First time at OKW...THINGS I NEED TO KNOW??

[Jeanieblue114]

I will be staying at OKW for the first time from Sept. 29-Oct. 4.

This is my 35th trip to Disney but first time staying at a Disney-owned on property.
We got upgraded from a value and will have 2 studio villas.

My hubby and I will be celebrating our 11th anniversary on Oct. 3.

My dad and our friend will be in the other room.

Unfortunately, I injured my foot last week and will be in an ECV during our trip.

I already requested a 1st floor room and told them it was medically necessary (but that I do not need a handicap room).

I also requested a room close to the Community House, but I know that is iffy.

We will have our own car, so I'm not worried much about bus service. But I do enjoy the boats and going to DTD, so I will probably make use of that.

How far is the walk from OKW to DTD via the path? (I will be in the ECV but the rest of the group will have to walk).

Are there other things we should know?

Oh, we also have lunch booked at Olivia's one day. I am hoping they have the Cuban sandwich when we are there. It's been a while since I had a good Cuban.

Any other advice, tips, need to know info?
(I really think they know that I have been looking at buying into DVC for a while now and they are trying to push me over the edge!)

 

[kayla87]

I personally can't answer any of your questions, but I can say that we absolutely loved OKW. Being there felt kind of like a vacation in a vacation. Hopefully you'll love it too.

In case you didn't see it yourself, the question about walking from OKW to DTD was recently on the DVC Planning board. Here's a link.

 

[spiceycat]

okw is a beautiful place.

you don't have to except a HC room to get the first floor. they have non-HC rooms on the first floor. Mother was in a wheelchair for years.

there first floor studio - non-hc - are either near the air conditioner units, or are so overgrowth - you don't get a great view.

there are hardily any studio next to each other - so your other studio might be on another floor in not in a separate building - but OKW tries to put everyone in the same building.

so don't expect to be close to CH

if you have the time just wonder around OKW - it is lovely and there are lots of surprises to see.

don't know about Cuba food.

they did serve food from Key west - but a few years ago all the menus were close to the same - DDP - it hurt alot of restuarants and Olivia was one.

 

[podsnel]

What great luck- congrats on the upgrade! We are there for our first stay on Sept 27- Oct 1. Really looking forward to it- have you seen this thread? It's the OKW lovers thread- http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1375743
Lots of good info to get you psyched! Have fun!

 

[pearljim]

OKW is our first DVC home and remains our favorite. There are also a couple of buildings that have an elevator (61-63 I think) and they are just across the main road from the Hospitality House. That might also be an option for you. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Chuck S]

Just be sure to restate your need for a first floor room when you check-in, sometimes there isn't the best internal communication between reservations and front desk. And you may still be assigned a handicap room, depending upon how booked the resort happens to be. On our last trip we had a studio with a roll-in shower and lowered kitchenette. The fridge was next to one of the beds instead of in the kitchenette area. Also, no storage cabinets in the bathroom or kitcheneete to allow for the turning radius and foot space of a wheelchair. But the room itself was just fine, just "different." I can see where parents with very young kids would want a bathtub, but for adults it really should be fine either way.

There are a few first floor studios with a decent view from the patio, though most studios are indeed on the ends of the buildings at OKW.

You may want to consider taking the busses to MK rather than driving, the HC parking at MK isn't the best. For the other parks, ask your doctor if you can get a temporary HC parking placard from your state before you leave, as the trams do not accommodate ECVs.

 

[spiceycat]

might reconsider driving at all - the buses can easily take the ECV on the bus - but in the car you need to have someone break it down and put it back together = plus these things are heavy.

even just the wc is heavy.

so unless your family is in great shape and don't mind helping you - take the bus.

 

[Jeanieblue114]

What great luck- congrats on the upgrade! We are there for our first stay on Sept 27- Oct 1. Really looking forward to it- have you seen this thread? It's the OKW lovers thread- http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1375743
Lots of good info to get you psyched! Have fun!

I marked the thread to check out..thanks! I was looking for something focused on OKW. It seems to be one of the least talked about properties.

and I'll see you there at the same time!! (look for the tinkmobile scooter..that would be me).

jeanie

 

[Jeanieblue114]

Thank you so much everyone for the tips...especially with the new ECV complication thrown in the mix.

I have a handicap sticker now for the car.
I'll have to look into the HC parking for MK and HS. I figured the HC parking for MK was at the TTA...but not sure. I knew the trams from the parking lot weren't going to work.
I'll ask on the Disability board..they have all been so helpful.
We are doing 1 day at HS and maybe the MK halloween party.
Those are the only park days. Everything else will be DTD, resort touring, or off-property.

