Preferred and Standard Rooms ?

[CheshireCat]

Can someone explain the difference since their is a point difference ? I have the newest brochure here & my eyes are crossed looking at it backwards, frontwards & inside out .... and lovin' every minute of it. Do they do this just at BWV's?

 

[tjkraz]

There are actually three separate categories:

Standard View
Preferred BoardWalk View
Preferred Garden / Pool View

The Standard View rooms mostly face the front driveway entrance and the valet parking lot. Both Preferred categories have the same nightly point costs, but you have to be booked in the BW view category in order to have a room that overlooks the BoardWalk. Preferred Garden / Pool is just that--it overlooks either one of the pools or a pleasant grassy area (usually with the canal in the distance.)

I've heard that the Standard View and Preferred BW View are each about 20% of the resort. These rooms are usually the first to be booked--SV for the lower points or BW View because people prefer it to the pool view for the same costs. So most of the year you need to be an owner at BWV to get either of these room classes.

The forthcoming Animal Kingdom Villas will have a similar structure. They will have a "Standard View" which is mostly parking lot and other non-Savannah views (although I understand there will be SOME savannah rooms in the Standard View.) AKV will also have the "Savannah View" category which guarantees a room with a view of the animals.

 

[CheshireCat]

Thanks so much, tjkraz.....and that's good to know about AKV .

 

[drusba]

AKV will have several categories (in order of point cost, low to high):

Value point cost: the lowest point cost rooms but views can be of pool, savanna, or parking lot. They are value because they will be smaller rooms. There will be a limited number (and likely go most times to those using 11 month window). These will be only at the Jambo building (existing AKL).

Standard View: larger rooms but view will be of parking lot, road, or pool. Also a limited number but at both buildings (new Kidani building will not be completed until 2009; also Kidani will have larger rooms overall than Jambo).

Savanna view point cost rooms: larger rooms (both buildings) with a savanna view. About 70% of all rooms will be these.

Concierge rooms: a very limited number of rooms in the Jambo building only that will have concierge service. They can be either Savanna or pool view.

Grand Villas: the very large 3BR units, in both buildings and all with savanna view.

Once new building is completed, the likelihood will be that those using 7 month window will be able to find rooms but usually those will be the Savanna point cost rooms since owners at AKV will usually take others with 11 month window.

 

[Dean]

I think it's helpful to know the history. Originally they were all the same points but some complained about the parking lot views. Since the resort was not sold out, DVD went back and actually reduced the number of points they were selling for the resort total and reduce the points for some of the rooms. I feel the best way to think about it is that the Standard view are worse than the preferred view rather than the other way around. That way you don't get the false impression that the preferred view (other than BW view) are all that special.

 

[Granny]

I feel the best way to think about it is that the Standard view are worse than the preferred view rather than the other way around. That way you don't get the false impression that the preferred view (other than BW view) are all that special.

I agree with this. My guess is that if Disney had it to do over, they would have come up with different classification names that wouldn't suggest "upgraded views" or rooms.

And continuing the BWV history lesson (though off topic a bit), for many years there was just one Preferred View category. Again, member complaints came in as that view might be the coveted Boardwalk View or the pool/canal view. This time Disney had already fixed the point schedule so all they could do was create a new booking classification so that people wouldn't be disappointed when they showed up and couldn't get the Boardwalk View.

It was a good solution and has been implemented in other stressful check-in situations such as guaranteeing 2 beds in the second BR of the BCV 2BR villas.

 

[dis-happy]

Somewhat of an aside, but I LOVE the optional point classifications at BWV, and it's part of the reason we added on there. The standard view points are such a bargain (we have been able to really stretch out 150 points there), and we've always ended up with a very nice view, including partial fireworks. Then on special occaisions we like to book to the Boardwalk View.

 

[crisi]

I agree with this. My guess is that if Disney had it to do over, they would have come up with different classification names that wouldn't suggest "upgraded views" or rooms.

And continuing the BWV history lesson (though off topic a bit), for many years there was just one Preferred View category. Again, member complaints came in as that view might be the coveted Boardwalk View or the pool/canal view. This time Disney had already fixed the point schedule so all they could do was create a new booking classification so that people wouldn't be disappointed when they showed up and couldn't get the Boardwalk View.

It was a good solution and has been implemented in other stressful check-in situations such as guaranteeing 2 beds in the second BR of the BCV 2BR villas.

The Boardwalk View category came when Disney got rid of room assigners.

Back when they had room assigners, someone would sit down, put the rooms coming available up, put the people arriving that day in order that they MADE THEIR RESERVATION and start matching based on request. If you called right at 11 months out and asked for BWView, NonSmoking, Crest of the Wave Building, High Floor, your chances of getting it were darn good (although you might have to wait until 6:00 before it was clean). If you called two weeks ahead of time (assuming there was a room available at all), you could make the same request, but you'd be put in one of the last rooms available after everyone else had their request met - maybe a smoking room on the ground floor at the far end of the hall. If you called eight months out, you really didn't know WHAT you'd end up with, but it would be closer to what you requested than the guy who called two weeks out.

When they went to room ready, the Boardwalk View situation exploded. BWV Owners had been assurred they would have "first shot" at "one of the best views at Disney." And they weren't happy that Mr. "Owns at HH and called two weeks ago" could snag their Boardwalk View out from under them by camping out in the lobby. (The camping was apparently an issue short term as well). So they made it a booking category.