OKW - Room Report

[jimmacmn]

Virtually all of WDW is heavily wooded and you might encounter all sorts of wildlife -- from sweet whitetailed deer and cute squirrels to snakes and alligators...and skunks, and tree frogs, and yes, even cockroaches!

Last Sunday we saw two large flocks of turkeys on the Magnolia golf course and last December we were stalked by a racoon just after we made the turn on the Palm. Seems he knew a lot of folks get food at the turn and he was not timid about grabbing it from carts or unzipping bags to get it. A few years ago we encountered three bobcats on the Eagle Pines golf course (RIP).

My brothers live on the edge of Wekiva Springs State Park north of Orlando and when I was there the Sunday before I went to WDW, they had a couple of bear cubs going through the trash. And where there are cubs there is probably a mom, but we did not see her.

 

[3pirates]

We have owned property in Central Florida for over 24 years. Florida does have many more bugs, insects and wild life in it's natural habitat compared to other states. However, rats are not in this group. Rats come from decay and filth and are not part of Fl's nature habitat. Disney can most certainly control the conditions that would bring on a rat infestation.

I'm not an expert, but my information came from someone in the business.

We weren't discussing infestations, but it isn't clear to me that this was an infestation rather than A rat.

The expert was a pest control specialist in a non-Disney resort in the general area. We watched as they placed pellets of the poison I talked about, so we asked them about what was going on. They said rats do live in the woods and they place the poison on the periphery in rocky areas and such to try to keep them away from people. The poison makes them thirsty, and they tend to go back to the woods to known sources of water. But, sometimes they don't, and that is why I thought there was a possibility that this guy was coming around the pool.

That's really all I know, but I thought it was pretty good information from a knowledgeable source.

 

[JimMIA]

Rats come from decay and filth and are not part of Fl's nature habitat.

Sorry, but this is simply not correct.

Rats are found throughout Florida, and we have numerous species who are native to Florida. In fact, we have a native rat in Everglades National Park which is an endangered species (the Key Largo Wood Rat). No rat species depend on human garbage for their food. Rats are omnivores, but the main component of their diets is vegetation.

That's not to say that rats won't eat garbage -- they certainly will. They will also eat pet food or just about anything else they can find. But that's not their normal diet.

We rarely see rats because, like most wild animals, they avoid humans. Most of the time when you see a rat in a human-populated setting, it's because there is some construction in a previously-undeveloped area nearby which has chased them from their normal habitat.

 

[JimMIA]

The poison makes them thirsty, and they tend to go back to the woods to known sources of water.

Actually, the poison is a vasodilator which causes their blood vessels to become so pourous that they bleed internally -- like taking so much aspirin or ibuprophen that you give yourself a bleeding ulcer. The seeking of water is to replace the fluid loss from the blood vessels. They eventually bleed to death.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Actually, the poison is a vasodilator which causes their blood vessels to become so pourous that they bleed internally -- like taking so much aspirin or ibuprophen that you give yourself a bleeding ulcer. The seeking of water is to replace the fluid loss from the blood vessels. They eventually bleed to death.

Warfarin (Coumadin) was originally developed as a rat poison. Blood coagulation is decreased by interferring with vitamin K.

As a Coumadin patient, the thoughts of taking rat poison does kind of make me sick ugh....

 

[Chuck S]

We have owned property in Central Florida for over 24 years. Florida does have many more bugs, insects and wild life in it's natural habitat compared to other states. However, rats are not in this group. Rats come from decay and filth and are not part of Fl's nature habitat. Disney can most certainly control the conditions that would bring on a rat infestation.

Rats and field mice are pretty common throughout the South, even in the rural areas. We live in a rural area of South-Central Texas, everyone nearby has at least an acre of property. It is not uncommon to see snakes (in fact I was bitten by a rattlesnake in August ) 'possums, raccoons, mice, deer, bobcats, turkeys, skunks, armadillos, rats, tree frogs, toads, turtles, feral cats, rabbits, wild boars, foxes and coyotes on our property.

As JimMIA said, rats are naturally outdoor wild animals and while their numbers will certainly increase in areas of inner city filth, the simple occasional sighting does not indicate a lack of cleanliness or lack of control by Disney, any more than that cute little bunny rabbit indicates filth..an infestation on the other hand, would be a real problem.

