CarnotaurDad
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 5, 2003
- Messages
- 1,116
Background:
A wonderful 12 day vacation with me, DW and DD (5). My sister, brother in law and niece (5 months) join us later in the trip. We are DVC members and have previously stayed at Swan, POP, BCV, OKW and WL.
Plan:
7/28 - 7/30: POFQ
7/30 - 8/3: BWV (studio)
8/3 - 8/8: OKW (2 BR)
POFQ
We arrived around 7 PM and our room was ready. We made no requests except for non-smoking and we were assigned Building 7 (Room 7231).
Pros:
* Big rooms for a moderate. As a matter of fact, these rooms were bigger than the WL rooms we were in last year.
* Really, really, comfortable beds. Wow! They seemed to have a pillow-top mattress that made our sleep that much better.
* Great pillows! This is something that seemed to come up throughout the trip. WDW appears to have changed their pillows and they are fantastic to sleep on!
* Beautiful decorations in the room. Our room even had a Mardis Gras invitation from 1896!
* Pool was fantastic! The water slide was a great introduction for our daughter; not too fast and not too slow.
Cons:
* Not so much a con, but it had more of a romantic feel than a family Disney feel. I know this one will be hotly debated, but it just didn't feel "Disney" (which may be a good thing, for some people). If my wife and I were going on a romantic vacation, I would definitely choose it.
* Shared the bus with POR. POR has four stops and, depending on the traffic flow of the bus, it can take a LONG time to get to POFQ.
* Limited food court and no sit down dining. The food was good, but it was limited and you had to walk to POR for sit down dining.
* Dead frogs in the "Frog Pond" near building 7. Between buildings 7 and (I think) 4, there is a little cement (man made) water area. Frogs can hop in but they have no way to hop out. Thus, there were always some dead frogs in the water each time we walked by. We always tried to avert our DD's eyes and we don't think she really noticed.
BWV
We weren't sure what to expect with BWV. It was the only place we could get in at this time and we had heard very mixed reviews about it. Again, our only request was non-smoking studio so we had no real expectations. We checked in around 2 PM and our room was ready, room 2059. It was a "partial" Boardwalk view. We faced the Courtyard that was on the Boardwalk side, just above the Wyman (sic?) Gallery that sells the Dolphin paintings.
Pros:
* In a word, fun! It was a fun, fun, fun location. We could people watch from our balcony, enjoy the music, swin at Luna Park, walk to DS and Epcot, enjoy the Disney atmosphere (the bicycling Piano Man, Mr. Show, etc) all in one area. It was surprisingly fun!
* Great studio room. The layout for the studio was perfect. The bed wasn't quite as comfortable as POFQ, but it was still really comfortable. The pillows were just as great!
* Luna Park was fantastic! Great water slide and wonderful atmosphere.
* Great access to restaurants/carts on Boardwalk.
* Feeding Frenzy was at the BWV arcade. Yeah, this doesn't mean much to most people but our DD loves this game. It really helped her enjoy BWV.
* Fantastic way to pass the rain. We were able to sit on our balcony and just watch the rain come down in the afternoon and enjoy it.
Cons:
* Ummm......we didn't get to see the infamous bed bugs? Is that a con?
* The bathroom was smaller than the one we had at BCV studio.
* No hooks to hang our lanyards on (yeah, I'm reaching for that one).
* Now that we have been to BWV, we need to buy points there (yep! That's a BIG con).
OKW
We were meeting the rest of my family and moved to a 2BR at OKW. We checked in at 10 AM but the room wasn't ready until 2 PM (no big deal, we went to MK!). We had room 4623 and, again, the only request was non-smoking and it was met.
Pros:
* Relaxing, relaxing, relaxing. If BWV is fun (which it is), then OKW is relaxing. What a great place to spend the last days at a WDW vacation. The entire atmosphere is about kicking back and enjoying the environment.
* The new water slide is awesome. It is much faster than the others, but lots of fun!
* The rooms are, in a word, HUGE! We had more room in our kitchen/living room than either of the other rooms we are in. The beds were comfortable and the (new) pillows were fantastic.
* Balconies are also quite large. We spent many an afternoon/night just enjoying a beverage on the balcony and talking.
* Lots and lots of Welcome Homes. Maybe because it is primarily a DVC resort, we got Welcome Homes from everybody.
* Did we mention that it is relaxing.
Cons:
* Food service. Goods to Go is nice, but it would be great to order out ANYTHING from Olivia's. There is just a limited menu that can be ordered to go.
* Community Center could be bigger. Yep, we know it is the first one made but it is in dire need of expansion. The time we went was quite crowded.
* Gift store is a little too small. It could use a BCV-type renovation (add sandwiches and ice cream/gelato).
