Am I judging OKW unfairly?

[eeyoresmom]

Please indulge me in a little background, then give as much input as possible. We are considering changing our SSR/BCV studio ressies to a 1 bedroom for me, DH, DS10 and DD11. The kids love SSR and have never stayed at BCV but I'm sure will love it for the pool alone. Our entire family loves the atmoshere of POR. DH and I just returned from a long weekend at BWV and BCV and when I asked him which Disney resort he likes the most, he said POR ( he likes the woodsy atmosphere of the AB section ) I have visited OKW on two occasions just to "check out the place" and did not get a great impression I think my feelings were influenced by only seeing the parking lot sides of the buildings though.We spend a large amount of time at the resorts so the "feel "of the place is very important to us.Do you have to pass through the streets and parking lots to get to the HH area ?( we wouldn't like that) Really, why I'm even considering OKW is because the theming is the closest to our beloved POR. So, do you think I didn't get a fair impression of OKW by just visiting HH and driving through the streets? I know it's not a real big deal, but we are going at almost peak season so the points savings would be significant.

 

[crk1971]

We stayed at OKW as non-dvc members and liked it because it was not over run with disney. It can get a little boring but now that we are DVC members in progress we will just pick an exciting resort! If you are looking for a relaxing place I found OKW to be that, My opinion may change over time as i stay at other resorts. Best of Luck! BTW we planned on staying at POR this year before we bought into DVC so i think you may be on the right track.

 

[winjos]

We have stayed at VWL, BWV, and OKW (VB & HHI too), with a stay at SSR in less than two weeks.

We LOVE OKW! We like down time on our vacation. We like driving up to our villa and simply walking or taking the elevator up to room. We like having a couple options for bus stops. We like LARGE rooms. We like to wake up to the fountain in the lake. I also like that since we can hang out at the villa (yes, we eat in on vacation), I don't feel the pressure to spend, spend, spend. We can hang out in the room, walk down to the pool, walk back to the room, and not feel pressured to drop more money at the house of mouse.

We love WDW and all the excitement, but I felt a little overstimulated at BWV and VWL was nice, but it too was active.

I'm looking forward to SSR. I think the dedicated DVC is more our style.

Good Luck!

 

[ray27emily]

WE own over at Beach Club but we stay at OKW whenever possible. It is our favorite of the bunch, but to be fair we have not stayed at SSR yet. The rooms are the biggest, the parking is great, and it by far the quietest (although you are far enough away from the crowds at VWL). Elevators would be cool as my wife has a tendency to grossly overpack.

 

[PamOKW]

It's true that the "other side" of the villas is where you'll find the terrific golf course or water views. You do have to walk along the sidewalks and/or hop the bus to get around the resort but I've never found it to be a bad thing. It's a lot of fun to walk around the resort and see the wildlife and golfers. If your husband likes POR I think he really love OKW. To get the best "feel" a one-bedroom or larger is best -- although a studio beats a moderate room any day.

 

[DebbieB]

When my mom was alive, we did 2 trips a year, May at OKW and early December at BWV. It gave us 2 different vacations. The OKW trip was more laid back and relaxing. The BWV trip was more "in the middle of it all", enjoying the Christmastime activities.

 

[MiaSRN62]

why I'm even considering OKW is because the theming is the closest to our beloved POR. So, do you think I didn't get a fair impression of OKW by just visiting HH and driving through the streets?

You will have to stroll along the neighborhood sidewalks to get to HH, so it's not quite the same as POR where you often stroll through wooded pathways. We love the neighborhood/community feeling of OKW. The "back" sides of the OKW view are much different than the parking lot sides. I think you're husband would like OKW, and perhaps even VWL would be to his liking because that resort is pretty woodsy (more so than OKW). The VWL interiors are more similar to the POR AB section imo in that they are darker and earth tone colors. Of course, you would save points and get larger rooms and larger balcony/patio at OKW. The 1 bedrooms at OKW are huge in comparison to the other DVC resorts.

Here are some of our views at OKW (so you can see it's not all parking lots). Most of the views from the balcony are beautiful (these are from various buildings over the past 3 years):

 

[Simba's Mom]

I have visited OKW on two occasions just to "check out the place" and did not get a great impression I think my feelings were influenced by only seeing the parking lot sides of the buildings though.We spend a large amount of time at the resorts so the "feel "of the place is very important to us.Do you have to pass through the streets and parking lots to get to the HH area ?( we wouldn't like that) Really, why I'm even considering OKW is because the theming is the closest to our beloved POR. So, do you think I didn't get a fair impression of OKW by just visiting HH and driving through the streets? I know it's not a real big deal, but we are going at almost peak season so the points savings would be significant.

We did the same thing as you several years ago-we drove thru OKW to check it out. We'd been offered a good rate there, but instead stayed with POR. Our impression then? "Boy, are we glad we didn't switch and stay here!" Yet, now that we have, we LOVE it. Our first stay was only because no other DVC was availale for that night (thank goodness, we thought, we only have to "put up with" OKW for one night). The huge balconies, the peaceful atmosphere, the friendliness of the CMs, the big and laid back units, it's all something you get used to real fast. DH won't stay anywhere else now.

 

[bluslag]

We used to stay at POR before we bought into DVC. We first bought at BWV and always stayed there. Loved it and thought we would never stay anywhere else. We added on at BCV when we needed more points and still continued to stay at BWV because that is what we loved. One year we took relatives and booked late and could only get OKW so that was our first time staying there. We have not been back to BWV because we love OKW. Did not realize that we missed all the greenery. We did not have to walk through the lobby every time we got back and have the feel of a hotel. Loved the big rooms even though we had always stayed in a studio. We used the tennis courts and loved running in the morning. The things we missed at BWV were the other restarants and the ease of getting to Epcot and MGM. Still would stay at OKW.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

I just returned from OKW as a non DVC member. I loved it as did my son and fiance. It was quiet...just what we wanted after long days in the park. The rooms were very spacious as well - we were in a 1 bedroom in bldg 30. We had a nice view of the golf course and saw the Fantasmic fireworks from our balcony.

We are hoping to be come members today at SSR but would love to stay at OKW again.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We love OKW and have stayed 20 something times. We have also stayed at PORS, and were UNDERWHELMED. THe small rooms, small beds, small bathrooms, and long walks to very crowded buses made us longing for OKW again.

While you might see parking lots from the street sides of the buildings at OKW, the real gems are the views from the huge balconys. Woods, golf course, and water are the norm, and I have seen some of the most spectacular sun rise and sunsets there.

The 1,2, and 3 bedroom villas are much larger than those at the other DVC resorts, and they feel much more like a vacation home because of that "down and out" townhouse feel to the units. It's much more of a community and nieghborhood than the hotel based DVC resorts are, and that is what we like best about it.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Thank you everybody,the input really helps.

 

[tripplanner2]

Is there any type of entertainment at OKW like there is at POR? Last year we stayed at CSR and really missed the live family entertainment in the bar.

 

[dumbo71]

We love OKW.

The theme is excellent and we really feel like we are on vacation at OKW rather than just being at WDW. It is a quiet break from the parks in beautiful, tropical surroundings. Add the low points and largest rooms and you have a winner.

My advice is to try them all so why not give OKW a try? Post a review upon return.

 

[byoung]

We love staying the most at Boardwalk, but will not hesitate to stay at OKW, it's number 2 on our list.