OKW-when did lower standards become acceptable?

[ILoveMyDVC]

We checked into OKW on the 20th of January - 2 bed bldg. 32.
A few days into our 10 day stay, I remarked to my DF that the mold in the bathroom and the bedroom windows was pretty nasty. He said that he had noticed and couldn't believe that I hadn't said anything thus far. It was the same in May and has been for quite some time when I thought about it. He then pointed out that I would never tolerate a room in that condition anywhere else and in fact I had complained to the manager of our hotel in Las Vegas for an almost identical situation. (But then again, I HATE Las Vegas so my tolerance is very, very low). The clock in the other bedroom never worked. We had to call security on our first night because when we checked into the room, the door from the mb to the balcony was open. We shut it and made certain that the door in the living room to the balcony was shut and locked. When we returned from dinner (just my children and I were there the first night), the lr/balcony door as wide open. I was spooked but the security guard was very dismissive. When I asked him if "911" worked from the phone, he told me that I was not to use it - that guests were discouraged from calling 911. I told him that if I awoke to a stranger in my room, I was most certainly going to call 911 however unDisney that might be.
My question to the wind is: When did I accept lower standards at WDW/OKW just because it was me beloved DVC? Has anyone else experienced foggy rose colored glasses?

 

[JimFitz]

We checked into OKW on the 20th of January - 2 bed bldg. 32.
A few days into our 10 day stay, I remarked to my DF that the mold in the bathroom and the bedroom windows was pretty nasty. He said that he had noticed and couldn't believe that I hadn't said anything thus far. It was the same in May and has been for quite some time when I thought about it. He then pointed out that I would never tolerate a room in that condition anywhere else and in fact I had complained to the manager of our hotel in Las Vegas for an almost identical situation. (But then again, I HATE Las Vegas so my tolerance is very, very low). The clock in the other bedroom never worked. We had to call security on our first night because when we checked into the room, the door from the mb to the balcony was open. We shut it and made certain that the door in the living room to the balcony was shut and locked. When we returned from dinner (just my children and I were there the first night), the lr/balcony door as wide open. I was spooked but the security guard was very dismissive. When I asked him if "911" worked from the phone, he told me that I was not to use it - that guests were discouraged from calling 911. I told him that if I awoke to a stranger in my room, I was most certainly going to call 911 however unDisney that might be.
My question to the wind is: When did I accept lower standards at WDW/OKW just because it was me beloved DVC? Has anyone else experienced foggy rose colored glasses?

Did you complain about the mold?

 

[Chuck S]

I've never seen mold at OKW, except for a minor case between the layers of the window glass (obviously the seal was broken). It is FL, an extremely humid climate. The exterior balcony doors can be a bit troublesome to lock properly, I know I've walked over, checked the door, thought it was locked then had the wind blow it open 5 minutes later. Unless you were in a ground floor unit, I really wouldn't have let the open patio door bother me. They seem to be a deadbolt type lock, with no way to open from the outside. Is it possible one of your children "flipped" the lock and the door blew open while you were out?

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

Anything is possible but both my son (14) and I checked it before leaving for dinner - after walking into the room for the first time and having had the other door open.

I did not complain about the mildew/mold...and I don't know why. In another hotel/location I would have registered a complaint. It's just become something I expect at OKW. We stay in a 2 bed on Turtle Pond every year. The master bathrooms have been disagreeable for quite some time now. As for the windows, this was the first time I've noticed it but truthfully, we usually go in the summer and therefore do not feel a need to invite the oppressively hot Florida sun into the bedroom. With temps. dipping into the 30's on this trip, I was looking for every last drop of sunshine and opened the blinds. Those sills hadn't been cleaned in months.

 

[Beca]

Well...here's the difference in personal tastes. I wouldn't have been too bothered by the mold (as long as there were not LOTS of it). But, coming into a room with the door open..twice!! That would un-nerve me a bit. Weren't there some posts about break-ins at OKW? That would really scare me.



Beca

 

[DebbieB]

I think I've seen some mold in showers in every hotel I've stayed in. When I stayed at the Radisson in Downtown Orlando last fall, there was mold all over the plastic shower handles, it was gross (I only stayed there 1 night, noticed it in the morning).

 

[jmuboy]

My remark to this post is NEVER accept less from Disney. If you are unhappy, complain to the management. Be nice at first and then assertive later on if you have to. We pay a lot of these rooms (whether through mortgage or rack room rentals). I don't allow my stands to be lowered at another hotel, and I won't lower them for Disney. If anything, Disney has help to RAISE my standards for what I'll accept.

 

[disneyokw]

Speaking of lower standards - my parents stayed at OKW in December and found that the sponge and detergent was of a much smaller size, the blinds in their room were plastic instead of the wooden blinds. I forgot the others. They thought this was probably due to the new slide and life-guard. It makes sense. In economics you need to decrease the input of money from one item to make-up for another.

 

[spiceycat]

I would mention it now - go to the the disneyworld site and click on contact us - or guest services (I forget which)

I have a problem with mold and mildew (I am allergic to it) - so I bring stuff to clean it if neceesary - bleach does very nice!

although I have NEVER had a problem at any WDW resorts with this stuff. I will definitely bring my supplies the next time I stay at OKW....my next trip is to SSR in May -

 

[rinkwide]

...the security guard was very dismissive. When I asked him if "911" worked from the phone, he told me that I was not to use it - that guests were discouraged from calling 911...

