Parking Distances for the DVC Resorts

[SleepyatDVC]

Thanks for the information! Good to know for those who choose not to valet park. For those who love vaet parking then it doesn't much matter except as "interesting" information.

Having stayed at both VWL and BWV, I never thought that the BWV parking was closer! That's because we never thought to use the side doors! Duh! We always took the elevators down and out the lobby doors! We will definitely try using the side door this October IF we don't wind up using ME.

At VWL, we usually park in the first row after all the HC spaces. It doesn't seem so far from the lobby.

We been lucky so far in that parking has been mangeable. For those times that it is impossible to find a space, valet parking is a blessing and isn't it great to have that option?

We are ones who prefer to self-park over valet park. It's a personal thing - a personal preference - and nothing to do with the $$$.

DH isn't crazy with letting someone else drive his car when he doesn't have to. Living in the city, it is sometimes unavoidable. Of course, having a rental car is a little different. But some of that sentiment spils over.

But the bottom line is convenience!!! For some people, it is convenient to valet park and not even venture into the twilight parking zone! Lol! But for DH, he finds it "convenient" to have his car handy and would find it totally INCONVENIENT to have someone pull his car up to look for something in it! To each his own!

We do valet when self parking is inconvenient to us such as no spaces, pouring rain, or when we eat at the GF. Even though we have to pay to valet park at the GF, it is well worth it because you literally need a map and a tram to get to the self parking lot!! Lol!

In our family, DH IS the valet. If we are travelling light, then we all walk together. But if we have lots of stuff or old people or bad weather, he usually leaves the room a few minutes before everyone else and pulls the car up to meet us at the front door. He does this at home in NYC too since we park the car 2 blocks away from our building in a parking garage.

Maybe that's the attraction of having the car handy while on vacation. As a Jersey boy, DH was always use to having his car parked right outside his door in his driveway. Every since he married me (over 8 years ago) and moved out to the city, his car has aways been parked on street or in a gargage somewhere. So he enjoys having "immediate" access to his car without having to go through a parking attendent (like at home), whenever he can, even if it is a rental.

So, for those who prefer self parking, this is good or interesting information. Not a debate over which is better, valet or self parking. For those who prefer valet parking (and I certainly understand the attraction), then the information is not as meaningful to you as topics such as a comparision of which DVC resort has the most valets, the most efficient of polite valets, fastest services, etc.

Now we just have to decide whether to try ME in October at BWV. We are just so use to having a rental to get to and from the airport, to go grocery shopping, and to eat at the MK resorts. I got a great rate at National a few months ago for $135 for an immediate for 8 days from 10/2 - 10/10/05. But if we add days or change the days we go (airfare on the 10th is really high), then the car rates go sky high. Decisions, decisions,...

 

[erikthewise]

At BCV valet parking is actually farther from the building than self-parking. And there always seem to be plenty of spaces during our stays -- we can always park within 100 feet of the building entrance and sometimes within 50 feet.

On our last trip we spent one night in a 1st floor VWL studio before our cruise. We had the studio that is literally the shortest walk to the parking lot of any VWL unit. DW insisted on bringing in nearly all our luggage that night, and of course it all went back in our car the next morning. So I can attest that the walk from the closest unit is VWL is nearly as far as to the walk from the most distant unit in BCV. (Perhaps a little less.)

I'm glad some people enjoy valet parking, because I don't, even if it's free. I see it as a disservice, not a service, to have to ask to use my car. I'd rather just climb in and drive away. If the self-parking situation is nasty, like at GF (or apparently BWV), then it would make sense, but I'd see it as an unfortunate necessity rather than a luxury. But at BCV, it may be a longer walk to the valet station than it is to self-parking!

The valets at BC don't seem to be very pleasant. The first time we arrived and parked in the circle, and took our luggage in. When I came back a couple minutes later I was told "you can't leave it there -- valet it or move it". So now I don't even bother with the circle. We just self-park, and later carry our bags up to our room ourselves.

