AoA or OKW?

[Minnie's Yellow Shoes]

Hello,

I'm looking to book our second family trip to WDW for October 2018. Early last year we stayed at AKL (JH) and loved it, however now our family is bigger we'd prefer a suite / villa.

We will be reliant on Disney transport
We get free DDP
Kids will be 6yo & 2yo
Prices are similar (OKW accom is £300 more but we get the full DDP, AoA only includes QS b'fast)

I am erring toward OKW due to spaciousness, DDP & close to DS, but the transport and lack of kid friendly theming does concern me.

Which would you recommend?

 

[Ensusieasm]

Hello,

I'm looking to book our second family trip to WDW for October 2018. Early last year we stayed at AKL (JH) and loved it, however now our family is bigger we'd prefer a suite / villa.

We will be reliant on Disney transport
We get free DDP
Kids will be 6yo & 2yo
Prices are similar (OKW accom is £300 more but we get the full DDP, AoA only includes QS b'fast)

I am erring toward OKW due to spaciousness, DDP & close to DS, but the transport and lack of kid friendly theming does concern me.

Which would you recommend?

I recommend the Resort without dogs. AoA is now dog friendly. You can now have two dogs of any breed and size in your room for seven hours, barking for 30 minutes, and the official doggy poop areas are placed all over the resort.

 

[ArwenMarie]

What type of villa at OKW?

I think the OKW deal sounds better because you get the full DDP.

My kids LOVED the pool at OKW. It looks like a big sandcastle. I love their common area theming personally. We liked the TS restaurant there a lot too

Housekeeping left something to be desired but that can happen

 

[Deb & Bill]

A one bedroom villa at OKW will have a king bed in the master bedroom and a queen sleeper sofa and twin sleeper chair in the living room. Be aware that most of the OKW villas do not have elevator access in the buildings. You'll be hauling a stroller up and down stairs unless you request a first floor villa. You'd have a full kitchen with a refrigerator with an ice maker plus a full sized washer and dryer in the villa laundry room (right in your villa, not a community laundry room). If you get a studio, you have two queen beds, a nice little kitchenette (no ice maker or even freezer here) with a toaster, coffee maker and microwave. You'd have access to a free laundry room by the pool.

 

[SarahC97]

I'd go OKW. I think it's located in a more central place and since it's the original DVC, the rooms are large. They have pretty nice villas there, IMO. I'd go with OKW. And go to Olivia's and eat -- it's a hidden gem!

 

[JessyP]

I'd stay at OKW. We've stayed a couple of times with 8 yr old DS and it's his favorite.

 

[paradesintherain]

I recommend the Resort without dogs. AoA is now dog friendly. You can now have two dogs of any breed and size in your room for seven hours, barking for 30 minutes, and the official doggy poop areas are placed all over the resort.

 

[paradesintherain]

Everyone is saying OKW, but AOA is pretty great and there's so much to look at for kids! I, personally, prefer the theming at AOA to OKW, and I prefer the centralized bus stop. It'd be hard to say whether the full DDP or QS would better, but QS may allow the trip not to be so scheduled!

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[Minnie's Yellow Shoes]

Thank you everyone for your views. It is the 1 bed villa at OKW that I am considering. Being able to put the kids to bed in another room and enjoy an evening drink and chat with my husband is very appealing!

Not too concerned about the whole dog thing at AoA. I have faith (possibly misplaced...) that Disney will make it work.

paradesintherain you have hit the nail on the head re my conundrum, but overall it looks like my gut feel of OKW is the right call. I'll just be sure to specify a ground floor villa for stroller access. The photos I've seen look like the ground floor patios are enclosed which I would want with the kids.

 

[danikoski]

Thank you everyone for your views. It is the 1 bed villa at OKW that I am considering. Being able to put the kids to bed in another room and enjoy an evening drink and chat with my husband is very appealing!

Not too concerned about the whole dog thing at AoA. I have faith (possibly misplaced...) that Disney will make it work.

paradesintherain you have hit the nail on the head re my conundrum, but overall it looks like my gut feel of OKW is the right call. I'll just be sure to specify a ground floor villa for stroller access. The photos I've seen look like the ground floor patios are enclosed which I would want with the kids.

