OKW which building?

[Love That Stitch]

We are staying in a 2br and we have never stayed at OKW before. Which building is the best? We will have a car but bus stop is important and pool. A parking lot is important so #64 is out because of this fact.

I was looking at #24. What do you think? I like the idea of being close to a bus stop and the HH and main pool. However, are there more perks to other buildings?

We will be requesting a first floor or second floor. I had read there were only elevators in buildings #62,63,64 is this right?

Thanks for you help!

 

[Horizons1]

You're going to love Old Key West! Its my home resort, and I have stayed there quite a few times. (just look at my list)

Personally, I have always requested either buildings 12, 13, or 14, since they are right next to the Hospitality House (main building) main pool, gift shop, Olivia's restaurant, and boat to Dowwntown Disney. Also the bus stops right there, so you really don't need to walk far at all.

There was one time that i stayed in building 42, which was very far from the Hospitality house, but it was within walking distance to a small pool and bus stop, and i had a great time.

No matter what building your in, Disney will take care of you, and you are always a short walk to the pool or bus stop....

There are a couple of buildings I would ask not to be in if you are concerned about walking distances .... 30, 31, 29, 28, 49, and 50
These buildings aren't bad at all, but do require a slightly longer walk than other buildings...and on a personal note, I was never fond of Miller's Rd. section of OKW since its right near the highway....but they do a good job of hiding it.

I'm not sure about the elevator situation, I've never payed any attention to it, but if you ask Disney and make a request to be on either the 1st floor or an elevator building, there a very good chance they'll accomodate.

Hope this helps ! I'm sure you'll love it. I know i do!!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Bear in mind that if you are on the ground floor, you will likely be hemmed in with vegetation. The best views are from the 2nd and 3rd floors. Take a look at the map, and you will see how bus stops are fairly well located throughout the resort. That means you are always a quick bus stop away from the main area, should you get on the other end of the resort. ALL buses stop at the Hospitality House last before leaving the resort, so you can always use that as a quick means to get there.

Our favorite buildings are 13, 14, 21, 45, 46, 55 for 1 or 2 bedroom villas. If you are requesting lower floors, you might also want to request "non-GV building" as the lower villas under GVs can be quite a lot of noise from the hard wood living room/dining rooms above. Our least favorite building is 29. Also, be aware that in buildings under 30, you will not have a second door into the master bath from the laundry room. This is only an issue if you have someone staying in the living room.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Sorry, I forgot to post the map.

 

[Love That Stitch]

Thank you so much. That really eliminates alot of buildings. I am narrowing in on #24. It seems in a good spot - bus, HH, pool and golf course view.

diane- the map you posted has red circles and those are HA (handicapped accessible?) I was not sure what that stood for. Wonderful suggestion about GV. I had never thought of that. We probably will request the 2nd floor and that would be something to keep in mind.

What do you think of #24? Does #24 have 3 floors?
Does anyone know the route the bus takes when it enters the resort? Does it always stop at HH first and last? These are important details to me.
Thanks again for your help.

 

[Love That Stitch]

Bump!

 

[GGOOFY1]

HH is last bus stop.....So no matter where you are in the resort you can hop on any bus and get to the HH.

 

[GGOOFY1]

The bus route goes Pennisular, Old Turtle Pond, South Point, Millers Road and the HH. I'm not sure which order for Turtle Pond and South Point. We like to stay in buildings 23, 24, 25 or 26. Because, it is the first bus stop at the end of night!!! We are hot, tired and ready to just veg out, so I just want to get off the bus. Also, in the morning the kids lookout for the bus to whichever park we are heading to and come and get us when the bus is in the resort. This gives us enough time to walk over to the HH and board the bus there.

 

[Simba's Mom]

HH is last bus stop.....So no matter where you are in the resort you can hop on any bus and get to the HH.

It might be a good idea to check with the bus driver when you get on that the bus is stopping at HH. I got on a bus last year at Turtle Pond, the bus was pretty filled up, so the bus driver drove straight out of the resort and did not make any more stops.

 

[utahkennedys]

Stayed in a 2BR (dedicated) villa in #24 and really loved the location. We weren't by any roads, we looked onto a golf course which my dad loved, and it was close enough to walk to the HH, main pool, and main bus stop. We also had a regular bus stop right by us. I would recommend that section and there was plenty of parking while we were there, in fact, the lot was mostly empty and we hardly saw a person the entire time in any of the buildings! Perfect!!!

 

[Love That Stitch]

That sounds great! I think I am going to request #24. I like the fact that it is the first stop into the resort at the end of a long day.

Goofy - When the bus to say a park comes into the resort does it stop first at HH and then go on to all the other stops and then back to HH before leaving for park? This is a big point for me. I don't want to miss a bus but it is nice if you have a bit more time knowing it is going to stop at HH again.

 

[buzz5985]

We stayed in building 13 last summer, on the first floor. Great room. We did not have a car. Quick walk accross the street to the HH. We took the bus from there on our way out, and on the way home we used the Penninsula Rd bus stop - it was a short 5 minute walke to our building. Otherwise you had to go all around the resort before getting back to the HH.


Janis

 

[kda]

The bus stops at Penninsular Road (that would be the closest stop for those in Bldg #24), then South Point, then Turtle Pond, then Millers Road, and finally the one and only stop at the Hospitality House is at the end --- and I agree that it's worthwhile checking with the driver that they intend to stop. We, too, have had a driver try to go right past HH when the bus was full, and there were many people who wanted to get off to eat breakfast.

