starbox
"There is more treasure in books than in all the p
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2006
- Messages
- 3,528
We had originally planned to end our trip (which started in a 2bd SV at AKV, then OVIR at VB) by returning to AKV and staying in a value studio - but after actually being in a value studio with just the kids in April - this seemed like a very bad idea. I did not want to end the trip in such a teeny tiny room - so I got on a wait-list to try to switch to OKW (which was the same # of points).
Happily, the wait-list came through! This was our second stay at OKW and truthfully, it was not my favorite DVC because last time it seemed like we encountered grumpy CMs, had bad bus service, and I did not like the set-up of no inside or shaded place to eat CS.
This stay was much, much better.
First of all - the CMs were all very friendly and seemed happy to be there. I had asked on the boards which buildings overlooked the lagoon - and I requested one of them and got a lagoon view - which I LOVED. It was a walk to the HH or even the bus stop - but I enjoy walking around resorts so this was actually a "plus" in my book.
Our room was immaculate - and when I say immaculate - I mean magically immaculate. I've stayed in a lot of studios and I have never been in one that was cleaned like this. I actually called and asked to speak to the housekeeping manager to compliment her, and left a tip and note at concierge, and I'm going to write a letter to OKW - in addition to shouting out here that
ALMA DIAZ is the best mousekeeper at Disney.
In addition to cleaning the room, she had fanned out and arranged and folded every single towel or piece of tissue paper in the room. Both beds had towel animals. DVC coasters were arranged like hidden Mickeys. There were little washcloth penguins peeking out of every folded hand-towel and waving. You could tell that she loved making her rooms special for guests and just had the "disney magic" that some CMs have.
I loved the balcony and view of the lagoon. I grew up on lakes in Florida - and watching boats go by makes me happy. I had my coffee out there in the morning and wine at night.
The only living room I need in a villa:
All in all, the resort was really pretty - very lush and green and was in great condition. I do wish the walking paths were designed like SSR and meandered through the prettiness of the resort landscaping and not along the bust roads - I'd have loved a change to walk through those trees along the water.
DD9 did not have a broken arm, so we got to try the pool and it's very cute and has a very, very fun slide. The kids liked it because, unlike VB and AKV - it gets deep. It was a great pool for our family but would not have worked for me when the kids were smaller and needed constant watching because it's deep and there are not many pool-facing pool chairs (even the ones that face the pool don't let you see the whole thing because of the bridge that crosses the pool). But it was great for my older kids and they rated it as their favorite.
However, I have one complaint about OKW.
On our last trip we had bad bus service (and I'm pretty generous with my patience and define bad as waiting over 30 minutes more than once) - even missing park opening when we got to the bus-stop with an hour to spare. This time, bus service was abysmal. We waited between 45 minutes and 1:30 for every single bus. At DHS we actually counted five SSR, four CSR, and 3 POP buses before we saw our first OKW bus.
I think the problem could be design - OKW is the only resort I've been in that does not have multiple bays for busses to use at the resort - so busses have to line up at every single internal bus stop and wait their turn to load and unload. Now, add to this the fact that OKW seems to attract older guests, many of whom are using rented scooters or wheelchairs and there's a situation where busses can back up quickly as drivers load and unload - especially during the busy summer months. It took us 40 minutes just to complete the internal bus loop after we boarded because of backed up busses loading and unloading. At other resorts - wheelchair and ECV loading only impacts the bus loading - but at OKW there is only one loading bay per stop and it seemed like every bus had at least one ECV or wheelchair on it.
After spending (I kid you not) close to three hours of my day riding on OKW busses or waiting for OKW busses the second day of the trip - we started driving (this was the first time we've ever broken down and started driving ever) and were fine - but using the Disney transportation is a part of the trip I really love, so I was very bummed about the bus situation.
On a happy note - we love the cool ferry to DTD and had a great meal at Wolfgang Puck Express.
All in all - it was a great trip and I'm very glad we were not in a tiny value studio at the end!
Happily, the wait-list came through! This was our second stay at OKW and truthfully, it was not my favorite DVC because last time it seemed like we encountered grumpy CMs, had bad bus service, and I did not like the set-up of no inside or shaded place to eat CS.
This stay was much, much better.
First of all - the CMs were all very friendly and seemed happy to be there. I had asked on the boards which buildings overlooked the lagoon - and I requested one of them and got a lagoon view - which I LOVED. It was a walk to the HH or even the bus stop - but I enjoy walking around resorts so this was actually a "plus" in my book.
Our room was immaculate - and when I say immaculate - I mean magically immaculate. I've stayed in a lot of studios and I have never been in one that was cleaned like this. I actually called and asked to speak to the housekeeping manager to compliment her, and left a tip and note at concierge, and I'm going to write a letter to OKW - in addition to shouting out here that
ALMA DIAZ is the best mousekeeper at Disney.In addition to cleaning the room, she had fanned out and arranged and folded every single towel or piece of tissue paper in the room. Both beds had towel animals. DVC coasters were arranged like hidden Mickeys. There were little washcloth penguins peeking out of every folded hand-towel and waving. You could tell that she loved making her rooms special for guests and just had the "disney magic" that some CMs have.
I loved the balcony and view of the lagoon. I grew up on lakes in Florida - and watching boats go by makes me happy. I had my coffee out there in the morning and wine at night.
The only living room I need in a villa:
All in all, the resort was really pretty - very lush and green and was in great condition. I do wish the walking paths were designed like SSR and meandered through the prettiness of the resort landscaping and not along the bust roads - I'd have loved a change to walk through those trees along the water.
DD9 did not have a broken arm, so we got to try the pool and it's very cute and has a very, very fun slide. The kids liked it because, unlike VB and AKV - it gets deep. It was a great pool for our family but would not have worked for me when the kids were smaller and needed constant watching because it's deep and there are not many pool-facing pool chairs (even the ones that face the pool don't let you see the whole thing because of the bridge that crosses the pool). But it was great for my older kids and they rated it as their favorite.
However, I have one complaint about OKW.
On our last trip we had bad bus service (and I'm pretty generous with my patience and define bad as waiting over 30 minutes more than once) - even missing park opening when we got to the bus-stop with an hour to spare. This time, bus service was abysmal. We waited between 45 minutes and 1:30 for every single bus. At DHS we actually counted five SSR, four CSR, and 3 POP buses before we saw our first OKW bus.
I think the problem could be design - OKW is the only resort I've been in that does not have multiple bays for busses to use at the resort - so busses have to line up at every single internal bus stop and wait their turn to load and unload. Now, add to this the fact that OKW seems to attract older guests, many of whom are using rented scooters or wheelchairs and there's a situation where busses can back up quickly as drivers load and unload - especially during the busy summer months. It took us 40 minutes just to complete the internal bus loop after we boarded because of backed up busses loading and unloading. At other resorts - wheelchair and ECV loading only impacts the bus loading - but at OKW there is only one loading bay per stop and it seemed like every bus had at least one ECV or wheelchair on it.
After spending (I kid you not) close to three hours of my day riding on OKW busses or waiting for OKW busses the second day of the trip - we started driving (this was the first time we've ever broken down and started driving ever) and were fine - but using the Disney transportation is a part of the trip I really love, so I was very bummed about the bus situation.
On a happy note - we love the cool ferry to DTD and had a great meal at Wolfgang Puck Express.
All in all - it was a great trip and I'm very glad we were not in a tiny value studio at the end!
We'll be going there for the first time in Nov/Dec and I'm getting very excited about it 
Rental 
