OKW/GV 11 days - just returned

[ILoveMyDVC]

11 days in GV at OKW

Room was nice - mold on shower head was DISGUSTING. Some lamps didn't work. Temp hard to control between living room and bedroom. NOT a fan of this bathroom design. I prefer a door to the bathroom and not just the toilet. If my husband was out of the room, I had to either lock the door or risk one of the little guests and their ensuing parents running into the room while I was in the shower.
Didn't check in until 9:30 p.m. (reservation said 6) - dishwasher was still running and supply closet was left unlocked.
Room was in 51 - not anyplace I would choose. Highway was right there, golfers a constant annoyance and almost no view. We prefer the two bldgs. on the main canal, Turtle Pond or the high 40's near the quiet pool.

Magic Bands mixed up the charges between the parties. Finger pointing in two directions - same PIN vs different PIN were both used as reasons for the problem.
Just a little IMO: Twisting the wrist while carrying $300 dollars in groceries in 40 degree pouring rain up two flights of stairs was not pleasant. Keep the band across your palm until the errands are finished.

Buses are terrible. I waited over 40 minutes in Downtown Disney (2nd stop) with a lovely couple from TN in 42 degree mist.

Bus drivers are almost without fail rude and miserable. BTW, when did the following changes occur:

Buses no longer stop at the HH on their way in or out? Many people were upset about this and complained. Towards the end, they were at least attempting to stop on one or the other.

Buses do not drive to the turnarounds and instead cut through the parking areas. Some super close calls with cars, strollers and people.

Lots of OKW was under construction but the main pool was open.

Food has improved all around! Very pleasantly surprised by the increased quality. (especially the park cupcakes! )

Only food disappointment was a shocker for us: Prime Time Cafe (okay the second night at BOMA had different selections that were not as pleasing to our group)

Characters were extra lovely to the children in our party.

With very few exceptions including the lovely supervisor at OKW,the CMs were OUT OF CONTROL.

One exchange that sticks in my mind: Family wheeled their stroller over to the Railroad at Fronteirland and asked the CM if they could go up the ramp. The CM told that that it was impossible. The GUESTS replied that a CM told them it was possible if they were early and no wheelchair passengers were there. The CM’s response was to tell them it was stupid and that he would like the name of the CM so he could personally tell the CM how stupid that was. As an observer, I was stunned!

Based on an interaction a bit later, it appeared the child was confined to the stroller in lieu of wheelchair….bad PR, Disney, and just one example of how far the CMs’ OUTRAGEOUS rude behavior rules nowadays.

Second example to share was at OKW One set of our guest's flight was cancelled. They reported it to the front desk, DME, baggage and JetBlue between noon and 1:23 p.m. I also called baggage and DME and the front desk and went to guest relations. At 9:00 p.m., I went to the front desk to inquire AGAIN about the luggage and was told that it was probably sent out that morning and was in BOS and once AGAIN someone would *try* to track it down - really? Thank god, nothing scary was in it but I digress. The CM asked me a question I couldn't answer and then quickly asked me a second one: What time did you first report it? Before I could complete my answer of I don't know but I can check (on my cell phone), she cut my head off. Seriously, enough that the other CM snapped his head up and the supervisor came over. The supervisor graciously took over the phone calls and then offered to pay the taxi fare to and fro MCO to pick up the luggage and our guest gratefully accepted. The CM apologized after the supervisor left and offered FP+ for Toy Story which were unavailable for any time the next day.

FP+ was nice for sleeping in but very limiting. The one park/day rule sucks. Test Track or Soarin but not both? Oh thank goodness for the *innovative* Imagination and Energy to fill in the time.

I have a Windows phone - you know MS Windows as in MICROSOFT and Bill Gates? Sadly, Disney does not recognize that as a real phone. Using MDE was a PIA on my husband's iPhone with all of the crashing and errors; it was a NIGHTMARE in Explorer on the Window's phone. Not impressed.

Almost forgot about the Nazi parade people. Holy you know what - don't even think about stopping to sneeze after the parade ropes are up. They were vigilantes! Maybe they were being tested for employment based on how often they bullied and screamed at people to move. Like drill sergeants they would walk you down the line shouting in your ear to move. If you weren't inside the rope, you couldn't view the parade. Sad for everyone that arrived *too* late and folks travelling with little ones by foot or stroller. People were frazzled.

Random thoughts:
Weather spanned 40 w/rain to mid 80s w/sun.
No snake encounters - always a plus. Sadly, only two geckos.
Wal-Mart is crazy out-of-control
Lots of mis-information about everything from transportation to dining...too many to type.

Watching a two year old run down the corridor into the arms of Cinderella = awesome! Giving the parents of the tots a chance to be kids again and do all the rides while doing Mary Poppin's duty = priceless!

(oh there was a whole really scary MK thing that I posted in theme parks while we were experiencing it.)

 

[dvc_john]

Bus drivers are almost without fail rude and miserable.

That simply has not been my experience at all.

BTW, when did the following changes occur:

Buses no longer stop at the HH on their way in or out? Many people were upset about this and complained. Towards the end, they were at least attempting to stop on one or the other.

The park buses never stop at HH when entering the resort, only as the last stop before exiting the resort.

