Does this annoy anyone else...................

[madmouse]

Or is i just me being a grouch???
The last 2 times we have stayed at OKW we have allways had people above us who run around like a herd of wildebeast .Just thought I would ask if anyone else has had the same and how do they deal with the situation,especially when its about 11.00 pm.
Also have any non smokers out there ever been allocated a smoking room at DVC,and is the smell really bad,just wondering,as i read a thread somewhere about housekeeping and the fact that they can do a special clean on the room so that it wouldnt smell to bad if a non smoker is allocated to that particular unit.
Not that any of these things would stop me from going to DVC,just curious thats all.

[BillM]

We always stay on the ground floor at OKW due to medical reasons. A couple of times we have heard the heavy footsteps. Sounds like they are jumping off the beds and running around. I've always figured it was the kids. Then I think about what my grandkids would be doing....jumping , running etc. Then I grimace and bear it.
As to the NS villas. Never been in a Smoking. They assigned me one once and I got them to change me to a NS villa.
We love the villas at OKW...1 BR and up.

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by madmouse
The last 2 times we have stayed at OKW we have allways had people above us who run around like a herd of wildebeast .Just thought I would ask if anyone else has had the same and how do they deal with the situation,especially when its about 11.00 pm.
In the past, I've always requested a top floor room (3rd floor or 2nd floor end unit with no room above). The other benefit of a top floor room is that the view can be better. The downside is having to carry luggage up and down so many stairs. So last time, I didn't request a top floor unit. We were on the second floor, and had no problem with noise from above.

If noise from above is an issue, request a top floor unit at the time you make your reservation.
Originally posted by madmouse
Also have any non smokers out there ever been allocated a smoking room at DVC,and is the smell really bad,just wondering,as i read a thread somewhere about housekeeping and the fact that they can do a special clean on the room so that it wouldnt smell to bad if a non smoker is allocated to that particular unit.
We've never been given a smoking room. I always emphasize that non-smoking is my priority request, and even if they can't honor any other requests (such as "top floor" or "near a pool"), I still want non-smoking.

We once had a non-smoking room where the previous occupants obviously didn't care. The room smelled like an ashtray when we entered the room. Housekeeping ran some sort of ozone machine for several hours, during which time we had to be out of the room. It helped, but we could still smell the smoke odor for the rest of our stay.

[Jimbo]

We always ask for a third floor room at OKW. It gives you a better shot at an unobstructed view, and guarantees that no one will be running on your ceiling. Unless they're doing roof work. :) You have to go up two flights of steps. but that's still OK with us.

It would be nice if you didn't have to worry about this, but I understand. It's Disney, and it's filled with keyed-up little kids. That's what the place is designed for in the first place, right? When it hits 11 PM, though, that's going too far.

[Pumbaa_]

And here I am thinking it was designed for all us big 'kids'! :D

Guess I got it wrong...(Nahhh!!!):bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[ncligs]

madmouse,

Its not just you.......We always request 3rd floor at 11 months out for that reason, and the nicer view. But when we were there in Feb(Pres Wk) we had to request 1st floor, brought my in-laws (77-78) and we had the same problem, kids running and jumping at night. You would think most adults would have "control" of their kids, but in todays society, people are very "inconsiderate". When it was getting to be to much noise and jumping above us,
I got a broom out of the utility closet, and pounded:D on the ceiling above us until it stopped. My theory is if you do nothing...it will continue. But I had to do this 2-3 other times during our stay.
Bottom line...............always get top floor and you never have this problem......;)

[DVC-Don]

My problem at OKW was people throwing food off the balconies for the birds. Not only bread, but whole carrots, muffins, fries & hot dogs! One family got paid back though. The birds chased them inside. There was a lot of screaming and they stopped throwing food.

[Disney On The Bayou]

The next time I will stay on the top floor, few parents set limits on thier children. 1 am, even at Disney, is a little out of hand! It sounded like a dance hall above us. Terrible! I almost started playing the pot and pan drum-set at 5 am, but I cooled down.

[TrudyZ]

Nick and Cindy:

We thought we had the noise thing licked at OKW-when we stayed in last May, never heard a single soul. We had the exact same room in October (end unit second floor studio with no one over us).

Unfortunately, those in the adjoining bedroom had a different idea about quiet hours. For part of our stay, we had a group of young adults in the 1 bedroom portion--- and when they came in from Pleasure Island (or wherever) in the early a.m.; they were worse than any group of kids I have ever heard. Besides the laughing and screaming and breaking glasses, at least small kids do not use the "F" word over and over--to the point that it woke our 3 year old up.

