I see that a common theme in the above posts is...I love OKW because it feels like home. That's funny...why would you want to go away on vacation and feel like you are at home?
It's not so much "feeling like home" which makes OKW special, it's more like experiencing what you
wish home was like. This is the same principle which makes WDW in general so successful. It's how you wish the world really was. Clean, friendly, fun, no worries (other than which park to go to, which ride to get your Fast Pass for), no crime (that you hear about, anyway), beautiful landscaping (which you don't have to maintain yourself!) Walt knew what he was doing and thankfully his philosophies are still upheld.
My positive experiences and feelings about OKW are very much like everyone else's. I'd rather share a less pleasant one (don't worry, there's a happy ending)
My wife and I were one of the early pioneers in the
DVC. We bought our first bunch of points in the first week of DVC's operation from the wonderful Clark Cable, a sales associate back then. I believe he's moved up rather high in the organization now. The whole sales pitch was fantastic...typical Disney. (A topic for another discussion) Anyway, our first stay was in a Studio and exceeded expectations. Our second stay however...LOL! We reserved a two-bedroom and invited extended family to come along, with the hopes that some of them would also join. Our own little sales pitch, I guess. Our time to show off what elite Disney people we were! Naturally they were impressed with the resort, the rooms etc. Everything seemed perfect until late during the first night of our stay. We're all sleeping soundly after a day at the MK when a loud scream emanates from the living room (my mother and niece sleeping on the sleep sofa) Naturally everyone else sort of shuffles out of their rooms, bleary-eyed, to see what's up.
"There's something....something alive...under the sink! I heard it trying to open the doors!"
With a look like, "Sheesh, you're having a bad dream, Mom" I boldly walk over and open the doors.
Zoom! Out scurries a couple furry little somethings, across the tile floor and under the dishwasher. More screams from everyone, including one very startled DVC owner!
Ok, we came down to WDW to see Mickey and Minnie, but not these two rodents! A call to the front desk and I find out that THERE ARE NO MORE ROOMS AVAILABLE UNTIL THE MORNING!!! A very apologetic maintenance guy comes up (it's, like, 2AM BTW) and takes a look around, but finds nothing. "They're probably gone", he says. "Yeah right!", we think. He leaves, oh, not before setting a couple traps under the fridge. How unsettling is that??! You can imagine that none of us got ANY sleep that night for fear of seeing Mickey's cousins again, or hearing that disgusting -SNAP-!
Of course the next day we were out of there bright and early. We got a nice brand new vacation home in a building that had just been completed. Naturally, the staff was very sympathetic and accomodating. And when we got back to our new and mouse-free room that night, there was an enormous fruit basket on the table as an apology for our first night.
Thankfully the rest of our stay was a good one and despite the disastrous first night, two new members were added to the club - my dad and my sister & family.
Incidentally, I did take a look around the rodent room after we had cleared out, trying to figure out their access point. I don't know, I guess it was pride in ownership that made me do it. It looked like these mice were DVC members themselves! There were droppings all over the places that a normal vacuuming would miss. Edgar and Martha Mouse living it up at the OKW, I guess.
They were either coming in directly under the front door, which was missing it's weather stripping or via the dryer's exhaust vent. (A large tear in the hose was a clue)
So remember OKW vacationers.....check your weather stripping and dryer hoses when you arrive!! OTherwise you could get a little too much Mouse in the House!
