Tatebeck
I Can Go The DIStance
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2023
- Messages
- 2,257
We just got back from 6 night split stay in the Grand Villas at BWV and then at BLT so I wanted to make a few notes for anyone else interested.
We went with a group of 9 including my wife's siblings, some cousins, and significant others. We have annual passes, the rest of the guests had park hoppers since it was most of their first times and we wanted to help them do as much as possible in case they don't make it back to WDW.
The rooms:
Everyone LOVED the grand villas. The extra large living/dining area was great for playing games and chatting. We would stay up late at night even after closing the parks down just hanging out and having a few more drinks. This did contribute to us being very tired by the end of the trip however lol. We also got an owners locker so we could store things that we will use regularly going down there. A Brita pitcher, folding nightstand fan, extra drinks, first aid kit, some OTC medications, toiletries, and extra nonperishables from our grocery order.
The parks: We did a LOT. 4 full park days, 1 half-rest day and Halloween party night. We did at least 2 parks each day and got between 20k-30k steps on most days. But there was one crazy busy day that had us top 40k steps! Disney decided to schedule 2 different after hours events on the same night! A Moonlight Magic at Animal Kingdom and an Extended Evening hours at Hollywood Studios. In order to get the most things done, we did BOTH after going to EPCOT in the morning and having a bit of a rest at the hotel in the early afternoon. Both after hours events were amazing with short lines for the Safari (before it closed), FOP, easy rerides on Everest and then Rockn', and TOT. And we got free snacks at AK! It was a crazy day
Other than being exhausted from late nights and early mornings, everyone had a great time, saying they liked it more than they expected. I think we could get most of them to come back again (one already does tag along with us frequently now lol). Favorites varied from AK, EPCOT, and even HW Studios parks (no one loved MK compared to the others) and Guardians, TRON, and FOP for rides. Also had a lot of love for the AK vibe and shows, as well the Toy Story and HW Boulevard areas of HW Studios.
We loved the style of the refurb at BLT. My wife said she liked it better than the refurb at BWV. Also the last bed at BLT was a Murphy fold down, while the one at BWV is still a couch pull-out.
The only negatives worth mentioning:
BWV - The balconies were COVERED with spiders everywhere. Dozens if not hundreds if we wanted to look closer. The girls in the group were scared to spend much time out there, and one of the cousins sleeping in the main area ended up getting bitten overnight by a spider that repelled down from the light fixture in the room. Luckily we switched to BLT the next night. Does anyone know the best place to report this to see if they can remedy the room for future guests?
BLT - The Theme Park view was great, and we had 4! Balconies, but the large windows in the room are very gross. A few of the big sections have lost their seal and the insides were gross. Condensation, dirt etc have gathered between the panes and there is no way to clean from the inside or outside. They need to be replaced but that was not done with the refurb. To ruin such great views with broken windows should be unacceptable IMO. We put the shades most of the way down and enjoyed the balconies instead. And these ones didn't have a spider infestation!
All in all a great trip and to no surprise, we will be back, hopefully with repeat visitors in the future
We went with a group of 9 including my wife's siblings, some cousins, and significant others. We have annual passes, the rest of the guests had park hoppers since it was most of their first times and we wanted to help them do as much as possible in case they don't make it back to WDW.
The rooms:
Everyone LOVED the grand villas. The extra large living/dining area was great for playing games and chatting. We would stay up late at night even after closing the parks down just hanging out and having a few more drinks. This did contribute to us being very tired by the end of the trip however lol. We also got an owners locker so we could store things that we will use regularly going down there. A Brita pitcher, folding nightstand fan, extra drinks, first aid kit, some OTC medications, toiletries, and extra nonperishables from our grocery order.
The parks: We did a LOT. 4 full park days, 1 half-rest day and Halloween party night. We did at least 2 parks each day and got between 20k-30k steps on most days. But there was one crazy busy day that had us top 40k steps! Disney decided to schedule 2 different after hours events on the same night! A Moonlight Magic at Animal Kingdom and an Extended Evening hours at Hollywood Studios. In order to get the most things done, we did BOTH after going to EPCOT in the morning and having a bit of a rest at the hotel in the early afternoon. Both after hours events were amazing with short lines for the Safari (before it closed), FOP, easy rerides on Everest and then Rockn', and TOT. And we got free snacks at AK! It was a crazy day
Other than being exhausted from late nights and early mornings, everyone had a great time, saying they liked it more than they expected. I think we could get most of them to come back again (one already does tag along with us frequently now lol). Favorites varied from AK, EPCOT, and even HW Studios parks (no one loved MK compared to the others) and Guardians, TRON, and FOP for rides. Also had a lot of love for the AK vibe and shows, as well the Toy Story and HW Boulevard areas of HW Studios.
We loved the style of the refurb at BLT. My wife said she liked it better than the refurb at BWV. Also the last bed at BLT was a Murphy fold down, while the one at BWV is still a couch pull-out.
The only negatives worth mentioning:
BWV - The balconies were COVERED with spiders everywhere. Dozens if not hundreds if we wanted to look closer. The girls in the group were scared to spend much time out there, and one of the cousins sleeping in the main area ended up getting bitten overnight by a spider that repelled down from the light fixture in the room. Luckily we switched to BLT the next night. Does anyone know the best place to report this to see if they can remedy the room for future guests?
BLT - The Theme Park view was great, and we had 4! Balconies, but the large windows in the room are very gross. A few of the big sections have lost their seal and the insides were gross. Condensation, dirt etc have gathered between the panes and there is no way to clean from the inside or outside. They need to be replaced but that was not done with the refurb. To ruin such great views with broken windows should be unacceptable IMO. We put the shades most of the way down and enjoyed the balconies instead. And these ones didn't have a spider infestation!
All in all a great trip and to no surprise, we will be back, hopefully with repeat visitors in the future
. My wife probably has a more accurate distance as she has a smart ring/watch
)
