So here's what I got about OKW renos

[dianeschlicht]

I spoke with the front desk manager about the renovations scheduled for OKW this year. Here is what he had for me.

95% hard surface replacement. That is what it is going to be. He didn't say which 5% was not being replaced, but I'm going to guess itls the wall plaster.

It was supposed to be a 100% hard surface replacement with members paying for 95% and the hotel paying for 5%, but legal told them "no", members need to pay for all of it. That is why there is only going to be a 95% of hard surface replacement. Evidently they know how much they have from dues etc to cover this.

Floors! He said the actual flooring material has not yet been determined. It MIGHT be hard wood and it MIGHT be laminate, but if it's laminate, they plan to use a sound barrier under it. There will also be stone counters both on the cabinets and the island. They don't even have a model done up yet, because not allo design decisions have been made. He assured me they would indeed try to hold true to theme.

When are interior renovations starting? This one threw me for a loop. They aren't actually scheduled to start yet, but his best guess is it wont be until at least July!!!! They need to have as many units open for the summer as possible, so they wont start taking buildings out of service during those high use times.

I was right about what is currently going on at buildings 63 and 64. That is the last of the exterior renovations that have been taking place for the past year and a half. I suspect that means that the interior renovations will follow the same pattern of buildings when that gets started as well. Stay tuned!

[Chuck S]

Thank you, Diane!

[magicaldisney]

Great update, thank you for sharing. :worship:

[colonialtinker]

Thanks for sharing :goodvibes

[Sammie]

Thanks for the info, I am confused about something, Is it DIS policy or not, not to quote and mention CM names.:confused3

I seem to see at times and at other times not.

I know that Disney does not like for their CMs to be quoted, which is why DVC agents will not email info to you.

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks for the info, I am confused about something, Is it DIS policy or not, not to quote and mention CM names.:confused3

I seem to see at times and at other times not.

I know that Disney does not like for their CMs to be quoted, which is why DVC agents will not email info to you.

If the mods find that to be in violation of a policy here, I'm sure they'll let me know at delete it. I'll leave that up to them though. Thanks.

[Chuck S]

Thanks for the info, I am confused about something, Is it DIS policy or not, not to quote and mention CM names.:confused3

I seem to see at times and at other times not.

I know that Disney does not like for their CMs to be quoted, which is why DVC agents will not email info to you.

If the mods find that to be in violation of a policy here, I'm sure they'll let me know at delete it. I'll leave that up to them though. Thanks.

It depends upon the context. For instance, someone saying "Bill, the OKW manager, said that the exterior work is nearing completion," would be fine. Or "Billy Bob, my guide, said to read the documents carefully." that would also be fine.

Upon re-reading the first post, as it quotes the manager talking about Disney legal, I will remove the name.

[DVCconvert]

....I spoke with the front desk manager about the renovations.....

If I'm thinking of the same person....they were a bus driver two years ago and ran friendship boats last year...soo....Caveat emptor!
;)

[Deb & Bill]

So we'll be spending two weeks at OKW in it's former glory in May and June. :goodvibes

And next time, we can get something renovated. Should be nice.

[dianeschlicht]

So we'll be spending two weeks at OKW in it's former glory in May and June. :goodvibes

And next time, we can get something renovated. Should be nice.

LOL, Deb, I guess that's true! Some of the not so glorious former is the wear on the cupboards. We have knobs coming off all over the kitchen in this unit. I was able to put all back on except the one on the knife drawer, and I placed that one inside the drawer and will leave a note for housekeeping tomorrow, since it is our full cleaning day.

[BWV Dreamin]

LOL, Deb, I guess that's true! Some of the not so glorious former is the wear on the cupboards. We have knobs coming off all over the kitchen in this unit. I was able to put all back on except the one on the knife drawer, and I placed that one inside the drawer and will leave a note for housekeeping tomorrow, since it is our full cleaning day.

Sorry your experiencing what others have been posting. All resorts will come the badly needed rennovation timeframe. It's a shame Disney let's them get so bad before rennovating them. You are much more patient than I. I would be in another room by now.

[dianeschlicht]

Sorry your experiencing what others have been posting. All resorts will come the badly needed rennovation timeframe. It's a shame Disney let's them get so bad before rennovating them. You are much more patient than I. I would be in another room by now.

