Rash
Gosh, it sure is swell in here.
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2001
- Messages
- 1,155
I will try to summarize some key areas from our recent stay at BWV.
Room/Hotel: We arrived at BWV at 9:30 am after spending one night at POFQ. Our room was ready (!). I had only requested non-handicap, non-smoking, and both requests were met. We were in room 3002 - the very last room at the end of the hall, right next to the entrance to The Attic Lounge. The room was in excellent condition. Other than a blown light bulb, it was clean and undamaged. It may have recently been refurbished, that's how new it looked. Our balcony faced and had a fantastic view of Swan/Dolphin. The down side was that we were directly above the construction area where the old administrative building used to be - I believe they are putting in a polo field (?). There was a bulldozer and a small crane in the area, so I was concerned about the noise level, especially in the mornings. Luckily, they didn't start work until 8 am each morning, and we were up by then anyway. We did nap in the afternoons, but I honestly didn't notice much noise with the door to the balcony closed. The only noise we couldn't help hearing was the very loud THUD from the garbage truck at 6 am each morning, and the occasional service truck/scooter going by on the path just outside the construction area. Overall, the construction view and noise was a minor distraction, and worth it for the fantastic view we had. My almost 5 YO DD got a kick out of waving to the people on the Disney boats as they went by - someone always waved back.
Cast Members/Customer Service: In a word - fantastic. We do not expect magic from CM's - just courteous, professional treatment. We received much more than that. Just about every CM went out of their way to be extra friendly and helpful. We were so impressed with the level of care we received at check-in that we made sure to relay our feelings to the manager. The park CM's were just as impressive. For example - when we arrived at MGM for a PS at Mama Melrose during the tail end of the parade, we asked a CM at the front of the park if they knew an alternate route to the restaurant since we couldn't walk through the parade. Instead of giving us directions, he said "follow me" and actually walked us there, conversing with us he entire time. Just wonderful service. Every waiter/waitress at every restaurant was attentive and pleasant, some extraordinarily so. Again, we went there with neutral expectations, and we came back very pleased. The high level of genuinely friendly, helpful customer service definitely added to our overall experience - a very nice bonus to our trip.
Parks/Crowds: Crowds at the parks were surprisingly heavy. We were there Sat. Feb 5 to Fri. Feb 11. We caught the Super Bowl crowd and apparently a cheerleading convention. Even so, I didn't expect 60 minute waits on many rides in February, even as early as 10 am and as late as 1/2 hour before park closing. We didn't mind really, since we know we'll be back (the beauty of DVC) and thus our park touring is much more relaxed now and less commando style (we actually slept in on most days!). Still, I was surprised at the crowd level, as it was comparable to May or early June (when we usually go). We weren't sure if we still needed to do the Fantasmic Dinner Package in February - thank god we did! As far as park condition, I thought all of parks were in great shape - no obvious areas of neglect. Then again, we don't go out of our way to look for minor imperfections, so it would have to be an obvious area of degradation for us to notice it. Still, we didn't, so that's a good thing.
Extra Magic Hour: We did this once in the evening at MK on Wed 2/9 after a pool day. Holy cow - it was packed! Every ride in FantasyLand and TomorrowLand was jammed - 45-60 waits all the way to 9:30 when we left. We fastpassed Peter Pan, did Micky's Philharmagic, Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan and left. It was significantly more crowded than during the normal park hours. We'll skip it next time.
Restaurants/Character Meals: (Ratings: P-Poor, F-Fair, G-Good, E-Excellent, Outstanding-O). I will be glad to expand on any of these reviews if anyone is interested.
Mama Melrose (Dinner): Food - G, Service - E, Atmosphere - G
Crystal Palace (Pooh Character Dinner): Food - G, Service - O, Atmosphere - E)
Restaurant Akershus (Princess Storybook Breakfast): Food - G, Service - E, Atmosphere - E)
Le Cellier Steakhouse (Dinner): Food - G, Service - E, Atmosphere - G
Spoodles (Breakfast): Food - G, Service - G, Atmosphere - G
Overall, we had a wonderful, relaxing time. This trip really made us appreciate DVC more than ever. We slept in, took naps, toured the parks at a leisurely pace, took a pool day, and in general just fully enjoyed our family time without stress or crankiness. It's such a blessing to know that we don't have to kill ourselves trying to do everything. I know that's been said many times, but this time we really FELT it. The down time in the room, the pool day, the walks on the boardwalk - those moments are more precious to me than the parks could ever be. This was the best quality time we've spent as a family in a long time.
I must add that we LOVED BWV. We own at BCV, but I am seriously considering adding-on or just outright selling my BCV points and buying a resale BWV. My DD loved the pool, as much as SAB, and it is easier to keep track of them at the Luna Pool than SAB. And we just love the atmosphere, the theming, the boardwalk - all of it. I do love Beach Club, but I think I favor BWV! (My wife disagrees).
Can't wait to go back!
One last thing we spent our last three nights at Portofino Bay Resort at Universal. Fantastic service and accomodations. Weve stayed at Hard Rock Hotel several times before, and while the hotel itself was great, the service in general was fair to poor. Not so at Portofino. In general, the service level at the Universal parks and hotel were almost as good as Disney. Theyve really stepped it up a notch. And the Spiderman Character Breakfast was awesome great character interaction, and food quality one notch higher than Disney.
