Tell me anything you can about OKW

[rgf207]

We are booked at POR for Sept 24 - oct 1. We have a chance to upgrade to OKW for a few hundred dollars more. What can you tell me about OKW? Is there daily mousekeeping? How are the pools? how is the resort food?

Anything would help.

Thanks

 

[ccw]

I have stayed at both resorts and like them but OKW is my favorite (we are DVC members). Having a private balcony at OKW is great as most of the rooms/villas overlook the golf course or water of some kind (pools, lakes, etc.) and I LOVE sipping a glass of wine on "my" porch after a long day in the parks. That alone would be worth spending a little money for, in my book! Food options at both places are good but it is certainly a time and money-saver to have a kitchen (or at least mw and fridge if you have a studio) at OKW, especially for breakfast. Port Orleans has access to a food court-type facility which is nice..OKW is either table service (at Olivia's) or snack bars poolside. When staying at OKW or any other DVC resort as a DVC member, we do NOT get daily mousekeeping unless we pay extra..but with a non-DVC reservation, you will get daily service. Several pool options at both resorts. Good choices either way. I just prefer the relative serenity of OKW but I am sure you will hear from others who find it somewhat isolated and less Disney-ish.

 

[dianeschlicht]

You don't say if you are upgrading to an OKW studio or a 1 bedroom. If you are thinking of upgrading to a studio, I might not suggest the change, but if you are upgrading to a 1 bedroom, definitely do it! Studios at any of the DVC resorts are glorified hotel rooms with a kitchenette and a balcony. Yes, it will be larger and more luxurious than a room at POR, but not as much difference as getting a real master suite like the 1 bedroom has.

We love OKW and own there. The studio rooms are large with 2 queen beds, a table and 2 chairs and a good sized balcony that also has chairs. The bathroom is especially large and there is a large closet as well as an armoir for the TV and clothes. The 1 bedroom will have a master suite with a king bed and lounge chair and ottoman plus the TV armoir and a bench in the bedroom. The bath is actually two rooms...one with a huge corner Jacuzzi, a pedistal sink and a full size closet and the other with a full walk in shower and sink and toilet. The 1 bedroom will also have a full laundry room plus a full kitchen with full size appliances and a huge living room with a pull out sofa, a love seat, a large TV, a dining table and chairs and a lounge chair and ottoman. There will also be a very large porch with a cieling fan and table and chairs.

As long as you are paying cash, you will have daily mousekeeping. If you rent points from an owner, you will only get trash and towel service on day 4 or a full cleaning if you are staying more than 7 nights.

 

[Disney Doll]

If you are staying there on DVC points, there is a trash & towel on day 4 and mousekeeping on day 8. If you want daily mousekeeping and you are staying on points, there will be a fee, depending on the size unit. Keep in mind that in a 1BR or larger unit, you have a full washer/dryer, so if you are a person who likes clean towels daily, you could throw them in the laundry in t ]he evening, then the dryer overnight and then they are ready for the morning showers. If you are staying there booked like any other hotel through CRO, I think you get daily housekeeping.

OKW itself is a very nice resort. Has a laid back, beachy, Old Key West feel...hence the name!!!! It has a nice main pool with a new slide, a cute children's play area. There are snack bars near the main pool, shuffle board, volleyball, basketball, tennis...the main area, called the Conch Flats, encompasses the check-in area(Hospitality House), the gift shop/market, the sit down restaurant Olivia's, the main pool/kiddie pool, the playground, the dock for the boat to SSR & DTD, the bike and sports rental place, snack bar, one of the hot tubs, a sauna...it's sort of themed to be a 'town center" if you will, Disney style.

There are also 3 quiet pools scattered throughout the resort, each of which has a hot tub. The 3 quiet pools are regular pools...no slides or anything, but they are very nice, and if you don't feel like schlepping to the main pool, they are conveniently located in the 3 "areas" of OKW...Miller Road, Turtle Pond and Southpoint.

As I said before, there are bike & boat rentals. Renting a boat is fun, because you can go all the way to DTD with it. There is a walking path that originates in the Southpoint area of the resort that takes you through part of the Lake Buena Vista golf course(which is the course that actually runs through OKW) past Saratoga Springs Resort and to DTD. It's about a 10-15 minute walk...nice during daylight hours, but they don't recommend that you do it at night because it is not lit, and parts of it are a bit secluded.

We are DVC owners and we like OKW so much that we have both of our contracts there!!! The studio is liek a hotel room, a little bigger in size, with a kitchentte that includes a small fridge, microwave, coffeemaker, toaster. We like the kitchen facilities(even if it is just a kitchenette(because we like to be able to have breakfast in the room...allows us to start our day more quickly) and snacks. The small fridge is plenty big enough for that. Being on the golf course is nice...

