If you could only stay at your home resort....

[emacek]

Here's the question....
if for some reason you were only allowed to book at your home resort...where would you want to call home?

The background, DH (60) and I (50) are ready to buy in.

The only resorts we've ruled out are Animal Kingdom (we have access to AKL points already through my mother) and Saratoga Springs (we've stayed there and it's not our cup of tea). We don't have children and are most likely to use the points for a studio for the 2 of us or possibly to book a 2 bedroom and go with another couple every 3 years. We love the parks, but we also love sitting on the balcony, having a drink and watching the life go by

EMacek

 

[jstarcze]

I would have to say my current home resort of BLT or a close second would be BWV.

 

[Disney Spaz]

I would say either BCV or BWV. Both offer the kind of sit back and chill vacaton you are describing.

 

[emacek]

talk to me about BCV....I haven't stayed there before and I'm intrigued by it but thought it might be very kid-oriented....

 

[Cranky Duck]

Our home resort is AKV and we do love it
I think our next purchase will be at the Grand Californian
We stayed there last year and It is a great place!
the View of California Adventure from the villas is sweet and the direct access to the park is a plus.
Good luck and remember there are no bad choices.

 

[LSchrow]

absolutely BWVs
there is nothing like having coffee in your pjs, watching the sun come up over crescent lake.....later watching illuminations with the BW activity from your balcony, sharing wine with a loved one after stays in almost every wdw resort, we've found there is literally no view comparable to BW view

btw, we own BWVs, BCVs, and SSR. BCVs are not to our tastes - pretty, but very noisy (lots and lots of little ones - great for families with very young children. we prefer quiet interiors with activities and higher noise levels outdoors, where and when we select).

try a stay in a BWV BW view villa just once.....from your description, i think you'll be hooked as soon as you walk in the door.

 

[AirGoofy]

The balcony at the OKW studio was HUGE!!! It was probably 2 or 3 times the balcony size at SSR. When we stayed at OKW in October, we stayed in the Turtle Creek (or Pond) section, where they have a private pool. There was a total of 4 children, 2 of them being mine. They were (thankfully) very polite and I do not believe the other residents were offended. We went to the main pool with a water slide, and that seemed to have many more children.

 

[spiceycat]

my home resorts - BLT, VWL and BWV (okay like BCV and AKV too)

so would have no problem only staying at my home resorts.

BLT - love it. you can find quiet here. the kids screaming in the hall ways - will stop once they are in their rooms...

It has some very nice views and some really not so great (MK views - that are really views of the parking lot)
It probably has the nicest view of a lake than any of the DVC resorts and a bunch of them (79% of the resort)

you can walk to the MK and ride the monrail (change to EPcot monrail at TTC) to Epcot. You have easy access to CR and thru the monrail - Polyn and GF. there is a boat to WL/VWL and FW.


VWL - you really feel like you are in the mountains (well kinda of). the resorts is very cool (especially when you consider you are in Florida)
the lobby is amazing (it shares the check in with WL)

BWV - if you like Epcot or Studios - this is a nice one. You can walk or boat ride to both of these parks. (walking is generally faster)

 

[a742246]

I would say BW would be your best bet.

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

Here's the question....
if for some reason you were only allowed to book at your home resort...where would you want to call home?
EMacek

If that was the only option then I would say that Disney Vacation Club is not for me. I like going to the Boardwalk as well as Vero Beach and would love to go to the new resort in Hawaii. If DVC only allowed you to stay at one DVC resort then I would choose to be a non member and rent points to stay at all the resorts.

Jason

 

[NewDCLGuy]

Here's the question....
if for some reason you were only allowed to book at your home resort...where would you want to call home?

That's the question we we asked ourselves before buying, and bought at VWL. Love being on the lake, being in/near the woods and having boat access to the MK. There's something very special about it, especially at Christmas. It feels like Disney to me. The other resorts are very nice, but they feel like nice resorts... nothing magical.

That said, we've spent a lot more time at the other resorts than our home resort. But if we are going to be stuck someplace for the next 30+ years, I want it to be at VWL.

 

[dbs1228]

With all these responses the bottom line is go check it out! lol We bought in BLT in Feb and SSR resale in Apr (THV was what we really wanted). We to like to kick back on a balcony or deck to start and finish our day and to me THV will be our paradise.

