VWL Refurb Info

[Deb & Bill]

It's like when they turned OKW into Old Beach Club. Sad, really sad.

 

[Msmithmd]

I still for the life of me can't grasp why they decided to make studio sleep five while 1BR sleeps four...just makes no sense.

 

[dunnhorn]

We loved the OKW renovations.



As for this - I can see "boring" but really - the green cabinets had to go. The plaid had to go. I think the rug is a bit too light - it will get dirty quickly. I also think that solid color sofas in a high rental situation are fraught with peril as you can see EVERYTHING. But still - like this. I hope they come to their senses and add the other sleeper to the television unit so that families of 4 with a boy and a girl can stay in 1 bedrooms when their kids are too old to sleep together.

 

[dunnhorn]

I still for the life of me can't grasp why they decided to make studio sleep five while 1BR sleeps four...just makes no sense.

Totally agree. My only "guess" is that they started with the studios, and either they were over budget and ran out of money or they had an issue getting this from the supplier. Or, perhaps they thought that doing this with the studios will make them easier to rent for cash....

they need to do this with the 1 bedrooms

 

[LisaS]

I just posted this to the groupie thread. I am almost literally sick.....

Just found this on DVC News. I think I'm about ready to cry - it looks a lot like BWV. Now I like BWV but not at VWL! And an area carpet that I could buy at Home Depot. Did the decorator not understand the theme?! WL just received awards in good part because if it's refurb which is very cute. And we get this. Generic blah.

I agree, "generic blah" and not in keeping with the theme at VWL. They have taken away everything that made the rooms there so charming. In the case of the studio with that bizarre new table, I agree with the PP who suggested it looked like something you would find in a camper, not a "deluxe" resort room.

We purchased VWL because we like heavily themed resorts. I loved the rustic look and the hunter green and dark red and the plaid curtains. Either the decorator doesn't get the theme or maybe there was a sale on boring paint colors and bland furnishings. They have changed nearly everything I loved about the rooms at VWL.

It's a worrying trend: first they replaced the unique dinnerware with plain white and now the furnishings are going to generic colors too. Pretty soon you will wake up in a DVC resort and not know where you are because they will all look the same and any unique theming will have been removed.

 

[DreamerWDW]

Pretty soon you will wake up in a DVC resort and not know where you are because they will all look the same and any unique theming will have been removed.

I agree with this. What a horrible thought to think that things could end up like that.

The room looks so blah and boring.

The table is BEYOND ridiculous.

The room is so crowed.

This is so sad to me. The VWL is my favorite resort and very special to me. I'm almost sick over this.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I agree, "generic blah" and not in keeping with the theme at VWL. They have taken away everything that made the rooms there so charming. In the case of the studio with that bizarre new table, I agree with the PP who suggested it looked like something you would find in a camper, not a "deluxe" resort room.

We purchased VWL because we like heavily themed resorts. I loved the rustic look and the hunter green and dark red and the plaid curtains. Either the decorator doesn't get the theme or maybe there was a sale on boring paint colors and bland furnishings. They have changed nearly everything I loved about the rooms at VWL.

It's a worrying trend: first they replaced the unique dinnerware with plain white and now the furnishings are going to generic colors too. Pretty soon you will wake up in a DVC resort and not know where you are because they will all look the same and any unique theming will have been removed.

I so agree with you, Lisa. They've taken all the theming out of the villas and turned them into blah. I also loved the dark greens and plaids. It felt woodsy. Now it just feels like I've walked into a K-Mart.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I like it. The big draw of VWL for me is the location and the overall serene, secluded feel of the resort.

I'm totally regretting the sale of our DVC contract (VWL was our home resort).

Honestly, the sleeping situation was one of the biggest factors in our decision to sell. My kids won't sleep together, so DH or I always wind up sharing the darn sofa bed with one of them ... the only place we could stay and not share a bed with a kicking child was at OKW or AKL in a one bedroom. We don't spend a ton of time in our room and prefer the point savings of studios (but love the kitchenette). So, we decided to sell our DVC and just stay in "regular" rooms where we can at least all sleep on "regular" beds (love the bunk bed rooms at AKL and WL). But with this addition ... my kids wouldn't have to share a bed and DH and I could take the "real" bed.

