which building best

[disney greenhorn]

Strongly thinking of staying at OKW with family consisting of grandparents, husband and seven year old daughter. Is OKW the best choice in "home away from home" resorts, regarding price and niceness? Want to stay in a 2bedroom villa with "lock off" option possibly. Would prefer to be near a bus stop and pool, not necessarily near check in office. We are not club members. Will not being a member be an issue? This our first visit to WDW. Grandparents like the idea of having a villa. What is the better building to request and as not being members do we have a choice? We are members of AAA travel agency, who we plan on going through. Also the time we plan on going is over Thanksgiving in 2002. Understanding this is a member owned resort mostly, will we have a problem reserving a villa for the Thanksgiving week in 2002? We plan on reserving it in January of 2002 through our travel agency?

 

[RobDoc]

OKW is a beautiful resort and will serve your families needs nicely. A 2BR- lock-off- will have 2 outside entrances and will provide lots of space for your group.

OKW is owned by it's DVC members and they certainly have first priority for reservations. There may be limited availability, in February, for next Thanksgiving. It's tough to predict, but it sure can't hurt for you to call your travel agent. You could also consider renting from a member- the <a href="http://64.225.125.24/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=29">Rent/Trade Board</a> on this site might be able to assist. Also, any villas unreserved by members 60 days in advance are released to CRO for cash reservations.

As for location, there are many great areas in the resort. There are 5 bus stops and all buildings are close to a stop. Transportation within the resort is available with the WDW buses. You could request a villa near South Point or Turtle Pond- each area has it's own pool in an attractive setting.

Here is a <a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/okwmap.jpg">map of OKW</a> and some photos of the <a href="http://disneydoc.homestead.com/okw2.html">OKW resort.</a>

Have fun planning!

 

[BobH]

When my wife and I decided to join DVC we figured it would be best to see Old Key West. I was all set with the decision, but she needed a trip to confirm her feelings. I could not get a reservation as a non-member when I called personally, but I found out that American Airlines had a vacation package that offered Old Key WEst as a destination. Apparently they must have a deal with Disney because I was able to get a room through them. I am not sure it was the best price but it served our purpose at the time.

Try this website and click on Florida. You may be able to get information if it is still available:

http://aav4.aavacations.com/

AAA may be able to book it for you or you can bok it on the web as I did. At least you can compare prices. Good Luck!

 

[dianeschlicht]

We were able to get a good rate at OKW when we talked to a sales CM. He got us a good rate, and we went to listen to his pitch during our stay. Our only mistake was not purchasing at that time! We waited another year and missed out on the free passes!

 

[BobH]

I wish I had known that what Diane said was possible. It seems to me Disney has a lot of "unadvertised practices" that they can bring in to play if they want to. You just have to know enough to push them with a potential sale. I got a lot of good advice from my guide, but we were never offered a better rate on a room to help make up our minds. If it is still available I would imagine OKW would probably be excluded since it is sold out now (except for resales not done through DVC). You would have to try this technique at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge or one of the other resorts still available through DVC.

 

[DebbieB]

Hilton Head and Vero have off season specials for non-members who take the tour, they are listed on the DVC site. I have a friend who went to HH on a great deal and had no intention of buying, but guess what, they did!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I just realized that only Doc gave you any information on location. I personally feel there is no horribel location. We usually make our requests generl, ie, no smoking, near a quiet pool (any of them are fine) and not a long way to a bus stop. I have always been happy with what they have given us.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

<<Is OKW the best choice in "home away from home" resorts, regarding price and niceness? >>

As far as I can tell they are all nice. I would probably pick a different resort if you are planning on being in the parks all the time. VWL if you like Magic Kingdom, Boardwalk for EPCOT.