OKW pool slide

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by PamOKW
The slide is being added at Disney's expense because they see some reason to do so. However, the cost of that slide will be paid for by DVC dues.

Just to clarify, the "DVC dues" for the ongoing costs of the slide will only be paid by OKW members. (There is no such thing as "DVC dues," except to the extent that certain shared costs are allocated to all DVC resort budgets -- but that's not the case with the slide at OKW.)

 

[dizfanz]

I think they are adding a pool slide to stop pool hopping to prevent guests from having to go down to the pool at 7am and save chairs until they get back at 4pm, which is really wrong. Just kidding guys!!!! Don't hate me

 

[DeeP]

Originally posted by Werner Weiss
Yes, the lifeguard who enforces the safe use of the water slide may also be able to glance toward other parts on the pool. And that lifeguard will be able assist in emergencies that are brought to his or her attention.

However, having a lifeguard attending the OKW slide doesn't mean that the OKW pool will be a guarded pool. In fact, given the interesting shape of the OKW pool, it's likely that the lifeguard will only have visibility to part of the pool, regardless of where the slide is located. And if the OKW slide has its own "splash pool" at the bottom (since the existing pool was not designed for a slide), the lifeguard may not even be at the main pool, only somewhere near it.

Yes, the OKW pool area should be safer when a lifeguard is present — but only if people don't get a false sense of security.

(I'm not suggesting that robinb will have a false sense of security. I'm sure robinb will continue to watch the 4-year-old carefully.)

I am sure Disney will follow it's usual pattern when putting life guards at OKW and they will tend to actually over staff, which is a good thing! All the main pools have several guards on 99% of the time. The shape of OKW pool will be no challenge, they have been able to very successfully man SAB with guards and that pool is a life guard's nightmare!

 

[DeeP]

Originally posted by Richyams
Who cares about the dues??? I don't want that noisy thing there. I appreciate Conch Flats the way it is, a nice, peaceful place to relax.

Its just too bad that Disney constantly gives in to whiners.

Well, lets see, Disney has been giving in for years to the whiners that have been whining being anti pool slide for years and anti dues increase for years. Disney also gave into the whiners that whined about sharing buses with Disney Village/ Institute Resort.
For someone that does not care about dues, it is awful ironic that dues are always an ever present theme in most of your often repeated repertoires!

 

[FredS]

Originally posted by lenshanem
I really don't understand why so many are complaining about it....This will improve OKW, it will look better for resales, too I would think. Now it will have a fun pool...

And like soemoen mentioned earlier, I think having lifeguards added is a plus. I would hate to think soemoen drowned cause a few complained loud enough cause they didn't want their dues raised a few cents!!!

I will be severely bummed and disappointed if they choose not to build the slide cause a few owners whined. They are improving the resort, for goodness sake...... Do you wnat OKW to be compared to All-Stars in amneties?!?

What you fail to comprehend is that not everyone considers this an improvement, making the resort "better" or that the addition of a silly SLIDE saves OKW from being compared to the All-Stars. Puhleeze.

And if someone drowned at OKW today I personally would think it beyond ridiculous to blame OKW owners who didn't particularly want a pool slide.

 

[crisi]

Pam,

That was me in the other thread.

I think one input here didn't have anything to do with DVC or DVC - it was Disney as a corporation. Disney markets their "Home Away From Home" resorts to non-DVC members. Disney marketing materials have highlighted slide availability as a way to move people up out of the value resorts for several years. OKW is the exception. They can now market "home away from home" pools as all having "themed pools with slides." Watch Disney's hotel marketing materials - like the new DVD and video - pools and slides are a vital feature to the way they market their more expensive resorts.

Non-DVCers booking DVC resorts are probably most often traveling with children (most people going to Disney do) - for whom pool theming and a slide can often be a major selling point. And CRO gets more OKW rooms than other DVC resorts - because there are more of them, even if the speculation about it being a "less popular" place for DVC members to book isn't true. If CRO can't book those rooms, than our trade out value isn't as good.

