OKW....tell me it will be great!

[hezzie]

I'm planning a Sept 2003 vacation at OKW and have some questions. We have two kids (4 and 5) and will not have a car.
I would love to hear from those with kids who have stayed without a car. We usually take the mid-day swim/nap combo, so it's been great having the pools close to the room in the other resorts. Also, how are the buses? We just came back from an awesome trip in October and stayed at GF and BCV. We were really spoiled with the monorail from the GF and the close proximity of Epcot at BCV. I appreciate all feedback!! Thanks

 

[vbfamily]

This is a tought one. You said you were not going to have a car?

Are you already booked at OKW? Do you own pts there? Have you thought about VWL? It's nice to get back there quickly when you have got a sleeping or almost sleeping child. I would take that over a bus ride to OKW.

We went in October with a 3 and 6 yr. old and stayed at WL. We also were spoiled being so close to MK, etc.

I suppose you can request a room by the pool at OKW-I think we would have if we had stayed there with our kids.

Bottom line, if your staying at OKW I guess I would try to be as close to a pool as possible with a 4 and 5 yr old-because it may take just a little bit longer to get back to OKW by bus and you don't want to add a long walk to a pool on top of that.

I know that kids usually don't care where they stay and will have fun anywhere. I just wanted to give you MHO.

Have a great trip

 

[RobDoc]

We have stayed at OKW many times without a car. As long as you are mentally prepared for a possible wait, you will be fine.

The buses run about the same as at other resorts. Ask any driver for an apporximate schedule to mininize waits when leaving the parks. Except for noon until about 6pm, they run about every 20 minutes, but are a little slower from noon until 6 (about every 30 minutes).

There are 4 pools at OKW, so there will be one very close to wherever you may stay. The main pool may easily be reached by getting on any bus- as every bus stops there before leaving the resort. There is also an internal bus that will take you from the hospitaility house/pool area back to your building.

Many suggest having a car to enjoy OKW, but we have always been happy to NOT have to drive and find the buses convenient. Often we've not had to wait at all. We just think of the buses as another attraction.

Taking a midday break is certainly a good idea. It allows for everyone to recharge for awhile during the day. You can do this at OKW just as at any other resort!

Enjoy!

 

[EROS]

I wouldn't stay at OKW without a car. JMHO.......

 

[GlfNFool]

You will have a great time staying at OKW with kids and without a car. We stayed at OKW for a week with a 2-year old and didn't use our car except to run to the grocery store (since we were staying in a 3-bedroom with friends and family it made sense to cook every now and then - have to save some $ to buy more points!).

We had absolutely no problems getting to all the parks and to the pool area. In fact, everyone really loved taking the boat to Downtown Disney from OKW. Of course, I think it is fun to try to find all the different ways I can to get from resort to park, and then park to park. It's all part of the Disney experience for me...

And we also did the afternoon reprieve and didn't find it to be any more of a hassle.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Granny]

hezzie....I know that some have posted that they don't bring cars to OKW and have found the transportation system there to be fine. If memory serves me, Webmaster Doc of this board has stayed there many times without a car and had good experiences.

Good luck on your trip!



and GlfNFool ..... welcome to the DIS Boards!!!




Granny

 

[Basser]

Every time we bring a car to OKW it stays parked outside our room almost the entire stay. We love useing the transportation provided and have never waited longer than 15 min. for a bus.

Iwould suggest you request a room near HH. The children love the pool and boat ride to DD.

 

[Regina]

We joined when our 3 kids ranged in age from 7 to 11. OKW was the only DVC resort at the time. My family has enjoyed 10 years of fantastic vacations here.

On the rare occassion that we've had a car, we never use it. We've been very pleased with the bus system. Every so often there's a glitch, but that happen with all the resorts.

Unlike other resorts,OKW doesn't share their transportation. This is a big plus to us.

You'll also find all sorts of activities that the little guys may want to participate in. You'll be given a schedule when you arrive.

Now for the hard part, making September get here!!!

 

[yasuern]

We stayed this past July with 2 7 y/o kids and found the bus just fine. We had a car but only used it to pool hop and when went out to dinner - never to the parks - however we did only go to the parks in the late afternoon and stayed until they closed - we spent ours days just relaxing by a pool

 

[Dean]

I've never stayed at OKW without a car but my brother has and he did fine. It should be OK but personally I'd never stay there without a car. You may want to reconsider and rent a car, espcially if you had planned one of the limo services where you could apply that expense to a car and your extra out of pocket would be very low. The wait for buses at OKW is usually a little longer than some of the other resorts.

Remember that getting to the parks is not the difficult thing. If you want to go to other resorts, I'd highly recommend you get a car. If it's only back and forth to the parks and you'll eat in and not go out to eat except at Olivia's, you should be ok.

 

[Pa@okw95]

I would reconsider staying at OKW with your situation. I have been a member there for years and we always go back from the parks after a couple of hours in the morning. The bus service at OKW is worse during that time period that you want to return. I waited for a bus at Animal Kingdom last trip about noon- we waited for 20 minutes before the bus showed up then we sat there another 10 minutes, then we left but stopped at a water park on our way back, we got off the first bus stop at OKW rather than go around the entire loop which would have taken another 10 minutes. That trip took 45 minutes and would have been longer if we did not jump off at the first stop at OKW. I should know better but I figured I would take a shot with the bus service, never again. I don't really care what other people are telling you, you can experience longer waits than that. Twice I experienced 45 minute waits at MGM. I have seen some real explosions by some customers over these situations. NOW PLEASE NOTE THE BUS SERVICE OVER THE YEARS HAS GOTTEN MUCH WORSE AT ALL RESORTS. As far as the pools at OKW, there are 4 and you never are far from a pool. It appears you can afford to stay anywhere in WDW I would choose to stay somewhere else.

