Booked Again - New Questions

[TEK224]

Been home less than a week from my 1st trip "home" and i just made ressies to go back. Have a 2BR @ SSR for Oct. 1-6. I have several questions that I forgot to look into when I was there (too much Goofy Challenge on the brain:tongue: )

Hope somebody can help.

1. Do they have wheelchairs available at the DVC resorts? I know I can rent one for the week, but when I stayed at WL last year, they had a wheelchair in a section near the check-in desk. They gave it to my Mom and told us to return it upon check-out.

2. I'm gonna try to waitlist for either BWV or BCV :fingerscr . Would like to stay in BW area for F & W. plus we love going to JellyRolls. Which do you think will be better (but I'll take whichever i can get)? Does one have bigger rooms over the other?

3. I'm taking my Mom and inviting my 2 sisters, an aunt and cousin (I know, I know - this inviting people could be trouble:blech: ) But they haven't accepted yet, so we'll see. How far in advance do I need to book the Dining plan, if we want to get that? Will I be able to cancel the DP if we end up cancelling the ressies for any reason?

Thanks! I'm sure I'll think of a gazillion more questions between now and October!

I think I need more points! :)

Terri

[tjkraz]

1. Do they have wheelchairs available at the DVC resorts? I know I can rent one for the week, but when I stayed at WL last year, they had a wheelchair in a section near the check-in desk. They gave it to my Mom and told us to return it upon check-out.

The DVC resorts have the same setup. I've heard that they are first-come, first-served, but I can't believe the resort would simply leave someone unable to get around if they happened to have a rush on wheelchairs over a particular period.

2. I'm gonna try to waitlist for either BWV or BCV :fingerscr . Would like to stay in BW area for F & W. plus we love going to JellyRolls. Which do you think will be better (but I'll take whichever i can get)? Does one have bigger rooms over the other?

To the naked eye, BCV, BWV, VWL and SSR are all virtually identical in floorplan.

BWV is pretty much right in the middle of Epcot and MGM. It's about 15-20 minutes to either park on foot. BCV is like 5 minutes from Epcot, but a good 25 min walk from MGM. Both resorts have boat service to both parks, but it can be very slow.

At risk of offending the BCV fans, I think the single biggest draw to that resort is the large pool complex. Stormalong Bay is basically a mini waterpark.

One other advantage that BCV has is that the resort has 25 dedicated Two Bedroom villas which have two queen-size beds. All of the other 2Bs at BCV have a queen bed plus a sofabed in the second bedroom, as do ALL of the 2Bs at the BoardWalk. But these 2Bs with two queen beds are guaranteed at the time of the reservation. Booking at 11 months for October I think the odds of you being able to get one are slim.

Given your love for Jellyrolls, the fact that BWV is more centrally located and the plain fact that BWV has twice as many rooms as BCV, I think BWV is your best bet.

3. I'm taking my Mom and inviting my 2 sisters, an aunt and cousin (I know, I know - this inviting people could be trouble:blech: ) But they haven't accepted yet, so we'll see. How far in advance do I need to book the Dining plan, if we want to get that? Will I be able to cancel the DP if we end up cancelling the ressies for any reason?

DVC hasn't set a timeline for how far in advance the dining plan has to be added. In fact, you don't even pay for it until you arrive. I'm guessing that you could call 48 hours before arrival and add DDP to your reservation. Given that there is no pre-payment, I'm sure you can cancel the plan before arrival with no penalty.

I think I need more points! :)

Join the club! I'm no longer sure if it's a blessing or a curse that our Guide didn't try to sell us more points than we initially wanted. :)

[jaysue]

"At risk of offending the BCV fans, I think the single biggest draw to that resort is the large pool complex. Stormalong Bay is basically a mini waterpark."

No offense here - that is the exact big reason to own BCV over BWV IMO (and I do own BCV) - secondary reason is reasonable access to car parking area

cheers
jaysue

[TEK224]

Thanks Tim.

I've seen SAB. While I would love it, I don't think it would really matter to those in my party for this trip. The 2 queen beds in the 2nd BR would be preferred, however. Guess I'll just take my chances.

Terri

[tjkraz]

...secondary reason is reasonable access to car parking area


Amen to that. I still need to call and add my "close to parking lot" request to my upcoming BWV reservation. ;)

[tjkraz]

I've seen SAB. While I would love it, I don't think it would really matter to those in my party for this trip. The 2 queen beds in the 2nd BR would be preferred, however. Guess I'll just take my chances.


That's kinda what I thought. You could always waitlist for one of those rooms...maybe it will come through before your trip. But I doubt one will be available when you first call.

A couple other pros for BWV:

1. The Standard View point class. If you call right at 7 months, there's an outside chance you could get one of these rooms and save a few points. IMO, the "Standard View" really isn't anything to be feared. Most of these rooms line the entrance drive to the resort, which I don't view as sub-standard. BCV has worse views than that.

