NancyDVC
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2000
- Messages
- 1,141
Ahhh 8 days at OKW what a wonderful time. We got a Welcome Home at the Security gate every time we drove in! (We rent a car and use it for trips other than the parks.)
We stayed in a one bedroom 3515 that had been refurbished. Nice, new carpet, new upholstery on the chairs in the bed room and living room and the new glass top stove. That did present a dilemma because while all the lamps had bulbs (I am a freak about lights) we had no tea kettle. My friend and I drink tea not coffee and hate microwaved hot water. The coffee pot was not an option because we also hate 'stale coffee flavored' water. I called housekeeping and asked for a tea kettle. I was told that they did not yet have the new tea kettles that were necessary for use on the new stoves. Apparently the old style bounces on the new stove top and doesn't heat the water properly. I explained that we are tea drinkers and reallly needed a way to get hot water. They offered us a brand new never been used coffee pot to make hot water. When we returned from our grocery trip there was a brand new coffee maker to make out hot water!
We noticed that they were working on the buildings along South Point Road and seemed to be making progress with the refurbishment there.
When we arrived we found not one but 2 towel animals. One in the bathroom and a second on the side counter near the dining table. Then on our full cleaning day we found those 2 'ducks' plus an 'Owl' in the bathroom and our toothbrushes arranged in the 'duck'. It was as if the musekeeper knew that my friend is a nut about owls!
My friend's arthritis is getting bad in her hips and one knee so we rented a scooter from Walker Mobility (as mentioned on these boards). It was waiting for us when we arrived and made all the difference in our trip. She was able to get around the parks, DTD and OKw with ease. And when she was tooling around OKW she got more hellos than some of the kids did. At first she had some difficulty negotiating the backing up to use the lifts on the buses but thanks to some very helpful and patient bus drivers by the end of our stay she was a pro!
The weather was marvelous, warm and sunny. It was quiet at OKW especially on Friday night and Saturday. The parks were relatively quiet too. No long lines. I believe our longest wait was about 15 minutes and that was yesterday at AK when the crowds started to build again. Speaking of AK we saw the real baby elephant out on the savannah whe we rode KS. What a thrill for the kids on our safari! Yes I rode Mission Space and loved it!
We rode the Trumbo ferry to & from DTD twice. According to Ron our boatman the new larger ferry is due next month. He did not have any details about the ferry schedule other than the fact that it will be shared with SSR. Ron did say that he and the other OKW ferry CMs will be doing other things because there will be other CMs running the ferry. On my second trip I had a different CM who was wearing the PO/SSC (Sassagoula Steamboat Company) costume. It seems that he is now going to be at OKW. Hmm maybe a seniority thing where those CMs with more seniority can bump those with less. I know that happened when DI closed some of their CMs ended up at OKW because they liked the resort and could bump others with less seniority.
We saw the SSR buildings from the ferry and they were moving furniture into the first building last week. we also visited the SSR models at the preview center at BW. Nice but small. SSR will have Grand Villas and from my observation it looks as if the Grand Villas will have a large 2 story window in the living area. At least I couldn't figure out what else would have a 2 story window. The window that I saw had small panes of glass but definitely was larger than one story. I took pictures but they are not digital and I don't have a scanner so I don't know if I can post them.
On my ferry trips and some bus rides we got to talking to other OKW members and we all agreed that OKW is the DVC resort that is most like coming home! (No flames please, just old time OKW members who love it.) I also met a number of people who are spending 6 weeks at OKW! One man in a studio and a couple in a one bedroom who are staying straight through. And 2 couples who move out every Friday (to stay with family or at an off property hotel) and back in on Sunday. I was so jealous that I never asked how many points these folks have. Now maybe if I bank next year's points, and borrow from the second year after that I too can stay for 4 or 5 weeks in 2 years! Ah to dream.
We ate at Olivia's 4 times and used our 10% discount with no trouble. The discount is for any meal at Olivia's. There were some other new restaurant discounts too.
We ate for the first time at the Coral Reef at the Living Seas. It was wonderful. Great food well prepared and served. And we had the pleasure of watching a group of divers wheo were doing the Dive Quest in the tank in front of us. They seemd to be having a wonderful time.
We saw Wishes the new fireworks at MK. Super! They removed the older large trees from the hub (much less shade) so that there is a better view of the castle. Some of the program takes place on the castle walls as well as in the sky. There is a narration as well as choreographed music. All in all it is not to be missed.
Mickey's Philharmagic is a super 3 D movie that has lots of special effects as well.
