We just returned today from 7 nights at OKW - 5 on points and 2 on cash. We had two adults, a 6yr old, and a 2yr old. We had a 1BR that we converted to a 2BR by putting the pack-n-play in the laundry room! It was great - my two year old thought it was kind of cool and he was out of everyone's way at night and during naptime. Somehow it didn't seem to cut down on the number of laundry loads I did, though!
My only other DVC experience is our home at BCV, which we love. I have to say that while I really like the room layout at OKW and the more low-key atmosphere, I will only stay there again when we definitely plan to have a car (which we did this time.) We were in Bldg 38 and used the car to hop up to the main pool area and Olivia's, etc. In 95 degree heat, we weren't walking and taking the bus just to get to the main area didn't make sense. (DD insisted on using THAT pool thanks to the slide, so the quiet pools were out of the question!)
We were there for a dance competition, and tried to make that the focus vice the parks, but we did enjoy MK twice despite the heat - got there at opening and left by 2pm both times when the crowds were getting out of control. DH and I used Fairy Godmothers and went to EPCOT one night for EMH and dinner and proceeded to soak ourselves in a thunderstorm - but at least it cleared out the park! Soarin' was awesome and worth the wait. Mission Space was totally cool - my F-15 pilot brother said it was the closest thing to the real thing as far as Gs go that he's experienced.
Our room at OKW was in good shape - we arrived at 5pm and it was ready. We got all of our requests - no-smoking and 1st floor (to roll out the costume rack for dance each day!) The villa wasn't super clean, but nothing that my two kids didn't cover with their own mess within 15 minutes of walking in, so I wouldn't complain! Housekeeping provided us with any missing items within a few minutes, too. Our T&T came a day early, which was helpful, and they were kind enough to leave us extra towels. The one surprise I had was that even though we were staying on cash those last two nights, we still didn't rate mousekeeping for that morning - for some reason I thought that a cash reservation was more or less like staying there as a "regular" guest vice a DVC member. Lesson learned. (Didn't ruin my stay, though - just an interesting thing to note for the future.)
A few humorous thoughts based on other threads we've had recently. DD stayed on the pull-out and didn't complain. DH slept there one night when she fell asleep with me in the big bed and the two of us were getting up at 4:30am to get ready for dance, which he wanted no part of! He said he would NEVER make that mistake again and that the pull-out was terrible! I just laughed and tried to explain the "pull-outs aren't for grown-up" theories that had been discussed here! DD went back to that bed the next night and everyone was once again happy. (Guess we'll be 2BR bound in a few years when she gets more finicky!)
One note - I had read here and on allears that the resorts could tell you if you have days left on your old parkhoppers, but to upgrade or apply the remaining cash to a new ticket you had to do that at Guest Relations at one of the parks. I asked at check-in about scanning my parkhoppers and was told by the CM that I had to do that at the park. I walked to the concierge and asked again and she said that of course they can do it, as well as do the upgrades, changes, etc. She said the front-desk CMs were primarily from other resorts and they were initiating a "deployment" plan to get the CMs out to other properties to learn more about all of them - evidently there are still a few things to learn! Our great news was that we had a total of 14 unused days on 6 tickets, so we're in great shape for a while!
Meals - we ate lunch from Good's one day and thought it was reasonable and "good" for all four of us. Ate at Olivia's last night and while it was OK, it wasn't worth the $80 it ended up costing (no drinks beyond soda and tea). Really made use of the kitchen for breakfast and 3 or 4 dinners for the kids - it was a real money saver. (No gourmet meals whipped up, however! We were limited to pizza, rotisseri chicken, and turkey sandwiches!, plus a 30-minute search for the nearest KFC to stave off a craving!)
Overall, it was a really nice trip - the atmosphere is SO different and it's good to get a sense of how all of the DVC properties really vary. We're going to try VB next summer if we push our cruise out a year - need to let the boy grow now until he can load up on the Mountains of the Magic Kingdom with his sister!
My only other DVC experience is our home at BCV, which we love. I have to say that while I really like the room layout at OKW and the more low-key atmosphere, I will only stay there again when we definitely plan to have a car (which we did this time.) We were in Bldg 38 and used the car to hop up to the main pool area and Olivia's, etc. In 95 degree heat, we weren't walking and taking the bus just to get to the main area didn't make sense. (DD insisted on using THAT pool thanks to the slide, so the quiet pools were out of the question!)
We were there for a dance competition, and tried to make that the focus vice the parks, but we did enjoy MK twice despite the heat - got there at opening and left by 2pm both times when the crowds were getting out of control. DH and I used Fairy Godmothers and went to EPCOT one night for EMH and dinner and proceeded to soak ourselves in a thunderstorm - but at least it cleared out the park! Soarin' was awesome and worth the wait. Mission Space was totally cool - my F-15 pilot brother said it was the closest thing to the real thing as far as Gs go that he's experienced.
Our room at OKW was in good shape - we arrived at 5pm and it was ready. We got all of our requests - no-smoking and 1st floor (to roll out the costume rack for dance each day!) The villa wasn't super clean, but nothing that my two kids didn't cover with their own mess within 15 minutes of walking in, so I wouldn't complain! Housekeeping provided us with any missing items within a few minutes, too. Our T&T came a day early, which was helpful, and they were kind enough to leave us extra towels. The one surprise I had was that even though we were staying on cash those last two nights, we still didn't rate mousekeeping for that morning - for some reason I thought that a cash reservation was more or less like staying there as a "regular" guest vice a DVC member. Lesson learned. (Didn't ruin my stay, though - just an interesting thing to note for the future.)
A few humorous thoughts based on other threads we've had recently. DD stayed on the pull-out and didn't complain. DH slept there one night when she fell asleep with me in the big bed and the two of us were getting up at 4:30am to get ready for dance, which he wanted no part of! He said he would NEVER make that mistake again and that the pull-out was terrible! I just laughed and tried to explain the "pull-outs aren't for grown-up" theories that had been discussed here! DD went back to that bed the next night and everyone was once again happy. (Guess we'll be 2BR bound in a few years when she gets more finicky!)
One note - I had read here and on allears that the resorts could tell you if you have days left on your old parkhoppers, but to upgrade or apply the remaining cash to a new ticket you had to do that at Guest Relations at one of the parks. I asked at check-in about scanning my parkhoppers and was told by the CM that I had to do that at the park. I walked to the concierge and asked again and she said that of course they can do it, as well as do the upgrades, changes, etc. She said the front-desk CMs were primarily from other resorts and they were initiating a "deployment" plan to get the CMs out to other properties to learn more about all of them - evidently there are still a few things to learn! Our great news was that we had a total of 14 unused days on 6 tickets, so we're in great shape for a while!
Meals - we ate lunch from Good's one day and thought it was reasonable and "good" for all four of us. Ate at Olivia's last night and while it was OK, it wasn't worth the $80 it ended up costing (no drinks beyond soda and tea). Really made use of the kitchen for breakfast and 3 or 4 dinners for the kids - it was a real money saver. (No gourmet meals whipped up, however! We were limited to pizza, rotisseri chicken, and turkey sandwiches!, plus a 30-minute search for the nearest KFC to stave off a craving!)
Overall, it was a really nice trip - the atmosphere is SO different and it's good to get a sense of how all of the DVC properties really vary. We're going to try VB next summer if we push our cruise out a year - need to let the boy grow now until he can load up on the Mountains of the Magic Kingdom with his sister!
