Marathon Weekend 2027

[jenljeffers1989]

For those asking about OKW, it's hard for me to be impartial as my parents bought DVC back when OKW was THE DVC in 1992.

Advantages: The rooms are largest on property, with 2 real queen beds, if you have a car you can park right outside your building. They have several rundisney buses staged there on race morning, I've had issues with a bus driver there getting lost ONCE, but never lack of buses like the other resorts (plus I've had Poly and Wilderness Lodge bus drivers get lost too, so par for the course.

Disadvantages: All of the studios connect to 1 bedrooms, and the soundproofing is thin if the other family are using the living room section of their 1 bedroom. The quick service is VERY basic. You can mobile order from the table service restaurant there (Olivia's) and it's very good, but much more time consuming to order and more expensive.

Neutral: OKW was built at a time when the expectation was that a) people would take 2 week vacations b) people would have extended families in one room c) people will want to cook in the room d) people will want traditional activities to do with the family at the resort (like basketball, tennis, club house, multiple pools) and e) DVC would be a success if they could even get 10k members. Obviously, a lot has changed in vacation expectations since the resort was built. But it really is a laid back, calm place away from a lot of modern Disney's hustle and bustle if that style is appealing.

I am looking forward to it for a more low key race vacation. I booked 8 nights so definitely planning on doing some of the resort activities like tennis etc. I've previously stayed at Shades of Green, the Poly, and Beach Club (and the Candy Cane Inn at Disneyland) for runDisney vacations, so I'm used to a super bustling resort/hotel. The laid back vibe will be nice. Plus that 2 bedroom is huge! I'm going to try to be good about cooking at least 2 meals a day so I'm not wasting the kitchen, but that's easy to say before I get to Epcot and want to eat my way around the park lol.

 

[matt and beth]

SAFD:
I’m reaching high with Club 33 access

 

[Herding_Cats]

I stayed at OK for this past MW and was happy with the choice. It is on the lowest end of the DVC cost scale and so to me, that makes up for what I saw as the few small negatives. I was in a studio (and will be again for MW 2027) and room size was great. A lot more space than Pop which was about the cost equivalent per night. Was a good balance of quiet, but with enough runners around to have the energy you get for MW especially around the HH area and pool. On the negative side, the rooms are dated at this point and are definately due for a refresh. If you are "Team Bus" to the races, they only leave from the HH which can be a hike depending on where your room is located. It did not appear the internal busses were running that early, but I may have just not have noticed them. I have a car so I either drove to the start or drove to the HH and hopped on the bus so this was not a biggie for me. Only other slight negative I had is that the quick service is outside with limited seating. Not a huge deal to me either but I know some dislike it.

I agree with these drawbacks, and it's one of the reasons we prefer SSR. The QS is indoors and I think may have a broader menu, and it's also walkable to DS while OKW is a ~15min boat ride.

@jenljeffers1989 If you have a car/rent at OKW, but don't want to drive yourself to the races, you can always drive your car up to a much closer building or to the HH and just park it there. When we stayed in 2022 this is definitely something I did as we were way back in building 56, I think.

 

[The Expert]

I'm going to try to be good about cooking at least 2 meals a day so I'm not wasting the kitchen, but that's easy to say before I get to Epcot and want to eat my way around the park lol.

At the very least, you have a nice big fridge and a stove/microwave for not wasting leftovers!

 

[jrsharp21]

I heard back from the third party DVC rental place and my original option sold out the day after I put in the request (studio near amenities). So I told them just put in for a regular deluxe studio regardless of location. I will enjoy the laid back vacation type setting. I loved SSR this year. If we don't get OKW, I will try for SSR. We just wanted to try something new. Also, I think for 2027, we are going to do a lot more relaxing time than we did this year. We had originally planned for that this year, but then our son came for the first few days and he is a rope drop to park close person. So we were at the parks all day, each day he was there.