lisareniff
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2003
We (Me, DH and DD’s 5 & 10) returned from our annual trip to Florida over Feb. break. Previously, the only DVC we have stayed in was BCV. This time we were doing a split say at two new resorts, VWL and BWV, 4 nights each.
Here is what we thought of our rooms and the resorts from a BCV families perspective….
VWL – Room 5549
When we checked in at 5pm, I asked if there were rooms to choose from, and was told no that we were given room 5549. I panicked slightly thinking it was the dumpster view room. The CM showed me the map and I was happy. My only request was a room on the lake side (well as non-smoking). This was our room view was… very nice!
toward the pool..
The room was toward the end of the long spooky hallway. It really wasn’t long (we will talk about long in the next resort!) but it did seem slightly eerie… The common areas of the villas were spectacular. From looking at the villa’s lobby I had mistakenly thought that the fifth floor would be at the top of the lobby's upper beams. I was a little disappointed that they had not taken the lobby up to the fifth and that area was blocked off. It did make the hallway seem more closed in.
After reading the DIS boards for years I have learned the first thing you do after looking at your view is drop everything inspect the room for cleanliness and call housekeeping immediately if there is any problems. No hair, no slime or grime. Everything was in great shape and very clean. Very impressed with the attention to detail in the housekeeping and maintenance.
It is definitely a different decor then BCV. I think the darker colors help maintain VWL appearance. The darker colors were cozier, but a couple afternoons I noticed that the lack of sun shining in the room in the late afternoon (we had wonderful morning sun) made it a little to dark for ‘being in Florida’. Most likely the other side of the building gets that afternoon sun. Another difference from BCV is the door to the second bedroom next to the TV. This was sort of a love hate thing for me. I loved having the girls feel closer to us in the living room, but with that closeness we had to be concerned about making too much noise and waking them (they didn’t like the door closed all the way). That dedicated 2 bedroom had a ton of space in the second bedroom! Also, the beds got a thumbs up from our family.
The transportation seemed good. We took the bus to MK a couple times and never had to wait too long. The boats were fun and nice way to travel. I felt it was was a good thing that I had researched the boat system before we left, to know what boats were going in what direction. We went to the HDDR one night and used the little boat getting back just in time to see the EWP. Very memorable evening. Having the trail to FW was very nice. We rented a surry bike and gave that a try. The girls thought that was a hoot.
We did no swimming while we were at VWL. The main pool was closed during our stay, which we were aware of before the trip, but it was very cold so there were no tears shed. The construction fences did detract from the feel of the courtyard and did make going to the boats a bit longer. I would like to have experienced the pool area.
The resort is beautiful and extremely well themed with well care for villas. The views of a lake and trees gives a sense of calmness. It was very hard to pack up and leave VWL after 4 nights, we really wanted to stay the whole week
. The closeness to FW, CR and MK added some great options. I do wonder if we would have the same opinion if we had stayed the whole week at VWL. Perhaps there wouldn’t have been enough activities for the girls for the week and the need to bus it to Epcot and MGM as well.
Here is what we thought of our rooms and the resorts from a BCV families perspective….
VWL – Room 5549
When we checked in at 5pm, I asked if there were rooms to choose from, and was told no that we were given room 5549. I panicked slightly thinking it was the dumpster view room. The CM showed me the map and I was happy. My only request was a room on the lake side (well as non-smoking). This was our room view was… very nice!
toward the pool..
The room was toward the end of the long spooky hallway. It really wasn’t long (we will talk about long in the next resort!) but it did seem slightly eerie… The common areas of the villas were spectacular. From looking at the villa’s lobby I had mistakenly thought that the fifth floor would be at the top of the lobby's upper beams. I was a little disappointed that they had not taken the lobby up to the fifth and that area was blocked off. It did make the hallway seem more closed in.
After reading the DIS boards for years I have learned the first thing you do after looking at your view is drop everything inspect the room for cleanliness and call housekeeping immediately if there is any problems. No hair, no slime or grime. Everything was in great shape and very clean. Very impressed with the attention to detail in the housekeeping and maintenance.
It is definitely a different decor then BCV. I think the darker colors help maintain VWL appearance. The darker colors were cozier, but a couple afternoons I noticed that the lack of sun shining in the room in the late afternoon (we had wonderful morning sun) made it a little to dark for ‘being in Florida’. Most likely the other side of the building gets that afternoon sun. Another difference from BCV is the door to the second bedroom next to the TV. This was sort of a love hate thing for me. I loved having the girls feel closer to us in the living room, but with that closeness we had to be concerned about making too much noise and waking them (they didn’t like the door closed all the way). That dedicated 2 bedroom had a ton of space in the second bedroom! Also, the beds got a thumbs up from our family.
The transportation seemed good. We took the bus to MK a couple times and never had to wait too long. The boats were fun and nice way to travel. I felt it was was a good thing that I had researched the boat system before we left, to know what boats were going in what direction. We went to the HDDR one night and used the little boat getting back just in time to see the EWP. Very memorable evening. Having the trail to FW was very nice. We rented a surry bike and gave that a try. The girls thought that was a hoot.
We did no swimming while we were at VWL. The main pool was closed during our stay, which we were aware of before the trip, but it was very cold so there were no tears shed. The construction fences did detract from the feel of the courtyard and did make going to the boats a bit longer. I would like to have experienced the pool area.
The resort is beautiful and extremely well themed with well care for villas. The views of a lake and trees gives a sense of calmness. It was very hard to pack up and leave VWL after 4 nights, we really wanted to stay the whole week
. The closeness to FW, CR and MK added some great options. I do wonder if we would have the same opinion if we had stayed the whole week at VWL. Perhaps there wouldn’t have been enough activities for the girls for the week and the need to bus it to Epcot and MGM as well.
