Room Views: The Obsession

[Figment2]

I've been surprised at the many posts lately on the DVC and Resort boards asking for specific room numbers (to make sure they get a specific view).
I've seen hissy fits by people who don't get that specific room number or view. Maybe part of it goes back to a statement you hear all too often at WDW, "I paid a lot of money...."

My request is simple - N/S. Like everyone else I've had great views and not so great views. I'm just happy to be at WDW.

Cyn

 

[Granny]

It would be interesting to hear DVCs opinion on how the BW guranteed view procedure has worked. Maybe that is something they would expand to all of their resorts. If it gave comfort to those guests who consider view very important that is fine with me.

Jim...very good point. I've posted before that I think every DVC resort should have the "heavily requested" room views set as a separate (but equal points) view like the BWV Preferred - BW View and BWV Preferred-Water/Garden View. And give those resort home owners first crack at their preference.

They already have the software programming in place since they do it at BWV, so it wouldn't seem like that would be getting in the way.

a nice view helps me forget my angry. Is that wrong?

Nothing at all wrong with this. Asking for particular kinds of view (especially something as general as "water view at OKW" makes a lot of sense if you prefer that kind of view. I don't think you are in the "obsessed" category about views though....you just know what you like.

 

[RealMickey]

My request is simple - N/S. Like everyone else I've had great views and not so great views. I'm just happy to be at WDW.
Cyn

I absolutly agree!

I see so many posts where people seem to be saying, that if their veiw request is not met, it will ruin their vacation.

I just don't get it.

 

[crisi]

Jim...very good point. I've posted before that I think every DVC resort should have the "heavily requested" room views set as a separate (but equal points) view like the BWV Preferred - BW View and BWV Preferred-Water/Garden View. And give those resort home owners first crack at their preference.

They already have the software programming in place since they do it at BWV, so it wouldn't seem like that would be getting in the way.

Nothing at all wrong with this. Asking for particular kinds of view (especially something as general as "water view at OKW" makes a lot of sense if you prefer that kind of view. I don't think you are in the "obsessed" category about views though....you just know what you like.

The problem becomes the quanity of rooms and the occupancy. Each guarentee Disney makes gives them less flexibility to put you in one room for a week if you book late. For instance, there are a lot of people who have rooms booked at the Boardwalk hoping for waitlists to come through because they have one night of Preferred View, two nights of Standard, one night again of preferred view. That's a lot of overhead. How many non-smoking two queen dedicated 2 bedrooms are there at BCV....And if one has the "Epcot View"? If I have to pick the overhead, I'm going for non-smoking guarentee!

I think the only reason DVC does it with BWV is that somewhere, someplace there is a piece of marketing literature out there that says "BWV owners will get first opportunity to reserve these fantastic views!" or something - that could hold up in court. When they were room assigning based off reservation date, they could meet that promise. When they went to room ready, they couldn't.

We figure that view is luck of the draw. Statistically, we will get a lousy view and great views on vacation....just the way the cookie crumbles. What annoys me is when all I get is lousy views because someone else isn't willing to take their turn with the back of the Keister Coaster.

 

[KidAtHeart1]

I can understand that for some people it is pretty important. When you see a particular view that takes your breath away, it makes the resort/vacation even more memorable. Many people don't get to go to WDW once or even twice a year like others and may only go every five years or more, but remember how great and beautiful their room view was, and want the same building or similar view. I figure that if I'm dropping big time $ on a vacation that I don't get to do on very often, I should be able to get the building or view that I want at the very least, especially if I book out far in advance.

 

[Sammie]

Good points so far. It is also possible that the obsession is contributed to by an over anxious concern about "how bad" a bad view is. I have been in a lot of WDW resort rooms over the years. And yes, some views were more to my liking than others; but I can not remember a truly bad view. As a guest I expect to get my share of the more magical views and my share of less magical views.

It would be interesting to hear DVCs opinion on how the BW guranteed view procedure has worked. Maybe that is something they would expand to all of their resorts. If it gave comfort to those guests who consider view very important that is fine with me.

As for our booking requests -- We do make view requests but they are last and only in general terms. Now for the exception -- I have considered asking for a specific room at the Contemporary (where we honeymooned) as a surprise 30th anniversary celebration coming up in 2008. I wonder if that would be considered too much or just magical enough to be reasonable?

No request is unreasonable, only getting upset if you don't get it is.

