OKW seems noisy......anyone else feel this way?

[jimmytammy]

Dont mean to start arguements or get feelings hurt....just wondered if anyone else thinks OKW is noisy?

We are here for first time. Staying in a studio, in bldg. 37. We hear the neighbors every move. I dont think they are being loud on purpose or being disrespectful. It seems the walls here reveal a lot though. Every time a door shuts from next door or below, we hear it.

The maint. crew were out yesterday cutting limbs and dropping them on the roof....several doors down...at 8am. Is this the norm or are we ultra sensitive hearers. I myself cant hear that good but the vibrations can be felt.

Give me some advice here...should we try for a different bldg. next time...a different floor level...or just not stay here.
Once again, I dont want feelings hurt. I know that a lot of OKWers are very fond of their home resort, and with good reason, its a beautiful resort.

We are coming back in Jan. and want to stay here so any advice would be helpful.

BTW pay no attention to my counter below, we really are here

 

[MAC3]

I have never found it noisy on any of our stays there. Enjoy your vacation.

 

[Kick it up a notch!]

I have stayed there a few times and never been bothered with noise. The Boardwalk is much noisier, but that is because of where it is. Try another building next time it may just be where you are or that the people next door are the Loud Family.

 

[rbuzzotta]

Only once were we bothered by noise. WE stayed down towards Typhoon Lagoon when there was a private party going on. It lasted until 3 AM!! We were up all night and needless to say, didn't make it to the parks that morning!!

Other than that, the many other times we stayed there it was relatively quiet with the exception of one very loud family above us but I think they were just extra loud!!!

We love OKW for it's peacefullness...........

 

[shelbyjosh]

The main reason we bought at OKW is because it is so quiet and peaceful. We got back from an 11 day trip last Friday. We were in bldg 27. Not once did we ever notice it getting noisy. Even Turtle Crawl was uneventful!! Go to Boardwalk and then you'll really hear noise!! Maybe try a different building.

 

[PADVCmember@OKW]

I agree! We like it because it seems so quiet too.

That is, with the exception of that DJ at the main pool!!!!

 

[DebbieB]

The only noise problem we had is the time we stayed in building 28, which is on a fairway. The lawn mowers fired up early!

 

[Laurabearz]

I feel your pain.... That is how our stay at Vero was... I hope things settle down soon.

Thanks for reporting!

 

[BillPA]

Sorry to hear you didn't have the best of trips. The tree trimming was just "bad luck" with your timing. That can happen any where but I agree 8 a.m. is a little early.

The neighbor noise in a lock-off can be there in all the resorts. Mainly comes in under the connecting door. If you can spare a towel (or get one from the pool) fold it to the right size, open the door and place it under and close it. This will block almost all the neighbor noise unless you get one of 'wild bunches' next door.

Hope your next trip is perfect, like almost all of ours have been for the 11 years we have been members.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

I never noticed any outside noise at OKW. In fact, sometimes I think it's too quiet! BUT I am the last person to even ask. I live in the city and there are cars and buses going by the front of the building at all hours of the day and night, not to mention the sanitation trucks at around 5 or 6 in the morning!! Lol!

Having said that, I am VERY concious of noise from neighbors. Because I live in an apartment building, I try to make sure my family doesn't disturb others at home or on vacation.

We usually request first floor at OKW (hate them stairs). One trip we heard the upstairs neighbor running around. It was only for a while each evening (not all day) and it only lasted for a few days during our trip. I noticed it but it didn't really bother me. Kids will be kids sometimes. You just have to remind them to calm down because they might be bothering the neighbors. I would notice running upstiars in the evening probably when they got back from the parks. It would last no more than a few minutes, then it would quiet down.

That was the only trip I noticed the neighbors. I never notice the next door neighbors when in a two bedrrom. I can see where you might notice them if you are in a smaller unit where there is a connecting door to the next unit. But I guess that we've been lucky in either having quiet neighbors or no neighbors whenever we had a one bedroom at all 4 of the WDW DVC resorts.

Some people can be more sensitive to noise. But I think that if your o'kay at any of the other resorts with noise, then you shouldn't have a problem at OKW. Just try for another unit, maybe on the top floor next time.

Happy vacationing!

 

[BWVDee]

Originally posted by shelbyjosh
! Go to Boardwalk and then you'll really hear noise!!

Sorry to disagree with you, but I have stayed at BWV so many times we have lost count and have never been bothered by any noise! However, we have been bothered by the noise of the gardening staff running the lawn mowers in the early AM at OKW on every trip we have stayed there. Other than the early morning lawnmowers though, we have found OKW to be very quiet the rest of the day.

 

[TheresaOKW'97]

In 1999, we stayed in a one bedroom lockoff in Bldg 28. We were on the 1st floor. We heard the buses all the time, had noisy upstairs neighbors we could hear each time they used the stairs at all hours, and we heard the mowers very early in the mornings. It also seemed that we could hear the people in the studio next to us too well. Needless to say, we ask for higher floors and we try to stay in a two bedroom as much as possible to avoid the lockoff noise(and because the 2bdrm spoils us!). We also try to stay away from the bus route bldgs if we can. But no matter how noisy(usually not any problems at all) any of the DVC resorts are, we love them. Next year we are going to try BCV - can't wait!

