Just back from a poor trip

[DeeP]

I am much more of a lurker/reader than a poster on this board, but I could not help but respond to the original post of this thread.
I always get a laugh when I read about people complaining about the looooooong walks in the hallways at BWV. I guess a lot of people do not do a lot of walking and must drive everywhere at home. We always request a standard villa as far from the elevators as possible, the closer to the tennis courts the better. We find the the villas over the main enterance to be too busy with all the cars coming and going. For us to get to our unit at the very end of the building it takes tops 4 minutes from the elevator, also there are back enterances that take you very quickly to the end units, but then you must walk up stairs, so I am sure some would then complain about this. I can't understand how someone can't handle a 4 minute walk inside an enclosed air conditioned hallway but can handle walking all day in the heat in the parks!
The 1 BR living room at OKW is much bigger but I can't say I have noticed a big difference in the size of a master bedroom in a 1 BR OKW villa vs a 1 BR BWV villa. The studios at OKW can't even begin to compare to the studios at BWV. The BWV studios are much nicer, have more of an apt feel vs a hotel room feel and have a much nicer kitchenette.
As far as the crowds in the parks, I am glad to hear that attendence at WDW has picked up. We are going over Christmas, staying in a villa at BWV that has the loooooong walk to get to and I will be happy to see crowds--Disney needs the business. We go so often that if something is crowded we just move on to something else or else sit and enjoy just being together in such a wonderful place as WDW.
I hope you were able to enjoy something during your trip. You were with your family having a vacation, that alone is something to be very grateful for nowdays. A lot of people are not able to do this due to the state of things in the US right now and how the events of Sept 11 have directly effected them. In the big picture of things in the world right now, waiting in lines to get on rides or buy food at the Food & Wine festival at WDW, making a 4-5 min loooooong walk to get to a deluxe vacation villa at WDW and not having a lot of room after the sofa bed was opened in the deluxe vacation villa at WDW is really like crying with a loaf of bread under your arm. We live in NJ and many of my co workers have had family members die during the Sept 11 tradegy or have children and family members in the service over in Middle East right now fighting for our country--now they have something to complain about.
I thank God everyday that no one in my family was hurt during the tradegy of 9/11 but we do have a family member that is in the service in the Middle East that we worry about constantly. I am very thankful that my family and I are able to go to WDW in Dec for a vacation and that I can spend time with my family in such a great place. They could put us in a cardboard box on one of the back roads of WDW and I would still feel that I was much luckier than a lot of my fellow Americans are right now.

 

[profdsny]

I'm a bit confused. Talking about the bed room having a pull out couch. That would make the room small, no doubt. But put a pull-out couch in a bed room at OKW and it too would be much smaller. Maybe that's why the couch is in the living room.







"I wouldn't belong to any club that would have me as a member."
Grouch Marx. So why are there still snobs?

 

[Deb & Bill]

It's nice that owners can visit the other DVC resorts to see what the others have. As an OKW owner, I really like the convenience of parking outside my unit instead of having to park in the lot and walking to the hotel. I prefer the two larger queen sized beds to one queen sized bed up against a wall and a double sleeper sofa. (When the sleeper sofa is pulled out, there is very little room to walk around, especially if you have the studio plus. OKW has a little more room around the beds and you can still get out on the patio.) But I do wish OKW had the nicer, more spacious kitchenette that BWV has. My OKW closet is a little more accessible and the bathroom is easier to move around in. Having the bathroom sinks outside the tub and toilet room is more convenient when you are getting ready in the morning, but the tub and toilet room at BWV is rather compact.

The laundry room at BWV is a nice sized room, but at OKW (by the main pool) it is rather cramped. I haven't tried out the other laundry rooms. Is the laundry room at the BWV just past the elevators on the first floor the only laundry area for the entire BWV DVC resort?

I'd rather walk outside than in the narrow corridors. If you are the least bit claustrophobic, you can get a little worried if you aren't near the elevators. Also if you meet up with someone else (like a housekeeping cart) going the opposite way, it can be difficult to pass by.