I have a wonderful group with me of strong me...my Dad (70 years old but just built a new roof on a house), my Hubby, and our friend who is a male nurse. If it is difficult to transport around after the first day (I have a half day rental just to practice around OKW before I encounter people), I'll use the bus.....just don't want to hold everyone up.

 

[Chuck S]

The MK HC parking is at the TTC, but, you have to go under a bridge near the kennel and then up a steep ramp to the monorails or down a ramp to the boat. The bus will drop you off more conveniently.

For the HS, if you are able to get there fairly early, as the HC parking is limited, you can park in the area right where the bus would drop you off...the HC parking is very convenient. For AK the HC parking is also close to where the tram drops off ambulatory guests, and is about the same as taking a bus. EPCOT also has pretty convenient HC parking.

But really, the MK is not too good. I only use it if Mom has a hair appointment at Grand Floridian and then we want to go to MK for the rest of the day.

Also, the boat from OKW to DtD is fully accessible, but the ramp down to the OKW dock is "hidden" in the main pool area, not near the stairs used by walking folks.

 

[Jeanieblue114]

thanks so much for the info!

The only thing that I would be worried about with taking the bus to MK is that we will be there for the halloween party and leaving really late and I don't want to be stuck because no bus is available.
I hear about people in ECV's being held off the bus if they are full (more likely at closing time). So I don't want to be stuck there at night.
Worse comes to worse though with the bus, I could scoot over to the Contemp and have the family go on the bus back to OKW, get the car, and come get me.
Just want this to be as convenient as possible.
And I also hear that the OKW bus is usually not crowded at all.
I'll see how the rest of the family feels about it once we are there.
I have never used the ecv and won't feel skilled with backing it up onto bus lifts and onto transportation more than necessary.

thanks for the info!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Thank you so much everyone for the tips...especially with the new ECV complication thrown in the mix.

I have a handicap sticker now for the car.
I'll have to look into the HC parking for MK and HS. I figured the HC parking for MK was at the TTA...but not sure. I knew the trams from the parking lot weren't going to work.
I'll ask on the Disability board..they have all been so helpful.
We are doing 1 day at HS and maybe the MK halloween party.
Those are the only park days. Everything else will be DTD, resort touring, or off-property.

I have a wonderful group with me of strong me...my Dad (70 years old but just built a new roof on a house), my Hubby, and our friend who is a male nurse. If it is difficult to transport around after the first day (I have a half day rental just to practice around OKW before I encounter people), I'll use the bus.....just don't want to hold everyone up.

Please don't feel you are holding people up by taking an ECV on the buses. THat's what they are there for! It will be MUCH easier to take the bus than to drive...Especially going to MK.

Also, don't worry about which building you are in at OKW. All are accessible to the main check in area via buses, and there are very nice scenic sidewalks all around OKW. The path to DTD is especially convenient if you are in one of the buildings along the South Point area, but if you are in other areas of the resort, it will be a LOT more walking for the walkers in your group. Here again, either the bus or the ferry will be best.

 

[Jeanieblue114]

I've taken the DTD boat as a walker before from the westside to the marketplace. I like it.

How far is the (on the safe side) longest walk from OKW to DTD?

 

[Chuck S]

From where the path starts at bldg 55 to the Westside it is just under a mile. If you are near the check-in (Hospitality House) area at OKW it will be a little over 1 1/2 miles walking to Westside near Cirque Du Soleil.

 

[Jeanieblue114]

well that is a little bit of a trek with all the other walking that we/they will be doing. Wouldn't want to get caught in the rain on the way back either.
I think we will use the boat for sure.

thanks!

 

[spiceycat]

thanks so much for the info!

The only thing that I would be worried about with taking the bus to MK is that we will be there for the halloween party and leaving really late and I don't want to be stuck because no bus is available.
I hear about people in ECV's being held off the bus if they are full (more likely at closing time). So I don't want to be stuck there at night.

never heard of this happening.
would think it would be against the law or something. When taking mother =
mother get in a wheelchair around age 72 and last time was when she was 85this never happened to us - maybe because they knew I would have a fit.

now in the early days of DVC all the bus drivers were not trained in HC thing so some of them would pretend we were not there. I complainted and Disney actually retrained them all and make them understand that they would pick up guests in the WC or ECV - FIRST.

never had another problem.

the bus drivers are the best - and would think it strange if they left guests in WC/ECV -

now the older buses could only have 2 guests with wc - the new buses will allow 3.

that might have been the problem - too many guests with wc/ecv.

 

[Jeanieblue114]

yeah, that's pretty much what I'm referring to...leaving at the end of the night and the bus not having room. But I hear that OKW has much less crowded buses so I don't anticipate too much of a problem other than banging into things cause I won't know how to drive it to load on.

