OKW Complaints?

[luckytso]

Hi,

I have never stayed at OKW and I have heard so many glowing reports of the resort. However, one of my on-line friends just came back from renting someone else's points at OKW, the following was what she said:

we had a rude cm at check in, who wasnt helpful in anyway. even seemed to go out of her way to be difficult. oh well, we ended up in bldg 18, which was my 8th choice, outta 10. the biggest problem we felt with this resort was actually the busses. there were alot of them and the diesel fuel smell and noise from them wasnt that much fun to be around. i am so glad that from our room we couldnt hear, smell or see the busses. we wont be staying there again because of the busses mainly. it is gonna be beach club or boardwalk or wlv dvc from now on. i dont wanna be surrounded by busses on vacation. i thought the busses where quick and efficient, but i dont wanna see one every time i walk out my hotel door. i havent ever seen anyone complain about this......but it was a problem for us. the grounds were beautiful and the room was probably in B+ condition. there were some minor probs that needed fixing. i couldnt tell if we were in a rehabbed room or not.

what do you think?

Thanks

 

[yasuern]

As my DH would say - Thats why theres apples and oranges - one persons paridise is an others prison. We personally love OKW we were very close to the Southpoint BS and didn't seem to notice any of the above. We especially loved being able to park right in front of our unit. I am sure your friend willl find a DVC resort she will enjoy - but if you are thinking of going I would not let your freinds email stop you.

 

[Dean]

Sounds like they're not OKW type of people. Did they make specific requests of buildings or was the 8 of 10 just a figure of speech. I wonder how many requests they had in total.

 

[lovesdisney]

I guess it depends on whether you see the glass as half full or half empty as the saying goes. We stayed in building 21 where the buses turn for the Miller Road Crossing. I see it as the buses have to turn somewhere and the upside is, we never waited more than 10 minutes for any bus, even when we had just missed one.

 

[Pa@okw95]

When they contstructed OKW the buses were suppose to be able to turn down at the end of the street. There was a mistake made, the streets were not made big enough to turn down the end so we have this situation where they use the parking lots to turn the buses around. One street they do use the circle road to turn the other two they do not.

 

[mb168]

maybe they should just start picking up people at the hospitality house and we can just walk there. I stayed in Building 18 Labor Day weekend and my wife didn't want to leave. We had a view of the golf course, no busses were heard, and I had CM's go out of there way to help me at check in. This was, hopefully, our last $$$ stay since we joined DVC after we made these reservations and my DW KNEW we had made the right choice after a 1BR at OKW even though we had stayed at a 2 BR at VWL July this year. Everyone has there opinions and I'm sure there can be a bad CM or one that had an argument with a spouse before work, but I'm sure a poll would show overwhelmingly that OKW is a wonderful resort. The debate has raged forever here. I'd like to know if he used the busses there. Thats the only real complaint I've heard about OKW is lack of busses, not "one every time i walk out my hotel door." Maybe that's the problem? This person wanted to stay in a "hotel" where you walk to an elevator, down to a lobby, and out to the busses, not a condo. BWV, BCV, and VWL can help this person. Please, leave those OKW ressies for me to have

 

[RoutemanDan]

It's unfortunate she got a rude cm,that probably set the tone for the entire stay.I(luckily)have never encountered a rude cm at OKW.In fact,in my experience,they have always been the most pleasant out of all the DVC resorts.OKW is not one of our home resorts,but probably the one we visit most.

 

[joepoe]

Unfortunately, I think we have all run into CM's that are having a "bad hair" day. Luckily, they are outnumbered in the extreme by the good ones.
As for the buses, every time we see one we know someone is going to have a great time at one of the parks, so they don't bother us. We have stayed at OKW three times and have had a blast each time. I am glad all the resorts are different and offer different things in different settings. If they were all the same it would be rather boring.

 

[Regina]

It seems that CM's are usually labeled rude when they're unable to get the specific room that a guest wants. They have to work with what's available, and they're the ones getting the heat when the guest is dissatisfied.

Seeing buses frequently is a good thing for us, as we rely on Disney's transportation. We love not having to drive on vacation.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I guess it depends on what you mean by rude. I had an unhelpful CM at check in...and you do hear (and smell) the busses every time you walk out the front door...but I'm usually walking out the front door to get a bus so...that tended to be a good thing.

