OKW Grand Villa??

[lovehoney]

My aunt is graciously allowing my husband's family to use her OKW DVC for May 27-June 1, 2007. We have a Grand Villa and will have 12 people total; 2 grand parents, 4 parents and 6 kids (ages 3-9).


Here are some questions i hope you can help me with.

1. Should we request a certain location of the villa?

2. Is there Magical Express Service for DVC reservations? If yes how do you reserve the ME?

3. What do you think about the dining plan for 12 people?

4. Is there any type of maid service? Do you have to wash your own towels?

5. Where/how should we purchase park tickets?

My Aunt has already made the reservation and we have a res number. She told me to call the DVC member services for questions, but I thought I should gather info before calling. She did say if we wanted dining she would need to call and pay for it and we could send her a check for the amount.

Any other suggestions you can think of would be much appreciated. TIA!

 

[robinb]

My aunt is graciously allowing my husband's family to use her OKW DVC for May 27-June 1, 2007. We have a Grand Villa and will have 12 people total; 2 grand parents, 4 parents and 6 kids (ages 3-9).

Wow! Nice aunt . The OKW Grand Villlas are *great*!

1. Should we request a certain location of the villa?

We always do. We give member services a selection of about 5 buildings in order of preference. Here's a color coded map with the Grand Villas on it marked in yellow: http://disneydoc.homestead.com/okwmap_-_newest_coded_map_op_599x800.jpg
PS: The information about smoking villas may be out of date. I like a non-handicapped unit near a quiet pool myself. I was in buikding 53 once and building 22 last year.

2. Is there Magical Express Service for DVC reservations? If yes how do you reserve the ME?

Your aunt will have to reserve ME for you through member services.

3. What do you think about the dining plan for 12 people?

I think it's a great idea. I did it with my Grand Gathering of 12 people in August and it was a *lifesaver*.

4. Is there any type of maid service? Do you have to wash your own towels?

You will get a "Trash and Tidy" on your 4th (I think) day where your towels will be changed. If you want fresh towels every day then you will have to wash them yourself or pay extra for daily housekeeping.

5. Where/how should we purchase park tickets?

Check MouseSavers (www.mousesavers.com) for the best rates. Since you are staying at OKW using points you do not have to purchase a ticket package in order to buy the dining plan.

My Aunt has already made the reservation and we have a res number. She told me to call the DVC member services for questions, but I thought I should gather info before calling. She did say if we wanted dining she would need to call and pay for it and we could send her a check for the amount.

Sorry, but the new rules say that SHE needs to make all the phone calls to member services. They will no longer talk to non-members. Also, there is no pre-charge for the dining. The dining plan will be charged at check-in, so there is no reason to send her a check.

 

[paults]

My aunt is graciously allowing my husband's family to use her OKW DVC for May 27-June 1, 2007. We have a Grand Villa and will have 12 people total; 2 grand parents, 4 parents and 6 kids (ages 3-9).


Here are some questions i hope you can help me with.

1. Should we request a certain location of the villa?


you can but it's only a request

2. Is there Magical Express Service for DVC reservations? If yes how do you reserve the ME?
the member (your aunt)will need to do this as non-members can not use MS.

3. What do you think about the dining plan for 12 people?

if you get it ,all 12 will have to get it and the member will have to add it before you go.

4. Is there any type of maid service? Do you have to wash your own towels?
you can pay for HK if you want it but you do have a washer/dryer setup. you do get a trash and towel day on the 4th day.

5. Where/how should we purchase park tickets?
you can get tickets at WDW or internet at WDW. I use mousesavers.com and get their newsletter to get discounts from TICKETMANIA.

My Aunt has already made the reservation and we have a res number. She told me to call the DVC member services for questions, but I thought I should gather info before calling. She did say if we wanted dining she would need to call and pay for it and we could send her a check for the amount.

You cannot call MS if your not a member to ask questions. As far as the DDP the member needs to call and set that up but I believe you pay for it when you get there. If you decide you don't want it she (member) must cancell before you get there.

Any other suggestions you can think of would be much appreciated. TIA!

with your dates don't miss the flower power concerts at epcot

 

[lovehoney]

Wow! Nice aunt . The OKW Grand Villlas are *great*!