 

[SoCalKDG]

Even at the park-at-your-door resorts (OKW/SSR), the bellhops will take your luggage up to your room for ya. We've done this before a couple of times. We didn't last year because we had a ground floor 1 bedroom and the trunk of the van was literally 20 feet from the front door


I don't either sleepydog. It's just that sometimes you read how people complain it's so far to walk from certain buildings at OKW to the HH......BUT, they're fine with the 10-20+ min walk to Epcot or MGM ? I just think some people pick and choose what they consider acceptable walking distances for them (i.e. parking lots ?).
I simply mentioned the walking distance to the BW parking lot because valet was brought up. While it can be a nice perk, we're just not the type of people who feel right calling up valet just so we can retrieve a book or a stuffed animal (or whatever) from our van ? When we plan on going to another resort for dinner or for offsite shopping, yep, we would most assuredly utilize valet over walking the distance to the parking lot. But for little stuff, we just don't feel comfortable doing that. Some may feel we're being stubborn and just simply refuse to do it That's ok.


lol
I'm honestly not trying to slant one resort over another. I feel they ALL have different amenities to offer. It's just that with a resort that offers valet, one is really committed to using that for every little thing that may come up. There are wait times involved with valet---so gotta factor that in. For some, it's not big deal and I respect that. Others might find valet a slight hassle. It's just personal preference & just wanted to give another perspective.

What do you do, take out your luggage at checkin, then checkin, then drive to your room? Valet you give your car and luggage at the same time.

Second, you call before leaving to pick up the car. They have it waiting, the AC going. No wait. No hassle.


erikthewise:

Havn't used BC valet, but BW valet is right by checkin, from checkin you walk to your room. Much closer than any parking lot.

 

[MiaSRN62]

SleepyatDVC says : he finds it "convenient" to have his car handy and would find it totally INCONVENIENT to have someone pull his car up to look for something in it! To each his own!

ericthewise says : I'm glad some people enjoy valet parking, because I don't, even if it's free. I see it as a disservice, not a service, to have to ask to use my car.

Now see....this is how I see it. We're taking away valuable valet time for someone who really wants and needs it just so we can stumble around in our van searching for something. Maybe it's different for us because we use our own vehicle. We literally live in it for the 17 hour trip down to FL. It's almost embarrassing to block the circle with valet hovering over us until we find what we need or whatever. Just a personal thing, and I'm sure others wouldn't give this a second thought.

SoCalKDG says : What do you do, take out your luggage at checkin, then checkin, then drive to your room? Valet you give your car and luggage at the same time.

SoCal,
We very rarely have been able to get into our room right at check-in ? We usually check-in between noon and 1 pm (on average). We pull up to the lobby area, the OKW bellhops take our luggage and store it, and then we walk in to check-in. Usually I'm checking in at the lobby while dh is handing off bags to Bell Service. Then we go play. After a few hours, we come back, get our room assignment, and Bell Service brings our luggage up. And that's just it----we DON't want to give valet our car ! This is where the preference thing comes in to play. Sometimes for the first day, after checking in, we just go out to eat somewhere after our long drive, or play mini golf, or go shopping at Bells etc.
If we were to ever check-in at OKW right around the 3-4 pm mark, we probably would go in and check if our room was ready. If it was a ground floor, we forget Bell service all together. But if we got a 2nd or 3rd floor villa without an elevator, we'd probably have the Bell Hops bring our luggage around and up the stairs while we drove our car around. It's not a big deal, because it's all of a 30-60 sec drive and then you park right in front of your villa location. It's a nice service offered by OKW that alot of people aren't aware of. It's there if you want it. I'm sure they don't get the volume that the other resorts get (besides SSR maybe) mostly because of the parking arrangements. With parking right outside your door, most people probably think, "who needs it".
So Bells service at OKW works just as well as it does at other DVC resorts except there's no valet. There's a parking lot over on the side of HH where we sometimes leave our car until we get a room assignment. It's really quite convenient.

Second, you call before leaving to pick up the car. They have it waiting, the AC going. No wait. No hassle.

Yes, and we waited over 1 hour the day we checked out of BWV. Really messed up our travel plans. Glad we didn't have to catch a plane or something ! We lost an hour of our day though because the plan was to run over to the Vistana resort, check-in there, and then go to the parks. With three anxious kids in tow to get to the parks that wasn't the way we had planned our day. Now, to be fair, I don't know if BWV is always this slow with valet. We've only stayed there one time during our 5 years of DVC Membership. They did profusely apologize for the delay---I found them friendly---but slow and overworked. It was a mad house. We checked out on a Saturday and I realize this is a BIG check-in/out day. But they should account for this and supply more valet and Bell Hops. So, for us, this service really didn't function as a perk. I understand for others, it may.

