Boardwalk, old key west or Beach Club for July 4, 2010

After stayed in Wilderness villa last time, I want to stay on-site. I was able to pull all three resorts for the July 4 week but don't know which one to pick
The old key west and Boardwalk is a 1 bedroom unit and Beach Club is a studio.
We have two adults and two kids.
I am interested to know your comments on location, room finishing/size, and on-site amenities (we may not want to rent a car).

Thanks in advance!

A studio is a glorified hotel room. Not worth it even for that pool.

The 1BRs at BWV are a little small. If your kids are also small, that could work. If they're older, the larger units at OKW might be worthwhile. The BWV location is within walking distance to Epcot and Studios, which is a nice plus.

If you want to stay on site, then the best choice is Boardwalk. You don't want to have a studio for 4 people. And OKW, though larger, doesn't feel "on site" since it is off by itself, similiar to Wilderness. The location of Boardwalk just can't be beat. You can literally walk to EPCOT in about 5minutes, or take a boat there or to Hollywood Studios. You can walk to Hollywood Studios too, but it is a longer hike and not what I would do in the heat and humidity of the summer there.

Plus you have all the boardwalk activities and entertainment for the evenings. Love that location.

BC only worth it for the pools

you can look at allears.net and see photos of the pool at BC. If you are spending A LOT of time at those pools, then it might be worth it. Otherwise, BW is pretty much the same location as BC, plus it has a Community Hall (activities, games, crafts, PS2, etc.) which is great for kids 3-14 or so to drop in. BC uses BW Community Hall--you have to walk over. A 1 BR will offer you full kitchen (food is $$ at WDW), W/D, and privacy----assuming you are trading a week (vs. points), I would pick a 1 Br over a studio every time.
I also vote for BW over OKW (have stayed at both). OKW has more space, but is more condo feeling (it is spread out--not compact and connected to a resort like VWL), vs. the "fancier" resort feel of BW (which is also connected to the BW resort--central lobby, interior hallways)--and you can't walk to anything from OKW. BW also has a decent pool with large rollercoaster slide and a quiet pool/hottub right next to the Community Hall.
Also, all OKW entrances are from the outside, like a condo---you park outside your door--some (my Mom) love this--and most buildings do not have elevators. Since you are going in July and it could be thunderstorms--realize you might have to walk up 1-2 flights of outside slippery stars to get to you room in the rain. Elaine (ps--despite above comments, we chose OKW for this Spring---we wanted to drive up and liked the layout of the kitchen/living area better for having family dinners--cooking in a lot that trip).

Many thanks for all the suggestions.

Boardwalk sounds like a choice to pick. How small is the one bedroom unit? I know OKW is about 900+sf.... I read some reviews about furnishing updating. Has anyone been to the renovated unit in either Boardwalk or Old key west?

We stayed at OKW last year. Unless it has been renovated, I would cross it off my list completely. It was very rundown. Now, if it has been renovated, different story, as the layout was perfect for us and our two young children. It is off the path a bit though. Personally, I enjoyed most the Fort Wilderness campgrounds. I loved being able to get on the boat to go to magic kingdom. The busses are a bit of a drag after awhile (though better than driving and parking yourself).

hsintang said:

Many thanks for all the suggestions.

Boardwalk sounds like a choice to pick. How small is the one bedroom unit? I know OKW is about 900+sf.... I read some reviews about furnishing updating. Has anyone been to the renovated unit in either Boardwalk or Old key west?

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Well, I've not stayed at OKW, since I own at SSR. We did stay at Boardwalk villas this January. We were in a 5th floor Boardwalk view room(2br lock-off). The soft goods were all new, appliances were not.

I've read all the whining about BWV on DIS, but felt the room was in much better condition than the 2br we had at BCV the year before. Was pleasantly surprised.

Kids really liked the Luna Park pool(this is the one with the Clown slide).

Since I always believe with DVC "bigger is better", I'd go with the 1br at BWV.

hsintang said:

Many thanks for all the suggestions.