I thought it would slow quiet down quickly once they settled in--but no, they decided to crank up the jacuzzi (they announced this rather loudly). I also thought about the pounding on the connecting door thing (We had already placed a towel at the threshold--SOP for us). But refrained, I didn't want to provoke a bunch of drunks.

Early the next morning I called the front desk and explained what happened. THey seemed to know exactly who they were. They indicated that they would take care of the situation--I believe they sent security. And, they indicated that if it happened to happen again, let them know immediately. No problems after that.

(oh, and I couldn't resist being a little noisy when I got up around 5:45 a.m. the next morning--figured it was good for their hangover!)

So, if any of you other DVCers let your young adults (couple of girls and a guy or two) out there use your points in Mid-October 2001, and they told you they behaved---THEY LIED!:D (I would be happy to provide the room number and dates for any concerned parents...)

Trudy

[DebbieB]

The 2 times we stayed at OKW we were on the second floor on the end with no one above us, so we were lucky. One thing that annoys me at Boardwalk or any hotel - people who talk loud in the hallway late at night or early in the morning, plus kids that go running down the hallway.

On the smoking issue - one time I stayed with friends at CSR and we requesting connecting rooms. We got there early (8:30am) and they said they had connecting rooms ready for us. Great! We got to the rooms and they were smoking. They said they would send housekeeping with the machine. It never cleared up, it still smelled bad after 4 nights (we kept the machine and ran it everyday) and everything in our suitcases still reeked when we got home. Never again will we accept a smoking room.

[Kacey]

We always request top floor for the noise reason also.

But on March 21, 2002 to be exact, we were on the top floor of building 55. We went to bed around 11:30 and were rudely awakened at 2:30 am by a group of unsupervised young ladies (I use the term loosely) in the room next door. They slammed doors, ran inside and outside, yelled and caused all sorts of commotion for 2 hours. My husband kept wanting to call the front desk and I talked him into waiting. "They'll probably quiet down any minute now." The next day when we were checking out, my husband spoke with neighbors on the other side who had been kept up all night as well, in fact, they HAD called security twice on these girls. The manager that my husband spoke to the next morning said that we should have called because security will warn rowdy people twice but after the third complaint, they will escort them off the property. Lesson learned--we will call from now on (after a reasonable amount of time, of course) Little kids are understandable--they are excited and it IS Disney! And little kids eventually fall asleep! Hopefully!

We will think twice about staying during Spring Break again--we have been spoiled by the quiet at OKW during the slower times of the year.

[Luv2Dream]

I've never had the problem with noise overhead since we always seen to have a top floor BUT I always have LOUD talking and running in the hallways. It always amazes me that adults walking with their children at 11pm at night have to talk at the top of their voices in a hallway in a hotel. Don't they think that anyone else just might be asleep? :confused:

[eva]

We always request top floor at OKW, but our last trip we got a 1st floor unit anyway. We didn't have a problem at night but around 4am every morning the jumping and running started. It was so loud that it even woke our teenage girls (who sleep like they are in a coma) up a couple of mornings. I had wondered if we were above a grand villa because we have heard that the wood floors really transmit sound to the room below. But when Doc posted his room findings earlier this year I realized that there are no grand villas in building 26. I was pretty sure that the noise was from very excited children enjoying their stay at WDW so we didn't complain. But it sure would be great if parents would keep their little ones from running and jumping off furniture before at least 6am in the morning. I agree that adults coming in late should keep it down also.

Just a quick question about the noise in a grand villa. We are staying in a grand villa in May and I am a bit worried about making too much noise with the wood floors. We will have 6 adults and no children on this trip. So there will be no one running or jumping in the room. But will walking on the floors cause a problem for the people below? I like to get up early, make coffee and read while everyone is sleeping in. Will I be disturbing the people below if I am up walking around early in the morning?

[Alice Sr.]

We had a problem with little wild kids racing up and down the upstairs outside walk way and jumping around once they got inside (where do they get that energy after being at the parks all day) So when we got up early the next morning to go to the parks, (I'm a morning person) I used the broom in the closet on the ceiling also. I consider it a lesson in common courtesy. They stayed as long as we did and we did not have any problems afterward.

