mckryan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2003
- Messages
- 2,091
I wanted to share thoughts from our very first visit home as DVC members.
Our daughter was performing at Universal this past weekend with her middle school band, so we thought we'd go down to see her since we weren't cool enough to be chaperones.
We invited my MIL, and we decided to stay at OKW to really impress her with the room size. When I made my reservation in December for a one bedroom I made 3 requests: no smoking, first floor and non-handicapped. After asking for advice here about bathroom doors, I called back a couple of months ago and asked for building 63, 64 or 65. We definitely needed 2 entrances to the bathroom since she's up and down all night.
We got to OKW around 4 PM on Thursday and check-in was empty. I asked about my requests and had one more - a room with one of the new sofa beds. The last thing I needed was her complaining about the sofa bed. The CM (I'm sorry I didn't get her name!!) was so helpful and even went off to check and make sure it was the new sofa bed. They gave us 6411.
It took us a minute to figure out the parking thing, thinking there were parking spots in front of each unit. So, after a couple of turn arounds, we pulled into the lot at 63 and parked. We hauled out our stuff from the car and went to the room. We threw open the door and I let out a big sigh. I was home! It sure was a nice feeling knowing that I had something better than a hotel room.
Everything was clean, we had all the towels, we had an extra roll of TP, and all the kitchen supplies looked like they were there. I didn't need them since I was only staying 2 nights, but at least I knew they were there! The only thing missing was a remote for the TV in the living room. A quick call to housekeeping had that remote in our room in less than 15 minutes.
We went on a little walk around OKW before getting ready for dinner. On Thursday night it was a PS for Yachtsman Steakhouse with my favorite waiter, Michael. DH and I always share because we love dessert. If we each eat a meal, then we never have room. And before now, we haven't had a fridge to put the leftovers. So, we told Michael we were going to split 2 filets among the 3 of us, and he offered us 3 6 oz. filets instead of 2 8 oz. ones. Perfect! So, we started with the Baby Spinach Salad with Bacon Dressing and Maytag Blue Cheese. YUM! It's as good as I remembed. Next came our main course, and our steaks were cooked to perfection. All three of us gobbled them up and quickly ordered dessert! I got the Jack Daniels Mousse Cake and DH and MIL split the sampler plate. We were stuffed, but happy, when we left. We wandered around the YC/BC area and walked out on the pier. There was a band performing on the beach - probably for a convention going on. We went back to our spacious room and relaxed on the couches and watched a little ER. Soon it was time for bed in my big king sized bed! You can't beat that and a living room!
The next morning was 5/7 - SSR Open House!! Yeah! Originally we had a PS for Kona Cafe, but we changed it to Saturday so we could enjoy that breakfast without rushing. So, we grabbed a quick breakfast at Olivia's and boarded the boat for SSR. Well, I didn't realize there would be that much walking or I would have convinced DH and MIL to stay at OKW while I whizzed through the new place. MIL hung in there pretty well, but she still complained some. It was fun to see the new digs! It's really beautiful, and it will be great when it's complete. It's so easy to access DTD, which is a huge plus for many people.
After our tour, we decided we wanted to go spend some time at Epcot and see the flowers. MIL is going back in October, but she wanted to spend some time wandering around Epcot leisurely - without grandkids! So, we drove over to Shades of Green to get our tickets since DH is military. We looked around there some, too, since they recently renovated the place. The new lobby is gorgeous, and it will be nice when they are finished there, too.
We headed off to Epcot after getting our tickets. I wasn't going to have a repeat of the morning tour of SSR, so I rented MIL a wheelchair. We hit France first so I could get a chocolate croissant. I love those things! Next we wandered into Japan and watched the drum show. I will not attempt to remember the name of it! We stopped in Germany for a quick lunch of bratwurst and sauerkraut. We looked at the flowers and displays as we went along to China. We went in there to watch the movie. Then we stopped at Norway, but Maelstorm was packed. We'll do that in 2 weeks. Then we headed off to Future World and looked at more flowers and did some window shopping in one of the buildings. I'll be stopping by to see the Plumeria Guy when we go back. I must have Plumeria! Before leaving, we decided to go watch the Canada movie.
Before we knew it, it was time to leave Epcot and go to the Grand Floridian for our PS at Narcoosee's. It was busy, but not too bad. I love the food, and the view is great, but darnit it's so noisy there. DH and MIL got soup and split the scallops. I got the grilled salmon, and it was to die for. I love the salmon at Artist Point, but I think I almost like this one better! Of course we got dessert, Triple Chocolate Terrine for me and Key Lime Brulee for MIL. My dessert was kind of blah. It's basically 2 layers of chocolate mouse and one of cake. I think MIL liked her brulee, but she didn't say for sure. She ate it all, though. We weren't as full after this meal like we were the night before. That's a good thing!
Before heading home, we had to drive off-world to pick up a digestive aid for MIL at the drugstore. As many of you know, that's not as easy as you think because all the roads look the same sometimes. Well, we finally went past DTD and found a Walgreens. Whew! Of course, by the time we got back home, MIL didn't need it. Isn't that the way it always goes? We all collapsed into bed and slept like rocks after our busy day.
