Tell me all about OKW!

[mom22boys]

With the lack of a good AP code, we are trying to switch to an OKW studio. I tried to do a search on this forum to hear what all of the experienced DISers thought of OKW, but my two year old is not cooperating with me searching each page one at a time!

One of my biggest questions, is do you think we should rent a car or just use Disney transportation?

Much thanks!

 

[thelionqueen]

Rent a car if staying at OKW or other "out of the way" resorts. We are staying there for the 1st time in October by renting points from a DVC member from this board.

Everyone here suggests renting a car if staying at OKW as it is kind of far from most parks and attractions.

We were going to rent a car anyway so it didn't make any difference to us. We rented a car while staying at Contemporary though (I don't like to wait for busses, nor particularly like public transportation) so maybe I'm not the best person to recommend. But if you do a thread search for OKW maybe that will speed it up a little. good luck!

 

[spiceycat]

come over and ask on the resort or DVC forums.

I love OKW.

If you like to relax and be able to come from WDW to a quiet relaxed place you will love OKW.

if you want party central then go with BWV.

the buses have improved greatly at OKW.

the main problem with the buses is OKW - this is a compact resort - but the bus stops 4 times (in OKW) (sometimes 5 it can stop at HH the first and last stop) before leaving to the parks.

I love it - it means that no matter where you stay you aren't far from a bus stop.

I do drive sometimes - NEVER drive to the MK - you are better off taking the bus.

the studios are really nice. 2 queen beds (the other DVC studio have queen bed and a double sleeper sofa), nice bathroom, a kitchennett with a microwave, under the counter refrigerator, coffee maker, can opener, toaster.

you get 4 glasses, and 2 mugs - paper plates, bowls, - plastic utensils

there is a table with 2 chairs - a balcony with 2 more chairs

to order your groceries if you don't get a rental car and with DME you certainly don't need one

www.wegoshop.com

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

We love OKW!

We enjoy the size of the rooms, serene atmosphere, location, and we have always had good luck with the transportation.

 

[boomhauer]

It's a beautiful resort, but I wouldn't stay there again. I fouind the bus service, compared with Value Resorts, to be very slow. I understand they have an internal bus system as well, but not knowing it well, we had a good 15 minute walk from our room to the lobby and eateries.

However, they have an absolutely lovely boat ride to Downtown Disney.

I'm weird - I like the hotel feel, and OKW has more of a condominium feel to it.

 

[littlestar]

Any bus that stops in OKW will make a stop last at the Hospitality House. If your studio is not close to the main pool and hospitality house, just hop any bus going to any destination and it will take you back up to the hospitality house.

We loved staying at OKW back in May. If staying when it could get cold, we might miss a central lobby, but during nice weather OKW works great as it feels so beachy Florida feeling. The walkways are made of crushed seashells. Loved it. We didn't have a car and we were fine. Buses were never crowded and we never waited more than 20 minutes for a bus. There is a path to walk to downtown Disney and also a boat that goes to downtown Disney from OKW.

 

[mom22boys]

Thanks for the replies. I am really getting excited about OKW. I hope we can find a studio!

 

[Luvmyfam3]

We never use our car to drive anywhere other than to other resorts for dinner and such. I've never found the bus service to be any different there than at any of the other resorts. But, then again, we're pretty laid-back. We're on vacation, for crying out loud! haha!

Here's the views from our last studio room at OKW... Enjoy!!!

 

[Goofy4WDW1964]

We loved Old Key West as well. We didn't have any trouble with the buses. We drive down, so we always have our car anyway. Bus service wasn't any different than any other resort we have stayed at.

The studio rooms are fantastic. You get two queen beds instead of a queen bed and a fold out sofa. The bathroom is very big and it is so nice to have the extra sink, microwave and fridge. Another nice feature of the room is the covered patio right off of your room.

There is a main themed pool and several private pools throughout the resort. And, each private pool has a hot tub. We had a pool right across the street from our room. So, every night we came back from the parks and soaked our tired legs in the hot tub.

Since we drove, the cherry on top was the fact that we could park our car right in front of our room. We didn't have a walk into the hotel from the parking lot and didn't have a long walk to pack or unpack the car.

 

[Samsma]

We stayed at OKW in 2001. We really enjoyed it, although I would suggest staying close to the Hospitality House if possible. The recently redid the pool, when we went, the main pool was okay, but nothing special. We never set foot in our car once we got there, and the busses seemed good to us. We really liked walking around the resort, you almost had to chase the bunnies out of the way! My little girl loved that. It does feel a lot like a condo community, but a beautiful one.

