OKW lovers thread !!!

[dvczerfs]

Just back as well!!

For the first time ever we had a second floor studio in Building 18 - the view was great!! We had a view of the fountain/pond. We've stayed in Bldg. 18 previously and we love that location and "quiet" pool and the easy walk to the bus stop. The room was clean and cozy and we noticed a lot of painting/updates being made to building 18 while we were there.

Busses were definitely problematic at times. We were late to an ADR at Le Cellier. The ADR was at 4:10 and we arrived at the bus stop at Miller Road at 2:45 only to wait for 35 min with no EPCOT bus. We ended up taking a bus to DTD to Y&BC and high tailing over to Canada. The next day coming back to OKW in the afternoon from HS we waited 32 minutes for a bus to show up.

Other than that, my only "complaint" is that I found Mousekeeping to be lackluster this time around. The room was clean but on Full Clean day they didn't replenish our toiletries or toilet paper - and we were on our last roll! We ended up picking up more at Target since Disney TP can get a bit "unfriendly" after a while. On T&T day later that week, Mousekeeping hung up four new towels on the rack very slopily and rather unceremoniously threw an extra towel, some wash cloths and extra toiletries on the counter. The shampoo had rolled behind my make-up bad, the shower gel had rolled onto the floor, no conditioner. It was very unlike any Mousekeeping experiences we've had previously.

Other than those two things everything else was fantastic. I will again say that I think that OKW hands-down has the best Bell Services of any resort. They are so quick and friendly!!

oh yes, the ole sand paper on a roll! we get a pack when we go shopping when we get there.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Just got back from a a wonderful week at OKW. Housekeeping was great, condition of GV really good except wood floors need refinishing. All in all a great stay! I was really surprised that on the towel day they delivered us 4 brand new living room pillows! I've missed the pillows!

 

[Lildalejrfan]

We were home last month & everything was in great order and clean. I checked the list in the kitchen cabinets to make sure everything was there & it was. The tables in the livingroom looked a little worn with a bunch of scratches on them but other than that everything was great! Can't wait for July 3rd we we go back home woo hoo!

 

[Hillary12.8.07]

I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it Morgan!! We are going for our anniversary in December, renting points. I'm SO excited. I hate to hear that about the busses, but oh well. I think the positives of the resort def. outweight the negatives!!! I'm headed to check out your blog now!

 

[UP Disney]

Just back from a week-long stay in a 2-bedroom at OKW. It was fantastic. The room was clean and supplied. We asked for extra sheets and blankets and they were delivered promptly. Everyone was courteous and kind. Olivia's food was good as usual.

We only waited twice for more than 20 minutes for a bus (but less than 35 minutes). I wouldn't have been concerned with that if while we were waiting for the MK bus during one of those times, four (yes, that is 4) AK buses came in about a 10-minute time frame. Of course, two of them were empty because the people had just been picked up by another bus. I did go in and report the concern to a manager at OKW. So they definitely still have some improvements to make.

 

[curiouser]

I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it Morgan!! We are going for our anniversary in December, renting points. I'm SO excited. I hate to hear that about the busses, but oh well. I think the positives of the resort def. outweight the negatives!!! I'm headed to check out your blog now!

You'll love it Hillary! Just remember its a different, more relaxed experience than a normal resort. Our first DVC trip hit me badly because I missed daily Mousekeeping, but now I love it. It's nice not having to worry about vacating your room because Mousekeeping is coming and it's MUCH more homey/cozy.

 

[MegansMom]

Just back as well!!

For the first time ever we had a second floor studio in Building 18 - the view was great!! We had a view of the fountain/pond. We've stayed in Bldg. 18 previously and we love that location and "quiet" pool and the easy walk to the bus stop. The room was clean and cozy and we noticed a lot of painting/updates being made to building 18 while we were there.

Busses were definitely problematic at times. We were late to an ADR at Le Cellier. The ADR was at 4:10 and we arrived at the bus stop at Miller Road at 2:45 only to wait for 35 min with no EPCOT bus. We ended up taking a bus to DTD to Y&BC and high tailing over to Canada. The next day coming back to OKW in the afternoon from HS we waited 32 minutes for a bus to show up.

Other than that, my only "complaint" is that I found Mousekeeping to be lackluster this time around. The room was clean but on Full Clean day they didn't replenish our toiletries or toilet paper - and we were on our last roll! We ended up picking up more at Target since Disney TP can get a bit "unfriendly" after a while. On T&T day later that week, Mousekeeping hung up four new towels on the rack very slopily and rather unceremoniously threw an extra towel, some wash cloths and extra toiletries on the counter. The shampoo had rolled behind my make-up bad, the shower gel had rolled onto the floor, no conditioner. It was very unlike any Mousekeeping experiences we've had previously.

Other than those two things everything else was fantastic. I will again say that I think that OKW hands-down has the best Bell Services of any resort. They are so quick and friendly!!

You know, until you mentioned it, I forgot about our poor Mousekeeping service this time. On check in, our room had obviously not been given a good going over---there was a huge can of trash left over from the people before us, and the carpet was wet in LOTS of spots! Don't know why!!! Also the light over the table was burnt out. So I immediately had to call and have all those things taken care of!!! On our cleaning day, they also sloppily put out some new towels and toiletries, and did not change the sheets or make the beds--I thought they were supposed to do that?!?!?! Anyway, very subpar performance this time around. But we did overall enjoy OKW---they just need to improve bus service, mousekeeping and get some ELEVATORS!!!

