VWL Groupies...yes, we love the Lodge, a lot!!

[horselover]

That's a tough one Di! We actually had some BCV points and I sold them and bought some BWV after realizing that we would get BCV reservations and then decide to stay somewhere else. My experience has been the opposite of some here and our BCV (and my BC side) rooms have been very tired. I even requested to get switched on the BC side last Jan because the room had too many "remnants" of the previous occupants. We've never had that type of issue at BWV, our rooms have always been in far better shape and any maintenance issues have been responded to very well. ie - a drippy tub faucet that they replaced the entire valve on in hours and an oven that had gotten locked during the cleaning cycle and required a super secret multi button push to reset. They came out to my 9pm call and we were ready to go by 9:40. But the big selling point - they have air hockey at the Community hall. The Market at BCV made some significant changes a couple of years ago that we were disappointed in and I had a couple more food issues at YC/BC this past winter - things that just make you go yuck. We actually prefer the location of BWV - nice walk to both Epcot and DHS while BCV is best for walking to Epcot and then probably the boat to DHS although we've walked too.

So - we do still like BC - just had to respond to the BWV dissing. (JK HL! ) Although what I posted above has been our experience - better rooms - and oddly better service although that's contrary to the usual reports - I swear after Art retired at BC the smiles left everyone's faces there. Eventually you ought to try them both and see what appeals to you because every resort is going have issues along the way. I'll be at BCV for a couple of nights in a couple of weeks.



1) I just keep worrying that I'm going to feel like a dog with a chip in my neck, or in this instance on my wrist. But with what? Over a Billion invested? - it's not going away soon anyway.

2) NOOOOOOOOOO! Cali Grill has remained a consistent good restaurant for us.

Dining at Disney........we have our favorite QS locations and mostly skip the so called Signature restaurants.

Hey I said I knew people would disagree with me! Everyone will give their opinion based on their own personal experiences. I have yet to stay at BWV where I didn't have some kind of issue & those issues were not resolved quickly. A have a couple friends that have stayed recently that have had the same issues so I don't think it's just me. On the other hand I see the reports of people having maintenance issues at BCV & commenting that the rooms are looking worn. That just hasn't been my experience. I also spend the majority of my time at Epcot so that short walk is a bonus to me.

Do they still have the air hockey table? I could have sworn that had been removed the last time I stayed there.

Good luck Di with your decision! I think it just comes down to personal preference which resort appeals to you more.

Re: Cali Grill. We went there for Christmas Eve dinner 2 years ago. I was not impressed. It was way over priced then. DS14 hated the flat bread pizza he got & sent it back. My tenderloin was bad & I had to send it back. Service was slow & it wasn't really that crowded. We don't plan to return & now that you're saying it's even more expensive that just reinforces our choice to not go back.

There are very few restaurants that are must dos for us anymore. We still like Kona. Gave up on Le Cellier when they switched to an all day menu. We used to go for lunch. No burger = no patronage from us. Many of the places that are now must dos are for breakfast. Kouzzina & Olivias have great breakfasts & real bacon! Love Kona for breakfast too but they serve that crappy limp bacon. My solution is get the ham slice instead. We plan to eat more & more dinners in the room.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Do they still have the air hockey table? I could have sworn that had been removed the last time I stayed there.

There was a period where they were in between the air hockey tables. I don't know if their old one died but they did get one from AK I believe when they replaced one in their arcade. We didn't get to play that trip because they didn't get the paddles sent over (we volunteered to pick them up but they declined the offer. ) But they had a working table again in May!

Yikes on those Cali Grill prices Sleepydog!

 

[horselover]

There was a period where they were in between the air hockey tables. I don't know if their old one died but they did get one from AK I believe when they replaced one in their arcade. We didn't get to play that trip because they didn't get the paddles sent over (we volunteered to pick them up but they declined the offer. ) But they had a working table again in May!

Yikes on those Cali Grill prices Sleepydog!

They were between tables. They should have taken you up on that offer!

 

[Muushka]

...snip

Dining at Disney........we have our favorite QS locations and mostly skip the so called Signature restaurants.

You know, you are right. I think the QS restaurants are better.

7 months from now should be swimming weather. We're staying at the BCV before heading to VB before our WBPC which is 7 months from TODAY!

I stayed at BWV this past April...lovely stay, not one problem, standard view, less points. Still, for next April, SAB here we come!

We have not had noise problems at BWV.