DH and I got up around 7:30 AM and started getting ready for departure day.
We packed up, found our "bill" on the door. Boy, it was nice just seeing our dinner charge on there and nothing else. I gathered up the dishes and put them in the dishwasher with detergent. After I got back home-home, I realized I never turned them on. Argh! I also gathered up the garbage and tossed that out. Before I knew it, it was 9:30 and we needed to be heading over to the Poly for our 10 AM PS at the Kona Cafe. I bid OKW adieu, but I know I'll be back again!
Breakfast at the Kona was wonderful as always. Our server, Jackie, was the best! DH and I ordered the French Press, while MIL ordered decaf. We decided to share breakfast as well, but this time it was to get a taste of things! We ordered the Fresh Fruit Plate, Tonga Toast, ala carte eggs and bacon for MIL and ham and cheese omlette for DH and I. Jackie was spectacular because she started us off with the fruit while we waited for the rest of our breakfast. It was perfect! We all munched on the fruit and had it finished just as our breakfast showed up. Unfortunately, Jackie had not heard our H&C omlete order, so that didn't come. Well, it couldn't have worked out more perfect! It was like eating in courses! DH, MIL and I finished off the Tonga Toast and MIL worked on her egss. About the time we finished, along came the omlete. DH and I gobbled that right up and finished off our coffee.
After breakfast, we decided to hop the monorail and take a quick ride through Epcot to see the flowers from above. They were beautiful over there between the worlds. After that, we did some shopping at the Poly and headed over to the Wilderness Lodge so MIL could see it. She thought it was beautiful, and she's probably wishing she can come back with us in two weeks!
We finally had to leave WDW and head to Universal. After parking and walking miles, we finally reached the Hard Rock Cafe and were able to see our daughter's band perform. They placed 4th and got a Superior rating. They did a good job for being so exhausted after 2 days of Sea World and Universal. One of our percussionists fell asleep in a chair during the performance!
We finally left Orlando about 5:30 and started the drive back to GA. We got home around 1:30 in the morning and collapsed into our own king size bed. While OKW was great, there's no place like home!
I'm so excited that we'll be back in just 2 weeks for 5 days! I think I will have to do that trip report in multiple messages!
Thanks for reading, and don't send me any PMs telling me how horrible I am for making my MIL sleep on a couch! That's where she sleeps 90% of the time at home!
Suffice it to say that DH and I are very happy that we are members of DVC.
Our daughter was performing at Universal this past weekend with her middle school band, so we thought we'd go down to see her since we weren't cool enough to be chaperones.
We invited my MIL, and we decided to stay at OKW to really impress her with the room size. When I made my reservation in December for a one bedroom I made 3 requests: no smoking, first floor and non-handicapped. After asking for advice here about bathroom doors, I called back a couple of months ago and asked for building 63, 64 or 65. We definitely needed 2 entrances to the bathroom since she's up and down all night.We got to OKW around 4 PM on Thursday and check-in was empty. I asked about my requests and had one more - a room with one of the new sofa beds. The last thing I needed was her complaining about the sofa bed. The CM (I'm sorry I didn't get her name!!) was so helpful and even went off to check and make sure it was the new sofa bed. They gave us 6411.
It took us a minute to figure out the parking thing, thinking there were parking spots in front of each unit. So, after a couple of turn arounds, we pulled into the lot at 63 and parked. We hauled out our stuff from the car and went to the room. We threw open the door and I let out a big sigh. I was home! It sure was a nice feeling knowing that I had something better than a hotel room.
Everything was clean, we had all the towels, we had an extra roll of TP, and all the kitchen supplies looked like they were there. I didn't need them since I was only staying 2 nights, but at least I knew they were there! The only thing missing was a remote for the TV in the living room. A quick call to housekeeping had that remote in our room in less than 15 minutes.
We went on a little walk around OKW before getting ready for dinner. On Thursday night it was a PS for Yachtsman Steakhouse with my favorite waiter, Michael. DH and I always share because we love dessert. If we each eat a meal, then we never have room. And before now, we haven't had a fridge to put the leftovers. So, we told Michael we were going to split 2 filets among the 3 of us, and he offered us 3 6 oz. filets instead of 2 8 oz. ones. Perfect! So, we started with the Baby Spinach Salad with Bacon Dressing and Maytag Blue Cheese. YUM! It's as good as I remembed. Next came our main course, and our steaks were cooked to perfection. All three of us gobbled them up and quickly ordered dessert! I got the Jack Daniels Mousse Cake and DH and MIL split the sampler plate. We were stuffed, but happy, when we left. We wandered around the YC/BC area and walked out on the pier. There was a band performing on the beach - probably for a convention going on. We went back to our spacious room and relaxed on the couches and watched a little ER. Soon it was time for bed in my big king sized bed! You can't beat that and a living room!
