Room Views: The Obsession

[ZachnElli]

I'll admit that I want a good view, I don't obsess about it though. But it doesn't matter if I'm in WDW or Hawaii, I will inquire or pay more for a better view. That's why I bought at BWV. I bought in right when they made the BW view guaranteed and our decision was made (we were deciding between BCV and BWV). We've always had a little one who needed a nap during the hot summer trips and we sit out on the balcony while the little one sleeps. I don't see why this is petty.

 

[jekjones1558]

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.

Now here is someone who has priorities straight!

 

[jiggerj]

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.

I agree with Rozzie-

I just love to get up early in the World and watch the "World" wake up with a nice cup of coffee-- Mid afternoon breaks and especially at night with my favorite beverage

 

[dianeschlicht]

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.

I totally agree!

 

[Disney Doll]

I am not reading the OP as saying that you are petty and ridiculous if you "worry" about or request a specific view. I also have no problem requesting a specific view or area of a resort...doesn't hurt to ask if it will enhance my enjoyment of my trip. We stay at OKW frequently and like the Southpoint area. When I check in, I ask if they have something in that area. If they do, great!!!! If not, no biggie. I have yet to have a terrible or even mediocre view at OKW...we've always had lovely golf course views or woods views, and once I had the water view that another poster alluded to...lovely. Haven't been on Miller's Road much, nor have I been in the area right around the HH parking lot ever.

If I have the option to guarantee a view (such as at BWV) and that is important to me, I will do so. If I paid for a guaranteed preferred view and had a view of the side of the wall of the Community Center, you can bet I'd be complaining about that, not from the aspect of the view itself but from the aspect of spending additoinal points for a preferred view which is clearly not preferred. If it's going to cost me extra points for a preferred view, I'd better be looking at something good! And I don't consider the wall of the Community Center "good".

I think the biggest issue is the hissy fits thrown by people who don't get their way when they have not specifically paid extra for a particular view. Not any of us DISers of course, but we have all been at check-in where some poor check-in CM is getting their head handed to them because some guest wants a view of Mickey's left ear on the MGM water tower and can't get it.

Bottom line...if I pay for a preferred view, I expect to get one. If I get one by accident, I thank the "View Gods" and enjoy it. If I get a less-than-stellar view, and haven't paid any extra to get a good view, I remember that I am WDW and all is right with the world!

 

[corinnak]

I think a good view can be a very nice addition on vacation, but there are only a few cases where I actually care enough to pay more for it. In general, I am more interested in "location" over "view" - what is it near vs. what can I see?

1. A view of a large natural body of water (Great Lakes or Ocean) or mountains.

2. A view of something very interesting like the time we stayed in Duluth and had a room that overlooked a large ore ship turned into a museum - ok, it wasn't that thrilling to me, but it was totally worth it to my 2 year old!(Boardwalk, Savannah, Magic Kingdom all come under this category, too)

3. If I plan to spend a large quantity of time in the room, looking at the view and there are some views that are really atrocious.

I do think that some of the "obsession" comes into play at DVC because in most cases, you pay the same for a great view and a marginal view. I have seen pictures of the dumpster view and didn't think it was as bad as it sounded, but I can understand someone being disappointed, given that that room costs just as many points as one with an un-dumpstered view.

I can also see why DVC doesn't want to get into various point schedules in all the resorts, though.

What I end up wondering is this: With this "room ready" situation, is there even any point to making any of these requests? Are they still pre-assigning rooms and offering other rooms along with, as they are ready or something? Seems like if they are just offering the pool of rooms they have ready as people come in, it wouldn't make sense to pre-assign them and then monkey with it all day long, giving away the pre-assigned rooms as people come in and want to change, but maybe that is what they are doing?

 

[NMW]

The only time I would care is if I booked boardwalk view and didn't get it. That wouldn't happen with BWV though because it is a seperate booking category. Otherwise, the view means nothing, and I mean nothing, to me. Not at Disney anyway. Now, if I was in Hawaii or some other tropical location and wanted to see the ocean, that would be different. At Disney World I'm not going to see a beautiful ocean, I am going to see Disney World. It really doesn't matter what part of it I see. We have booked standard view at BWV for our Oct trip. I really don't care what we are looking at. We go to Disney for the parks and spend very little time in the rooms. If I wanted to sit on a balcony and see a breathtaking view, Disney is the last place I'd go.

It always surprises me that people get so upset about views. I think Granny is right...DVC resorts (except BWV) don't have the views seperated like other resorts. So, people who might not pay for lagoon view if they were staying at the Poly want the best view at the DVC resorts...as well as all the people who would pay for it. Some of these people will be dissapointed.

 

[dznymom1]

I am someone that cares a lot about my view, but I am also a realist and very considerate of our CMs because I know there are a finite number of good views. We have been members since 1992, and my trips now are more about relaxing at the resorts than the parks. We have trips where in 5 or 6 days, I may only go into the parks 2 or 3 times. The kids have grown up with DVC, and they are old enough to go off on their own, so I am free to do as I please. My favorite part of vacation is sitting on my porch or balcony soaking in the atmosphere.

I pretty much avoid the resorts where there is a high likelihood of getting a lousy view. I find the road view at BCV very unpleasant, so I rarely stay there and when I do I request anything but a road view. At OKW I have had lots of different views, some nicer than others but all quite pleasant. I had the dreaded dumpster view at VWL and haven't been back since. I happily pay preferred points for a Boardwalk view, and I wish that other resorts had the preferred vs. standard options for those of us that value the view and are willing to pay for it.

I don't belittle the people running around like crazy to be at every early entry and closing the parks at night (well not much I don't ) while I am relaxing on my balcony, so let me enjoy WDW my way! We all have our own unique vacation style, and our own priorities. Wait a few years, and some of you may find that your priorities change quite a bit!

 

[HUFF590]

I am another who really doesnt care about the view, I will take what ever is ready after my 10 hour drive. But I will wait for a requested room if no other room is ready till 4pm.

 

[SoCalKDG]

I think every resort should have some premium preferred rooms that cost extra points. This way you could pay the extra points, book at 11 months, and be guarenteed your view. If you choose not to pay the extra points you go with a preferred view, or pay a discount and just get a standard view. Then you have no room to complain.

Choose the top 10% of the rooms at a resort and increase their cost by 2 points, then choose the worst 10% and drop their cost by 2 points, just like BWV's. If you book right at 11 months you can always get either Standard or BWV, no problem. I believe there are very few complaints about BWV views due this system as compared to other resorts.

Possible thoughts on what might be considered preferred room views might be:

VWL would use the higher floors near the pool that can see part of the bay.
SSR would choose views of DTD.
BCV would have Epcot views.
OKW would be places near HH and the main pool with views of the water or the golf course.
The new Contemporary would be MK views.

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

I live outside of Washington, DC, and grew up outside of NYC...both home to some pretty amazing views. For me, it's what the view represents that is important....and when I'm at SSR --whether it is DTD view, courtyard view, or whatever...it means I'm at WDW, which means R&R with people I love....and because a day at WDW is better than a day anywhere else.

Hope it is close enough to topic, Granny.

 

[debbiepump]

I've gotta chuckle over this post! I'm reading what folks would like, etc.
Well, all I'd like is a CLEAN ROOM WITH NO LEFTOVER FOOD OR GARBAGE!!
3 out of my 4 visits as a DVC member, I've been put in a smoking room
(I'm a medical nonsmoking person), have had food left either in the fridge and/or the cabinets (and was told by Jim Lewis' 'associate that sometimes DVC members do this for other members, yea right!) and left over tampons, etc in the overflowing bathroom garbage can and dirty towels on the floor!

Views! Heck, give me clean room!!

 

[dsneygirl]

I notice and remember a nice view (like at SSR looking out towards Cirque) but I don't really remember a bad view. It certainly doesn't impact my vacation.

 

[lisaviolet]

I've gotta chuckle over this post! I'm reading what folks would like, etc.
Well, all I'd like is a CLEAN ROOM WITH NO LEFTOVER FOOD OR GARBAGE!!
3 out of my 4 visits as a DVC member, I've been put in a smoking room
(I'm a medical nonsmoking person), have had food left either in the fridge and/or the cabinets (and was told by Jim Lewis' 'associate that sometimes DVC members do this for other members, yea right!) and left over tampons, etc in the overflowing bathroom garbage can and dirty towels on the floor!

