First stay at OKW

[DVCsloth]

Stayed at OKW for the first time for Guardians Preview. We really liked the resort, stayed in a studio in the Turtle Pond area. Had a feeling we were going to like this resort, we thought it was excellent!
OKW has a lot of activities, it seems like it would be great to stay for an extended time. Very laid-back beautiful resort. We only stayed 2 nights, so we really didn't fully explore the resort. I would give OKW an A+ very well done. Parks on the other hand were very crowded and Genie plus was almost useless for us. GOG passholder preview was incredible! Imagineers hit a massive home run with Guardians IMO! Almost forgot to mention the bus ride to MK is a real pretty ride and the ride to Epcot is a lot longer than it looks on the map. Not sure if it's because of construction or that they go all the way around the other side to get there but it seems a lot longer than it should be.

 

[igrsod]

I agree. OKW is a hidden gem. Our family LOVES this resort.

 

[kandlsutton]

Parks on the other hand were very crowded and Genie plus was almost useless for us.

We missed the preview, but we’re there Memorial Day weekend. Yes, the parks were crowded. But, I actually got Genie+ to work for us by stacking LLs after 2pm for park hopping. I don’t really like all the down time between LLs as popular rides get pushed out quickly. So I used the 2-hour rule and by 2:30pm had 4 rides (plus an ILL) stacked in a 3-4 hour window and were able to knock those rides out with minimal wait time. Worked really well at HS and MK.

 

[ksromack]

Stayed at OKW for the first time for Guardians Preview. We really liked the resort, stayed in a studio in the Turtle Pond area. Had a feeling we were going to like this resort, we thought it was excellent!
OKW has a lot of activities, it seems like it would be great to stay for an extended time. Very laid-back beautiful resort. We only stayed 2 nights, so we really didn't fully explore the resort. I would give OKW an A+ very well done. Parks on the other hand were very crowded and Genie plus was almost useless for us. GOG passholder preview was incredible! Imagineers hit a massive home run with Guardians IMO! Almost forgot to mention the bus ride to MK is a real pretty ride and the ride to Epcot is a lot longer than it looks on the map. Not sure if it's because of construction or that they go all the way around the other side to get there but it seems a lot longer than it should be.

So happy to hear this. We booked a 2 night stay at PO-FQ for the weekend prior to our DCL Wish cruise in September before I realized we actually needed somewhere to stay Friday night too. Had my waitlist fulfilled for OKW and since it only cost 13 points for a studio near hospitality house it was cheaper than adding on a day anywhere else! We are laying low…no park on this day so we’ll hang at the resort and have a nice dinner at DS. We’ll have a crazy 2 days of park hopping before our cruise.

We missed the preview, but we’re there Memorial Day weekend. Yes, the parks were crowded. But, I actually got Genie+ to work for us by stacking LLs after 2pm for park hopping. I don’t really like all the down time between LLs as popular rides get pushed out quickly. So I used the 2-hour rule and by 2:30pm had 4 rides (plus an ILL) stacked in a 3-4 hour window and were able to knock those rides out with minimal wait time. Worked really well at HS and MK.

So this is our first time using Genie + but do you mean you maybe started at MK and booked LL for Epcot starting at 2pm that same day? I feel I need a crash course on using Genie+ and LL. We did use this for our one day at DL this past January but I don’t think I used it in conjunction with park hopping.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Stayed at OKW for the first time for Guardians Preview. We really liked the resort, stayed in a studio in the Turtle Pond area. Had a feeling we were going to like this resort, we thought it was excellent!
OKW has a lot of activities, it seems like it would be great to stay for an extended time. Very laid-back beautiful resort. We only stayed 2 nights, so we really didn't fully explore the resort. I would give OKW an A+ very well done. Parks on the other hand were very crowded and Genie plus was almost useless for us. GOG passholder preview was incredible! Imagineers hit a massive home run with Guardians IMO! Almost forgot to mention the bus ride to MK is a real pretty ride and the ride to Epcot is a lot longer than it looks on the map. Not sure if it's because of construction or that they go all the way around the other side to get there but it seems a lot longer than it should be.

I wonder if the reason that the ride to Epcot took longer than expected was because, when we were there in May, you had to take a detour, which made it a longer trip than usual. Ordinarily the trip to Epcot IS fairly short, but not so in May. I think I made some grumbling comment about DeSantis's ideas.

 

[cory30]

Thanks for the report. Our very first DVC stay was at OKW. We rarely stay there anymore (not sure why) but it was one of our favorite trips.

 

[DVCsloth]

Thanks for the report. Our very first DVC stay was at OKW. We rarely stay there anymore (not sure why) but it was one of our favorite trips.

We don't own there, but after our first stay I'm a big fan.