Tell me about Board Walk Villa's-PLEASE

[timandlesley]

O.K. so I priced out our total vacation at POP and renting points from a DVC member at the Board Walk for our vacation with dining and tickets and we'd actually SAVE 30 bucks switching to Board Walk Villa's. My question. What are the studio rooms like? Where do you eat for counterservice (breakfast especially) I really want to switch but my hubby is hesitating cause he thinks we'll spend a lot more on food not having a food court. HELP ME PLEASE!!!!! It looks SOOOO nice! What is transportation to the parks like??
Lesley

 

[spiceycat]

a Studio at BWV will have a kitchennett - under the counter refrigerator, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, can opener.

they have room service.

but alot of us eat in the room. milk and ceral - or eggs and bacon (both can be done in the mircowave).

there is also a bakery out on the BW if you want to eat out.

I save money on food - because I go to the grocery store. and eat most of my meals in the studio.

however if you wish to spend money on food - the BW (area behind the resort) has a lot of place plus the BC/YC plus D/S also have places to eat.

plus Epcot is just a short walk away (you can take the bus)

the transportation to MK and AK are by bus. Fine in the morning. but later in the day there is only one bus for all 5 resorts (D/S, BC/YC and BW). Some people have say to get off at the D/S and walk over to the BW you will save time.

BWV or BCV is great for Epcot and Studios. Not that great for the other parks.

will you have a car?

if yes - there are several nice grocery stores close by.

if no - then I would consider ordering my grocery about 2 weeks before you leave -
www.wegoshop.com
is nice - or was - they have changed owners.

there is also a convience store on BW that can sell you the basic (you will pay top price - but still cheaper than using a food court)

 

[Goofy4]

Transportation is outstanding... Boat (or walk) to MGM and Epcot, busses elsewhere. Never had an "over-crowding" problem with the bus.

Other's can help with the food. For a variety of reasons (including Wilma), we didn't eat much on the Boardwalk. DH might appreciate ESPN though, and if you could snack in your room, that could help offset the cost.

 

[westjones]

At the Dolphin, there is a cafeteria called 'Tubbis' that has various item you can pick up. It is open 24 hours a day, and you just go through the line, pick out what you want and then seat yourself at a table after you pay the cashier.

For lunch/dinner, there is a pizza window on the boardwalk for a quick bite, and the bakery on the board walk has different breakfast pastries. We usually just have breakfast in our room (using the kitchenette), so we have never gone to breakfast. We have used the pizza window and we like to take our own pop to keep in the fridge in the room, and then we bring the pizza and breadsticks back to the room to eat.

DJ

 

[kpm76]

We love, love, love BWV!!! We ate most mornings at the Bakery and it was reasonably priced. The location is awesome....we had a studio overlooking Keister Coaster. It's our favorite pool!! It's a short walk to Epcot and a little bit of a longer walk to MGM but a very pleasant one. We rent a car each time we go because we don't like to have to rely on Disney transportation but we found staying at the BWV we only used the car twice, once to have dinner at V & As and once to go to DTD. Other than that, we walked or took the busses and they were awesome. I highly recommend BWV

 

[timandlesley]

Thanks so much everyone. I didn't realize they had a kitchen. GREAT. One more question. The one bedroom studios, what do they look like, is there a sitting area, kitchen area, how many beds and how are they situated? Any detail of this would help me convince my husband. THANKS!!!!!


Lesley

 

[spiceycat]

the studios have 1 queen bed and a double sleeper sofa - plus table and chairs for 2 - a balcony with chairs for 2 (must a tiny table)

I already told about the kitchennett.

the bathroom is about the same as WDW resort rooms - only one sink in the bathroom part.

the one sink - wet bar is in the kitchennett part.

here are some pictures.
http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/guest/resorts/resortLanding?id=BoardwalkVillasResortLandingPage

view the 360 degree one of them is the studio.