I have to say though...I probably won't stay at OKW again unless I'm staying in a 1 bedroom. The noise from the air conditioners was really annoying...I like to sit outside on my balcony and the air conditioners were right next to it. And even if I'd been on the 2nd floor I would have had a problem with the palm tree overgrowing the balcony...plus the noise of the airconditioners.

 

[amcnj]

As was said before the much more common complaint is that there are not enough busses. There always seems to be a lot till you are trying to catch one! Everyone has different likes and dislikes. I haven't been bothered by any of the "problems " noted above. But I wonder if Disney has investigated aletrnative fuel vehicles. Electrics always seem much quieter, and perhaps other newer technologies would be less "smelly". Of course the dream would be for the monorail to be extended, but don't hold your breath for that!

 

[niceneasy]

Valid point about the diesel buses at OKW. The buses and the fumes they emit seem to be everywhere. The noise they create is also offensive. I heard that Disney is testing "hydrogen powered" buses somewhere. Probably in California where they don't tolerate vehicle emissions as much as the rest of the country.

 

[fkj2]

10????? Building requests????

Hey, I would like the perfect vacation experience too but that seems a little excessive. Medical necessity requests are another story.

Sometimes "rude" can be translated to, "I'm not getting my way." And, life has a way of eventually proving that to us all; we can't always have things our own way all the time.

I have had some disinterested CMs, one downright rude one in the Magic Kingdom several years ago, but many sweet, kind, thoughtful and generous experiences with CMs also, that more than outweigh the previous. I've also seen some guests who treat CMs like dirt.

I've found that if you treat the CMs like they're real people too, they more than repay you back in kind.

 

[joepoe]

Originally posted by doubletrouble_vb
I guess it depends on what you mean by rude. I had an unhelpful CM at check in...and you do hear (and smell) the busses every time you walk out the front door...but I'm usually walking out the front door to get a bus so...that tended to be a good thing.

I have to say though...I probably won't stay at OKW again unless I'm staying in a 1 bedroom. The noise from the air conditioners was really annoying...I like to sit outside on my balcony and the air conditioners were right next to it. And even if I'd been on the 2nd floor I would have had a problem with the palm tree overgrowing the balcony...plus the noise of the airconditioners.

Did I mention the air conditioners? LOL How about all the gross little lizards crawling around the sidewalk and plants? And the pool doesn't have a slide. Plus, it's hard to remember a four-digit room number and the CM wouldn't escort me to my room and carry me over the threshhold...

 

[Synonymous]

I've never been to OKW, and I've been resisting my DW's idea that we should try it. This is what holds me back- with parking lots surrounding each building, it seems to me that it would feel like a motel. We never have a car at WDW and, frankly, I don't even want to see them, as they remind me of the "outside world."

Am I nuts? Anyone else feel this way? Am I wrong about the layout?

Thanks

 

[Chuck S]

Truthfully, I've never thought of the parking areas as "Parking Lots" surrounding the buildings, (except for main check-in and Olivia's area) we usually have a car, and appreciate the proximity of the parking areas...OKW has never felt like a "motel" to me, and we often have a studio.

 

[OKWKirt]

Synonymous, that's what I loved about OKW when I first took the tour. Yes you do see the parking area when you go the the units, but once inside the view from the balcony has no parking lots in site. My only complaint, minor one, there's no sidewalks on the balcony side of the buildings so you can take a nice walk on the beautiful side.

 

[PJMPA]

If somebody makes 10 location choices, I'm not surprised that they didn't get their first or second choice. With 10 options, there is too much for the room assigner to work with.

 

[AZKathy]

"we had a rude cm at check in, who wasnt helpful in anyway. even seemed to go out of her way to be difficult. oh well, we ended up in bldg 18, which was my 8th choice, outta 10. "

If your friend was that picky, I doubt anyone could make your friend happy......

Sorry your friend did not have a perfect stay at OKW. I hope those comments don't keep you from trying it out even for a few days. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised!

 

[luckytso]

Thanks for all your input.

I don't have all the details and my friend did like Olivia's and the boat to DD. She is a very nice and caring person who has been to WDW many times. This was the first time they stayed at OKW and unfortunately it did not go well.

I posted this just to see if the bus is a common problem and I am sure, just like some of you said, that the CM you met first would set a first impression on the resort.

I don't think it is fair to make comments about someone without knowing all the details. If I did not think much of her, I would not have taken her comments seriously.

Thanks again.