Just back! Saw both Beach Club & Wilderness... Here's our take....

[chris1gill]

We are owners at BW & OKW, but for four nights we stayed at Coronado (pretty nice, but the lake area was SO quiet)...

Anyways take our opinions with a grain of salt, they are only our opinion.... We love Boardwalk & like OKW, but we took the opportunity to go over to VWL... walking down the hall our son said the place was Creepy... I tended to agree with him, it was very dark & somewhat drab... I guess I don't like the very dark wood they used...

They did something screwy to the bathroom as well... in the bathroom there is now a wall between the shower & toilet, but they still use the same entrance door... I can't figure that out... why they did it... it makes the bathroom feel SO much smaller!!! The dark wood throughout & the odd color schemes didn't appeal to me, and now I have a 12 night stay planned for December & I want to reserve back at the Boardwalk... unfortunately that probably won't happen.... I'll make the best of our December reservation, but we probably won't stay there after that....

I'm really disappointed I feel this way, because I love the Wilderness Lodge itself!! I was hoping I'd love the Villa's, and I guess I just don't.... Darn!!!


About the Beach Club, we drove over since we were having lunch at Beaches & Cream... The place looks HUGE! I was really surprised at it's length!! I definitely didn't expect such a large building since it's a small DVC resort! But it is big & coming along! The one thing that bothered us about BC, is that NONE of the rooms have any sort of good view... The front of the building looks out over the parking lot, and the back of the villa's looks directly over the road, although if you look up, you can see the Epcot ball.... I don't know how they are going to charge Preferred view rates for this resort! Location is wonderful... but the views :-(

 

[Beth]

Chris1gill.

Are you referring to the cofiguration of the bathroom in the <i>studio,</i>? Because I've stayed there twice, now, in a 2BR - and I can't recall what you're describing...

 

[chris1gill]

No, we walked through the 1 bedroom model & there is now a door between the toilet & the shower.... The tub still remains in a separate room off the master bedroom.... The studio model was set up very similarly as the Boardwalk... If you go back to WL again, check out their model, you'll see what I'm talking about! I wonder if they have the units all set up the same way? I know there's one studio that doesn't have a balcony for instance, so maybe not all the bathrooms are set up the same way?

 

[Beth]

Hmm.. I just don't remember it that way.

I remember the toilet, sink, and shower all in one big room, up against the same wall, with the sink in the middle.

We just walked through the model on Sunday (had taken my in-laws over), but I guess I didn't pay that much attention, since I had stayed there before.

Anyone else know?

 

[jel0511]

Are you talking about the pocket door between the toilet and the sink area? We stayed in a one bedroom and we had a pocket door on the toilet area, not a regular door. WE actually liked this set up since it gave someone some privacy if they wanted to use the facilities, but didn't close off any of the bathroom at all.

 

[chris1gill]

THAT'S the door I'm talking about!! I know they were trying to go for the privacy thing, but it doesn't make a lot of sense to us... If someone is taking a shower, they get no privacy, because you have to go through the shower area to get to the toilet... Likewise if you are in the toilet area, I'm not sure if that door has a lock or not? If not, you'd still lock the doors anyways... I just felt it made the shower/bathroom area very dark & somewhat cramped, when compared to the BW setup...

 

[bunnymkc]

We (6 of us,4 adults and 2 kids) stayed at the VWL last Dec on cash and we all loved it there and BWV is our favorite!! we stayed right close to the main bldg, walked to roaring forks a lot, ate at AP, took the boat to MK, never used a bus and loved the pool at the villas...we love BWV the best but we had a great time at the VWL...don't worry you will love it there...ask about the tour they give free used to have 2 I think they only have 1 now and the CM are so great there...have a great trip...Marianne PS the bathroom worked out great and we all had so much room....

 

[mickey7861]

We stayed at VWL in July and it was great. I'm sure you'll find it lives up to your expectations ( at least I hope it will). We loved VWL. The themeing is wonderful. Yes the colors, hunter green and rust, are dark but they give the units a warm rich feeling of being cozy. I loved the leaves carved in the doors and the trees carved in the chairs. I've been to BWV and OKW also but VWL is my favorite. I loved having the 3 levels of restaurants available there and watching the EWP from the beach at night. FYI the pocket door does lock and with 2 teenagers it's a handy option. One using the toilet, one applying makeup at the sink and mom drying her hair in the master bath area.

 

[PamOKW]

I agree that you may find you like VWL better when you are actually staying there. That's what happened to me when I stayed at BWV. I didn't think I cared that much for the way the rooms looked but once actually "there" I loved it.

 

[janiejo]

Chris, we own at BWV but stayed last Nov/Dec at WL. The villas were being previewed to DVC members so we took the tour. I personally felt that I would enjoy staying at VWL - especially in the winter. The Christmas decorations were amazing - more of a "homey" feel to them than some of the other resorts. When we were there, it was unusually cold and I especially enjoyed filling my refillable mug with hot cocoa and marshmallows and sitting by the fireplaces. If you're expecting to be disappointed, I think you are in for a BIG surprise! I know you will have a great time!

 

[Candace]

We were in a 1 BR last weekend at WLV. The bath area where the toilet/shower are did not have the pocket door of which you speak. We were in 5533, which was a perfect location. I own at OKW and BWV, but I absolutely loved WLV! It was just DH and I this trip, and we loved the quiet atmosphere. The only drawback was not being able to park outside the resort, like at OKW. I would love to do an add-on, but I just did one at HHI, and I am "points poor"! Don't worry about your December trip - you will love it!

 

[brittsmum1998]

DD is 3 and we stayed at VWL in May. Unfortunately, she didn't like the look of the lodge either. She was scared. Didn't like the darkness or the music they played. She kept saying she wanted to go back to the boardwalk. She was really spooked and this was her third trip to WDW. Needless to say for the next few years at least our trips will be to the Boardwalk and Beach Club.

 

[Luv2Dream]

We were also there in May for our first trip as DVCers and VWL is our home. We loved it. We also didn't have this pocket door in the bathroom but it didn't matter because there are only 3 of us and one of us is only 4! My DD loved VWL, never mentioned the look of the hotel or the music, but she loved the animal visits from Fort Wilderness, and the beach, and the pools and the boat to MK. I hope you enjoy your stay, even if the decor isn't quite your taste. I find it very soothing after a long day at the parks.