Well, I kind of look at it a bit differently. For every time someone changes a room because of some little thing like knobs, there is extra houskeeping expenses, etc, etc, etc. I figure I'm saving a bit on my dues by taking it as it comes. My house wasn't in such great repair all the time when it got to be 18 years old, and I didn't have nearly the number of people going through it these rooms do.

If you recall from my first post, OKW owners are paying for all of the renovations being done. I KNOW that's going to increase our dues even more, and I have to trust that management will be careful with our money.

[Brian Noble]

Maybe I'm just too tolerant, but a room has to be pretty dysfunctional before I'm ready to pack all my stuff up and move. Drawer knobs don't rise to that level for me. In fact, my most recent OKW stay featured a 2BR unit with a few carpet stains that housekeeping dutifully spotted, but couldn't get up; a bit of rust on the fridge; and a dishwasher with a top rack hanging on (almost literally) by a thread. Once I figured out that I had to be gentle with the rack when sliding it out, we got along just fine. The room overall didn't leave a great impression, but it was serviceable.

[katmittens]

Glad to hear this update on OKW. We will be staying in May, so we will not be getting a redone room, oh well. I am still trying for AKV or BC, So wish me luck on that.

[Shadeaux]

LOL, Deb, I guess that's true! Some of the not so glorious former is the wear on the cupboards. We have knobs coming off all over the kitchen in this unit. I was able to put all back on except the one on the knife drawer, and I placed that one inside the drawer and will leave a note for housekeeping tomorrow, since it is our full cleaning day.

This sort of relates to my comments on your other thread about the patch in the tub and wondering how the heck the hole got there in the first place. I can't understand how there are so many knobs coming off the cabinets unless someone deliberately did something to loosen them to the point where they're falling off.

The problems that have been posted here in the last few years about the conditions of the units are more of a people are pigs issue than a housekeeping issue. :confused:

[Chuck S]

The problems that have been posted here in the last few years about the conditions of the units are more of a people are pigs issue than a housekeeping issue. :confused:

This is true. No resort, no matter how well it is maintained, can stand up to deliberate abuse. Carpets and soft goods will wear over time, glasses and dinner wear will get dropped and broken, but most of the major problems are caused by the occupants.

[Checkers]

:)Thanks for the update. We are planning on going down and staying at OKW next March and hopefully we will be able to get a renovated unit.

[bunkkinsmom]

Is it true that OKW is getting a sleeper chair in the living room to replace the single chair that is there now?

[dianeschlicht]

Is it true that OKW is getting a sleeper chair in the living room to replace the single chair that is there now?

That's the word.

[dianeschlicht]

This sort of relates to my comments on your other thread about the patch in the tub and wondering how the heck the hole got there in the first place. I can't understand how there are so many knobs coming off the cabinets unless someone deliberately did something to loosen them to the point where they're falling off.

The problems that have been posted here in the last few years about the conditions of the units are more of a people are pigs issue than a housekeeping issue. :confused:

It's not just housekeeping. Sloppy uncaring guests are the real issue. Folks must live in total pig styes at home given how they take care or rather abuse the DVC resorts. I can't imagine how some of this stuff happens. Now, worn knobs etc are just wear and tear on old parts, but I have been in units where they have had a letter of appology in the unit saying they were in the process of replacing the damage from the previous guest, and to please know that it would be completed in a day or two. Last trip this was complete replacement of the vanity in the master bath and replacing some of the tile. Now how in the heck does someone do enough damage to require that???? They had the doors back on the cabinet and the tiles fixed by the next day, but I still can't imagine what someone could have done to cause that much damage. :confused3

[dianeschlicht]

BTW, I just wanted to let you know that I feel DVC guides are NOT the people to ask about what is going happen at the resorts. They have no clue what might or might not be going on at OKW or BWV for reno.

When we toured the BLT GV yesterday, I noted the vinyl "wood" floor in the linving area, and if that is a similar product that OKW is getting, then it will be very nice.

[bunkkinsmom]

That's the word.

SWEET!!! :thumbsup2 I can be in a one bedroom for a few more years!

One thing I noticed was that BLT's one bedroom has 2 bathrooms, and I think AKV does as well. Are there any at OKW that do?

[Chuck S]

SWEET!!! :thumbsup2 I can be in a one bedroom for a few more years!

