DownNeckBoy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2001
- Messages
- 409
We returned last night from our trip which began with meeting our son at the Boy Scout Jamboree in Virginia and ending with a relatively painless seventeen hour car ride from Orlando. Our odyssey had the following stops:
1. Pop Century for two nights
2. BLT for two nights
3. OKW for three nights
4. AKL-Jambo House for five nights.
We had to break up the trip this way because we booked much later than usual and consecutive nights were, very obviously, difficult to come by.
The rooms:
We booked Pop Century on a cash basis. I know that this is a DVC forum but I am also aware that many of us do book cash stays for various reasons. Pop is the largest of the value hotels and was a good pick for us because we spent our time there recovering from the drive from Virginia, doing our son's Scout laundry and stocking up on supplies. We had room 9125 which was a ground floor room and close to the pool and parking lot. We experienced no problems here and would stay there again.
Our BLT studio room was 8206 which was on the twelfth floor and was a lakeview category room. When we checked out the view we looked to the right and saw a relatively small portion of the lake. We looked down and to the left and were treated to a view of the parking lot, the tennis courts and some maintenance areas. We then looked up and saw Space Mountain and the castle! DVC magic and luck and we were quite thrilled. There was a problem with the refrigerator and we called and it was quickly replaced. This was our first time staying at BLT and we all loved the convenience and the styling of the room. We did notice that the furniture appears to be susceptible to chipping and we could see the streaks from where it was cleaned. I don't think that this can be resolved other than by entirely revamping the decoration scheme. Our sons slept on the sleeper bed and the comment was that the bed was "ten times" more comfortable than the sleeper! Fireworks were visible from our balcony. I also checked out the observation deck and saw them from there. Nice job all the way around. You could also see the fireworks from the lobby in front of the elevators, so that is another choice available to members if the weather is inclement.
Our OKW studio room was 4210 which was in the Turtle Pond section. This was our first time staying in Turtle Pond and we were very pleased. The pool was two minutes from the room and we had no problems in traveling to the parks. 4210 is a handicapped accessible room and I did not ask for another room because I knew that the resort was full. I thought that the room was well suited for its purpose and my son, who earned the Disabilities Awareness merit badge at the Jamboree, was able to see theory put in to practice. One benefit to the HA room, in my opinion, is that the refrigerator appeared to be larger than in other studios. It was located next to one of the beds and came in handy for quickly grabbing a drink.
Our AKL studio room was 5270 and was located on the Kudu Trail in Jambo House. This was a lovely room and the view we had each day was of giraffes, zebra, longhorn cattle and ostriches. My wife even got to observe a baby giraffe nursing from its mother. More DVC magic! We highly recommend this location. The decorations were well done and extremely functional. I really had a good time here and would gladly stay here again.
I worked out at the fitness centers at each of the resorts. Surprisingly, the facilities are not equal. I would say that the best facility was at AKL followed by the Contemporary and the one at OKW. My opinion is based on the weight facilities solely. They all appeared to have the same number of treadmills, ellipticals and bikes. Each of the facilities limit their dumbbells to a high of 50 pounds. The AKL and Contemporary each has Smith Machine stations, OKW does not. The Contemporary facility is located on the third floor was formerly was the location for offices. The ceiling height is low and I knocked down a ceiling tile while I was doing overhead triceps presses. Very embarassing, but the attendant said it was a fairly common occurrence. The AKL facility is spacious and beautiful. I wish I could have worked out there every day of my stay.
Three moments that left me speechless:
1. The gentlemen on the third floor of the Pop Century who thought that it was an excellent idea to dump the water from his cooler from his balcony.
2. The family at the Main Street Bakery who took up a large portion of the corner and ate sandwiches they had brought in to the park and drinks they brought in to the park without purchasing anything from the Bakery.
3. The screaming child at the 50's Prime Time Cafe who was silenced by a well timed "Knock it off!" from one of the servers there. It appeared to be the first time she had ever heard those words, in that sequence and directed at her.
Three moments of serendipity:
1. A ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari where a family of rhinos, with a baby, came oh so close to our vehicle. Probably the best ride we ever had on the safari. Sadly, we did not have our camera with us.
2. The attendant at Toy Story Mania who was from NJ who presented us with six fastpasses when the ride was completely out of fastpasses.