 

[thelobstershanty]

I totally agree that rats are part of the wild life and most certainly will be in rural areas-- that is their native habitat. However, rats seen outside of the rural environment, are there from other conditions--dirt and decay. There are vast amounts of land in FL that is undeveloped and therefore a natural habitat for many wild life, including the rat. However, Walt Disney World is NOT one of the undeveloped areas. It is in fact, the exact opposite. No other area in FL has experienced the growth and major devolpment, as rapidly, as Central FL has in the past 25years; especially the areas surrounding Walt Disney World.
A rural area with wildlife and WDW do not even fit in the same sentence. Though Disney is very good at making one feel they are miles away from reality--it is no longer so. Beyond those trees--that get less and less--is a very busy highway and anything BUT a rural area.
We have owned homes in FL spanning from the Tampa area to the Walt Disney World area. All of our homes have been in much more rural areas than WDW is. We have never seen a single rat. We have seen tons of other wildlife from raccoons to snakes, but never a rat.
Our present FL home is less than 5 miles from Disney and is in a more rural area than WDW is. Again, we have never seen a rat. We see many cranes, birds, lizards and even alligators--but never a rat.
We have seen rats in Disney at both Epcot and Fort Wilderness. On both occasions, the rats were there due to unclean conditions and were eating garbage.
The point is, WDW is not an area that is rural and would naturally have rats in it's environment. The rats at Disney are there because of unclean conditons.
Rats are rodents and tend to stay in packs. To have a stray rat wander into Disney property crossing I4, or 192, etc., seems very unlikely.

 

[Chuck S]

There is plenty of undeveloped land at WDW surrounding the resorts to support a sizable rat population. The Fort Wilderness area is surrounded by trees and golf courses. Wild rats can thrive in any wooded area. Look at all the other wildlife on property. OKW is connected to wildeness through the trails at bldg 55, and just across the street from both the employee and main resort entrance.

There is a lot of wooded area near SSR as well.

 

[chevyAZ]

We just got back last week. We did a split stay between VWL (9 nights) and OKW (6 nights). We had a studio (room 1220). It was our first time at OKW and we loved it.

Wildlife
My wife was freaked out by the lizards and frogs around the building, but hey its Florida, so I dont blame OKW or disney for that.

One thing that erked me a little was that we did not get a trash and Towel service as we should have. We didnt complain, (Have our own towels, did laundry and took our own garbage out) however I did feel as though I was being shorted.

Other than that, I loved OKW. In fact I liked it better than VWL because the walk to our room was much shorter. VWL gave us room 2661 which was the next to last room on the villas on the second floor. Long walk with a double stroller and 2 sleeping kids. Don't get me wrong we loved VWL, but my feet preferred OKW.

 

[LilyU]

OH DEAR LORD....We just stayed at OKW in Sept (16th-22nd). WHAT pool was this rat by????? I was not crazy about OKW (we were in the 3500 area...can't remember the number right now). It seemed old and run down to me.

If I had seen that rat, they would have heard me screaming all the way at Epcot!!

Lily

 

[JimMIA]

...As a Coumadin patient, the thoughts of taking rat poison does kind of make me sick ugh....

There are a lot of medications we'd probably rather not know the geneology of.

But rat poison or not, Coumadin is much better than the alternative!

 

[JimMIA]

... the simple occasional sighting does not indicate a lack of cleanliness or lack of control by Disney, any more than that cute little bunny rabbit indicates filth..an infestation on the other hand, would be a real problem.

This is probably the best point any of us have made. There is a huge difference between anecdotal examples and general conditions.

For example, I once saw an 18-inch long turtle attack and drive off a six-foot alligator. I mean, he/she really went after that alligator, and chased it about 20 yards!

Are all turtles fearless? Nah. Are alligators the natural prey of turtles -- um, no...it's actually the other way around.

Another example -- a family a couple of blocks away has two absolutely beautiful Huskies. They are truly gorgeous dogs, and they are also very loveable. I pet them every time they try to get into my garbage on trash day.

Are they signs of general filth and putrification in my neighborhood? Naw -- just signs of irresponsible owners who will one day lose their dogs.

