Trip Report BWV/VB/BCV - I've stayed at all the DVCs now!!!

[starbox]

We just got back from 8 nights in the world.

We started off with two weekend nights in the Orlando Peabody, which I Pricelined and got for 75$ a night. The hotel was phenomenal - white glove service from the moment you checked in.

Rooms had complimentary bottled water each day, NY Times delivery every morning, plush robes, sumptuous beds, turn-down service, real fuzzy bathmats, little duck-shaped soaps, flat screen TV's in the room AND the bathroom! And, of course, the famous Peabody ducks.

Our room was on the 24th floor and we had a view that allowed us to see all of the fireworks at all Disney parks. All in all, it was quite the experience.

The Friday we checked in, we played mini-golf at Winterland/Summerland - which is quickly becoming our check-in day tradition.

We planned to eat at DTD, but the lines were crazy at Wolfgang Pucks, so we went to SSR for my favorite CS offering at Disney - the chicken/artichoke flatbread. When I was paying, the CM saw my DDE card and informed me that the DDE is still honored at AP
SSR was beautiful at night and after we walked around, we took the ferry boat back to DTD.

Saturday we went to the MK in the morning and surprise! We won Dream Fastpasses!!!!! This was our only big MK day this trip - so it was awesome to be able to have the super fastpasses!!!

The only downside to this day was that we ate lunch at the Wave and it was nasty.

Sunday morning we checked into Boardwalk around 9am. Our room was not ready, so we took the boat to DHS for the day. We got there at 10am and went straight to TSM to get fastpasses - and they were for 6pm! Crowds did not seem bad at all though. We ate lunch at Mama Melroses and had a great experience - the food was excellent and, with DDE, our lunch bill was around 45$. We also had a GREAT server. As we were leaving I asked the hostess to let the manager know that we had gotten great service and she gave me a little triplicate form to fill out with my good comment - she said the server would get a copy, the manager got a copy, and the third copy would enter the server in a drawing for prizes. I did not know they did this - but I'll be sure to go out of my way to comment about great CMs from now on!

Around 2pm, our Boradwalk view room was ready - so we headed home to swim. We were in room 2005, directly above the DVC preview rooms. It was a great location for us because it was very close to the back stairway.

Here's where we had our first little annoyance with BWV. DH called for bell services to deliver the bags and it took over an HOUR to get them. After 30 minutes, he called again. After an hour, I asked him to go down and just try to get them himself and in the hallway - he ran into our luggage - being put in a another room!!

The room looked to be clean enough and in decent condition - until I went to put our toiletries away and found a big wad of dirty towels under the sink. It looked like maybe someone had puked in them. I sort of kicked them to the door so that I did not have to touch them and we called mousekeeping to pick them up. Luckily, travel with Lysol so I sprayed under the sink and wiped it down with Clorox wipes.

We spent a few hours in the pool and I was able to get a lounge chair facing the pool. They were doing pool games, which DD9 loves.

We ate dinner that night at the Flying Fish and it was excellent. The best overall signature dining experience I've had.

DD won a little stuffed dog on the Boardwalk and it was one of the highlights of her trip!!

Overall we enjoyed the stay very much. This was our second time at the Boardwalk and we loved it last year. During an afternoon storm, the kids used the community hall this trip and gave it a glowing review. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed the time alone.

All in all though, the Boardwalk just seems to be poorly managed at the current moment. The quality of service seems to be slipping and the resort does not seem as well-maintained as it should be. The carpet in the hallways is really, really, really worn and stained/dirty and the balconies need a good pressure cleaning and paint-job. And I still can't understand the tiny little TVs and lack of DVD players. Perhaps they are understaffed - but I think a strong manager would be on top of keeping his or her resort looking and running the way it should be.

Still - not much can compare with a view like this from your window:

 

[bgraham34]

Nice report, thanks and I am glad you had a great time.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

There nothng like vacation! We'll the title says, " I've stayed at them all", So, what are your favorites?

