OKW 2 bedrooms are HUGE!

[laceemouse]

Hi all! Just got back this a.m. from our quicky trip to OKW. After a rough start last Wednesday night (plane left 3 hours late due to technical difficulties) and getting to Thrifty only to find out there were no vans left (we DID have one reserved) we FINALLY checked into OKW about 2 a.m. on Thursday. We were in room 3313, a 2 bedroom right behind the Old Turtle Pond bus stop. First floor, non-smoking. The 6 of us LOVED the large unit! The full size washer/dryer was to die for! Grounds were beautiful, staff superb! Did MGM on Thursday and still saw all we wanted despite a late start. Did BB on Friday, which was great, and MNSSHP that night. It was fun but more crowded than we had expected. Ride lines were okay, but streets/parade were packed and most candy lines VERY long! On Saturday a.m. we took the boat to SSR to swim. The resort was beautiful and the pool was fantastic and not too crowded. The highlight of our trip was Cirque on that night....absolutely NOT to be missed and worth every penny! Sunday spent the day with family in the area (kids swam again!), and took the 7a.m. flight home today, Columbus day. The kids only missed one day of school, last Thursday, and are busy doing homework now. We own at BCV but will definitely do OKW again sometime (and SSR too!) Now I have the post vacation let down.....back to the rat race Time to start planning our next DVC vacation, still waiting to hear about our VWL contract in ROFR though.......happy to be a DVC family.....Lacee

 

[RuthnPaul]

Lacee, sounds like you & your family had a great time after you actually made it to WDW/OKW!! Although we own at BWV & VWL, we are staying at 2-bedroom OKW unit (starting this Saturday) so it was exciting to hear you say how roomy the units are and how much you liked them (and OKW in general). I am REALLY trying to limit the number of clothes I pack because of the washer & dryer but it's just so hard for me! And, I totally agree about Cirque -- not cheap but worth the $$$!! It's on our agenda for 10/22!!

 

[1833]

Thanks for the report. We're heading out in 3 weeks for our first trip home, and I can't wait.

I had a few question, if you don't mind answering. Did the construction on the main pool raise any issues (noise....)? Was the Turtle Pond Pool really crowded? I've been getting some flack from my husband about staying at OKW since the main pool is closed ("why didn't you book at SS while they had availability....), so I'm trying to anticipate any problems.

Thanks.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Hi!

I'm glad to hear about the wonderful time you had at OKW! We're hoping to get to Cirque in December when we'll have a free night.

1833, Turtle Pond Pool was not crowded when we went a week ago Monday the 4th in the AM. And whenever we were by the dock area, constuction noise never was an issue for us.

Bobbi

 

[kweaver]

Oooo...glad to hear that you loved it!

We're hoping to switch our May reservations to an OKW 2BR. I can't wait to try it! With the extra room, I'm considering letting DD10 ask a friend to come along. I'm just not sure that I want to set that precedent or not!

 

[melk]

Interested in hearing about your trip, it sounds like fun. We're heading to OKW for the first time in a few weeks.
Did you use the bus service there to go to MK?
Also, we're going for the same amountof time you went. Did you regret that it was so short? We always go for a week and are afraid we'll feel like we didn't get to do enough in only four days. But I didn't want the kids to miss too many days of school so we're going for a quick trip this year!
Glad to hear you had fun, and especially that you liked OKW.

 

[laceemouse]

1833, I agree with Bobbi's answers. We did not get a chance to use the Turtle Pond Pool but never saw more than a handful of people there. There was not much work going on at the main pool when we were there, but when they were working it was never noisy to us. melk, we used WDW transportation the whole trip as we did not get a van from Thrifty until Saturday afternoon. Sometimes we waited 20 minutes or so, it just depends on how you hit it. The night we took the bus to the MK, in our Halloween costumes, the bus pulled up the second we got to the bus stop! I must admit the short stay was difficult, but we really wanted to do MNSSHP and don't want our kids to miss much school either. A little Disney is always better than NO Disney IMO!!! Katie, our oldest begs us to let her take her best friend so they can do the thrill rides together (DH and I don't feel the need for speed) and we are considering it some time. It would be a lot more money though, and then all of my kids would want a chance to take their friends so I know what you mean. ......Also, a note to all, the boat ride to SSR is nice and relaxing, and if the boat is not there when you are ready to go there is a phone at the dock where you can call for transport back to OKW! This is just while the pool is closed at OKW, but talk about SERVICE!