OKW Transportation

[mikebarr]

Hi. I have owned at OKW for years, but have never stayed there. In fact, I have never even seen it! I know its real nice, but we like being a little closer to the action and aren't real fond of having to bus everywhere. This summer, that will change. I needed a Grand Villa and OKW was all I could fit. My question is about the transportation....

Looking at OKW on a map, it appears massive. It almost looks likr it rivals Dixie Landings in size, and it has 4 bus stops. How is the service? How often do the later stops get stuck because the buses are full? Do they run extra buses to accomodate? My only fear is that we'll spend hours each day with the bus system. Is that a real of imagined fear?

Thanks..

Mike

 

[ZerasPride]

The bus transportation was my only real concern with our first stay at OKW. We were there last week during the busy Thanksgiving holiday and never had a long wait for a bus. I don't know if it was our timing or what. We stayed in the Turtle Pond area and it was great. The buses were never crowded - not even after we had just missed one leaving Downtown Disney late one night and had to wait 22 minutes for the bus. That was the longest wait we had and it was unusal to wait that long. Our average wait times were 5-15 minutes.

We used Disney transportation to all the parks and Downtown Disney and I would not hesitate to stay at OKW again and use their bus service exclusively. Of course, this is just my family's experience but I hope you have a great trip!

 

[ILuvDVC]

Originally posted by mikebarr
Hi. I have owned at OKW for years, but have never stayed there.

Wow, so you are living proof that you can book at 7 months out with no problems, right?

Anyhow, I've stayed at OKW many time and love it! Especially the Grand Villa! Bus service has never really been that bad for me. Early in the morning, the buses come more frequently and later in the day, it seems like there is a bus every 20 minutes, could be some run every 30 minutes.

Anyhow, just expect to wait at times for a bus, and enjoy your time. I've stayed with family and friends, and I've never heard one complaint about the bus services....usually they are all excited about the buses, because it means freedom for the family, we don't need a car to take us anywhere! And everyone can go their own way, and end up at the Grand Villa at night. It really is an ideal home away from home, for a family get together!

I have 2 Grand Villas and 1 two bedroom booked for 5 nughts in June. Taking my Father's sister's family to WDW with us...it will be the first time we all vacationed together, their first time to WDW. I'm very excited about it!

 

[mikebarr]

Originally posted by ILuvDVC
Wow, so you are living proof that you can book at 7 months out with no problems, right?

It is getting harder. :-( When I joined, I believe there were around 23,000 members. Currently, there are over 60,000. This year, we waited a tad long to plan and got shut out. Had I booked at the 7 mo mark, I'd have been fine, but there are no guarantees anymore. I just returned yesterday. I couldn't get in *anywhere* for a 1 BR or a studio. I wound up paying cash to stay at the Poly and saved the points. They were aggressively advertising rates and with our Disney Club discount we paid under a grand for 6 nights. I would have used some points, but the exchange rates have skyrockted outside the DVC resorts. Just a couple years ago we got rooms at the Poly for 22 points... now the cheapest is 33.

Mike

 

[mb168]

I just returned from OKW today. The bus service was fine. We never waited more than 10 minutes and Saturday morning, there was a CM at the main stop with a clipboard and log sheet logging what bus was there at what time. I started to ask her about it but... my bus came .

 

[Regina]

You're going to get a lot of opinions about this subject. We always use the buses at OKW, but others much prefer having a car.

I think having the buses as an option when you have a large group is a definite plus. If some of you aren't ready, you can always meet up later.

I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[mikebarr]

Is it possible to walk to the main buildings and pools form the further out rooms? If so, how long is the walk from the extremes?

Thanks.

Mike

 

[PamOKW]

Yes, you can walk or combine a little bus service with the walk. (You can take buses from the Peninsular stop which is really the "back" of the main pool area. Any bus going in will stop at South Point and Old Turtle Pond.) Most units are no more than a 10 minute walk to the main area.

While the resort may look large on a map, remember it is also a golf course. It's not packed with hotel rooms like the moderates. You don't have crowds of people vying for the buses. In fact, most times during the day you may find yourselves having a "private" ride to a park.

 

[tax58]

We've had great luck with the buses at OKW. We only use the car for the grocery store.