1st WDW trip and so indecisive. Changed my reservation to OKW, now 2nd guessing it

[VGCgroupie]

OKW is great. The busing isn't an issue if you figure out some tricks. Last time we went we were near 2 stops. One was the lobby and one was near our building. We found that getting on in morning at lobby was best bc it was one of the last "in resort" stops. Then coming home, we got off at our building because it was and earlier stop than lobby.

The quality of room, amenities, look of resort and amount of pools far outweigh anything you'd find at the POP resorts. OKW also has a boat ride to Downtown Disney, which is fun to do! It's closest to DD and AK.

I've stayed at OKW, SS, Contemp, AKL and Boardwalk and I would recommend any of these!!!

This could be a great plan on the bus situation

 

[VGCgroupie]

How much time are you planning on spending in your room? If you plan on spending most of your time in the parks I’d go back to Pop. I like that pop has a single bus hub and the skyliner for transportation. As the others mentioned the Swan/Dolphin might also be a great option just
Make sure you consider the resort fee when comparing the price of the Swan/Dolphin to Disney resorts.

Id love to spend as little time as possible in the room since we are accustomed to closing out DL at midnight anytime we have visited. Right now for our trip parks are set to close 5pm-9p So if they dont end up extending hours we will be in the room more.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Thank you so much everyone for the help. In the middle of the night I was actually pricing out the cabins, then decided no, not for me. Since we will have a day guest who I know will likely end up pushing to just stay, Im nervous since Disney has guidelines of the amount of people in the room.

I stumbled upon touring plans time to each park from each resort last night. Many seemed compatible.

 

[Dug720]

Thank you so much everyone for the help. In the middle of the night I was actually pricing out the cabins, then decided no, not for me. Since we will have a day guest who I know will likely end up pushing to just stay, Im nervous since Disney has guidelines of the amount of people in the room.

I stumbled upon touring plans time to each park from each resort last night. Many seemed compatible.

they are strict about the occupancy restrictions, so I would only consider resorts that will accommodate your party plus any extras you will pressure to stay. You could be kicked out if caught breaking occupancy limits.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

If you will be at the parks most of the day, why spend more $$ on a resort that you will not use much? Personally, our family would pick CBR or CSR over either OKW or SSR, we have not found them any better then a Mod.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Thoughts on AOA Cars Family Suite VS 1 Bed Villa at OKW? AOA is about $200 more over the 7 nights.

We will be at the parks as much as possible, but currently mid April they are all still closing early. We have character dining booked and outside of that we will do mostly quick service. Making breakfast in room is a plus and will save us money, with that said a waffle or bagel is sufficient for us. Will be 3 adults 1 child and a day guest that has a good chance of staying overnight in the room, not a relative so a guaranteed sep bath entrance is a nice perk. Mornings are hard for us. We have never rope dropped in our visits to DL. In fact we would enter at 1pm and stay til midnight. This will likely be our only trip to WDW.

WDW planning is hard, not like DL.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Well after much deliberation. CB wasnt available during my days. YC the room just seemed too small for the money. When I realized how close AOA and POP were I decided to do a split stay. Im doing 3 nights at POP just 3 of us. Then when my daughter and her day guest joins us we will move to AOA family suite for 4 nights. I really liked the idea of having a ton of space and being able to make breakfast in the room, but in the end decided since this is our only trip to WDW and my son is turning 6 he would really enjoy the totally themed out resorts. In CA the DLH and GCH are amazing for me but they arent as animated for him. Hoping all goes well. My husband is not keen on packing up and moving rooms. I will update this thread after my trip of how it all went

 

[labmom67]

We just came back from a 6 night stay at OKW in a 1 bedroom villa (returned home March 5th) ...it's awesome! I was able to get the passholder discount price and it made it worth it...and there was only my mom and I! My reason for the resort was I knew we'd be spending time at the resort. Having a full kitchen and a washer/dryer was super nice! We used the buses because of my mom's scooter. There are 5 or 6 stops that the buses make, factor in though that if the bus is full it skips the other stops and heads out. That could mean you may not have the bus coming to you right away if you're at a distance building. They'll send another one out, but there's a wait again. I'd request a building near the Hospitality Center (call and make the request!). Not a guarantee, but it worked for us, we were at the 1st pick up stop. The other option is to rent a car for the week and forget the busses!