 

[SoCalKDG]

Yes, and we waited over 1 hour the day we checked out of BWV. Really messed up our travel plans. Glad we didn't have to catch a plane or something ! We lost an hour of our day though because the plan was to run over to the Vistana resort, check-in there, and then go to the parks. With three anxious kids in tow to get to the parks that wasn't the way we had planned our day. Now, to be fair, I don't know if BWV is always this slow with valet. We've only stayed there one time during our 5 years of DVC Membership. They did profusely apologize for the delay---I found them friendly---but slow and overworked. It was a mad house. We checked out on a Saturday and I realize this is a BIG check-in/out day. But they should account for this and supply more valet and Bell Hops. So, for us, this service really didn't function as a perk. I understand for others, it may.

Wow, 1 hour. I used valet 3 times at BWV and twice at VWL and only waited one time at VWL for 5 minutes. The other times the car was waiting. Its kind of like the buses. Some people say they have waited 30 minutes. I've never waited longer than 5 minutes.

 

[thelobstershanty]

Wow, 1 hour. I used valet 3 times at BWV and twice at VWL and only waited one time at VWL for 5 minutes. The other times the car was waiting. Its kind of like the buses. Some people say they have waited 30 minutes. I've never waited longer than 5 minutes.

We have never waited more than 5 minutes either and that was a rare exception. All other times our car also has been waiting and cooled down when we got to the entrance. We use valet all the time when it is available. The exception to this would be BCV, it is easier to self park then valet park because the valet is part of the YC/BC resort and quite a distance from the BCVs.

 

[thelobstershanty]

I forgot to add we have good friends that are also DVC members and would never valet park. The DH has this thing about anyone driving his car. What I can not understand is it is always a rental car, not his car. Even more puzzling is they always rent an economy class car so it is not even a plush car. But that is what they like and what makes them happy and that is all that counts.

 

[JohnNJ]

Next: BWV (using the BWV side door, not going through the lobby)

Where is the BWV side door? How do you get there?

John-NJ

 

[MiaSRN62]

Wow, 1 hour. I used valet 3 times at BWV and twice at VWL and only waited one time at VWL for 5 minutes. The other times the car was waiting. Its kind of like the buses. Some people say they have waited 30 minutes. I've never waited longer than 5 minutes.

Well, in all fairness, I've only stayed at BWV 1X. Check-in was fine as far as valet/bells service went. It was only check-out. And it was actually slightly over 1 hour. My teen son (16 at the time) got so bored he told us he was going outside to wander around. My girls were pacing the hallways. We had to stay in the room and wait with our luggage. This was early August (Aug 2, 2003 to be exact if anyone happened to be there around 10 am and saw how busy things were). Maybe it was the day of the week (Sat) ? Maybe the time of the year ? Who knows. Bell Service did apologize about the long wait. It can happen anywhere I'm sure.

 

[thelobstershanty]

Well, in all fairness, I've only stayed at BWV 1X. Check-in was fine as far as valet/bells service went. It was only check-out. And it was actually slightly over 1 hour. My teen son (16 at the time) got so bored he told us he was going outside to wander around. My girls were pacing the hallways. We had to stay in the room and wait with our luggage. This was early August (Aug 2, 2003 to be exact if anyone happened to be there around 10 am and saw how busy things were). Maybe it was the day of the week (Sat) ? Maybe the time of the year ? Who knows. Bell Service did apologize about the long wait. It can happen anywhere I'm sure.

Your experience is truely a rare exception. We have stayed at BWV during the same time period and never experienced anything like this. It is unfortunate this happened to you. From reading some of your other posts about your BWV stay you had several disappointments happen regarding your stay. A room that was preferred view but unfortunately one of the very few preferred rooms with a bad view and also disappointments with the parking situation and luggage services. Everyone has some disappointments when vacationing but to get triple slammed is unfortunate. That is more disappointments in 1 trip then we have ever had in total from any WDW resort we have stayed at.
I would have contacted luggage services and said I wanted to just leave the luggage in your room and got a receipt from the valet desk and went about my day. They do not normally do this but in a rare instance such as this I am sure the head of luggage services would have accomendated you. Or if you did not feel comfortable just leaving the luggage in the room I would have sent the kids to the park with a cell phone (they look old enough especially with the 16 yo in charge), sent your DH to check into Vistana and you wait in the room for luggage pick up. Then everyone meet up again in the designated park when everything was accomplished. Then just stopped BWV at the end of your day and picked up your luggage on your way back to Visitana. I know this would not have allowed you to go to Vistana and get settled before returning to the parks but it would have eliminated everyone getting antsy and frustrated about missing out on park time.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Your experience is truely a rare exception. We have stayed at BWV during the same time period and never experienced anything like this. It is unfortunate this happened to you. From reading some of your other posts about your BWV stay you had several disappointments happen regarding your stay.

