Noise Level in Rooms

[nlenguyen]

One thing that I did not really do research or see when looking up DVC resorts is the level of noise while in your room. I have been to a few Disney resort room, but our past trip I came to realize the importance of noise level.
Our last trip was in January and we spent two nights in BLT 1 bedroom and OKW 1 Bedroom. There was a stark difference in the level of noise I could hear in both these rooms. BLT, I could not hear anything above or outside my room, even when I was trying to get the attention of the people in the master bedroom, they said they could not hear me knocking. Then when we went to OKW, we were on the second floor and could hear loud and clear the people above us. I could also hear the conversation in the master bedroom.
What has been your experience with noise level and what rooms have you noticed have less noise?

 

[Her Dotness]

I think perhaps the older resorts have much more "overhear" than the newer ones. (Admittedly, I've little other-resort experience--2 nights BRV, 1 in Poly's Pago Pago.)

We've never found we could hear much from other villas at VGF, only 8 years old.

We really noticed next door noise at BRV--sneezes, coughs, normal conversations.

Oddly, in Poly's Pago Pago, not as much as BRV despite Pago Pago being somewhat older. We concluded its construction may have been better for noise reduction.

 

[OKWFan88]

I stayed at BLT for the 1st time last month and couldn't hear a thing, we were in a 2 bedroom on the 10th floor by the elevators but again didn't hear anything. I stay at OKW mostly and last month was the first time we were on the 2nd floor with a 2 bedroom and it sounded like the people above us were wrestling nightly for hours until 12am. Our entire unit was vibrating. It got so bad one evening around 11pm that I called the lobby. No clue if they ended up speaking to them but it stopped around midnight. I will never do a 2nd floor again at OKW. Love the resort but never again with 2nd floor.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I think it is often so dependent on who your neighbors are. I usually stay at BCV. Usually it's very quiet. However, on my latest trip, there were 2 families (both with young children) obviously traveling together, one family next to me and the other family across the hall from them. The kids kept running across the hall to visit each other, so it wasn't at all quiet (but very understandable). In 2020, we were in HHI, for the first time we had people above us-thought they were bowling up there! This past year we discovered at check in that we weren't on the top floor again, and steeled ourselves for the noise-this time our above neighbors were VERY quiet-never heard them, although the resort was sold out.

 

[karrit2000]

I know the uncarpeted flooring they've changed to in many of the units is a huge contributing factor to excessive noise levels. I get that it's easier for them to clean between guests but I hate it.
I find that the studio portion of lock off units can get quite noisy when the neighbors on the other side of the connecting door aren't considerate. I was staying at I think it was AK-Kidani & my next door neighbors were doing a marathon so before 3 am they were up and banging dishes & stuff in the kitchen on at least two mornings. Was so glad when the weekend was over & they left.
Poly can be a bit much if the horns from the Ferries bother you because every time they dock they blast those darn things. I had to imagine I was staying on an island where the lighthouse foghorn was periodically sounding. Made me understand why they gave those buildings over to DVC.
Have to agree that OKW has been awful a lot of the times I've stayed there. I hate being on the third floor but will choose that over second any time for the 3 story buildings & I refuse to stay in ground floor rooms there. Actually I will ask for anything but ground floor whenever possible at any resort.
The Pool View rooms @ BWV surrounding the main pool especially the ones over the breezeway are very noisy. We also had one overlooking the grassy area between the lobby & dock that was very noisy late at night when people were being very loud out there. I don't know if they were hanging out in the seating area under the stairway down from the lobby but it was awful. I think they finally had security come to get them to leave.

 

[Buzz2014]

Our first dvc stay was BLT years ago.. since then we have stayed everywhere except Old Key West and Saratoga. I still have not experienced the same as BLT

 

[Haley R]

We just stayed in a poly studio and we heard tons of noises from neighbors. It actually made it really hard to fall asleep. The main issue was the sliding glass doors out to the balcony. People kept slamming them shut. We also kept hearing the doors to get into the rooms being slammed too. I know those can’t be helped much but it’s possible to close them quietly.

 

[holden]

AHHHH...the memories of chairs being dragged across the floor above us at OKW (we had a 1BR). What the heck were they doing up there? It went on for quite a while. I guess they rearranged all of the furniture?

The only resort where we've had a problem with noise is OKW. I always request upper floor there. I don't mind the walk up if I'm guaranteed no one is above me!

 

[MulanMom]

I seem to recall a lot of noise issues at OKW as well. Usually with a one-bedroom lock-off...you could hear the folks in the studio on the other side of the door without intending to. Lots of noise when we were on a first floor under a Grand Villa. And I clearly remember being in a studio in an area where the bus turned around...couldn't sleep due to the sound. But also had a lot of good stays there where noise was a minimal issue, if any.

 

[Simba's Mom]

AHHHH...the memories of chairs being dragged across the floor above us at OKW (we had a 1BR). What the heck were they doing up there? It went on for quite a while. I guess they rearranged all of the furniture?

Yikes! This makes me nervous since on our next stay at OKW, since I'll be using a scooter we have to ask for first floor. DH has always preferred upper floors for the views. If we get noise like this, that will NOT make him happy.

 

[nlenguyen]

I seem to recall a lot of noise issues at OKW as well. Usually with a one-bedroom lock-off...you could hear the folks in the studio on the other side of the door without intending to. Lots of noise when we were on a first floor under a Grand Villa. And I clearly remember being in a studio in an area where the bus turned around...couldn't sleep due to the sound. But also had a lot of good stays there where noise was a minimal issue, if any.

I am not sure if someone was next to us, but you could definitely tell they were above us. It scared us at night because we were getting ready for bed and then something crashed on the floor.
Unfortunately that experience led my family want to avoid OKW for our next trips

 

[holden]

Yikes! This makes me nervous since on our next stay at OKW, since I'll be using a scooter we have to ask for first floor. DH has always preferred upper floors for the views. If we get noise like this, that will NOT make him happy.

Unfortunately it's a risk with a first floor room. I think it's particularly bad at OKW. Not so much at other resorts.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Ironically, at one point, I would have said OKW was the best with regard to avoiding noise issues. We've stayed there dozens of times and thought they put a lot of time and effort into the original villas for noise reduction. But the hard-wood floors, and some wear and tear on doorways between 1BR and studios has changed things a bit. We still would never avoid OKW because of that - the resort is too nice and too special to avoid. Plus, we've found over the years, the noise issues are due to people, not necessarily the resort. But we've also learned to request a room on the top floor, which is often granted at OKW due to no elevators in most buildings - it makes things much quieter most of the time. In fact, we're now disappointed if we can't get a top floor room at any of the DVC resorts we stay at - avoid those folks above you. It's not just OKW that has noise problems - we've experienced it at all of them at some point. And we've also had very quiet stays at OKW. At least at OKW, you don't have the hallways with people walking by your door all the time - a big part of the noise factor for us in locations like BC, BW, AKL, etc.

And if only people would be more respectful of their noise levels later at night and early in the morning..... so many seem oblivious that they're not at home, but are in a resort with people trying to rest and sleep......