I'm willing to give someone 5-10 minutes to get in and get settled, if there is excessive noise after that, I would take action.
I'm glad to hear that the resorts have that kind of policy, 3 strikes and your out.

Alice Sr.

[Eglantine Price]

My family and I just returned from a stay at OKW. We were given a single floor end unit room, We thought great we won't have a noise issue. That was until we started to settle in for the evening and we listened to air breaks from the bus transport buses that run until 2 to 3am.:eek: Be carefull what you ask for when requesting a room. The thundering feet will eventually fall asleep, those buses just keep rolling on schedule.

[EROS]

Another GOOD reason to stay at BWV;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ......

[DeeP]

I had the same problem during a stay at OKW, but not only did I have children running and pounding on the floor from above, I had other little sweethearts in the connecting unit next door trying to open the door, pounding on the door and screaming at the top of their lungs because the door was obviously locked. Thank goodness the family next door checked out after 4 days but the elephant footed children up above were there for my entire stay. I did call the front desk but the noise continued throughout my entire stay.
I also had a problem at BWV with adults in the connecting unit being very loud at 1:00 AM with the radio blaring and very loud voices but a call to the BWV front desk very quickly solved this problem.

[dianeschlicht]

The only problem we have had is once while on the second floor in a 2 bedroom, we had a family who must have had quite a bunch of kids with them above us. The running etc, was bearable. What I couldn't take was the super ball bouncing at 6 AM!! After about 15 minutes, I taped on the cieling with the broom handle and it stopped. I think mom and dad got the message!

[fumipappa]

I am just browsing this topic and here is my thought..

I am now living at 1br apt with 4 people.
Myself, my wife, two of mydaughters, 3yrs old and 5months old.

When the first was born, I was careless about my daughter 's crying and my neighbor complained to our doorman.

Now with the second one, we are trying to be careful to the noise as much as possible.
On the other hand the second one is very sensitive to the noise, so she wakes up with the noise of coffee grinder rfrom the neighbor who complained to us(Oh, don't tell me that I am living cheap apts :D I am living NYC area. paying crazy amount of rent right now...:D).

So here is the one I learned from this situation.
Yes, you are paying to have a nice and confortable accomodation.
But they are also paying too. So, we cannot complain to other people's different daily cycle. Some people wake up early in the morning, but for some one else, 10:00AM is still early.
Just like some people complain to late night walking, some people must be complaining to your early morining noise.

Also, as the father of two daughters, I am trying not to make other people unconfortable as much as possible at ANY occasion.
Restaulant, public transportation, etc...
However, some people must be forgetting that we all had childhood an most of all had the time to deal with their kids making some, noise,trouble etc.

As I mentioned not to make other people unconfortable always, I agree with the idea 100% that all people in this society should care about other people and respect other people's life. Also, Ialways give my apology to other people if we make some trouble. That usually works. Becuse they also respect out lives with small kids.

However, I just felt a little overreaction from this topic for some of the noise. I think those spring break people should be warned no matter what. But c'mon, small kids are also going to have some fun at WDW. That must be the VERY RARE time that they can wake up until late night with all of those excitement from the park and character, just like we are excited. And that must be the VERY VERY RARE occasion that their parents don't "complain" to them....

[POLLY ANN]

fumipappa, I agree with some of your points exactly. I am the mom of 3 (while staying at OKW last year I was just the mom of 2!)

We stayed in a Grand Villa with our friends, who also had 2 kids. My 2 were almost 4 and 2 1/2 at the time, theirs were 8 and 2 1/2.

If you have never been in a GV, there are hardwood floors in the Living Room, with cathedral ceilings that are open to the second floor landing. In other words, it can be very LOUD!! Even with normal talking and walking, it can be loud. (Heck, it drove me nuts some days being in the Living Room, I would have to go into the bedroom just to get some peace!) So you can imagine how it was with 4 young children running around and laughing and making their little kid noises.

We received a call from the front desk our second night there. We had just gotten back from seeing Illuminations, so yes, it was late (10:30ish?). We literally came into the GV, and I grabbed my kids and settled them to bed. The front desk called and told us that there had been a noise complaint. They couldn't tell us who (oh, gee, like I couldn't figure it out), but this was from normal WALKING around the unit!!! It wasn't like we were throwing a party or anything, we were getting ready for bed! I guess these people had called the day before but it was during the day that we were making too much noise and OKW can't doing anything about it during the day. And the front desk asked if we would like to be moved to another unit. WHAT? I have 8 people here to move! The people below us probably had 2 or 3! No, I told the front desk, please tell the people below us that we would do the best we can to be quiet, but if normal walking and talking was disturbing them, could you ask THEM if they would like to be moved?