Whenever we start discussing isolated events like ONE sighting of a rat by one of tens of millions of visitors, it's always good to remember that it IS an isolated event and all it means is one person saw one rat.

As a person who deals with wildlife every day, I'd be much more concerned if someone DIDN'T see a rat, snake, skunk, frog, cockroach, etc. If that happens, I'm no longer worried about critters -- I'm worried about DD5-going-on-25 because I KNOW how they're getting rid of all those pesky wild things.

 

[thelobstershanty]

Chuck S,
I have to respectfully disagree with you on the undeveloped land in WDW. There is not really as much as it seems. Have you had the chance to drive the non highway & no purple signs roads in and around WDW? It is amazing how different it looks once you are "off stage". There is a non discript road right off I4, that I take from our house to WDW. As soon as you turn onto this avenue, you have Mt. Everest at AK almost in your face. As you go along this road you pass the Disney Family Care Center, a Casting center, a non Disney hotel complex being built etc. There are trees all along this road but they are not dense or thick and are surrounded by busy highways and roads on all sides. After being on this street for less than a mile you come out on Disney property right by AK's parking lot. It is amazing, because it really is like you are in a different world. Talk about an Alice in Wonderland experience! LOL!!!

 

[AKV707]

I just got back from a quick trip with my brother sun-wed begin of Oct. I own at SSR and he is thinking about buying at some point. I have never stayed at OKW and after booking started to see the OKW cleanliness threads. I think its like once you buy a car you see the same one everywhere.
We got there and checked in no problem, everyone was GREAT!! and they were able to offer a choice of ready rooms. We picked one but once we got to it it smelled like smoke pretty bad. One call to the front and they moved us in about 10 mins no problem. The next room was MINT!!! They may have been recently rehabbed but I mean MINT. We even saw some touch up painting and powerwashing of the outside while we were there.
Sorry I cannot remember the room #'s

Nunzia Dont worry and dont be hypersensitive and I bet it will work out fine!

Glad to hear that. Leaving for OKW very soon, and it is our first DVC trip! I hope that our studio is in good shape!

 

[dvc-NE]

A few years ago we encountered three bobcats on the Eagle Pines golf course (RIP).

YIKES!

 

[3pirates]

For what its worth, I'm voting with those that say there is enough wilderness in the area to support wildlife....I think just that involved with the golf course would suffice. Based on what people have seen on the golf course there that seems to be the case. I live in a large neighborhood in the Atlanta area and a golf course runs through. Other than that, we are in a busy suburban area. We can't even keep pansies in our yard because deer (who I'm guessing live around the golf course) eat them. Neighbors have seen all kinds of wildlife, again, presumably residents of the golf course.

If people want to worry because a rat was spotted on property, I guess they can. I wouldn't like running into him, but it wouldn't make me question for one moment the suitability of the resort.

I also have stayed at OKW literally dozens of times and never had a serious complaint about cleanliness/maintenance. The only time we've had issue was when a previous guest had obvkously smoked in a non-smoking room. The same has been true about other Disney resorts. The only one we've had a serious complaint with was Hilton Head, and they fixed the problem right away. I'm sorry the OP had some bad experiences, but for those who read this thread and worry about your upcoming trip, I don't think it is necessarily representative.

On another topic, I used to work for a pharmaceutical company, and one of the most interesting things I learned is that many medications start out as chemicals being developed for some whole other reason, then someone figures out a way to use them medicinally!! So rat poison to medicine...I guess just another example!

 

[Dina]

No it was not an Opossom..it was a huge sick rat!! I know it is Florida, but someone should have came ASAP and dealt with the sick animal - call me kooky!

That's funny--- I was going to ask if your sure it wasn't a possum LOL.

FWIW--We just stayed in a 2br in OKW in January--- I loved it. There was a little issue of cleanliness--- the couches had big stains, and light fixtures were really dusty, and we found peanuts in the pull out couch (which freaked me out because my son is allergic to peanuts (he's anaphylaxic)-- they were just little things though, so I tried to ignore it--- I figured it's an older resort and the stained couches--- I'm sure that can't be helped-- (the peanuts annoyed me a little).

 

[AKV707]

AT OKW right now and the room is perfect. Clean, and ready for for us at 2. Very pleased!