Back from OKW visit

[bub]

We're back from a wonderful 5 days at OKW. We checked in at 10:30 a.m. on Sat., Oct. 4th, and our 2-bedroom unit was ready! Other family members arrived the next day, and although they had to wait until 4 p.m. to get into their unit, they were given the room next door to us, so that was great. The staff did seem to go out of their way to accommodate our requests to be close and to be in the Turtle Pond area. The large units are excellent for a family gathering - we had 13 people altogether in 2 units, and everyone had plenty of space.

Crowds in the parks were moderate. Early entry at AK on Monday morning was the most crowded experience of the week - the problem here is that Safari is almost the only attraction open early (other than the bug movie and trails) so everyone ends up in the same place. Kali River was posting a 45-minute wait that turned out to be 10 minutes. On Wed. morning Splash Mountain was a walk on until 11:30 a.m. - this was fun, since we usually visit in the summer when a fastpass is needed.

Can't wait for our summer trip!

 

[oshun]

Glad to hear that you had a good time. Next summer won't come soon enough now. I was going to do Animal Kingdom on Monday but have changed my itinerary after reading your post. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

bub, thanks for your report. It is good to hear that the CM's worked with you and got all your family together. How fun to have everyone there in the same area. I would love to have this happen at some point with all of our family.

Did you guys do everything as a group or sometimes go your separate ways?

 

[bub]

We did do many things together on our trip - but we also broke into smaller groups at times. We had 2 grandparents, three sets of parents, and children ages 2, 3, 4, 9 and 11 on the trip. It was fun to see the younger children enjoying rides for the first time, and to share ride experiences together. On the other hand, a certain amount of time was spent waiting for others when everyone did not want to do the same ride (or could not due to age or preference). We tried to start out at the same park in the morning, then broke apart by lunch time most days depending on energy levels. We usually returned to a park together later. The pool was a good group activity. We did character breakfasts in two smaller groups, so as not to wait so long for a table. My family was the only one that did a water park (BB on Sat. - crowds were reasonable) because our children are older. The children also enjoyed watching the bedtime stories shown on TV in the evening in the hotel together. We let three kids share the living room in our unit (two on the "magic" bed - the sofa bed) and one on the small couch. They liked having their own space, and so did the adults.

We did a trip like this a few years ago and stayed in a grand villa. We decided on 2 2-bedroom units this time to cut down on the number (and energy level) of children in one unit. This worked well - we could all still gather in one unit to socialize, but we could separate the kids for naptimes and bedtimes.

My advice for a trip like this is to plan some group outings, but don't be afraid to separate at times to keep everyone sane.

 

[DeeP]

Thanks for the trip report.
Having done both GV and 2 2 BR with a large group which do you prefer? Good pts about being able to break up the group and the kids somewhat, I never thought of that.

 

[Montana Minnies]

Thanks Bub for the thread
Next summer we would like to get a 2 bdrm villa at OKW for 8 of us ages ranging from 14-84 years young. We were thinking on the same lines as you wrote.
Glad you had a great time
"Montana Minnies"

 

[bub]

DeeP -
I preferred having the two units, although the fact that they were next door to one another was really great. We could see each other from the porches of our units. We could all fit in the living room of one unit to socialize (we moved a chair from the bedroom in there for more seating). We also had the option to split up. We put one set of younger cousins in each unit, since they had the most energy, especially when they were together. In the GV, there are 3 bedrooms and the sofa bed. With 2 2-bedrooms, you get 4 bedrooms total as well as 2 sofa beds. The extra bedroom meant that no adults had to sleep on the sofa bed in the living room. My husband and I did that in the GV, and we could not go to bed until everyone else was ready to go. I appreciated having our own space this time. Also, we had two washers and dryers, which all of us used. On the other hand, if you don't have more than 3 sets of adults, the GV is amazing - more like renting a house. We had a big birthday party for 2 cousins there that year, and even decorated.