Have you been surprised by a DVC resort?

[DVCAmy]

I was surprised at how underwhelmed I was with AKV. I was so excited to stay there and although the rooms were great and the pool at Kidani was lots of fun for the kids, the walk between Jambo and Kidani was long for the kids and seemed both ugly and undisneyike to me. I liked it fine but probably won't go back for another stay there.

Amy

 

[LilGMom]

I was surprised by how much I really liked BLT. I am not a fan of CR at all and thought that I'd dislike BLT just as much. Don't get me wrong I really like contemporary design but CR just did nothing for me. On the other hand BLT was wonderful even though we had to walk into CR to eat.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

We stayed at the one in Hilton Head in March. I knew that it would probably be nice from the posts I read and pics I saw...but I really fell in love with it.

There are hammocks all around and charcoal grills for cookouts. They have some great resort based activities.

The harbor is on one side and the sound on the other. One morning, there were about 10 pelicans diving for fish and 3 dolphins (only about 25 yards from where we were standing) ...it was so cool to see. The CM' were great. Can't wait to get back...a peaceful and relaxing kind of place.

 

[Sammie]

We like them all but we love SSR.

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

#1 fav is BCV. It is just wonderful to me and my DH. #2 is BLT love the location. I actually have enjoyed all the DVC resorts we have stayed at. The biggest surprise for me was that I liked SSR more than I thought and BWV less than I thought. I am happy girl at heart and have been happy no matter where we stay.

 

[starbox]

When I looked at the " Dream Book", I thought BWV would be my favorite resort. I'd have bought points there based on the pictures and it was the non- home resort I was most anxious to try.

After staying at every resort at least twice, I can honestly say that it's my LEAST favorite. .

BCV, which I was lukewarm about trying, ended up my favorite non-home resort. (Favorite overall is AKV k I always get the sense that BCV is very well-managed. CMs are happy & friendly, and the pool is awesome (we never visited with small kids that had to be watched while swimming - might not like it as much if I was trying to keep an eye on kids). The walk to EPCOT is great and it's just the right balance of part of a resort complex and quietly set apart. My only complaint is that I'd like a better onsite CS option w/variety - but with EPCOT so close, it's easy to overlook the limited CS.

 

[hakepb]

I stayed at AKV for the novelty of the animals, It took about 5 days, but I fell hard for the exotic, cool, relaxed vibe...

 

[La2kw]

We love OKW. But we have tried all of the other DVC resorts as well. The only one that really surprised us was Kidani, because we ended up loving it almost as much as OKW. It definitely has that DVC feel to it. All the others feel like hotels, but we prefer the vacation home feel of OKW, Kidani, and SSR.

 

[theww228]

I have only stayed at our home resort of VWL. My DIL's have stayed at OKW, we went over to visit them and I didn't care for it. My DIL's were really excited about OKW leading up to their trip, but once they were there they did not care for it. They said that they would not stay there again... would rather stay at pop before OKW. My brother in law stayed at SSR and I went over there to check it out. I felt that the resort was very nice and clean, but the spread out condo style is not for me. However, my BIL loved it there, his second favorite after the poly.

 

[honeymo78]

Our first DVC stay was at SSR (last minute booking right after we bought in) and we were less than thrilled with how spread it out was and we felt we were in an apartment complex rather than at disney. The following year we booked OKW as it was the only resort available other than SSR when we found out we would need a larger room. We were quite surprised at how much we loved OKW. Rather than feeling spread out, it felt like a close knit community with a wonderful laid back feel. It also seemed less like an apartment complex (may those key west colors did it for us). Hopefully we will end up at OKW again next May.

 

[dsneygirl]

OKW on our 2nd stay was a surprise. First time we had a noisy, corner room directly across from the bus stop and the room just seemed worn and in desperate need of a makeover.

Last Dec we were in a 2 bedroom HH category with an easy walk to HH and the boat dock and a lovely view of the pond. Plus the 2 bedroom is HUGE!

 

[maciec]

Funny because we had the opposite feeling about SSR.

We bought SSR in 2004 and just had our first stay there last October. I was totally prepared to hate it and actually I didn't like it until probably day 3. We loved being able take the boat to DTD, the kids loved the High Rock Springs Pool as well as the Grandstand pool, my son loved eating breakfast outside of AP, and I loved that we were always first to be picked up by the bus.

When given a choice to where they wanted to stay this October when we go back it was a unanimous vote by the kids that they wanted to go back to SSR. This time we are staying in a grandvilla and hoping to get a room by the new Paddocks pool.

