I am going to apologize now.... TRIP REPORT OKW

[Chuck S]

But again, that fight could have occurred on ANY bus, and the bus driver SHOULD have called security. OKW does NOT employ the bus driver, Transportation does. The bus driver did NOT do his job properly...he should NOT have allowed the bus to become overcrowded. That has nothing to do with OKW.

Again, WDW estimates their occupancy rates far in advance, it isn't a daily thing. In fact, DVC reservations aren't even downloaded into the individual resort computers more than a few days prior to your scheduled arrival. Member Services and CRO both know how many rooms are "available" in each resorts inventory prior to that. I find it hard to believe that bus routes and estimated usage isn't estimated, for scheduling and maintenance needs, much farther out than that. Also no resort has any way of knowing how many of their guests are waiting at PI for a ride home at any given time, that is the job of Transportation personnel, and the Transportation Dispatcher to monitor that need.

They even have a rough estimate of how many people at each resort will be totally dependent upon Disney Transportation during a given time frame by using the arrival and departure daa from Magical Express.

 

[Cruelladeville]

The fight started at PI and it was a family trying to get on a very overcrowded bus. They should have never boarded but the idiot bus driver told them to even though many people on the bus were yelling at him not to let anyone on as people were being crushed already.

As my mother used to say,"if your friends had jumped into Lake Michigan and drowned, do you mean to tell me that you would have jumped in and drowned, too? "

Just say No!

 

[PatMcDuck]

I am sorry you had a bad time, but this comment made me laugh outloud. Disney hires the very best lawyers to protect them against guest lawsuits, otherwise the company would have been shut down long ago.......

The busses can be a real pain. But I have had problems with the busses from several resorts, the worst might have been trying to return to a resort from the Westside at Downtown Disney (it's the 3rd stop there, so if the bus fills at Marketplace and PI, they skip the Westside!) Truthfully they did always seem worse to me when I was at OKW. I am a stong believer in renting a car because of this.

But, Cast Members at OKW are wonderful, in our experience. Sorry you hit a bad bunch. It also must have been worse for you with those friends along, they only have the one experience to judge DVC.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

WE WILL NEVER STAY AT THIS RESORT AGAIN!!!! I have already called into member services, our guide, DVC management, transportation, etc. to find out if we can get out of DVC just because of this experience.

2) I AM NOT TRYING TO GET OUT OF DVC, I ACTUALLY JUST ADDED ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO SO WHOEVER MADE THE COMMENT, YOU NEED TO ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE ASSUMTIONS AND YES I ACCEPT YOUR APOLOGY.

Is anyone else as confused as I am? There were a few of us that inquired about you terminating your membership -- but it's because of what you yourself wrote in your original post. Sooo...are you apologizing to yourself, and more importantly, do you still accept the apology?

 

[douglas4315]

What are you a wiseguy???

hahaha

Too much time on everyone's hands to take this to heart. I wish I had that much free time

 

[MiaSRN62]

Sorry you had a bad stay douglas. I honestly cannot relate. I don't think our family would keep going back year after year if OKW were even remotely as bad as you experienced. We have wonderful stays every year we stay. I find the busses on par with most other disney resorts. I find the CM's very friendly. Some have gone way out of their way to make our stays pleasent over the years. One year (2003), my mil was traveling with us and not feeling well after a long drive from PA to OKW. She had been undergoing chemo. I stopped in Olivia's to get her some water, and the waitress walked my mil inside, sat her down in a booth and gave her ginger ale and saltines to help settle her stomach. The CM proceeded to sit there and keep my mil company while we checked-in. My mil was so touched by her kindness as were we. I can honestly say we've met some of the nicest CM's at OKW over the years. Sure there is the ocassional grumpy one---but you can get that at any resort.

4) doulas4315: WE DID NOT SPEND EVERY DAY AT PARKS, AND THE PERSON WHO MADE THE COMMENT ABOUT MY WIFE SPENDING ALL DAY IN PARKS AND THEN NOT BEING ABLE TO CLIMB STAIRS, SHE ONLY WENT TO PARKS ONE DAY SO YOU NEED TO ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE MAKING ASSUMPTIONS.

