LOTS of OKW questions

[keenercam]

We are staying at OKW for the first time in April. Since I anticipate the parks will be very crowded, we are hoping to spend some quality time at the resort and just soak up the atmosphere. I have so many questions (search function is not working):
1. Do they have refillable mugs? Where do you buy them? How much do they cost?

2. What activities are great for our DD15 and DS10?

3. We are taking their bikes with us. Are there places in front of the villas and at the pool where they can lock them up?

4. What buildings should we avoid? We are going to be in a 1BR no smoking (for medical reasons), and I'd love to be near a pool so I can let my son go to the pool a little more comfortably. Would also like to be somewhat conveniently located to goods2go (counter service) for kids to scoot over there for lunch without having to cross the entire resort

5. at what end of the resort is the walkway to dd? How far a walk is it?

I am sure I will think of many more ???s but truly appreciate your help.

 

[spiceycat]

you have to decide - you want easy access to a pool and dd - building 55 - but this is far away from HH as possible. you are maybe 15 to 20 minutes away from Downtown Westside.

close to HH building 11-14, 62-64 - then sorry you are kinda of far from the DD place.

HH building - is the Hospitiality House - where the front desk, Olivia (restuarant), country store (gift shop), good to go, main pool, community hall, tennis court, basketball court (half of one), sand play area, gym (both your sons are too young for this) are located.

nothing is further than 10 minutes away from HH building - there are nice sidewalk - so your kids should be safe.

there is also a snack bar at Turtle Pond - but this is limited.

I don't know activites that both of your kids would enjoy - there are several at the community hall - look on the back of the map that you get at the front desk when you check in -

your younger son would enjoy probably just about everything - your older much more difficult.

 

[colleen costello]

We love Southpoint, which is at the far end of the resort. #55 mentioned above is great, also #56. The quiet pool sits between them. The path to DD begins here too, and I think it's about a mile if I recall correctly from what Caskbill has posted.

We have also stayed in #35 and #49, closer to Turtle Pond Pool. We really enjoyed this area. It's a busier pool and has a snack bar that's open til 4pm or so. They had refill mugs at Thanksgiving when I went. The mug was $11 or so and refill drinks were free the rest of the visit. We really got our money's worth from the mug. They also offer fluffy drinks and sandwiches, plus ice cream and snacks. There is a nice playground with sand and overall my kids like this pool the best. There are hibachi grills adn some families were grilling when we were last there.

I don't recall if there are bike lockups in front of each unit. There are benches and these might do in a pinch. There are sidewalks all over as well as paths for walking, biking and golf-carting. You can rent boats and we had fun doing just that -- took a pontoon down to snoop at Saratoga Springs! There are ducks and bunnies to feed, a basketball court, shuffleboard and crafts and activities daily. We always have fun at OKW and I am never "bored." In fact it's so pretty there that we try to plan on lots of "resort time" whenever we stay.

See you at WDW!

 

[kda]

There's (reportedly) a slide being installed in the main pool, but no official dates. The kids might like to be near the Hospitality House to be able to enjoy that.

We love OKW, and the spaciousness, as well as the W/D and jacuzzi in the 1 BR is such luxury. The lower # buildings have a slightly different configuration ---- there's only one way into the bathroom, and that's through the bedroom. You might really appreciate having a 1 BR that also has a door through the laundry room into the bath, so the kids don't bother you. If you're want to try to be near the HH, just ask for a higher # building.

 

[spiceycat]

in a 1-bedroom the only building close to the HH that have the 2nd door from the hall into the bathroom - are 62,63,64 - all the other near building have the older way.

here is a map

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/okwmap.jpg

 

[vernon]

Very good point from spiceycat. Unless you want the kids to only have access to the bathroom (in the middle of the night this can become an issue with two of them paddling in and out) through your bedroom you will need to book units that are a short walk away from HH. HH is where the first buildings at OKW were placed and after the first 20-30 buildings it was realised that a door from the laundry to the bathroom meant that it wasn't necessary for anyone sleeping on the pull out to go through the master bedroom if the needed a late night pee.

 

[keenercam]

As always, you guys are amazing!!! Answers to all my questions!

And, spiceycat, that map is exactly the one I have been trying to find. Seems all other versions I have come across are too small or too blurry. This is the first one I have seen that I can actually read and figure out.

I really do think that buildings 62, 63 or 64 would be perfect for us. Definitely want that second bathroom door (love that feataure at HH) and want to be near goods to go and a bus stop and the community room. Nothing could be more perfect. Is there parking right in front of those buildings? I know that at HH, you cannot park in front of some of the buildings. It looks like there may not be parking in front of 64. Does anyone know? Also, does anyone know if 62, 63 and 64 are non-smoking? This is the only critical issue for us.

Colleen, I had forgotten about the ducks!!! Where do they usually hang out? Are there little food vending machines like at MGM? Or should we bring some bread or something? Even my 15 year old daughter will love that. Looking forward to meeting them, for sure.

We are hoping to become very familiar with the entire resort by the end of our stay and are planning considerable resort time. As a matter of fact, we had a family meeting last night and our kids said they'd be perfectly content to plan on just one park day --MK!-- and to spend the rest of the time at the resort! That is so impressive to me. Just one more incredible advantage of DVC. It would be so hard to hang out in a hotel room or with 2 rooms, trying to monitor the kids. And they are so secure in knowing that they will be at WDW again, that they are willing to forgo some park time at one of the busiest times of the year (Easter week).

Now, I have one more question and maybe Doc can help me. I never got an email notice about the responses to my thread, so I thought there were none. I definitely have that option chosen in my user control panel and have received notifications in the past of PMs and replies to subscribed threads, but have not recently. Can anyone help?

 

[spiceycat]

kept in mind that building 62, 63 and 64 are the most often requested building there - (they are the only ones with an elevator...) plus they are the newest (they have now been there for a few years - but they are still newer than the rest of the resort)

So I would have a back up plan

you are better if you request an area - like near HH, or a pool or a bus stop -

or a view - water, golf or woods

or both

then if the building you requested is allready filled - the room controller can find you another place.

kept in mind that if you request near the HH - then you will probably in building 11 thru 14 over 62 thru 64 - there isn't a way for everyone to be happy - these are the older building and only have a 1 door through the master bedroom to the bathroom.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We were at building 64 in August, and you are right...There is no parking lot at that building, but we found the one across the street to be more convenient than the one at building 62 or 63. We enjoyed being near HH, but still prefer Southpoint and that quiet pool because we saw NO wildlife at building 64.

 

[colleen costello]

I am glad your vacation is shaping up. Old Key West has many wonderful attributes! The ducks are a big part of our visits there. My kids are 9 and 5 and they just love all the tame critters. The ducks are in residence in just about every main waterway. If you have a building with a water view, you may be able to feed them right off your deck. We were in #35 last June and they came mooching every morning! If not, you can go find the ducks. We were in #49 this November and if we walked a bit on the path toward Turtle Pond Pool, we could always find some ducks to feed when we got close to water.

One of the first things we do upon arrival is hit the Winn-Dixie for 99-cent bread. Last summer we got 9 loaves and we used every one. I don't think there are any of the pellet-food machines at OKW. If you rent a boat, bring the bread -- there are lots of ducks on the way to Riverside and Downtown Disney and I have yet to meet one who doesn't seem hungry!

Have fun!