I'm already hoping to rent points for a Christmas stay in a studio at VWL ... way better than a regular room at the lodge now IMO.

 

[Granny]

We purchased VWL because we like heavily themed resorts. I loved the rustic look and the hunter green and dark red and the plaid curtains. Either the decorator doesn't get the theme or maybe there was a sale on boring paint colors and bland furnishings. They have changed nearly everything I loved about the rooms at VWL.

It's a worrying trend: first they replaced the unique dinnerware with plain white and now the furnishings are going to generic colors too. Pretty soon you will wake up in a DVC resort and not know where you are because they will all look the same and any unique theming will have been removed.

Lisa...I am holding off final judgement until we can see the rooms for ourselves, but my first impression was exactly the same as yours. We love the heavy theming of WL/VWL and they seem to have moved away from that.

When you see how much effort and attention to detail went into some of the recent DVC resorts such as AKV Kidani and VGF, you wonder why they would take a step backwards in terms of uniqueness and theming.


As I said on the VWL Groupies thread, I think Disney finally caved in to the comments (like we've seen for years on these boards) that VWL is "too dark" and "too woodsy". I guess they feel that they can attract a larger pool of cash guests if they make the decor lighter.

Of course, those of us who like dark and woodsy are out of luck. I guess they know we probably aren't going to sell based on this or book fewer stays there. When you have a captive audience like DVC members, you really don't have to worry a whole lot about what the members want to see.

 

[DVC Jen]

I am not a fan of the generic colors and decor now. BUT I am very happy about the addition of the Murphy bed. We are a family of four adults and my two young adult daughters did not like to have to sleep together on that pull out couch. Our youngest DD is a dancer and is TINY - she will fit on the Murphy. This is a plus for us. We like staying in studios so we can vacation longer instead of larger rooms and a shorter stay.

 

[TagsMissy]

Granted -- we had never stayed at VWL before, we do have a stay booked June and I really do like the fresher look of the villas. In saying that, I do agree perhaps a bedrunner is needed to tie in the theme a bit more and the table does seem odd but I get what they were attempting to do.

I'll fully hold back judgement until we see the place ourselves but overall I'm liking the studios, at least. I did think the old decor was a bit dated myself. Did they perhaps go a bit too far in the other direction? I'll give that opinion once I see it in a few months.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We will be staying in a Studio at VWL in May which is also our first stay there (have stayed at the lodge many times but this will be our first stay in the Villas) and like the PP, I am going to wait to pass judgement until after we return. However, after looking at the pictures of the newer room and seeing pictures of what the rooms used to look like, I am a bit bummed by it. I really liked the woodsy look/dark wood of the previous room hence that is why we wanted to try out VWL in the first place. I also agree with the PP that said that if they could put a bed runner or even some throw pillows with the WL theme, I would be much happier. As it stands now, the bed looks so drab and plain, however I am really excited about the murphy bed. My girls are not fans of the pull out beds in the studios, however with the murphy bed they could switch off sleeping in it each night. DH and I viewed the VGF models back in October and we really thought the murphy bed was a neat touch to the studio.

 

[crabbie1]

Having only owned for two years and only staying once I liked the rustic old look but found the studio very dark. This However was part of the charm which attracted me to buy as my home resort. I think the renovation is nice and again having the Murphy bed is great. There are 4 of us and with a teenage girl and an 8 year old there was no way they would sleep together . As we don't spend much time in the room and enjoy the pool and rest of the resort when we are not at the parks, it's not a huge issue. We stayed in a one bedroom at BLT last time for 6 nights with 8 at WLV in a studio and we all preferred the WLV stay. We cannot all agree on our likes and dislikes but overall we have found the accommodation in the US a higher standard than the UK. Even the values . Having stayed at pop, cbr, por,okw, ssr, BLT ,aklv and WLV theming definitely WLV but rooms and decor would have to be AKLV. We had a one bedroom in kidani and a studio and both were great. Having had to cancel our Christmas trip at the lodge we are looking forward to our May trip in 2015. Two years without a trip. I will be so ecstatic by then.
Looking forward to more updates . I do agree that an extra sleeper chair should go in the one bedroom. Does not make sense to have a larger unit that sleeps 4