I think there were other inputs as well - perhaps the end of pool hopping. Perhaps a few owners (or members who own at other resorts) that "whined" (or maybe just asked) for a slide. Perhaps a legal opinion that one pool should have lifeguards for liability reasons regardless of a slide - and if you are going to have lifeguards, might as well add the slide. Who knows?

 

[DeeP]

If the theory of Disney's hotel/resort marketing dept wanting a slide at OKW so they can market their home away from home resorts, then I guess FW will be the next resort to get a pool slide. FW although a campground is also considered a home away from home resort because of the cabins and they do not have a pool slide.
I find it a little strange that the hotel/resort marketing dept would now all of sudden be concerned about OKW not having a pool slide when it has been this way for 12 years!

 

[kathleena]

Quote: "It's funny how the $.02-$.04 it will cost OKW folks is brushed off by non-OKW owners but BWV folks on the transporation discussion were for the most part not willing to even entertain the thought of paying additional dues of a similar amount to improve their bus service. "

I see the bus service issue as very different from the slide issue. More bus service would also mean more buses to Swan, Dolphin, Yacht & Beach Clubs and BoardWalk Inn - all non-DVC hotels. BWV owners should not have to pay for that part of service, so a general increase for buses would be unfair unless it was incremental to the size of the hotel. So perhaps a small incremental charge - but certainly the majority of the benefit would be to those other hotels - they are much larger that BWV.

 

[Desperado]

Originally posted by DeeP
Well, lets see, Disney has been giving in for years to the whiners that have been whining being anti pool slide for years and anti dues increase for years. Disney also gave into the whiners that whined about sharing buses with Disney Village/ Institute Resort.
For someone that does not care about dues, it is awful ironic that dues are always an ever present theme in most of your often repeated repertoires!

Good points, DeeP. Seems like the whiners we are hearing from are those complaining about the slide, not those those saying it will be a nice addition. These huge phantom dues increases predicted that don't really add up also sounds like whining. Heck I hate to see the word brought into this thread. But it can be pointed in many directions.

Its just a pool slide. If you've been around the ones at BWV and Vero, they are not that noisy or bad. Seems like the complaints are way overblown!!!

Maybe it will be a small slide that goes really slowly. One of those blue fiberslass jobs like you might have on a home pool. Would that be better?

 

[jaysue]

Well the BWV slide may not be bad but it is a little creepy!

 

[d-r]

I'm not sure which polls are referred to with this comment. The poll asking how OKW owners would have voted currently shows 44% of those responding would have voted for a slide and 56% would have voted against. This is assuming that only OKW owners have voted in this poll.was sent only to OKW owners) was even higher against- and

The other poll didn't even ask for only OKW owners to vote- so there is again no way to know what OKW owners woukd prefer from that poll. Prior polls on this forum have been in the 60% range against a slide and the survey done by DVC (that survey that result was announced by DVC to the membership.

I really think this is something that impacts more dvc members than just those who own at old key west. As long as old key west members are able to use their old key west points to book at the other dvc resorts, and as long as old key west tends to be the place available for members at any dvc resort to be able to make last minute reservations, then this impacts all of the dvc members. This is why I think dvc was willing to pay for the construction costs themselves - doing what is good for DVC as a whole, despite the "whining" of some of the okw owners. I doubt that owners anywhere else are whining - that is because someday they might find themselvs at old key west when their own resort is booked up. It is really about being fair to all dvc members - I really do think that it took some courage for dvc to choose to do this, knowing that some of the okw owners would resist (I think it is kind of tough to call them "whiners").

My point is that I don't think that it matters that a "poll" was not limited to only old key west members - old key west members enjoy the slides at other dvc resorts that other people pay dues for, and if pool hopping is taken away old key west owners may find themselves appreciating a slide - the "poll" should be open to all dvc members because it impacts all dvc members. I'm glad that dvc has the guts to do it.

