Just back from our first trip to OKW from Apr 28 to May 8, and we had a great time. My parents also joined us by getting a studio on the annual pass rate. We stayed in building 54 (South Point overlooking the golf course) which was really nice. EXCEPT, more than one golfer tries to cut the corner on the dog leg and a few balls end up in the trees in front of the building. No real danger because it is treed in but there were a few balls. We even had one ball actually come over the building on to the parking lot side (that's a really bad slice).
My father thought seriously about joining DVC after this trip. They had a great time. He walked the path to DTD every other day, and he and my mother took the boat to DTD a couple of times and loved it. He spends a lot of his life travelling for business and his interest in DVC centered around the fact that Disney hotels don't look like every other hotel room he's ever been in. They loved OKW because it had pastel pinks, greens and blues and felt so much like a vacation spot.
From an overall perspective, I'd have to say that everything went like clockwork. We had a quick check in, got the area we requested (including being in the same building as my parents), and received a clean room, complete with a towel animal (I should have taken a picture). Mousekeeping was good for the time we were there. Our Owner's Locker was waiting at bell services when we arrived and we just loaded it in our vehicle and away we went. And also waiting that night on the message service, was a message from our guide welcoming us home to OKW.
Crowds at the parks were as expected with peak wait times on the "big" rides topping out at 50-60 minutes in the afternoons. Bus service from OKW was great. We never waited long for a bus to show up, and I find that OKW is in a good position to get to the parks quickly. We did drive to AK so I can't comment on whether it takes a long time to get there.
I will say this - it was hot. High 80's to 90 nearly every day with humidity. Coming from a climate that is in the 60's right now, that is hot. Clear sunny days every day - no rain.
We took our DS15 and DS17 for their first time to WDW on this trip and they had a blast. Instantly hooked on Disney at the start. Of course, this tipped the scales in favor of an add on. So off we went to meet with our guide near the end of the trip and we added on a 100 points at SSR. Got the $10 off plus $500 gift card and promptly booked a quick return trip in August in a studio in SSR (gotta update my sig now).
I may add some random thoughts later in the post, but for now that's a snapshot of our latest trip.
My father thought seriously about joining DVC after this trip. They had a great time. He walked the path to DTD every other day, and he and my mother took the boat to DTD a couple of times and loved it. He spends a lot of his life travelling for business and his interest in DVC centered around the fact that Disney hotels don't look like every other hotel room he's ever been in. They loved OKW because it had pastel pinks, greens and blues and felt so much like a vacation spot.
From an overall perspective, I'd have to say that everything went like clockwork. We had a quick check in, got the area we requested (including being in the same building as my parents), and received a clean room, complete with a towel animal (I should have taken a picture). Mousekeeping was good for the time we were there. Our Owner's Locker was waiting at bell services when we arrived and we just loaded it in our vehicle and away we went. And also waiting that night on the message service, was a message from our guide welcoming us home to OKW.
Crowds at the parks were as expected with peak wait times on the "big" rides topping out at 50-60 minutes in the afternoons. Bus service from OKW was great. We never waited long for a bus to show up, and I find that OKW is in a good position to get to the parks quickly. We did drive to AK so I can't comment on whether it takes a long time to get there.
I will say this - it was hot. High 80's to 90 nearly every day with humidity. Coming from a climate that is in the 60's right now, that is hot. Clear sunny days every day - no rain.
We took our DS15 and DS17 for their first time to WDW on this trip and they had a blast. Instantly hooked on Disney at the start. Of course, this tipped the scales in favor of an add on. So off we went to meet with our guide near the end of the trip and we added on a 100 points at SSR. Got the $10 off plus $500 gift card and promptly booked a quick return trip in August in a studio in SSR (gotta update my sig now).
I may add some random thoughts later in the post, but for now that's a snapshot of our latest trip.
Sounds like a great vacation. Like your Dad, one of the many things I appreciate about OKW is the ability to walk around. I love my morning walk! It's so much fun to plan a trip and then the minute you get home it starts all over again. We're goin in June for a family reunion and then again in August (mother/son x3), then we do strictly water parks and DQ. Did you have ADR's or did you guys just wing it?
and I'll soon be booking that again for next April/May 
