We're here enjoying OKW!

[Peggy Sue]

Arrived on 11/26. We're in the turtle pond section, a great one bedroom, in perfect condition. This is the first time we've been close enough to the road to hear bus traffic, but it hasn't been bad.

We've strung lights on our balcony and put a small tree up in our room. Brought along a portable cd player and have been enjoying christmas music too.

the resort looks great, and the decorations in the lobby and around the hospitality house look wonderful. Of course, all of WDW is decked out with wonderful decorations!

Parks have been very managable, with 5-10 minute waits. press starts rolling in this weekend for the big birthday celebration, so it will be interesting to see how they impact crowds. the only early park closing is MGM on the 5th. It closes at 4 PM. The only other thing I've seen that has been set up for the press is the candlelight processional tomorrow night..the public can only attend the 8:15 showing. The 6:45 is for the press only.

The december member update has the usual pool hopping information, and also states members may not pool hop bnetween 12/22 - 1/2 due to high occupancy that is expected during this time.

Stopped by the VWL on Thursday to check out the rooms. They are wonderful! Can see why those of you who have purchased here fell in love with the place. When I saw the pictures of the rooms in vacation magic I didn't think I liked the color scheme, but seeing it in person made a believer out of me..it's very cozy. And the lobby area for the villa's is wonderful too. the DVC rep didn't have much to report. She said "they" haven't told them yet when BCV will begin selling. She did say that sales did slow down after 9/11, but they have started to pick up again.

We took the bus to MK twice, service was OK. Usually a 10 minute wait, however did have one 30 minute wait to get to the MK. Altough that was late in the day, prior to the MVMCP.

We're here until the 9th, so if anyone has any questions, please let me know. We don't plan on attending any of the annual meetings. (sorry!)

 

[RweTHEREyet]

can you ask how long the Christmas decorations will be up? Will be arrivng for cruise on Jan 2 and wondering if we will still see any of the holiday decorations.

 

[dianeschlicht]

AreWETHEREyet,
Our experience has been that some will remain, but some will be down. You will probably see most of them gone by the time you leave for home. I seem to remember Jan. of 2000, they had the tree down by the 2nd in MK, but Epcot still had some of the lights up.

 

[Swazie]

Dear Peggy Sue:

I was excited to read your post and your invitation for questions. I'll try to keep it simple and short.

We purchased 175 point BWV from resale about six weeks ago. It took a lot of doing but we are booked for a week at OKW beginning on Dec. 15 through Dec. 22. We then move to the Beach Club for an additional week. We had this trip planned for months, but decided to buy in and try to use points for this trip.

It came down to the wire but we were able to book the first week entirely on points at the OKW. We received our membership number via the phone so we could get booked, however, we will not receive our membership book for several weeks. Alas, we don't have all the info we need.

We have stayed at the WLV, Poly and DL. We have requested a 2 BR Villa (there are seven of us, five kids). We requested first or second floor. Is there a particular building we should ask for? Have you eaten at Olivia's? Is there a food court? We really liked the food court at DL (or POR). Even the cheap pizza was great for a late night snack.

We have a rental van and have found this the best way for us to go to MK. I think we can take a boat over to DD and PL? We will wait to visit Epcot and MGM until the second week when we are at the BC and can utilize the boats and the back entrance.

Do you pay extra to have someone come in and clean up? Do you cook a lot of meals in or do you just have breakfast and sandwich type items?

Do all 2 BR Villas have 1 King, 2 Queens and a sofa sleeper? Or are the rooms different?

One more question, please. We are from the midwest. We are undecided at this time whether we will return next year or bank our points and bring everyone again in two years. That being said, we are anticipating 7 days in the parks with this trip. (We will do at least 2 at Universal, a day on the coast and at least one at the water parks). We always have a couple rest days built in and plan on shopping at Pointe Orlando before Christmas. We have one 7 day Ultimate Park Hopper pass left and will have to purchase for the rest of us.

I really like the the Park Hoppers as they allows us the option of using the unused days on later trips. But I have been reading about all of the discounts with the Annual Pass. I am wondering if purchasing on AP for me or my husband might be a smart idea, as if we return next year it would be just the two of us for a quick trip. What type of passes do you buy?

Thanks for any info you can provide me . . . I have dreamed of being a member for several years. But we would not buy until we could pay for it and not pay interest. The day finally came. We can't wait to get there! inkbounc

P.S. So much for simple and short!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Swazie,
No food court at OKW, but you can order in Pizza and there are a couple sandwich shops. One at the hospitality house and one near Turtle Pond pool.

All 2 Bedrooms at OKW are king in the master, 2 queens in the second bedroom and pull out queen sofa bed in the LR.

I know you like the hoppers, but if you are going to the world for more than 8 days a year, the annual pass is much more economical. We find we will travel as much as possible in one calendar year on an AP and then skip a year before purchasing our next AP and doing double time at WDW again.

YOu will find the cleaning fee is unnecessary. I for one appreciate not having "staff" in my room each day. The trash and towel and full cleaning are quite sufficient, and if we need clean towels in between, we just throw some in the washer.