For the space, you can't beat the OKW 1 Bedroom villa; however, I think you should check out renting DVC points. You may be able to beat that price you received.

 

[Ismo]

Hello! I'm a regular Disneyland goer myself (I would go at least 1- times per month when it was open). But I have also been going to Disney World since I was 10, WDW was my first park. I agree with what everyone is saying. If you're use to staying at DLR resort hotels, please keep an open mind with WDW. And try to not compare the 2. They are SO different. And if you spend your time comparing WDW to DLR you will likely be disappointed with some things. Go to WDW knowing that traveling to the parks is going to take a lot longer than when you would walk from the GC to Disneyland or DCA. If you go with that mindset, it won't be that bad. I actually really love traveling to the parks. The buses have music playing on them and you're driving around WDW! It's fun just to watch out the window and try to catch some wildlife on your way to the park.

I always give myself at least an hour to get to the parks form the resorts. A lot of times it will be less, but if you give yourself 1-1.5hrs you shouldn't be late. Buses tend to make multiple stops at the resorts and depending on which bus station you go to, you might be the first pick up and have to go to all of the other pickups or you might be the last. If you give yourself plenty of time, you won't end up stressing. And since you're planning on spending most of your time in the parks, I think you'll be happy with your resort choices. I was just going to suggest the suites at AOA but then I saw you got there on your own You'll really benefit from having the skyliner as an option. You can use it to get to HS or Epcot and I've heard it really is a great way to get to the parks.

I always leave some room in the budget for lyft/ubers. I rarely need them, but sometimes I'll have an early character breakfast booked and I'll be super stressed about getting there on time. Or maybe I'm just completed wiped out at the end of the day and there's a long wait for the bus. Having that as an option when needed helps too.

Another great thing about WDW is that you'll never be able to do it all in one trip (so don't hurt yourself trying). Why is this a great thing? It means every time you go back you can experience something new!

Anyway, have a great first trip to WDW, I'm really excited for you! You've made great choices on the resort based on your requirements so you don't need to second guess those

 

[igrsod]

OKW will be great. We never had any more issue with transportation there than at any other resort. The space in your room can not be beat. You will love that. The resort is relaxing and beautiful. If feels like a vacation within a vacation when you return home from the parks. Just budget extra time to get to and from places and relax... you're on holiday. The food at Olivia's was a nice surprise to us as well.

 

[VicarJT]

We absolutely love the AoA suites, and taking the Skyliner to two different parks turns your transportation into a fun ride. The extra bathroom is great, the beds comfortable. Last trip we did a split-stay from there to AKL and if it hadn’t been for the animals - okay, and Boma - we would have been just as happy staying in that suite.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Well after much deliberation. CB wasnt available during my days. YC the room just seemed too small for the money. When I realized how close AOA and POP were I decided to do a split stay. Im doing 3 nights at POP just 3 of us. Then when my daughter and her day guest joins us we will move to AOA family suite for 4 nights. I really liked the idea of having a ton of space and being able to make breakfast in the room, but in the end decided since this is our only trip to WDW and my son is turning 6 he would really enjoy the totally themed out resorts. In CA the DLH and GCH are amazing for me but they arent as animated for him. Hoping all goes well. My husband is not keen on packing up and moving rooms. I will update this thread after my trip of how it all went

Congrats on getting your room plans settled!! 6 is the PERFECT age for the AoA theming

Don't forget Bell Services will transfer your bags! Pack them up at Pop, drop them off with Bell Services and tell them you're moving to AoA. Bags will be available by mid/late afternoon at AoA Bell Services.