 

[timandlesley]

Thank You

 

[spiceycat]

more pictures
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=543

 

[Hopefully]

The one bedroom units are wonderful.
You have an entry way into a living/dining room with a queen size sleep sofa, an easy chair, table and chairs to eat at, a breakfast bar with chairs and a FULL kitchen, not just the kitchenette of the studio. There is a full size refrigerator, full size stove and oven, coffee maker, toaster, microwave, dishwasher, dishes, glasses, pots and pans etc. You could save a bit by eating some meals/snacks in. Especially breakfast. There is a bedroom and bathroom completely separate from the living room. THe bathroom has a whirlpool tub (wonderful after a long day of park touring), and the unit has a full size washer and dryer. Very conveninet and it allows you to pack less.
We stayed in a one bedroom villa, took DME so saved on the cost of a rental car, and we used wegoshop.com for grocery deliveries. We figured we saved, even with the delivery charge because the items we wanted cost less at the grocery store than in the shops on site. We had breakfast items, soda, water, beer, wine and snacks and we saved a lot of money that way.
I love the Boardwalk area and I adore the one bedroom Villas.

 

[MiknMinMouse]

The BWV are by far our favorite resort! Even though there's no food court, there are several restaurants, you can do milk & cereal in the room or just go to another resort that has what you like (it's all good . The rooms are very comfortable. I'm confused though, did you get a one bedroom or a studio? There's huge difference in the size of those two units.

 

[timandlesley]

Thanks so much everyone. Actually we're looking at the studio, the one bedrooms sound great though. I loved the pic's of the pool. When do they do those movies, so cool!!! I appreciate all of the help/feedback.

Lesley

 

[westjones]

Thanks so much everyone. Actually we're looking at the studio, the one bedrooms sound great though. I loved the pic's of the pool. When do they do those movies, so cool!!! I appreciate all of the help/feedback.

Lesley

Are you talking about the movies at the pool? I thought I remembered someone mentioning them last year, but I never saw where they had them when I was there (we were there for 1 night in June last year).

DJ

 

[mom22boys]

Make sure to check out allearsnet.com for pictures of both BWV and OKW. There are a ton of pictures there too!

 

[minijeanie]

No decision here!!

BWV all the way

Just the ambience alone is worth it

 

[RadioFanatic]

Transportation is outstanding... Boat (or walk) to MGM and Epcot, busses elsewhere. Never had an "over-crowding" problem with the bus.

Other's can help with the food. For a variety of reasons (including Wilma), we didn't eat much on the Boardwalk. DH might appreciate ESPN though, and if you could snack in your room, that could help offset the cost.

I completely disagree about the transportation - I went this past October and thought it was AWFUL! If you had to go to MK, AK, DD, a water park or another resort, the buses were HORRIBLE b/c you share them with four other resorts - so they took forever and were always full. The boat to MGM also was VERY slow. Epcot was easy unless you had to go in early for something like a tour or breakfast - then you had to pay a taxi to go to the front of epcot b/c they wouldn't let you in at the WS side.

Other than that, I loved BWV's the pools were great, the room was nice- we ate breakfast in the room and could make our own coffee, the nightlife was fun there and I would stay there again.

 

[bicker]

I scanned the thread quickly, and I didn't see anyone mention that housekeeping is not included in DVC member stays, so renters either have to pay extra or do without -- basically the only down-side as compared to regular arrangements.

 

[dreamscometrue47]

The best thing about BWV's to me is the location. And i just don't mean to Epcot and MGM. We love being able to walk over the YC/BC and the Swan/Dolphin. We did find the bus to MK and to AK slow, but i guess you can't have everything!

Even though the studios are nice, I think they are small. There is not much empty space. The kitchenette is a definite plus. I would still stay here again in a heartbeat.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I scanned the thread quickly, and I didn't see anyone mention that housekeeping is not included in DVC member stays, so renters either have to pay extra or do without -- basically the only down-side as compared to regular arrangements.

Did you ever do housekeeping the "DVC way"? I, too, thought it would be a real disadvantage not to have daily housekeeping, the main reason why we didn't join DVC for so long. Finally, in 2002, we broke down and bought DVC "in spite of not having daily mousekeeping". Surprisingly, I've come to love not having the maids in my room daily. On my last weekend stay at non-DVC, I called and requested "no mousekeeping, please." Never thought I'd say this-but it's not bad!

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

We, too, don't miss the lack of daily housekeeping. And, we love the BWV! It is our "home away from home" - and the atmosphere is perfect. I really like being connected to two parks by walking paths (there are boats, but we don't really use them except for coming back from MGM at night).