jimbostacks
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2007
- Messages
- 141
Hey everyone:
I have been extremely busy and have been wanting to give a quick trip update.
OKW - this was our first time at OKW in a 2-bedroom villa in building #26.
Room - HUGE, clean, perfect for 7 of us. We had 2 studios for extended family too and the living room at OKW was great when we wanted to just hang out and visit - there is no comparison to the other DVC resorts. You really cannot entertain at SSR or VWL (which are fine) but the size makes a difference with a large group.
Location - nice 3-5 minute walk to the Hospitatlity House, restaurants, pools, which was perfect as we had 13 of us. My 4 boys loved the pool, the HH, ping pong, etc... lots of fun stuff to do at night and when there was down time.
Staff - no issues, very friendly and helpful.
Busses - ZERO issues with the busses, never waited more than 10 minutes. We did however changed our plans. In the morning on the way to the park we would walk to the main building to catch the busses there, as the drive in and around the resort was long. If you saw your bus pull away , you could walk to the main builing and still catch it there before it left the resort. On the way back from the parks , it was the first stop maybe 30 feet from our room.
Boat to DTD - very relaxing and enjoyable, especially at night looking at DTD all lit up.
Parks - Empty, very little waits. The only issue the whole weeks was Toy Story Mania - which rocks. The lines every where else were very low. We are veterans and know the tricks for fast passes/baby swaps (collect them all morning and use them in the afternoon when it does get busy). We stuck to the plan of not going to the parks that had extra hours and it paid off. We saw the Wishes and electric parade for the first time in a while and the parade seemes much better this than I remember.
We had an adhoc B-Day party for my Father in Law at Pizza Planet and had a cake sent to Mama Melrose. The manager was fantastic and got the cake, utensils, and plates....very hospitable.
The only complaint for the weeks was that it was COLD. We go every year at this time and usually is in the 80's. Every morning was 40 degrees and mid 60's in the afternoon. We still swam (froze our butts off getting out of the pools to dry), but avoided water rides, except Splash Mountain. Supposedly coldest in 50 years.
Health Service - one thing I was THRILLED with was the service for my Mom who had a bad ear ache. We were at MK and went to first aid. They were very nice and had a van pick us up at the park and take us to an onsite clinic (nothing fancy) but very convenient. There is doctor and pharmacy on site and after care, take you back to your door at the resort - unbelievable!!!
Every year our favorite park changes, this time it was Animal Kingdom!!!!
Overall great trip, the only problem going forward is we will likley not take the kids out of school for a whole week again. My 2 oldest boys are in 6tha nd 7th grade. My 6th grader took a long time to catch up on homework. Will try 6 nights around MLK B-Day in 2010.
See ya, jimbo
I have been extremely busy and have been wanting to give a quick trip update.
OKW - this was our first time at OKW in a 2-bedroom villa in building #26.
Room - HUGE, clean, perfect for 7 of us. We had 2 studios for extended family too and the living room at OKW was great when we wanted to just hang out and visit - there is no comparison to the other DVC resorts. You really cannot entertain at SSR or VWL (which are fine) but the size makes a difference with a large group.
Location - nice 3-5 minute walk to the Hospitatlity House, restaurants, pools, which was perfect as we had 13 of us. My 4 boys loved the pool, the HH, ping pong, etc... lots of fun stuff to do at night and when there was down time.
Staff - no issues, very friendly and helpful.
Busses - ZERO issues with the busses, never waited more than 10 minutes. We did however changed our plans. In the morning on the way to the park we would walk to the main building to catch the busses there, as the drive in and around the resort was long. If you saw your bus pull away , you could walk to the main builing and still catch it there before it left the resort. On the way back from the parks , it was the first stop maybe 30 feet from our room.
Boat to DTD - very relaxing and enjoyable, especially at night looking at DTD all lit up.
Parks - Empty, very little waits. The only issue the whole weeks was Toy Story Mania - which rocks. The lines every where else were very low. We are veterans and know the tricks for fast passes/baby swaps (collect them all morning and use them in the afternoon when it does get busy). We stuck to the plan of not going to the parks that had extra hours and it paid off. We saw the Wishes and electric parade for the first time in a while and the parade seemes much better this than I remember.
We had an adhoc B-Day party for my Father in Law at Pizza Planet and had a cake sent to Mama Melrose. The manager was fantastic and got the cake, utensils, and plates....very hospitable.
The only complaint for the weeks was that it was COLD. We go every year at this time and usually is in the 80's. Every morning was 40 degrees and mid 60's in the afternoon. We still swam (froze our butts off getting out of the pools to dry), but avoided water rides, except Splash Mountain. Supposedly coldest in 50 years.
Health Service - one thing I was THRILLED with was the service for my Mom who had a bad ear ache. We were at MK and went to first aid. They were very nice and had a van pick us up at the park and take us to an onsite clinic (nothing fancy) but very convenient. There is doctor and pharmacy on site and after care, take you back to your door at the resort - unbelievable!!!
Every year our favorite park changes, this time it was Animal Kingdom!!!!
Overall great trip, the only problem going forward is we will likley not take the kids out of school for a whole week again. My 2 oldest boys are in 6tha nd 7th grade. My 6th grader took a long time to catch up on homework. Will try 6 nights around MLK B-Day in 2010.
See ya, jimbo