As for your wife who is pregnant. Pregnancy is a physical state not an illness or a disability. Generally, women are very healthy when they are pregnant. Sure there are pregnancy-related complications (I'm a Labor and Delivery & high risk pregnancy RN for 17 years now). But if this existed for your wife, traveling in the heat of the summer in Florida with 90 degree temps, was probably not the best thing for her.

I visited WDW pregnant (during one Memorial week) so I'm speaking from personal experience of being pregnant and being in FL in 80-90 degree days. I also worked through all of my full-term pregnancies---lifting patients, pushing stretchers etc. I'm only mentioning this, because the majority of healthy woman who are pregnant without any complications can handle this. Pregnancy is not an illness or disability for the majority. Stairs are everywhere.....it's hard to avoid them. If your wife only visited the parks once during your stay, she probably wasn't up and down those steps that often and if she wasn't in the parks all day, she was probably more well-rested than she would have been had she been in the parks all day ? Correct me if I'm misunderstanding something here ? The steps at OKW are fortunately not steep---easier to climb that alot of others. Sorry if she had trouble though. Sorry the stairs were a hardship for your wife. I sincerely hope your next trip is a better one.

 

[jarestel]

There are transportation issues and less than magical CMs at all resorts. I could tell you stories... Fortunately these are the exceptions and not the rule. I can understand the OP's frustration (fights on a bus! What kind of message do these "parents" send to their kids?) but I wouldn't leap to any conclusions based on the events of one trip.

Good luck with the next one!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I checked my User CP this morning to see what the replies were for my camping newbie thread, and I saw this thread had EXPLODED in length, and my first though, was, uh oh.

It's like being in junior high and hearing "fight fight fight" echoing through the hallways.

Do I run away, or run towards...

 

[jarestel]

Do I run away, or run towards...

Welcome!

 

[Wendy1953]

As my mother used to say,"if your friends had jumped into Lake Michigan and drowned, do you mean to tell me that you would have jumped in and drowned, too? "

Just say No!

Funny...my Mom used to say "If your friends jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you follow them?" !!!!!

And with that said, I have been to OKW twice now and loved it! The CM's were all very nice! The bus service was a little slower than other resorts, but I also have never been durng "peak season", so I would assume it could get worse during those times.

To the original poster: Sorry that you had a bad experience while staying at a WDW.

 

[deerh]

You are allowed to voice your opinion, and to the OP, sorry you had a bad experience at OKW..

I have never stayed there, but busses can get crowded in the summer-fact.
As far as rude CM, I have seen them/talked to them, and I don't let it ruin my vacation-most of the time I say (carcastically) "you have a magical day", and leave. That usually stuns them, and they don't have anything to say.. If they are REALLY rude-I report them to manager, but this has never happened..

As for check-in: I DO have a problem with 35 min wait. When it is Sunday (heavy check-in day for DVC) WHY do they NOT have every available area filled to check-in people? I get really mad about this, when there is 4 "windows" to check-in people EMPTY!!! I let them know about this when I get up to the counter, and speak to someone about it... TOTALLY unaccepetable! Now, if it is midnight, ok, but Sunday at 4pm???? That is bs...

Sorry you had a bad time, hopefully give DVC another try!!

DeerH

 

[vandy]

My apologies on not responding to this post sooner but one of my jobs is overnight.

Douglas let me first apologize for all the folks that think that they own OKW and Disney and that it is just fine with them and the transportation is doing the best they can because it just the time of year thats a bunch of crap!

Sorry, but this one has been bothering me. It is a fact that this time of year is busier, but from what I have read in this thread no one is saying that it is just fine with them. I don't recall seeing that we think transportation is doing the best they can. On the contrary, most posters stated it was bad and some even stated they avoid using the busses. What we have been saying is to focus on where the problem lies (Transportation) and not on OKW.

We all try to of course make the best of any situation and have a great time however why should we have to make our self feel that its just ok and not to dwell on the negitive factors.

