11/10/99 - We have stayed at OKW many times in the last 5 years that we have been a [Disney Vacation Club] member. Overall the grounds are great, though the buildings are spread out. To me this is good, but if you don't have a car it can be a hassle. I'd like to address some of the comments in Adrian's review below. This is not meant as a criticism of Adrian, only that others who read this need to know both sides of the story.
1. The $95 transportation fee is well known to II and it is THEIR (II's) responsibility to tell you about it. If they did not. the beef is with II. The fee has been discussed on this site a number of times as well. I have gone on record as stating I don't agree with the fee, but it is within Disney's rights to charge this fee. I stayed at Marriott in HH this summer and there were no restaurants and no transportation at all.
2. Had Adrian done his homework, he would have known that it is almost impossible to get around from one resort to another using Disney Transportation. (My email address is on this page as a member willing to help). The buses are designed to get you to and from the parks and shopping areas, not from one resort to another. While there are members that never use their car and use the buses exclusively, we almost never use the bus.
3. Other than the $95 fee, I can't think of any other way that Disney treats an exchanger as a second class citizen. DVC members get the same cleaning schedule that Adrian mentioned, use of the pools, etc. The only differences I can think of is that DVC members get free movie checkout, use of the other pools at Disney, slight discounts on some of the activities and a very few discounts at other locations. The only discount for passes is on Length of Stay and it's not as good as many other people get who aren't members. It is routine for members at many resorts to get special items or a collection of discounts not open to exchangers, I see this as the standard.
4. Olivia's restaurant is on the OKW property. We found it to be very good when we were there in July, though it has received mixed reviews. It is Disney priced but less expensive than most sit down Disney restaurants. As a comparison, most of the Marriott's do not even have a restaurant on site and many don't even have a snack bar.
5. I agree with the charge card concerns, but I don't know for certain your liability if you loose your charge card. I suspect it would be no different than my AmEx, except it would get taken care of on the spot assuming you reported it ASAP. BTW, this is the same concern at any location where you can charge to your room, though there's more to charge at Disney.
6. I would agree with the shuttle concerns. Disney also recommends another service where they meet you at Baggage claims and take the entire party with no stops round trip for $75 for up to 7 people. It works great, I did this for my brother on his honeymoon trip and he had NO problems.
In summary, I think the only criticism that is valid is the reasonableness of the $95 fee. I do see the fault as II's for not telling Adrian about this -- it is their responsibility. That's a small price for a room I can routinely rent for $2000 or more for the week and one that most exchangers would wait their entire lifetime to get. Otherwise. I feel the problems Adrian encountered came from his different expectations, lack of preparation and fundamental disagreement that members SHOULD receive some benefits that exchangers do not. Again, this is not meant as an indictment of Adrian, just a presentation of a different viewpoint.
-- Dean Dalrymple (owner) at
deandal@alltel.net
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10/30/99 - We're not in Cancun anymore Toto! Before I start, let me say, I own at the Royal Resorts in Cancun. I
followed the yellow brick road to Disney's OKW resort through Interval International. I gained a new appreciation for the Royal Resorts and Cancun from this vacation. Note: We did not rent a car, and depended primarily on Disney transportation.
First things first. Interval International (II) would like you to believe that exchanging into Disney it only cost you an exchange fee of $95 (give or take a few bucks). Well, that is not correct. II collects their $95 and when you get to Disney, they collect their $95. They like to call this a transportation fee to the parks, however, there really is no such thing. Anyone can board a bus in the parks (whether or not they stay at a resort). If you are considering an exchange into the Old Key West let me say that the total cost for such an exchange is going to be more like $190 (plus the yearly membership for II which makes it about $250, ouch). II will not tell you this (and they should).
From the airport, DON'T TAKE THE SHUTTLE SERVICE (MEARS OR WHATEVER). If you are a party of 3 or more, just take a cab (they can handle up to 8 people) and you can get to Disney cheaper than using the shuttle. Disney recommends MEARS (probably gets kickbacks).
I found out that Disney basically has 3 categories of guests in their resort. Let me draw the stereotypical analogy for you. Renter (girlfriend), member (wife), II Exchange (X). The renters get full daily room service, something like wooing the girlfriend during courtship. The Owner gets minimal service every 4th day (not much unlike a stereotypical husband/wife relationship). The exchange "member" is treated like an X, no special privileges, have to pay extra to stay, and use some of the facilities. NOW, in my humble opinion, a member should be treated the same as a renter and an exchange member. But apparently, this does not make a good business case.
The bus transportation is inconvenient. In general, you cannot go directly from one resort on the property to another resort on the property. You have to stop at either Downtown Disney or one of the Parks and switch busses. This can easily take over an hour to travel to another resort to use their facilities. At times, we ended up paying a cab to avoid this (so much for the transportation fee).
There is only one restaurant on the Old Key West property and it was overpriced by at least 20% and the food was mediocre at best. This was a big minus in my book. We were having a hard time finding a good place to eat anywhere on Disney's property. We actually took a cab out of the park for breakfast to get a good breakfast and saved money and got a better breakfast over what Disney was offering. See above for inconvenience in traveling to another Disney resort restaurant on
property. Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in Downtown Disney was great for dinner; however, it comes at a steep price.
The grounds at the Old Key West Resort and the accommodations themselves were excellent. Disney is tops in visual appearance. We had a two bedroom resort that had some very minor wear and tear. If you have a choice of buildings, take the building closest to the Front Desk/Club/Tennis Courts/pool. These buildings, I was told, usually gets requested 11 months in advance. We were fortunate to have one available when we arrived.
When checking in, you receive cards that are keys to your unit and can also be activated to pay for things on the property (like a credit card). I would recommend that you tell them not to activate the charge option on your card and just use your credit card. If anyone stole your card or you lost it, you would have little recourse to getting your money back. Most major credit cards will credit any purchases not made by you without much hassle. There really isn't any advantage for using their room cards as credit cards.
Please note, a Disney vacation is expensive. They are a unique park, they know it and they remind you of it every time you have to pay. Overall, we had a good time; however, unlike Cancun, I can't see myself coming to Disney every year.
Hope this helps, Th-th-th that's all folks! (Oops, wrong company!) -- Adrian Madau at
amadau@visteon.com
