- Joined
- Oct 24, 2003
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- 3,399
After being pummeled by snow here in the Northeast for the last month or so, DW and I decided to use our leftover 2004 points and free airline tickets ( courtesy of SWA ) to get some warmth and sun with a long weekend at WDW. When DD and son-in-law heard we were going, they wanted to go too, so we reserved one of those giant 1-BRs at OKW and headed south.
We arrived at OKW at noon on Saturday, 3-12, and our room was ready for us. We were in building 11, across the street from the HH. I will grant that it's open to debate which resort has the best location, the best themes, or the best transportation options, but the one thing that's not arguable at all is that OKW has absolutely the best rooms in all of DVC and WDW for that matter. If you haven't stayed in a 1 or 2-BR at OKW, you really need to do this. They are fabulous!
The only negative thing about the room was that the entrance to the "loo" was through the master bedroom. It was a little strange at night waking up and being dimly aware of shadowy figures moving through the bedroom in the dark, and never being sure if they were relatives or robbers. As luck would have it, they always turned out to be relatives in our case, so all was well. As I understand it, buildings 30 and above have a separate entrance to the bathroom area, so I'll remember this for future reference when we bring guests to OKW.
Not being an OKW vet ( this was only my 2nd stay there ) I thought all the views were palm trees and golf courses. The view from our porch was identical to our normal view at VWL, without the lake in the background. We saw pine trees ( which as it turns out are indigenous to Florida, go figure ) and a basic woods view. For us this was great, since we didn't have to worry about about some guy and his putter watching us while we were relaxing on the porch. However, since some have reported not wanting to see pine trees while on vacation, I pass this on as a word to the wise.
Bus transportation was easy and very efficient. Never more than a 10 minute wait for our bus. We had a car, but never used it since the busses were so timely. From the HH to Epcot or MGM, the ride was under 10 minutes, with the MK being only slightly longer. Even going to AK wasn't bad, but I suspect the stop at Blizzard Beach is what makes most people think it's a long ride to AK. Cut out that BB stop, and it's not bad at all.
MK was pretty crowded on Monday, but the other parks were quite reasonable. We ended up leaving MK after a half hour or so due to the large volume of visitors there, but the beauty of DVC is we know we'll catch it on the next trip.
The weather was sunny and 80's for Saturday and Sunday, but took a turn for the worse on Monday. We got caught in quite a downpour that afternoon, ( can you say SOAKED? ) and ended up returning to OKW for a leisurely lunch at Olivia's. ( we all thought Olivia's was great! )
Tuesday, 3-15, was getaway day, but we spent most of the day at Epcot before heading to the airport. Cloudy, but 80s and no rain, so we were happy.
An all too short trip, but much needed. We enjoyed our stay at OKW and will definitely return to experience the best rooms in all of WDW at some point in the future.
We arrived at OKW at noon on Saturday, 3-12, and our room was ready for us. We were in building 11, across the street from the HH. I will grant that it's open to debate which resort has the best location, the best themes, or the best transportation options, but the one thing that's not arguable at all is that OKW has absolutely the best rooms in all of DVC and WDW for that matter. If you haven't stayed in a 1 or 2-BR at OKW, you really need to do this. They are fabulous!
The only negative thing about the room was that the entrance to the "loo" was through the master bedroom. It was a little strange at night waking up and being dimly aware of shadowy figures moving through the bedroom in the dark, and never being sure if they were relatives or robbers. As luck would have it, they always turned out to be relatives in our case, so all was well. As I understand it, buildings 30 and above have a separate entrance to the bathroom area, so I'll remember this for future reference when we bring guests to OKW.
Not being an OKW vet ( this was only my 2nd stay there ) I thought all the views were palm trees and golf courses. The view from our porch was identical to our normal view at VWL, without the lake in the background. We saw pine trees ( which as it turns out are indigenous to Florida, go figure ) and a basic woods view. For us this was great, since we didn't have to worry about about some guy and his putter watching us while we were relaxing on the porch. However, since some have reported not wanting to see pine trees while on vacation, I pass this on as a word to the wise.
Bus transportation was easy and very efficient. Never more than a 10 minute wait for our bus. We had a car, but never used it since the busses were so timely. From the HH to Epcot or MGM, the ride was under 10 minutes, with the MK being only slightly longer. Even going to AK wasn't bad, but I suspect the stop at Blizzard Beach is what makes most people think it's a long ride to AK. Cut out that BB stop, and it's not bad at all.
MK was pretty crowded on Monday, but the other parks were quite reasonable. We ended up leaving MK after a half hour or so due to the large volume of visitors there, but the beauty of DVC is we know we'll catch it on the next trip.
The weather was sunny and 80's for Saturday and Sunday, but took a turn for the worse on Monday. We got caught in quite a downpour that afternoon, ( can you say SOAKED? ) and ended up returning to OKW for a leisurely lunch at Olivia's. ( we all thought Olivia's was great! )
Tuesday, 3-15, was getaway day, but we spent most of the day at Epcot before heading to the airport. Cloudy, but 80s and no rain, so we were happy.
An all too short trip, but much needed. We enjoyed our stay at OKW and will definitely return to experience the best rooms in all of WDW at some point in the future.