 

[Muushka]

Ahhhh. Those are my favorite threads:
And then people on these boards proceed to tell them exactly what is the "best", even the room #
And then people wonder why others get upset when they don't get their requests met, when everyone on these boards are telling people to ask for that location/room number! Also, what is a great view to one may not be to another. I can see a room at VWL that I absolutely hate being desirable to someone else, but no one will ever ask for that room because everyone tells them to ask for lake view/close to elevator. People should stay at a resort at least once and then form their own opinions about what they would like to view.

But to answer your question Granny, I agree with the fact that people do obsess over views at WDW, and that:

Snip...

Somebody is probably going to get the dumpster view, the tennis court/parking lot view, the "near the busy road" view, etc. We figure that over the course of our DVC ownership we will be getting those from time to time and understand that.

Maybe I'm off on the view thing, but it does seem to be a high priority with many. Or I could be reading more into many posts than is really there?

Thoughts? Comments?

I am one of those people who really appreciates a great view. I hate to admit this, but here goes:

We got a standard view at BWV a few months back. Straight ahead was a parking lot and to the right was the canal and TofT. When I walked out on the balcony, I always looked to the right. If I had paid for a preferred view (just 2 doors down), I guarantee you that every time I had gone out on that balcony I would have looked at the parking lot! How sad is that?? I am not saying that if I got a bad view it would ruin my vacation, but I would enjoy it so much more if I have a nice view. Not sure what my problem is, but I just like a nice view!

I know that we will some day get the dumpster view at VWL, and all will be well.

 

[lisaviolet]

I'm laughing at this post because although I'm kind and gracious about whatever I get at check-in I do have certain desires.

Take OKW for example. I didn't know anything about where to ask ...where to stay....what's best and I had the most glorious room on the property. Hands down. The first and only time on property. So now we're left with the feeling how could we possibly return to OKW to never, never, being so blessed again. Such horrific dilemmas we all have, eh?

 

[Buckalew11]

I haven't even stayed at a DVC yet (but hopefully very soon I will have my first trip home!) but my thought at this point is I don't care what kind of view I have--I'll be a DVC at WDW which is something I have waited 6 years for! I cannot wait!!

But, that being said, I have had 17th floor views from the Dolphin that absolutely took my breath away (had the view twice) and wow, you get a little spoiled looking out and seeing views like those!

But for me it is more of the same...years ago I was happy to stay off site. Then that wasn;t good enough and I stayed at the AS resorts. Then we moved up to a moderate and then didn't want to do value resorts. Then we did the S/D and were very spoiled there. It just goes on and on! LOL

Someone like PatJ can have my room with a view anyday because it sounds like at this point in their lives they need a good view. I hope I am lucky enough to go with my DD to WDW when I am in my 80s!!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I've never been one to obsess about views. I do have my favorite locations at OKW, but frankly I'll take ANY view and ANY location. The only thing of any importance to me is "non-smoking for medical necessity", and that means I don't want a non-smoking room that someone smoked in last week or last month. It is the only thing that could ruin my vacation.

 

[jekjones1558]

A pet peeve of mine is RENTERS who post here wanting to know THE best room to request. As if their wishes should out-trump all of the DVC owners' preferences.
The only place we care about view is BWV, so we book (and pay for) a BW view. When we stay elsewhere we think you should "Take what you git and don't have a fit." I think that there is a real argument for non-smoking room or HA/close to elevator requests having some weight, but other requests often seem to be getting a lot more attention and CM time than they merit.

 

[Inkmahm]

I do agree with the statment in the quote, and I believe it has a basis from what people are used to. I think most people who own DVC have stayed at WDW in the regular resorts...probably multiple times for many. And the resorts have different classifications of views with different costs per night. For example, Wilderness Lodge has a Standard View, Woods View and Courtyard View room, with escalating costs per night for each.

DVC (except for BWV) doesn't have that kind of set up...so people who are used to choosing a room view vs additional cost don't see that in DVC for the most part. All of a sudden, people who would probably never pay for a resort's best view (plus the people who would) find themselves with an opportunity to get what they consider to be the "best" view in a resort.

We are new to DVC, but when we stay at AKL we only book savannah view rooms. I really wouldn't want to stay there if I had a pool view, to tell you the truth. The thing we love most is seeing the animals from the room.

At WL, we book courtyard view. I could live with a different view, but it's always been available so I book it.

At Contemporary, we book a tower room with view of MK. I don't want to see the quiet lake on the other side, I want to see the other resorts and MK, especially the castle at night.