One thing I noticed was that BLT's one bedroom has 2 bathrooms, and I think AKV does as well. Are there any at OKW that do?

No, at OKW there is a jacuzzi and sink in one area, and the commode, stall shower and another sink in a separate room. So you could use the jacuzzi and someone can use the rest of the other facilities, but there are not two full restrooms. This works well in bldgs 30 and higher, where there is an entrace to the restroom area through the laundry room. In bldgs 29 and lower they need to access the restroom through the jacuzzi room, unless they do some remodeling during this rehab.

[bunkkinsmom]

Thanks Chuck!!

[dianeschlicht]

It appears that the outside reno on buildings 63 and 64 is the last of the exteriors to be done. I just wish they had a sample room renovated, but I was told they had not yet chosen all the surfaces and design options. I'm a bit disappointed that they apparently are not going to start this interior reno before July. That is significantly later than was announced, and that probably means completion will be nearly a year late as well.

[88golf88]

Newbie question here about the renovations: Will the MF's at OKW go up significantly in 2011 to offset these costs? Could this be the reason that DVC has such a great price going on OKW right now???

[Chuck S]

Newbie question here about the renovations: Will the MF's at OKW go up significantly in 2011 to offset these costs? Could this be the reason that DVC has such a great price going on OKW right now???

The dues should not be affected by the renovations. Scheduled renovations should be paid by the reserve fund we pay into every year.

[BlakeNJ]

Thanks for the update Diane. I think the resort is going to look great after the renovation. I have a lot of confidence in the choices that will be made. OKW is not our home resort but one of our favorites for many reasons!

[WilsonFlyer]

Maybe the answer should be obvious to me but please humor me.

Why does CRO not have to pay a proportionate amount of the renovation expenses? Is it because CRO owns those rooms and pays dues on those points just like we do or is there some other obvious reason that I'm missing?

[dianeschlicht]

Maybe the answer should be obvious to me but please humor me.

Why does CRO not have to pay a proportionate amount of the renovation expenses? Is it because CRO owns those rooms and pays dues on those points just like we do or is there some other obvious reason that I'm missing?

Well, the information I had from the manager indicated they thought they were getting money from Disney for the additional 5%, but then found out the members had to foot the whole bill, and that is why we are only getting a 95% reno, and not 100%. They had to cut the budget a bit when they found we had to pay for it all. CRO doesn't acutally "own" any part of the resort. The 4% is a breakage amount that's held back from being owned, but CRO doesn't own it. The units CRO reserves are mostly from trades. The 4% is owned by DVD, not CRO.

[WilsonFlyer]

Thanks Diane. I'm sure DVD does what it CAN do, but it seems to me that the 4% they own is probably the amount held out at any given time for repairs. Isn't that called breakage inventory? Anyway, seems wrong that they could use that inventory for CRO and not pay annual dues on it. If they own it and pay dues on it, the revenue should be there from their dues.

Sorry. I just don't get it. I don't see how anybody (CRO) gets something for nothing when the entire resort is owned by the homeowners association. There shouldn't be any points (rooms, I understand it's not our points) available for CRO unless somebody's bellying up to the bar to pay the dues on the equivilent points.

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks Diane. I'm sure DVD does what it CAN do, but it seems to me that the 4% they own is probably the amount held out at any given time for repairs. Isn't that called breakage inventory? Anyway, seems wrong that they could use that inventory for CRO and not pay annual dues on it. If they own it and pay dues on it, the revenue should be there from their dues.

Sorry. I just don't get it. I don't see how anybody (CRO) gets something for nothing when the entire resort is owned by the homeowners association. There shouldn't be any points (rooms, I understand it's not our points) available for CRO unless somebody's bellying up to the bar to pay the dues on the equivilent points.

It sounded to me like the manager I spoke to definitely agrees with that, and he sounded surprised that legal told them otherwise. I agree...they should have to pay into it too. I don't think they pay "dues" though.

[Husurdady]

So we'll be spending two weeks at OKW in it's former glory in May and June. :goodvibes

And next time, we can get something renovated. Should be nice.

Deb, Bill , You know that Yellowstone property is looking better everyday...........I am going to the garage right now to make a FOR SALE Sign.............For Sale 400 pts. OKW.....AS IS. :laughing: