Do you need a car at OKW?

[Steamboat Girlie]

Want to try OKW maybe for our next trip, but am wondering if you need a car.
(We have 2 little ones) Not sure how the resort is set up. I have heard that there is lots of walking involved, and that it is really spread out.

 

[castleri]

I don't need a car at OKW but others feel they can't do without it. we much prefer to use Disney transportation while we are there. You can always request that you be near a bus stop if you think that you will have too much walking. That however can be a noisier area than some others so you trade one thing for another. We have traveled with young children and have never found it a problem. If you want to go to the main pool area and are not in a villa near it you can just hop on any bus and it will the the last stop before it leaves the resort. We have had rental cars and our own vehicle at different times also which usually stay in the same spot almost the entire time we are there. We use them for going to the grocery store or over to the outlets but not for any of the parks except the water parks. You can also request to be in the Hospitality House area if you want to be near the main pool, restaurants and gift shop. I hope you have a great trip and I am sure others will chime in with how they feel about needing a car while at WDW. It is truly a personal decision -

 

[magicaldisney]

We have not used a car at OKW and we thought the bus service there was one of the best on property.

 

[saintstickets]

Thanksgiving 2007 we drove to WDW and stayed at OKW. We parked the vehicle when we arrived and did not get back in it until we were ready to leave. The bus system was fantastic and we never waited longer than 5-10 minutes. We are going back in two weeks and don't plan on using the car at any time. There is also a boat ride to DTD.

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

Thanks for all the replies!
I am wondering about requesting to be near Hospitality House. I know that I always request something, and NEVER get it! So if you request to be near HH, will it be honored?

 

[rlovew]

Well- near HH is a booking category so obviously you wouldn't be able to be in any of the buildings that fit that category.

Rebecca

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

Well- near HH is a booking category so obviously you wouldn't be able to be in any of the buildings that fit that category.

Rebecca

I'm sorry, I don't quite understand. Near HH is a booking category? Who can/can not book that category?

 

[castleri]

I'm sorry, I don't quite understand. Near HH is a booking category? Who can/can not book that category?

Anyone can book that category if there is availability for the room size and dates you want to make a reservation for.

 

[nolanboys]

We've stayed at OKW twice. Once neat the HH and once farther away. Never had a car and busses always worked great for us. Don't worry about it!

 

[disEAR]

No, The buses were more then convenient for DW and I. We were there in Jan, and everything went very smoothly.

Also on requesting to be close to HH, the earlier you arrive the more likely you are to get your request. It's all about room availability, and it's a first come first serve type of thing. (mostly)

 

[castleri]

Near HH is an actual booking category and not just a request such as upper floor, near a pool, or elevator building so you can know when you make the reservation if you will be in a building in this category.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks for all the replies!
I am wondering about requesting to be near Hospitality House. I know that I always request something, and NEVER get it! So if you request to be near HH, will it be honored?

No, you must specifically book "Hospitality House" booking catagory. It is no longer a request. If you do BOOK HH, you will be guaranteed being near HH.

As for needing a car, we always have a car at OKW, but we rarely use it. Frankly, we feel we do less walking there than we do at some of the other DVC resorts like BWV or AKV. Maybe it's because the sidewalks are so beautiful, but if we don't walk, we just hop the first bus that comes along and it takes us to HH.

We also feel that HH is an over rated area. Sure, you are close to Olivia's and the main pool, but we find we rarely have a need to go to that area, so it means nothing to us. We prefer it only for the convenience of the buses. If you are staying at HH area, you can get on at the last bus stop, so it's easy out to the parks in the morning, and you can get off at the first bus stop,so it's also easy off at the end of the day.

 

[chalee94]

most would say you don't need a car:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2453217

but you should learn how to use the buses to get around the resort...(reading the linked thread will help.)

 

[Chuck S]

We always have a car, even when we fly, as we were "stuck" in California after 9-11 and finally drove the rental car home to TX. So now we usually drive to our vacation destinations rather than fly.

As far as OKW busses, I personally find them better than at most WDW resorts. While we do drive to most of the parks (mostly because of Mom's W/C and the fact we have a W/C lift) we do use the bus to MK because the HC parking is horrible there, if it were just me, or a group of fully ambulatory people, I'd use the busses all the time.