I asked the same question you are and I am amazed how many different answers I have gotten. I have heard awesome feed back about BWV but when I was booking my DD trip I asked MS res agent what her thoughts were and she said BWV and BCV were not for her because she felt the rooms and area were to on top of each other and she preferred OKW to go "home to" at the end of a busy day. I have no idea myself since my 1st ressie is in May but I am sure going to have fun finding out!

 

[Sandisw]

We bought in to BLT because we already knew we loved that location. We had been staying for years at the CR.

MK is our favorite park and wanted to be close. Our kids are now older so having a chance to go over at night, just DH and I, to walk around is wonderful.

If we were stuck at our home resort, we would have no issues at all with this as we bought were we love to be!

 

[DeeCee735]

BWV always BWV
Is was and always will be our favorite place. The location is awesome and we love the resort.

 

[jekjones1558]

If the Stormalong Bay pool at BCV is to your liking, that might be a good choice, but none of the BCV rooms has a really great view and some are pretty bad, IMHO. OKW 1 and 2 bedrooms units are wonderful but as a couple we really dislike the studios because they have 2 beds and no sofa. Also the OKW studio balconies are not big like the 1 and 2 bedroom balconies at OKW. VWL is a possibility, especially if MK is your favorite park. DH and I first bought into DVC when we were about your ages. We purchased BWV and it has been so perfect for us that we have added on at BWV 5 times. We love the BW view and easy access to both EPCOT and DHS. We like the activity on the BW at night and watching the EPCOT fireworks from our balcony at night. When we first became members we only had 220 points, so we stayed in studios at BWV and thought that they were a good layout for 2 people. Now we always stay in 1 bedrooms and love the huge closet at BWV. We like the 1 bedroom units at OKW even better, and the GVs there are a super bargain, so we bought points at OKW as well.
Some people think we are nuts to be going to WDW so often at our age, frequently only inviting adult friends. As the years have gone by we spend less time in the parks and more time at the resort and we appreciate BWV more than ever.
Good luck with your decision!

 

[robertdangelo]

I suggest buying in at BCV or BWV... especially if you like the EPCOT Food & Wine Fest. These can be hard to book at 11 months in October. BWV balconies with Boardwalk view are great for people watching!
BCV is a 5 minute walk to EPCOT. Here's a site with pictures from balconies at BCV: http://www.parkinfo2go.com/dvc-bcv/ Click on the room# to see the view.
Good Luck!

 

[lmshaggard]

When we go with out our little guys, BCV is definitely our 1st choice. We just stayed at BWV and BCV on our last trip in Feb and we still really like BCV better. We own at BLT and at GCV. BLT was great to watch MK and the monorail go by - very peaceful at night. I agree though - book a trip and spend a couple of nights at each and see what you think. We have really figured out what we like by resort hopping (and it is so easy to do ) Good luck!!

 

[jade1]

If we were stuck at our home resort, we would have no issues at all with this as we bought were we love to be!

AGREED. Vote this in now. BCV/BLT/VWL and maybe we would add at BWV.

 

[JimC]

We would be fine where we own. Although, we might sell some OKW points and add at BLT/VWL.

I suspect that the value of VB and HH would collapse if there were no opportunities to use those points at any other DVC resort.

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

It has some very nice views and some really not so great (MK views - that are really views of the parking lot)
It probably has the nicest view of a lake than any of the DVC resorts and a bunch of them (79% of the resort)

This statement intrigues me as we just purchased BLT. I did wonder when we toured if those bottom floors counted as MK views, because you really do see nothing but cars, monorail pillars and bushes around the patios from them. So, Disney counts those as MK views rather than as standards? How do you ensure an acceptable view when booking? Or... how do you get a credit of your points if assigned to a rotten view when paying for an actual MK view?

We spend very little time in our actual room when we go to Disney, and with all the beautiful public areas for viewing fireworks, I imagine even with a standard view booking, we would not be frustrated about finding a lovely viewing spot each night.

We are currently looking at purchasing BWV as well, as we now go annually for Food & Wine (we're in those years after kids graduate from college but before grandchildren come along, so it's "us" time!). Between these two resorts, I think only being able to stay in our home resort(s) would be fine. However, if limited to just our home resort, we would lose a big chunk of the value we considered when first purchasing... i.e., the ability to use our timeshare at places other than Disney in the future.