My honest thoughts about first trip to OKW

[A1A1]

I started my trip at BWV with a spectacular view of the BW. The room was nice and pretty clean. Things like hand smears on the doors bother me, because they can easily be wiped off with a cloth (as I did), but they probably wouldn't bother most people.

Decided to try OKW studio. I had not stayed at any other WDW DVC before. I liked the atmosphere around the hospitality house. It feels like a little village. We saw the view from father's room 6417, which is billed as a water/golfcourse view. It is really a view of the side of the parking lot and of someone else's patio. That was a disappointment, after being told about the great view from this building. This particular room was on the side of the building, so it didn't look out on the good stuff.

I was assigned to building 62. A perfect location for a quick walk to the hospitality house. A nice view of the corner of the water behind it. The room was very clean and nicely set up. I was disappointed that the studio rooms don't have vcr's, especially since dd and I picked out a couple of video's for her to watch that night. It was a let down to go to put the video in, and not be able to find the VCR. DD was disappointed, but channel 96 on the tv has continuous running old Disney cartoons, so that did the trick. The lights outside attract a lot of bugs to the doorways, which consequently come in the rooms when you open the door. Our room was so overrun with mosquitos, we killed about thirty, that the bug guy came to spray. All of the hype surrounding West Nile virus made it a bit urgent, I guess. Plus, we didn't want to be eaten alive as we slept. Anyway, it was 11 pm when they came to spray. They said we had to be out of the room for at least two hours. That meant dd/5 would have to wait with me in the lobby until 1 am. I was not happy about that. At about midnight, someone came and told us they would move us to a 1 BR for the night, but that we would have to sleep in our clothes, because we couldn't go back into the room. I went in, and held my breath. It really stunk in there. All I could manage to get were two nightgowns before I ran out. It was really awful to be seperated from all our belongings, and not even have a toothbrush. The next morning they had to strip the beds and replace all the towels. Oh yeah, they told me if we didn't want to go to the other room that night, I would have to change all the linens myself, because all the housekeeping staff had gone home for the night. That was not appealing. I tried to get a cup of coffee as I waited in the lobby, but the restaurant was closed, and the bar didn't have a coffee maker.

Anyway, the pool was nice, and we liked the DJ that played music and games in the afternoon. I was very surprised that there was no lifeguard. Does anyone know why there isn't one at OKW?

The boat to DD was great. Very relaxing. We came back on the last boat of the night. It was dark, and I was amazed that the captain could actually see where he was going, as most of the waterway is unlit.

The resort is really beautiful, and very relaxing. I didn't much feel like I was at WDW, which was kind of nice for a change. It was also nice to know that if I wanted to get the feeling of the parks, I could easily get there.

Olivia's food was good. We ate two breakfasts there. The staff was excellent throughout.

I would stay there again, but I wish they would replace the standard lightbulbs outside the rooms with some bug lights!

By the way, the one bedroom in bldg 13 was HUGE!!!! (but a little worn)

 

[Uncleromulus]

Sorry to hear about the "bug" experience--.
Regarding the pool and no lifeguard..since there are no slides (or anything else, for that matter) at the main pool, maybe they figured no one could possibly get hurt?? Since there's nothing to really supervise, not much need for a lifeguard. So you sort of swim at your own risk. Which makes me wonder if anyone has ever gotten hurt at the main pool??
And the other possible reason is that since they never bothered to budget a lifeguard(s) at the pool to begin with, it would probably now "cost" to have them at the pools.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

I rather like not having lifeguards. It seems that the OKW pools are quieter, less screaming and running about of children, etc. than the guarded pools. I've always assumed this is because without the lifeguards parents are hyper alert to their children.

Odd, odd, odd, your having to leave your room at 11 p.m. I'm not so sure I wouldn't register my concerns with someone who can make a difference in that happening again!

I love OKW and really hate to hear that others have had less than stellar experiences at this resort!

