First Trip to BCV 4/2 - 4/7/06 - Didn't LOVE it

ReneeQ

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 6, 2000
I always appreciate everyone's honest opinions on this board, so I will give mine. We own at BWV and VWL. This was our first time trying BCV and we were in a studio, number 176. It was myself, my sister and her son (my nephew) age 8. I will admit my feelings are not 100% BCVs fault, but that we were in a studio rather than a 1BR, which can always affect the greatness of a trip, in my opinion. Smaller quarters, no washer/dryer, only one bathroom sink, not a tub AND a shower, etc.

When we checked in we were told our room was ready (around 2 PM) and was a first floor with a pool view. I prefer higher floors, but we took this room, since it was ready, and the pool view sounded good. In actuality our view was the canal, about 3-4 doors from the parking lot to our right. It was a day or so before I realized the pool was all the way down the walkway to the left. Not what I would call a pool VIEW, as you couldn't even SEE the pool from our patio. :sad2:

Two things I REALLY didn't like in the design of the BCV was the bathroom sink was JUST a counter, no cabinet or drawers under it. At both BWV and VWL, where we usually stay, there is a drawer on the right and left of the sink where we store everything, keeping the counter nice and clear. There is also a cabinet underneath to store empty toiletry bags, etc. The lack of this storage space at BCV made the BR sink area a constant disaster. :scared1:

And we HATED HATED HATED the motion detector thermostat. As others have stated, we awoke often during the night in a sweat. I think this would be miserable in the dead of summer. :furious:

Other room observations - there was no highchair in the closet, though we didn't need it, so didn't care. There are no drawers in the kitchenette (there are at VWL, but not at BWV either) which helps with the clutter on the kitchen counter. The room in general was clean and neat, but the carpet was worn out, with numerous spots of what looked like mold or mildew. The sofa, throw pillows and comforter all were stained and all the furniture showed signs of wear, water rings, etc. (I always use something as a coaster for drinks, but it seems some others do not. I've often wondered why Disney doesn't have waterproof laminate tops on their furniture and tables to prevent this). :confused3 The lobby was a mess with really worn out furniture, but I understand it's undergoing a rehab, so this is probably just temporary.

Our first night was miserable due to the temperature in the room and the realization that the mattress was completely shot. The mattress was so thin and springs were literally poking us in the back. On the first morning the coffee maker leaked EVERYWHERE :coffee: , causing us to use half of our towels to clean the mess. We were heading to MGM and I called housekeeping at 7 AM to request a new coffee maker, new mattress and more towels. On our return to the room at 5 PM we had a new coffee maker with NO basket in it, no new matress, no new towels, and all the wet coffee stained towels still on the floor.

I called again at 5, and we got ready for dinner. At 7 we were ready to leave the room for dinner, and no one had come, so I called AGAIN. That's three times. They said they were "on the way" and we headed to dinner. When we returned around 9 PM they had finally brought another coffee maker, the towels, and the mattress, and housekeeping was in the room putting new sheets on the new mattress. It took 14 hours to have my requests met. :rolleyes1

Did we like anything? Of course! We spent two days at Stormalong Bay, which was beyond bliss. :cloud9: We LOVED the "snack bar," refillable mug program, and the Sandcastle Club. All things that are GREATLY lacking (meaning non-existant) at BWV. Actually, those are my three main complaints about BWV. They closed the kid's club, they don't have a snack bar, and they dont' have refillable mugs. Three things I LOVE about VWL.
(Pay attention Disney :teacher: - add these things at BWV and you could make more money!)

Other random thoughts - This was my 25th Disney trip, and my first EVER that was not magical. Most trips I think "it can't get any better" and then it does. Well, it didn't this time. There were SO MANY rude cast members it was unbelievable! I have NEVER had a rude cast member. TOT at MGM was the WORST! The guy at the entrance flat out told my sister she was LYING and that she had not asked about kid swap! We were so shocked we couldn't speak! :faint:

I have a bad knee and usually get a GAC just to excuse me from any stairs. I forgot to get one this trip, and tried to go up the ramp at the Train Station by Splash Mtn in MK. NO ONE was exiting. The CM would NOT let me walk up the ramp without a GAC! :sad2:

We still had a good trip overall. Hey, we were at Disney, and not at school or work, so it can't be all bad. But it was just depressing to notice the overall decline of the parks. Everything used to be so pristine, and it seems they' ve let things go. Here's hoping the next trip is back to being more magical. Thanks for listening. :wave2:
 
No tub? No drawers under the sink? Sounds like you got a handicapped room.

