POFQ, POR, or OKW without a car

[JAMIESMITH]

I am looking at booking a trip around the Princess Half Marathon in February. It would be my husband and I along with our two daughters. They will be 12 and almost 5 at the time of our trip. We will be flying in and won't have a car. My husband loves having a balcony and I would like to have the kitchenette amenities of the OKW studio, but we are concerned about the size of the resort. We are also wanting a great pool and dining options close by.

 

[Animal]

You will need to compromise.

 

[Babsy]

I would stay in OKW. It seems to match with everything you want except the overall size of the resort. POR and POFQ do not have a balcony or kitchenette.

Have you considered AKL, standard view room or studio villa?

 

[Deb & Bill]

You'll want to be aware that the buses for the marathon do not drive through the resort, only pick up at the Hospitality House for OKW. So you'll need to walk to the front of the resort to catch a marathon bus to the start.

 

[Wild4Walt]

For what you are looking for OKW will be the only one that will fit into your wants.

On the plus size, aside from size, kitchenette or balcony, it has Olivia's on property which has some awesome food. ( It is also becoming a fan favorite so make sure you make ADRs ). You're also close to Disney Springs so you can add all those dining options as well.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I would stay in OKW. It seems to match with everything you want except the overall size of the resort. POR and POFQ do not have a balcony or kitchenette.

Have you considered AKL, standard view room or studio villa?

We really need two queen size beds and this is a somewhat budget minded trip. We've stayed in a studio at BWV before, but that was before our youngest was born.

You'll want to be aware that the buses for the marathon do not drive through the resort, only pick up at the Hospitality House for OKW. So you'll need to walk to the front of the resort to catch a marathon bus to the start.

This is exactly the kind of info I need! How far could our room possibly be from the Hospitality House? This is really the only downside I see to OKW, but it may be big enough to make us consider going with POFQ or POR.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

You will need to compromise.

Most definitely! I'm just trying to figure out the best compromise for our family.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We really need two queen size beds and this is a somewhat budget minded trip. We've stayed in a studio at BWV before, but that was before our youngest was born.
This is exactly the kind of info I need! How far could our room possibly be from the Hospitality House? This is really the only downside I see to OKW, but it may be big enough to make us consider going with POFQ or POR.

You'll be maybe ten minutes from the HH from the furthest location at OKW. It's not a hard walk from anywhere. It's not any further than POR. The other issue at OKW is there are very few buildings with elevators, so you may need to take the stairs to get to your studio. You'll want to request either a second floor or first floor studio because those third floor studios can be a hike (they are only in a few buildings). Peninsular Road or Miller's Road would probably be good requests.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

You'll be maybe ten minutes from the HH from the furthest location at OKW. It's not a hard walk from anywhere. It's not any further than POR. The other issue at OKW is there are very few buildings with elevators, so you may need to take the stairs to get to your studio. You'll want to request either a second floor or first floor studio because those third floor studios can be a hike (they are only in a few buildings). Peninsular Road or Miller's Road would probably be good requests.

Thanks so much!

 

[Babsy]

We really need two queen size beds and this is a somewhat budget minded trip. We've stayed in a studio at BWV before, but that was before our youngest was born.

Yes, fair enough. And, you are probably just not interested in AKL. Just wanted to point out that standard rates here are similar to the rates at the resorts that you are considering.

FYI,
when I look at Aug 5-9 rates for AKL Jambo, standard room, 2 queen beds, the rack rate is $376. Same dates for an OKW studio villa is rack rate $390. No kitchenette in JAMBO, AKL rooms but the resort is smaller and all under one roof and the rooms have balconies. The dining options are amazing, the two pools are awesome and the theming is spectacular. I know that these aren't your dates, but it isn't possible to look at Feb 2020 online yet, so I looked at another somewhat 'low season' for comparison.

Same dates POFQ standard view $242, pool view $281. So, if. budget is most important than POFQ or POR may be the lowest price option - depending on discounts. You get larger discounts at deluxe than moderates so the price difference may shrink. I have seen the difference in POR RR and AKL Standard to be less than $15, for example. You may see an equally good discount at OKW, as well.

Good luck, wherever you choose to stay.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Yes, fair enough. And, you are probably just not interested in AKL. Just wanted to point out that standard rates here are similar to the rates at the resorts that you are considering.

FYI,
when I look at Aug 5-9 rates for AKL Jambo, standard room, 2 queen beds, the rack rate is $376. Same dates for an OKW studio villa is rack rate $390. No kitchenette in JAMBO, AKL rooms but the resort is smaller and all under one roof and the rooms have balconies. The dining options are amazing, the two pools are awesome and the theming is spectacular. I know that these aren't your dates, but it isn't possible to look at Feb 2020 online yet, so I looked at another somewhat 'low season' for comparison.

Same dates POFQ standard view $242, pool view $281. So, if. budget is most important than POFQ or POR may be the lowest price option - depending on discounts. You get larger discounts at deluxe than moderates so the price difference may shrink. I have seen the difference in POR RR and AKL Standard to be less than $15, for example. You may see an equally good discount at OKW, as well.

Good luck, wherever you choose to stay.

AKL is actually one of my favorite resorts (The Poly being the other). If we could stay there with a discount for a comparable price to a moderate, I would be over the moon!

I was actually looking at renting points for a studio at OKW (which does have two queen beds) for a price comparable with POR/FQ.

 

[Babsy]

AKL is actually one of my favorite resorts (The Poly being the other). If we could stay there with a discount for a comparable price to a moderate, I would be over the moon!

I was actually looking at renting points for a studio at OKW (which does have two queen beds) for a price comparable with POR/FQ.

Yes, that was between a Royal Room at POR and a standard room at AKL, but still impressive, I thought. I never rule AKL out when doing our budget trips because with a discount you can sometimes get pretty good deals there.

If renting points will get you the same price as POR, I would stay OKW. It's a gorgeous resort. We love it! And it is great that the studios have 2 queen beds there!