OKW Questions

[KyMattDisney]

Hi just a few questions about OKW..this is our first time staying here...my parents just joined and there will be 18 of us.....2 villas.

1) Are rollaway beds available...we will have 9 per villa (2BR) and need 1 per villa for 2 children?

2) Are the buses conveient and on time?

3) What day is the Character Caravan? what characters?

4) How is Olivias? Good food? Prices?

5) How are the pools? Kid friendly?

Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[PamOKW]

Are rollaway beds available...we will have 9 per villa (2BR) and need 1 per villa for 2 children?

No rollaways are provided. Also, no additional bedding is provided. The 2BR is designed for 8 but you may have a child under 3. Anything beyond that, you are on your own. Discussion on that topic usually ends up on the Debate Board. This is just to answer the rollaway question.

Buses are as good as any other WDW resort -- sometimes you hit them just right, sometimes you have to wait.

The pools are very kid friendly although some members are disappointed that they do not have slides.

 

[KyMattDisney]

Since the children are under 3 how are they accomodated? That is what makes up the additional person in each villa......neither would fit in a pack and play

 

[PamOKW]

The Pack & Play is how the child under 3 is provided for by DVC. Some members bring along air mattresses or fix up a bed on the loveseat. The set up in each unit is: 1 king bed; 2 queen beds (in the same room) and a fold-out queen sofa in the living room. There is a pack & play in the closet.

 

[KyMattDisney]

Is there anyway to request a cot or rollaway bed? My 3 yr old is too big for the pack and play and would not sleep well on a loveseat.........I would be willing to pay an extra charge if necessary. My Dad made the reservations and we assumed we would put the cot/rollaway in the bedroom with the kingsize bed.......I have an aero bed but I don't feel like lugging it on the plane ride from NJ

 

[JudithM]

To the best of my knowledge there are no cots/rollaways available at OKW. Perhaps the three year old can sleep in the king bed with the others.

We try to eat ot Olivia's at least once every trip. This past trip we ate there for dinner on Mother's Day. I forgot our waiter's name, but he has been at Olivia's for quite some time. He was very attentive. The food was delicious. If you have a Disney Club card, then each adult gets a free smoothie with each entree ordered.

 

[Frank in WI]

There are no roll-aways available at any DVC resort.

 

[Dean]

There are no roll aways and no way to get one appropriately at any DVC resort. Also, as noted, this is for children under 3, not 3 or under. It really is designed for the pack and play, anything more, one should get another unit. Whether DVC will enforced the rules of 8 with one under 3 is another topic, one that usually ends up with major discussion and therefore on the debate board as pointed out, but that is the rule.

The pools are good but no activities. Olivias is very good and moderate prices by WDW standards. I can't speak to the Character Caravan. Buses are not a good option for OKW though it is hit and miss. Personally, we take buses to MK and drive everywhere else.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I disagree about the buses. We have been going to OKW for 7 years, and only once have we had bad bus service. We do usually go during low times like December and January, so maybe that is why.

As to the bed situation--- If your under 3 year old is too big for the pack and play, try using the cushions from the sofa or love seat to make a bed in the master on the floor. You also might try making a bed out of the bedroom arm chair and ottoman. It seems to me a 3 year old would fit on that.

Remember that this is a timeshare resort, not a hotel. I don't know of many timeshares that have roll-aways or cots. That is why there is an occupancy limit for each unit.

Yes, there are children's activities at OKW, but since we don't usually travel with youngsters, I can't comment on them.

 

[Doctor P]

I would agree with Diane. In our experience the bus service from OKW has been excellent.

 

[Dean]

We've found the buses to be hit or miss but they're not that bad. We just find it works bette for us to drive most places. BTW, A number of timeshares have rollaways and many do not.

 

[DeeP]

There are some very nice activities at the Community Hall/Club House at OKW especially for the younger kids up to 10 -11. They have art projects, movies, unbirthday parties, free arcade type games, etc. They post a schedule of all daily activities that comes with your welcome home packet when you check in and it is also posted at the Club House
I find the OKW buses great in some ways and ok but not as efficient as a moderate or value resorts in other ways. OKW posted bus times are every 20 minutes and they do an ok good job in sticking to the posted time. The value & mod are a posted time wait of 15 mins and they often , especially at park closings come much faster than that, HOWEVER, OKW buses are never crowded and I have always gotten a seat. You may wait 15-20 minutes longer but you get a seat in air conditioning without doing much of the bus loading shuffle.

 

[kda]

We made our first trip to OKW 2 weeks ago (and loved it). I didn't pay attention to any 'posted' bus times, but the CM checking us in stated that buses ran every 30 minutes --- she explained that OKW was a DVC property and not one of the Disney resorts, where bus service was more frequent.

We didn't happen to use the buses, since this was the end of our stay and we weren't spending much time in the parks, so I can't comment on the actual wait time.

We were near the Conch Flat quiet pool, and it was a nice, basic pool. It was definitely 'family friendly'. I felt that it was noisier than most resort pools I'd been in during the AM hours of 9-11:30 when we there. Lots of jumping in the water, splashing, running, yelling, etc by kids and adults (perhaps because there's no lifeguard).

 

[Uncleromulus]

"Basic" is about a good a word for the pools as I can think of. You'll have more fun in the whirlpool tub in your Villa!! And "lifeguardless" pools usually have louder, less behaved crowds than properly managed pools. "Quiet" pool is a misnomer at OKW.
Olivia's is a nice spot and we eat there regularly.
Tho we always rent a car, we seem to see a good number of buses (largely empty) serving OKW.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think only the Turtle Pond area "quiet" pool has the noise problem. We have always stayed near one of the other two quiet pools, and they have truely been quiet.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Only wish it had been that way a few visits ago!!
Two families of what seemed to be about 15 persons each simply took over the "quiet" pool near our unit. Throwing baseballs, jumping, yelling--all the things the sign says not to do. They were going strong at 11:00 PM and nary a sign of a CM coming around to get them out of the pool.
Taught me a lesson about quiet pools and to NEVER again take a unit anywhere near a pool.

 

[PamOKW]

Two families of what seemed to be about 15 persons

Were they staying in a one-bedroom or a studio?

 

[Uncleromulus]

They probably had about 6 or 7 Grand Villas!!
I ventured down to take a dip one morning, when just 2 kids were in that pool. Was kind of interesting to watch a few others show up, then a few more, then some more--becoming clear that they ALL knew each other. That left me odd man out, so I just gave up and left.
Now we do all our swimming at Luna park.