Almost all of the villas at VWL have views of the woods, there are only a few rooms that have a glimpse of the lake. Since VWL is a DVC resort, the rooms get blocked and assigned differently than a WDW hotel. The rooms are printed out in the order in which the reservation was made, with ALL reservations being made by DVC members printing out first, with all cash ressies thorough CRO printing out last. Unforunately, as a cash customer you probably have little or no chance getting any request other than non-smoking. All the rooms at the Villas are beautiful and you'll enjoy your stay there!!!!