Boardwalk sounds like a choice to pick. How small is the one bedroom unit? I know OKW is about 900+sf.... I read some reviews about furnishing updating. Has anyone been to the renovated unit in either Boardwalk or Old key west?

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BWV one bedrooms are about 700 sq ft. plus a bit. Here are the details:
http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/resorts/boardwalk-villas/guest-room-inventory

And here are OKW's:
http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/resorts/old-key-west/guest-room-inventory

We were in an "older" OKW 2BR last February. The dishwasher needed to be replaced, the fridge had a few rust spots on one side, and the carpet had a few stains, but the unit was in adequate repair overall.

Just confirmed a 1 bedroom unit in Boardwalk check in on July 4. I am excited now

Thank you very much...

Hsin

hsintang said:

Just confirmed a 1 bedroom unit in Boardwalk check in on July 4. I am excited now

Thank you very much...

Hsin

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Good Choice!:whoopie:

bnoble said:

BWV one bedrooms are about 700 sq ft. plus a bit. Here are the details:
http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/resorts/boardwalk-villas/guest-room-inventory

And here are OKW's:
http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/resorts/old-key-west/guest-room-inventory

We were in an "older" OKW 2BR last February. The dishwasher needed to be replaced, the fridge had a few rust spots on one side, and the carpet had a few stains, but the unit was in adequate repair overall.

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Sounds awful. Why didn't you complain? I haven't been in a unit like that. Maybe because I'm an owner there but the villas should all be in good repair.

icydog said:

Sounds awful. Why didn't you complain? I haven't been in a unit like that. Maybe because I'm an owner there but the villas should all be in good repair.

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Icy, don't you read some of the "OMG you should have seen the condition of my OKW villa" or the "What building should I request at OKW so I get a rehab-ed room"? on DIS.

It goes in spurts, OKW or BWV, geez I've even heard griping about conditions at Jambo-AKV rooms already.

I really think DVC pushes way past the need to rehab date. I stayed at Marriott's Summit Watch last summer and they had the schedule up for those rehabs. To be honest the room didn't look like it needed it at all. But I guess that's the point, not let them get too run down looking.

I have read them.. I think that owners should not accept a room that is in bad shape. I wouldn't. I think exchangers get the bottom of the barrel and by rights they should. But for DVC owners they should complain.

We stayed at the BWV on our last stay. We exchanged in. The unit needed to be rehabbed but it was clean and we had the dining plan so we didn't care that the burners were falling off. If I had been using my points I would have been much more picky. Of course at the BWV, there are NO rehabbed rooms so you are pretty much stuck. That's why I never use my points there.

Why didn't you complain?

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We let them know about the dishwasher---the top rack needed to be replaced, and was nearly unusable. That didn't get fixed while we were there, and I don't expect it will until those buildings are up in the rotation. The carpet they already knew about---Mousekeeping had spot-cleaned the stained areas just before we checked in (they were all quite wet) but the stain didn't come up. This certainly won't be fixed before these buildings go under the knife. The rust stains were just that---no functional problem, and again, not going to go anywhere until the appliances are replaced.

But, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't awful. Except for the dishwasher, everything was cosmetic. Still a perfectly fine stay, as always.

OKW is large enough that it seems as though every time we are there there is some cluster or another walled off for refurbishment. I do think that the refurb cycle is not as frequent as it could be, but short of changing that, nothing is going to get done. Making it more frequent will, of course, increase dues. I'd imagine not all Members would welcome such a change, though I personally prefer to pay a little more for better quality.

icydog said:

I have read them.. I think that owners should not accept a room that is in bad shape. I wouldn't. I think exchangers get the bottom of the barrel and by rights they should. But for DVC owners they should complain.

We stayed at the BWV on our last stay. We exchanged in. The unit needed to be rehabbed but it was clean and we had the dining plan so we didn't care that the burners were falling off. If I had been using my points I would have been much more picky. Of course at the BWV, there are NO rehabbed rooms so you are pretty much stuck. That's why I never use my points there.

