OKW Trip Report - Back Home (Links Fixed - More pics added-08/18)

[marvali]

Thanks for all the wonderful comments everyone. Unfortunately we are home now. We really hated to leave OKW; it is a great place to stay and we are new OKW lovers so I will have to add some posts to that thread later!

A lot to do today as there always is when you return home. I will try to finish up my trip report over the next couple of days and get some pictures added. The trip ended with a bang (except that it ended) and a whirlwind of activities so still plenty more before the report is done. We even made a stop by our DVC home at AKV on the way out yesterday and I got to see the new Kidani construction for real and took a few pictures to add. It is really coming along.

More soon!

 

[alldiz]

thanks for the report......sounds like you had a great trip.
I also enjoyed OKW and Olivia's......I think Olivia's is a secret...sshhhh

Funny about thinking you will be kicked off the line at closing...and you had another 3 hrs
Looking forward to some pics
Kerri

 

[marvali]

thanks for the report......sounds like you had a great trip.
I also enjoyed OKW and Olivia's......I think Olivia's is a secret...sshhhh

Funny about thinking you will be kicked off the line at closing...and you had another 3 hrs
Looking forward to some pics
Kerri

I swear I looked at that sheet they gave us with all the park hours three times and there was nothing there about EEMH at MK that evening. Somehow, somebody slipped into our room and added it to the sheet while we were out that night

Dang it, I meant to file a report about that at the front desk when we checked out. Plain slipped my mind!

 

[marvali]

We decided after getting in late Tuesday night that we would sleep in a while and then decide how to spend the rest of our day Wednesday. DS19 was worried if we waited until Thursday night to try to see Fantasmic again we might have a repeat of Tuesday and end up not seeing it at all, so we were leaning towards going in DHW later in the day and trying to hit Fantasmic for the early show since we had an early ADR at O’hana on Thursday morning. The big negative to that plan was that Wednesday is EEMH for DHS and I figured that might mean big crowds and having to spend a lot of time in line to make sure we made the 9:00 show.

Wednesday morning came and as usual I am too trained to get up early so even with the late night (after all, why hurry to bed if we’re sleeping in) I wake up around 7:00 (still late for me) and visions of a quick trip to rope drop dance in my head. I asked DW if she feels like getting up and heading into one of the parks. She has been a trooper all week but this morning I get an emphatic no. I asked her about taking the boys in without her and she couldn’t care less, so I head in the room and ask the DSs if anyone is interested and they all say no. Wow, I’m ready to go and nobody wants to join me, so I inform DW that nobody is going. I decide to get a shower and maybe just explore OKW and take some early morning pictures. When I get back in the room where DSs are, DS15 informs me he has decided to get up and go to the parks with me. He hurries to get a shower and I get some stuff organized in the kitchen. Then DS11 decides he wants to get up and go too, so he takes a quick shower. DS19 still isn’t interested so I head out to DHS with DS11 and DS15 around 9:30. We’re going to miss rope drop, but we should still beat a lot of the crowd in and since it doesn’t have MEMH I figured the crowds might not be too bad when we get there.

We headed straight to TSM when we arrived around 9:45-10:00 and the line is already very long. I don’t remember the wait time but we got fastpasses and they were already for 6:00-7:00 range in the evening. We went straight to RnR and the wait was already about 60 minutes. We waited in line and when we got to the boarding area we were talking to a CM we had seen two or three previous times during our stay. That is when we found out they had kept RnR and ToT open an additional hour the night before since Fantasmic was cancelled.

From RnR we headed to the first showing of Lights, Motors, Action. Last year when we were at WDW the rest of the family had decided to head back to the pool while DS19 and I took an extra visit to DHS (then MGM), so the two of us were the only one’s to see LMA and this was a first for the other two DSs. It was still a fantastic show and both DSs enjoyed it very much. DS11 then wanted to do the backlot tour (reminding me that they hadn’t gotten to do that one either) so we got something to drink (the heat was already getting very bad with the increased humidity) and headed that way. When we got done around noon we could get another fastpass so I wanted to go ahead and get one for RnR for later. We headed by TSM and all fastpasses were gone, and the line was way down the street. DS15 still wasn’t feeling good and he wanted to head back to the room; forget getting another fastpass.

