colleen costello
DVC Fan
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2002
- Messages
- 3,229
Just back from a great DVC trip. We checked into Riverside on Saturday evening, 11/22. The line for check-in was out the door! It was obvious that the Thanksgiving crowds were NOT waiting until Wednesday to arrive! We had a Magnolia bend room, never been in one before. The room was clean and in good order except for 2 lightbulbs out. I thought that was weird -- don't the housekeepers want to work in brightness? -- but otherwise all was fine. I literally went on a search mission for dirt, mold, etc., so I could report back here -- but all was well. Riverside is a perfect place to spend a Saturday evening before checking in to OKW. The kids had a ball in the main pool. I got up early the next morning and left my sleepyheads to recover from the drive South. Hospitality House was a ghost town at 8am and they said our rooms were ready...
We were in two studios in #49, down at the tail end of Southpoint. The rooms were spotless and everything worked fine. #49 is near the end of the property and close to the road. Outside you could hear cars, not inside. The tiny balconies were surrounded by foliage, so there was little view. It did offer privacy, however, so we often had the door to the patio open because the weather was so gorgeous. A short walk on a landscaped path took us to Turtle Pond pool. We swam every day, and enjoyed the snack bar. Got a nifty refillable mug with "Holiday 2003" on it and together drank about $1000 worth of soft drinks...
OKW is a haven for people with disabilities. My Dad is having knee surgery in January and the proximity to the vehicle was great for him. My Mom rented a scooter for the week and was thrilled with her new mobility. The parking at OKW is SO convenient for them. The crowds were huge so we spent most of the trip resort-hopping, and the handicapped parking at the other resorts is never so good. We ate at Kona Cafe one night and it was all we could do to find parking at the Poly. Same with AKL -- the handicapped parking was really far from Boma, where we had Thanksgiving dinner, and most of the spots were taken. It made us appreciate OKW more than ever.
We rented a pontoon boat at OKW and made our way down to Saratoga Springs. The boat was a great way to get a close look. The buildings look great. The colors are lighter than I expected and the overall look reminded me most of Boardwalk. The phase-one buildings are REALLY close to Downtown Disney, and my parents wondered about noise at night since Pleasure Island rocks 'til past midnight... I guess you could always ask for a quiet room facing away from that side. There was work going on all over Saratoga so it sure looked like it will be ready this Spring. I will try to post some pretty pictures I took from the boat. It will be fun to stay there and try out a new pool!
The weather was truly gorgeous, eighty degrees every day and no rain. We enjoyed touring around and seeing all the different Xmas trees. I took zillions of pictures. OKW did have unique decorations, with tropical fish in the garlands. I love the place more every time I visit. We had one dinner, two lunches and a breakfast at Olivia's, and everything was great. Had a fun lunch at Whispering Canyon, a nice Thanksgiving dinner at Boma (they added turkey to the menu) and the best dinner of the trip at Kona Cafe. The crowds at the Magic Kingdom were scary. Gotta love DVC --we just decided to skip the parks, because we'll be back in March! It was great to be with my parents at Thanksgiving, and now it's just a few weeks 'til Christmas... That made coming home to winter a little less painful! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving...
Oh -- I forgot! Dad and I were talking DVC one afternoon and a lady who was also at OKW joined our conversation. I mentioned something about the DIS Boards, and she laughed and said "Oh those people are all nuts!" How's that for an opinion? It made me laugh because she said it so matter-of-factly... I am glad to be one of the nuts!
We were in two studios in #49, down at the tail end of Southpoint. The rooms were spotless and everything worked fine. #49 is near the end of the property and close to the road. Outside you could hear cars, not inside. The tiny balconies were surrounded by foliage, so there was little view. It did offer privacy, however, so we often had the door to the patio open because the weather was so gorgeous. A short walk on a landscaped path took us to Turtle Pond pool. We swam every day, and enjoyed the snack bar. Got a nifty refillable mug with "Holiday 2003" on it and together drank about $1000 worth of soft drinks...
OKW is a haven for people with disabilities. My Dad is having knee surgery in January and the proximity to the vehicle was great for him. My Mom rented a scooter for the week and was thrilled with her new mobility. The parking at OKW is SO convenient for them. The crowds were huge so we spent most of the trip resort-hopping, and the handicapped parking at the other resorts is never so good. We ate at Kona Cafe one night and it was all we could do to find parking at the Poly. Same with AKL -- the handicapped parking was really far from Boma, where we had Thanksgiving dinner, and most of the spots were taken. It made us appreciate OKW more than ever.
We rented a pontoon boat at OKW and made our way down to Saratoga Springs. The boat was a great way to get a close look. The buildings look great. The colors are lighter than I expected and the overall look reminded me most of Boardwalk. The phase-one buildings are REALLY close to Downtown Disney, and my parents wondered about noise at night since Pleasure Island rocks 'til past midnight... I guess you could always ask for a quiet room facing away from that side. There was work going on all over Saratoga so it sure looked like it will be ready this Spring. I will try to post some pretty pictures I took from the boat. It will be fun to stay there and try out a new pool!
The weather was truly gorgeous, eighty degrees every day and no rain. We enjoyed touring around and seeing all the different Xmas trees. I took zillions of pictures. OKW did have unique decorations, with tropical fish in the garlands. I love the place more every time I visit. We had one dinner, two lunches and a breakfast at Olivia's, and everything was great. Had a fun lunch at Whispering Canyon, a nice Thanksgiving dinner at Boma (they added turkey to the menu) and the best dinner of the trip at Kona Cafe. The crowds at the Magic Kingdom were scary. Gotta love DVC --we just decided to skip the parks, because we'll be back in March! It was great to be with my parents at Thanksgiving, and now it's just a few weeks 'til Christmas... That made coming home to winter a little less painful! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving...
Oh -- I forgot! Dad and I were talking DVC one afternoon and a lady who was also at OKW joined our conversation. I mentioned something about the DIS Boards, and she laughed and said "Oh those people are all nuts!" How's that for an opinion? It made me laugh because she said it so matter-of-factly... I am glad to be one of the nuts!
Gosh, I really liked the OKW studios and the cute balcony. Glad you had such a good trip.
A Disney nut??
