OKW, SSR, or AKV without a car... Your thoughts?

[tboi]

I am in negotions to rent some DVC points for a late April stay at Disney World. It will just be my wife and myself celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. We have to choose between OKW, SSR, and AKV so we're looking for suggestions. You do not plan on renting a car, but it is my understanding that these are THE three resorts people recommend you renting a car for. Does anybody have experience relying on the bus/taxi transportation from these resorts? Is it really that bad? Which of these three are we going to be happiest in w/o our own transportation? We'll only be spending 5 nights and plan to spend most of our days park hopping. I doubt there will be much (if any) back and forth to the resort.

 

[hsmamato2]

I like OKW best b/c there are multiple stops throughout,which means that you grab the bus nearest your room,vs the others which seem to have one central stop,and you all go to the one place,which makes for crowds,and more walking,IMHO.

 

[SnowWhite2]

SSR or OKW would be my pick. As I have only been to AKV and SSR, I can't comment on OKW. At SSR, you can always go to DTD and catch a bus, find somewhere to eat, shop, go to movies, etc.

If you are going to park hop between parks without going back to your resort, I suggest getting a car. Going between parks or between resorts is complicated on Disney transportation and eats up too much time IMHO.

Whatever you decide, have a good time.

 

[jmkjr72]

we have done okw and ssr with out a car

i would do okw

at ssr we had issues with busses being full there are multipel stops and you had to walk to the first stop if you wanted to get some were at rd

now at okw we have never had a bus issue and have never seen a full bus

now taking the boat(can be done at okw and ssr) to dtd will only get you to another resort as there are nolonger and busses from dtd to a park

akv far away from every thing except ak

 

[Neriberi]

We always do AKV without a car, and haven't had too many problems, even while toting a 2 year old. I suppose it depends on what you have planned; we're strategic about it, but it hasn't been a real hassle.

 

[camtheriot]

Our first trip to Disney, we rented points at SSR, which is beautiful. Very clean, very serene. But, my original choice was OKW, because I liked the tropical theming. However, having had dinner at Boma's at AKL, I would probably pick AKL. It is just AMAZING!! The attention to detail is remarkable (of course you could say that about anything Disney does). It has a very "luxury african safari" feel to it. I loved it.

About the rental car. Our first trip, we also got a rental. We got off the plane (lugging around 2 carseats throughout this entire process), boarded a Hertz bus, got to the Hertz rental place, waited with 3 tired hungry kids outside until my husband FINALLY drove around with the extremely small "medium sized" rental. We STUFFED the luggage in the trunk, and under our legs,and on top of us then got on the road and tried to navagate our way to SSR. We got to SSR, parked the car, and NEVER USED IT AGAIN THE ENTIRE TRIP.... until we left for the airport.

Every trip thereafter:We get off the plane and board ME. ME handles our luggage and drops us off right at the resorts doorstep. Then delivers our luggage to our rooms shortly after. NEVER AGAIN WILL I RENT A CAR IN DISNEYWORLD!!

 

[disneylovin24]

AKV, no way!!! It is so distant from all of the parks except AK that it just takes too long on disney buses and your on timing. This is true for any of the resorts on disney transportation, you don't get to control when you leave to go places because your on disney's time of when the buses come.

 

[cwnhokie]

I have only stayed at OKW and AKL without a car. Of the two I would pick OKW. AKL is beautiful, if you are planning on spending a good bit of time there or aren't in a hurry to get places. The biggest problem is getting to other resorts to eat. At least at OKW you have all the restaurants at downtown disney to choose from. But we also had three kids to cart around so that made it a little more difficult. Our room at AKL was also a very long walk from the bus stop. But it really comes down to where you want to eat and what kind of theming you like.

 

[kaytieeldr]

AKV, no way!!! It is so distant from all of the parks except AK that it just takes too long on disney buses and your on timing.

Eh, not necessarily. Epcot is a mere six to ten minutes from OKW's Hospitality House stop. DHS is only a few minutes further.

eta: Oh, right. The question . Haven't stayed at Animal Kingdom-anything, but at OKW without a car, and at SSR and OKW (split trip) with a car. I did fine without the car on the first trip - I was in a cul-de-sac near the - oh, boy, I'm drawing a blank - the "P" road, the first stop once the buses enter the resort, and so not too far from Hospitality House.

Last trip, with the car - which I got for the entire week primarily because I needed to get back to the airport in a shorter time than DME would allow - I used it three times: once to do some food shopping, once to get cigarettes at the Hess station, and once to get to the airport. The rest of the nine days, I used Disney transportation with no issues.

 

[DebbieB]

I always get a car but have used the busses from OKW & AKV. I didn't think the busses were bad at AKV, there are only 2 stops (Kidani first, then Jambo). OKW's busses drive me crazy, they have 5 stops.

 

[andreadoiron]

we've been to both ssr and okw w/out a car. i prefer not to have a car as it is a hassle whereas ME is so easy.
ssr would be my pick for adults w/no car...you can walk to dtd from congress park, you can take the bus or my fav, the boat to dtd. walking around ssr is quite easy and beautiful. most bldgs have their own pool complex which are different and all very nice. the bus ride from either okw or ssr will be about the same to any parks since they are located quite close geographically.
i personally think a car is a hassle to park in the parks as well. for example if you go to MK, you park, then take a shuttle bus to the TTC then the monorail to MK...you could've just jumped on the bus at your resort much more easily and i would say quickly as well.