If you board at Penninsular Road, you're always guaranteed a seat, but you do ride around to all the other stops before leaving the park. If you miss a bus at Penninsular Road, walk up to the HH (but it could be standing-room-only in busy times, or it might be full).

Also want to point out what an earlier poster mentioned --- if you have anyone sleeping in the living room, they will have to go through the master bedroom to get to the bathroom in buildings #1-#30. Buildings #31 and higher have a door from the laundry room directly into the bathroom. This matters to some people.

And, remember that we can make requests but there are no guarantees. We never know how many rooms are going to open up on the day we're checking in. We've always found the CMs at OKW to really try to offer us choices, but abut 50% of the time, there's nothing available in a particular building that I ask about (especialy if I'm also looking for an upper floor). After 6 trips, we've come to believe that every building and area has it's advantages and disadvantages. We continue to go back to OKW and have always had a wonderful trip.

The map is deceiving -- on the one hand, OKW is large. But I've been surprised to find out that it's only a 2 minute walk to a pool or a bus stop, even when the building is 3-4 buildings away. We've always been in the Turtle Pond or Southpoint areas and it's a quick trip to the HH by just jumping on the first bus that comes along (and verifying that the driver will be stopping there). To get back to my room, I walk across the street from the HH and down to the Penninsular Road bus stop and get on the first bus that comes by.

Hope you have a fantastic trip!

 

[robhawk]

We stayed at #26. Several times we just missed our bus but was able to walk to HH to catch it before it leaves OKW. This can save you 20-30 minutes when you are dying to get to the parks. I think any of that 4 building cluster is a fantastic place to stay. Good luck!

Rob

DVC since 2001

 

[dianeschlicht]

Just remember that requesting a specfic building can get you disappointed. Instead you may want to request the things that are important to you just as you did here. We always thought we would HATE to be in building 13 or 14. We have since had several stays in those buildings and LOVED them!

 

[Love That Stitch]

The bus stops at Penninsular Road (that would be the closest stop for those in Bldg #24), then South Point, then Turtle Pond, then Millers Road, and finally the one and only stop at the Hospitality House is at the end --- and I agree that it's worthwhile checking with the driver that they intend to stop. We, too, have had a driver try to go right past HH when the bus was full, and there were many people who wanted to get off to eat breakfast.

If you board at Penninsular Road, you're always guaranteed a seat, but you do ride around to all the other stops before leaving the park. If you miss a bus at Penninsular Road, walk up to the HH (but it could be standing-room-only in busy times, or it might be full).

Also want to point out what an earlier poster mentioned --- if you have anyone sleeping in the living room, they will have to go through the master bedroom to get to the bathroom in buildings #1-#30. Buildings #31 and higher have a door from the laundry room directly into the bathroom. This matters to some people.

And, remember that we can make requests but there are no guarantees. We never know how many rooms are going to open up on the day we're checking in. We've always found the CMs at OKW to really try to offer us choices, but abut 50% of the time, there's nothing available in a particular building that I ask about (especialy if I'm also looking for an upper floor). After 6 trips, we've come to believe that every building and area has it's advantages and disadvantages. We continue to go back to OKW and have always had a wonderful trip.

The map is deceiving -- on the one hand, OKW is large. But I've been surprised to find out that it's only a 2 minute walk to a pool or a bus stop, even when the building is 3-4 buildings away. We've always been in the Turtle Pond or Southpoint areas and it's a quick trip to the HH by just jumping on the first bus that comes along (and verifying that the driver will be stopping there). To get back to my room, I walk across the street from the HH and down to the Penninsular Road bus stop and get on the first bus that comes by.

Hope you have a fantastic trip!

Great suggestions! Very helpful!

We will only have 2 couples staying in our room (4 people total) so the extra door to the bathroom is not an issue for us, but notable to anyone else reading this thread.

That is an excellent suggestion to ask the bus drivers about stops. They do seem to have a mind of their own sometimes and do things out of order. We normally stay at Fort Wilderness so I am use to internal bus service and walking a distance. I think I will try for 24 and have an alternate back up. 12-14 look nice too.

Thanks again! Can't wait!

 

[jdvm]

You'll find that tried and true Old Key West owners all have their favorite spots----and they're almost all different. We've been members since 1992 and iIwould suggest that you give several areas a try and see what YOU like best. It's really hard to go wrong at OKW.
J

 

[BkrsLoveDis!]

It is amazing how ideas about what area is best varies - we just got back from a stay in building 29 and loved it - go figure!!

 

[jdvm]

I think it's quite a tribute to OKW that so many people feel so strongly about "their" area. It tells me that there are LOTS of great areas at OKW. My kids adore building 11 and we like being on the ground floor but I can certainly see why people like other areas like South Point. In one stay out of more that 50 we had a room that was noisy because of busses. Not bad odds.
J

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think it's quite a tribute to OKW that so many people feel so strongly about "their" area. It tells me that there are LOTS of great areas at OKW. My kids adore building 11 and we like being on the ground floor but I can certainly see why people like other areas like South Point. In one stay out of more that 50 we had a room that was noisy because of busses. Not bad odds.
J

I totally agree! BTW, the reason I didn't care for building 29 is because the ground floor there is under GVs and behind very heavy vegetation. The second bedroom/studio portion was close to the road. The other end of the building and on a higher floor would have been fine.