DS15 crashed when we got back to the room and I had already gotten a little too much sun so I stayed there with him while everyone else did the pool. By the time everyone got back in the room and we fixed a late dinner in the room, it was already too late to hope for making the 9:00 show as planned. We headed out so we would be there around 9:00 and got immediately in line for the 10:30 show. The line was already down the sidewalk when we got in it. They really need to do something about how they line people up for Fantasmic. It comes out from the rope at the entrance and then they get you to turn and line up down the sidewalk back towards the entrance to the park so people aren’t blocking the street. Around the time the first show ends, they let you up the path to another roped area where you wait until the theatre is cleared and cleaned. The problem is that we were in line down the sidewalk for about 30 minutes and there are those who don’t respect the line and don’t think waiting applies to them, so they just push into the area where the line makes the 90 degree turn down the sidewalk (and start filling the street) so they can get ahead of everyone who has been waiting patiently and planned to get in line early enough to get good seats. They really need to rope off that area where the line turns and have CMs there to send people to the end of the line.

Still, we got into the theatre without any problems and headed down to the very front in the center of the stage. We had great seats and the show definitely lived up to its name – Fantasmic! We enjoyed it immensely. After the show ended we headed out and by this time had thrown the idea of getting to bed early for our Thursday ADR out the window. We would just cope, so we got armbands for EEMH and headed to RnR. The line was huge; why did I not insist on getting fastpasses earlier when we had the chance??? This was the most crowded we had seen any park (except when waiting on Spectromagic and Wishes) and DW and I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. I gave my DS19 my fastpass for TSM and the three DSs headed off to do that while DW and I headed back to the room. The fastpass line for TSM was also fairly long so it was a while before DSs made it back to join us, but they came in excited because they had much higher scores than earlier in the week.

Time to sleep so we can head out for O’hana and our final day at WDW!

 

[marvali]

We got up early Thursday morning for our Character Breakfast ADR at O’hana. Well, some of us got up early. DSs set the alarm clock to get in the shower first but nobody bothered to get up when it went off, so when DW and I got finished with our showers they still had to take theirs. We finally all got ready and decided the best way to make the ADR was to drive. We got parked about 20 minutes before our ressie and checked in. Had seen some discussion on DIS about the family photos and them pushing for you to buy them at your table when they came around so we ignored them when they told us to get our picture taken and we would be seated quickly. Between the pre-purchase of the Photopass CD and our own camera, we knew we would have plenty of pictures of our trip.

We got seated a few minutes before our ressie time and we really enjoyed the breakfast. We thought everything was very good, and the juice (guava maybe), breads, sausage and eggs were definite highlights. The characters were pretty good and we got seated at the right time so that they started coming by very soon in the meal. Stitch and Lilo seemed to be a little more hurried and didn’t spend a great amount of time. Mickey was better, but Pluto was the best as he stayed longer and really cut up with us while he was there. DS11 joined in the parade and followed along with Stitch.

We got done with our meal and character visits rather quickly and headed to the TTC to catch the monorail to Epcot. We knew we wouldn’t make 9:00 rope drop, but we weren’t far behind it. I think we got there around 9:15. When we got to the monorail one had just left so I asked the CM if we could ride up front. He told us there was only room for four and DW volunteered to be the odd person out, but when we loaded she headed into the front and guess who got left out!?! Thanks a lot dear family. At least they took some pictures for me to see later, which really made up for it since I was the only one who knew you could request such a thing. The bad part is DS11 is rather small and they kept telling me when we got there that there had been plenty of room for me too.

We headed into Epcot and we sent DS19 and DS15 ahead to get us all fastpasses to MS and we met them at TT. I knew we would probably be sacrificing Soarin’ but we had done it a few days before (even though a great ride) and we hadn’t done the other two yet this trip. It was about a 30 minute wait for TT, partly because there was some problems as we came out of the pre-show room and we couldn’t all even get out of the room. We did Ellen’s Energy Adventure (never done before and it closed on us a few days before), used our Fastpasses for MS and spent some time in the gift shop and let DSs spend some time in Innoventions.