 

[Deb & Bill]

... I do agree that an extra sleeper chair should go in the one bedroom. Does not make sense to have a larger unit that sleeps 4

There isn't the room needed for the sleeper chair in BCV, BWV, SSR or VWL living rooms unless they change out the furniture and the kitchen counter. They are too small.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

There isn't the room needed for the sleeper chair in BCV, BWV, SSR or VWL living rooms unless they change out the furniture and the kitchen counter. They are too small.

In most of the rehabs they have changed out the furniture and I think it could be done. Flat screen tv's can be mounted on the walls and if they decided to have drawer storage I feel they could figure that out someplace else. There really isn't too much difference in living room area between the inside "C" rooms at BLT and the older resorts and they have the sleeper chair. The murphy bed would almost certainly work - although it wouldn't be my first option for a 1BR.

For whatever reason they just seem to have decided that sleeping for 5 in a studio is better than sleeping for 5 in a 1BR and I just don't understand it.

I just looked at the updated 1BR photo again and it does seem like there would be room for the chair to be a sleeper and still allow a little room to get around. They did change the furniture for the TV - it is much thinner and opens up the room.

 

[dunnhorn]

I am ticked off that DVC has decided to do the murphy bed in the studios and not the 1 bedroom in the remodel... It's not always about sleeping 5; what about the families who have a son and a daughter who do not sleep together?

We bought into DVC with a boy and a girl, and guess what? Once they hit the "adult" age of 10, they do not sleep together!

We bought into DVC for the 1 bedrooms, not to be relegated to staying in a studio every time we go.

Bad move, DVC.... DON'T chintz out and be cheap on the remodel. I completed a survey eons ago about priorities for improving DVC rooms, and I put the sleeper chair or alternative sleeping arrangement as #1. If they won't do a sleeper chair, certainly they should make a number of rollaways available for these families of FOUR with opposite sex children who prefer to stay in 1 bedrooms over studios.

I hope someone here is monitoring the list and they will recommend these changes!!!

 

[Belleluvswdw]

I actually love the idea of the Murphy Bed fir studios.

 

[Belleluvswdw]

Let me try again... I actually love the idea of the Murphy bed for the studio. I have a 15 year old daughter and 14 year old step son. They are in no way sharing a bed, so we've always had to purchase an air mattress for the step son. Never seems fair that he is demoted to the floor since he is the smallest. The Murphy will be great for other Brady Bunch families like us where opposite sex step teenage children sleeping together is not an option.

 

[Sandisw]

I am ticked off that DVC has decided to do the murphy bed in the studios and not the 1 bedroom in the remodel... It's not always about sleeping 5; what about the families who have a son and a daughter who do not sleep together?

We bought into DVC with a boy and a girl, and guess what? Once they hit the "adult" age of 10, they do not sleep together!

We bought into DVC for the 1 bedrooms, not to be relegated to staying in a studio every time we go.

Bad move, DVC.... DON'T chintz out and be cheap on the remodel. I completed a survey eons ago about priorities for improving DVC rooms, and I put the sleeper chair or alternative sleeping arrangement as #1. If they won't do a sleeper chair, certainly they should make a number of rollaways available for these families of FOUR with opposite sex children who prefer to stay in 1 bedrooms over studios.

I hope someone here is monitoring the list and they will recommend these changes!!!

I agree...I don't get how you can have a plan to redo the studio and change up furniture, etc. for one and not just do it on the other..it'd be nice if the 1 bedrooms everywhere had an option...I know it'd be tight, but you'd think you could mount the TV, and then put something under it to fit that extra chair or something...

 

[wildernessDad]

A little bit of color besides brown would have been nice. Green, for example. I don't like the curtains.