We'll try VWL one of these days.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by profdsny
I'm a bit confused. Talking about the bed room having a pull out couch. That would make the room small, no doubt. But put a pull-out couch in a bed room at OKW and it too would be much smaller. Maybe that's why the couch is in the living room.

The second BR at OKW has 2 full queen beds, the second BR at BW has a queen and a pull out love seat (full not queen). It's simply that the room is smaller and feels it, especially with the bed pulled out. Some like the room arrangement, others do not but it appears to be a cost saving move more because they can make the rooms smaller than the furnishings are cheaper. Marriott's Grande Ocean in HH has a similar arrangement and is in the process of changing over to 2 queen beds. They say that it's actually cheaper than replacing the pull out.

 

[TheWho]

DeeP,

simply, Well Said!!!

 

[ripleysmom]

mkkim, don't worry the 1BRs are not THAT cramped. Rich owns at OKW and the rooms are very spacious there...or so I am given to understand. We have had a 1BR at BWV (which is the same size as VWL) and they are beautiful and large rooms.

 

[mkkim]

Thank you Ripleysmom! I am so excited about this first trip and I have such high expectations!!! There are two adults and two small children in our family so I started to get a bit worried. I just loved the VWL atmosphere so much that I really didn't think about OKW and BWV room sizes. I am sure we will have to try them out though! Only 7 more days to go!!! I can hardly sleep!!!

 

[CaptainMidnight]

I never really remember just how tiny those one bedrooms are. When the pull out is pulled out, there is ZERO room left.

Perhaps a two bedroom would have been more appropriate, I hope you didn't exceed the room limits. ;-)

Each resort has advantages over others, and this forum is a great place to share those positives and negatives so that purchasers and those of us who seem to continually add on can make informed decisions regarding a purchase to last some 40 years.

Sorry to hear your trip wasn't the best.

Personally, I like the location of Boardwalk over OKW, but I'm also very interested in the new Beach Club resort. The rooms will also be the small BWV size there, from the model we visited. But they seem fine to me. I'm looking forward to learning more about the resort from this forum, so that I can consider the pros and cons in my add-on purchasing decision. My hope is that all DVC purchasers find the advantages of thier home resort to be the best for them.

Of course, I also like visiting the different resorts for a different themed experience, and that's one of the reasons I bought into the "club" of resort alternatives. There should always be some reasonable availability at the 7 month window (except maybe christmas and spring break), or the "club" isn't working the way it should.

 

[jx3smom]

Deep, thanks for saying what I'm thinking. We are leaving in 2 hours and are staying in a sudio at BWV.

Mkkim, you will love the BWV. WE have been there twice before and have had a really wonderful time in both the studio and 1 bedroom. Your vacation is what you make of it. If you go not liking your resort in advance you will find things wrong.

Like I said we are leaving soon and are happy to be going and spending time together. My older DS's are in college so it will only be DH, me and DS#3.

I always use the stairs so my walk is never that long but I wouldn't care if it was. We're in Disney World!

 

[Joeblack]

For those worried about size an the BWV, worry not. They are more than enough for the intended number of people they are designed. Also, they are beautifully appointed and the themeing and location are amazing.

You will notice that it is usually the same OKW member(s) who never have a good thing to say about BWV. However, BWV have always had a higher resale price, are tougher to get outside the 11 month window (yeah, yeah, I know OKW has more units but it is as sold out as BWV) and, although their points cost the same (officially), the rack rates are always higher for BWV FOR THE SAME KIND OF UNIT. Why? Well...DEMAND and SUPPLY. I guess people must be crazy to want such an undesirable property as BWV when they can go to OKW. Go figure!!! I know this board is for people to share their opinions and experiences, but in some cases, the attack on BWV is so vehement and repetitive that it becomes irritating and makes you wonder what the deal is.

Personally I did not find the walking distance to the rooms at BWV to be a problem. We stayed at both BWV and OKW, and as much as we loved both, OKW is more like any regular timeshare (Marriott, Hilton, Westgate, etc). BWV does a better job at "getting you away" from reality with its exceptional themeing and decoration and is next to almost everything. It is surrounded by wonderful restaurants. It has one of the best pools in WDW and you can walk to SAB, YC/BC, Epcot, MGM.

