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

[CarolA]

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?

(And didn't the OP also post that he was NOT posting again on this thread... At least two posts ago???)

 

[zoomsharedisney]

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?

Freaking hilarious!!!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Quote:
Originally Posted by douglas4315
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.

Quote:
Originally Posted by douglas4315
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?

Right on!

 

[Slakk]

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????

I have stayed at almost every WDW hotel including both of them and I think my stay at GF was far superior to the one at Coronado Springs. My least favorite resort is Yacht Club due to the same reasons I am not fond of BWV - not enough elevators and too long halls.

The convenience of GF and the choices of restaurants and activities far outweigh what I can get at CS so I would expect it to have a higher rating.

 

[CarolA]

However in the real ranking world the following have a LOT of "weight" assigned.

1. Service. Deluxe resort service has standard. For example at the Ritz when you check in you are "escorted" to the elevator and if they think you need it to your room, NOT by a bellman wanting a tip, but by the front desk staff member.

Turndown would be something a "deluxe" rater would expect to be offered without request. Not something you call and "request" That alone is a HUGE differece to the rating agencies. (They won't call)

The rating agencies have "time" expections on things like valet. Don't meet them, get dinged in the rating. (A GM once told me if you couldn't do it well it was better not to do it. It counted less against you to not have valet then to have bad valet!)

2. Amenenties. Beds, lotions, pillows. Things like thread counts on sheets, qualtity of the freebies in the room (points are given for having all the touches, cotton balls, shoeshines etc) Points are given for robes in all rooms etc. Disney's are not up to the standard. Especially in the bed department. Compare the Disney bed to the Swan bed for example, Swan wins hands down....(Westin has that bed part down!!!)

3. Cleanliness. Having read a lot on hotel rating agencies. Think ANAL. They literally crawl around the rooms, look in the back of the closets, lay on the floor and look behind the toliet etc. At a deluxe they expect to find NADA!!!! Disney uses the basic same "standards" for all thier hotels so you will find an occasional dust ball.

Just having nice dining doesn't get you to four or five star. It helps, but if the other touches aren't there....

 

[lisaviolet]

I started reading your OP and thought, "interesting". And a little of "to each his own" (only b/c I dream of OKW). Thanks for sharing the information. Honestly. I'm sorry you didn't have a good time and had crappy bus service. Especially I know when you bring friends you want a wonderful time.

But then I got to this:

I would have owned Disney if me child was injured in the fight

This almost sent me off the bed in a combination of absolute shock and laughter.

 

[manning]

I apprecriate your post! I cannot believe the amount of people that criticized you! These boards are ment to give valuable information and to hopefully have Disney change there flaws!

I can, it's akin to someone saying your wife is ugly and you don't like what they said.
Of course that's assuming you love your wife.

 

[MiaSRN62]

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!

Vacationing in WDW during busy times and holiday weeks is most certainly going to be more crowded. No doubt the busses will struggle a little more to keep up. I've been to WDW : Memorial Week, President's Week (walked into the MK on EMH 2/24 and walked right back out after 1 hour due to sheer chaos);Easter week (eeek ! ); Thanksgiving week (another eek ! ). I know from reading many, many reports over the years that July 4th week is also a very popular time for guests to visit. So to say that the time of year shouldn't make a difference and calling that a bunch of "crap" is way off. We have experienced bus problems at MANY wdw resorts : POP, POR, CBR, WL, BWV etc.......OKW is not unique in it's share of troubles, but all of these tend to be the exception vs the rule. If you never want to stay at OKW again, that is your choice. But to think you'll never have bus troubles again is to fool yourself particularily if you go during busy or holiday weeks. It can get quite congested during those times and I've experienced first-hand in a variety of different resorts.

Originally Posted by calypso*a*go-go
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.

Add me to the list of those that are a bit confused. The OP states in one line that they are trying to find a way out of there DVC contract.....and in another line states they are not trying to get out of it ?

 

[lisaviolet]

This almost sent me off the bed in a combination of absolute shock and laughter.

And certainly not at the potential for injury for any child. It must have been an awful situation to be involved with.

Just shocked at the thought process of:

Someone starts fight on bus....transportation employee doesn't alert security...if family is hurt at all from this=

Douglas will own Disney.

????? Don't get it.

 

[zoomsharedisney]

And certainly not at the potential for injury for any child. It must have been an awful situation to be involved with. Just at the thought process of:

Someone starts fight on bus....transportation employee doesn't alert security...if family is hurt at all from this=

Douglas will own Disney.

Keep in mind that we are only hearing one persons 'side' of the story. Douglas would NOT have owned Disney over this! How do we know how severe the fight was? How do we know that the transportation employee didn't radio in and explain the situation?

Disney has hundreds of lawyers who I am sure are more than capable of solving all sorts of problems (including fights on a bus). Think about all of the other amusement parks where people have been injured or even died because of a ride. Remember a couple weeks ago when a teen's feet got severed? That park is still running strong. Once again - Douglas would NOT have owned Disney!!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Obviously OP's emotions were running high when he started this thread. However, anything he posted lost all creditibility due to his own contradictions. I still feel OKW had nothing to due with the transportation issues, I'm sorry they didn't roll the red carpet out for him at check-in, and it's too bad he encountered a CM that probably feels bad they encountered OP.

It just sounds like a case where OP was really trying to impress his friends and that didn't happen. I wonder, were they giving him grief over OKW or just purchasing a timeshare in general. More importantly, is it really their business where OP chooses to purchase a timeshare? He never did state where his home resort is and for his sake, I hope it isn't OKW as he said he would never stay there again. Thankfully he has stayed at other DVC resorts with better results (that hopefully his friends will approve of!).

