OKW, what should I know?

[Hollymom1229]

I will be staying at OKW for the first time this September. We will have a 1 BDR and I just have so many questions. Is it going to be hard to get around without a car. How is the bus service, where should we request for placement? Anything you could tell me would be great. I've never been that interested in OKW, but the friend we are going with loves the theming and we figured it was a good buy with the points.

 

[dmoore22]

I will be staying at OKW for the first time this September. We will have a 1 BDR and I just have so many questions. Is it going to be hard to get around without a car. How is the bus service, where should we request for placement? Anything you could tell me would be great. I've never been that interested in OKW, but the friend we are going with loves the theming and we figured it was a good buy with the points.

OKW is our home resort. We've never been disappointed in any of the accommodations/locations in which we have stayed. We drive in from Missouri, park our car outside our rooms, and seldom, if ever use it unless we leave WDW for points outside the resorts/parks. Between the shuttle buses and boats we can get where we want to go on-site.

 

[robert@dvcstore]

Being an Old Key West owner since 1994 I have stayed there many, many times. With all of the new resorts that have come on line, it is still my favorite.

You might consider asking for a room near the Hospitality House. That way you are near the front desk, store, dining, marina and feature pool.

There are bus stops throughout the resort. Waiting for a bus just depends on if the bus where you wanted to go just left your stop. If so, you may wait for 20 minutes or so for another one to come along. Or, you may walk up to the bus stop and your bus drives up. It's all a matter of luck.

On the other hand, parking your car at Old Key West is the most convienent of any of the DVC resorts as it would be right outside your door.

Have a great time.

Robert

 

[saintstickets]

Our last trip to OKW was Thanksgiving week 2007. We parked our vehicle right outside our room on Tuesday and did not get back in it until we were ready to leave on Sunday. We used the WDW bus transportation exclusively to park hop and never had a problem or long wait. (We did not know about the boats or we would have used them) Even though it was Thanksgiving week, we never waited more than a few minutes for a bus. It was such a pleasant experience, we bought DVC at OKW this past November and are heading "home" in May, 2010!

 

[dvc deernut]

We have been dvc members since 98 okw isnt our home resort but we always book it. If we dont get in at 7 months we ask to be put on wait list. We really like the location and atmosphere. Bus transportation is the best. The buses go right thru the complex. If you miss your bus in the morning another one could be right behind it for another location if you choose to change your mind. But there are buses for the same park coming thru many times. Okw the rooms are slightly bigger. Your only a short boat ride to dtd and a short bus ride anywhere. The food at olivias is great. We usually stop in to get groceries at walmart to bring in. But if we dont have car we have groceries delivered. It can be a waste to have a rental just to sit there the whole time. You can take a bus to the florida mall if you want.

We are coming for the member cruise again in sept but we havent booked our room yet but we will check okw first. We will try for 1 br. We might be there from 17th to 20th of sept after member cruise. When will you be there?

 

[mouse]

Our home (and favorite) resort is BCV, but we love OKW.
If you have a car, you will love the convenient parking.
The bus service is no worse or better than any other resort.
You will be impressed by the roominess of you villa.
You may be some distance from the restaurant, gift shop, so plan on having at least some snacks and beverages in your villa.
You will be able to dine outdoors on your own patio/porch, as there will be a dining table and 4 chairs out there. There will also be a ceiling fan and light.
You will love the laundry room in your villa.
Island music (Jimmy Buffet).
Even if you are not near the themed pool, there are several other pools and one will be near your villa. If you have a car, there is parking at each of the pools.
Turtle Pond pool has a snack bar, but hours are often elusive.
The restaurant at the resort (Olivia's) can be great or just so-so, but it is open 3 meals a day. You can usually count on breakfast being great and the meals are generally large enough to share. Olivia's has indoor and outdoor seating. You can see the menu at www.allearsnet.com.
There is a reasonable selection of groceries at the gift shop.
You can take a boat to Downtown Disney.
There is a very small indoor/outdoor lounge.
Very relaxed atmosphere with lush landscaping.
Many villas have a golf course view.
Only a couple of the buildings have elevators, so if you are not in one of those buildings, and have a third floor villa, be prepared to do some steps.

 

[jmkjr72]

we love okw
most of the times we have a rental car that never gets used except for off property trips and we love parking right in front
the last stop on the bus route is the hospitality house so if you dont want to walk up and you are far away just hop a bus
and the first stop is just a short walk from the hospitalty house so its easy to get a bus back to your room if you just wait a few minutes
one thing we noticed now is that the boats no longer go to the market place they go to the old pleasure island stop

 

[dianeschlicht]

While we often have a rental car at WDW, we rarely use it other than to go grocery shopping or when we do resort dining. For parks and just getting around the resort, we always either walk or take the bus. Bus service at OKW is excellent, but you have to know how to best utilize it. ALL buses stop at Hospitality House last before exiting the resort, so jumping on any bus from any of the other 4 bus stops will get you there. There is also an internal bus that circles the resort stops as well.

The only destination that we don't always use a bus for is AK. That bus stops at Blizzard Beach (unless it's closed), and thus takes quite awhile. We also don't usually take a bus to DTD, but will walk there if we are in the South Point area of the resort or take the ferry if we are near HH.

We have stayed at OKW multiple times each year, even before we became members in 1997. Our favorite areas are Miller's Road and South Point with a slight edge to South Point. Our favorite buildings are 45 and 46 followed by 18, 15, 16, and 55.