Mind you, I was very upset. I do not like to be a nuisance to other people and I TRY very hard to be considerate of other people. I let our friends know we need to be a bit more quiet.

Well, unfortunately, 2 nights later, our friends wanted to see Illuminations again and they came in late with their kids. Their 2 1/2 yo was screaming at the top of her lungs (obviously she was overtired), but within 10-15 minutes, they were able to settle her and put her to bed. But, of course, instead of a phone call this time, we got security at the door. And, by the time they had arrived, everything was quiet, and I was opening up the door to strangers in my pajamas. I was more than upset this time, I was absolutely horrified. I told security why there was noise and we really are sorry. I didn't know what else we could do while walking on the hardwood floors. I told them to please let the people below us know we are aware of the noise problem and we are doing the best that we can to keep it under control. (I think the people below us left the next day).

The bottom line is this: If you can't stand the noise above you, by ALL means, please request that you are NOT put below a Grand Villa! I'm not saying that all noise is a direct connection to the GV's. Just know that these OKW units are not soundproof. Don't immediately think that parents DON'T CARE that their kids are making alot of noise and disturbing other guests, because, in my case, it's not true. I DO CARE and I do care that my fellow DVC members have just as good a time at Disney as I do. :)

Oh, BTW, we will be staying at a GV next January, 2003, so BEWARE! ;)

[Alice Sr.]

I believe the post was regarding those people who we have all seen in public who make no attempt to control their children, ie. a restaurant, grocery store, the movies.

I don't mind normal childhood activity, little ones get over tired, they run, skip, get excited, there are always going to be moments. I become offended when there is prolonged out of control behavior and the parents don't make an attempt to reign their children in.

Polly Ann I am sorry you had that bad experience, maybe when you check in next time you could let them know about the previous experience and maybe they would try to not fill the lower unit. Not that I think you were really that loud to deserve the calls, you were just unfortunate to have trigger happy neighbors. You are obviously a considerate person, and I hope you don't have to worry about it on your next visit.

Alice Sr.

[antnee]

my wife and I were just discussing this. We are going in July and were concerned about the same issue. Its hard cause its usually kids, and I know its hard to keep them calm and quiet, but it doesnt mean I have to listen to it. We will request a top floor room :D

[mickey7861]

The noise of kids being a little loud, crying or running can't be helped. My kids were small one too and I remember telling them to use "indoor voices" 20 million times each day! However during our stay at OKW we had a problem with the kids in the studio (we were in the 1 bedroom connecting it) not only constantly pulling on the door knob and bamging on the connecting door but they also kept sticking their key into our front door and pulling on it. Hearing the sound of that lock clicking constantly was driving me crazy. Now that is something the parents could easily have solved, watch what the kids are doing and don't give them a key card to "play with".

[Tiggeriffic]

On our trip to OKW last year we stayed in a first floor 2BR. It was great. However, on our last night we could hear the people above us walking around constantly. It bothered me, but I was able to fall asleep. My wife on the other hand had a really hard time with it. This wasn't someone running and as far as we could tell they weren't making noise in any other way, but someone was walking back and forth constantly.

I assumed that it was some parents with a young child trying to get them to go to sleep and walking them. However, the next morning we saw just three people come out of that room, an older couple and one other person. They were probably havnig difficulty getting to sleep ...

So, unless you have other evidence, I wouldn't always blame it on children. And don't think that the people are just being inconsiderate either. I'm sure that these people had no idea that they were disturbing us. If we had been staying longer and it continued, I would have politely mentioned something to them or to the front desk.

[ncligs]

Tiggeriffic,

I think we know the difference between a child running back and forth and an adult walking:rolleyes: , And if you look around in stores, restraunts, etc, "some" children are not reprimanded for inappropriate behavior when they are in public places......so what makes you think they will behave in private??????:confused:

But we learned our lesson.....always request 3rd floor..:D :D

[Jen D]

LOL, fumipappa, the NY apartment experience does force you to learn to live with other people's habits--- my bachelor upstairs neighbor doesn't make much noise, except at about 6pm every night, when he does some sort of exercise regimen that shakes the whole building! Windows rattle, the ceiling shakes-- it's a mystery. But since our pre-schooler has her occasional outbursts and he has never complained, we suck it up.