We then headed over to do Spaceship Earth, which had a 20 minute wait. As I was getting in line a family that didn’t speak English had gotten ahead of the rest of my family. The CM that was standing there came up to us and tried to stop them but I was the only one that paid him any attention. He asked if they were my family and I told them no and pointed out the rest of my group. He asked if we would come with him. I know from reading DISBoards that you don’t tell them no when they ask you to follow, so we headed off with him around the side of the ride. Okay, we’re not in the Magic Kingdom so they aren’t giving us the night in the castle, but of course all kinds of things are running through my head since the CM stated the other family would wish they had acknowledged him. As it turns out he took us through a side entrance into a waiting area where we could cool off a few minutes and get free drinks. When we were ready he took us to the area where people were getting off the ride and put us on the ride so we didn’t have to wait. Not a $500 shopping spree or anything, but still a pretty cool “wish” that we really appreciated since it was starting to get very hot and humid by this time. This was our first time doing SE and it was a whole lot better than I was expecting. DSs spent a lot of time doing the activities when we got off the ride and when we got done we decided we had had enough and were satisfied with what we had accomplished. We got on the monorail and headed back to The Poly to get the car. DS19 headed into MK because he wanted to go buy the chess game at the PotC gift shop he had seen.

We all got back to OKW and spent time in the room napping and cooling off. I asked everyone if they wanted to go into a park that evening since it was our last night there, but nobody seemed to be interested. I kept trying to interest the DSs into going and DS19 got pumped about the opportunity for the three of them to go do a commando run on the rides one last time before we headed home. I mentioned that AK closed at 8:00, DHS at 10:00 and MK at 11:00 so they decided to try to go ride EE and Dinosaur, do what they could at DHS, and then try to do the three mountains at MK before each park closed so they headed off to have fun. So what could DW and I do to entertain ourselves while we had some alone time??? It was great because we went to Olivia’s one last time for a quiet dinner together, then we rode the boat from HH to DTD to just enjoy the ride and do some final shopping. We really enjoyed the ride and wished we had taken advantage of it sooner in the week. If you ever stay at OKW you need to take advantage of this little freebie.

There was quite a bit of lightning in the distance while we cruised along, so we wondered if DSs would have anything shut down on them. When they got back they were very pumped about their evening. They got on EE and Dinosaur without much wait and then headed to DHS. They rode RnR multiple times I think, and rode ToT 7 straight times with only one of those taking about 10 minutes to wait while the rest they walked straight on. They decided to see Fantasmic again and walked straight into the 10:30 show without waiting and sat right down front. They decided to skip a final trip to MK, which I think had more to do with the three girls about their ages that were following them around than the fact they didn’t want to ride any of the mountain rides.

Coming up….it is sadly time to head home.

 

[marvali]

We got up Friday morning to the sad realization that it was time for the fun to end and we had to go home. We delayed it as long as possible but got everything packed and loaded and headed to the HH about 10:30. We had thought about staying around the pool until about 1:00 and then heading out, but I didn't sleep real well Thursday night and with the prospect of a 9 hour drive ahead of us, I decided we needed to hit the road. We had not had the chance to go by AKL so I could take pictures of the Kidani construction so we went for a quick stop there first.

I got some pictures and we used the observation area to view some of the savanna and the animals. We had seen on the morning news that some bad weather was coming and while we were were checking everything out we saw it blow in, so our quick stop was delayed a while. We went in the gift shop and did some shopping until it blew over.

I was planning to get gas off site and then hit I-4 to the Florida Turnpike to head home, but when we got to the interstate it was a parking lot, probably because of the rain that you could tell was still to the north right where we were headed. We got gas and a quick bite to eat and headed back through WDW to avoid I-4. At 1:00 we went right back past the entrance to OKW and DW said I really didn't want to leave did I. It took longer than normal to get home and we didn't roll in until 11:00 pm, not any happier for our trip to be over, but happy to be home.

I got pictures uploaded to photobucket today so I should be able to add some pictures tomorrow.

 

[marvali]

Welcome Home!

Waiting on the bus to AK(L2R-DS15, DS19, DW, DS11)

The safari begins here!

What colors!

The Tree of Life

 

[marvali]

Baby giraffe

Upside down tree

Ostrich Eggs

 

[NSL]

Great pictures! I have really enjoyed reading your trip report and look forward to more pictures! Thank you!

