Just back from a poor trip

Richyams

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Aug 18, 1999
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I thought it was supposed to be low crowds!!!

It was packed. There were 20-30 minute lines on most of the booths for the Food and Wine Festival. I have been to this event every year except one xince it began. I have never seen it mobbed like this. Theu have some nerve imposing limited park hours with crowds like that. All the rides had ling lines too, FP return times were hours away. It was pretty ridiculous.

We figured everyone was at Epcot for the festival, we wnt over to MK thinking it would be less crowded, it wasn't. It was also mobbed. The lines on everything were long, the streets were packed, it was not what I was used to. We always go in the off season, I have never seen such crowds in all my trips.

BWV

I never really remember just how tiny those one bedrooms are. When the pull out is pulled out, there is ZERO room left. I remember someone recently saying that the bedroom at OKW and BWV were roughly the same size, LOL, they are no where near the same size. The three of us felt very cramped. We were in room 2129....when you began the trek from the lobby, your firstexperience was the hallway near the elevator, you looked down that hallway and the end of it was a blurr in the distance....you start that trek and realize that the room numbers are a LONG way away from your room. You begin to hope that they skip some or something, but alas, no. You finally reach the end of that hallway and turn only too see anputher seemingly endless corriidor.....finally, this next one is traversed and you get to another corner, you are thrilled that you are now only three or four units from yours and thanking the management that you are not in 2136.

The hallway and its marathon length made going to the lobby or boardwalk for something quick a daunting taks. Unless I could get a guarantee of a room location, I would never stay there again.

VWL

We are figuring that 430 points is not enough. We are going to add on and wanted to see VWL. The resort is spectacular. Every decoration and nuance is perfect. The sitting areas of the villas area is great. The lodge itself, magnificant. The decor of the rooms is very, very nice. Its kind of neat, if you are a member already, they have a room they let you see and there is someone there to talk to. The only problem, the rooms are those same teeny rooms as BWV.

We are going to add more points at OKW. The dues are lower, its the only place we really want to stay and managing the points will be easier.
 
It was packed. There were 20-30 minute lines on most of the booths for the Food and Wine Festival.
Bummer :(. Was it just as crowded during the week? I had heard that things were busy on the weekends and empty during the week. We're doing a non-DVC trip starting on Friday.

One more question ... did you go to any of the special dinners at the F&W Festival?
 
Sorry to hear this Rich :( I've also heard the crowds have been particularly bad the past week or so... How long were you there? Whenever you stay at Boardwalk, you should request a room close to the elevator by the way!!!

I'm surprised you liked VWL, it so much different & darker than OKW (your favorite resort) By the way we just changed our vacation from VWL back to OKW... When we saw VWL over Labor Day weekend, we decided it was just way too dark for us... OKW here we come!! Doesn't hurt that the 2 bedroom at OKW is the same number of points as the 1 bedroom at VWL!!!

By the way, how many points will you be adding?
 
so sorry for your CRowds. could have been worse.. All i want to say is . I cant wait to see the crowds in Jan. ,,,, hope all is well. dave
 

Richyams-- sorry to hear that you were dissapointed in your trip, BUT I have to say that it gave my heart a lift to hear about CROWDS for a change! It really makes me anxious when people post that the crowds are very thin, with the economy situation and everything else going on. It's sort of like the saying, "be careful what you wish for".

Hopefully if this trend continues at WDW, the executives will adjust hours accordingly.
 
I too will be anxious to see how crowds are in January. It is NEVER crowded then, but if they continue with these short park hours and no EE or E nights, it could be gruesome then too.

I feel somewhat relieved about your comments about BWV and VWL. We stood firm after we first purchased and waited until they started selling the new buildings before we added on at OKW. WE could have added on at BWV right away, but didn't see much point in it. I was beginning to think we should have added on at BWV to have the benefit of the proximity to our two favorite parks, but I was having trouble deciding to go where the points were much more and the rooms were hotel variety instead of vacation home. You make me realize I did the right thing. I remember the last time we stayed at WL just before purchasing DVC. I loved the atmosphere and location, but hated the LOOOOONG halls there. I think I can ride the bus or drive easier than I can deal with the hotel thing.
 
We are down here now and the crowds over the weekend were not "that" bad. The longest line I saw was for the Haunted Mansion and it was a 30 min. wait. But I have to admit, we didn't make it to Fantasy land so I can't speak for there.

Also, I think you were in a studio and not a 1 bedroom. We have a 2 bedroom and the second bedroom is a studio and it's a little cramped, especially if you are use to a "real" one bedroom. But it's no smaller than a hotel room.
 
Dizzy4Disney, I didn't buy a timeshare to stay in a "hotel room".
 
Sorry to hear your trip wasn't perfect Richyams. Maybe with the increase in revenue at the parks then they will reinstitute the cutbacks (slowly but surely!!!).

It is nice to hear that Americans, and others, are venturing out again. I, for one, am beginning to get back to myself (another, slowly but surely!!). My next planned trip is August 2002, but looking into a quick weekend getaway in December!!!!

OKW is awesome!!!
 