 

[cygnus]

We just came back from a 5 night stay at Vero and a 5 night stay at VWL. This was our first time at both resorts and we found Vero to be very quiet (we were in room 1515 a one bedroom in building 15 on the ground floor ocean side). We found VWL to be very noisy (got woken up at 2:30 am to 4 am with someones radio blaring right next door). The walls seemed to be paper thin!

We have stayed at OKW twice in the past and found it to be much more quiet. We have always been on the top floor (that's key since you don't hear the people above you walking around).

I think it is also partially the luck of the draw with regards to hearing neighbours. I'm not sure if one resort versus another is any more sound proff. As for the general noise of the resort it can depend on which building your in and therefore what you are located next to.

I did find the layout of VWL to add to the noise because the design is more like a hotel with hallways and lots of units in a row versus the buildings at OKW or VB.

Anyway, I feel your pain having gone through a similar experience at VWL recently. If you do go back to OKW and you can manage the stairs I would highjly reccomend going for the top floor.

Good luck next time.

Cygnus

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have had 11 trips to OKW, and have never had much of a noise problem, but then we are usually in a 2 bedroom or GV. The one time we had a 1 bed room, we did have noise from the kids in the studio, but it was only a short time in the evening. We also had trouble one trip with a herd of noisy kids upstairs in a GV which has hardwood floors. That DOES echo below. A well placed mop handle to the ceiling solved that problem!

 

[Chuck S]

We've been staying at OKW for 12 years. The exterior metal doors are very heavy, and if guests let them slam, you do hear them. As far as connecting rooms between studio and 1 bedroom...it really depends on the neighbors you have. Sometime people ARE very noisy, but that would be at any resort.

Maintenance noises (mowers, tree trimmers, etc) they do get an early start, but we're usually up and having breakfast by 7:30, so they don't bother us. As far as limbs on the roof, I'd have to say it must mave been bad timing. ANyone who has lived in a house with a metal roof can tell you that it is just the nature of them to be a little noisy...especially in a hail storm.

Generally, I find OKW much quieter than a standard "hotel" style resort with interior hallways.

 

[NancyDVC]

We just got back last night from 8 days at OKW. We were in Building 35 on the first floor in a one bedroom and had no problems with noise. Yes the lawnmowers do run early in the AM but I only noticed them once or twice. No bus noise to speak of. The resort was relatively quiet last week with lots of folks moving in on Sunday. It was much more crowded this Sunday and Monday. We did have upstairs neighbors who moved in over the weekend and seemed to be heavy footed at times, usually when they were coming in from the parks but other than that not a problem. Actually a pair of mallards were more noisy than the mowers. As soon as we opened the blinds in the morning they came by looking for a handout and were rather noisy and insistent.
Once we stayed in a one bedroom lock off and had neighbors with kids who were loud especially when they moved in. They kept trying to open the connecting door and were hanging over the rail on the porch to see in our living room window. A quick call to the front desk to ask them to inform the neighbors that the next unit was occupied solved that. At that time there were more renters and many did not know how the resort units worked (connecting studio and one bedroom lock offs etc.)
By the way the tree trimming started way before 8:00 AM yesterday because we saw the tree trimmers and their trucks out at the corner of Old Turtle Pond Road and Peninsular Road when we left to go to the member update at 7:30 AM, well away from any buildings. Building 37 is well away from the buses so it sounds as if your neighbors don't have any idea how to act in an 'apartment' building situation. Maybe a call to the front desk can remedy the situation. usually a gentle reminder that there are other folks around can help. We have always found OKW to be the quietest of the resorts and that is one reason that we love it.
Hope the rest of your stay goes well.

 

[PamOKW]

Originally posted by NancyDVC
Maybe a call to the front desk can remedy the situation. usually a gentle reminder that there are other folks around can help.

I think that's the real cause. Many people just aren't used to living so closely with neighbors. The connecting door tends to be the source of most noise that carries. To the one-bedroom it's just noise in the hallway, to the studio it's in the room. If everyone (especially the 1 bedroom) keeps noise away from the door it would help -- but not everyone remembers that.

 

[PhillyDvcOKW]

I think that okw is the most peaceful place that i have every stayed at. We have never encountered any noise problems since we started going there. The only noise that I hear there are the busses as the pass by while im on my balcony and the birds chirping. Its a great feeling.

 

[jbthi]

We average 30 days a year in DVC resorts. Have stayed at all except Hilton Head. I have found the lockoffs at Vero Beach and OKW to be unbearable as far as noise. I don't think we had noisy neighbors at either place. There was just no insulation between the doors. I have stayed in different buildings 4 times in a studio at OKW and they were all bad. The 2 BR was wonderful.

We just got home from a studio at BWV and it was very quiet. We didn't think we had any next door neighbors until we met them coming out. This was in a lockoff too. I had neglected to ask for a dedicated room. Have never had any noise at BCV either. We did have at VWL but I believe it was just the neighbors we had.

 

[joepoe]

I remember staying on the first floor once in a 2BR, and hearing the washer going in the unit above us at night. That's about it.