Unbelievable. If a member of Disney security ever told me not to call 911 I'd personally see to it that he lost his employment with the company. Hope you got the name and badge number of that idiot.

 

[cgcw]

I did not complain about the mildew/mold...and I don't know why. In another hotel/location I would have registered a complaint.

So you checked out and still didn't say anything. I wouldn't be surprised if the next family checked in and again didn't say anything. Then they check out and still don't say anything. New family arrives. Same story. Does anyone see a pattern here?

How hard is it to pick up the phone and ask for it to be cleaned up. While we have only stayed at OKW 1 night, we have stayed other placed and had problems which we reported. One trip to HH, the maintenance man spent almost as much time in our unit as we did. It was a little inconvenient but at least they were working at resolving the problem.

To say nothing yet complain later does no good. JMHO.

 

[kathleena]

Speaking of lower standards - my parents stayed at OKW in December and found that the sponge and detergent was of a much smaller size, the blinds in their room were plastic instead of the wooden blinds. I forgot the others. They thought this was probably due to the new slide and life-guard. It makes sense. In economics you need to decrease the input of money from one item to make-up for another.

That's a stretch for me! Blame it on the slide!

 

[Tigger7570]

Beca: I haven't heard about the break-ins at OKW. Can you please tell me about that?
Also, I agree you do have to let management know if something is wrong. When we checked in which was the end of November, we noticed that the doors on the cabinets in the dining area were hanging so we called and they immediately came and fixed them. We also noticed some things missing and requested those items. I'm not sure if these doors were loose from continual use or are some people being abusive of the condos. I did notice that they have gone to smaller sponges, which is fine, I just picked up a bigger one at the grocery store.

 

[JudithM]

I remarked to my DF that the mold in the bathroom and the bedroom windows was pretty nasty.

This ranks right up there with what I call "lack of attention to detail." I would have definitely contacted housekeeping at the time of the stay. Hopefully they would send a CM to clean the mold.

If you are going to write something now, I would contact DVC/OKW. I would not write to WDW guest service, but to DVC.

 

[mickeysgal]

We had to call security on our first night because when we checked into the room, the door from the mb to the balcony was open. We shut it and made certain that the door in the living room to the balcony was shut and locked. When we returned from dinner (just my children and I were there the first night), the lr/balcony door as wide open.

I have noticed that sometimes the patio doors require almost a slam to get them fully engaged in the door frame. I too, have thought that I (not my kids...me!) have closed the door to later find it open. I had to really shut it hard to get it to stick...if you can imagine what I'm trying to say. Could it be possible to have had the door not fully positioned in place and still have been able to think that you've closed and locked it?

 

[Pa@okw95]

Like I said in another post- I rented 3 units this January-one had a stripped water faucet and a door to the porch that would not shut-another had a compressor that ran 24/7 and the third had a dimmer button missing and the throw pillows were gone. This was my 18th vacation at OKW-never had a problem before, but yes, standards are going down at OKW I fear.

 

[Laurajean1014]

I have encounter minor issues at OKW, and as soon as I see them, I contact Maintenance, Front Desk, or whomever is best to fix or cure the issue.

YOU NEED TO COMPLAIN TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE. VENTING HERE MAY NOT GET THE PROBLEM SOLVED.

I have had minor problems with WDW/DVC but I have never been disappointed by the effort they took to rectify the issue.

My glasses are still rosey after 10 years of vacations!

 

[NMW]

I would not have been upset at the security gaurd telling me not to call 911, I just would have laughed in his face. If someone broke into our room at night I'd call 911 AND be screaming at the top of my lungs! The door thing would have creeped me a little too. As to the mold, if it was really, really bad, I guess I would have called housekeeping to come and clean it. I don't travel with any kind of cleaners that kill mold, or I'd do it myself.

I still am looking forward to trying OKW!

 

[wdw1014]

In July of 2004 my family and I checked into a studio at OKW. I found hair and mold in the bathroom, and a very dirty carpet. After a little thought I decided that this should be brought to the attention of the front desk. I went in person and calmly explained the problem. They found us another room quickly and offered to move our luggage for us. We refused this offer and moved ourselves to the new studio. I quess what I am saying is, stay calm, state the problem and DVC will fix it for you. They even sent special surprises to our room for the next four days of our stay. You really can't expect much more than that.

 

[eileenfk]

I wonder if the lower standards are specifc to DVC or if the standards are the same at every WDW resort.
Every time I have been in the haunted mansion it has looked as if no one bothers to dust or remove cob webs .

I think that having DVC accomodations meet the same cleanliness standards as other Disney resorts is important, and we (as owners) should find out why, if the standards are not the same.
If DVC gets a reputation for being less clean to Disney standards, it will lower the value of the resorts (compared to other resorts) and lead to an increase in the point trade out value to other Disney resorts.

I did see an old piece of candy corn in that area between the stove and counter, on the floor. This did indicate that no one bothered to sweep that area, or even look at it, since it was pretty obvious. There was also a park brochure on the floor next to the lamp. Therefore no one bothered to look there (or vacume that space) either. Neither of these things bothered me enough to say anything. But if the trend is toward lower standards this would bother me.

Perhaps ALL Disney property has lower standards, in which case we still need to be concerned with this lowering the value of our DVC property.

- Eileen