 

[lisaviolet]

Keep in mind that we are only hearing one persons 'side' of the story. Douglas would NOT have owned Disney over this! How do we know how severe the fight was? How do we know that the transportation employee didn't radio in and explain the situation?

Disney has hundreds of lawyers who I am sure are more than capable of solving all sorts of problems (including fights on a bus). Think about all of the other amusement parks where people have been injured or even died because of a ride. Remember a couple weeks ago when a teen's feet got severed? That park is still running strong. Once again - Douglas would NOT have owned Disney!!

Oh. No. I wasn't questioning whether he would be successful in any way. Not at all. My brain couldn't even get anywhere near to "would he be successful in any way in that scenerio?". "no" would definitely be the answer I would think.

My brain was just absolutely jammed at the intial thought process of suing. Couldn't grasp it. I love so many things about the United States. So many. Interstate system.....brilliant. Rest stops...love them. Lack of regulations in some areas.....envious. And so on and so on...

But this "suing" mentality just can't get my head around it. We cross over at Buffalo and the signs for lawyers are everywhere. Everywhere. TV/Billboards. I grew up hearing constantly of "Cellino and Barnes" (local Buffalo lawyers) and now we only see "The Barnes Firm" and we constanly wonder and worry about Mr. Cellino. Like he is a long, lost friend. Court system must be jammed, eh?

 

[lisaviolet]

Obviously OP's emotions were running high when he started this thread.

It just sounds like a case where OP was really trying to impress his friends and that didn't happen. I wonder, were they giving him grief over OKW or just purchasing a timeshare in general.

I have a lot of empathy here. We've given a lot of friends and family a free stay at DVC. Thankfully, they've all been thrilled and grateful. However, certain personalities, me being one of them unfortunately, put a lot of ....I don't know what the word is...maybe care a step too much, in our guests' time at WDW. But that is no win situation because anything can go wrong ....or not.

My father for one complained about every single mode of transportation right up to his ME home. Certainly didn't want the final ME bus to feel left out!!!! But I'm simply laughing typing that sentence. Memories.....

 

[CarolA]

Oh. No. I wasn't questioning whether he would be successful in any way. Not at all. My brain couldn't even get anywhere near to "would he be successful in any way in that scenerio?". "no" would definitely be the answer I would think.

My brain was just absolutely jammed at the intial thought process of suing. Couldn't grasp it. I love so many things about the United States. So many. Interstate system.....brilliant. Rest stops...love them. Lack of regulations in some areas.....envious. And so on and so on...

But this "suing" mentality just can't get my head around it. We cross over at Buffalo and the signs for lawyers are everywhere. Everywhere. TV/Billboards. I grew up hearing constantly of "Cellino and Barnes" (local Buffalo lawyers) and now we only see "The Barnes Firm" and we constanly wonder and worry about Mr. Cellino. Like he is a long, lost friend. Court system must be jammed, eh?

Another OT Post.

I once met a guy who worked for Disney's audit firm. One of the things you do as part of the audit is determine if any of the suits pending could represent REAL finanical penalties. Some of the REAL suits filed against Disney they had to "Evaluate"

1. Vacation ruined due to rain. Disney did not take appropriate steps to proect from rain.

2. Vacation ruined due to closure from hurricane. Disney did not show appropriate foresight when selecting location

3. Vacation ruined due to family illness

And my PERSONAL FAVORITE... Yes, it's not just an URBAN LEGEND

Disney sued due to hearing loss casused by..... eardrum burst due to extreme change in depth while taking the hydrolators "undersea" at the Living Seas.. (Yes folks all on ONE FLOOR!!!!) (Suit thrown out when Disney submitted blueprints pointing out that the "ocean" was not underground.....)

Disney did not pay on any of the above. (He also said Disney practically never even goes to court and they don't pay out a lot....)

American - Land of the lawsuit....

 

[Chuck S]

No wonder the hydrolators are gone...too many injuries.

 

[joepoe]

Except for the bus transportation -- the experiences you posted about still seem fairly minor (sorry...I'm sure it doesn't feel that way to you, but for someone reading this it does). One thing that's great about DVC is there's usually something for everyone -- as a matter of fact, I just read a couple of posts on the resort board where people that had just returned from OKW loved it. Oh well, to each their own!!!

Happy to hear you still enjoyed the rest of your visit and hope you can return again soon under better circumstances.

Sorry to hear the OP did not have a good trip. We stayed off site this past week and I must say the days leading up to and including the 4th of July were EXREMELY CROWDED. We did not have magical days at the parks those days. In contrast, Fri and Sat were not crowded at all.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

No wonder the hydrolators are gone...too many injuries.

Injuries... or lawsuits...? These days if you can get a million dollars from McDonalds for having hot coffee... seems anything is game. Are the hydrolators gone?

Edit: BTW... What are hydrolators?

 

[Chuck S]

OT: Yes, the hydrolators are gone...they were the fake elevators (they didn't move, the floors jiggled a little) that were designed with a special effect to make it LOOK like you were decending several hundred feet into SeaBase Alpha.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

OT: Yes, the hydrolators are gone...they were the fake elevators (they didn't move, the floors jiggled a little) that were designed with a special effect to make it LOOK like you were decending several hundred feet into SeaBase Alpha.

Sounds like getting nowhere fast

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

Sounds like getting nowhere fast

Just like this thread ! I am always disappointed to see so much action on a thread that just appeared inflamatory from the get-go....then...I post myself and contribute to the mess....I can't help myself.

If the OP disliked OKW, fine, don't have to stay there.
If it soured DVC for you, fine, sell your points.

Sorry you had a bad stay

Everyone else...check the rest of the threads, there a few that are very positive on OKW and also constructive to help you decide whether or not it fits for your family. Same goes for the other DVC resorts.

Let's all move on to a more positive pursuit !