stayed in 3 deluxe hotels last year and they were very, very nice. No wear and tear, not even in the bathrooms was there a chip in the tile or mold anywhere. They were all in Florida as well. There is a huge difference in a deluxe hotel vs. DVC. I do like DVC and will continue to be an owner of it as long as my kids are young. Having the washer/dryer is a must for a family so for that reason alone it is worth it to us. But for the last 5 years it has not lived up to it's deluxe status. Just my opinion.

 

[SaratogaShan]

Wow, this thread really has me thinking....So far we have only stayed at SSR, and we love it! My 3 yr old DD adores the Donald's water play area (In fact, she keeps asking when we are going to "Donald's hotel" LOL. Anyway, I thought we would try something new for May and I was excited to get a ressie at Boardwalk. After reading how far away self parking is, I may need to rethink this. We are usually do it ourselves type people because things aren't always very quick with a one yr old and a 3 yr old! I can see us trying to retrieve our car from valet and load the kids in the carseats, load the strollers in the back... we would have a line of cars behind us a mile long! I know there is the advantage of being able to walk to Epcot and MGM, but the other two parks would be a problem. Either schlep it to self park with the kids in tow and drive to the parks or take the bus, with each adult responsible for one child and one stroller! I had not thought about how parking right outside your door is so convenient with young children, especially when they are asleep! We may have to save the "hotel type" resorts until the kids are older.

 

[winjos]

We own at BWV and have only stayed at OKW. So, I can't comment about the BWV.

However, we stayed at a value resort in January 2005. Never again!!! Talk about a maze to get to one's room (from the front desk or parking), all the teeny boppers screaming & running around, and the super dinky rooms (two beds plus a pack N play)! I called for a hairdryer and after 1 1/2 hours, I canceled the request. Poor service!! We "experienced" the food court -- what a mess. It was jammed pack and chaotic, and it was January!!!

We have two little ones (2 & 5) and have found that OKW suits our needs perfectly! We like the laid back vacation feeling there. We have stayed in a studio, and it didn't really float our boat (four adults and 1 pack n play makes it a little tight -- did I mention that 3 of the adults were women who take time to get ready?!). Thus, we only get 1 or 2 bedrooms. We love it, and since I'm on vacation, if the room is a little messy -- so what!! We do not go to the parks everyday and find that the pool (free), the boat trip to DTD (free) and the ability to rent a boat ($$), puts a lot of magic in our trip!!

We love January! We've gone to WDW 4 different Januarys. OK, the weather is a bit unpredictable (have had 75 degree days and 40 degree days), but the crowds are almost nonexistant! We will take the weather over the crowds anyday!! Have you been in July or August?? Now that is a game of survival!!

Explore the other resorts and the other size rooms. It may be a bit of trial and error, but eventually you'll find that combination that will make all your trips to WDW magical!

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

To date I have only experienced DVC at OKW in a studio but then again, I was only sharing the room with one friend. The space for me, having stayed at every other Disney hotel on property, was exceptional and I liked the fact that the room wasn't a square box. Prior to joining DVC my favorite place to stay was Port Orleans Riverside in the manors. I liked the peace and solitude that it affords and so was drawn to OKW for it's quiet and charm. I'm also a romantic who likes to take long walks without crowds sharing the space every second of the time.

My next adventure will be at a one bedroom but I will have more people sharing the space and like the thought of having the privacy of the bedroom and a private baclony.

One of these days all my brothers and sisters and I will head down for a family gathering and I'll have to secure two Grand Villas (maybe three) to fit us all in!

 

[American Scrapper]

We stayed at a value resort in October before our cruise and since we had used Magical Express, the luggage was brought to our room - so tipping was still involved. When we were checking out, if you wanted bellman service you needed to call ahead and schedule for a certain time. Since we were unaware of this, we asked to just have a cart sent. They were very rude about it and after finally ok'ing it made us sign a release form that if anything happened to the cart we would be charged $25.00. Of course, we returned it right away. While the resort was nice & the food court was nice to have, I did miss the bigger room. Would I stay at a value resort again? Probably (if I was out of points), but am very glad I have DVC.

 

[bsusanmb]