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Our unit in January, at BWV had new soft furnishings. The appliances have to be the originals. No way you could have gotten a pot to sit on those burners.

at BWV now

we are in 2 BR lockoff - totally redone. all new appliances, fresh paint, gorgeous tile in bathroom. they are still revamping but we got lucky

csudell said:

we are in 2 BR lockoff - totally redone. all new appliances, fresh paint, gorgeous tile in bathroom. they are still revamping but we got lucky

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We are at Animal Kingdom now and wish we were at the Boardwalk. AKV is very nice but feels "far away" and being able to walk to everywhere from Boardwalk is easier for us with our strollers. Will do trip report later.

pfrank4127 said:

We are at Animal Kingdom now and wish we were at the Boardwalk. AKV is very nice but feels "far away" and being able to walk to everywhere from Boardwalk is easier for us with our strollers. Will do trip report later.

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We were at Disney a few weeks ago and we went over and looked around at the new Animal Kingdom villas addition. You are right - it is far away and removed from everything but the Animal Kingdom park. And if you're at the end of the building at Kidani, you've got quite a hike to get to the main lodge. Personally, I'd rather stay at Old Key West or Saratoga before Animal Kingdom lodge because I like being close to restaurants and Downtown Disney and not so "removed" from everything.

littlestar said:

We were at Disney a few weeks ago and we went over and looked around at the new Animal Kingdom villas addition. You are right - it is far away and removed from everything but the Animal Kingdom park. And if you're at the end of the building at Kidani, you've got quite a hike to get to the main lodge. Personally, I'd rather stay at Old Key West or Saratoga before Animal Kingdom lodge because I like being close to restaurants and Downtown Disney and not so "removed" from everything.

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Plus as my eldest mentioned, you still need the bus to get to AK. No walking to a park or DTD. AKV is pretty low on our list of DVC resorts to try.

Twinkstarr said:

Plus as my eldest mentioned, you still need the bus to get to AK. No walking to a park or DTD. AKV is pretty low on our list of DVC resorts to try.

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Yep. It's actually my last choice of onsite DVC resorts to stay at. The theming is really unique, but I just don't like being that removed. I also think they made a mistake by not having a restaurant for Kidani. We walked forever in the hallways at Kidani. We joked that the hallways made BWV standard view by the tennis courts look like a short stroll.

My favorite Epcot resort is Beach Club Villas. I love being able to stroll over the hill right into the back of the World Showcase at Epcot. And I like SSR for easy access to Downtown Disney. Of course, OKW has those nice large rooms (square footage that you don't get with the new DVC's unless you have a grand villa). Once OKW is rennovated, we may end up booking 1 bedrooms there simply because of the large units, the points are low, and it's a short boat or bus ride to Downtown Disney.

littlestar said:

Yep. It's actually my last choice of onsite DVC resorts to stay at. The theming is really unique, but I just don't like being that removed. I also think they made a mistake by not having a restaurant for Kidani. We walked forever in the hallways at Kidani. We joked that the hallways made BWV standard view by the tennis courts look like a short stroll.

My favorite Epcot resort is Beach Club Villas. I love being able to stroll over the hill right into the back of the World Showcase at Epcot. And I like SSR for easy access to Downtown Disney. Of course, OKW has those nice large rooms (square footage that you don't get with the new DVC's unless you have a grand villa). Once OKW is rennovated, we may end up booking 1 bedrooms there simply because of the large units, the points are low, and it's a short boat or bus ride to Downtown Disney.

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Having the BW view room at BWV really swung BWV to my fave Epcot resort. Even though I did get stuck in the elevator there. :hysterical:

I was at VWL on my 2nd stay in October, while I love the theming it feels cut off to me. Though the boat ride back from the Contemporary was nice(had dinner at The Wave and tried to recon BLT, but you need a room key to get anywhere near it).

I was somewhat kicking myself that I should have probably taken the BWV studio and suffered the long halls(it was preferred view)! or stayed at SSR(skipped that because I'd be back in a month for T-giving).

I really like some of the food options at DTD, Wolfgang Puck's Express and Earl of Sandwich for a quick bite. Plus we always book Raglan Rd or House of Blues for T-giving dinner. Much easier to walk over and back.