Is WL worth $1000 more?????

[nifferearly]

My friends are planning their first trip to Disney with their family. They are debating between a 1BR at OKW or WL. They're not members, so they're paying cash. Looks like WL will cost about $1000 more for the week. They have 7 and 5 year olds and will not have a car. I voted for OKW. Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

[ssawka]

My friends are planning their first trip to Disney with their family. They are debating between a 1BR at OKW or WL. They're not members, so they're paying cash. Looks like WL will cost about $1000 more for the week. They have 7 and 5 year olds and will not have a car. I voted for OKW. Any opinions would be appreciated.

When are they going? If it September or October there was a great deal that members can pass on if they'd be willing to sit through a DVC speil.

 

[Alexander]

Personally, no VWL is not $1,000--but that's me.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE OKW--the villas are so much huger (there's some good English for ya') than VWL. I like the layouts sooo much better, love the theme, etc. I would definately not pay $1,000 more for VWL.

Don't get me wrong I love the VWL too, but not that much!

 

[Pardo714]

VWL is great and we liked the ease of getting to Mk by boat without having to take the bus but $1000 buys alot of Mickey ice cream bars. For that I would ride the bus.

 

[drusba]

VWL gives you the close to MK (a boat ride) convenience, restaurants easily accessible within the hotel, a good pool, rental boats, and other WL amenities.

I personally would not stay at OKW without a car although it can be done using the busses (and boat to DD). It however, does give you a much larger 1BR and frankly for the $1,000 difference, I would tell them take OKW and rent a car which you can get for a lot less than $1,000.

 

[PHILCT]

I own at VWL, I love OKW too. I have been to both places.

I was really impressed with the latest DVC offer to stay in a one bedroom condo at OKW for 199 a night plus taxes, as long as you see a tour on your trip. That price is INCREDIBLE, so as the other poster said if you are going in September or October, I would save all the money you can and go with OKW, and take some of that savings and rent the car.

The best part of OKW with a rental car is the fact you can drive to the front of your CONDO, get out of the car, and you will be walking inside your unit within 60 seconds. It is the fastest way to get to the couch ! And there are two couches, not just one in these oversized units.

With a rental car you can drive very close by and go to much cheaper eats than at Disney properties.

VWL has long corridors to walk through to get to your room, I love VWL, but if I had the chance to save a lot of money, I would not hesitate to go to OKW, and I would not feel deprived at all. But it is such a great location to have a rental car, that is totally accessible without any amount of walking.

The biggest problem about OKW is that when you leave, you really don't want to, and you wished you could live there.

 

[Granny]

Nobody loves VWL more than I do (but several are tied! ) but for the trip you describe I would be hard pressed to advise someone to pay the extra grand to stay there. At the end of the day, I have to think that a 5 & 7 year old will be thrilled with their first WDW trip so where they stay won't be much of a priority for them.


Besides, they wouldn't want to bond with VWL and then have to pay more for points and dues than when they inevitably purchase their OKW DVC contract!

 

[Anal Annie]

Personally, we don't like OKW but we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE VWL and yes, I would pay that much more given the 2 as options. Actually, we DID take a cash trip down once for a long 4 n. weekend and OKW would've saved us somewhere around $400 for the 4 nights but it was a no-brainer for us to stay anywhere but there, regardless of the cost.

I think VWL would make a better first impression of DVC for your friends.

 

[twinklebug]

It's all in their personality, likes & dislikes.

I'm a VWL gal through and through (although this last trip to Kidani has me bring that up as a close second) I do not care for OKW... the resort is large and sprawling, I like it all nearby but with the feeling of seclusion at the same time. OKW also felt too much like a golf course to me. I prefer the woods, the lake and the boats. ~happy sigh~

Is VWL worth $1K over OKW? To me: Absolutely yes. No doubt in my mind. To others who adore OKW: not a chance. It depends on the family

Question: Why not point them to the rental boards here on the dis and have them save a few hundred $ by renting from members who can not only save them money, but give them a few helpful tips & hints on their first visit?

 

[JimMIA]

For kids that age, I honestly don't think VWL has anything that interesting except maybe a meal at Whispering Canyon. And they can visit WL and eat there.

If they are going to swim (not everyone does) the OKW pool is WAY better than the WL pool.

WL is very convenient to MK -- but not so much to the other parks. And kids that age are definitely going to want to see Epcot and AKV at least. The buses at OKW are usually rated as the best in the DVC system, and especially going to MK -- I'm not sure the boat from WL to MK is that much faster than bussing from OKW.

Personally, I'd take the advice above and stay at OKW and rent a car with some of the money saved. The kids (and parents) are going to have a ball no matter where they stay.