Hi lobstershanty,
I agree with everything you said. And I'm sure this can be applied to the one-time unfortunate experiences Members have experienced from time to time with every DVC resort. We read from time to time about those who talk about things going wrong or inconveniences or rudeness at SSR,VWL or OKW or wherever. ALOT have only experienced one stay at the resort they're reporting about. A unfortunate experience as the ones we read here from time to time, can occur during any random trip.
We, personally, have never had a bad experience at OKW. Always the best rooms with terrific views, majority of my requests met, transportation runs smooth, very friendly and helpful CM's, yet.....I've read posts where people had the direct opposite of my past experiences. Similar to what we're talking about with BWV and valet/bell service. You've never had a bad experience, yet my one visit several things went wrong. In additon to my room view as you mentioned, I also should say that check-in was troublesome. The room key maker (or whatever they call it) was not working. At least one person had to stay in our room for a period of a 2-3 hours because if we all left, we couldn't get back in. Not a major thing, but just a series of unfortunate events , so to say, during that trip. All, in all, I think all the DVC resorts are terrific and each has something to offer one person that might not appeal to another. It's great they're all not cookie-cutters of eachother.

I know this would not have allowed you to go to Vistana and get settled before returning to the parks but it would have eliminated everyone getting antsy and frustrated about missing out on park time.

True, we could have left everything at BWV and gone to Vistana. But we're always used to storing our luggage at Vistana. We go to the parks and Vistana is great because as soon as your room becomes available, the Bell service takes the luggage up and places it in your room whether you're there or not. Normally we'll return from the parks, call the front desk and be told our room is ready and our bags are up there. Going back to BWV would have been just another step. And, at the time the delay was happening, you're just not thinking about what you suggested. We just wanted to check out and be gone. So, for us, this was just a bit of a hassle that would not have occured had we not had to rely on Bell/valet. Not sure which dept had the back-up or trouble really. Do I hold this again BWV ? No, we'd consider staying there again.

 

[thelobstershanty]

Hi lobstershanty,
I agree with everything you said. And I'm sure this can be applied to the one-time unfortunate experiences Members have experienced from time to time with every DVC resort. We read from time to time about those who talk about things going wrong or inconveniences or rudeness at SSR,VWL or OKW or wherever. ALOT have only experienced one stay at the resort they're reporting about. A unfortunate experience as the ones we read here from time to time, can occur during any random trip.
We, personally, have never had a bad experience at OKW. Always the best rooms with terrific views, majority of my requests met, transportation runs smooth, very friendly and helpful CM's, yet.....I've read posts where people had the direct opposite of my past experiences. Similar to what we're talking about with BWV and valet/bell service. You've never had a bad experience, yet my one visit several things went wrong. In additon to my room view as you mentioned, I also should say that check-in was troublesome. The room key maker (or whatever they call it) was not working. At least one person had to stay in our room for a period of a 2-3 hours because if we all left, we couldn't get back in. Not a major thing, but just a series of unfortunate events , so to say, during that trip. All, in all, I think all the DVC resorts are terrific and each has something to offer one person that might not appeal to another. It's great they're all not cookie-cutters of eachother.


True, we could have left everything at BWV and gone to Vistana. But we're always used to storing our luggage at Vistana. We go to the parks and Vistana is great because as soon as your room becomes available, the Bell service takes the luggage up and places it in your room whether you're there or not. Normally we'll return from the parks, call the front desk and be told our room is ready and our bags are up there. Going back to BWV would have been just another step. And, at the time the delay was happening, you're just not thinking about what you suggested. We just wanted to check out and be gone. So, for us, this was just a bit of a hassle that would not have occured had we not had to rely on Bell/valet. Not sure which dept had the back-up or trouble really. Do I hold this again BWV ? No, we'd consider staying there again.

We have a very relaxed approach to vacation. That is the whole purpose of vacation. We take everthinng in stide and enjoy the exepience wherever it may take us. It is all beter than going to work.

 

[MiaSRN62]

lobstershanty says : We have a very relaxed approach to vacation. That is the whole purpose of vacation.

Respect your opinion. We, OTOH, cherish what little time we all have to get away as a family. We hate to waste valuable "fun time" waiting for luggage or our car or things like that. We, most certainly do not do the parks commando style, but we feel an hour waiting for luggage could be an hour spent having dinner together in Boma's or playing in the parks etc. Just the way we see it and I'm sure there are all kinds of varying feelings on this.