Views! Heck, give me clean room!!

Wow. I will personally wish for a better outcome for you next time!!!! Holy #@#@!! Here's me wishing for you Here's me stirring up a better outcome!!! Double double toil and trouble...may there be a fabulous room for debbiepump or we will ALL grumble (or at least mumble).

Best wishes next time....

 

[cslittle999]

Since it was my quote that sparked the idea for this thread I thought I should chime in.

When I wrote the original quote I wasn't only thinking of DVC (after all I haven't had my first trip home yet). I also wasn't thinking of people who request a category of view. That's really the same as you can get at any resort.

What I was thinking of were the people who on their first trip are soliciting opinion on what narrow range of rooms they need to request to make their trip a success. Of course it isn't always first timers. Go look on the resorts board and see how many threads there are on what room I should request. It's the resort room maps and the room reviews that create this expectation that there are only a few good rooms. View isn't always the determining factor. Sometimes it is the distance from the elevator or food court. There is some people who this is very important for due to health but there are far more healthy people simply moaning about the long walk.

For me all I want is a N/S room. I would prefer to have a non-HA room too. I purchased at BWV so I could book standard views to stretch my points. I don't think DVC should narrow their room categories any more than they have because it will just confirm some people's opinion that those are the only good views.

Lastly, I figure anyone who is "handing a CM their head" because they didn't get all of the requests filled should get their's handed back. It will never happen but I can wish for it.

 

[Ksp]

I had never really thought about requesting a certain view till reading the boards here -- our usual rule of thumb is to let them know we are non-smoking for medical reasons: that is our one priority.

I think there is only one time I requested anything specific for room location: my mother and nephew joined us at SSR over Xmas a year or two back. Mom has arthritic knees so I asked for a room that was either close to elevator/first floor, and that we be close to each other.

I have asked at check-in at BCV re. Epcot view; I didn't put that in my original reservation. I let the CM know that if there were a choice of rooms available when we check-in, the Epcot room would be lovely -- if not, that's ok. That particular time we were able to get an Epcot view and it was really neat

Our first time in SSR (Congress Park had just opened) we were asked if we wanted a DD view -- that was very nice of the CM to offer.
In that case, we were among some of the first people in to the resort--I don't know if they would still offer that. Our last few stays there they have not offered a choice.

Seems like SSR has good views all the way around -- unless there is a dumpster view that I haven't noticed yet.

The existence of the dumpster view at VWL doesn't make sense to me; Disney goes out of its way to make sure that you don't "see" the work being done--all the support facilities are pretty well camoflaged. Why didn't they just try to hide the dumpsters????

 

[corinnak]

I can see where a dirty, smoking room (when you specified N/S-Medical) could suck the magic out of a day faster than any lack of view.

Along with the threads here with people looking for specific room numbers, I think that some of the polarization comes from things like the UG and their "good rooms (and not so good rooms) at such-and-such-resort". Well, who the heck would take the chance on a "not so good room" if all they have to do to get a "good" one is request it, fax it, and be obnoxious for it at check in? Whereas, in reality, there are plenty of good rooms and maybe a very few not so good rooms (and who knows how many un-cleaned rooms - yikes!).

 

[Nanajo1]

N/S, first floor for medical @ OKW and just N/S @ BWV are my requests. We did buy at BWV so we could guarantee a SV at 11 months. The PV we got at BWV was a Luna pool view. It was great but the balconey was enclosed and I couldn't see anything from my chair! I won't waste points not knowing if I could actually see the view.

 

[eliza61]

Just got back from a wonderful vacation at the VWL. While I checked out the balcony when I first arrived, I didn't make any room request and truthfully since I'm not at the point where I can to Disney as much as I would like- I'm usually just slap happy to be there. 2 years ago while staying at the BCV's we had what I guess could be called a bad view. It over looked the drive up to the front doors of the resort, we could see the valet guys run around, but I still sat on the balcony every morning with my cup of tea and thought "this is heaven".

 

[I Love DVC]

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.

What a great attitude!!!!!!!