Yes my Aunt is the best! This is the second time she's let us use her DVC. The last time was for a 2 bedroom at OKW in 1998. I was clueless at the time and it was way before children and way before I found the Dis .

Thanks for all the info Robin. You're awesome. If you have any other suggestions about planning and touring with 12 people I would love to hear about it!

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have had 12 in a GV at OKW, and planning IS the key. We had a couple of different family groups, so we had each family group be responsible for one major meal each day. That meant, that when we did our grocery shopping etc, each family purchased the things needed for thier meal contribution. On their meal day, it was their choice WHICH major meal they were providing and when. It was the responsibility of the rest of the group to be there on time for the meal. We pooled resources for breakfast items, and at the end of the week, we had very little food to dispose of.

As for the touring part....We didn't attempt to try and all stay together, but we did plan each evening to attend specific attractions or events the next day, and usually chose one thing mid morning where we would all meet up and go to that attraction and "check in" about the rest of the day. That gave the families with children a chance to let the kids go with a different set of adults to attractions that maybe the parents weren't too interested in. Last trip, we ended up doing most of the major things together and the together meal times made it a LOT of fun. You are going to have a GREAT time! WE found that the washer and dryer hardly stopped running the entire trip!

 

[robinb]

Thanks for all the info Robin. You're awesome. If you have any other suggestions about planning and touring with 12 people I would love to hear about it!

* Plan out your days and nights in advance. Give everyone a copy of the plan so they can tag along or do their own thing.

* Plan to get together only ONCE per day. Meals work out the best for us: a character meal, a sit-down restaurant in the parks, etc. Don't feel too bad if someone cancels on a meal. That happens on *every* extended family trip I have ever taken.

* Ask people what kind of food they would like. Try to plan at least one meal specially for each family unit.

* My parents and in-laws are late risers so we would plan to meet them in the park. Carry cell phones or radios so you can keep in touch.

* My mom and MIL needed a scooter to get around WDW. If the grandparents need one, rent one from an outside source so they can have them at the resorts too. Plus, if they are late-risers then they won't have to worry about them being sold out at the park.

* As a Grand Gathering you can take advantage of these experiences for larger groups: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/special/magicalgatherings/ggSpecialProducts?id=GrandGatheringsSpecialProductsPage We did the International Dinner and IllumiNations Dessert Reception at Epcot and used 2 Table Service credits for it.

* Make a special t-shirt for everyone and ask them to wear it on a special day. Have a picture of everyone taken in front of the castle.

* Remember that you are herding cats and cats don't always do what you want them to do. Try not to take it personally.

 

[lovehoney]

I can't stop laughing. That is so funny! I was already starting to worry and that really put it in perspective for me. Thanks for the other tips too!

 

[dizplanner]

The decision on the dining plan has to be all or nothing. In other words, everyone on the reservation has to get it for all nights. It can't be some yes, some no. Now how your group chooses to use the credits is another matter. Given how my family eats, I would get it. But other families are different.

We had a OKW Grand Villa with 9 people last March. We had a lot of fun and the villa was beautiful. We basically had two families - my family of 4 who had been to WDW 4 times before and our niece's family of 4 (DL veterans, but first time to WDW) and DH's sister (mother to niece). We toured together much of the time, but had one day apart and split up at times - usually at the end of the day. Actually we were compatible for the most part so it worked fairly well.

 

[kda]

Just to be clear ----- the Dining Plan needs to be booked ahead of time (at least 2-3 days prior to arrival ------ different CMs seem to give different instructions about this), but it is charged to you at check in.

And, it is all 12 or none participate in the dining plan. If anyone cancels, get their name removed from the reservation so the CM who checks you in doesn't try to charge you for all 12. You might want to survey the group. Some people don't want to spend that much time at table service meals, opting to do only 1 or 2 during the vacation. And some families with small kids with small appetites feel the kids can share from the adult meal or split a kid's meal between 2 kids. Adults with smaller appetites feel it's not a good value (or that it encourages gluttony), while families with some 'big eaters' think it's the greatest. Since you're staying at DVC and will have a wonderful kitchen, you can certainly bring back leftovers for late night snacks, unusual breakfasts, or lavish lunches.

Hope you have a wonderful family trip!