Just back - OKW

[solstice621]

We stayed in a one bedroom, and there were a couple of issues, but for the most part I think this resort is my new favorite! Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[Dustball]

Hi,

Would you please let us know what your issues were? What location do you suggest? Any insight would be appreciated, as a lot of folks have just
signed up for OKW and would LOVE more info!!!

Thanks in advance

Stephanie
Dustball

 

[solstice621]

Well, the biggest issue was the A/C - it broke one day, but they were able to fix it, so it wasn't a big deal. You really can tell it's an older resort, but it is very nice. The rooms were sooo spacious that it really made it worth it. The pools are a little on the small side, but I only thought they were too crowded the first day which was a Sunday. The other issues were housekeeping issues (like not bringing requested things), but that could happen anywhere.

We stayed near the South Point bus stop, and I would defintely recommend that area, but only on the pool side (if you can find a map you'll see what I mean). On the other "side" of the bus stop, the buses pull through the parking areas, so I can only imagine how noisy and non-stop that would be. The resort is on the larger side so we were a ways away from the Hospitality House/main pool/restaurant area, and because it is pretty large, it takes quite awhile to make it around to all of the bus stops, but I think that's pretty common at Disney.

Overall, the resort is lovely and was quieter than others I have stayed at. Everyone was very friendly. For comparison, I am NOT a fan of either BW or SSR.

Hope this helps-let me know if you have more ?'s

 

[Geoff_M]

Glad to hear you liked it... We check in for our 1st stay there on Sunday!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Did you pay cash to Disney or stay on DVC points?

 

[solstice621]

Did you pay cash to Disney or stay on DVC points?

We used DVC points...

 

[MiaSRN62]

You really can tell it's an older resort

True, OKW opened in Dec 1991, but I found that some of the resorts built after OKW (the All Stars/POP) appear more worn than OKW does. I also felt Port Orleans resort, also built in '91, appeared a tad tired. So I guess this is what you're referring to ? I also own an offsite timeshare (Vistana) which was built around the same time period and OKW has held up much better.
Glad u enjoyed your stay despite the AC/housekeeping problems.

 

[solstice621]

I guess I felt like it was an older resort because of some maintenance issues that I hadn't mentioned...bathtub drain did not work well, shower head was very loose in the wall, etc, although those things were minor and didn't affect our stay. We were really, really happy there and are considering looking into purchasing additional points there.

 

[justjudy]

So glad to hear you enjoyed your stay at OKW. One stay was enough for us, too, to purchase points there!

 

[southcarolina4]

Any Pictures.....

 

[Simba's Mom]

Which building were you in (I'm trying to figure out where you were in respect to the pool)? From there did you ever get any noise from the pool?

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

Do you have any pictures to share?

Geoff-M, how was your stay??

 

[Geoff_M]

My wife just alerted me to your query. Oddly enough, I don't have any photos from OKW (though I posted a lot of other WDW photos over on the Photo boards).

We really liked the size of the villas and the theming. We were in Building 36 and faced the LBV golf course (that's being rehab'ed now) and only had a short walk to the Turtle Pond bus stop. The only part we didn't like was the bus transportation. We couldn't catch a break on any bus it seemed. A couple of our times were over a hour bus stop to bus stop.

 

[Grand Admiral]

My wife and I are trying to decide whether to give OKW a try. We stayed at POR last time and really enjoyed it.

I stayed at OKW once about 15 years ago when it was new, and I recall my mom saying the buses were a pretty long wait. However, the unofficial guide says the travel times are around 2 minutes shorter than from POR/POFQ.

Does OKW share any buses or have other reasons why the buses might compare unfavorably vs. POR?

 

[Geoff_M]

The biggest difference between the OKW and POR buses is that at POR the buses travel a ring road around the outside of the resort. It's pretty fast and efficient at going from depot to depot. However, at OKW the buses have to thread their way around the inside of the resort's roadways. There's a lot of backtracking that has to be done and several times the buses have to use slow turnarounds to get pointed back in the right direction.

 

[Grand Admiral]

What about crowding on the buses? When we stayed at POR the buses got pretty full from being shared between the two resorts.

Do you think OKW might be less full in September?

 

[Geoff_M]

The OKW buses were less crowded than the POR (we spent at night there too this time around) buses during our stay. From the looks of the parking areas in front of the villas, it looks like a large majority of OKW guests have their own wheels.

 

[Grand Admiral]

Ok, thanks for the info. We really enjoyed POR but I've been talking to my wife about staying at OKW for a change of scenery... she does like the Key West style buildings.