 

[DVCSAMNH]

/
The room looked to be clean enough and in decent condition - until I went to put our toiletries away and found a big wad of dirty towels under the sink. It looked like maybe someone had puked in them. I sort of kicked them to the door so that I did not have to touch them and we called mousekeeping to pick them up. Luckily, travel with Lysol so I sprayed under the sink and wiped it down with Clorox wipes. /

Oh, yuck!
I know I'm one of those crazy people that is just getting old and always has to work off a list these days, but it really is obvious that DVC mousekeeping does not work off a checklist or this stuff just wouldn't happen. Basic stuff is just not being done. I can't recall ever going into a hotel room, including fifteen or more at Disney, and finding stuff under the sink.

Sorry to hear about the Wave. I think we were all hoping for a great new restaurant. Maybe they will improve with time.

I also think it is time for the BWVs to get a much needed interior update. I don't know if they have to spend sooo much on the exterior of that complex that they let interior updates go longer or there are just so many guests in there that it justs gets beat up on.

Thanks for the info.

 

[starbox]

There nothng like vacation! We'll the title says, " I've stayed at them all", So, what are your favorites?

We were very impressed by BCV (that part of the TR is still to come). I'd say AKV/BCV/SSR are my favorites onsite - VB is my favorite overall.

 

[starbox]

We arrived at Vero around 11am Tuesday morning. Our room was not ready, so we headed to Shutters for lunch. I thought lunch was actually a very good deal (especially with DDE). Our server was very attentive and we were pleased.

I had the kids wear their swimsuits under their clothes so they could swim until our room was ready - a great idea but mother nature did not comply. About 15 minutes after they were in the pool, a pop-up thunderstorm closed the pool. We were wet, cold, and homeless for about an hour. DS and DD played cards on the porch while I read Twilight (I ended up devouring all three of these books on vacation - oh.my.goodness - one of the most fun reading experiences I've had in a looong time - DH had to go find a bookstore in Vero Thursday morning to buy me a copy of Eclipse............GO TEAM EDWARD!!!!!!!!!!!)

Finally, our room was ready. We had an OVIR and ended up with one of the L-shaped rooms on the 2nd floor - which means we had a considerably larger room but no ocean-facing balcony. Here was our ocean view:

After the storm, we walked along the beach and let the kids swim a bit. We found tons of cool shells and seaglass - and DH found a small piece of blue patterned china that the CMs said they were pretty sure came from the 1817 (?) shipwreck. They suggested that we take it to the Mclarty museum for authentication, but we did not make it this trip.

Dinner that night was at Squid Lips!!!!

Praline Tilapia:

Drunken Sweet Potato

We got back to the resort in time for the Dive-in Movie.

It was a great first day!!!!!!!!

 

[bcvdreamer]

Starbox,

I love your trip report and the pictures. I'm glad you had a nice vacation. I can't wait to hear about what you have to say about your stay at BCV.

 

[Starr W.]

Hey Starbox,


My DH had the Praline Tilapia at Squid Lips, I about fell off my chair as he is not a "fish" person. He really liked it.

 

[SLM]

We love VB also-I think it's a nice change from the parks. And did you know the final book(the Stephanie Myer's series)comes out August 2? I work in a school library and it's funny how many mothers tell me they picked up the book before their daughters read them because they were concerned with the vampire theme and THEY ended up loving the books and reading all of them!

 

[starbox]

We love VB also-I think it's a nice change from the parks. And did you know the final book(the Stephanie Myer's series)comes out August 2? I work in a school library and it's funny how many mothers tell me they picked up the book before their daughters read them because they were concerned with the vampire theme and THEY ended up loving the books and reading all of them!

My (adult) friends and I are going to a big midnight release party! I teach high school English, so I read them to see what all the fuss was about and loved them!!

 

[starbox]

The second day we woke up and had the character breakfast at Shutters. Our late summer trip is always a partial birthday celebration for my DS - whose early August birthday falls right around the first day of school. With a teacher-mommy, he never gets a big celebration on his actual birthday. This year, the character breakfast was our time to celebrate his birthday (Donald is his favorite character). I thought the breakfast was as good as any character breakfast at Disney. We had good service, and the manager was checking to make sure all was well. The characters were great and took their time with each family.

