rooms at OKW

[jksky4]

Just wondering if anyone knew anything about the rooms at OKW. We will be going in Feb 2006 and staying in a one bedroom. I have read a room near the HH is nice. Any other thoughts.

 

[njziggy]

You will love it there. The 1 BR are the most spacious on property & you will feel spoiled with your own kitchen & laundry. Many people like staying near the HH for the ease of getting to the theme pool, restaurant & bar. Some people like staying further away from HH to really enjoy the quiet & relaxing atmosphere that there is there. There are bus stops through out the resort & many of the "farther out" areas have their own quiet pool So it really is up to what kind of vacation that you are after. You can really find out a lot of information about these units at the DVC board. Check it out (sorry I don't know how to link).

 

[ccw]

Let's see...we have stayed at OKW several times. Have stayed in a 2 BR in Millers Rd. area (BLDG 17 maybe?) which had some traffic noise (bus turnaround was RIGHT under the front of our villa and the Disney bus brakes are very squeeky(must be the mouse thing! )...also highway noise maybe from Bonnet Creek Pkwy?) but that location also gave us a glimpse of EPCOT fireworks! And, actually, because we could see AND HEAR the bus coming, we were able to just dash out at the last minute and get the one we wanted! We had a pool view room which i have not requested since because there were LOTS of adult men hanging out by the pool into the wee hours and they were, shall we say, boisterous! Noise from the pool CAN be a problem (we were on the third level, too!). I expected noise from children but not rowdy adults THAT late into the night (and morning). Have also stayed in/ around BLDG 33 which was nice...easy walk to Turtle Pond area pool and snack bar. Not much of a view because we were on first floor and big tree blocked our porch but it was fairly quiet. Two stays in studios in that area. For my next visit I have requested only non-smoking and LAKE view(DVC suggested I say that instead of WATER OR POOL VIEW for reasons above)...I guess close to HH is nice but I love to walk and will be there in early NOV(in a Grand Villa!) when it might not be so bloomin' hot! There are always trade-offs when requesting specific buildings or locations...convenient might not be very quiet, great view might come with noise or distance from bus stop, etc. I have never had complaints about the bus service and things that annoy me about any of the Disney properties I've stayed in are really pretty minor in the scheme of things...it is all about MANAGING EXPECTATIONS. Hope you make many happy memories at OKW!

 

[jksky4]

We will basically be going to the parks during the morning, then back to the resort in the afternoon for some downtime. I just read a post about someone saying the buses at OKW are horrible. With 3 impatient children I would like to avoid this, however, we were originally considering the CBR and that is pretty spread out as well. My opinion is that you can't go wrong staying at a Disney property.

 

[JillU-DVC]

I disagree with the poster that said the OKW buses are horrible - they just work differently than at some of the other resorts.

With 3 kids, you will probably want to request a room near the HH - they just added a slide at OKW main pool.

I'm not certain how the busses are working at OKW right now - it used to be they would stop at the HH house both on the way in and the way out of the resort. Don't know if they are still doing that.

But you'll get a LOT of great info if you post your OKW questions on the Disney Vacation Club board. The people there have info on almost anything you can think of about OKW.

OKW is my home resort, and we always stay in a 1 bedroom - it is a small apartment, with a full kitchen, full sized washer and dryer in each unit (for all sized rooms except studios). So you won't have to worry about "finding the couple of places to do laundry" that I read in another post - that person obviously didn't do any research before going. I think it was the same person that complained about the buses at OKW - again, advance research makes for a better trip.

I do see you're bringing 3 kids - that makes 5 people in a 1 bedroom, which is a hot topic on the DVC boards (not officially allowed, though lots of people do it). Just be aware that OKW will not provide a cot nor extra bedding or towels - you'll get bedding for the king sized bed and the double or queen sized fold out sofabed. And you'll get towels for 4 people.

So you may want to bring extra towels and/or bedding and some poeple do bring a blow up mattress for their 4/5th people, depending on if your kids will sleep together in the sofa bed without any problems.

Again, I think you'll get more info on OKW on the Disney Vacation Club board, so I'd suggest posting your questions there.

 

[SueM in MN]

We've been DVC members at OKW since 1993. I would say the buses there are no worse than any other resorts (and a lot better than trying to get a bus to MK from either BCV or BWV when we stayed there.)
The OKW buses are hardly ever full.
Here's a link to the DIS site page about OKW.

 

[Disney Doll]

An OKW 1BR is quite large, with a full kitchen and laundry room right in your unit. That is very nice for packing purposes...I find I don't take as much because I can throw in a load of wash whenever.

I like to be in the Southpoint area at OKW. It is probably the area farthest away from the main area(Hospitality House or HH for abbreviation), but there is a quiet pool and a bus stop over there, so it's actually pretty convenient. IT's about a 10-15 minute walk to the HH area, or you can hop on any theme park bus...they all stop at HH before leaving OKW.

Views at OKW are all pretty good. You pretty much have woods, water or golf course. There aren't any "dumpster" views or other poor views like you will find in some of the other DVC resorts.

There is a nice little path that starts over in the Southpoint area and winds through the Lake Buena Vista golf course, past Saratoga Springs Resort and over to Downtown Disney. Nice to walk during the day, but not lit at night. Seems like it could be a little desolate-feeling once it starts getting to be dusk...there are areas of the path that are pretty secluded.

OKW has 3 quiet pools plus the main pool, to which they just added a slide which everyone says is fun...I haven't been there since the slide was added.

OKW is our home resort and we have have always had a good experience there.

 

[Mom B]

We love OKW, the 1 br units are fabulous! If I didn't have to be so careful with my points we'd stay in a 1 br for just the two of us all the time...but the studios are, I hate to say, more practical. We've never had any complaints about the buses at OKW...never seemed like we had to wait more than a few minutes for any of them. We usually go in "off peak" times, like January, October, and November, though. We don't mind a leisurely stroll to the bus stop and waiting a few minutes on the bench...after all, what's the hurry? We're on vacation! And we always plan to get to the parks early, anyway, so give or take a few minutes isn't going to matter much.

 

[Dennis the WDW Menace]

I agree with Sue. The bus system is not bad. It takes patience and planning. They give you a guide and we usually gage our pick-up time to the time we were dropped off. Like at MK they get there about 25 min. after the hour. Patience is needed and remember to bring your suntan loation.