Owning DVC helped make some lemonade out of a lemon

[Doctor P]

We were supposed to sail on the Disney Magic on 9/4, but as you may be aware the cruise did not end up going until 9/7. Sparing the long details, we ended up cancelling very early on 9/6 (Labor Day). After calling the MS number, which indicated that we needed to call the resorts directly to get a possible reservation, we decided to try to get a reservation at BCV since we were exhausted from driving from Illinois to Florida through Hurricane Frances. Despite the fact that the official policy was no new reservations since things were so up in the air at WDW, we got a very nice CM who said she would check anyway. We were then put through to a very, very nice CM named Anna who got us a studio at BCV for two nights using our points (only requesting that we be patient since she had never done a points reservation before, but had the instructions as to how to do it). After about 20 minutes we had a confirmed reservation at BCV and drove to WDW to begin the only relaxing part of our stay. We went to OKW and asked if we could get in to go to Olivia's for breakfast, and were admitted with a big smile and a Welcome Home. We had a nice breakfast and then headed for BCV to pre-check in and stow our luggage. The CM's were very friendly and said "Welcome Home" several times to us, which felt really nice under the circumstances. We then headed for the International Gateway at Epcot and were pleasantly surprised that, for that entrance only, they were letting people in free (we think that the ticket machines were down). We spent a little time at a nearly empty Epcot, ate lunch at the Biergarten and then headed for DTD to do some power shopping. We came back to BCV to get ready for our planned dinner at Cape May Cafe and to get our luggage to our room. We had a dedicated studio (not sure I knew those existed at BCV, but it was nice) 531 with a view of the World Showcase visible through the trees. Anyway, we had a nice stay for two nights at BCV that helped take the bitter edge off missing our cruise, and I think being DVC members helped in this case. The resort was nice, and we had no problems with our room or the way we were treated (though some problems were evident from my conversations with the CM's--wet carpet not being addressed in some rooms, some other repair issues). Our room was in good condition, but after looking closely I did find some inordinate signs of abuse and wear (though they didn't affect our enjoyment in the least). Though I LOVE OKW, the convenience of BCV to Epcot was unbelievable, Stormalong Bay looked awesome, and the ability to stay under cover going to and from our room was nice in inclement weather.

 

[spiceycat]

glad you have a great visit!!!

 

[Laurabearz]

Sorry you had to cancel your cruise.... but glad you enjoyed Beach Club!

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

Glad you were treated so well for your short visit to BCV. I am so sorry you didn't get to go on the cruise. I hope you will get to make a cruise date in the future!!!

Thanks for the trip report and good for you for noticing the magic that was there nonetheless...

Lisa

 

[gracelrm]

How did DCL handle cancellations? I hope all is well with your points or that they would let you choose another cruise in its place.

 

[kathleena]

Glad to hear you could have a nice stay despite all the weather related issues.

I agree that BCV is a nice place to stay! And I"m happy to hear that DVC finally started directing people to the resort for ressies during the restricted period. Others who reported here were not told to do that, and were basically turned away.