 

[marvali]

Kidcot outside ITTBAB.

Loading Bay for Dinosaur

Primeval Whirl

EVEREST!

Now What?????

Worn Out!

 

[marvali]

Great pictures! I have really enjoyed reading your trip report and look forward to more pictures! Thank you!

Thanks NSL. I will try to post as many as I can!

 

[marvali]

AKL Pool in late evening - still a busy place

Fire Roasted Prime Rib, Potatoes with Afritude and Green Beans and Tofu

Two types of couscous, mac and cheese, nut crusted salmon, prime rib and ??

Pasta Salad, coconut rice, pap, couscous and fresh fruit

mealie bread, bobotie, chicken, potatoes with afritude, nut crusted salmon, ribs and prime rib with their own honey mustard horseradish sauce

Strawberry Tart, bread pudding w/ vanilla sauce, cherry something, coconut something, zebra dome, and some kind of chocolate mousse - all wonderful

 

[NSL]

I have really enjoyed your pictures! Thanks for posting. Do you have any pictures of your room at OKW? I am curious, as my parents will be staying there in Dec. Thanks again!

 

[rbuzzotta]

Thanks for the great pictures. I will have to try to figure out how to post mine. Glad you had a wonderful time and sorry we didn't catch up at the OKW pool. It was nice to relive the magic through your reports.

 

[ChelleinNC]

Pictures are fantastic and now I'm hungry again

Sounds like a fantastic trip!

 

[marvali]

Thanks for the great pictures. I will have to try to figure out how to post mine. Glad you had a wonderful time and sorry we didn't catch up at the OKW pool. It was nice to relive the magic through your reports.

Rosemary, who does your daughter cheer for? Just asking because one afternoon I was on the way back to our room from the pool and met two teen girls around the Peninsular Road bus stop headed towards HH. I probably wouldn't have paid much attention but I was rather hot and one of them was wearing a sweatshirt??? It had a name on the front and something about cheerleader or cheer team and on the back it said Captain. Just wondering if that might have been your daughter and her friend.

As for posting pictures, I downloaded from my digital cam to our computer, then uploaded them to the account I set up on photobucket. Then you can easily copy the link to the pictures you want to post and paste the link into the "Insert Image" icon at the top of the reply box.

 

[marvali]

I have really enjoyed your pictures! Thanks for posting. Do you have any pictures of your room at OKW? I am curious, as my parents will be staying there in Dec. Thanks again!

Sorry, that is one thing I never got around to taking since we got there so late the first night and were in a hurry to get something to eat. After that, with three sons, it wouldn't have done me any good to take pictures.

The rooms are very nice, very light in color scheme, and very spacious. The king bed in the master bedroom was a brass bed (headboard and footboard) and had a wedding ring quilt on it. Very open design. We specifically asked for a villa in a building numbered 30 or higher because those have the second doorway into the bathroom through the laundry room, so the boys didn't have to come through our room to shower, etc.

I'm sure your parents will have a great time and stay!

 

[rbuzzotta]

Rosemary, who does your daughter cheer for? Just asking because one afternoon I was on the way back to our room from the pool and met two teen girls around the Peninsular Road bus stop headed towards HH. I probably wouldn't have paid much attention but I was rather hot and one of them was wearing a sweatshirt??? It had a name on the front and something about cheerleader or cheer team and on the back it said Captain. Just wondering if that might have been your daughter and her friend.

As for posting pictures, I downloaded from my digital cam to our computer, then uploaded them to the account I set up on photobucket. Then you can easily copy the link to the pictures you want to post and paste the link into the "Insert Image" icon at the top of the reply box.

My DD cheers for her high school team and Celebrity Cheer Allstars out of NH. She normally only wears her 'cheer' clothing when traveling with the team to competitions and is required to wear it. She does not like to 'advertise' because of the stereotype that goes along with cheerleading. Now, me, on the other hand, I love to advertise her gym!! They are a great organization and the cheerleaders are so talented. I am proud of her accomplishments.

Thanks for the info on uploading (or is it downloading, could never get that straight) the pictures. I may attempt it.

 

[marvali]

 

[marvali]

DS's enjoying funnel cake

Japan

France

China

Germany

Maelstrom in Norway

Spaceship Earth