I just read a thread of someone coming back and said they were denied bus service 4 times in one evening and waited over an hour because the bus drivers wouldn't load their chair that was a heavy duty chair. It made me a bit nervous.
I ordered a heavy duty chair from Walker and they assured me it will fit on every bus with no issue.
Just making sure I have a plan B.

 

[SueM in MN]

yeah, that's pretty much what I'm referring to...leaving at the end of the night and the bus not having room. But I hear that OKW has much less crowded buses so I don't anticipate too much of a problem other than banging into things cause I won't know how to drive it to load on.

I just read a thread of someone coming back and said they were denied bus service 4 times in one evening and waited over an hour because the bus drivers wouldn't load their chair that was a heavy duty chair. It made me a bit nervous.
I ordered a heavy duty chair from Walker and they assured me it will fit on every bus with no issue.
Just making sure I have a plan B.

OKW does have much less crowded buses than many of the other resorts.

I don't know for sure that Walker uses this brand, but the Maxima 4 wheel scooter by Pride Mobility is a very common heavy duty scooter - it is 47 inches long and 25.5 inches wide at the wheels, 28 at the armrests. Many of the heavy duty scooters are several inches shorter or narrower.

Disney's Guidebook and web information about bus travel with mobility devices specifies that "The standard lift size is 32 inches by 48 inches. The wheelchair or ECV must fit the lift without being forced and be securely fastened in the restraints."
So, the Maxima will fit on the lift, sort of tight on length, but will fit without forcing and is much narrower than the lift, so you can be off center without much difficulty.

You need to realize the person who posted about being denied bus service 4 times in one night had a VERY large scooter, even by heavy duty scooter standards. The scooter he rented is about 30 inches wide and is 58 inches long (this is per the specs from the company that makes the scooters, in actual fact the model they are using may be a tiny bit smaller, but is probably not much smaller).
In order to fit on the lifts, it has to be driven exactly straight on since it is only 2 or so inches narrower than the lift. It also has to be loaded in a very specific way by getting it on partway and then turning the front tire to make it short enough. Even with that, it is a very tight fit. I can see some drivers looking at that scooter and feeling it will not fit without being forced.
I am not writing this to excuse the bus drivers from refusing - if the guest said he had been on those buses before with it, the driver should have probably called his manager to check it out.

This is a link to a previous thread where someone posted pictures of that same scooter on buses and the OKW boat. You can see what a tight fit it was. The poster also described how he needed to put it into the bus.

WDW won't strand anyone at a park; if need be, they will send a bus just for you. There have been times when people were denied boarding (it has happened to us and many other people who post on the disABILITIES Board, although no one except that poster has posted about problems recently). One of the posts in the disABILITIES FAQs thread is about bus transportation and has information on how to report/deal with problems.

 

[Jeanieblue114]

Wow...I really see the difference.

Mine, although heavy duty, is a 3-wheel (tiny wheels) scooter that actually even breaks down to go in a trunk.

That dream scooter looks like a motorcycle and has all-terraine wheels.
I'm worried about navigating this thing. I don't think I want to try that big thing, although I'm shocked that the rental prices are actually the same. That's a lot of scooter.

My dad likes the bus. I'm not that big of a fan of it (motion sickness sometimes), but it might be more convenient to do it for the MK halloween party.

Thank you for being so helpful. I'm actually so glad that we will be at OKW. We had been looking at buying on resale and that was the place we were leaning towards. I guess it's karma that I am there with the ECV. Lots of beautiful area to practice riding around.

Oh, the other thing I was wondering about it Olivia's. I have a lunch booked. They had a cuban sandwich on the menu and it's been forever since I've had one. Plus, I love trying new and OUT OF THE WAY quiet places. How is Olivias? The reviews are very minimal out there.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thank you for being so helpful. I'm actually so glad that we will be at OKW. We had been looking at buying on resale and that was the place we were leaning towards. I guess it's karma that I am there with the ECV. Lots of beautiful area to practice riding around.

Oh, the other thing I was wondering about it Olivia's. I have a lunch booked. They had a cuban sandwich on the menu and it's been forever since I've had one. Plus, I love trying new and OUT OF THE WAY quiet places. How is Olivias? The reviews are very minimal out there.

You're welcome.
OKW is our home resort and we have been members of DVC since 1993.
It is a beautiful resort, very peaceful and feels like it is in another world.

I don't know if Olivia's has Cuban sandwiches or not, but we have eaten there and found it very nice with good food. There are tables indoors and outdoors.

One thing we have done that you might want to do is use the walking path to get to DD, but then take the boat back. OKW is also a good place to rent a boat - you can go all the way to DD and back (past SSR and the Treehouses) and on the way back, you can continue on to the Port Orleans resorts. It's a nice boat ride.