My main comment from someone who has lived in a lot of wood floor apartments-- for those in the wood floor Grand Villa-- do take off your shoes when walking on the wood floor. It makes a huge difference to the people below.

Can't believe you had security called over a crying kid, Polly Ann. And at 10:30! Somebody needs to lighten up.

[Peter Johnson]

Like others, we request the upper floor.

We learned the hard way. The last time we didn't make that request, we had an upstairs neighbor who vacuumed the tile at 1 am. Some people are just :confused: !

[isnkr]

I would like to appoligize for the behavior of our group. We were at OKW at the end of October 2001. There is a possibility that we may have disturbed our neighbors...We are sorry. But then again it is vacation and we do like to do things to excess. Some of the kids in the group (ages 27 - 38) may have gotten a little outta hand - no damage and no complaints, but you never know. So if you were in building 62 the last week of Oct - Nov, sorry.:jester:

[Kelly&John]

We too learned to request an upper floor at OKW. On our last trip (January 2002), we had a studio. We heard the people next door VERY clearly. However, they weren't being loud. They were speaking in normal voices and had their TV at a respectable level. I believe there just isn't enough sound proofing between the one bedroom units and the lock-off studios.

We made no phone calls or complaints because obviously if we could hear them, they could hear us. We are looking forward to our BWV visit in two weeks. We've not had many noise problems at BWV except for the hallway which is over quickly.

Kelly

[CarolynK]

We always bring our Norelco Sound Machine with us on vacation. It doesn't drown out all noise, but it does help significantly!

[Eglantine Price]

yes but carol if we bring a sound machine with , I wonder if we should take requests knowing the sound proof issues around the place? :p We will be in a GV on a future visit , I'm a little scared now about our schedule. Knowing the buses run till all hours are we not suposed to take advantage of all the parks have to offer day and night? I'm not planning on vaccuming tile but I would like to take in the fireworks. Come on even the pools close at 10pm how do you get home from the pool,shower,snack and settle before 10:30?

[JillU-DVC]

I had to speak up about this issue - we've had some MINOR issues with noise at OKW.

First stay, I woke up several times to the upstairs neighbor flushing those industrial/sonic toilets. So from now on, we request a top floor room. You think the stairs will be terrible after coming home from the parks, but I find that they're really not that difficult to deal with, even when I'm exhausted - I know I'll sleep well, and that's important. Plus when we're on the top floor, we try not to flush during the night (or early in the AM) unless it's really necessary; I remember what it's like to be woken up by those toilets!!

Other issue we had (also on our first stay) is kids playing with the connecting door - opening their side, playing, knocking, trying to open the door. I just waited until I heard them there, and OPENED the door - they were scared to death, they didn't realize there was anyone on the other side. Parents were not really happy, but I wasn't happy with their kids bothering us with the doors. They never touched the door again during our stay.

If the problem was with the exterior door, I'd do exactly teh same thing; if the kids were old enough to understand, I'd politely ask them to stop, or ask them to take me to their parents, and complain directly to them. While I know some parents just won't care, many times you'd scare the kids enough to make them stop.

Now, I'm not talking about jumping through any of the doors and deliberately trying to scare the kids, but just opening the door to let them see there's someone in the room, and politely speaking to them if they're old enough to understand.

If that didn't work then I'd IMMEDIATELY call security and complain, and keep doing so until the situation was resolved.

[ncligs]

JillU-DVC,

I think we think alike!!!!!!!!:D :D Sad part is, most of the time, it is the parents that need to be reprimanded for not "controlling" their kids.:D

[trishy]

I had to laugh at TrudyZ's post. We stayed at OKW in December/January and were on the top floor. The "kids" in the next room were driving us up the wall. Coming in late at night - seemed like they were wearing army boots up those steps. Late night showers and flushing all night long. Talking as if they were all in separate buildings. We could hear every bang of a cup, pan, or whatever they were pounding on the counter. We have kids, but were adamant about following the rules: No talking, racing, jumping up the stairs, no flushing the toilets at night, use "marshmallow feet". We were probably more conscientious than usual because of the neighbors. The "kids" in the next room were almost too much to bear, but we kept it to ourselves. One morning we left at the same time as the "kids" and discovered they had to be late 20's, early 30's (4 of them) and were *shocked*. Guess nobody was supervising them. :p