Room/Hotel: We arrived at BWV at 9:30 am after spending one night at POFQ. Our room was ready (!). I had only requested non-handicap, non-smoking, and both requests were met. We were in room 3002 - the very last room at the end of the hall, right next to the entrance to The Attic Lounge. The room was in excellent condition. Other than a blown light bulb, it was clean and undamaged. It may have recently been refurbished, that's how new it looked. Our balcony faced and had a fantastic view of Swan/Dolphin. The down side was that we were directly above the construction area where the old administrative building used to be - I believe they are putting in a polo field (?). There was a bulldozer and a small crane in the area, so I was concerned about the noise level, especially in the mornings. Luckily, they didn't start work until 8 am each morning, and we were up by then anyway. We did nap in the afternoons, but I honestly didn't notice much noise with the door to the balcony closed. The only noise we couldn't help hearing was the very loud THUD from the garbage truck at 6 am each morning, and the occasional service truck/scooter going by on the path just outside the construction area. Overall, the construction view and noise was a minor distraction, and worth it for the fantastic view we had. My almost 5 YO DD got a kick out of waving to the people on the Disney boats as they went by - someone always waved back.
Cast Members/Customer Service: In a word - fantastic. We do not expect magic from CM's - just courteous, professional treatment. We received much more than that. Just about every CM went out of their way to be extra friendly and helpful. We were so impressed with the level of care we received at check-in that we made sure to relay our feelings to the manager. The park CM's were just as impressive. For example - when we arrived at MGM for a PS at Mama Melrose during the tail end of the parade, we asked a CM at the front of the park if they knew an alternate route to the restaurant since we couldn't walk through the parade. Instead of giving us directions, he said "follow me" and actually walked us there, conversing with us he entire time. Just wonderful service. Every waiter/waitress at every restaurant was attentive and pleasant, some extraordinarily so. Again, we went there with neutral expectations, and we came back very pleased. The high level of genuinely friendly, helpful customer service definitely added to our overall experience - a very nice bonus to our trip.
Parks/Crowds: Crowds at the parks were surprisingly heavy. We were there Sat. Feb 5 to Fri. Feb 11. We caught the Super Bowl crowd and apparently a cheerleading convention. Even so, I didn't expect 60 minute waits on many rides in February, even as early as 10 am and as late as 1/2 hour before park closing. We didn't mind really, since we know we'll be back (the beauty of DVC) and thus our park touring is much more relaxed now and less commando style (we actually slept in on most days!). Still, I was surprised at the crowd level, as it was comparable to May or early June (when we usually go). We weren't sure if we still needed to do the Fantasmic Dinner Package in February - thank god we did! As far as park condition, I thought all of parks were in great shape - no obvious areas of neglect. Then again, we don't go out of our way to look for minor imperfections, so it would have to be an obvious area of degradation for us to notice it. Still, we didn't, so that's a good thing.
Extra Magic Hour: We did this once in the evening at MK on Wed 2/9 after a pool day. Holy cow - it was packed! Every ride in FantasyLand and TomorrowLand was jammed - 45-60 waits all the way to 9:30 when we left. We fastpassed Peter Pan, did Micky's Philharmagic, Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan and left. It was significantly more crowded than during the normal park hours. We'll skip it next time.
Restaurants/Character Meals: (Ratings: P-Poor, F-Fair, G-Good, E-Excellent, Outstanding-O). I will be glad to expand on any of these reviews if anyone is interested.
Mama Melrose (Dinner): Food - G, Service - E, Atmosphere - G
Crystal Palace (Pooh Character Dinner): Food - G, Service - O, Atmosphere - E)
Restaurant Akershus (Princess Storybook Breakfast): Food - G, Service - E, Atmosphere - E)
Le Cellier Steakhouse (Dinner): Food - G, Service - E, Atmosphere - G
Spoodles (Breakfast): Food - G, Service - G, Atmosphere - G
Overall, we had a wonderful, relaxing time. This trip really made us appreciate DVC more than ever. We slept in, took naps, toured the parks at a leisurely pace, took a pool day, and in general just fully enjoyed our family time without stress or crankiness. It's such a blessing to know that we don't have to kill ourselves trying to do everything. I know that's been said many times, but this time we really FELT it. The down time in the room, the pool day, the walks on the boardwalk - those moments are more precious to me than the parks could ever be. This was the best quality time we've spent as a family in a long time.
I must add that we LOVED BWV. We own at BCV, but I am seriously considering adding-on or just outright selling my BCV points and buying a resale BWV. My DD loved the pool, as much as SAB, and it is easier to keep track of them at the Luna Pool than SAB. And we just love the atmosphere, the theming, the boardwalk - all of it. I do love Beach Club, but I think I favor BWV! (My wife disagrees).
Can't wait to go back!
One last thing we spent our last three nights at Portofino Bay Resort at Universal. Fantastic service and accomodations. Weve stayed at Hard Rock Hotel several times before, and while the hotel itself was great, the service in general was fair to poor. Not so at Portofino. In general, the service level at the Universal parks and hotel were almost as good as Disney. Theyve really stepped it up a notch. And the Spiderman Character Breakfast was awesome great character interaction, and food quality one notch higher than Disney.
