Views

[FLYNZ4]

We are going throught the process of wanting to buy our first DVC... and have a question about room views.

We have been to WDW a lot, and we know the various resorts, but we have never stayed in any of the villas. We have spent many months cumulative in the hotels.

By far our favorite hotel at WDW is the Beach Club... which would lead us to want to purchase at BCV. However, we have always stayed in a lagoon view room at the Y&BC and we are not thrilled that this type of view is not available in the villas. I would not want to be looking at the parking lot, or over the road toward Epcot... I have never had such a view from the hotel... and certainly would not want that view from our upgraded villa.

I understand that you can request a Boardwalk view at BWV... so that seems like a good choice. When I visited SSR yesterday, I thought the view of Pleasure Island was nice.

My real question is... what resort would be best to purchase if we wanted a reasonalble guarantee of a good view? Epcot is probably our favorite area... but not required. Each area has its own benefits and downsides... and my wife and I are in a circular discussion now of which area is best... and yes... I know I am not the first person to face this delema.

Thanks in advance.

/Jim

 

[DebbieB]

Boardwalk is the only resort with a guaranteed view. The others are just requests.

 

[Pa@okw95]

I never saw the view as a deciding reason for buying one DVC over the other. This is a first. At any rate the only resort offering views is BWV and some come with a different point charge. I am very sure if DVC had to do that over again they would not. At any rate at OKW where I am a member the views vary but I would say 95 % of them are excellent views, I am not talking about studios which most seem to have bad views at OKW. A lot is made of views on this site, too much in my opinion, but maybe someone else can help you more. It would seem traveling from way out in the Northwest that you would have more concerns about airfare, etc. You seem to be setting yourself up for a disappointment if you worry about views too much. I made 17 vacations to OKW and had only one bad view when I rented a GV, all I could see was trees because we were being protected from golfers by all the bushes.

 

[JimC]

Decide on whether location or contract length is more important. If contract length, buy at SSR. If location, go with the Epcot resort area you like. We like BC as well and bought at BCV because of our enjoyment of that resort and an 11 month booking window for December.

Like Pa@OKW 95, I think we tend to make too much of specific views (possibly because that is all that is left to worry about ) We had the Epcot view at BCV and enjoyed nightly fireworks from our balcony. The road was a non-issue.

We also love OKW and still consider it our favorite DVC resort.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Skip Wiley]

One of the great things about DVC is the variety offered by the different resorts and the selection of room sizes. Everyone has a different perception of the perfect DVC vacation. Some always travel with family and friends, some alone, some like a quiet home away from home, others want to be in the middle of the action. The DVC resorts have something for everyone, that’s why so many people are passionate about their home resorts.

It seems like a nice view is important to you so I would say BWV is a good choice because of the preferred view category of rooms. That’s one of the reasons we choose BWV, I like a nice view because I enjoy sitting on the balcony in the morning with my coffee and again in the evening with an adult beverage. Base your decision on what’s important to you and you’ll be happy.

Good luck!

BTW --- Our favorite view is the Savannah View at AKL, we loved watching the animals!

 

[FLYNZ4]

Boardwalk is the only resort with a guaranteed view. The others are just requests.

Debbie, This is probably my biggest question/concern overall. How well does the request system work? If I wanted a specific view at BCV (ex: no-smoking, pool view, but no parking lot view)... how certain are we to get that view we request?

Decide on whether location or contract length is more important. If contract length, buy at SSR. If location, go with the Epcot resort area you like. We like BC as well and bought at BCV because of our enjoyment of that resort and an 11 month booking window for December.

Like Pa@OKW 95, I think we tend to make too much of specific views (possibly because that is all that is left to worry about ) We had the Epcot view at BCV and enjoyed nightly fireworks from our balcony. The road was a non-issue.

JimC, We are also wondering about contract length etc... but we consider "view" to be an integral part of the "location" decision. In our 2 dozen or so trips to WDW over the years... we always chose what we considered to be the best views at each of the resosts. For example, at Poly...we would get a water front room in the building closest to the TTC (I forget the name)... for Contemporary, we would want a top floor room overlooking MK, and our absolute favorite has always been BC resort, with a direct-on view of the lagoon from the middle of the volley ball court. When you say "The road was a non-issue", is that because you could not see the road... or because the road did not bother you? For us... we would not be happy if we were looking at a parking lot, overlooking a road... or looking into the back stage area behind epcot center. I would rather be at SSR, or OKW overlooking a serene lake or garden. On the other hand... I would prefer to be at the Epcot location if the view was good. This is consistent with our hotel choices over the years.

Another question... How is the view from the VWL property? We stayed in the hotel just once, and we had a forest view, and we thought that was just fine... peaceful.

What we really want to avoid is a view of a parking lot or a road. If we can see cars from our unit, then we would probably not be very happy campers. We also have a strong preference for water views.

/Jim

 

[FLYNZ4]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
It would seem traveling from way out in the Northwest that you would have more concerns about airfare, etc. You seem to be setting yourself up for a disappointment if you worry about views too much.

On our last family trip to WDW (July'03) we flew ourselves in my small plane... but that was a "once in a lifetime" excursion when we circumnavigated the US. There are some aerial pics of WDW on my website, in the "sabbatical" portion of my vacation photos in case anyone is interested.

