Please don't flame me, but...

[Cmadsen]

we just returned from a week at OKW. We've been there before and had a great time. Our problem this time was the noise level in neighboring villas. My traveling companion has a chronic disease which is kept under control as long as she gets enough rest and in all of our past trips this hasn't been an issue. This time we requested, as usual, a (hopefully) quiet area. Yes, we sure do realize that there are some things Disney does not have control over. Our neighbors really weren't terrible, but they had normal kids...one of which was not old enough to sleep through the night and consequently neither were we. For whatever reason, we could hear every word of their conversations (and believe me, we tried not to). The next day we were looking into buying more points and talking to our guide and when we mentioned our situation, she told us to go to the front desk right away and request another room. In 20 some trips I've never requested a room change but we talked it over and decided to give it a try. The folks at the front desk were very understanding and had us in a new location by the next day. We didn't hear a thing from either side of us, but had some party people (evidently in the courtyard area, not noise from a room) on the first floor (we were on the third floor) every night from 2:30 a.m. on.
I'm bringing this up because if there has been a discussion about noise on this site I missed it. We were in a studio this trip and wondered if you folks thought we could resolve this by using more points and getting a one bedroom. Although we've been in a studio before and noise has not been an issue. Has anyone encountered this problem?
BTW, the rest of our trip was great. The parks were packed, but we got to do most everything we wanted and are looking forward to a fast trip down again in May.
Thanks for any advice you might have.

 

[Chuck S]

Well, I think 1 bedrooms are probably a little quieter just because of the size, you aren't right next to the adjoining door all the time. That being siad, did you try rolling up a towel and placing it between the doors that connect the studio to the 1 bedroom? It seems a lot of sound can echo under the doors because of the slight air space.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Cmadsen
.......(snip)...... We didn't hear a thing from either side of us, but had some party people (evidently in the courtyard area, not noise from a room) on the first floor (we were on the third floor) every night from 2:30 a.m. on. ......We were in a studio this trip and wondered if you folks thought we could resolve this by using more points and getting a one bedroom. .....

IMHO, the way to resolve the "party people" problem would be a call to the front desk. That kind of noise after midnight is rude, probably disturbed many guests in addition to your party and warranted a visit from Disney employees to put a stop to it. You shouldn't have to move or put up with that level of inconsiderate behavior at any of the Disney Resorts.

 

[DebbieB]

When staying in a 1 bedroom at OKW, I always shut the bedroom door to keep noise from the lockoff door out. If someone is sleeping in the living room, it could be disturbing to them. We've been lucky at BWV, everytime we've had a dedicated 1 bedroom.

 

[thegoods]

Noise will always be an issue at the resorts. We have never had a problem at OKW although some noise between the lockoffs will be present no matter how slight. We just returned from HH last week and found the units there to be quite noisy. The family in the unit above ours had cattle, not children. Their "herd" was on the move until very late each night. I tolerated it but it really bothered my wife and son. This made me wonder about the construction of the flooring. It seems as if OKW is concrete and HH is wood. The unit above us was a three bedroom. Does anyone know if this has hardwood flooring?

In any regard, there will always be noise at any resort, hotel, etc. Heck, there is noise in my house. The real issue is the courtesy of those around you and the respect, or lack thereof, they show for others.

 

[Cmadsen]

Thanks, Chuck, for responding and yup, we tried the towel thing, with little success. We commented to each other that maybe they were some of Seinfeld's "loud talkers"!

CarolMN, thank you, too. I was too embarrassed to include in my first post that yes, indeed, I did call the front desk the first night. My friend pointed out to me later that I don't tend to be very coherent (she may have meant all the time, but I took it to mean when I'm awakened from a sound sleep) and it seems I informed the front desk that people were partying in the "lobby" instead of the courtyard. (I believe this may have damaged my credibility

Most DVC'ers are SO considerate I think it makes instances like this stand out.

 

[Disney Doll]

I'm sure that the OKW front desk got several calls from slightly incoherent peole, if they were awakened at 2AM by loudness in the courtyard!!!!!

I have not found it to be an issue in general, but we also tend to go at less crowded times I think, and we are VERY sound sleepers....almost scary at times what we don't hear!!!!!!

My SIL is a light sleeper, and she wears ear plugs to bed...says it helps.

 

[jimmytammy]

We were recently at OKW and had a little problem with noise. We were given some great advice here on the boards. Doc gave some especially great advice. And it was so simple....turn the fan to the heat/ac to the "ON" position. Made lots of difference. Another thing, you are there smack dab in the middle of spring break. We caught the 1st week of it but most were very well behaved.
Sorry to hear your trip went a little sour cause of noise. Hopefully your next will be better

 

[OneMoreTry]

We were in a 2BR at OKW last June and and had some noisy neighbors right above us. They seemed to be loudest from midnight to 2am. They weren't partying. They were just LOUD people. Everything they said was in a YELL. They woke me up once or twice but I went back to sleep. They must've left after the first couple of nights.

Didn't bother me really. I had forgotten about it until I read this thread.

 

[msdis]

We were at OKW last Memorial Day weekend and asked to be moved to WLV after 3 days. Not rowdy people, just normal kids being noisy and conversations like we were in the same room. DH wouldn't let me make noise back just so they could see how easy it is to hear people.
Another time this happened at WLV 9/11. We had a baby, a newborn for sure, the noise is distinct. next door. That poor thing cried all night. Only problem was we had to get up at 5am to head out for a 29+1/2 hour drive straight home. I got 3 hours of sleep that night. Not one of my most memorable moments. I think people don't realize, and unless you do make noise back they won't realize either.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

That was one of the things I noticed with the OKW studio. Quite a bit of noise comes through the doors. So far VWL and BCV have been excellent as far as noise abatement goes. I think they corrected the mistakes they made with BWV.

Except for the fact the doors are supposed to be fire doors I think it would help tremendously if they put some kind of baffling on the doors at OKW. Or put down rubber matting outside.

 

[rocketriter]

The unit above us was a three bedroom.

In most of the DVC locations (all?) the 3-bedrooms do have wood floors rather than carpet. This isn't a problem when they're stand-alone cottages or 2-story duplexes, but it causes some complaints when the wood floor is someone else's ceiling.

 

[Pa@okw95]

The problem with staying a studio at OKW is that is next to the living room of a one bedroom. That could be a problem. At any rate I always stay in a one bedroom or more and never had a problem with noise. One visit I was sitting in the living room and heard noise from the studio, kid crying etc. If you rent a one bedroom or larger you should not have a problem sleeping, if you do call security especially if it coming from outside. This is why pools have a closing hour to help with the noise situation also. There should not be any partys going on at all outside but then again the way people stuff themselves into these units reaching capacity we will have more noise problems from just that situation alone.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We are usually in a 2 bedroom or larger. The only noise we have had is when we have been under a GV. The reason for that is the wood floors of the GV and the fact that often there are MANY people in them, so lots of feet walking around! We also once had a room where the folks above had kids who bounced super balls at 5 am! A well placed broom handle to the ceiling stopped that one. They often forget there are folks below. Most people are used to living in a single family home, so don't think about the noise they make.