All you-can-eat family-style breakfast:

Birthday Cake:

After breakfast, it was time to hit the beach!!! It was very overcast, which made it easy to spend the morning on the beach - the sun came out around 2pm - and WOW! It was so much hotter!!!

At 2pm, DD9 attended the Fishing FUNdamentals program. She absolutely loved it, impressing everyone by catching a THREE POUND bass!! - plus she got to keep a real fishing rod (not a little Mickey kiddie rod).

Back at the beach, DH was busy building one of his incredible sandcastles (I got him a sand castle-building kit before our last trip). It's fun to watch his creations emerge. DS spent the entire day in the surf and I pretty much read my book.

Dinner was pizza at Nino's Cafe (delicious as usual). When we got back to the room, a little pixie dust was waiting. DS had a signed birthday card from Goofy and Max and a stuffed pirate Donald waiting for him! When we turned on the TV, there was a birthday message on the screen.

Another great day!!

 

[starbox]

Thursday, we woke up DD (who is not a morning person) at 7am so that she could attend the Turtle Troop. It was so totally worth her waking up for! The kids got to go on the beach and watch a nest of hatchlings as they made their way to the ocean. DD says it was incredible. She brought back a packet of information and activities and a certificate of "adoption" for one of the turtles (she even got to name it). I HIGHLY recommend this activity - I only wish we had gone with her. It's early in the morning for vacation - but what an amazing experience.

By the time we all made it on to the beach, it appeared the DH's sandcastle building ways the day before had inspired a whole bunch of daddies to build castles! There were about five or six impressive castles underway, including a neat pyramid. DH still has the coolest castles though....

I had a chance to meet a fellow Diser and chair swapper, Harley Mouse.

At the pool, they were setting up a new cool little station near the community hall that will sell beach essentials, snacks, sunscreen, and etc. right next to the pool - what a GREAT idea!

DS went to participate in the mini-golf tournament but got hurt when another kid swung their club and hit him in the head. CM Hank was absolutely great with him, and they got him ice and really made sure he was okay. It did not take him long to be back to the water and having a great time.

We stayed at the resort and ate at the Green Cabin Room. It was so hard to leave the next morning My only consolation is that DH says we can relocate to Vero/Sebastian when the kids graduate from high school. I can make it here for nine years.... right?

 

[starbox]

I'm going to preface this report by saying that I have been prejudiced against the BCV. I have buffet-a-phobia so Cape May is not on my list of places to try - and the idea of a crowded sand-bottom pool creeped me out. How could you clean sand? So I made reservations to stay there one night at the end of the trip, just so I could say I've stayed everywhere.

Well - as further proof that theories about the DVCs you think you will or won't like are often wrong - I ended up loving BCV and I can't wait to go back for a longer stay when we are able to get in at 7 months or with a waitlist. It's actually my favorite non-home resort.

First of all - there was great service the moment you entered. A CM met us at the door and escorted us to check-in. Once we checked in (our room was ready at 10am), the CM at registration called over bell services to take our bags to our room. The grounds were beautiful and in lovely repair - late at night when we returned from EMH, there was a small army of workers touching up paint and cleaning.

I was extremely impressed with the quality of the villas - the common sitting areas were beautiful and elegant.

Our room was very clean and we had a message from the manager on the phone checking to see that everything was okay. I loved the style of furnishings and colors (I expected more yellow - which I can't stand - based on photos I'd seen)

I will say that the carpet in the villa is clearly due to be replaced - it was very stained, but we had one of the new sleeper sofas. We were on the first floor and had a pretty view of greenery and paths. I have a feeling that higher floors probably could see road, but I really liked the ground-level view.