The bus stop sequence is:
Peninsular Road
South Point
Turtle Pond
Millers Road
Hospitality House

Buses do not drive to the turnarounds and instead cut through the parking areas. Some super close calls with cars, strollers and people.

Again, at South Point and Millers Road, the buses have always used a loop thru the parking area to turn around. There is no other place for them to turn around. Even if they went to the end of the road, they would have to turn around in a parking area.
At Turtle Pond, there is a circle they use to turn around.

 

[Pirate Granny]

Normally the handicapped stroller will have a very specific tag, so that the CM can easily identify. Perhaps the parents were not aware to stop and get a tag to use the stroller in lieu of a wheelchair for their little one.

We have a OWK HH GV for 8 nights in June. We are looking forward to the space and time with our family

 

[Chuck S]

I've stayed in Bldg 51. I agree that it is near the intersection for road noise. However, your complaint about the busses...they can not use the circle turn around at bldg 51, it isn't large enough. They have to go through the parking area at South Point and Miller's Road. There have been rare exceptions when busses did not stop at HH as the last stop, most notably when the main entrance guard shack area was closed and all traffic had to exit through the employee/services entrance. So if your busses were not stopping at the HH as the last stop on the way to the parks, it is likely a construction issue.

From bldg 51, it is a .63 mile walk to HH, or about 1/2 the circumference of the World Showcase Promenade. I've walked it several times.

It sounds like you prefer the hotel style DVC resorts over the condo community style of OKW and SSR.

 

[spruce]

Sounds like ilovemydvc has lost some luster, here's hoping your next visit is better.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

Normally the handicapped stroller will have a very specific tag, so that the CM can easily identify. Perhaps the parents were not aware to stop and get a tag to use the stroller in lieu of a wheelchair for their little one.

We have a OWK HH GV for 8 nights in June. We are looking forward to the space and time with our family

I heard the mom say she had a 'something' card to her husband.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

I've stayed in Bldg 51. I agree that it is near the intersection for road noise. However, your complaint about the busses...they can not use the circle turn around at bldg 51, it isn't large enough. They have to go through the parking area at South Point and Miller's Road. There have been rare exceptions when busses did not stop at HH as the last stop, most notably when the main entrance guard shack area was closed and all traffic had to exit through the employee/services entrance. So if your busses were not stopping at the HH as the last stop on the way to the parks, it is likely a construction issue.

From bldg 51, it is a .63 mile walk to HH, or about 1/2 the circumference of the World Showcase Promenade. I've walked it several times.

It sounds like you prefer the hotel style DVC resorts over the condo community style of OKW and SSR.

24 trips - Except for one night at BV, all have been to OKW.

I watched a man go to the luggage area and complain after he watched three EPCOT buses go into OKW and none stopped for him and his family. I heard a CM tell another CM that they already complained about it and would have to call again.

The DME driver had to be told (again) to stop in front of baggage and not in the outer part of the circle.

Shame on Disney that the turning circles aren't adequate.

Thanks for the walking information. Not sure why you thought I needed it. The buses did not stop at HH on many occasions - hence people complaining and our confusion when trying to determine the order of the bus stops for logistical reasons so walking there would have been useless. Also, two of my guests were not inclined to add more walking to their trip especially in the cold rain.

But none of that matters;

Perhaps I wasn't clear: In the beginning of the trip (two weeks ago), the buses to the 4 Disney Parks: MK, EPCOT, HS and AK + Downtown Disney stopped at HH on the way in and on the way out. Fact - not my memory from yesteryear.

Midway through the trip (last week), they ceased stopping at all at HH - in and out based on our particular rides and witnessing the distressed passengers and CMs trying to fix it.

At the end of our trip (last week), the buses began stopping at HH only on the way out and some only on the way in.

Based on OUR EXPERIENCES from 1/28 to 2/8 of this year. Right/wrong/policy/how it was always done does not apply. It is what happened.

We never use the buses - our children have in the past. This was an anomaly based on the number of guests, car seat requirements and cost. We prefer a car as we do indeed prefer the condo style and have only stayed at OKW (except for 1 night) during our 20 year membership.

 

[91oldkeywest]

If the driver feels that the bus is full to cap.they will not stop at remaining stops.He calls to main transportation as to overflow and another bus is put into service.from what I have been reading the parks have been over crowded since the holidays.

 

[Cee]

Thank goodness Cinderella, no snakes and improved food quality saved your vacation.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[dvc_john]

Based on OUR EXPERIENCES from 1/28 to 2/8 of this year.

I can only comment that I was at OKW Jan 26 - Feb 1 of this year, and every bus I was on followed the standard route, stopping at HH on the way out of the resort.

 

[GGOOFY1]

We have also stayed in a GV Building 51. Didn't like the location. The bus turn around wasn't an issue, since we didn't have a car!! I prefer Turtle Pond or Millers Road.

 

[krazy4crusing]

OP do you still "love your DVC?" Sorry for the bad experiences

 

[Izzerbella]

Thank you for posting your comments. Your information regarding FP+ is helpful. We have also noticed that not all buses do the route the same way every time. We are looking at possibly going in early February. What were the crowds like at the parks? Weather info was quite helpful as well.