It's a shame they gave you a bad room, I had a studio on the 5th floor in February and everything was great.
 
Sorry to hear your trip wasn't as magical as other trips have been.

One thing in regards to the storage in your studio. It sounds like you may have had a semi-handicap accessible room. I have never seen one of these rooms but have read about them. These rooms still have the standard shower/tub combo but do not have the cabinets in the bathroom and kitchen, this allows for wheelchair movement. I am pretty certain non-handicap rooms at BCV have the cabinets/drawers you mention BWV and VWL both have. It has been brought up by other posters that these rooms should have some type of rolling/moveable cabinet for storage in the bathrooms. I think this is a great idea and DVC should look into this.

I could be wrong on this one (definitely won't be the first time :rolleyes1 ) and someone please correct me if I am, but I think this may have been the type of room you had.
 
Sorry you didn't have a magical trip this time. Nice to know that since you'll be back, the next trip will probably be better!

I also think you were assigned a HA room.

FWIW, BWV does have a refillable mug program. You can refill at the pool and the Boardwalk Bakery. Might be a few other places to refill as well, but I can't remember for sure. (Refillable mugs don't work well for us - we make our own coffee and don't drink much soda).

Best wishes -
 


Yes, it def. sounds like you got a HA room. We stayed at DVC for the first time last summer at BCV and had an actual pool view room on the first floor, but it was HA. I think our number was 120 something. We liked the location, but hated the fact that we had NO storage room in the bathroom for our toiletries. I do not understand that, even a handicapped person has to put their bathroom items somewhere. How silly that design is IMOH. :sunny:

I am sorry you had a room like this, I know it can dampen the experience a bit, especially when you have 3 people in the room, like we did. I hope your next visit is better.
 
No, you didn't have a HA room. The studios at BCV are open underneath the sinks unlike BWV where there are cabinets. I know because we split our stay between the two and that was the first thing we noticed. We had been storing all of our stuff away in the drawers and I agree they were much more convenient. I also double checked the map at parkinfo2go and 176 is not HA. We've only stayed in studios at BCV and I can assure you they are all designed this way. That being said, we love BCV and BWV equally. Each have things we like and don't like (like the mug refill station, BWV needs one!) Sorry, it didn't live up to your expectations. I have to agree though, a bad day at Disney is better than a good day at work!!
 
A few questions for people who have stayed at BWV lately in reference to the original posters comments on the lack of a snack bar and children's clubs:

Don't they sell food from the bar area at the main pool (clown pool) at the BWV?

Is there any room service at the BWV these days?

Don't they have activities for the kids at the Community Hall near the villa quiet pool?

We own at BWV and BCV and we are staying at BWV in the future and would love to know the answers to the above. (We stayed at BCV last year.)

Thanks for your help,

maminnie
 


Don't they sell food from the bar area at the main pool (clown pool) at the BWV?
Yes, but the menu is much more limited than what you can get at Hurricane Hanna's. BWV also does not have the serve yourself mug station like you find at the Beach Club Marketplace.
Don't they have activities for the kids at the Community Hall near the villa quiet pool?
Yes, there are still daily activities for kids at the Community Hall.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone! I had to go into work today to do payroll (since I was off a week :blush: ) and just got back online.

I didn't THINK we had a HA room, so thanks for clearing that up slp87. DebbieB, we DID have a tub, I just meant we didn't have a "tub AND separate shower" like we do in a 1BR. Meaning only one of us is bathing at a time, rather than 1 in the shower and 1 in the jacuzzi, like in a 1BR. And we DID have cabinets under the kitchen sink, just not under the bathroom sink. I STILL don't get the "no cabinets under the BR sink" thing. What were they thinking????

Maminnie, yes, as slp87 said, there are activities for the kids at community hall at BWV. They usually take place during the day. There just isn't a nighttime kid club where you can leave your child. They used to have the Harbor Club at BWV, which my nephew loved. He likes to go for about 3 hours at least once a trip for unlimited video games and "kid time" as he's an only child. My sister and I go out for dinner and a drink, and the break is nice.

We'd definitely try BCVs again, though.
 

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