 

[VandVsmama]

Well after much deliberation. CB wasnt available during my days. YC the room just seemed too small for the money. When I realized how close AOA and POP were I decided to do a split stay. Im doing 3 nights at POP just 3 of us. Then when my daughter and her day guest joins us we will move to AOA family suite for 4 nights. I really liked the idea of having a ton of space and being able to make breakfast in the room, but in the end decided since this is our only trip to WDW and my son is turning 6 he would really enjoy the totally themed out resorts. In CA the DLH and GCH are amazing for me but they arent as animated for him. Hoping all goes well. My husband is not keen on packing up and moving rooms. I will update this thread after my trip of how it all went

I think you'll have a great time staying at AOA and Pop! The Skyliner to HS and Epcot is VERY convenient.

 

[VGCgroupie]

We just came back from a 6 night stay at OKW in a 1 bedroom villa (returned home March 5th) ...it's awesome! I was able to get the passholder discount price and it made it worth it...and there was only my mom and I! My reason for the resort was I knew we'd be spending time at the resort. Having a full kitchen and a washer/dryer was super nice! We used the buses because of my mom's scooter. There are 5 or 6 stops that the buses make, factor in though that if the bus is full it skips the other stops and heads out. That could mean you may not have the bus coming to you right away if you're at a distance building. They'll send another one out, but there's a wait again. I'd request a building near the Hospitality Center (call and make the request!). Not a guarantee, but it worked for us, we were at the 1st pick up stop. The other option is to rent a car for the week and forget the busses!

For the space, you can't beat the OKW 1 Bedroom villa; however, I think you should check out renting DVC points. You may be able to beat that price you received.

The deal seeker in me has invested in hotels.com gift cards. Good for money saving but restricts you booking choices. Our next trip to any Disney property Im going to look at renting

 

[VGCgroupie]

Im learning that now, I used to think wow so many options at WDW is amazing now I know options can be my downfall when planning. At DL theres 3 options, thats it. The upside is my son always sees the buses at DL and begs to ride them but never had a need to, so that will actually be a treat for him. I love that they play music I honestly think that will make it easier, Im the type of person that when I hear the sounds of Disney it literally makes my attitude better

 

[VGCgroupie]

Congrats on getting your room plans settled!! 6 is the PERFECT age for the AoA theming

Don't forget Bell Services will transfer your bags! Pack them up at Pop, drop them off with Bell Services and tell them you're moving to AoA. Bags will be available by mid/late afternoon at AoA Bell Services.

Yay! I had no idea they would transfer for me. I just got off the phone with my husband selling him on the idea that walking across the bridge with suitcases is really not that big of a deal. He will be happy to hear this.

 

[VGCgroupie]

We absolutely love the AoA suites, and taking the Skyliner to two different parks turns your transportation into a fun ride. The extra bathroom is great, the beds comfortable. Last trip we did a split-stay from there to AKL and if it hadn’t been for the animals - okay, and Boma - we would have been just as happy staying in that suite.

That Savannah view was very tempting.

 

[EmilyGahr]

7 nights at OKW ended up being $3222 for the 1 bed villa. I should have included that. We could probably go up 3400 but more than that is pushing it for us.

7 nights at the Yacht Club in mid-April is $3600 (pre-tax) - just something to consider! The Yacht Club is an amazing resort, walking distance to Epcot and HS.

 

[VGCgroupie]

7 nights at the Yacht Club in mid-April is $3600 (pre-tax) - just something to consider! The Yacht Club is an amazing resort, walking distance to Epcot and HS.

I watched a bunch of you tube videos on YC yesterday. I love the property, the rooms just felt a bit tight for the last 4 days for the price

 

[Deb & Bill]

Most of the buildings at OKW do not have elevators, so you would be taking stairs. There are only a few buildings with three floors, so one flight of stairs most of the time unless you get a ground floor villa. There are three buildings with elevators, but they are usually kept for medical needs. OKW one bedrooms are the size of a small apartment with full kitchen, full sized washer and dryer, large porch (not just a standing balcony) with a table and four chairs. If you have a possible extra person, just add them to your reservation since OKW one bedroom will officially sleep five plus one under the age of three.

Buildings numbered 30 and above (mostly Turtle Pond and Southpoint) will have a door through the laundry room to enter the toilet/shower/sink portion of the bathroom. Numbered under 30 will not have the door and you must enter through the master bedroom door.

If you have a vehicle, you can usually park near your villa.