 

[icydog]

I have been a pt holder at OKW for 10 years and this is what I've found.
1) the service to OKW on busses is SLOOOOW. You can easily spend 45 minutes gettingfrom place to place.
2) The food at Olivia's is awful so you are limiting yourself as to restaurants.
3) A tired child does not want to sit on a bus. He/ she wants to get home and swim,swim, swim!! And you want them to sleep.


My suggestion is to rent a car and enjoy the freedom it willl afford you.

 

[colleen costello]

We had our car this summer at OKW, so I cna't comment on your transportation issues. However, I have two small children (8 and 4) and they loved OKW as much as dh and I did. We stayed 4 nights at BCV when it opened and then they were booked up, so we moved over to OKW. After all the excitement of the new Beach Club, I expected OKW to be sort of a let-down. We were pleasantly surprised. It is very low-key, but that was wonderful. My daughter picked her favorite pool of the trip and over Stormalong Bay she picked the OKW quiet pool, because it was super-warm and usually empty. Go figure!

OKW has little playgrounds by the pools, and canals everywhere. We took the boat ride to Downtown Disney one night and the kids loved that. We also found the Pizza Hut delivery man and stalked him til he gave us phone numbers and coupons. My kids think ordering pizza to the hotel room is heaven! They also enjoyed getting ice cream at the general store and sittng by the Hospitality House and eating it. There are also lots of birds to watch and they wanted to rent bikes, although we ran out of time!

Moral of this story? OKW is slower and it may take a bit more time getting there BUT it is a very special place. I would request a room very close to one of the quiet pools -- an easy request to get -- and just relax. The place is absolutely beautiful -- so lush and green and colorful -- and my children just loved it. I think after all the action of the parks, they appreciated the quiet, too!

Whatever you decide, I wish you a wonderful trip.

 

[Dean]

The food at Olivia's is awful so you are limiting yourself as to restaurants.

I don't agee. It has been mediocre at times in past years but all accounts and my experience is that it has improved starting about 3-4 yrs ago. I do agree that you may get tired of it and it can be slow.

 

[ILuvDVC]

A tired child does not want to sit on a bus. He/ she wants to get home and swim,swim, swim!!

ROFL...hopefully, a tired child will fall asleep on the bus ride and maybe be up for a swim?

Anyhow, I've owned DVC since 1994, and have had trips to OKW with and without the car. My son was 2 1/2 when I joined and he loved riding the bus...just like my 2 1/2 year old niece, it's part of the attraction! And, some of the bus drivers are very entertaining.

We have always been within walking distance of a pool, and tend to enjoy the quiet pools more than the main pool.

You should have a wonderful vacation no matter which DVC resort you stay in. Remember to spend some time on your porch while your kids are taking a nap!

Also, remember there is a bell service to take your luggage to your resort. You can also call and have them pick up your luggage when you are ready to leave.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Thanks for all the positive comments on OKW with kids from those who gave them. I notice those who have children give positive reviews of OKW and the transportation, and those who don't, seem to think it is the worst place to be with kids. Makes you think......

 

[EROS]

We have a 5 year old. OKW was simply "acceptable", even with a car........

 

[BigTigger]

We just passed our eigth anniversary as OKW owners can add the following tidbits:

The DD's were 3, 6, 6, & 9 when we first stayed at OKW. We used the buses all the time for the first few years and while the waits could be long, the flexibility for one spouse or the other to take tired children back to the room more than compensated for the occasional wait. As the girls got older and our park days lengthened and we jumped from park to park more, the availability of a minivan (can't fit six in most rental cars, so you need to jump to the pricier minivan) to drive around DW more than paid for itself.

One other benefit with OKW that you can take advantage of with a car is to shop offsite (other than Goodings). The extra cost of buying provisions onsite to take advantage of the cooking facilities in a DVC unit can equal a rental over a long enough stay. With small children, you'll go broke feeding them even kids meals at Disney restaurants. Having the flexibility to stock and restock the room over your stay adds to the allure of a rental car. With some of the deals around, you can get a compact for $150 a week with all the Florida surcharges added in. That's a small price to pay for the flexibility.

As far as location, if HH area isn't available, the quiet pool on Millers Road area (units 17 to 20 area) is still convenient to HH and that pool is usually empty and nicely heated as someone else noted.

Enjoy your magical visit

 

[DeeP]

I have stayed at OKW both with and without a car and I find it much easier to have a car at this resort. It is located a distance from all parks and dining options other than Olivia, the resort itself is huge and the sole means of transportation other than a boat to DTD is by bus. I found the bus to be a tad bit more spaced out than some of the other resorts but the main difference for me is the fact that all other deluxe/home away from home resorts (even a cabin at FW) have an alternate mode of transportation to at least 1 major park and a choice of various restaurants by other than bus transportation. For us this is a biggie.

 

[Regina]

As I've said, I've seen transportation glitches, but they're not unique to OKW. It once took us close to an hour to get from the MK to the Yacht and Beach Club. The bus was late, crowded, and it stopped at the Boardwalk Inn first.

Have you ever tried to get to the AK from the Polynesian? You have to go to the Ticket and Transportation Center to catch the bus from there.

And we've all heard complaints about sharing the MK boat for the WL with Ft. Wilderness.

Disney does the best that they can to give guests the option of not having to drive while on vacation. Some love it, some hate it, but at least it's there if you choose to use it.