OKW or Vistana Resort?

[Iheoma]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning a trip to WDW for December 2003 for six nights. It will be my dh, my dd (who will be 2 1/2 years old) and mil. This time we really want to do things nicely and have a pretty decent budget to spend for the trip. Here's the issue. I've always been curious about staying onsite and have even come close to booking it for past trips. I ALWAYS change my mind when I see photos of the rooms and realize how small they are. The thing is whenever dh and I travel we usually stay in a suite or at hotel/inn that specializes in suites (e.g. Residence Inn).

For this trip I was going to take the plunge and reserve a one-bedroom at OKW for the family. The two bedroom is just too expensive so that's not an option. I was all set when I started surfing along this site and found out about the Vistana resorts and was totally interested. For the price of OKW we could stay in a two bedroom, have airfare and tix. So what do I do - is the disney magic really worth this extra price? Could people who have stayed at one or both tell me what they think (or everyone else). We really must stay in a suite and I should also mention that my dh and I still have one day left on each of our park hopper tix from a year ago along with one "bonus (Pleasure Island, ect.) remaining. DH also really wants to go to IOA so we won't be spending each day at disney.

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any advice.

 

[lejaf]

I've never satyed on site so I might not be the right person to reply, but I have stayed at the Vistana Resort. We had a great stay and would have gone back the following year, but there were no two bedroom villa's available when we booked. It's very close to the parks and the two bedroom villas were bigger than the first apartment that we had when we were first married. The pools were great, the grounds were nicely kept and we had no complaints. When I'm on vacation, space and comfort is important to me. I don't want to spend a week tripping over my family ( I do that enough at home the rest of the year) but this is just my opinion.

 

[stacy6552]

we stayed at okw two summers ago and loved it!

 

[Aubrey]

We generally stay offsite for budget and space reasons. We never stayed at Vistana but we took their tour and it looked very nice. This year we are going to try the Wyndham Palms resort which looks upscale and offers a two bedroom unit for $86 per night through hotelkingdom.com.

 

[Thmacs]

Have you considered renting points from a DVC member? It is considerably less than booking through Disney and there are no additonal fees or taxes. It still may be more expensive than Vistana, but we rented points this past Xmas week for a 2 bedroom villa at OKW for about $320/noc. This was cheeper than 2 roooms almost anywhere onsite, and we had the advantage of a full kitchen w&d and absolutely wonderful resort. Check the DVC rent and trade board. We had an excellent experience renting points and look forward to doing it again.

 

[Lisa BC]

Well I've never stayed on site either. And, Vistana is absolutely great! I've stayed twice, and both times superb. We drove back and forth to Disney.

But, I'm going to stay on site for my next trip.... yeah! I hear that the on-site transportation is really good, and is one of the best benefits of staying on site.... I want to be able to go back to the resort for an afternoon swim or a nap. Staying off-site is not as convenient if you want an afternoon break, and with a young one coming with you, that might be a consideration...

Another important benefit of an on-site stay is early admission to the parks, and in December that would be important because all the parks but Epcot close fairly early in the evening.... I think that in Dec 2002 MK closed btwn 5 - 6 pm. so a mid-day break off-site would be too much time out of your day

Since December is off-season, you may be able to rent DVC points and get the suite at OKW for a good price. Other seasoned veterans will have some input, I'm sure.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Lisa BC
...(snip)....Since December is off-season, you may be able to rent DVC points and get the suite at OKW for a good price. Other seasoned veterans will have some input, I'm sure.

If the 6 night stay is in early December (1 -14), the OP could probably find someone to rent her points at $10 each. Weekday nights (Sun- Thur) require 16 points and Weekend nights (Fri & Sat) are 40 points. If the 6 nights include only one weekend night, the entire stay shoudl be about $1200 (or an average of $200/night). That's a lot of on-site room for just $200/night! There are no taxes to add to the $1200, either.

 

[Muffy]

We usually stay on site but did recently take the Vistana tour. It is beautiful and very tempting to stay there. The Vistana is close by WDW, cheaper and more room. I would definatly consider it for a future trip.

 

[MinnieGi]

I've never stayed at Vistana, but have rented points from a DVC member for a stay at OKW. We loved it!! Very beautiful and spacious facilities and parking right out front. We came back every afternoon for a nap and swim before heading out for evening activities.

 

[bcvprincesses]

We have stayed at Vistana Resort and Vistana Villages and really liked the Villages better. This year we went on a DVC tour and bought into Beach Club Villages. I think you would be happy where ever you decide to stay. They are all very nice places. If you decide to stay at OKW I would try to rent points from a DVC member as it will be much cheaper.

 

[Iheoma]

Thanks everyone for the input. I was unaware that I could rent points from DVC members. I will check that out. I also didn't consider the fact that the parks will be closing earlier than I'm typically used to. BUT I'm also glad to hear about the good reviews about the Vistana. I've got a lot to think about

 

[hercamore]

We stayed in a 2 br OKW unit this past January.

Wonderfully spacious.

I would not go with a l br OKW unit fo ryour party, unless you want MIL and dd sleeping together.

The bedmix is l king bed and l pulloutin in the kitchen area in the l br.

You'd be much better off in the 2 br Vistana unit or the 2 br Residence Inn in LBV. I have also stayed at the RI and loved it.

herc.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Could people who have stayed at one or both tell me what they think

Hi,
I happen to own in both Vistana and OKW. I've been an owner at Vistana since '94 and we became DVC members in '00. As another person posted, unless you want your mil and dd to share the pull-out in the 1 bedroom OKW, I'd go with Vistana. You'll love having that extra bathroom also. If you do decide to go with Vistana, make sure you request either the Cascades, Lakes or Fountains II. Some of the sections on Vistana property are older and not as nice, but the ones I listed are newer.
If you really treausre the "Disney magic" feeling, try and rent OKW points from a DVC Member. It really depends on how much importance you place on the perks of on-site vacationing. This is the main reason we decided to take the plunge and buy into the DVC. The bus transportation, complimentary delivery of packages to the room, and option to do E-Nights are among the biggies. Not sure if Disney is still doing this, but in July '02 (when we last stayed at OKW), they had Character Caravan (or something like this), where certain characters visit all the different Disney resorts at different times in the morning. My kids got one-on-one time with Minnie, Pluto and the Queen of Hearts one morning. These are the little "extras" you won't get at Vistana. But for the money (unless you can do just as well renting from a DVC member), I think the 2 bedroom/2 bath villas at Vistana give you more bang for the buck.
We love both of our resorts for different reasons. Feel free to email if you'd like : MiaSRN62@aol.com

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Just an update. The Character Caravan is no more since WDW restarted the Early Entry Mornings, known as Suprise Mornings.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Just an update. The Character Caravan is no more since WDW restarted the Early Entry Mornings, known as Suprise Mornings.

Thanks for the update. I thought I had read that, but wasn't sure. So even though they got rid of this, the Early Morning Entry is yet another perk to staying at OKW vs Vistana. If this is an important deciding point, they need to take it into consideration.