3. Ending the odyssey with Illuminations from a vantage point in Germany, with pretzels und beer, with loved ones.
All in all, it was a great trip. Let me know if you have any questions.
1. Pop Century for two nights
2. BLT for two nights
3. OKW for three nights
4. AKL-Jambo House for five nights.
We had to break up the trip this way because we booked much later than usual and consecutive nights were, very obviously, difficult to come by.
The rooms:
We booked Pop Century on a cash basis. I know that this is a DVC forum but I am also aware that many of us do book cash stays for various reasons. Pop is the largest of the value hotels and was a good pick for us because we spent our time there recovering from the drive from Virginia, doing our son's Scout laundry and stocking up on supplies. We had room 9125 which was a ground floor room and close to the pool and parking lot. We experienced no problems here and would stay there again.
Our BLT studio room was 8206 which was on the twelfth floor and was a lakeview category room. When we checked out the view we looked to the right and saw a relatively small portion of the lake. We looked down and to the left and were treated to a view of the parking lot, the tennis courts and some maintenance areas. We then looked up and saw Space Mountain and the castle! DVC magic and luck and we were quite thrilled. There was a problem with the refrigerator and we called and it was quickly replaced. This was our first time staying at BLT and we all loved the convenience and the styling of the room. We did notice that the furniture appears to be susceptible to chipping and we could see the streaks from where it was cleaned. I don't think that this can be resolved other than by entirely revamping the decoration scheme. Our sons slept on the sleeper bed and the comment was that the bed was "ten times" more comfortable than the sleeper! Fireworks were visible from our balcony. I also checked out the observation deck and saw them from there. Nice job all the way around. You could also see the fireworks from the lobby in front of the elevators, so that is another choice available to members if the weather is inclement.
Our OKW studio room was 4210 which was in the Turtle Pond section. This was our first time staying in Turtle Pond and we were very pleased. The pool was two minutes from the room and we had no problems in traveling to the parks. 4210 is a handicapped accessible room and I did not ask for another room because I knew that the resort was full. I thought that the room was well suited for its purpose and my son, who earned the Disabilities Awareness merit badge at the Jamboree, was able to see theory put in to practice. One benefit to the HA room, in my opinion, is that the refrigerator appeared to be larger than in other studios. It was located next to one of the beds and came in handy for quickly grabbing a drink.
Our AKL studio room was 5270 and was located on the Kudu Trail in Jambo House. This was a lovely room and the view we had each day was of giraffes, zebra, longhorn cattle and ostriches. My wife even got to observe a baby giraffe nursing from its mother. More DVC magic! We highly recommend this location. The decorations were well done and extremely functional. I really had a good time here and would gladly stay here again.
I worked out at the fitness centers at each of the resorts. Surprisingly, the facilities are not equal. I would say that the best facility was at AKL followed by the Contemporary and the one at OKW. My opinion is based on the weight facilities solely. They all appeared to have the same number of treadmills, ellipticals and bikes. Each of the facilities limit their dumbbells to a high of 50 pounds. The AKL and Contemporary each has Smith Machine stations, OKW does not. The Contemporary facility is located on the third floor was formerly was the location for offices. The ceiling height is low and I knocked down a ceiling tile while I was doing overhead triceps presses. Very embarassing, but the attendant said it was a fairly common occurrence. The AKL facility is spacious and beautiful. I wish I could have worked out there every day of my stay.
Three moments that left me speechless:
1. The gentlemen on the third floor of the Pop Century who thought that it was an excellent idea to dump the water from his cooler from his balcony.
2. The family at the Main Street Bakery who took up a large portion of the corner and ate sandwiches they had brought in to the park and drinks they brought in to the park without purchasing anything from the Bakery.
3. The screaming child at the 50's Prime Time Cafe who was silenced by a well timed "Knock it off!" from one of the servers there. It appeared to be the first time she had ever heard those words, in that sequence and directed at her.
Three moments of serendipity:
1. A ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari where a family of rhinos, with a baby, came oh so close to our vehicle. Probably the best ride we ever had on the safari. Sadly, we did not have our camera with us.
2. The attendant at Toy Story Mania who was from NJ who presented us with six fastpasses when the ride was completely out of fastpasses.
3. Ending the odyssey with Illuminations from a vantage point in Germany, with pretzels und beer, with loved ones.
All in all, it was a great trip. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for sharing. 