The next morning was 5/7 - SSR Open House!! Yeah! Originally we had a PS for Kona Cafe, but we changed it to Saturday so we could enjoy that breakfast without rushing. So, we grabbed a quick breakfast at Olivia's and boarded the boat for SSR. Well, I didn't realize there would be that much walking or I would have convinced DH and MIL to stay at OKW while I whizzed through the new place. MIL hung in there pretty well, but she still complained some. It was fun to see the new digs! It's really beautiful, and it will be great when it's complete. It's so easy to access DTD, which is a huge plus for many people.
After our tour, we decided we wanted to go spend some time at Epcot and see the flowers. MIL is going back in October, but she wanted to spend some time wandering around Epcot leisurely - without grandkids! So, we drove over to Shades of Green to get our tickets since DH is military. We looked around there some, too, since they recently renovated the place. The new lobby is gorgeous, and it will be nice when they are finished there, too.
We headed off to Epcot after getting our tickets. I wasn't going to have a repeat of the morning tour of SSR, so I rented MIL a wheelchair. We hit France first so I could get a chocolate croissant. I love those things! Next we wandered into Japan and watched the drum show. I will not attempt to remember the name of it! We stopped in Germany for a quick lunch of bratwurst and sauerkraut. We looked at the flowers and displays as we went along to China. We went in there to watch the movie. Then we stopped at Norway, but Maelstorm was packed. We'll do that in 2 weeks. Then we headed off to Future World and looked at more flowers and did some window shopping in one of the buildings. I'll be stopping by to see the Plumeria Guy when we go back. I must have Plumeria! Before leaving, we decided to go watch the Canada movie.
Before we knew it, it was time to leave Epcot and go to the Grand Floridian for our PS at Narcoosee's. It was busy, but not too bad. I love the food, and the view is great, but darnit it's so noisy there. DH and MIL got soup and split the scallops. I got the grilled salmon, and it was to die for. I love the salmon at Artist Point, but I think I almost like this one better! Of course we got dessert, Triple Chocolate Terrine for me and Key Lime Brulee for MIL. My dessert was kind of blah. It's basically 2 layers of chocolate mouse and one of cake. I think MIL liked her brulee, but she didn't say for sure. She ate it all, though. We weren't as full after this meal like we were the night before. That's a good thing!
Before heading home, we had to drive off-world to pick up a digestive aid for MIL at the drugstore. As many of you know, that's not as easy as you think because all the roads look the same sometimes. Well, we finally went past DTD and found a Walgreens. Whew! Of course, by the time we got back home, MIL didn't need it. Isn't that the way it always goes? We all collapsed into bed and slept like rocks after our busy day.
DH and I got up around 7:30 AM and started getting ready for departure day.
We packed up, found our "bill" on the door. Boy, it was nice just seeing our dinner charge on there and nothing else. I gathered up the dishes and put them in the dishwasher with detergent. After I got back home-home, I realized I never turned them on. Argh! I also gathered up the garbage and tossed that out. Before I knew it, it was 9:30 and we needed to be heading over to the Poly for our 10 AM PS at the Kona Cafe. I bid OKW adieu, but I know I'll be back again!Breakfast at the Kona was wonderful as always. Our server, Jackie, was the best! DH and I ordered the French Press, while MIL ordered decaf. We decided to share breakfast as well, but this time it was to get a taste of things! We ordered the Fresh Fruit Plate, Tonga Toast, ala carte eggs and bacon for MIL and ham and cheese omlette for DH and I. Jackie was spectacular because she started us off with the fruit while we waited for the rest of our breakfast. It was perfect! We all munched on the fruit and had it finished just as our breakfast showed up. Unfortunately, Jackie had not heard our H&C omlete order, so that didn't come. Well, it couldn't have worked out more perfect! It was like eating in courses! DH, MIL and I finished off the Tonga Toast and MIL worked on her egss. About the time we finished, along came the omlete. DH and I gobbled that right up and finished off our coffee.
After breakfast, we decided to hop the monorail and take a quick ride through Epcot to see the flowers from above. They were beautiful over there between the worlds. After that, we did some shopping at the Poly and headed over to the Wilderness Lodge so MIL could see it. She thought it was beautiful, and she's probably wishing she can come back with us in two weeks!
We finally had to leave WDW and head to Universal. After parking and walking miles, we finally reached the Hard Rock Cafe and were able to see our daughter's band perform. They placed 4th and got a Superior rating. They did a good job for being so exhausted after 2 days of Sea World and Universal. One of our percussionists fell asleep in a chair during the performance!
We finally left Orlando about 5:30 and started the drive back to GA. We got home around 1:30 in the morning and collapsed into our own king size bed. While OKW was great, there's no place like home!
I'm so excited that we'll be back in just 2 weeks for 5 days! I think I will have to do that trip report in multiple messages!
Thanks for reading, and don't send me any PMs telling me how horrible I am for making my MIL sleep on a couch! That's where she sleeps 90% of the time at home!
Suffice it to say that DH and I are very happy that we are members of DVC.
I enjoyed reading all about your trip. Anyone know what percentage of the OKW rooms have the new foam beds and when they're due to complete the replacement in the remainder of the units ? 
