SSR vs. OKW

[mouseketeer70]

I am new to DVC and to the DIS but from browsing around I am learning that there are some VERY experienced people whose advice could be very helpful to us. We are going to WDW in November for Thanksgiving week. Our school system is out the whole week so kids (DS 14, DS 12, DD 6) are out and my husband and I will both be off without having to use vacation days (at least there is one benefit to teaching-ha, ha). We own at SSR and have ressies there for a 2BDRM already. We are waitlisted for BWV bc DH loves it there and Epcot is his favorite.
Questions:
1. can you put in waitlist for more than one resort (in case BWV doesn't come through)?
2. what are the chances of waitlist request coming through?
3. which would you recommend OKW or SSR? both are far out and rely solely on bus for parks so I know we could save points on OKW but just not sure.
4. how do you get those smiley and pictures to all your posts?????????????

Thanks everyone for all of the info!!!!!!

 

[twebber55]

to be honest i just stayed at both this summer and i loved both for different reasons but my family would without a doubt choose OKW....but you cant go wrong with either...but for me there is no place like BWV

 

[vandy]

We are at SSR right now and had spent the last 6 days at OKW. It is hard for us to say which is better because we like so many things about both resorts.

For OKW, we really LOVE the size of all of the rooms. There is a very noticeable difference. Our teenage boys sleep in the living room area and we now have to bring an air mattress since they cannot really share the same bed without killing each other. At OKW, the living area is huge so there is plenty of room for an air mattress. At SSR, it is more cramped. Also, the kitchen is bigger at OKW and the washer/dryer are full sized and not the stakables that are at SSR. The balcony is also much larger and has a table and 4 chairs on it.

At SSR though, we love the decor of the rooms, the theming is for a more upscale, old time resort from Saratoga NY. The pool area is much better and the Grandstand area has a nicely themed secondary pool (although as of right now, the kiddie/starting gate area is being refurbished and unusable). The closeness to Downtown Disney is a nice plus for us as well and depending on what building you are in, you can walk over. Probably one of the biggest reasons for us is that there are elevators at SSR and your room will have access to the bathroom from the living room area. At OKW, buildings 30 and above only have this. Number 29 and below, you will need to access the bathroom from inside a bedroom.

Bus transportation has not been bad at all this past week at OKW and so far, SSR hasn't been either. The longest wait between busses so far has been 15 minutes. Both are great resorts and offer alot on their own so when we can't get any other resort and since it would be difficult to choose just one, we like to split our stays between SSR and OKW.

 

[twebber55]

I agree..the thing i loved about SSR was the decor..simply beautiful

 

[vandy]

Oh, and for the smiley faces, unless you have clicked the box to disable them in your user profile, they should be on the right side of your text box where you type in your new thread or reply message. Just click on the face of choice and wherever your text cursor is at, the face will be placed there. Be sure to notice the "more" link at the bottom of the faces. You can choose more faces, plus various other designs.

 

[moredisneyplease]

as far as I can remember, yes you can waitlist at multiple resorts. I think that your chances of waitlist coming through for OKW is rather high. There always seems to be availability for SSR and OKW every time I call! And finally, I think it depends on what you want from a resort when chosing between the two.

If you have your own car either of these resorts are great for parking right outside of your room (OKW)/building. OKW rooms are larger, SSR pool is better........it depends on what you want!

good luck with everything!

 

[BroganMc]

Questions:
1. can you put in waitlist for more than one resort (in case BWV doesn't come through)?

Yes. I'd stay put in SSR but then I love SSR.

2. what are the chances of waitlist request coming through?

OKW, more likely. BWV, snowball's chance... etc.

3. which would you recommend OKW or SSR? both are far out and rely solely on bus for parks so I know we could save points on OKW but just not sure.

I prefer SSR because it is newer, better amenities and closer proximity to DTD. But Olivia's makes a far better resort restaurant and OKW has that nice homey feel to it. Regardless, bus transportation should not be an issue for you. Both resorts have dedicated bus service so tend to run faster than what you find at other resorts (especially BWV). The resorts are a mile away from EPCOT so travel time is minimal. The longest ride to any park is Animal Kingdom. Really the only difference you see is that you won't be able to roll out of bed and into Canada in 5 minutes.

I have special needs so those newer, more disabled-friendly amenities at SSR (like the zero entry pool) give SSR about 1000 more points in its favor over the older DVCs for me.

4. how do you get those smiley and pictures to all your posts?????????????

Click reply, then look to your right. I'm quite fond of these:

 

[mouseketeer70]

Thanks for the info!

 

[5 for WDW]

We stayed at OKW for the first time last month and had a few issues. We will probably be skipping it for quite some time.

We love SSR, I would stick with it.

Have a great trip either way!