A question for those of you who have stayed at BWV...

[Disneyfrek]

We will be staying at BWV for the first week of our trip, which coincides with the 4th of July, which I'm finding out might not be a good thing. Can you tell me if by chance the rooms face EPCOT ? I'm thinking the best place to see some fireworks may be from my balcony.

Thanks,

Joyce

 

[jimh13432]

Some of the rooms can see the fireworks, but not all.

Don't let the crowds concern you (too much). The July 4th time "is" busy but you'll just be a short walk to your room at the Boardwalk.

Just think, you won't be one of the thousands of poor souls that need to wait for the bus after Epcot lets out!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I just recommend NOT being in or near FutureWorld at closing time so that you have to walk against the crowds. We did Test Track right before closing last year, and had to fight our way back to International Gateway with our 3 kids.

 

[DVCtim]

The best view of Epcot we've had at BWV was from our room on the 4th floor, in the Crest O' the Waves section. You can see quite a bit of the show from there.

We just returned from BWV, staying in a 1BR standard view room. Even with a big maple tree blocking our view, we still caught a glimpse of a few of the higher fireworks.

 

[drusba]

From many of the rooms that overlook the boardwalk you can see Epcot and the Illuminations fireworks. From some of those boardwalk view rooms (the ones that are right over the center courtyard) you cannot see the fireworks. The boardwalk view rooms as a whole make up less than 20% of all rooms at BWV. Other "preferred" views -- Luna Pool, Quiet Pool, lagoon-- face MGM or the Swan/Dolphin and cannot see Ecpot. Standard view rooms overlook the front entrance, road leading to front entrance and tennis courts. From the upper floors (4 and 5) for rooms that look over the road leading to the front entrance you can see Illuminations fireworks that fly higher than the BWI units (about five floors). If you have not made a an area request yet for your room (like boardwalk view if you have "preferred" you should do so; note though that, as there are only a limited number of rooms that can see Illuminations fireworks, you may not get the desired view.

 

[mikesmom]

We got back a week ago and had a courtyard room (4th floor). We could see the fireworks from Epcot nicely - the higher ones, I don't think anyone can see the low stuf right over the lake. By the way, we could also see the Magic Kingdom fireworks!

 

[Disneyfrek]

Hmmm..... I did not request a specific area to be in. I only have "Preferred View" because I made my reservations late. We normally stay at OKW, so this isn't even an issue there.

So, should I call MS and ask request to stay in a room that faces Epcot? I've never asked for a specific building all these years, only for high chairs and non-smoking rooms. All these decisions at BW .

Thanks for all of your advice. I'll call them Monday afternoon.

 

[Ms. WDW]

DVCTim - Hi. I'm just curious. What room did you have at the BW? Our room last year had this big maple tree in front of it too and we still saw some of the fireworks.

32 more days till I go again!!!

 

[we3luvdisney]

Just be careful concerning the preferred view. If you want a view of EPCOT make sure you specifically ask which view you have. The reason is that the slide pool is also considered a preferred view.

When we made our reservations my DW requested a preferred view of the lake. When we checked in we asked again if we had a preferred view, the CM at the desk indicated we did. However, when we finally made it to the room our view consisted of the slide pool. We called down to the desk and it was a big hassle to change, plus there was an extracost to make this change.

Next time we go, we will make sure before leaving the front desk which view we have. We have had all types of views during our past visits and prefer the lake. We enjoy listening to the music, hearing the people, the boats and watching the fireworks.

 

[MalificentMe]

A real nice way to avoid the crowd on July 4th is to rent a boat from the Yacht Club dock and have them take you out on the lake to see the show. I think it costs about 120$ for 6 people. Many times if you can get the boat others will want to rent from you the additional spaces on the boat. We did this for the illuminations show and loved it. Another place to view fireworks at the Magic Kingdom is from in front of the Yacht Club enterance. The other side of the boardwalk. I think a room with a view of the fireworks would be nice but often loud for this time of the year. Perhaps a standard view would be your best bet for noisey boardwalk control. Just my opinion. Take Care, Tammy


PS You can also walk over the bridge to Epcot a few minutes before the show and just stand about 10 feet from where the boat disembarks to see the show. That was fine for us and then we were first to hop onto the boat to get back to the resort.

 

[Patricia]

We were there last July 4th and were unprepared for the volume of people. It worked our wonderfully though. We watched Illuminations from Epcot, not too far from the International Gateway and although the crowd was tight for the walk, our walk was so short. It was the best feeling to make a left out of there onto the bridge, when the majority of the people went the other way. Just don't plan to rush, stick together and you will be fine. Other than that night, the crowds weren't bad at all that week. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[Disneyfrek]

Thanks for the suggestions again. I called MS and requested a room that faced EPCOT. We'll see what happens when I get there.

MalificentMe, my original intention was to do the Illuminations cruise, but fireworks are 1 hour later on the 4th, so it would not coincide with the cruise. I thought it was a great idea, too.

I was also thinking of standing over by the International Gateway as some of you have also suggested.

We3luv, now I'm curioius.... There was an extra cost involved in changing rooms? Were you there on points?

Ms WDW, it sounds like our trips will overlap. We'll be at BWV until the 8th and OKW until the 15th.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Joyce

 

[we3luvdisney]

Disneyfrek, yes, they charged us $35.00 to change our room. We really enjoy the Boardwalk view and it was too important to us not to pay the fee. We weren't to happy about it, neither were they. I guess they do this to keep the number of changes down to a minimum. The lesson we learned was check to see exactly where your room assignment is before you complete the check-out process.