If the cost difference isn't too great, I'd recommend the change.

 

[rgf207]

Thank you all very much for your detailed descriptions. We would be upgradin to a studio and not using DVC points. I am really considering this because it sounds like a very nice place.
Thanks

 

[OneMoreTry]

I think an OKW studio will be bigger than a room at a moderate.

If you have to have a food court, don't go to OKW because there isn't one there. Otherwise I think you would be pleased with the upgrade. Just watch out, you may want to buy points once you stay there.

 

[spiceycat]

I would consider going to the rental/trade board and renting DVC points for OKW. then you could probably afford the 1-bedroom.

the studios are nice - queen beds (instead of the double beds at POR), there is no food court, Olivia is the restuarant some people hate it others love it. All OKW studios have a balcony. (POR does not).

I dearly love OKW - but I also love POR. they are different!!!

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

Just watch out, you may want to buy points once you stay there.

That's what happened to us two years ago. We were booked into the FQ (booked it a long time prior to the trip) Well FQ was to be closed to to remodeling so we were offered a few choices - CS for no extra cost, Carribean Beach - no cost or OKW for a small amount more. We choose OKW (due to the kitchenette and room size) and loved it. We then decided to take a day to relax and took the DVC tour. What a mistake that was : )
We bought into Beach Club - the only resort we could at the time (SSR was being built at the time but we live in CA and was not available to us then). Loved it so much we did a resale to OKW later that year. Have not regretted it yet.

Enjoy where ever you decide to stay.

 

[Denmage]

Another thing that I would caution about OKW is that it is very spread out. At POR everything is within easy walking distance. But at OKW you almost have to use the internal bus or a car to get from your room to the main pool and restaurants. This is fine if you are not in a rush.

I have to agree with the person who posted earlier. if you are only upgrading to a studio, it might not be worth it. However, a one bedroom suite makes it well worth the upgrade.

Have a great time.

Denmage

 

[dianeschlicht]

interesting comment since we thought we walked more to get to the main area at POR than we ever do at OKW. I guess one of the reasons is that at OKW there isn't as much reason to have to be at the lobby because we enjoy the other pools more.

 

[OneMoreTry]

That's what happened to us two years ago.

It's what happened to us. We stayed in an OKW 2BR and were blown away.

 

[RAD]

As others have mentioned, if there's a way to get into a 1BR unit I'd say do it. An OKW 1BR is nicer then most apartments that I've had in my life. As BWV owners, DW and I try to stay at OKW when possible over BWV due to the larger rooms but mostly due to the quiet/layed back atmosphere there. Yea, there are the downsides of lack of restraunt choices and it's better if you have a car to get around with, but we always have a car and visit other resorts for meals or eat in the parks.

 

[MiaSRN62]

interesting comment since we thought we walked more to get to the main area at POR than we ever do at OKW.

I agree. We've stayed at both resorts as well. One time we had bldg 26 at POR AB section and felt it was quite a hike to both the food court/lobby as well as the bus stop. We've never felt the walk to the bus stop at OKW was very far. I know some bldgs can be far from the Hospitality House, but I feel it's all in where you're placed at either resort.
I also like the themeing at both of these resorts. If you feel like you're going to miss having a food court, then stick with POR. But even with an OKW studio, we prefer having the queen beds, balcony and larger bathroom. Another mention about the balcony at OKW. If you get a ground floor unit, your porch could have obstructed view from all the bushes/vegetation around the buildings. You might want to request an "upper floor" there. Good luck with your decision.

 

[twinklebug]

A lot of folk have mentioned not having a food court, but I don't see a problem with hopping over to POR to use the mill (a quick stop at DTD first to catch the bus) But don't forget all that Downtown Disney offeres for food when just passing through

 

[Simba's Mom]

A lot of folk have mentioned not having a food court, but I don't see a problem with hopping over to POR to use the mill (a quick stop at DTD first to catch the bus) But don't forget all that Downtown Disney offeres for food when just passing through

Or what we've done many times is driven up to Goods to Go, get hamburgers, etc., then take it back to our villa to eat. Now that's better than a food court. BTW, we're not lazy-we'd walk to Good's to Go if we were eating there, but prefer the car to get all the food back to our villa easier.

 

[MiaSRN62]

I fully agree there are dining options at OKW but, I only mentioned the food court because I know there are some people who are diehard food court fans. The food courts also stay open until midnight I think ? I think Goods To Go only is open until 10 or 11 pm ? IN addition to take out at Goods like Simba's Mom mentioned, we also use menus from offsite pizza places that deliver. This is a good one :
http://www.giordanos.com/