I guess that's about all I have for now.
We stayed in a one bedroom 3515 that had been refurbished. Nice, new carpet, new upholstery on the chairs in the bed room and living room and the new glass top stove. That did present a dilemma because while all the lamps had bulbs (I am a freak about lights) we had no tea kettle. My friend and I drink tea not coffee and hate microwaved hot water. The coffee pot was not an option because we also hate 'stale coffee flavored' water. I called housekeeping and asked for a tea kettle. I was told that they did not yet have the new tea kettles that were necessary for use on the new stoves. Apparently the old style bounces on the new stove top and doesn't heat the water properly. I explained that we are tea drinkers and reallly needed a way to get hot water. They offered us a brand new never been used coffee pot to make hot water. When we returned from our grocery trip there was a brand new coffee maker to make out hot water!
We noticed that they were working on the buildings along South Point Road and seemed to be making progress with the refurbishment there.
When we arrived we found not one but 2 towel animals. One in the bathroom and a second on the side counter near the dining table. Then on our full cleaning day we found those 2 'ducks' plus an 'Owl' in the bathroom and our toothbrushes arranged in the 'duck'. It was as if the musekeeper knew that my friend is a nut about owls!
My friend's arthritis is getting bad in her hips and one knee so we rented a scooter from Walker Mobility (as mentioned on these boards). It was waiting for us when we arrived and made all the difference in our trip. She was able to get around the parks, DTD and OKw with ease. And when she was tooling around OKW she got more hellos than some of the kids did. At first she had some difficulty negotiating the backing up to use the lifts on the buses but thanks to some very helpful and patient bus drivers by the end of our stay she was a pro!
The weather was marvelous, warm and sunny. It was quiet at OKW especially on Friday night and Saturday. The parks were relatively quiet too. No long lines. I believe our longest wait was about 15 minutes and that was yesterday at AK when the crowds started to build again. Speaking of AK we saw the real baby elephant out on the savannah whe we rode KS. What a thrill for the kids on our safari! Yes I rode Mission Space and loved it!
We rode the Trumbo ferry to & from DTD twice. According to Ron our boatman the new larger ferry is due next month. He did not have any details about the ferry schedule other than the fact that it will be shared with SSR. Ron did say that he and the other OKW ferry CMs will be doing other things because there will be other CMs running the ferry. On my second trip I had a different CM who was wearing the PO/SSC (Sassagoula Steamboat Company) costume. It seems that he is now going to be at OKW. Hmm maybe a seniority thing where those CMs with more seniority can bump those with less. I know that happened when DI closed some of their CMs ended up at OKW because they liked the resort and could bump others with less seniority.
We saw the SSR buildings from the ferry and they were moving furniture into the first building last week. we also visited the SSR models at the preview center at BW. Nice but small. SSR will have Grand Villas and from my observation it looks as if the Grand Villas will have a large 2 story window in the living area. At least I couldn't figure out what else would have a 2 story window. The window that I saw had small panes of glass but definitely was larger than one story. I took pictures but they are not digital and I don't have a scanner so I don't know if I can post them.
On my ferry trips and some bus rides we got to talking to other OKW members and we all agreed that OKW is the DVC resort that is most like coming home! (No flames please, just old time OKW members who love it.) I also met a number of people who are spending 6 weeks at OKW! One man in a studio and a couple in a one bedroom who are staying straight through. And 2 couples who move out every Friday (to stay with family or at an off property hotel) and back in on Sunday. I was so jealous that I never asked how many points these folks have. Now maybe if I bank next year's points, and borrow from the second year after that I too can stay for 4 or 5 weeks in 2 years! Ah to dream.
We ate at Olivia's 4 times and used our 10% discount with no trouble. The discount is for any meal at Olivia's. There were some other new restaurant discounts too.
We ate for the first time at the Coral Reef at the Living Seas. It was wonderful. Great food well prepared and served. And we had the pleasure of watching a group of divers wheo were doing the Dive Quest in the tank in front of us. They seemd to be having a wonderful time.
We saw Wishes the new fireworks at MK. Super! They removed the older large trees from the hub (much less shade) so that there is a better view of the castle. Some of the program takes place on the castle walls as well as in the sky. There is a narration as well as choreographed music. All in all it is not to be missed.
Mickey's Philharmagic is a super 3 D movie that has lots of special effects as well.
I guess that's about all I have for now.
The new coffee pot for your tea was a really nice solution to your tea problem too. Great disney touches with the towel animals..
