OKW or Wilderness?

[Jenbear]

We have stayed in a 1 bedroom at OKW in July and loved it and we are trying to decide whether to stay there again in October or at Wilderness Lodge.(a one bedroom) We have looked at that resort and thought it looked cool. Our home resort is SSR-which I've never stayed at!!

 

[1000th happy haunt]

You don't really know what a resort is like until you experience it for yourself. If you're interested in trying VWL, then go for it!

 

[ByWm]

We had three nights at VWL last week and loved it, particularly the convenience to Magic Kingdom. Several minor things were wrong in our room, but still a very good experience.

ByWm

 

[blitzkrieg048]

If your thinkinh 1 bedroom OKW has the largest villa's in the DVC resorts, we love them. We've stayed at a 1 bedroom at BC which is same size as wilderness and we found it small.

 

[MulanMom]

The feel of each resort is totally different. We've owned at OKW since '93 and have mainly stayed there. But a few years ago we did a week at WLV and then 3 nights during a subsequent trip. It was fun to be near MK and take a boat to and from that park. We enjoyed the pool, lobby, restaurants, room service, etc. What we missed from OKW was the spacious rooms, the large balcony, and parking the rental car close to our unit. I would probably do WLV more often if the point cost weren't a bit higher for essentially similar accommodations.

I'd say try WLV at least once.

 

[debloco]

If you have the chance, I'd say give it a try. While we own at the VWL (so I'm a bit biased) we are planning on trying all of the DVC properties.

We've been to BWV, BCV and our home resort-VWL. OKW is would probably be next, followed by SSR.

Wouldn't want to miss Hilton Head and Vero Beach either!

 

[RonH]

We've owned since 1993 when OKW was the DVC. We always stay in a 1BR and have visited many of the other DVCs. A few years ago we stayed at BCV for a change and the 1BR was considerably smaller. I found square footage details somewhere once and want to say an OKW 1BR is about 1,000 SF versus 700 SF at BCV. My guess is DVC is so popular that new resorts being built are a bit smaller to allow for more accomodations, thus the ability to sell more points. That being said I will agree with others that the atmosphere of each resort is very different.

 

[Jenbear]

I think we will try Wilderness just for the closeness to MK and taking the boat out and about. Is the pool water warm in mid October?

 

[jarestel]

I think we will try Wilderness just for the closeness to MK and taking the boat out and about. Is the pool water warm in mid October?

It will be warm!

Congrats on your choice. It's always a good thing to try new things for yourself, rather than rely solely on the opinions of others.

 

[MagikMom]

JenBear, half the fun of DVC is trying out the different resorts. We have stayed ant BCV, BWV and SSR. We loved each of them for different reasons. We will be trying out HH in July (one of our home resorts) and we plan to try OKW in April 2007. We will eventually hit WLV at some point as I want to experience them all!!!

 

[MagikMom]

Forgot to tell you, October is our favorite time of the year to go!! Perfect weather, hardly any crowds and of course there's the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. ENJOY!!!

 

[Jenbear]

Thanks everybody for the great advice!! It sounds like October really is an awesome time to go!! I can't wait.

 

[Disney Doll]

October is a wonderful time to go to WDW!!!! The weather is warm, but not oppressively humid.

WLV is a lovely resort. Room size is not comparable to OKW, but the units are still amply-sized for a vacation cindo IMHO. It is a serene, very pretty resort. There are walking paths, boat rentals. You can zip over to Fort Wilderness, where there is a lot of fun stuff too.

if you go down to the beach around 9PM every night, the Electric Water Pageant wil come by...it's very cute!!!

As others have said, it is great to try all the resorts for yourselves.

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

Don't forget Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!!!

Bring costumes that are easy to get on and off rides in and have a BLAST!!

This is Really a cool evening, a hard ticket event, but worth every penny!

It's at MK, try to go on Sunday night or another night during the week...DO NOT try on Halloween....It's usually sold out and wouldn't be as fun.

 

[Jenbear]

What exactly is the Electric Water Pagent? I've never heard of that!! I think the kids break is the middle of October. Will the Not So Scary Halloween Party be going on then too? Mine will be 9 and 12 so I don't know about costumes, but I know they would like everything else that has to do with Halloween!!

 

[debloco]

Jenbear~
Here's a description of the EWP:

Another treat that comes with staying at a Magic Kingdom resort that's not as publicized as it should be is the Electrical Water Pageant. This convoy of beautifully lit floats makes a musical circuit around the Seven Seas Lagoon nightly, weather permitting, passing in front of the Polynesian around 9 p.m., the Grand Floridian at 9:15 p.m., the Wilderness Lodge at 9:35 p.m., Fort Wilderness at 9:45 p.m. and ending at the Contemporary around 10:05 p.m. Good viewing spots can be found along the beaches of any of these resorts, as well as from select restaurant locations -- Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian, for example, affords an on-the-waterfront seat. Try to see it if you can!

And MNSSHP runs through most of October. Tickets go on sale months before...I want to say sometime in May? But you can search for that info on the Theme Park Attractions and Strategies board. I think there is an info thread there.

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

Also...EWP....at WL....there is a great viewing spot on the 4th (?) floor right on the lobby....took a tour of WL last April and the guide took us up there...ask at check in....it has rocking chairs to sit and watch. VERY peaceful at the end of a Disney Day.

Have a Magical Trip!!!



Costumes---MOST guests dress, but you don't have to....2 years ago there were quite a few Jack Sparrows and one whole family was characters from the movie! Doesn't have to be a fancy costume, can be as easy as a Halloween t-shirt and jeans/shorts...maybe a Haunted Mansion shirt....just to get into the Spirit of the night!

 

[Jenbear]

Wow!! It sounds like an awesome site to see!! Thanks for the great info!!