Enjoyed your report, Toesmom. It is fun to read everyone's ideas and perceptions. DH and I had 5 children. When we were young, every penny was allocated on vacations. I thought it was interesting that people thought paying $8 for breakfast was a good deal. We were a struggling family and rarely ate out. Our first vacations were at Carribean Beach when it first opened for $39 a night. We did a lot of sharing of meals, and carrying a cooler for milk and lunchmeat, etc. We had to be frugal. We are middle class people who make a modest income.
Now we are both 56, and our kids are grown and gone. We have stayed at the Values, moderates and deluxes, and rented points at BCV and VWL. Any time I found something wrong with the room, I called to front desk, engineering, housekeeping, whatever. And everything was fixed, or I was offered another room. I even had a new mattress delived to BCV. The one on the bed had springs sticking out, and the knob on the sink fell off. All were fixed. We just bought into DVC - 500 points. We just love Disney.
When I was young, I was afraid to speak up and tell someone who was taking my luggage out of my car that I wanted to take it myself. Not anymore. I actually think it is downright rude for anyone to just begin taking my belongings without asking. DH always says, no thanks. He has to say it twice, usually, but we prefer to carry our own luggage and park our own car. I agree with you, Toesmom, that $10 could buy something else. I am sure there are plenty of people who consider $10 pocket change and can keep the bell staff employed. I have, on occasion, when I was at POR, and didn't have a car, have bell staff pick up our luggage and us at 5am. I didn't want to wake everyone else up dragging my luggage, and I didn't want to arrive at the airport full of sweat! But I don't feel an obligation to pay for services I don't need. We always rent a car and just leave our luggage in the car if the room is not ready. I do tip Mousekeeping. I think they work really hard and do a great job.
I love the convenience of the food court. I love breakfast at POR in the food court. Don't care for WL food court - small and not much to offer.
Now that we are DVC members, we'll have to deal with the lack of mousekeeping (love to come back to a clean room that I didn't have to do), and a large food court. But knowing my vacation is paid for and I don't have to worry about coming up with a large sum of cash 4 times a year is great.

Regarding the BWV parking, arg, it is FAR, FAR away. I will have DH drop me off at the door if we ever stay there. Yes, I need exercise, but with the humidity and heat, don't need heat stroke!

We have stayed in Jan when it has been 90 degrees. You just never know. One year at Thanksgiving it was so cold (and we live in PA) we had to go to Walmart and buy long johns and sweat clothes. We had on double layers of clothes and a coat, hat, gloves, and were still cold.

Our times at DVC were only in a studio. We are now going for the one bedroom and I think it will be much nicer, at least I hope so! Our home resorts are SSR and VWL.

 

[SoCalKDG]

You mentioned the lack of a food court. We like food courts also-where you can grab a quick, relatively inexpensive bite to eat. That's one of the disadvantages I see with BWV, also-there's not much unless you go over to the BC. At OKW, there's Good's to Go for fast food, and one thing I like there is that they made our sandwiches with the ingredients seperate, put it all in a paper bag, and we just carried it back to our room. By giving us the ingredients seperately, the sandwiches didn't get soggy. Also, I don't remember tipping anyone at OKW. But the downside is that we carried our own luggage and parked our own car, which was OK with us.

For a quick bite you have the Boardwalk Pool Bar, which has fast food. The Swan/Dophin is a 5 minute walk and has 10+ places to eat, including two that serve sandwiches, beef dips, burgers, hotdogs, etc.


To the OP, try a 1 bedroom. You then get a full kitchen where you can prepare all your own meals and save lots of money if so inclined. We were there in January as well(21-31) and thought it was wonderful weather(low 70's almost every day). I'll take that any day over the 95 in July with tons of humidity. Plus no crowds was wonderful. They even opened EE just for us while we were there.

 

[Beca]

After reading your post, what concerns me (as a fellow DVC owner) is simple...we never enjoy a WDW trip when we are too stressed out about money. It seems like a lot of things got to you.

DVC is expensive!!! It is cheap for those who like to go to WDW every year, stay at deluxes and would be spending that money anyway. It is not cheap if you like staying at values.

In your description of BWV, you described that the rooms did not live up to your expectations, and yet the "tipping everyone" that happens at deluxes seemed to surprise you as well. Both of these negatives make me think that you might find DVC does not live up to your expectations.

We knew that our purchase of DVC was just the beginning of the money going out. We budget not only for our dues, but also for the money required to take each trip. We have definitely spent a LOT more on WDW than we did before we purchased DVC.

Please understand....I am not trying to challenge you in anyway on your expectations. I am not saying you are not justified in anything you are feeling. I just fear that the pressure to use those points every year, and pay the dues associated with them might really get to you, if you find that BWV did not "cut" it. We own at BCV, and for many of the reasons you mentioned (parking is HEAVEN at BCV, yet we still get all of the luxurious amenities, and a REALLY great pool).

Maybe it is just a matter of "adjusting your expectations", or maybe you would be much happier at a condo style resort. I just wanted to let you know that BWV is a wonderful example of what DVC is, and what it does offer.

I hope you find what works for you, and I am truly sorry your first trip home did not live up to your expectations.



Beca

 

[gppnj]

Oh but we did see a woman being attacked by the seagulls outside of the bakery. She just dropped her purchases are ran really fast. It really freaked out my husband and daughter.

That happened to me, too! I bought a breakfast sandwich at the bakery, and I was going to eat it as I walked to EPCOT. However, after one bite of it, a seagull swooped down from behind and knocked the sandwich out of my hands, and of course he and his friends ate it a second later. I was shocked by how smart (they knew to sneak up on me from behind rather than confront me straight on) and aggressive these gulls are. I would have expected them to readily pick up something I had dropped, but I didn't expect them to steal food right out of my hands. It was kind of creepy.