Just Back from 1st Trip to OKW - Long!

[DiznEeyore]

Wow -- dh and I are just back from WDW; drove from MI (3rd time in 9 mos. -- next January we are FLYING!!). We spent 6 nights in an OKW studio. I have to preface my comments by saying that this wasn't my first choice; every online photo I'd seen of the studios made them appear dark and unappealing. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised!

We asked for and received a 3rd floor non-smoking studio. We were in bldg. 38, which I know isn't an optimal location to some (very near the road) but we loved it! We were tucked back in the corner of the building, and from our little balcony, we watched the Illuminations fireworks every night. The traffic noise truly didn't bother us -- you could barely hear it inside the room, and we are used to hearing it outside, as we are just 5 houses in from a main road.

The studio itself was just lovely. It was bright, comfy and relaxing. And so big! The one negative we had was that towards the end of the week (and I'm assuming we got "new" neighbors at that time) the noise coming in from the locked-off 1-bedroom was really annoying. I don't know if they were especially loud (one morning we were awakened at an ungodly hour by the male guest yelling "YAHOOOOOO!") or if the walls aren't well-insulated and our previous neighbors were just extremely quiet/courteous. Can anyone shed some light on this?

On the whole, dh and I both loved the "neighborly" interactions with the other guests, and felt the staff was top-notch. Had no problems with transportation, tho' we did do a lot of our own driving, as we had our van.

We also toured the BCV model at BWV and neither dh nor I liked it. Just not our style. And we're not big fans of the Epcot resort area, anyway, so we won't be looking to add on there.

So bottom line, although I *love* our VWL and am glad to own there (it remains dh's top choice, with OKW as his #2), OKW is my idea of what a beautiful Florida vacation home should be. So now I'm hoping to come across a small OKW resale.....

 

[Chuck S]

Glad you had a good time at OKW. we seldom here the neighbors through the lock-off unless they are being VERY noisy, or have a cranky young one. Of course, the little ones ALWAYS have to try to open and knock on the connecting door immediately after check-in

 

[PamOKW]

or if the walls aren't well-insulated

The noise comes through the connecting door. Usually, it's the folks in the one-bedroom who get the worst of it since the studio has the door right in your living space and the one-bedroom has a hallway near the door. But, I've heard things in the studio as well if the people in the one-bedroom are loud.

I'm not sure if they can do something to correct this as the refurbish the rooms. Seems like heavier doors might help....or maybe they could have some removeable insulation between the doors?

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your stay at OKW. I think most of us find that once we stay at another resort, we find things to love there as well. And I think you're right, the pictures don't do justice to any of the resorts!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.