Usually we would fly commercial (for obvious reasons)... I was in Florida very briefly this week giving a speech in Orlando... and my wife and I visited in September (first time with no kids) for the same reason.

I am a very frequent traveller... so it doesn't cost me anything to fly (I have nearly a million FF miles banked in my account).

/Jim

 

[JUDSON]

Each DVC resort has their own 'strengths' and views are not a great BCV strength. Personally, Epcot, SAB and the maritime theming/decor outweigh the gamble that I take of getting a not-so-great view. If you check out this old post regarding BCV views, maybe you can find some views that you can live with. Good luck!!

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=257950

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by FLYNZ4
Debbie, This is probably my biggest question/concern overall. How well does the request system work? If I wanted a specific view at BCV (ex: no-smoking, pool view, but no parking lot view)... how certain are we to get that view we request?

If you want a specific view at BCV, you request it when you make your reservation. Requests are not guaranteed - it comes down to "luck of the draw". Most everyone gets at least their smoking preference no matter which resort they choose. It does seem that you have a better chance of getting your requests if you check in early in the day, but that strategy doesn't always work, either.

If you want a guaranteed view of Crescent Lake (which includes a view of the Boardwalk, Spaceship Earth and the higher level fireworks from IllumiNations), you 'll need to buy and stay at BWV. As you might suspect, the Boardwalk view rooms are limited in number and very popular. If you want one, you'll need to make your reservation as soon as the 11 month window opens to get a guaranteed Boardwalk view.

JimC, We are also wondering about contract length etc... but we consider "view" to be an integral part of the "location" decision. In our 2 dozen or so trips to WDW over the years... we always chose what we considered to be the best views at each of the resosts. For example, at Poly...we would get a water front room in the building closest to the TTC (I forget the name)... for Contemporary, we would want a top floor room overlooking MK, and our absolute favorite has always been BC resort, with a direct-on view of the lagoon from the middle of the volley ball court. When you say "The road was a non-issue", is that because you could not see the road... or because the road did not bother you? For us... we would not be happy if we were looking at a parking lot, overlooking a road... or looking into the back stage area behind epcot center. I would rather be at SSR, or OKW overlooking a serene lake or garden. On the other hand... I would prefer to be at the Epcot location if the view was good. This is consistent with our hotel choices over the years.

Another question... How is the view from the VWL property? We stayed in the hotel just once, and we had a forest view, and we thought that was just fine... peaceful.

What we really want to avoid is a view of a parking lot or a road. If we can see cars from our unit, then we would probably not be very happy campers. We also have a strong preference for water views.

/Jim

IMHO, if view is that important to you, you are not going to be happy with a DVC purchase. You will be able to see parking lots, and roadways from a lot of the rooms in all of the resorts. There are no guarantees that you will get your rquests. I personally think everything is nicely landscaped at all of the resorts and I've not had what I consider a bad view in any of my BWV stays - even though most of them overlooked the front entrance/driveway or the valet parking lot.

Simply stated, if you buy DVC, there will be trips where you will not be able to get the view you desire. If that is going to be a "trip spolier" for you, you may want to re-think DVC.

Best wishes -

 

[DebbieB]

Originally posted by FLYNZ4
Debbie, This is probably my biggest question/concern overall. How well does the request system work? If I wanted a specific view at BCV (ex: no-smoking, pool view, but no parking lot view)... how certain are we to get that view we request?
/Jim

As Carol said, it's basically luck. It used to be they assigned rooms by date of reservation so those who made their reservation first had the best chance of getting their request. Last year they went to a new system where the rooms were assigned at check-in so that those who got there early had a chance of getting into a clean room right away. In practice, members have found a combination of the systems, during busy times they sometimes do pre-assign but offer a ready room if one is available for early check-in.

I think those who can arrive early in the day have an advantage. We arrived at OKW around 8:00pm a couple weeks ago and we didn't get a good location or the first floor we requested.

 

[FLYNZ4]

So then, for a 2 week trip, it might make sense to arrive in Florida a day early (say Saturday when the points are higher)... spend that night in one of the hotels.... and check-in to the condo early on Sunday for 12 nights (avoiding the more expensive weekend nights)... and getting the better view.

Does Disney allow you to change condo's if you are not satisfied with the view? I would do it for a good view, even if I had to pay a change fee or cleaning fee.

/Jim

 

[Terry S]

Yes, you can change rooms for any reason you want, based on availability of course and you will pay a room change fee based on the size of the room. $25 - Studio, $30 - 1 Bdrm, $40 - 2 Bdrm

 

[FLYNZ4]

How high are room change fees? I would be mostly interested in 1 and 2 BR units.

/Jim

 

[Lexxiefern]

I think you might like BWV. The other preferred views include views of the main pool and quiet pool and also the canal to MGM. Of course there are a few rooms that look at the parking lot, but if you request pool view you won't see any cars.

You probably would not be happy with the standard views at BWV because they overlook the drive up area and the parking lot (but most also have a fantastic view of Illuminations).

Good luck with your decision. Our view is very important to us (we spend a lot of time in our room) and we are very happy with BWV.