 

[DVC from NJ]

Stayed at OKW 2x. If you are near to the Clubhouse, the bus stop is right outside. It does take long for the bus to travel throughout OKW--it's a big place!
If you're not in a rush &/or your little one doesn't mind waiting, it isn't too bad. But if you are planning to do other things (grocery shopping, seeing other Orlando attractions), getting a car is worth it.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have stayed at OKW more than 20 times, and we NEVER would drive to either the Hospitality House from any parts of the resort or to the parks. Any bus going to any park stops at the Hospitality House last, so hopping on any bus will get you there just as fast as driving your car, and you don't have to search for a place to park in the often crowded HH lot. We actually prefer the part of the resor farthest from HH, because it is beautiful, quiet, and the second bus stop coming in, so you get "home" quickly when coming back from the parks. Bear in mind that OKW is a timeshare, and as such, is set up to have the majority of the units as 1,2, or 3 bedrooms. When you stay in a studio, you miss out on the real utility of the resort, because you don't have a full kitchen or laundry. You will, however, have a kitchenette to make breakfast prep easy. There will be a toaster, coffee maker and microwave as well as a minifridge under the counter.

 

[Disney Doll]

We own 2 contracts at OKW. The studios are nice...roomy and they have the little kitchenette, with the appliances others have already noted, which would enable you to prepare simple meals (at the very least breakfast) in your room. There is a dorm-size fridge as well. It's a nice resort, roomy and expansive, but not huge. It's nice to stroll
around it. They have 3 quiet pools in addition to the main pool. The main pool now has a slide, which is new, and appears to be very cute, from the pictures I've seen.

We like staying in the Southpoint area. It is farthest from the main area... Hospitality House(HH), but there is a quiet pool and a bus stop right there, and also the walking path to SSR and DTD. All the buses stop at the HH on the way out of the resort, so getting around the resort isn't too tough. At the main area, you can get a very cute little boat to DTD, there are bike rentals, boat rentals, shuffle board, a sauna, the pool, a children's play area, baseketball & volleyball, tennis (I think)...quite an extensive list of activities, and of course, it sits on a golf course.

As far as a car, you don;t need one unless oyu plan to do a lot of ooutof WDW stuff. Otherwise, use the buses, have some groceries delivered to the resort. i think there is a service called wegoshop.com that can help you with that.

 

[Stitches12]

Mom22boys:

We rented a studio room from a DVC member and are going in October. I can't wait !!! There is a good board here that you can look at renting points. We got ours off ebay - if you would like to know her name feel free to send me a PM. Although we haven't gone yet I feel we've had a very positive experience with this renter.

Good luck on your search - maybe we'll see you there

 

[mom22boys]

Stitches12, thank you for the offer. We were able to secure a reservation off of someone on the boards. So far it has been a very positive experience.

Thanks to everyone for the information. We are so excited about our trip! Can anyone tell me about the boat to DTD? How oftern does it run? How long is the trip? Do you stop at SSR first?

Thanks again!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks to everyone for the information. We are so excited about our trip! Can anyone tell me about the boat to DTD? How oftern does it run? How long is the trip? Do you stop at SSR first?

The boat runs after 10 AM. I can't remember the schedule just now, but I know it can change with the seasons. I think it is every 45 minutes or something like that. It does stop at SSR before and after DTD. It is especially pleasant to take the boat after dark. There are faster ways to get to DTD, but we sometimes do this just for a serene cap to the day.

 

[Granny]

Everyone here suggests renting a car if staying at OKW as it is kind of far from most parks and attractions.

No offense, but I think it's very safe to say that not everyone here feels it is necessary to rent a car if staying at OKW. Personally, I wouldn't rent a car if staying at any DVC resort unless you plan to do off-site excursions for restaurants or other Orlando attractions such as Sea World or Universal.

Thanks to everyone for the information. We are so excited about our trip! Can anyone tell me about the boat to DTD? How oftern does it run? How long is the trip? Do you stop at SSR first?

This summer, I want to say that the boat ran once an hour in the morning to DTD, then switched to every half hour late in the morning (11:00 a.m.?). In any event, it was very punctual and is a lovely ride through the canals.

As Diane indicated, it does stop at SSR on the way to DTD and the way back. It is slow, but quite pleasant.

We found the buses to be acceptable....a couple of longer waits and some short ones. Pretty much in line with most of the other DVC resorts.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Daggett]

I'm very luck in the fact that I live close to WDW and get to go their many times throught out the year. So the time I have to wait for a bus , at least to me, is no big deal. I'll strike up a conversation with a fellow DVC member and just enjoy the sit down time. And DVC people are just the greatest people on earth. You can pretty well count on a bus going to which ever park you want about every 20 minutes. Sometimes the DTD buses takes a little longer, but we always take the take the boat to DTD.

I would also say the staff at OKW is the best bar none. We have stayed at all the DVC resorts execpt the BCV's and believe that the OKW is the best run DVC property there is. IMHO of course. Very lay back, away from the hussle and bussle.

It's our home resort and the DW and I love it.

SSR is awesome also and will be even better when the Irish Pub opens across the lake!!

Dag---

 

[dolphin01]

definitely rent a car. this place is far out and a long ride to everything. wasn't crazy about the bus service or the rooms. Glad we had a car to use during our stay.

 

[Pluto 2]

not having to deal with disney transportation=priceless