OKW Questions

[carolinadj]

We're leaving very early Sunday morning for OKW and I have some questions. We have requested a room close to the clubhouse - usually we get this with no problem. However, since we will arrive very early in the morning this time, there may not be a room available in that area.

I know with "Rooms Ready," DVC will probably suggest an alternative. I believe someone mentioned on this board that rooms by another pool were nice and quiet. I can't remember where that was - does anyone?

Also, since we have always been able to walk to the clubhouse/grocery/pool, if we stay in another area of OKW, how will we get to the clubhouse without a car? Will every bus stop at the clubhouse before leaving for the parks? And going back to the room, will we have to ride all the way to a park first?

Thanks for your help.

 

[m4travel]

Yes, arriving early in the morning may mean a substitution for you, but we had no trouble when arriving from DCL at 9:30. We were offered 3 different villas from which to choose.

The alternate area you're thinking of is Turtle Pond Road. There is a quiet pool and a bus stop on the T-shaped Road. Not knowing much about OKW, we chose TP Road because they had a ground floor villa available and I had developed back problems on the cruise. It was a great choice!

Although it is only a leisurely walk to the Hospitality House, you can take the bus which stops at HH both upon entering OKW and before leaving OKW, so no walking is necessary - though quite pleasant. You may take the bus to the HH and later pick it up at HH for the ride back to TP Road. Although the bus travels on TP Road, we did not hear it from inside the villa. OKW looks rather spread out on the resort map, but TP Road is really not far from the entrance.

We loved OKW enough to add a contract there to our initial purchase at SSR. I'm sure you'll love it, too.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

We were just at OKW last week and the buses rarely stop at the Hospitality House upon entering the resort. The Hospitality House was the last stop after the bus went through the whole resort. So in my experience getting to the Hospitality House would be easy. Just get on any bus.

There is suppose to be an internal bus but I have personally never seen it and frequently have seen people give up waiting for one and decide to walk back to their villa.

From our visits a while ago, I swore the buses stopped both upon entering and upon leaving, but this did not happen on our last 3 trips there. Believe me, we paid attention to it, because we were lucky to get near the HH and we were always the last stop and got to see the whole resort before we got dropped off. While we checked into the resort before 10 am, our rooms were never ready until after 4:00. Other rooms were available, but we choose to wait for a room near the HH.

 

[kda]

Almost all the busses stop at the HH as the last stop, but I have had a driver go right by when the bus was full. Just ask the driver if there's a planned stop at the HH when you board the bus. This works out excellent because it's usually just a few minutes wait for a bus to come along, and it only makes one stop before the HH.

When you're ready to return to your room, it's easiest to walk from the HH across the street and a few feet down to the first bus stop. Then there's only one stop before Turtle Pond Road bus stop.

There's also two other quiet pools, but Turtle Pond pool has a snack bar.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I believe the quiet pool area you are thinking about is the South Point area. Very quiet with a relaxing water view. I think the best OKW has to offer.

 

[JimMIA]

We just returned and checked in around noon last Sunday. We had requested "near Hospitality House," and got Bldg 26, whick is just across the bridge and an easy walk. We were very happy with that.

Visitation seems pretty light, so I'd bet you'll do fine on your request.

 

[Disney Doll]

We like the Southpoint area. It's not close to the main area...Hospitality House (HH)...but it is a nice, quiet area, with a quiet pool and a hot tub, near the walking path to SSR & DTD, with mostly water or wooded views. Our second favorite area is Turtle Pond. Again, near a quiet pool, overlooks the golf course mostly.

Most of the buses stop at the HH on thier way out. I would do as another poster suggested and ask when you are boarding a bus if it is making an HH stop prior to leaving OKW. There is not a separate internal bus system...it is the theme park buses that usually make the HH their final stop before leaving.

 

[carolinadj]

What valuable information - thank you so much for the assistance, everyone! I'm off to WDW - and so excited!

 

[ccw]

Another endorsement for the SouthPoint area...stayed there on last two visits and did not at all mind that it was a bit of a hike to Hosp. House (5-7 minute walk MAX)...great path to SSR spa and DTD. Nice quiet pool option, too.

 

[byoung]

Stayed in building 14 across from the HH bus stop. Though it to be great. We would get off the bus at the first stop and walk back.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Stayed in building 14 across from the HH bus stop. Though it to be great. We would get off the bus at the first stop and walk back.

We were in building 14 in March, and liked it for that reason too. We have also had building 13 with the same results, except that building 13 seems to be short on parking.

 

[LoveMickey]

We stayed in Building 14 at the beginning of May. Drivers gave me the following information.

Busses - All busses going to the parks stop at HH last, then head out for the parks. Busses from Downtown Disney go to HH first and then turn into an internal bus - assume after the HH stop the "name" changes to the park it will eventually go to.

On two occasions (coming back from the parks during mid day) when we were the only ones on the bus, we were left off first - shhhhhs don't tell anyone.

On the way back from the parks, we would get off at the first stop - Penninsular stop - and walk back to our building. It was not a bad walk, even after spending the nights in the parks and we were tired.

 

[andreadoiron]

We like the Southpoint area. It's not close to the main area...Hospitality House (HH)...but it is a nice, quiet area, with a quiet pool and a hot tub, near the walking path to SSR & DTD, with mostly water or wooded views. Our second favorite area is Turtle Pond. Again, near a quiet pool, overlooks the golf course mostly.

Most of the buses stop at the HH on thier way out. I would do as another poster suggested and ask when you are boarding a bus if it is making an HH stop prior to leaving OKW. There is not a separate internal bus system...it is the theme park buses that usually make the HH their final stop before leaving.

we will have 2 grandparents(70+) and 2 small children w/us, is the walk to downtown from south point an easy walk for the easily tired persons? we are comtemplating staying in nov and would like an alternative to staying by the HH in case we can't get it

 

[kda]

The walk from Building 55 to the West End (Cirque and House of Blues) isn't difficult, but I'd estimate it takes ~ 15 minutes at an easy pace. There's usually a ferry from the West End over to the Marketplace, if you want to go there. It would be OK for the little ones if they were in a stroller, but not walking.