 

[spiceycat]

the water level in all the OKW pools is such that an adult can pull a child out if there is a problem - so no lifeguards

I don't like there being no VCR's in ANY WDW DVC studios - they have them in the off-site studios - but DVC has never had them on their on-site studios (I know it doesn't make sense to me either). Someone says that they don't need them - but for kids the entertainment value would be nice.

I am so sorry that you had such a problems with bugs - this has never happened to me - so I am really sorry it happened to you - OKW used to spray for bugs - they tried to say they didn't but hey I caught the truck - hopefully they will start spraying again.

I can't believe that the manager did not change you over to the 1-bedroom - there is no excuse for that - I would write DVC and OKW and tell them what happened and how you were treated - if anyone was entitled to an upgrade you were.

I am sorry you didn't have as good time as you would have liked.

 

[Shontell_Crawford]

Sorry to hear about the bug experience! I am disappointed the whole situation wasn't handled better by the cast members there. If they had a 1 bedroom, they should have moved you once they realized it was so late and they were going to have to spray.

I hope something really "special" happens on your next trip to make up for this!

All the best,
Shontell

 

[PamOKW]

The bug situation was pretty unusual. I'm sorry it was a problem but the options were limited. You either had to live with the bugs for the night or let them fumigate. I'm surprised they had anyone at night who could do the fumigating. I'm glad that someone did find you an alternate room when they saw you in the lobby. I'm sure if they had thought it all through the transition could have been smoother. They handled one problem at a time instead of looking at the big picture. I'm sure if you had thought about it also, you probably could have bunked down in your father's room.

I'm glad to hear you had some good on your trip as well as this difficult night.

 

[A1A1]

PamOKW, I agree. Dear Dad was already gone, so nobody to bunk with except strangers if they would have let us (ha, ha). There were people operating, but not operating together. The bug guy didn't call the front desk to communicate with them about moving us, and neither did I. I just did what everyone told me to do. I was so tired from a day at the parks that I couldn't really think straight.

I was glad they moved us for the night, because I wouldn't have wanted to be eaten alive by mosquitos in my sleep. But if we would have thought about it first, I would have packed a little bag of items, etc. and requested to be moved right away. Too tired to think..............

 

[PamOKW]

so nobody to bunk with except strangers if they would have let us (ha, ha).

I'll let you in next time there's a problem.


WDW made a commitment to being environmentally friendly and to use natural methods to contain the bugs whenever possible. Sometimes I wish we could go back to the days when they sprayed and bugs were rare on the grounds. Hopefully, if West Nile continues to be a problem, nationwide we'll find a better solution. I've often wished we had screen doors on the rooms. Not just at OKW but throughout WDW. You'll find the same open door, let in bugs problems everywhere.

 

[A1A1]

Here's a tip:

If you loosen the lightbulb outside your door enough when you leave for the day, you may not have the moths, mosquitos and other bugs waiting for you when you return. At least not as many. They caught on to us, because the lightbulb was always fixed when we returned. Not as many bugs as before. Also, I sprayed bug spray around the door frame before I opened the door at night.

The bug guy said that housekeeping usually leaves the patio/balcony door and the front door open to air the room out when they clean, so they consequently also let the bugs in. Bring bug spray.

 

[KristinU]

Do you guys think they'd let you bring your own low-bug lightbulb to use outside your door??? I suppose they would come and "fix" it if they saw it...but it might be worth trying! Hey, what can I say...I bring my own TP to use in the villas!

 

[Granny]

Just a comment on the lack of lifeguard....as I recall, neither of the quiet pools at VWL and BWV had a lifeguard and were open 24 hours. It was prominently posted and they even told us at check-in at BWV that there was no lifeguard at the quiet pool.

We appreciate your candid comments. It sounds like you still enjoyed your stay overall despite the "bugs". And that you could still appreciate the resort's beauty despite your experience and lack of view.

Thanks for the comments.