The good the bad the ugly of OKW renovations (update pg 13)

[SusieBea]

What is so terrible about Turtle Pond? (I know, a little off topic, but more than one post has mentioned this.) Since the Turtle Pond area is completely renovated, my thought was that if we want a renovated unit, then request Turtle Pond. Also, last year, we stayed 1 nite in Turtle Pond & really liked the pool area. That night was the only time we've stayed in OKW. Please enlighten me about Turtle Pond.

I've wondered this as well. There are a few buildings in that area where the views would not be good, but that's true in most areas. Turtle Pond is our favorite. But I am not a fan of South Point, not for any specific reason, just the feel of the area to me.

 

[MELSMICE]

I've wondered this as well. There are a few buildings in that area where the views would not be good, but that's true in most areas. Turtle Pond is our favorite. But I am not a fan of South Point, not for any specific reason, just the feel of the area to me.

One of the reasons we like Turtle Pond is because you can get a snack at the pool if you'd like. We are huge pool dwellers & most days we spend the entire day at the pool. Plus, Turtle Pond is usually quieter & less congested than the main pool.

It's not that we raid the Turtle Shack or the main snack bar at the main pool, but if I want something I like to know I can get it. At South Point or Miller Road there are no snack bars at the pools.

So, for us, that's one of the reasons we like Turtle Pond.

 

[shellspb]

Very informative, thanks for all the detail.

 

[disneygrandma]

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm at OKW now. I don't like the floors, the coffee table is weird, the sleeper chair - while I think they could have done better with the fabric selection, it is very comfy to sleep on. Not at all good for sitting, though. The advantage to the sleeper chair is it doesn't take up the whole room, so we leave it open throughout the day. Actually, it they just would have FIXED the cupbords properly, I don't mind not having new doors/facings. The master bedroom, though is just not a good match for the theme at all.

The granite counter are very nice, and I'm actually glad they recovered and reused most of the tables and chairs, as they are good quality...probably better than they could buy now.

I don't like the new thermostats, they really need a heat/cool switch for this weather. And the original color scheme was, IMO, much nicer overall.

Chuck, I've been wondering since you posted this, could you please describe the coffee table a little more. One thing that bothers me at BWV is that there's no coffee table (at least in the studios). But I'm not sure if I want one that's "weird" either.

 

[dmoore22]

Chuck, I've been wondering since you posted this, could you please describe the coffee table a little more. One thing that bothers me at BWV is that there's no coffee table (at least in the studios). But I'm not sure if I want one that's "weird" either.

Here is a link to a photo of the table:

http://allears.net/acc/okw/okw10r1-08.jpg

It reminds me of a faux antiquing finish that was in vogue during the late 50's early 60's. My dad bought an antiquing kit at the hardware store and did this to some of our "old" pieces of furniture at that time. The finish was easy to remove, albeit 20 years later, using a plastic scraper. It just popped off with no noticeable damage to the original finish underneath. We did a light rinse with a TSP solution then put a coat of tung oil on for added protection.

 

[Chuck S]

They are the original coffee tables, but have been refinished with a rough "crackle" finish, looks sort of like an old cracked off white layer of paint on top of a sea foam green layer. I don't think the finish will hold up well. The only think in the room they "sort of match" is the colors in the braided rug.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Chuck, I've been wondering since you posted this, could you please describe the coffee table a little more. One thing that bothers me at BWV is that there's no coffee table (at least in the studios). But I'm not sure if I want one that's "weird" either.

Still? I thought they announced a few Annual meetings ago that they were putting coffee tables in BWV.

 

[dianeschlicht]

What is so terrible about Turtle Pond? (I know, a little off topic, but more than one post has mentioned this.) Since the Turtle Pond area is completely renovated, my thought was that if we want a renovated unit, then request Turtle Pond. Also, last year, we stayed 1 nite in Turtle Pond & really liked the pool area. That night was the only time we've stayed in OKW. Please enlighten me about Turtle Pond.

Well, we have ended up in Turtle Pond units 4 times in the past few years, and we never had much to look at in any of them. I thought the pool area would have been nice if it hadn't been so crowded, but because that one pool draws from a rather large neighborhood, it's always been packed when we have gone...making us pass it up. This time we were in building 36, and our living room and bedroom looked out to the end of the next building...not too keen on looking into someone else's windows. We like buildings 45, 46, 55, and 56 at South Point, and also like a lot of the buildings on Miller's Road.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Chuck, I've been wondering since you posted this, could you please describe the coffee table a little more. One thing that bothers me at BWV is that there's no coffee table (at least in the studios). But I'm not sure if I want one that's "weird" either.