We've stayed one night at the VWL so far and that was a studio on the first floor facing the lake. It was fine- a nice patio and a view of the woods. To me, all the rooms will be views of woods of some kind so the room doesn't matter quite as much to me.

For our trip in December, we have Boardwalk view booked for a one bedroom. One of the reasons we bought points at BWV instead of the BCV was because we could guarantee a Boardwalk view. I will always book Boardwalk view for trips to BWV, if I can.

If the new DVC locations are at the Contemporary and at AKL, I hope they have separate listed views for MK and for the savannah as those are what I will book at the 11 month mark after I buy points at each location to assure I will be able to do that.

I won't ever ask for a specific room, no matter if I'm in a Disney Deluxe or a DVC room. But guaranteed view? Yup!

 

[BEACHCLUBVILLAS]

I realize that in naming this thread "The Obsession", I probably painted it as somehow getting down on people who are really into room views. I apologize for anyone who takes it that way.

I was trying to theorize why people do obsess about it, but not trying to judge those who do. After all, we are all Disney Obsessed and we wouldn't want people judging that, would we?

And if you are someone who really enjoys a great view, don't feel like you will get flamed here. If the thread seems to be heading towards slamming the "View Obsessors" , I'll ask that it be shut down.

Everyone seems to be doing a good job of putting their opinion in without putting down others' opinions. Thanks to all for the good discussion.

I'll be brave. Views are very important to us. I love sitting on my balcony in the morning and at night with what I consider the perfect view and relaxing at BCV. I can't tell you what it is because I hate the idea I have to compete for it on my trips. I had the WLV dumpster view on my last trip and while I never complained, I can tell you that every morning when I went outside to sit on my balcony with my coffee I fell a tinge of disappointment that of all the rooms here in one of the prettiest resorts I got the dumpster view and had to walk a long long long way to get to it. I like a nice view. I have preferences and I always include them in my reservation requests.

 

[Rozzie]

I'll be brave. Views are very important to us. I love sitting on my balcony in the morning and at night with what I consider the perfect view and relaxing at BCV. I can't tell you what it is because I hate the idea I have to compete for it on my trips. I had the WLV dumpster view on my last trip and while I never complained, I can tell you that every morning when I went outside to sit on my balcony with my coffee I fell a tinge of disappointment that of all the rooms here in one of the prettiest resorts I got the dumpster view and had to walk a long long long way to get to it. I like a nice view. I have preferences and I always include them in my reservation requests.

ITA. I love a good view. It's important to me. We enjoy our coffee and paper in the mornings, and always end the evening with a glass of wine. I request certain views. It's why I request "Southpoint" "Congress Park" etc. Will I throw a tantrum at check in? Nope. Will I be disappointed? Yes. Will it ruin our trip? Of course not. I would have no problem paying extra points for a particular view, and really wish they would do this with Congress Park, etc.

 

[simzac]

First thing I do when entering my room is close the curtains, so I will take the dumpster view every time, doesn't bother me in the least. The only time I spend in the room is to sleep anyway. JMO

 

[jade1]

For us there is the guaranteed BWV BW View, then theres everything else.

 

[keys2kingdom]

"Take what you git and don't have a fit."

LOL, I love it!! I'm sure all the resort check-in CM's would LOVE to make this their official slogan.

Personally I don't really care what my view is, the only really excellent view I've ever had was from the 9th floor of the Dolphin. It was a Crescent Lake view and it was AWESOME. Sort of ironic that my best view was at a non Disney property. Guess that was my payoff for not feeling quite as much magic in my resort.

I doubt I'll ever request a certain view at BCV, just really not a priority to me or them apparently.

 

[nono]

I always try to remember that there are blind people living in the world, and that I'm darn lucky to have a "view" at all, no matter how good or bad.

 

[SoCalKDG]

At BW I've had a Boardwalk View, as well as a view of TOT and the river. Both were great views but only the Boardwalk View was used, usually for watching fireworks. In the future I'll go with the cheaper points when its just the four us and go with the BW view when impressing guests.

 

[Sammie]

If one does not care about views, then that is acceptable.

Just as liking a nice view is acceptable and one should never be made to feel petty for wanting that. Being able to accept the fact that one might not always get the view one would wish for, does not make it wrong to want it. Getting upset when one does not get it is not acceptable either, unless one keeps that to themselves.

As to obessing about views, sure some people do that. And some people obsess about what others obsess about. So that evens it out.