 

[Anal Annie]

For kids that age, I honestly don't think VWL has anything that interesting except maybe a meal at Whispering Canyon. And they can visit WL and eat there.

If they are going to swim (not everyone does) the OKW pool is WAY better than the WL pool.

WL is very convenient to MK -- but not so much to the other parks. And kids that age are definitely going to want to see Epcot and AKV at least. The buses at OKW are usually rated as the best in the DVC system, and especially going to MK -- I'm not sure the boat from WL to MK is that much faster than bussing from OKW.

Personally, I'd take the advice above and stay at OKW and rent a car with some of the money saved. The kids (and parents) are going to have a ball no matter where they stay.

HOW can that possibly be?! The S-L-O-W buses were one of the things we hated the most about OKW!! I swear to you that if we ONLY waited 45 or 50 min. for a bus we were doing good!! We literally waited I think about 1 hr & 15 min. one night for a bus to MK!!!!!! It may have even been closer to 90 minutes. Almost every bus had a wheelchair which slows them down tremendously. They just can't maintain a schedule that way. The BEST buses to me are tied between AKV and VWL! I don't even have a complaint about the SSR buses.

OKW was our first DVC stay (trying to save points). Lesson learned on THAT one. There is no such thing as a bargain. Anyway, my DS was 10 I think when we stayed at OKW...the only thing HE liked was the slide at the main pool, but not the schlep to get there!! Now, whenever we're planning a trip he always asks "we're not going back to that one place where we stayed that one time are we?" (meaning OKW). He is always relieved when I tell him no.

But as Twinklebug said...those who love OKW really do love it. I still say that VWL will make a better impression, but if your friends are on a super tight budget maybe they could look at AKV? A value unit over there might fit the bill instead of either VWL or OKW?!

 

[DebbieB]

I agree - I always thought the busses at OKW were slow. I wouldn't stay there without a car. The 1 bedrooms there are awesome, so much more room.

 

[JimMIA]

HOW can that possibly be?! The S-L-O-W buses were one of the things we hated the most about OKW!!

Your experience is just different from ours. We've stayed at OKW 6-7 times and never had a bus problem.

We usually drive to the parks, but sometimes bus from OKW to MK. Maybe we've just been lucky, but we've never waited more than about 15 minutes for a bus, and our times to MK are usually <40 minutes from arriving at the bus stop to getting off at MK. We've never bused TO MK at night however, so that may be part of the difference.

From other bus threads I've read, people usually pan the BCV/BWV buses and also frequently the SSR buses. The OKW buses usually get high marks, although any of the buses can be slow at times I guess.

The new "near HH" category should eliminate the complaints about long distances to the pool. When we were there in May, we were in Bldg 14, which is right across from HH -- a two-minute walk.

 

[jamstew]

When I was at OKW in May, I was amazed and how many buses there were and how often they came. I don't think we ever waited over 5-10 minutes.

I agree about booking Hospitality House category. We were directly across the street from it, which was fortunate since it poured down rain most of the week we were there.

 

[rentayenta]

No. WL is not worth $1,000 more.

 

[Gowahoowa]

My friends are planning their first trip to Disney with their family. They are debating between a 1BR at OKW or WL. They're not members, so they're paying cash. Looks like WL will cost about $1000 more for the week. They have 7 and 5 year olds and will not have a car. I voted for OKW. Any opinions would be appreciated.

WL, hands down. Full Disclosure: I've never stayed at OKW. But, with a 7 and a 5 year old, you'll most likely be spending the most time at the Magic Kingdom. You can't beat the boat ride- it's fun and quick. Like a previous poster stated, take another boat to the Contemporary and get the monorail to Epcot. We take a bus to AK and HS and it works just fine for us. The buses to everywhere else aren't that bad. I don't think all of the buses stop at the campground. I'm sure they will be happy anywhere since it's Disney, but for all the Lodge has to offer (being a Deluxe resort and the Electrical Light Water Parade) and close proximity to MK, you can't go wrong!

 

[jamstew]

WL was my choice for a recent trip with my grandchildren - ages 3-1/2, 4 and 5-1/2. Wouldn't have considered staying anywhere else. It's just so easy when you know your main park will be MK. The boat was one of the favorite rides of the trip

 

[wildernessDad]

We fell in love with WL when we first set foot in the lobby.

Next stop was a DVC membership with VWL as my home resort.

 

[lisareniff]

My friends are planning their first trip to Disney with their family. They are debating between a 1BR at OKW or WL. They're not members, so they're paying cash. Looks like WL will cost about $1000 more for the week. They have 7 and 5 year olds and will not have a car. I voted for OKW. Any opinions would be appreciated.

I vote VWL!