Well, I stayed at OKW in a 2BR and I just refuse to go back to any lower model whe I stay at WDW. Even with the studio the amount of room you get is great compared to a hotel room. Someone in an eariler post gave the room sizes 270sq ft for OKW, but my DVC material states that there is 370 sq ft. You can really feel this when you get back from a long day at the parks.
We also used our kitchen every single day. As for the distance, I found it great to have a littleplace "away from it all" but yet still feeling like I am connected. I am no old man either, I am 33 and love this place.
Now if you are looking for the hustleand bustle of a hotel, then CSR would be your place. Yes, you have a food court, but it can be a bit away. I really did not like the spread of CSR since it seemed like there was a bad bus stop to walking ratio. My mother stayed there 2 years ago and stated that is was a good deal like staying at a regular hotel room.
As for the "elevator problem" if you stay in the higher building numbers (like 60 and up) these are newer and do have elevators. Remember also that Disney staff will deliver your bags (the expected tip is about 50cents-1dollar a bag. Of course the whole walking up and down the stairs would bit.
As for the ice machines, your "little" fridge (it is really not that small) should have a freezer as well, but you could always place your drinks in the fridge.
There is a good deal of "thumbs down" for studios when compared to the 1BR, and if there was anyway you can, I would get the 1BR. Of couse the OKW rooms around that time are hard to get right now. My family and I will be there 11/27 - 12/9 and we are staying at a 2BR at OKW. With my 3 and 4 year old kids, I will welcome the extra space,about 1200sq ft,which is bigger than most apartments I used to live in. Although I can go on and on about the 2BR, that won't help you much. The balcony (porch) is nothing to size at either. It has a nice table for 3-4people along with a ceiling fan (yes even in Decmber you may use it) and some nice views based on where you stay. My last place I got anice view of a creek and the natural FLA vegitation. I have been living in CA for the last 12 years and before that I grew up in FLA, so setting out there watching the creek and the little animals and such was just great for me.
The whole idea behind OKW is to have a "home away from home" or in other words, not to be in a hotel. I actually love the fact that I did not have to say "come back later" to the maid at 8am in the morning ater a long night at the parks. And since I am stillon CA time, 5am is hard to wake up at times, even at Disney. I believe you would need to use a community washer/dryer, but they should be free, to me a great benifit since I like to wash the clothes prior to returning home since that is one less thing I have to do when I unpack. In fact that was even wierd the first time I did it to unpackmy bags right back into the drawers that I took them out when I packed to go.
I never heard the Buses, and I was on the groundfloor and they went right by my front door area. The rooms are still "set in" and not right on the street/parking lot. however, the ability to bring the car (or the bellman's golf cart)right to my door and unload...a blessing. Soemtimes I do rent a car, and it was great to be able to leave a few items in the car and go back out a very short disctance to retrive them when I needed to.
It is all about what you like to have on a vacation. If you feel that you need the real "hotel" scene with the people,the food court, the maid, the smaller/compact room..then CSR would be your choice. I did not mean to make it sound bad or even the wrong choice, even I like that on occasion. If you want to "go home" for the vacation, then OKW would be a great place.
OK then there is the boat ride to DTD, that is a great little trip and so fun to do with the kids. Also, when it comes time to get back to the room, the boat is so much better than the bus, and much less crowded. To be fair though, we did not take the bus at the end of the night when DTD closed.
One final thing...the maid thing bothered me too, but when I found out the trash bin was basically outside my door (about 100ft) and I had the washers, I didn't care. We also had a vaccum, and yes I used it, when a then 2 and 3 yo kids, we needed to use it twice a day.
Have a great trip,maybe we might bump into each other....but will we even know it???
We also used our kitchen every single day. As for the distance, I found it great to have a littleplace "away from it all" but yet still feeling like I am connected. I am no old man either, I am 33 and love this place.
Now if you are looking for the hustleand bustle of a hotel, then CSR would be your place. Yes, you have a food court, but it can be a bit away. I really did not like the spread of CSR since it seemed like there was a bad bus stop to walking ratio. My mother stayed there 2 years ago and stated that is was a good deal like staying at a regular hotel room.
As for the "elevator problem" if you stay in the higher building numbers (like 60 and up) these are newer and do have elevators. Remember also that Disney staff will deliver your bags (the expected tip is about 50cents-1dollar a bag. Of course the whole walking up and down the stairs would bit.
As for the ice machines, your "little" fridge (it is really not that small) should have a freezer as well, but you could always place your drinks in the fridge.
There is a good deal of "thumbs down" for studios when compared to the 1BR, and if there was anyway you can, I would get the 1BR. Of couse the OKW rooms around that time are hard to get right now. My family and I will be there 11/27 - 12/9 and we are staying at a 2BR at OKW. With my 3 and 4 year old kids, I will welcome the extra space,about 1200sq ft,which is bigger than most apartments I used to live in. Although I can go on and on about the 2BR, that won't help you much. The balcony (porch) is nothing to size at either. It has a nice table for 3-4people along with a ceiling fan (yes even in Decmber you may use it) and some nice views based on where you stay. My last place I got anice view of a creek and the natural FLA vegitation. I have been living in CA for the last 12 years and before that I grew up in FLA, so setting out there watching the creek and the little animals and such was just great for me.
The whole idea behind OKW is to have a "home away from home" or in other words, not to be in a hotel. I actually love the fact that I did not have to say "come back later" to the maid at 8am in the morning ater a long night at the parks. And since I am stillon CA time, 5am is hard to wake up at times, even at Disney. I believe you would need to use a community washer/dryer, but they should be free, to me a great benifit since I like to wash the clothes prior to returning home since that is one less thing I have to do when I unpack. In fact that was even wierd the first time I did it to unpackmy bags right back into the drawers that I took them out when I packed to go.
I never heard the Buses, and I was on the groundfloor and they went right by my front door area. The rooms are still "set in" and not right on the street/parking lot. however, the ability to bring the car (or the bellman's golf cart)right to my door and unload...a blessing. Soemtimes I do rent a car, and it was great to be able to leave a few items in the car and go back out a very short disctance to retrive them when I needed to.
It is all about what you like to have on a vacation. If you feel that you need the real "hotel" scene with the people,the food court, the maid, the smaller/compact room..then CSR would be your choice. I did not mean to make it sound bad or even the wrong choice, even I like that on occasion. If you want to "go home" for the vacation, then OKW would be a great place.
OK then there is the boat ride to DTD, that is a great little trip and so fun to do with the kids. Also, when it comes time to get back to the room, the boat is so much better than the bus, and much less crowded. To be fair though, we did not take the bus at the end of the night when DTD closed.
One final thing...the maid thing bothered me too, but when I found out the trash bin was basically outside my door (about 100ft) and I had the washers, I didn't care. We also had a vaccum, and yes I used it, when a then 2 and 3 yo kids, we needed to use it twice a day.
Have a great trip,maybe we might bump into each other....but will we even know it???
It is more like a Residential community. It is like living in Disney. When you leave the parks, you get to go home. I agree with the noice of people traffic at the other resorts. With only 4 or 6 units in a building, the people noise is very light. No pack of wild teenages running up and down the corridors at 11PM trying to find thier rooms. I promise this happens at least every other stay I have in any hotel. Not just Disney.
