tell me about OKW....

[California Mom]

what do you like about it? what don't you like about it? how's the onsite recreation?
will be staying there in early January with teens in 1bed villa - seems like the ferry to downtown disney is a great option to have with older kids. How easy/quick is it to get there?

 

[brertoad]

We love OKW, it's very nice. Not too crowded, at least in our experience. The resort is pretty, the TS restaurant, Olivia's, is nice and has good food. The pool is great. The rooms are comfortable and clean, we like that there are 2 queen beds, which makes it more comfortable for us than the other studio villas. I don't believe there are elevators here, we always get a 1st floor room, so it's been no trouble. You can park close to your room, parking is located right near the buildings. There is a gift shop with small grocery section at the main building as well.

We haven't used the boat service to DTD since we drive, but the boat dock is right there at the main building and I believe there is a boat every 20 minutes. There is outside seating and a QS restaurant there, at night they play movies here too.

 

[OKW Lover]

There's lots of good information about OKW on the super thread. Suggest you check there for things of interest.

 

[leeholmes1]

This is one of my husbands favorites because its so quiet. Last October we spent 2 nights there and didn't even go to a park. The kids played all the pool games my husband and I played shuffle board and ping pong. They have boat rentals and tennis lots to do. The boat ride to DTD is nice but it is a slow relaxing pace.

 

[quandrea]

We love okw for the space, the newish Reno and the relaxed atmosphere. It is beautiful and has a lovely shop. Pools are not that exciting, but the quiet pools are really inviting. Boat to dtd is lots of fun. Sadly we cannot stay there anymore because dh has massive allergic reactions when we do. Don't know if it is mild in the ventilation system, the surrounding foliage or what. He doesn't have this problem at the other resorts. Just a heads up. It is so bad that dh is incapacitated and needs huge doses of meds.

 

[minniemomRN]

I loved OKW when we stayed there in 2006. We had 2 teens (17 & 16) as well as a 4 year old. We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa -- teens in one bedroom, DH & I and the 4 year old in the other. It worked out great. The place was HUGE. Having such a wide range in ages, it was nice to be able to spread out.

Additionally, the teens could sleep in while we left early to get to rope drop. They would just call us on their cells once they were on the bus and we would meet them in the park (major advantage to staying on-site v. off site condo). They were happy to sleep late, and we were happy to get out early. The villa was big enough that we all had space to vacation the way we wanted. Having a living room to hang out as a group was really nice too. In fact, this trip was probably one of our best.

We were not close to the main building, and the walk to the main pool (which was crowded in August) wasn't appealing. We hung out at the quiet pool in our area every afternoon, and except for 1 day, we had the place completely to ourselves.

Water taxi was out of service during our trip, but I think we only went to DTD once anyhow, so it did not matter too much to us. We found the bus service great. Never a long wait, but I think that is just luck.

Anyway, I was really glad we stayed here. I hope you have a great trip!!

 

[California Mom]

for all the wonderful information on OKW. I appreciate taking the time to post your comments to my questions and give me info. Sounds beautiful....looking at 1-bedrm villa....kids get the soft sleeper since no 2 beds. Resort maybe more quiet than we used to....but that can't be a bad thing, since the parks are crazy busy!
Recreation - what kind of water recreation is available? We going in January....so we aren't expecting great weather for pool usage but thought getting out on a boat on the water/lake would be nice and relaxing.
Groceries - since one of the great features of OKW villa is a full kitchen, what's the prices like at the onsite grocery store? where is another near by grocery store to go shopping? we'll have a rental car, so can drive, but don't want to spend too much time doing that.
THANKS

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

The one bedroom will also have a chair that converts to a bed beside the sofa sleeper. We love OKW! Big and spacious. Check out the DVC boards and you will find more on OKW there .

 

[California Mom]

any suggestions of good/not so good buildings to request (for 1br villa)? we'll have rental, so parking close by would be nice, and close to the boat dock for back-n-forth to DTD. possible by pool, although in January, not sure how much we'll have opportunity to use,
rooms....do all have balconies? elevators?

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

any suggestions of good/not so good buildings to request (for 1br villa)? we'll have rental, so parking close by would be nice, and close to the boat dock for back-n-forth to DTD. possible by pool, although in January, not sure how much we'll have opportunity to use,
rooms....do all have balconies? elevators?

We're staying at OKW for our first time, too, in December/January. I haven't decided what area to request, but I do know from reading the OKW thread on the DVC board that all the rooms have balconies/patios (even the studios) but only a few buildings (I think only 3) have elevators.

 

[brertoad]

There is a Publix grocery nearby near Celebration. It would only take maybe 10-15 minutes to get there by car. It's probably worth taking the trip to the store to get fresh meats, cheeses, fruits, milk, bread, etc. You could even order special cakes if you are doing an anniversary or birthday celebration on your trip. Publix has buy on get one free sales each week, you can check their offers online at their website.


If you have a navigatation on your phone the address is:

Publix 31 Blake Blvd, Celebration, FL - (321) 939-3109