Be aware that if you drive to the MK, you will have to park at the TTC. If you take the bus, you will be dropped off right at the entrance to MK. This is a significant savings in time. We usually take the bus everywhere except to the other resorts for PS ressies. It take too long to do the bus to DTD and resorts. For DTD, we use the walkway or take the pontoon boat.

 

[BillM]

Swazie
By the way we have been to Ogallla, Nb.
Some of your questions.
First you will love the 2 BR at OKW. About any building will be fine. You might want to request a golf course or a water view. The is no food court at OKW. There is a full sevice restaurant and a snack bar. Both will have closing hours around 10 or so. The boat to PO and FQ has been discontinued as of now. Actually those resorts have been shut down or partially shut down. The boat still runs from OKW to DD and you can access PL .
All of the 2BR at OKW are the same except in the buildings above 30 you have two entrances to the master bath. Below 30 you only have one thru the master bedroom. You do have a King in the MB and two queens in the 2nd BR. The sofa makes a queen bed. You will have a full kitchen and complete laundry. No maid service except you will have a trash and towel day on you fourth day.

Enjoy.

By the way we just got back yesterday. Make sure you do the Osbourne Lights at MG
and the Candlelight Procession at Epcot. I would recommend the dinner package for the later.

 

[Swazie]

Thank you both for your replies.

We already have our resies for the Candlelight Processional. We have seen this only once (last year) and the experience was so very special, we are coming back this year with the kids. Last year we enjoyed Robert Urich as our story teller, this year we are scheduled to see Gary Sinese. We missed the Osborne lights last year, but have them on the schedule this year. I am going to call DVC tomorrow and request the water view or golf club. Thanks for the heads up.

I think the suggestion about the passes makes a lot of sense. I think this first time out, I will buy just one for me and do the Hoppers for the rest of the family. As kids won't return with us next year if we squeeze in a trip, we will be able to use up the unused hoppers (if there is any). But what I really want is the mailings that I have read about for the AP's regarding the DEEP room discounts. These have been unbelievable. If they do discounts like that next year, we may just pay for rooms and return on a cash basis!

So how long have you been memebers? Would you mind sharing your number one complaint and perk that you like about the club?

And BillM . . . I am going to guess that being in Ogallala was really "passing thru" Ogallala on your way to the Mountains. I don't know if you watch the West Wing, (it is our very favorite show on TV right now), but this week Pres Bartlett was informed of the outbreak of mad cow disease . . . in none other than Ogallala, Nebraska! We were so thrilled to here our little 'ole town mentioned on our favorite show . . . but what a way to get on!

I hope you both had (are having) a great time in the world! Thanks again!

 

[Peggy Sue]

rwethereyet...I'll see what I can find out about the holiday lights. I did notice in the annual passholder publication, the mickey monitor, it states the osborne lights will be lit every night between 11/21 - 1/6, so you will be able to see these..and they are awsome!

Swazie - you've already received some great answers to your questions from fellow DVC members, but I'll try and offer a few answers as well.

We haven't eaten at Olivia's and probably won't. We ate here once last year, and found the food so/so. However, I've read some great reviews on this board on Olvia's too. We've only had one meal there, so other opinions may be more realistic.

This is our first 12 day trip, and this time we have done some cooking in the room. we always have breakfast in, and we've made a couple of meals. Simple stuff, like mac and cheese, hot dogs etc. The kitchen is certainly well stocked for any type of cooking you may choose to do.

There are grills by the pool at turtle pond, you can plan a pool side cookout but picking up some matchlight charcoal..hamburgers etc. Always a crowd pleaser!

I would ask for a unit above #30 so you will have the second entry to the bath from the laundry room. this will allow the people sleeping on the hide-a-bed the ability to use the bathroom without having to go through the master bedroom or second bedroom.

If you want to be near the hospitality house, and large pool, request that location. We always ask for turtle pond or south point, away from a bus stop and top floor. this time we got everything except away from the bus stop...we do hear bus noise, but it really isn't too bad! We have a view of a pond and a portion of a parking lot. Other than the bus noise, the unit is very quiet.

If you have young kids, you might want to skip the top floors if you using strollers....other wise you'll have to lug the stuff up the stairs every day!

Agree you should consider annual passes. If you plan to visit the parks more than 8 days, they are a better deal. If you have a disney club card you can get a 5% discount. We keep a couple of 7 day hoppers on hand for guests, and we use the "plus" features to get into PI and water parks etc.

you can take the boat to ddd. the schedule has been cut back, i believe the boats don't start running until the afternoon. Bus service to MK is probably your best bet. we did drive to the MK yesterday..parked at TTC and took the boat over. It wasn't too bad, but the bus is more convenient for "door to door" service. We always drive to all the other parks, resorts etc.

you can purchase additional housekeeping. fee is $40. for a 2 bedroom. Our first trip to OKW was in a 2 bedroom with guests. We arranged for housekeeping every other day. We really didn't need it, and it was a waste of money. It's so easy to keep the unit picked up and toss the towels in the washer every morning. On trash and towel day, make sure your towels are in the washer or dryer...and after they service your room you'll have 16 sets to use instead of 8! that will give you plenty of fresh towels for the remainder of your trip!

Your going to love OKW and the 2 bedroom unit! Enjoy your trip! Let me know if you have any more questions!