Turns out, I loved the pool. The sand is not actual sand (as we realized when DH tried to build a castle). It's some sort of imagineered sand-like substance that's more like a fine goldfish-bowl gravel that clearly gets filtered. My kids are old enough that I did not have to worry about them or watch them all the time - and I could tell them that they could not put their head underwater in the shallow zero depth baby-area (where all the ducks, diaper-age kiddies, and very warm water did not seem safe for my ear-infection prone DD) and they obeyed. They had lots of pool games and the life guards seemed "fun" if that makes sense. We spent, literally, seven hours in the pool Friday. DH and I agreed that it was completely relaxing, but that we would have been stressed out trying to watch the kids a couple of years ago - but with almost 10 and 12 year olds, it was perfect!

We ate at Beaches and Cream:

- The burgers were fine and the kids loved the jukebox - but let's face it - it's all about the desserts:

No way Jose!

All in all, it was a fabulous stay at a fabulous resort. I can understand the BCV love now.

 

[LIFERBABE]

AWESOME Report Starbox!!

Thanks for sharing your vacation and photos with us. I sent family to SSR and VB a few years back. They really enjoyed SSR but were completely blown away by VB. They are not big Disney fans and VB was perfect for them.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Wow.... Awesome is right. Great report. That BWV rainbow photo is beautiful. We haven't been to BWV in a few years and hadn't realized how bad it had gotten. SAB is definitely a cool pool. We stayed there years back, but it was too crowded to wait for the slide. Did any of you do the slide? What a great vacation. I typically prefer to stay in one location, but you really make a case for us to try some splits. Thanks for sharing... did you share that ice cream?

 

[starbox]

SAB is definitely a cool pool. We stayed there years back, but it was too crowded to wait for the slide. Did any of you do the slide? What a great vacation. I typically prefer to stay in one location, but you really make a case for us to try some splits. Thanks for sharing... did you share that ice cream?

Believe it or not, I am the biggest pool slide fan in the family. This is the one way I feel like DVC spoiled my kids - they just think pool slides are no big deal. I grew up in a day and age where a pool slide was an actual slide on the side of a pool - and they were such a big deal! They still make me happy

I actually did not like the slide at SAB very much because you have to lie down and I prefer sitting up so I can see where I'm going - but it's impressive. My favorite thing about a pool is having the ability to sit and read in the water - so the shallow sand pool was my favorite part of SAB - plus there are these underwater bench-type areas in the big pool.

As for split stays, we've gotten to the point (okay, I've gotten to the point) where I just feel sad if I go all the way to WDW and don't get to go to Vero - so we have to do split stays.

As for the dessert - yup, I shared. But just two of us ate the whole thing! It was delicious.

 

[Coach81]

Thanks for the report and pics. We are planning on staying at the BWV next summer. Got a quick question for you. Are the multiple bus stops a big problem when staying at BWV?

 

[LIFERBABE]

BCV was the reason we purchased DVC

Then we stayed at SSR and Dh and the boys love it there the most. I love the views of SSR, and I love SAB and Beaches n Cream at BCV. I will say this about them, they sustain a lot of wear and tear, but they really do try to keep the place up.

Not once have I gone and the staff of BCV have not been doing maintenance or trying to improve in some way. They are not apathetic and the addition of the recreation staff has really, dare I say, "enhanced" the experience

Did you catch the movie on the beach?

We stayed in June and our 2 bed lockoff and I think that room would have had to be taken out of service to get the syrup smell out of it, but we had a great stay. I dont stay for the views, I think they are pretty terrible, with the road and all, but like you, we can stay at the pool alllllll day!

And No Way Jose's are my Fave!!!

 

[starbox]

Thanks for the report and pics. We are planning on staying at the BWV next summer. Got a quick question for you. Are the multiple bus stops a big problem when staying at BWV?

Well - I have to admit that I am not a fan of the multiple bus stops, so we planned to only do Epcot and DHS when we were at BWV this time around. We actually had such bad bus service on our last trip to OKW that I did not want to get on a Disney bus at all this trip.

But honestly, the bus to the MK is not that bad, it only stops at the Swan - but it seems like the bus to AK stops just about everywhere. I'd drive to AK if you possibly can.

 

[sckelly]

Great Report!