Just back from BCV and BWV.

[Stinson]

We just returned from 5 days at BCV and 5 days at BWV and had a great time. (This was our 19th visit). The DVC staff was great. While the rooms were not perfect (blocked drain in the shower, two TV remotes did not work, dirty sheets in master bedroom, very dirty blankets in 2nd bedroom, missing pans and utensils, and a few other minor complaints) all problems were corrected immediately by a call to house keeping. The rooms at BWV are beginning to have a tired feeling. All the same, it was a great vacation and the hotel staff was very responsive to our calls. Since everything was corrected within an hour of calling house keeping, we really have no complaints.

We noticed that there were times when the parks were less crowded than we have ever before seen. We were told that BCV and BWV were fully booked; however, Disney World did not seem to be as busy as we remember during past President's Day weeks. We heard that Disney has instituted a hiring freeze. Our taxi driver told us that the Orlando had approximately 60 million visitors in years 2000 and 2001, but only about 15 million visitors in year 2002. This seemed like an exaggeration, but it certainly was not as busy as we had expected.

In any event, it is still the best vacation for our family. I scored 2nd place in "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," only to be beaten in that round by my daughter! In the hot-seat, she won the hat and pins, but lost on a question about Henry Cisneros, former Secretary of Housing And Urban Development. And so, we did not win the million point cruise vacation. But we had a great time.

 

[Credit Man]

Thanks for the report.

 

[AEN]

Thank you for the report.

Your comment on the attendance is quite interesting (i.e. 60 to 15 million). That does sound quite drastic. However the Disney financial statements, which were recently mailed, did show a large decrease in attendance. I hope it picks up. Well maybe not when I am there . I am sure the threat of terrorism and war keeps having a great impact. And the economy doesn't help.

 

[spiceycat]

room report - please! if you already have done it - just call me stupid!

thanks
http://www.wdwinfo.com/dvc/room.shtml

 

[PamOKW]

Tourism is off considerably in the Orlando area. Many Americans are changing their plans and/or booking closer to the time of their trips. I think where Orlando (and Florida) are really hurting is in the decrease of foreign visitors. They are just reluctant to come vacation in the U.S. right now. There was even an article about how Canadians (though not huge numbers) are choosing a Cuband vacation this year instead of coming to Florida.

 

[Stinson]

Actually, the taxi driver with whom I spoke specifically stated that there have been very few Japanese tourists and almost no South American tourists in recent months. He said that foreign tourists are now generally absent from the Orlando area.

 

[erikthewise]

Thanks for the report.

The notion that attendance dropped by 75% in 2002 is completely bonkers.
For a more reliable report, see http://www.themeparkinsider.com/news/response.cfm?ID=882. As you can see park attendance was down about 5% overall; presumably the same was true for the number of visitors.

In my experience about 1/4 of hotel TV remotes are nonfunctional at checkin!

 

[pam66]

I liked your report. I am trying to decide between these two villas for a trip this summer. Our 3 yr old daughter will be with us. Which do you think would be better for her? I love the bc pool and if I remember correctly isn't there a sandy shallow water area where she can play? My parents will also be with us. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. I can't make up my mind! Is the standard view at bwv really bad? Would I want to upgrade to a preferred view if I stayed there?

 

[wilderness01]

Was it dirty in both villas? Or did you describe a little of each villa? Could you tell me what your room number was at each resort? Thanks.

 

[Stinson]

Pam66 - We are a family of 6. We took a poll on the last day of our vacation and 4 of us preferred the Beach Club, while 1 preferred Boardwalk, and 1 liked each equally. The Beach Club feels newer and lighter, the pool is the best, and the building feels more like a condominium than a hotel. Boardwalk has much more activity and has a "premium hotel" feel to it, but the rooms are older and somewhat tired feeling and the hallways are a long, long, walk from the lobby, elevator (there is only one elevator) or anywhere else. Personally, I prefer the Beach Club. It is quiet and close to everything. However, I may be in a minority because a DVC representative told me that Boardwalk was preferred by most DVC members over Beach Club. If I had a 3 year old, I would probably pick the Beach Club because the walk out of the building is not as long and the rooms feel a bit cleaner. If your parents have difficulty walking, then the rooms in the Beach Club are generally closer to the elevators. On the other hand, the view from the Boardwalk rooms that directly face the boardwalk is spectacular and incomparable. And also a bit noisy. I didn't hear the noise, because I sleep soundly, but we had an overnight guest who said she was awoken several times during the night by noises from the boardwalk area. I would be happy to answer any other questions you may have.

Wilderness01 - The Beach Club had missing pans and utensils, but was generally fine. Boardwalk was another story. We first noticed that the TV remotes didn't work (and were covered with sticky-stuff), and one TV also did not work, but the remotes were replaced by house keeping and the bellman who delivered our bags fixed the TV (the wires in the rear were disconnected - I don't know why). A bit later, I took a shower only to find that water was rising toward my ankles. House keeping sent a very pleasant plumber within a half hour who fixed the drain. My wife noticed that the blankets in the 2nd bedroom were very dirty, with large stains, but a call to house keeping got us another set of blankets immediately. Truthfully, these were not much better, so my wife washed the blankets, and we were fine. That evening, when we opened the bed in the master bedroom, we found that Kleenex was mashed into the sheets. It appeared that there had been Kleenex mixed with the sheets during the washing/drying/ironing that went unnoticed by house keeping. We called house keeping and the bed was changed right away. I was beginning to feel like I was "quality control" for the Boardwalk, but in fairness, they fixed everything quickly and with a smile. I don't want you to think that this ruined my vacation. Nothing of the sort. These were "minor details" that can happen anytime, anywhere. We all a great vacation, which was due entirely to the truly great service that we received from Disney.

 

[pgjam]

We were at BWV Pres wk too (2821)& our 2 bedroom also looked tired. In fact the dryer made a horrific screeching noise that was a loose belt which was fixed right away. The dishwasher was on it's last legs but usable. I guess the appliances get so much use they get worn out quickly. There was some things missing from the studio part but extra glasses in the one bedroom part so I wonder if things get moved around & not returned to their correct lcoation. We had a great time & we also noticed that it was not very crowded. Magic Kingdom was the only park really busy. We did everything at MGM one day by 2:00. I was supposed to leave on Pres. Day w/the rest of the family leaving on Tuesday. Well no one left on Monday going to the Northeast so I was stuck in FL until Thursday while the rest of the family left Tuesday. Not a bad place to be stuck. They moved me over to a sudio at OKW which was in much better shape. (3831).

Back home in the snow & dreaming of WDW.