2. The guaranteed BoardWalk view. Again, slim chances outside of 7 months, but you could give it a shot and waitlist if you wish. If you're booked into this class, you are guaranteed a room that overlooks the BoardWalk. Despite its location, none of the rooms at the Beach Club Villas overlook Crescent Lake. At BCV, the most picturesque view you could get would be a back-door look at Epcot. Unfortunately I don't think there are more than a couple dozen rooms with this elite view on the 4th or 5th floor. You could also get a room overlooking the quiet pool or a wooded area.

[jaysue]

This link will help on BCV

http://www.parkinfo2go.com/dvc-bcv/

One thing to note - the count that they show on the Dedicated 2BR is not correct

thanks
jaysue

[jaysue]

That's kinda what I thought. You could always waitlist for one of those rooms...maybe it will come through before your trip. But I doubt one will be available when you first call.

A couple other pros for BWV:

1. The Standard View point class. If you call right at 7 months, there's an outside chance you could get one of these rooms and save a few points. IMO, the "Standard View" really isn't anything to be feared. Most of these rooms line the entrance drive to the resort, which I don't view as sub-standard. BCV has worse views than that.

2. The guaranteed BoardWalk view. Again, slim chances outside of 7 months, but you could give it a shot and waitlist if you wish. If you're booked into this class, you are guaranteed a room that overlooks the BoardWalk. Despite its location, none of the rooms at the Beach Club Villas overlook Crescent Lake. At BCV, the most picturesque view you could get would be a back-door look at Epcot. Unfortunately I don't think there are more than a couple dozen rooms with this elite view on the 4th or 5th floor. You could also get a room overlooking the quiet pool or a wooded area.


I am not sure which BCV rooms you think have a worse view then the BWV standard - for me, I would not be keen on having the rooms that overlook the courtyard between BCV and the Beach Club and the entrance to the Beach Club - especially the ground floor ones that have that not so great screening in front of them

Cheers
jaysue

[TEK224]

What is the point differential of a guaranteed BW view in a 2BR? I didn't see that listed separately on the points chart.

Terri

[tjkraz]

The "Preferred View" chart applies to both the "Preferred Boardwalk View" and the "Preferred Garden/Pool View."

Up until about 3 years ago, DVC would only take reservations for a Preferred View room, and guests would not know until arrival whether they were getting a room overlooking the BoardWalk or a room elsewhere in the resort. Back then, the BW view was merely a request.

Given that only about 25% of the PV rooms overlook the BW, this lead to a lot of nasty front desk confrontations as requests for BW view rooms far outnumbered the actual rooms available. DVC took steps to make the BW view a guarantee, but the point requirements are the same for both "Preferred View" classifications.

[tjkraz]

This link will help on BCV...


With permission, we've linked to the BCV floorplans right on MouseOwners.com. Thumbnails and links can be found here:

http://www.mouseowners.com/BCVResortMap.html

As for the questions on the room locations at BCV, I think I'm just generally disappointed with the location of the entire wing. During our one stay there we actually had a great 5th floor view of Epcot. But if we had been 3-4 floors lower, we would have been right next to the main road that provides all traffic access to the BC/YC/Swan/Dolphin. When we stay there again, I'll probably request a quiet pool view. That pool area is very nice and almost certain to be quieter than the other side of the resort (assuming the pool doesn't get any nasty late-night visitors.)

[jaysue]

With permission, we've linked to the BCV floorplans right on MouseOwners.com. Thumbnails and links can be found here:

http://www.mouseowners.com/BCVResortMap.html

As for the questions on the room locations at BCV, I think I'm just generally disappointed with the location of the entire wing. During our one stay there we actually had a great 5th floor view of Epcot. But if we had been 3-4 floors lower, we would have been right next to the main road that provides all traffic access to the BC/YC/Swan/Dolphin. When we stay there again, I'll probably request a quiet pool view. That pool area is very nice and almost certain to be quieter than the other side of the resort (assuming the pool doesn't get any nasty late-night visitors.)

Ah said the wise man - yes, that Epcot Resorts Blvd view from the lower floors especially towards the even X40's to X52 are not the best - the quiet pool is usually pretty tame and should be a safe choice

cheers
jaysue

[jaysue]

The "Preferred View" chart applies to both the "Preferred Boardwalk View" and the "Preferred Garden/Pool View."

Up until about 3 years ago, DVC would only take reservations for a Preferred View room, and guests would not know until arrival whether they were getting a room overlooking the BoardWalk or a room elsewhere in the resort. Back then, the BW view was merely a request.

Given that only about 25% of the PV rooms overlook the BW, this lead to a lot of nasty front desk confrontations as requests for BW view rooms far outnumbered the actual rooms available. DVC took steps to make the BW view a guarantee, but the point requirements are the same for both "Preferred View" classifications.

And the above decision by DVC led to much angst among certain BCV owners who wanted "Epcot View" as a separate category and certain VWL owners who wanted "Lake View" as a separate category and of course SSR owners could argue for a "Downtown Disney View" category - thankfully they stopped after placing Boardwalk View into its own category

cheers
jaysue