Overall, we had a fantastic time. If there is anything I can answer, let me know!
A wonderful 12 day vacation with me, DW and DD (5). My sister, brother in law and niece (5 months) join us later in the trip. We are DVC members and have previously stayed at Swan, POP, BCV, OKW and WL.
Plan:
7/28 - 7/30: POFQ
7/30 - 8/3: BWV (studio)
8/3 - 8/8: OKW (2 BR)
POFQ
We arrived around 7 PM and our room was ready. We made no requests except for non-smoking and we were assigned Building 7 (Room 7231).
Pros:
* Big rooms for a moderate. As a matter of fact, these rooms were bigger than the WL rooms we were in last year.
* Really, really, comfortable beds. Wow! They seemed to have a pillow-top mattress that made our sleep that much better.
* Great pillows! This is something that seemed to come up throughout the trip. WDW appears to have changed their pillows and they are fantastic to sleep on!
* Beautiful decorations in the room. Our room even had a Mardis Gras invitation from 1896!
* Pool was fantastic! The water slide was a great introduction for our daughter; not too fast and not too slow.
Cons:
* Not so much a con, but it had more of a romantic feel than a family Disney feel. I know this one will be hotly debated, but it just didn't feel "Disney" (which may be a good thing, for some people). If my wife and I were going on a romantic vacation, I would definitely choose it.
* Shared the bus with POR. POR has four stops and, depending on the traffic flow of the bus, it can take a LONG time to get to POFQ.
* Limited food court and no sit down dining. The food was good, but it was limited and you had to walk to POR for sit down dining.
* Dead frogs in the "Frog Pond" near building 7. Between buildings 7 and (I think) 4, there is a little cement (man made) water area. Frogs can hop in but they have no way to hop out. Thus, there were always some dead frogs in the water each time we walked by. We always tried to avert our DD's eyes and we don't think she really noticed.
BWV
We weren't sure what to expect with BWV. It was the only place we could get in at this time and we had heard very mixed reviews about it. Again, our only request was non-smoking studio so we had no real expectations. We checked in around 2 PM and our room was ready, room 2059. It was a "partial" Boardwalk view. We faced the Courtyard that was on the Boardwalk side, just above the Wyman (sic?) Gallery that sells the Dolphin paintings.
Pros:
* In a word, fun! It was a fun, fun, fun location. We could people watch from our balcony, enjoy the music, swin at Luna Park, walk to DS and Epcot, enjoy the Disney atmosphere (the bicycling Piano Man, Mr. Show, etc) all in one area. It was surprisingly fun!
* Great studio room. The layout for the studio was perfect. The bed wasn't quite as comfortable as POFQ, but it was still really comfortable. The pillows were just as great!
* Luna Park was fantastic! Great water slide and wonderful atmosphere.
* Great access to restaurants/carts on Boardwalk.
* Feeding Frenzy was at the BWV arcade. Yeah, this doesn't mean much to most people but our DD loves this game. It really helped her enjoy BWV.
* Fantastic way to pass the rain. We were able to sit on our balcony and just watch the rain come down in the afternoon and enjoy it.
Cons:
* Ummm......we didn't get to see the infamous bed bugs? Is that a con?
* The bathroom was smaller than the one we had at BCV studio.
* No hooks to hang our lanyards on (yeah, I'm reaching for that one).
* Now that we have been to BWV, we need to buy points there (yep! That's a BIG con).
OKW
We were meeting the rest of my family and moved to a 2BR at OKW. We checked in at 10 AM but the room wasn't ready until 2 PM (no big deal, we went to MK!). We had room 4623 and, again, the only request was non-smoking and it was met.
Pros:
* Relaxing, relaxing, relaxing. If BWV is fun (which it is), then OKW is relaxing. What a great place to spend the last days at a WDW vacation. The entire atmosphere is about kicking back and enjoying the environment.
* The new water slide is awesome. It is much faster than the others, but lots of fun!
* The rooms are, in a word, HUGE! We had more room in our kitchen/living room than either of the other rooms we are in. The beds were comfortable and the (new) pillows were fantastic.
* Balconies are also quite large. We spent many an afternoon/night just enjoying a beverage on the balcony and talking.
* Lots and lots of Welcome Homes. Maybe because it is primarily a DVC resort, we got Welcome Homes from everybody.
* Did we mention that it is relaxing.
Cons:
* Food service. Goods to Go is nice, but it would be great to order out ANYTHING from Olivia's. There is just a limited menu that can be ordered to go.
* Community Center could be bigger. Yep, we know it is the first one made but it is in dire need of expansion. The time we went was quite crowded.
* Gift store is a little too small. It could use a BCV-type renovation (add sandwiches and ice cream/gelato).
Overall, we had a fantastic time. If there is anything I can answer, let me know!
