Since our kids are young and love DISNEY I just felt that OKW and SSR wouldn't have a disney feel. They seem great for those that want to get away from it all. But we want to be 'in the midst of it all'. LOL. Plus I don't recall the pools being geared towards the kiddos, they're also more relaxed. But perhaps I'm wrong? Maybe I should consider these? Which one do you like better?
You sound like my sis (who shares your name coincidentally). Even though I've owned DVC for 2 years and Marriott timeshares for 6 years, she still thinks I'm speaking gibberish. I can sympathize with your bad day (I've been spending mine waiting for a repairman to show up... 8+ hours and I'm still stood up).
I also understand your reasons for picking the resorts you did, but respectively I think you're making a few newbie assumptions there.
OKW and SSR are actually very family-friendly perhaps moreso than the resorts you did pick.
OKW has the largest rooms on property with 2 queen beds in the studio portion (or second bedroom if you're doing a 2bedroom). It also has point rates equivalent to BWV's cheapest Standard View rooms. The main pool has a sandcastle slide and sandy playground. Great for kids under 10. Older kids like teenagers tend to prefer some of the quiet pools where they can mingle with their own.
SSR has one of the best rated slides on property by those who are slide afficianados. The main pool is a zero entry with two slides (the big one and a baby one for toddlers), a water play area and they do movies by the pool on select nights. There's another nearby pool with an even bigger water play area. And there are two playgrounds onsite near the other two pools.
Both these resorts have dedicated bus service to the parks unlike BCV and BWV which share service. (Translates to a longer haul to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.) OKW & SSR also have ferry service and walking paths to Downtown Disney. SSR is close enough to DTD to be equivelant to staying at BWV and walking into EPCOT for dinner.
When I took my sis and her family to Disney last October, I intentionally chose SSR for our resort. I knew she would love it since she enjoys DTD treks (she always would sneak off one morning to go shopping). But the whole family ended up having a blast. Her 6 & 8 yo old boys were constantly in the pool, making sure they saw each movie by the pool from the water. Her husband and her walked over to DTD one night to celebrate their anniversary at House of Blues after a day at the Food & Wine fest (yes they were stuffed). And she always managed to catch a bus before I did. I think her only complaint during the trip was the day we walked back from
Lego Land and she fretted over missing her ME bus.
My point is be careful what assume about these resorts. Some do dislike their self-contained status as remote, but on the other hand some dislike being in a busy fishbowl.
Oh another thing that may affect you depending on your childrens' ages is the spread out nature of BCV's StormAlong Bay. After walking about the place enough times I came to the conclusion it would be an absolutely nightmare for my sister's kids. It's 3 pools connected by bridges and staircases with no one clear line of site. Just to use the slide, you need to exit the pool and cross an exterior lakeside walkway to climb the platform.
Good luck with your hunt for rooms!
Yes there are also buses to DTD.