Again, where did those responding say this? It's the manner and direction the complaints were made. The issue was not the OP posting his feelings about his recent trip, the issue was with how he was directing his complaints. True problems such as the bus service and fight need to be reported. Other problems such as someone not being friendly need to be put in perspective. Were they rude to you at any other time during your visit? Or did they have one moment or day of weakness and for whatever reason not be as friendly as they should? Have any of us had a bad day at work? If everyone complained about everything that did not live up to their individual standards, our complaints would be meaningless and fall of deaf ears. Your right, don't dwell on the negatives, act on them. True problems need to be reported and addressed.

Unfortunately many of us work hard to be able to spend lots of money on our vacations and the parks and the buses and I feel that they dropped the ball..

I work two full-time jobs and my wife works full-time as well. Does this mean I am somehow entitled to better service than other DVC members? This statement has no bearing on any issue, DVC or Disney.


I think all of us are sorry the Douglas had problems while at OKW. Maybe the lesson learned from all of this is to politely and professionally let Disney Transportation or the resort know of any issues that need addressed. In the same manner, we must also notify them of those "Magical" moments when the CMs and the drivers do an excellent job (such as Isaac). Just because the majority of members accept the situation, don't assume that we like it.

 

[vandy]

Is anyone else as confused as I am? There were a few of us that inquired about you terminating your membership -- but it's because of what you yourself wrote in your original post. Sooo...are you apologizing to yourself, and more importantly, do you still accept the apology?

Thank you for posting this. I noticed this as well and was confused.

 

[starbox]

As for check-in: I DO have a problem with 35 min wait. When it is Sunday (heavy check-in day for DVC) WHY do they NOT have every available area filled to check-in people? I get really mad about this, when there is 4 "windows" to check-in people EMPTY!!! I let them know about this when I get up to the counter, and speak to someone about it... TOTALLY unaccepetable! Now, if it is midnight, ok, but Sunday at 4pm???? That is bs...

The one really horrible check-in experience I had was at OKW and every window was open and every CM was working. It still took over an hour and I waited part of the time outside in the August sun because the line was out the door. Was it OKW's fault? No. It was my bad luck to arrive on a Sunday, at 2pm, right after a DCL bus. (On our last trip, we saw a DCL about to pull up to SSR and I had DH pull to the curb and I literally ran to check-in to beat them! )

Check-in waits, room-ready times, and bus waits are just, IMHO, par for the course at Disneyworld - no matter where you stay (value, mod, deluxe, DVC). I've had more good experiences than bad. I've had some ridiculously bad experiences. The worst wait ever was from the GF - kinda burst my bubble that good bus service was somehow linked to the amount of $$ spent on the room. You'll likely get inconvenienced with lapses in services that are adversely effected by crowds to a greater extent if you plan to visit Disney during one of the five "big" holidays (Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, NYE, 4th of July).

I actually think that Disney's bus service is, for the most part, an extremely efficient system for mass public transportation. We've used it exclusively for years, and I even like SSR because we can use it even more to resort-hop. I'd say that 75% of the time I've waited less than 10 minutes for a bus, 20% of the time it's been 20 min, only 5% of the time it's been closer to 30 minutes. I can count on one hand the number of truly horrendous bus waits we've had - and those happened at VWL, BWV, OKW, POR, and GF - all different resorts and all different trips. I've always said that guests need to weigh their comfort-level with public transportation. It will never be a perfect system, and it will always involve waiting and being on a crowded bus with strangers some of the time. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to take busses. Like everything at Disney, the best plan is to do research and know what you're getting yourself into, and then decide if using bus transportation is going to work for you.

 

[cymomtx]

In 2005 we were at OKW for the 4th. We totally missed the fireworks even though we got on the bus at 6:30. There was a car accident going into the parks, the busses were packed. Yes, we were upset! But there was nothing we could do about it. WE could scream at the bus driver, yell at OKW, ask for refunds, but it was no one person's fault and it did not ruin an otherwise great trip.

