Tell Me About the Laundry Facilities at OKW

[kristenrice]

We typically stay in 1BR villas and I am very accustomed to doing laundry every night on our trips. This allows us to pack very light and it makes it so much easier when we get home. On the few occasions that I have stayed in a studio, it has been at AKV-Jambo where the laundry room is inside and right down the hall.
In October, I am travelling with my teenage daughters and we want to split our stay between AKV and ???. We were hoping for CCV but it's not looking promising at this point since there is only one night available and it's in the middle of our week. We may consider BLT, but to my surprise, the girls have actually agreed that OKW would be OK with them. It actually checks off a lot of things on my list too: it's cheap, it's big, and the bathroom has two sinks(...and those who read my previous thread know how important that can be). The "bummer" is that it's not new to us as we have stayed there before. The girls have stayed there twice before and I have been there three times already. I like it, but I was really hoping to try something new this time.

....back to my point...sorry to get off track...

So I am thinking that we will be starting our trip at OKW for at least 3 nights, maybe 4, which means I will need to do laundry at least once. As I understand it, the laundry facilities are located by the pools, correct? We typically have requested the Turtle Pond area (and if we stay there, that is the area we will request again) so what is the laundry situation at that location? At AKV, there are 2 washers and 4 dryers for the entire DVC section of Jambo house...not nearly enough. Is it better at OKW? How far of a hike is it from the room to the laundry area? Do they have that handy app that lets you see when your machine is almost done? I'm sure that I will have early morning time to do laundry before the girls wake up. They sleep in and I am an early riser since I am up at 3am every day for work. Even "sleeping in", I will still wake up around 6am and they will probably roll out of bed around 9....they've never seen a rope drop in their lives.

 

[erionm]

From DVCNews.com:

I'm staying in a Deluxe Studio. Where are the laundry facilities?
Laundry facilities are near all the pools, including the main pool at the Hospitality House. Guests who wish to be within easy walking distance to a laundry room should request a villa near a swiming pool (i.e. near Turtle Pond pool).

Old Key West pools are located at the Hospitality House, Miller's Road, Old Turtle Pond Road, and South Point Road. There is no pool on Peninsular Road.

All WDW Laundry rooms are connected to the Laundry View website which reports machine status.

http://www.laundryview.com/disneyworld/

 

[Chuck S]

OKW laundry rooms are located by each pool, so there are 4 of them. Each one has two washers and 4 dryers.

 

[DenLo]

Even if you get the Turtle Pond area you could end up a couple of blocks away from the laundry room. I would think it would be easier to do laundry when the girls are awake and helping you carry the laundry to the pool which you all enjoy while the laundry is in the machines.

BTW, the Turtle Pond area is currently being remodeled as part of the complete remodel of OKW. Hopefully by October most of the buildings will be finished but they might not be.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The washers at the pools are HE washers. The detergent they sell in the laundry room is a green brand.

The OKW studio doesn't have two sinks, unless you consider the kitchenette sink the second sink.

You could always put your clothes in a suitcase with wheels and roll it over to the laundry room.

 

[kristenrice]

The washers at the pools are HE washers. The detergent they sell in the laundry room is a green brand.

The OKW studio doesn't have two sinks, unless you consider the kitchenette sink the second sink.

You could always put your clothes in a suitcase with wheels and roll it over to the laundry room.

After I posted, I watched a video and saw that there is only one bathroom sink. I had looked at the floor plan on the website and saw the sink that was just outside of the bathroom and it never dawned on me that was the one for the kitchenette. I was still envisioning the 1BR with the second sink in the vanity area so when I was looking at the floor plan, the kitchenette was the "vanity area" in my brain.

As far as the laundry, I have a few packable backpacks that I use for our dirty clothes. They are lightweight nylon and fold up into a pocket that is about 4"x 6" but they hold a lot of stuff. My daughters actually used them for their school backpacks when they were in elementary school. We will use those as our clothes haulers.

 

[Deb & Bill]

After I posted, I watched a video and saw that there is only one bathroom sink. I had looked at the floor plan on the website and saw the sink that was just outside of the bathroom and it never dawned on me that was the one for the kitchenette. I was still envisioning the 1BR with the second sink in the vanity area so when I was looking at the floor plan, the kitchenette was the "vanity area" in my brain.

As far as the laundry, I have a few packable backpacks that I use for our dirty clothes. They are lightweight nylon and fold up into a pocket that is about 4"x 6" but they hold a lot of stuff. My daughters actually used them for their school backpacks when they were in elementary school. We will use those as our clothes haulers.

In the one bedroom, the sinks are in the two different spaces. One in the room with the shower and toilet and one in the space with the tub. There aren't two sinks on the vanity in the shower room.

If you get a dedicated two bedroom, where the kitchenette is located was turned into a second bathroom sink. That is what you might have seen.

 

[DenLo]

I think only AKV-Jambo House has two sinks in a studio. The rest of the studios only have one sink. I would seriously consider a one bedroom with two bathrooms, like at AKV-Kidani and BLT with two teenage girls.

 

[kristenrice]

I think only AKV-Jambo House has two sinks in a studio. The rest of the studios only have one sink. I would seriously consider a one bedroom with two bathrooms, like at AKV-Kidani and BLT with two teenage girls.

I'd love a 1BR as that is what we would normally stay in for vacation, but since we are traveling with extended family next year and need to save on points, we are sticking with a studio for this trip. We are leaving DH home (his choice) so since it's all girls, we are OK with the smaller space. We are currently booked for 8 nights in a studio at Jambo but I am contemplating splitting that up and doing 3 or 4 nights at OKW instead. Our trip is only supposed to be 7 nights, but airfare schedule and price will determine how long we stay.