 

[Marine Mom]

I was surprised that I didn't really like BCV. It had been a dream of mine to stay there and I was sooo looking forward to SAB.
I found that I didn't really care for the room decor and I thought that the bathroom was no different to those that I have stayed in in moderate resorts.
I also didn't like SAB, i thought it was hard to walk on the fake sand bottom and I hated that all the pools didn't join together.
I did love the location though and being able to walk to the parks was great.
I guess I am just a AKV girl at heart.

I agree also. I stayed at BCV because we were so looking forward to the pool. Although I think it is a nice resort, for me, I would not stay there again. The pool was too big (especially if you have little ones).

Now OKW, OMG, love it! Couldn't get over the room sizes, the "florida" feel of the resort, we are hooked!

 

[CarolynMink]

I have loved all the DVC resort we have stayed in. My family would not say the same.

Surprise by the fact, we love OKW 1&2B's and hated the studios. We all kept hitting our shins on the beds.

Surprise by how rude people(guests) were to CMs at BWV. So much so, DH will never stay there again. I had to beg to get him to try BCV this summer.

Really Surprised:
Once, during a stay at SSR, we were placed in a corner 1st floor studio. We opened our sliding door and the patio was attached to the parking lot. I was so upset I wanted to go demand a new room. My DH convinced me all would be fine. He parked the car there and we were able to load & unload literally right into the car thru our sliding door. The pool was also directly around the corner from the room. It turned out to be one of the most convenient rooms we have ever stayed in. (But, I sure would have hated SSR if this was my only stay there.)

 

[Buckeye Fan]

All I can say is I'm SO glad that we "forced" ourselves to try different resorts when we joined. With the exception of BLT (just haven't stayed there yet), we have loved all of the resorts. Don't get me wrong, I still have my favorites, but I can honestly say that my biggest surprise is that I really like them all!

A very pleasant surprise for me was BCV. I love the condo-style resorts, and it was the least appealing to me. We stayed there last year, and fell in love with it. I don't even care that much for the decor (just not my style - my fav is SSR), but the resort itself and SAB were just amazing. We'll be there in July for 10 nights in a 2 bedroom, and I can't wait.

 

[twinklebug]

I stayed at AKV for the novelty of the animals, It took about 5 days, but I fell hard for the exotic, cool, relaxed vibe...

I love this phrase! It perfectly describes AKV. I hope you don't mind, I plan on stealing it for use when discussing AKV with my family who just don't "get it".


--- Kidani surprised me. I had anticipated a more sprawled out, mini version of Jambo with fewer amenities. Boy was I wrong, it has a personality all of it's own. I liked Jambo a lot, but Kidani just feels like home.

--- BLT was a surprise to me too. We stayed there 2 nights just to try it. I had planned on hating it. Yes, I actually planned on it. Turned out I really, really liked it. It's not relaxing like VWL or AKV, but it has the rhythm of the monorail passing by, the pools below and the excitement of the contemporary right next door.

 

[Candy Orlando]

I feel like all the resorts are my home and I love all of them. I go to all the resorts when I'm there. It's so relaxing to stroll through each one. We know a lot of the CM's now at each resort. Disney World is the town I live in when I'm in Florida.

 

[Tiger926]

Yup, we can't believe how much we love OKW! Our 1st trip to OKW, was during a long split stay, so we were tired, and didn't give it a fair shake.

Just returned last month, and we all fell in love! The best 1 bedrooms on property, as far as we are concerned!

We have stayed at all DVC resorts, except BLT (have stayed at Contemporary though, and would like to try BLT, but too many points), and Treehouses, so lots to compare to.

What a cool thread! Tiger

 

[daisygirl902]

I decided to stay at BWV for our wedding last year (we got married right there at Sea Breeze Point) - we got 2 standard view Studios for us and my parents-in-law. I had obsessively looked at pictures of all of the resorts and hated the decor at BWV but decided to stay there for convenience. We absolutely fell in love with it. I love the quick walk to EPCOT and DHS, the pool was amazing, the lobby has a whole lot of charm, the rooms were amazing, and the CMs were great....my husband and I both agree it's our favorite so far. We are doing a split stay at BLT this August, so we'll see if that wins out. But so far BWV surprised us the most.

 

[utahkennedys]

Thanks everyone it has been fun to read about everyone's experiences and has encouraged me to branch out a bit!