 

[edk35]

You know, until you mentioned it, I forgot about our poor Mousekeeping service this time. On check in, our room had obviously not been given a good going over---there was a huge can of trash left over from the people before us, and the carpet was wet in LOTS of spots! Don't know why!!! Also the light over the table was burnt out. So I immediately had to call and have all those things taken care of!!! On our cleaning day, they also sloppily put out some new towels and toiletries, and did not change the sheets or make the beds--I thought they were supposed to do that?!?!?! Anyway, very subpar performance this time around. But we did overall enjoy OKW---they just need to improve bus service, mousekeeping and get some ELEVATORS!!!

If it makes you feel any better....it is not just OKW. We had some bad issues at SSR for our very first trip home last Aug. I am looking forward to my OKW stay in a month despite the mousekeeping issues. I tend to think all DVC resorts have this issue from time to time. I hope you have better luck next time and US TOO.

 

[curiouser]

The rest of DBF's family is still at OKW (lucky ducks!!) and they got fed up enough with the bus situation that they brought it to the attention of OKW. I guess OKW put them in contact with someone at EPCOT transportation (they are in charge of OKW busses) and they had a long chat about the problems that have been happening lately. They also gave them a private shuttle to their ADR at Whispering Canyon! So here's hoping things improve!

 

[maciec]

The rest of DBF's family is still at OKW (lucky ducks!!) and they got fed up enough with the bus situation that they brought it to the attention of OKW. I guess OKW put them in contact with someone at EPCOT transportation (they are in charge of OKW busses) and they had a long chat about the problems that have been happening lately. They also gave them a private shuttle to their ADR at Whispering Canyon! So here's hoping things improve!

Fantastic! Lets hope some things change! We are only doing 2 park days and 1 trip over to the Beach Club for breakfast. I just sat and used the taxi fare estimator on Mears' webiste it would be way cheaper for us to take a taxi every time that we wanted to go somewhere than it would be to rent a car. So i guess if we run into problems with the buses we are just going to catch a cab.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I'm so excited because I booked our first OKW stay yesterday. It's going to be a surprise (if I can keep my mouth shut) for my DD and DS! We're not doing the parks so the transportation shouldn't be a problem for us. We may head over to the boardwalk for dinner and to watch Illuminations from the beach but we'll leave plenty of time to get there. I'm hoping for some good weather both here in the Northeast and in Orlando when we go...Jan 4th-8th. Oh, and this will be our first 2-bedroom villa as well!!

 

[maciec]

I am so excited! I just called today to see if there was availability for a 1 bedroom 8/23-8/28 for my parents to join us on our trip - and there was!!!!!

I was also able to get all of our ADR's changed over for 6 people with no problems. The times are a little earlier, but I didn't have any problems getting all of the places I had originally made ADR's for!

I can't wait!

 

[Laxmom]

I am trying to read this entire thread a little at a time. We are heading to OKW four weeks from today for our first ever DVC stay. We aren't staying on points this trip but were able to trade in with one of our other timeshares. I am just extatic to get to stay on property for the first time also! You all are making me so anxious for our trip!

 

[allaboutmm]

We are staying at OKW for the first time in November. The friends that we are travel with have owned their since the start of DVC. They love it and I am sure we will as well

Can anyone suggest a good studio section we could try for?

Thanks!

 

[momof1+1+2]

We will be in a 2 bdr...HH category..in a few weeks! Will take lots of photos....Yes we will not have that extra door to the bathroom, but thats ok! I am hoping bldgs 23-26!

On a side note...Maria...love your 3 way upcoming trip! (Yes I did gigle a bit when I read it too quick!!) lol

What is HH category?

 

[wdwfan0123]

HH category means near the hospitality house. The points needed are the same but if you make a reservation that specifies to be near the HH, you are guaranteed to be in a building close to the main pool, Olivias and the registration desk. I can't remember which buildings are included in this category, but I'm sure someone will provide that info!!

Kristi

 

[momof1+1+2]

Thanks! One more question - can anyone post the time it takes from OKW to MK, Epcot, AK and MGM? Thanks again!

 

[LizinSTL]

Thanks! One more question - can anyone post the time it takes from OKW to MK, Epcot, AK and MGM? Thanks again!

By bus.... it really varies depending on which OKW stop you get on and your wait time to get on the bus.

In general, it took us under 20 minutes to each location if we caught the bus at the Hospitality House stop. On the other hand, when we picked it up at the *****ular Road stop, it took us over 40 minutes to get to the MK.
http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.aspx This site lists times up to 30 minutes from OKW to some of the parks but honestly, it wasn't that bad. We did tend to try to catch the bus from HH because we didn't need to "tour" the resort each time we wanted to go someplace though.

We found that the bus beat a car (we did little experiments throughout the week because my dh preferred the car and the kids preferred the bus) to every location EXCEPT the Disney Studios. That's probably because the tram was waiting to take dh to the entrance and he parked in the first spot of the row. We didn't drive to AK at all- just used the bus and it took no longer than 20 minutes from getting on to getting off.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

Just back from our 2nd trip to OKW (we own at SSR) and LOVED it! We stayed in a 1 bdrm in the 30's section of Turtle Pond. We really liked this area...close to the quiet pool and bus and a 10 minute walk to the HH area.

We did not take the buses much and rented a car. We loved having a car.

I am thinking of buying some points at OKW we love it so much!

 

[Debs Hill]

Glad that you had such a great OKW stay, we love it too!
Interested to know how you found the Turtle Pond area............which building were you in, what was your view? Did the pool there get very crowded?
We are normally down at South Point in building 55, have also tried 45 and 46, but would like a change! Any photos would be brilliant!

On the bus issue, have to say that the buses were brilliant last time we were there and never waited more than 5-10mins. We did a split stay with the Boardwalk and the buses there were much, much worse.........long waits for them to turn up and then dropping off at Swan/Doplhin and Yacht/Beach first took forever to get home!!!!
Debsx