I will not bash OKW because there is no reason to. It delivers what it promises and it is a wonderful resort in its own right. I loved staying there and will do so again in the future.

 

[Muushka]

Yup, it is the DVC resort war thread again. And it does get old.

As was said by many, each DVC resort has something special. That is why you bought there.

I don't know why people feel the need to make themselves feel better about their purchase by putting another resort down.

Actually, it is pretty sad.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

....in some cases, the attack on BWV is so vehement and repetitive that it becomes irritating and makes you wonder what the deal is.

Perhaps it is time for those who keep perpetuating the resort bashing (Vero seems to be another favorite target) and other negative themes to permanently lighten up a bit, the repeated negativity on repetitive themes is getting a little old, especially from someone(s) who is such a good source of helpful knowledge and good information on many Disney subjects. As several others have said, enough is enough.



Given the seriousness of current events, it would be a great time for us to come together as a DVC community, like we are doing as a country.

I personally hope to take my brother and his family (of which, a new daughter was born just this October) to BW or BC to celebrate his safe return from his Airforce service in the war in Europe/Asia within the coming year.

 

[PamOKW]

I personally hope to take my brother and his family (of which, a new daughter was born just this October) to BW or BC to celebrate his safe return from his Airforce service in the war in Europe/Asia within the coming year.

And I'm guessing they'll love staying at ANY DVC resort. Good comments CaptainMidnight. (And congratulations on the new baby.)

Some people love vanilla -- some people love chocolate --- I LOVE ICE CREAM....that's how I feel about all my DVC choices.

 

[AnnK]

Deep and Joe black said it so well that there is not much left to say. It's a shame that some posters feel the need to be so negative about other resorts ALL the time. The negativity feeds on itself, then you get people saying they are so glad they waited and did not buy at BWV, that's great that you bought where you want to stay most, but what was the intent behind the post?

I do want to send some pixie dust to you capt. midnight for the safe return of your brother, and blessings for his new baby girl.

 

[Jenn]

I agree - we bought into DVC last year and have so far stayed at OKW and BWV. We are staying at WLV in March. We loved both and my guess is we will love WLV too. We loved each resort for different reasons and will stay at them all for different circumstances to fit the type of trip we are planning (i.e. if we want to relax a little more - WLV or OKW, we want the close access to Epcot & MGM - BWV). We like to do something a little different each trip, so we stay at different places, get to experience their restaurants that we normally wouldn't travel to, etc.

 

[Barb]

For someone that just (& I do mean just) bought 230 points at VWL, this thread was probably a mistake to read. There is always that shred of "did I do the right thing" floating around my head when I make a puchase such as this, and this thread has magnified that. We spent a lot of money for something that it seems now, we may be disappointed with. We wanted to join the DVC, and had no alternative but to join the VWL. That was the only resort open at WDW, which is where we want to be. I will try to keep an open mind when we do our first DVC vacation next May.

 

[Allan]

Barb, don't worry. We bought points at OKW in '98 and just added on at VWL this summer. DVC has been more fun than we could have imagined and we still have many years left to enjoy it. On our second trip as DVC members we took some friends that made a point beforehand of telling us they had no interest at all in purchasing a time share. Needless to say they bought points a few days after returning home and they still love it.

 

[Eeyore2U]

Barb,

Don't worry yourself about others likes and dislikes. If you saw what you bought I'm sure you are satisfied with it. We have stayed in a studio and a 1bdr at BWV already and will be staying in a 2br in February. We own in both the BWV and VWL. I can't wait to stay at the others DVC resprts and form my own opinions. Some people may have gotten used to their home resort and choose not to see the good in others. But you get that with all the resorts at WDW.

Don't stress.

 

[Richyams]

had no alternative but to join the VWL.

OKW and BWV are still very available in the resale market. MANY, MANY people here ought through resale.

 

[Dean]

I'm curious as to the posts about the BW bashing. I though the thread was pretty tame. My personal remarks were meant to be factual not bashing and if that's a problem, I'm sorry. The rooms are smaller and the layout appeals to some and not to others. It was a cost saving measure as the trigger. My response was an explanation to clarify an earlier post made by profdsny.