OKW May 23-29

[JudithM]

In the middle of April I made reservations for a stay at OKW for May 23 - 29. Actually I added the last night about a week before we left. Member Service CMs were very efficient !

We arrived at OKW about 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 23. I had requested non-smoking for medical reasons & a first floor or elevator building for medical reasons. I bet we waitied in line for less than five minutes - if that long. The front desk CM said our assigned room was not ready. She gave me a clue that we would have a room in an elevator builing. She did have other rooms we could have had right then & there, but we chose to wait for a room in an elevator building. We usually request Turtle Pond area, but my sister & 6-year old niece were joining us. I thought we would all like the proximity to the Hospitality House. And we did !!

We went off to the MK for awhile & later called & got our room location (about 4 p.m.). We were on the third floor of building 64. We loved it! I called the front desk & thanked them for our wonderful room. We had views of the golf course, a small water/pond with a fountain, woods beyond the golf hole. It was so private. We used the balcony a lot especially first thing in the morning & again late at night. My sister has been to WDW many times, but not to a DVC resort. She said she really felt like she was on vacation since it was so peaceful - that made it all worthwhile !

When my niece arrived, I gave her a "lecture" about other guests living in the building & how we had to use quiet voices & we could not jump around. She was very good about it all .

During my stay I had a chance to talk to some front desk managers who assured me that guests with medical requests are a priority & are assigned rooms ahead of time. However, if like us you arrive & your assigned rom is not ready yet, they will try to get you in another room. Bottom line is DVC is trying to get guests into rooms as soon as possible.

We drove to WDW & had no problem finding parking spots around building 64 even though there is not a parking lot directly in front of the building. There is plenty of parking on either side of the building & across the street.

I rented an ECV/scooter from a medical supply company. It was delivered to the front desk & I had no problem getting around the resort with it. There are plenty of sidewalks with ramps. The main pool area was very easy to access with the ECV.

We had a delicious dinner Sunday evening at Olivia's. Dominic was our waiter. He had also been our waiter about a year ago. He is very friendly & effiecient. Our food was delicious & very filling. We took our leftovers "home" before we went onto a park (nice to be close to the Hospitality House).

Usually we drive to the parks, but with the ECV & a six-year old we took the busses to the parks. The WDW bus drivers were wonderful with the ECV. Thanks to the OKW guests who waited patiently while the bus drivers got me on & off the busses.

Twice - once at the Studios & later at the MK - we had an issue about the busses. Both times we were left off at a different location (further away) than the OKW bus stop. I had a long chat with a front desk manager one night after we returned. Another time we discussed this issue with a transportation supervisor. Overall bus service worked quite wll for us. I bet we didn't wait more than 10-15 minutes at the most for a bus on either end - OKW or a park.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Thanx for the report. It sounds like it went well!

 

[patsal]

I'm glad everything went well for you. Thank you for posting, I arrive at OKW (for the first time) in just 23 days. I've only stayed at WLV, so I am excited to try OKW.

 

[JoEllen]

We were at OKW from May 13 - 22. We had a 1 bdrm on the 3rd floor #6421. We also loved the room and the great view of the water and par 3. I could hardly get DH off the deck to go to the parks!

Glad you enjoyed the bldg too! Great location (don't tell anyone

 

[spiceycat]

I think the bus problem is because - I use to get mad when the buses would let people off - then not let anyone on - so this is there way around it - when the buses are only letting people off they stop at another place.

If you had waited to see where the bus went - it was not to the stop at OKW -

sometimes they have to go pick up other resort guest, or to another theme park, or the drivers are taking their lunch breaks or other breaks - whatever - they are not going back to OKW - since our annual fee include the buses - I don't think they really want to admit that they are using the buses to transfer non-DVC resorts.

Watch the next time and see if you find where the bus goes - I don't mind the drivers taking a break at all - I do mind when the DVC buses are being used by other resorts - unless we get a credit to our annual fees and since they are trying to hide this - I don't believe we are.

this is my opinion - and yours can be very different!

 

[JudithM]

Pat J, I think you are on the right track. WDW transportation does allocate busses from route to route. However, DVC contracts for a certain level of transportation service. DVC does not actually own the busses. Based on our experiences at OKW, there was plenty of bus service to the parks.

 

[RobDoc]

Originally posted by JudithM
Twice - once at the Studios & later at the MK - we had an issue about the busses. Both times we were left off at a different location (further away) than the OKW bus stop. I had a long chat with a front desk manager one night after we returned. Another time we discussed this issue with a transportation supervisor. Overall bus service worked quite wll for us. I bet we didn't wait more than 10-15 minutes at the most for a bus on either end - OKW or a park.

Thanks for the complete report, Judith!

At certain times of the day, all buses are dispatched at the parks. As the bus arrives with guests from OKW (or GF or CBR) the park dispatcher radios the driver to tell him/her where he is to pick up his next trip of guests. (At the MK, the dispatcher is in a white van parked just before the bus reaches the covered stop area.)

The driver should announce the location of the stop for the resort where you boarded when you arrive- especially when he lets you off at a different location.

While it may seem a little frustrating, it does serve to provide a more efficient service. The minimal wait times you reported are evidence of the relative efficiency and even with this sytem, there will still be times when there are longer than desored waits, but they do seem to be few and far between (we had a 45 moinute wait for a bus to DD from the GF after dining there 2 weeks ago.)

The program is not in place all day long- in the evenings the buses run their usual resort routes. I'm glad your bus experience was generally good!