and I really, really want to go back home! Our first comments upon walking into our own home (you know...the one we live in most of the time) were "Where are the hidden Mickey's in the carpet?" and "Where is the whirlpool tub?" <sigh>
We tried out a variety of accomodations....a 1br at VWL, a pref. view studio at BWV and a standard view 1br at BWV. The absolutely best room was our standard view at BWV....we had room 4123....at the end of the hallway over the water (and the valet parking lot). This is not a regular one bedroom...its absolutely huge with a full eat in kitchen and very large living room. The only disadvantage was that the shower was small. We had balconies all the way around and could watch Illuminations from the kitchen/living room balcony and see MGM from the bedroom balcony.
To get back to the beginning...we enjoyed the VWL immensely and are extremely happy we added on there. The villa was beautiful, as is the whole hotel and villas building. I can't comment much on the transportation as we didn't take the busses while there...only the boat to the MK which was fine.
I totally understand the sentiment that staying in a studio is rough after having a 1br. We hadn't originally intended to be in a 1br first and it was hard moving into a studio....it seemed small and less luxurious after having the 1br. We got our requested BW view....we were on the second floor over the walkway next to the arcade....not really on the bw, but facing the courtyard. It was fairly noisy, especially in the evening when the performers from the boardwalk would come do a set right under the balcony.....I would have enjoyed it had we not all been sick! The room was a studio plus, and my ds had fun playing on "his bed" though he didn't sleep in it and it was too small for him. I also was not really impressed with the housekeeping in this room....there was some mildew in the shower and some other little things that made me feel that the room hadn't been given more than a quick once over between guests in a while. It wasn't dirty by any means....just not really "fresh". I was also upset to see a lot of dust and grime collecting on all the air vents.....my kids have both had asthma difficulties at varying times and though I can't say for sure if it had anything to do with the room, they both started coughing as soon as we moved in there. I really hated having to go to the laundry room to wash clothes...especially when my toddler was sick and I could barely get away from her...plus we hadn't packed much hot weather clothing so we kept having to do laundry!
I've already detailed our 1br at BWV.....which was truly incredible. We hated to leave it. Our last evening we got to see fireworks at 10:30 over MGM...we're not sure if it was a purchased display or a test run of something new. We could hear various movie music playing during the rather large and lengthy display...in particular Star Wars and Chariots of Fire. It was very cool....and just a hour and a half after watching Illuminations from the other balcony!
All in all it was a good trip...despite illness (dh got a infected blister, we both got the flu, and the kids got colds) we only lost about 3 days and added a night at the end of the trip at AKL with an AP rate. AKL is definitely something to try at least once...but plan on spending lots of time there!
Our only bad transportation trouble was during our stay at AKL, where we waited for 40 minutes for a bus at Epcot...in which time we saw 3 OKW busses come through! We were quite upset as we left Epcot before Illuminations hoping to get back to the hotel to put our toddler to bed and I ended up standing at the bus stop holding a sleeping little one for all that time...only to end up on a very crowded bus because in the passing time Epcot closed and a huge line formed at the bus stop. There were enough people for 2 busses before 1 came. But the busses at BWV were fine, even the DTD ones.
For those interested in natural foods sources....we did go to the Whole Foods Market in Winter Park on the way into WDW. It took about half an hour to travel from WF to VWL. The store was nice but a bit smaller than the Whole Foods/Fresh Fields stores in PA. They did have a few things I can't get here...which was great. We also ended up going to Chamberlin's on Dr. Phillips Blvd (off Sand Lake Rd) which is a great place to hop out to if you need a natural remedy.....we were introduced to oscilllococcinum by the lady working there and were feeling much improved from our bouts with the flu within 24 hours. We were very happy. The store has a good selection of herbs and a fairly good selection of homeopathic remedies....and is not too far off property. There is an Albertsons in the same shopping center.
I also did go to Goodings one night (my dd wasn't feeling well and I had to make the trip a really quick one to avoid her screaming for me while stuck in our room with her daddy...or I would have tried elsewhere)...the prices were high but not as bad as the resort stores, with a much better selection. Still, its not a huge store and if you have the time to go elsewhere I probably would. There is a Winn Dixie right up the road that I might give a shot sometime...turn left off of Hotel Plaza Blvd and its on Apopka-Vineland Rd.
That's about it. I was told that BCV models wouldn't be ready for a while by a few DVC cm's...only to discover this evening that the member website says that they can be viewed at the DVC sales center. I guess that's why I should have walked in and checked instead of listening to the cm's in the parks...who don't really seem to know a whole lot. This board is a better source of info!