VWL

We are figuring that 430 points is not enough. We are going to add on and wanted to see VWL. The resort is spectacular. Every decoration and nuance is perfect. The sitting areas of the villas area is great. The lodge itself, magnificant. The decor of the rooms is very, very nice. Its kind of neat, if you are a member already, they have a room they let you see and there is someone there to talk to. The only problem, the rooms are those same teeny rooms as BWV.

Wow, what a glowing review. ;) Knowing what an OKW fanatic you are, I was happily surprised at your comments about my home resort.

Overall, did you enjoy your trip?
 
We were just at WDW from 10/17 - 10/22. Granted, I only have a 4 yo DD, but the longest line I encountered was 25 minutes at the Haunted Mansion. We practically walked on Peter Pan's Flight and we did walk on It's a Small World. I was told that the Magic Kingdom was packed that Saturday, but we were in another park. I wouldn't say the crowds were low, low, but they certainly were much lower than I expected. However, I've also never been in October. We had a great trip and highly recommend the Not So Scary Halloween Party. As Rich says, we did encounter lines at the Food and Wine Booths, and Epcot World Showcase seemed to be quite popular at night. I wondered if it was because of the Food and Wine Festival.
 
Also, I think you were in a studio and not a 1 bedroom.

I have been a member since '92, I know the difference between a studio and a one bedroom VERY well.

The one bedroom is tiny compared to OKW, very tiny. When you open the fold out couch it almost touches the TV. It takes up the whole living room.

The master is even much smaller. The OKW master is much more spacious and comfortable.

I knew there was a trade off in size. I was just reminded how severe that trade off was.

I was only there for two days, Saturday and Sunday. I guess the weekend was worse than the week. We were most shocked at the length of the lines for the booths at the Food and Wine festival.
 
Rich, sorry to hear that your trip had some problems but I'm glad to see that you were able to go and enjoy the Food and Wine treats. We were not able to go this year and we do miss it. We were there the last week of Sept. and I thought that it had the usual number of people at the parks. The CM's told me that the attendance was down but it did not look like it to me. Sept. does not have as many as the rest of the year, thats one reason we go at that time, but the parks were full. No big wait times but that is the case most of our visits. I think with the crowds now that the officials at WDW should look again at going back to normal and making opening times as they were before 9/11, if not only to show that WDW is returning to normal again. I realize that they got a big hit in $$$ due to initial attendance and reservation cancellations but as you have seen, Rich, the people are back and want to enjoy the parks and the earlier opening times seem like the correct thing to do!
We planned another trip and cruise to show our support to WDW in Jan. and I hope that WDW sees that the loyalty of the American public towards WDW is still there and will continue.
 
I am very sorry to hear about the size of the crowds. We are leaving next Tuesday and I hope it not that bad by then. If not we will make the best of it...It's our first trip home to VWL. We are staying in a one bedroom. Hope it's not as cramped as you are saying.:(
 
We just got back from our stay at BWV. We stayed from October 20 - 26th. The crowds were much more intense on the weekends. During the week, the crowds were very manageable. Rich we were in room 1125. It was quite a walk! I'm sorry you didn't have a better time. We had a great time! The beer and wine tasting seminars were very interesting.

Kelly
 
So much for the argument that the cutbacks to operating hours were needed due to extremely low attendance. Seems that, at the very least, hours should be a normal schedule on Saturday and Sunday. You are not the first person I have heard that said the park isn't as empty as you would think based on Disney's cutbacks.
 
But then again I heard from the husband of a former CM that the attendance at the Magic Kingdom has been as low as 5000 guests at least once in the last couple of weeks. Who knows.
 
We were there 10/18-1022. The crowds were bigger than we expected, with 40+ minute waits for BTM, HM, Buzz, by 11 am on Friday and Saturday. We expected less but we were told that the golf tournament and the F&W festival and the FL residents discounts and the FL school holiday were making up for the previous lack of crowds.

This was our 1st trip home, we stayed in studios (BWV and OKW), since it was just a short trip. We toured the VWL one bedroom model and it seemed big enough to us. We were unhappy with OKW studio for reasons outlined in my brief TR elsewhere on this board. You may be referring to my post about the size difference between OKW studios and BWV studios, which we found negligible. I am glad, though, that you like OKW. That leaves more of VWL and BWV for those of us that prefer them! This is what is so great about DVC, choices for many tastes! Now if they would build my Greek Island Villas resort(another thread I posted here)- everything would be perfect.

Paul
 
Richyams....sorry you had such a yucky time. I was told by a CM last week that it is not SLOW at all right now. So who knows why they do what they do!! It certainly isn't because nobody is there!!! Not with waits THAT LONG!!

Hopefully it was just a fluke and the crowds will be way down in three weeks when I get there!! Fingers Crossed!!!!
 
Sorry the parks were packed for you but I'm glad to hear that more people are staying with their vacation plans. We always go in the summer and/or April school vacation week so we're used to crowds.

We stayed at both OKW and VWL in 1 bedrooms this past summer and there is no comparison in size. OKW units are like apartments. My kids slept on the pull out sofa and there was still plenty of room in the living area. I love the large deck there too.

VWL is my favorite for themeing. The resort is gorgeous but after staying at OKW my DH was disappointed in the size. He's strictly an OKW fan.
 















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