WooHoo Bobbi. 7 months from today, boarding the Wonder for the Panama Canal!
(Unless we re-book for fall of 2015.....I digress.....)

but they serve that crappy limp bacon.

Tag Fairy, where art thou???

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

They were between tables. They should have taken you up on that offer!

It was a tension filled time!

Tag Fairy, where art thou???

 

[horselover]

Tag Fairy, where art thou???

I guess that does sound kind of funny. It's true though!

 

[Granny]

OT: Since I value the opinion of the Groupies so much, if you had the choice to stay at Boardwalk vs Beach Club which would it be? Our 7 mo window opens tomorrow. We've never stayed at either. I always thought I'd like to stay at Beach Club but having been reading recently about how noisy it is. Thoughts?

Di...Jumping in late, but here's another vote for BWV over BCV. You really can't go wrong, but we do like BWV location better as the walk to DHS is significantly shorter and EPCOT is still an easy stroll as well. We are not SAB fans so the pool aspect doesn't draw us to BCV as it does for so many.

I just looked it up and we have stayed at BWV four times now. No issues worth mentioning for either cleanliness or maintenance. We only have stayed at BCV once and I don't think we'll be returning. It's a nice resort, but if we are staying in that area we'll most likely be choosing BWV. Also nice to book Standard View and save some points!

horselover...I can see where I'd get sour on a resort if I ran into issues on every trip. So far we've been really lucky and had no major issues with any of our DVC stays other than yucky views or challenging locations. But those are going to happen at any resort.

 

[DiznyDi]

Thank you all for your opinions! DDad and I appreciate your insight and willingness to share your experiences. I did try for Beach Club today - alas the first day of our stay was not available, so I have to call back tomorrow. I'll let you know how I make out. I really think we would be happy at either place. We've not stayed at an Epcot resort since our children were very young; Yacht Club was not fully completed and Boardwalk was still a speck in some Imagineers eye. Probably somewhere around 1990.

Julie - love the limp bacon - and so very true. You need a half dozen slices just to let your belly know thats what you've eaten. (see you soon!)

 

[jimmytammy]

horselover
Though we agree to disagree on resort choices, agree wholeheartily on your choice of Kona! We love the place, been many trips since visiting Le Cellier, and will be awhile longer until the crazy prices drop, but felt the food was subpar well before the price increase.

DDP...GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DiznyDi]

OK Groupies, our May stay is now booked as a standard view 1 bedroom at Boardwalk. BCV's studio wasn't available for the entire stay. I did have multiple choices at Boardwalk. I chose the standard view so I wouldn't have to take too many of my VWL points to complete the reservation. DDad and I generally prefer to stay in a 1 bdrm. I WAS going to conserve a few points by staying in a studio for this trip - our Aulani holiday really took a bite out of our points for this year. So my attempt to conserve a few points and keep the room size that we like was compromised as the standard view. Whew - glad that's done! And I still have sufficient points to cover our December stay at our beloved Lodge.

DDad and I completely agree with Kona - this is always on our dining reservations list. Though we prefer dinner to lunch. We also agree with Le Cellier. We probably haven't been there since 2008 and really have no desire to return any time soon.

1 more sleep!

 

[jimmytammy]

OK Groupies, our May stay is now booked as a standard view 1 bedroom at Boardwalk. BCV's studio wasn't available for the entire stay. I did have multiple choices at Boardwalk. I chose the standard view so I wouldn't have to take too many of my VWL points to complete the reservation. DDad and I generally prefer to stay in a 1 bdrm. I WAS going to conserve a few points by staying in a studio for this trip - our Aulani holiday really took a bite out of our points for this year. So my attempt to conserve a few points and keep the room size that we like was compromised as the standard view. Whew - glad that's done! And I still have sufficient points to cover our December stay at our beloved Lodge.

DDad and I completely agree with Kona - this is always on our dining reservations list. Though we prefer dinner to lunch. We also agree with Le Cellier. We probably haven't been there since 2008 and really have no desire to return any time soon.

1 more sleep!

Hey Di
This is a FYI based on great info that Granny shared with us before our 1st stay at BWV. Granny shared that if you want access to HS by a quick walk, yet be not much further walk to Epcot, ask for near the tennis courts. This puts you close to parking lot, not to far from bus stop, etc. We really liked this area, it was quite, and conv. to most everything. Granted you are somewhat removed from the BW area(restaurants, etc.)but generally conv. to most all things.