It is like those antiquing kits, and it looks and feels like an aqua and cream colored alligator!

 

[JudithM]

Let me start by saying I have not read this whole thread yet ...

As you can tell, I'm very concerned about sound. I always thought of OKW as peaceful, quiet, and I'm concerned about things seeming louder.

We are at OKW right now in a renovated one bedroom unit. We're not crazy about the vinyl floor although our floor seems fairly smooth compared to what Diane posted originally. (We asked a maintenance CM today who said this is vinyl.)

We find the unit to be louder and more "echo-y." You can hear your voice bounce around. Plus for some reason I can hear the neighbors in the studio next door. However, the floor does not seem to be loud to walk on. Also, we are on the first floor and have not really heard the neighbors upstairs
(& I know they are there).

I don't care for the transition between the vinyl and the other areas of the unit - laundry ceramic, porch doorway, entryway, bedroom. There is a plastic looking transition strip which looks cheap to us. Plus there is a definite height difference.

 

[JudithM]

Again, I have not read this whole topic, but our observations ...

We love the new shower head in the bathroom! Never saw it before this stay. I am short, and I can reach it! Plus I like the various settings. I also noticed the shower is free of the ugly mold. Someone worked hard getting rid of the old caulk, cleaning the area, recaulking, etc. Looks nice! Plus the fresh paint looks neat and clean.

We thought the bedroom redo looks elegant. We are happy with it. The smaller footprint of the bedside lamps gives us more room to put odds and ends, books, magazines, whatever. We like the paint color and bed linens a lot. I like that the bed linens and the window treatments go together (unlike the living room). The nicer mattress is great for our backs and for sleeping.

In the living room/dining room there are too many different patterns - couch, sleeper chair, valances, pillows, roman shades, dining chairs, coffee table, etc. When I first saw photos of the sleeper chair it looked out of place. A closer look show it is brown with strips of turquoise and beige. We opened up the sleeper chair in our unit and in our friend's unit. It seems to be very comfortable as a chair and as a sleeper. Our couches are comfortable to sit on, but in our friend's unit they were hard as rocks!

As much as we like the Roman shades, as others have mentioned, they are a pain to "open" and "close."

 

[JudithM]

The thermostat we had in 4621 was different. You could set it to a particular temperature, but there is no switch to change from air conditioning to heat. There's no thermometer so you couldn't tell what the actual temperature was in the room. While we were there last month, the days were warm enough to need air conditioning, but it got cold enough at night for the heat. It was a challenge trying to figure out how the heck to set that darn thing...either we froze or it got too hot & stuffy.

Not sure about anyone else, but I'm getting tired of all these "enhancements" they're throwing at us!

Why they changed the thermostats is beyond me! We were in our friends unit. He was cold, so he turned it up. It got very hot. Then his wife and I were too warm, so she turned it down and the air came on - not what we wanted at all last night when it was in the 30s outside.

You are NOT the only one getting tired !

 

[dianeschlicht]

JudithM, I totally agree about the mattress! We thought it was the best bed we've had anywhere in WDW, and our impression has never been very good for mattresses at WDW. We did talk to someone on the bus on Monday who must have had one of the old ones, because they complained about feeling like sleeping on a table. I told them to go ask for an egg crate foam for the bed.

 

[MELSMICE]

JudithM, I totally agree about the mattress! We thought it was the best bed we've had anywhere in WDW, and our impression has never been very good for mattresses at WDW. We did talk to someone on the bus on Monday who must have had one of the old ones, because they complained about feeling like sleeping on a table. I told them to go ask for an egg crate foam for the bed.

I didn't know you could ask for an egg crate. We always end up bringing one from home.

 

[rascalmom]

Ok all you wonderful reviewers.......where are the pics?

 

[Chuck S]

I didn't bring a camera on this trip, the only thing I have availble is the webcam built into this laptop, and it isn't anything to brag about.

 

[jekjones1558]

Here is a photo of one of the world's ugliest coffee tables, taken in a renovated OKW 1 bedroom:

Regarding the new mattresses: I am so happy to hear this. I like a firm mattress but the old ones at OKW were like lying on a morgue slab. I'll bet that the new ones are the same as the new ones at BWV (was there a brochure about new bedding etc. available to buy online?) and we think that those mattresses and pillows are pretty fantastic!

 

[Shadeaux]

Hmmmm....our coffee table had a slightly different (uglier) pattern.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Ok all you wonderful reviewers.......where are the pics?

Like Chuck, I didn't have one either, and my phone didn't do well indoors. I guess I also figured we have seen quite a few pictures on the boards already of the renovations, so it wasn't necessary.