At OKW, you may want to request not only ground floor villa, but also close to hospitality house. Hospitality house has the TS, check in, pool, boat to DS, store, small QS with refillable mug station, and first bus pick up for parks (I'm pretty sure it's first, someone else can correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[MrsDuck]

With kids that age, I'd say AoA in a heartbeat!

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

OKW since you get better dining plan.

Its super lowkey compared to AoA. But you can see plenty of theme at the parks.

 

[2x_dis_dad]

I would definitely go with OKW. I just returned from a stay at AoA in Cars family suite. AoA was great but our bus experiences were terrible. It seemed to me at the parks we waited over 30 minutes every time we wanted to go back to the resort. The buses were always stuffed full. It seemed to me they needed to run more buses to the AoA hotel. I would see the other resort buses 2 or 3 times when we left MK before the AoA bus finally pulled in.

 

[sharadoc]

I would recommend Turtle Pond area too. It has it's own snack bar so you can refill mugs, has a very nice pool area and a shuffleboard court too. The bus stop is the middle one so it's not a really long time on the bus.

For my money, OKW is wonderful. You may not be aware, but at the main pool, there is a Community Hall that has activities for kids all day, video games, board games and DVDs to check out, and lots of fun hourly activities as well. When my DS was younger, it was the perfect place for her. It was the first time she sang in public, did a Disney karaoke and literally had the kids in the pool hanging on the wall watching her (she's now a fantastic performer and sometimes I think that Disney trip when she was 10 set her on that path). She loved playing Wii bowling, and won that tournament. We did family bingo, trivia, lots of fun times at the pool.

I suspect since you're coming from the UK, you'll have a lot of resort time too. I think OKW is a wonderful family vacation.

 

[Minnie's Yellow Shoes]

I suspect since you're coming from the UK, you'll have a lot of resort time too. I think OKW is a wonderful family vacation.

Yep, some quiet downtime at the resort to recharge is also important to us. It looks like we may be more likely to find this at OKW.

Sharadoc, I love your story about your DS, btw


Thank you everyone for some great tips and insights!

 

[sharadoc]

Yep, some quiet downtime at the resort to recharge is also important to us. It looks like we may be more likely to find this at OKW.

Sharadoc, I love your story about your DS, btw


Thank you everyone for some great tips and insights!

Thanks! It's a great memory. Have a wonderful trip. We plan to be there in October too (or a cabin, can't decide). Maybe we'll see you there ☺

 

[Deb & Bill]

At OKW, you may want to request not only ground floor villa, but also close to hospitality house. Hospitality house has the TS, check in, pool, boat to DS, store, small QS with refillable mug station, and first bus pick up for parks (I'm pretty sure it's first, someone else can correct me if I'm wrong).

The Hospitality House is the last stop for pickup at OKW for the theme parks. It is the first and last stop for the Internal Bus/Disney Spring bus. The first stop is Peninsular Road, across the bridge from the HH. The Turtle Shack is open seasonally, so the hours may be shorter or it might not be open at all in October. It varies from month to month.

 

[danikoski]

The Hospitality House is the last stop for pickup at OKW for the theme parks. It is the first and last stop for the Internal Bus/Disney Spring bus. The first stop is Peninsular Road, across the bridge from the HH. The Turtle Shack is open seasonally, so the hours may be shorter or it might not be open at all in October. It varies from month to month.

Thanks for the clarification. It's been a bit since we stayed at OKW, so wasn't sure. Although we did enjoy it, just happened to get some good deals at WL the last few times we went to WDW. OKW is on our radar for our next trip though since we may need a 2 bed villa.

 

[hsmamato2]

I Love OKW....hen my kiddos were growing up my Mom had a DVC and we stayed there yearly....it's such a beautiful place,so relaxing. Yeah,it's big and spread out but it's beautiful and relaxing....and the rooms are so spacious! go for OKW and better dining!

 

[jmkjr72]

Okw hands down stayed there plenty of times with young kids they will love the lighthouse
Up side is in room laundry and the kitchen