We have since been back to SSR, had to wait to check-in with my two autistic children, oh well, we just went and toured the property and ate dinner. We learned to deal with inconviences, especially with two special needs children, we have to roll with the flow and not get wrapped up with the moment. Our life would be pretty miserable if we let it all get to us, with the two Aspie kids we have had to learn to adapt.

 

[HGLightlyj]

So sorry to hear about your disappointment with OKW. I know how upsetting that can be. OKW is my home resort and I have stayed there 3/4 times a year in the past 5 years. I love OKW and feel that OKW has the friendliest CM's compared to BC, BWV, and SSR. I don't go during peak times so maybe that is the difference. I can't recall having a problem with bus service at OKW as compared to vacations at BWV or BC. My last stay at SSR was not good as my studio was in horrible, dirty, and worn-out condition. Hopefully, you will give OKW another chance.

 

[mprewitt]

WE WILL NEVER STAY AT THIS RESORT AGAIN!!!! I have already called into member services, our guide, DVC management, transportation, etc. to find out if we can get out of DVC just because of this experience.

WE HAD A GREAT TIME EVERY MINUTE WE WERE AWAY FROM OKW

To the OP: Statements like the above can be perceived as provocative and inflammatory.

It would be like going to the Parks forum and saying you think they should tear down the monorail or Spaceship Earth. Statements like that will draw a lot of negative responses fast.

I'm sorry your post drew so many negative responses, but hopefully you've learned how to express a problem you experienced without using language that will be perceived as inflammatory.

It was an interesting read, however...

 

[SueM in MN]

I just gathered some statements that the OP made:

Back to OKW, service here is no where near as good or friendly as SSR. SSR cast members are so much more friendly and ensure your vacation is "magical".

WE WILL NEVER STAY AT THIS RESORT AGAIN!!!! I have already called into member services, our guide, DVC management, transportation, etc. to find out if we can get out of DVC just because of this experience.

Those that have reservations booked there, good luck! Go to SSR, you'll be treated as you expect not like a low life as you will be treated at OKW.

Good things:
WE HAD A GREAT TIME EVERY MINUTE WE WERE AWAY FROM OKW

I am going to say it again, OKW is horrible and good luck to all those that have never experienced this place. My recommendation is to stay away!!!

I have stayed at other resorts and in our opinion this is the bottom of the barrel and we would never stay here again.

A lot os people love OKW and that's great, it's just not for us and I was warning those that have not stayed there yet.

There are reports that have constructive criticism and then there are the other kind.

 

[CarolA]

Which proves why those guides are worthless. To say CS is the same as GF is ludicrous

Have you stayed at both? I have. Service probably WORSE at GF. Room quality, very comparable. The three differences... inside corridors. (Partially offset for the GF by having "out buildings" which decreases the "security" impact of interior corridors. Valet parking at GF (the slowest valet at Disney, but I guess it counts). Room service at GF. (didn't try it so I can comment, but based on the rest of the "service" I would not have been hopeful.)


Disney Deluxes do NOT measure up by any standard except PRICE which is often HIGHER then true Deluxe. (Disney has that part down )

To the OP, check in at the GF took me almost 45 minutes. They then charged me for the room twice and the GM told me "We NEVER make errors" LOL! If you think check in at OKW was substandard, don't try the GF. The CMs were too busy talking with each other to respond to customers... I mean they "allowed" you in thier "deluxe" resort, what MORE could you want????

 

[HGLightlyj]

Again, how is a fight on the bus, and the driver's lack of action by not calling security, in any way related to OKW or DVC? Neither have control of individual busses, that is transportation.

As far as rudeness from the store personnel, people perceive different situations and responses differently. It may indeed have happened, but an isolated incident of rudeness certainly does not warrant compensation from DVC (AKA our dues/operating budget)

It has been my experience that bus drivers are not assigned to a particular resort. During the bus drivers' work day, they may drive many different routes at many different resorts with many different destinations. A bus may leave OKW for DTD and then be assigned to another resort pick-up enroute to DTD - thus dropping off OKW folks at a neutral drop-off or another resort stop- and then that bus becomes the bus for whatever resort the transportation department assigns.