I'll be happy to answer any questions!
We tried out a variety of accomodations....a 1br at VWL, a pref. view studio at BWV and a standard view 1br at BWV. The absolutely best room was our standard view at BWV....we had room 4123....at the end of the hallway over the water (and the valet parking lot). This is not a regular one bedroom...its absolutely huge with a full eat in kitchen and very large living room. The only disadvantage was that the shower was small. We had balconies all the way around and could watch Illuminations from the kitchen/living room balcony and see MGM from the bedroom balcony.
To get back to the beginning...we enjoyed the VWL immensely and are extremely happy we added on there. The villa was beautiful, as is the whole hotel and villas building. I can't comment much on the transportation as we didn't take the busses while there...only the boat to the MK which was fine.
I totally understand the sentiment that staying in a studio is rough after having a 1br. We hadn't originally intended to be in a 1br first and it was hard moving into a studio....it seemed small and less luxurious after having the 1br. We got our requested BW view....we were on the second floor over the walkway next to the arcade....not really on the bw, but facing the courtyard. It was fairly noisy, especially in the evening when the performers from the boardwalk would come do a set right under the balcony.....I would have enjoyed it had we not all been sick! The room was a studio plus, and my ds had fun playing on "his bed" though he didn't sleep in it and it was too small for him. I also was not really impressed with the housekeeping in this room....there was some mildew in the shower and some other little things that made me feel that the room hadn't been given more than a quick once over between guests in a while. It wasn't dirty by any means....just not really "fresh". I was also upset to see a lot of dust and grime collecting on all the air vents.....my kids have both had asthma difficulties at varying times and though I can't say for sure if it had anything to do with the room, they both started coughing as soon as we moved in there. I really hated having to go to the laundry room to wash clothes...especially when my toddler was sick and I could barely get away from her...plus we hadn't packed much hot weather clothing so we kept having to do laundry!
I've already detailed our 1br at BWV.....which was truly incredible. We hated to leave it. Our last evening we got to see fireworks at 10:30 over MGM...we're not sure if it was a purchased display or a test run of something new. We could hear various movie music playing during the rather large and lengthy display...in particular Star Wars and Chariots of Fire. It was very cool....and just a hour and a half after watching Illuminations from the other balcony!
All in all it was a good trip...despite illness (dh got a infected blister, we both got the flu, and the kids got colds) we only lost about 3 days and added a night at the end of the trip at AKL with an AP rate. AKL is definitely something to try at least once...but plan on spending lots of time there!
Our only bad transportation trouble was during our stay at AKL, where we waited for 40 minutes for a bus at Epcot...in which time we saw 3 OKW busses come through! We were quite upset as we left Epcot before Illuminations hoping to get back to the hotel to put our toddler to bed and I ended up standing at the bus stop holding a sleeping little one for all that time...only to end up on a very crowded bus because in the passing time Epcot closed and a huge line formed at the bus stop. There were enough people for 2 busses before 1 came. But the busses at BWV were fine, even the DTD ones.
For those interested in natural foods sources....we did go to the Whole Foods Market in Winter Park on the way into WDW. It took about half an hour to travel from WF to VWL. The store was nice but a bit smaller than the Whole Foods/Fresh Fields stores in PA. They did have a few things I can't get here...which was great. We also ended up going to Chamberlin's on Dr. Phillips Blvd (off Sand Lake Rd) which is a great place to hop out to if you need a natural remedy.....we were introduced to oscilllococcinum by the lady working there and were feeling much improved from our bouts with the flu within 24 hours. We were very happy. The store has a good selection of herbs and a fairly good selection of homeopathic remedies....and is not too far off property. There is an Albertsons in the same shopping center.
I also did go to Goodings one night (my dd wasn't feeling well and I had to make the trip a really quick one to avoid her screaming for me while stuck in our room with her daddy...or I would have tried elsewhere)...the prices were high but not as bad as the resort stores, with a much better selection. Still, its not a huge store and if you have the time to go elsewhere I probably would. There is a Winn Dixie right up the road that I might give a shot sometime...turn left off of Hotel Plaza Blvd and its on Apopka-Vineland Rd.
That's about it. I was told that BCV models wouldn't be ready for a while by a few DVC cm's...only to discover this evening that the member website says that they can be viewed at the DVC sales center. I guess that's why I should have walked in and checked instead of listening to the cm's in the parks...who don't really seem to know a whole lot. This board is a better source of info!
I'll be happy to answer any questions!
!