 

[horselover]

Thank you all for your opinions! DDad and I appreciate your insight and willingness to share your experiences. I did try for Beach Club today - alas the first day of our stay was not available, so I have to call back tomorrow. I'll let you know how I make out. I really think we would be happy at either place. We've not stayed at an Epcot resort since our children were very young; Yacht Club was not fully completed and Boardwalk was still a speck in some Imagineers eye. Probably somewhere around 1990.

Julie - love the limp bacon - and so very true. You need a half dozen slices just to let your belly know thats what you've eaten. (see you soon!)

So true! Congratulations on booking a standard view! Nice point savings.

Safe travels & see you in a week!

Hey Di
This is a FYI based on great info that Granny shared with us before our 1st stay at BWV. Granny shared that if you want access to HS by a quick walk, yet be not much further walk to Epcot, ask for near the tennis courts. This puts you close to parking lot, not to far from bus stop, etc. We really liked this area, it was quite, and conv. to most everything. Granted you are somewhat removed from the BW area(restaurants, etc.)but generally conv. to most all things.

At last something we agree on! When we've stayed standard view I always ask for end of the hall. No one asks for that so we've always gotten our request. Love that back door exit for quick access to the car. Sometimes you get a nice view of TOT from there too.

BTW I'm not offended that you all prefer BWV to BCV. Something for everyone!

Have a good weekend groupies!

 

[jimmytammy]

Happy Birthday Stopher!!!!

 

[jimmytammy]

Happy Anniversary to a great couple wfc4life and sechem32!!!!And a great couple of friends too!!

 

[jimmytammy]

So true! Congratulations on booking a standard view! Nice point savings.

Safe travels & see you in a week!



At last something we agree on! When we've stayed standard view I always ask for end of the hall. No one asks for that so we've always gotten our request. Love that back door exit for quick access to the car. Sometimes you get a nice view of TOT from there too.

BTW I'm not offended that you all prefer BWV to BCV. Something for everyone!

Have a good weekend groupies!

We liked that end of hall because of closeness to parking, but being in HS in 10 min walk was big plus. We could beat the boat even when it passed us by

 

[sleepydog25]

Congrats to the birthdayer Stopher and also to the happy couple! It was great to meet you guys those months ago.

 

[rusafee1183]

Morning all Long time no "see"!

I took a little time off from the Dis the past few weeks. I guess I just wasn't feeling super chatty. Nothing much going on here, besides annoying crap I don't want to get into anyway.

My trip planning bug has bitten again, and I have been planning like a crazy person for our April WDW trip! I planned which parks we will be at on which days, and I am making our ADR's theis week! We decided on Via Napoli and O'hana. Two of our fav's! We wanted to do Kona for breakfast also, but with us staying at the BWV and taking Disney's transportation... I think it would be a pain and we would miss too much early morning/less crowded park time.

We are planning a trip next Dec, at the Lodge (fingers crossed! ) - so we'll plan that meal for that trip!

We're also headed up to New Hampshire next weekend to visit Bob's sister. I think I just saw someone post someting about the white mountains, and we are trying to drive through and see the foliage there also! I have a day trip planned to Downtown Boston, and a day trip to Salem. We are doing a walking tour while we are there. I'm so excited! It's just the perfect time of year to be there.

 

[Kathymford]

Hi Groupies!! I really do miss checking in with you all, that silly job of mine. Don't they know I have priorities??! Ha.

I just booked my May 2014 trip and I haven't even gone on our Dec trip yet. That was a first for me, but I guess that means I'm getting the hang of this DVC thing!! Lol

Anyhow. Just wanted to pop in and say hello!!!

 

[cahedberg]

Which base or post? I'm retired AF.

Ft Leavenworth

 

[mvndvm]

Di...Jumping in late, but here's another vote for BWV over BCV. You really can't go wrong, but we do like BWV location better as the walk to DHS is significantly shorter and EPCOT is still an easy stroll as well. We are not SAB fans so the pool aspect doesn't draw us to BCV as it does for so many. I just looked it up and we have stayed at BWV four times now. No issues worth mentioning for either cleanliness or maintenance. We only have stayed at BCV once and I don't think we'll be returning. It's a nice resort, but if we are staying in that area we'll most likely be choosing BWV. Also nice to book Standard View and save some points! horselover...I can see where I'd get sour on a resort if I ran into issues on every trip. So far we've been really lucky and had no major issues with any of our DVC stays other than yucky views or challenging locations. But those are going to happen at any resort.

Sorry for asking, but what is SAB?