DR

 

[sters]

This is great news! I thought OKW would be wonderful... "if only they had a slide." I don't think it needs to be a super-duper teen friendly one either, just one to keep the grade school set content, since it's a little nerve-wracking taking them to the water parks.

 

[sters]

Adding a pool slide will keep more OKW owners "home," not only sleeping at home (instead of trading to BWV, for example) but swimming at home (instead of walking over to the SSR). It's a good move. It makes OKW seem less like the poor DVC Step-Child.

 

[DSNY FN]

That is so great we just stayed there for 2 weeks and the kids were complaining and asking to go to BWV to play in the pool there because there was no slide at OKW now they will be happy it is getting a slide. I hope it is in before we get there in Sept.

 

[sgtdisney]

As an owner at OKW, I just don't think that Disney has handled this correctly. This decision that they have made effects my dues. I really think it would have been nice to have had a say in the decision. If the majority of members felt that the slide was required, so be it. Just because other DVC members feel like something is missing shouldn't be a reason, they aren't paying the dues for this. If you don't like OKW, don't stay there. There is one DVC resort that I don't like, and will probably never stay there, but I would never presume to think that it should be changed around to make it more acceptable to me. I don't pay the dues.

 

[Desperado]

Originally posted by sters
Adding a pool slide will keep more OKW owners "home," not only sleeping at home (instead of trading to BWV, for example) but swimming at home (instead of walking over to the SSR). It's a good move. It makes OKW seem less like the poor DVC Step-Child.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Originally posted by sgtdisney
Just because other DVC members feel like something is missing shouldn't be a reason, they aren't paying the dues for this. If you don't like OKW, don't stay there. There is one DVC resort that I don't like, and will probably never stay there, but I would never presume to think that it should be changed around to make it more acceptable to me. I don't pay the dues.

VERY well put. My amazement is that non-OKW owners CARE that we do or do not have a slide.

 

[crisi]

Of course some non-OKW members care if the resort has a slide. Don't some OKW members occationally stay at BCVs - and don't some of them do that because they want to enjoy SAB? Don't some non-BWV owners get excited when the BWV is available to them seven months out (I'm remembering threads on both those topics recently). Don't non-VWL owners enjoy staying at VWL to enjoy the access to MK?

We all get to share in the amentities of a resort when we stay there - whether that is the resort we pay dues to or not. It isn't like DVC looks at where you own your points when you go down the pool slide at the other resorts - "Sorry kid, your parents own at OKW, you didn't pay for this slide." or "Sorry, you'll need to park way over here and walk to your OKW unit, your at BWV owner." There are a lot of non-OKW owners that enjoy staying at OKW, and, for some of them, the slide was something that was missing from making OKW a great place for them.

Could they have handled it differently? Well, they tried to and OKW owners told them they didn't want a slide. Yet Disney has the right to add a slide without getting approval, and apparently they wanted a slide more than they wanted to keep OKW dues down or make the owners content, so they are presenting it as a done deal. How else could they have handled it, assuming that the slide was a given?

 

[dianeschlicht]

Don't some OKW members occationally stay at BCVs - and don't some of them do that because they want to enjoy SAB?

Yes, but it is already there. Not being added to BCV's dues.

 

[DeeP]

As an owner at OKW, I just don't think that Disney has handled this correctly. This decision that they have made effects my dues. I really think it would have been nice to have had a say in the decision.

But Disney does stuff that effects our dues every year. It is their right to do whatever they wish to do. The DVC resorts belong to DISNEY not the members. THEY own them not us.
They are enhancing a resort that THEY own. Your investment as an OKW member might not rise significantly but it certainly will not decrease because Disney is enhancing a resort that THEY own by putting in a slide.
It makes me laugh when I think back to how many times I read OKW members post that the reason they did not want a slide had NOTHING to do with dues! Well, it certainly does not sound as if that statement is true by what some of these posts are saying!!!!