OKW Lovers Thread. Part 2

[Simba's Mom]

Staying this month in a Standard 1 BR! Can anyone tell me what order the buses pick up/drop off from the different bus stops? I've requested building 62, so we'll be close to the HH stop, but I'll probably be going to the turtle pond pool as soon as it opens at 7am. How should I take a bus to get there?

Good luck getting building 62. Whenever we go, we ask for one of the elevator buildings and we've had very poor luck getting one. We've only gotten one 1. When we had a room in terrible condition just before the latest rehab and they had to move us, and 2. When we had reserved a HA Grand Villa. I love those elevator buildings.

 

[Chuck S]

I've gotten bldg 63 two times, and yes, once was a HA grand villa. SInce I often travel with a scooter user, who doesn;t specifically need an HA unit, I always let Member Services know I will be traveling with a scooter and we need a ground floor unit or elevator, and it has always workd out. But for a GV, you do need to specifically reserve an HA GV, as there only 3, and they are the only GVs with a scooter or wheelchair accessible entrance. I wish they'd add a lift of some kind to a few other buildings, as many of us old timers will be needing scooters sooner rather than later.

 

[mz-s]

Just chopped a few days off our Riviera stay next month to switch over to OKW and save some points while staying a few extra days to boot. Looking forward to it. Riviera is our home resort but this will be our first time staying at OKW.

 

[Chuck S]

Just chopped a few days off our Riviera stay next month to switch over to OKW and save some points while staying a few extra days to boot. Looking forward to it. Riviera is our home resort but this will be our first time staying at OKW.

Enjoy!

 

[polynor]

We actually found the opposite to be true - we headed back to OKW for a mid-day break and really took advantage of stacking G+/LL for the evening. Several nights, we had 4-5 attractions available to us in the evening. Once slight advantage we see of G+ over FP+ is you can have overlapping time windows. So we enjoyed the sun and pool, set an alarm on the phone to remind us when we could make our next LL, and enjoyed those LL passes in the evening.

I’ll clarify my statement on the G+ impeding our break. When we used G+, we ended up with some time selected that were later than we would normally stay in the park, but did so because we had it, and we could. so we kept pushing when we left. Not a “problem” but a deviation from how we would normally tour. We did do later evening stacking, which was nice, but I didnt take as long of a break at the resort as we would do bfore.

 

[DisneyRunner2009]

Can you refill your mug at Turtle Shack Poolside Snacks?

 

[Babsy]

Does anyone know: Is there any construction//renovation planned for OKW or nearby late Nov/early Dec this year?

 

[Babsy]

Oh dear! I just saw a studio room on TP with a king bed! Is that right? Don't all OKW studio rooms have 2 queen beds? what about HA rooms? do they have the same layout as other rooms? I need the HA shower and scooter access, but we really want two real beds.

 

[Chuck S]

Oh dear! I just saw a studio room on TP with a king bed! Is that right? Don't all OKW studio rooms have 2 queen beds? what about HA rooms? do they have the same layout as other rooms? I need the HA shower and scooter access, but we really want two real beds.

As far as I know, ALL OKW studios have two queen beds. HA studios should have the roll in shower and usually an elevated commode. But be sure you specify when you make the reservation, as I think some HA studios may have a tub. Also some have the fridge next to the back door instead of in the kitchette area, I guess to allow better bathroom acces. HA one bedrooms have the roll in shower, elevated commode AND the jacuzzi tub.

HA units may have less cabinetry to allow for turning radius of wheelchairs. No OKW studio has a king bed, as all studios connect to a one bedroom for a lock-off 2 bedroom. There ar no dedicated studios.

 

[Babsy]

As far as I know, ALL OKW studios have two queen beds. HA studios should have the roll in shower and usually an elevated commode. But be sure you specify when you make the reservation, as I think some HA studios may have a tub. Also some have the fridge next to the back door instead of in the kitchette area, I guess to allow better bathroom acces. HA one bedrooms have the roll in shower, elevated commode AND the jacuzzi tub.

HA units may have less cabinetry to allow for turning radius of wheelchairs. No OKW studio has a king bed, as all studios connect to a one bedroom for a lock-off 2 bedroom. There ar no dedicated studios.

Great information! Thank you!

 

[Babsy]

Hello,

Is there parking next to the HA buildings? or where are the parking lots and which HA building would be closest to a parking lot? I have a handicap parking permit in Canada, would that work in the USA as well? (goes on the dash in the car)

 

[Chuck S]

Hello,

Is there parking next to the HA buildings? or where are the parking lots and which HA building would be closest to a parking lot? I have a handicap parking permit in Canada, would that work in the USA as well? (goes on the dash in the car)

Almost every building has easily accessible parking,the exception is Building 64 and it is not an HA building. I would assume your HA permit from Canada should work. HA buildings are outlined in red. All HA units are on the first floor, except for building 63, because OKW has no elevators, except for building 62. 63 amd 64.

Even if you have a car, I recommend taking the busses to Magic Kingdom, as the Handicap parking is NOT convenient to that park.

Here is a map of OKW.

 

[OKW Lover]

Even if you have a car, I recommend taking the busses to Magic Kingdom, as the Handicap parking is NOT convenient to that park.

A very important point!!! My wife has a handicap placard and we were at the MK Wednesday night. The walk from the parking spot to the TTC was still quite a trek.

 

[Babsy]

Almost every building has easily accessible parking,the exception is Building 64 and it is not an HA building. I would assume your HA permit from Canada should work. HA buildings are outlined in red. All HA units are on the first floor, except for building 63, because OKW has no elevators, except for building 62. 63 amd 64.

Even if you have a car, I recommend taking the busses to Magic Kingdom, as the Handicap parking is NOT convenient to that park.

Here is a map of OKW.

Thank you so much!

 

[evilqueenmindy]

We typically stay in south point and use the busses to get around the resort, and I need a refresher. we can take any bus except the DS bus to go to the hospitality House, correct? Then at hospitality house, take the DS back to my bus stop? Or walk to millers rd bus stop and take any bus back to my bus stop, correct?

 

[Chuck S]

We typically stay in south point and use the busses to get around the resort, and I need a refresher. we can take any bus except the DS bus to go to the hospitality House, correct? Then at hospitality house, take the DS back to my bus stop? Or walk to millers rd bus stop and take any bus back to my bus stop, correct?

Almost. You can take ANY bus, including Disney Springs to get TO the hospitality stop. To return, the best way is to walk across the bridge to the Peninsular Road stop (Not Miller's Rd) and hop on any bus. Another way to return is to wait at hospotality for the incoming Disney Springs bus, as Disney Springs is also the internal loop bus, and stops at Hospitality First and Last, but generally it is much faster to just walk over to the Peninsular Road stop.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Almost. You can take ANY bus, including Disney Springs to get TO the hospitality stop. To return, the best way is to walk across the bridge to the Peninsular Road stop (Not Miller's Rd) and hop on any bus. Another way to return is to wait at hospotality for the incoming Disney Springs bus, as Disney Springs is also the internal loop bus, and stops at Hospitality First and Last, but generally it is much faster to just walk over to the Peninsular Road stop.

Just to add, be sure to double-check with the bus driver before you get on the bus that he is indeed going in the direction you want. Every now and then, bus drivers do go "off route"

 

[evilqueenmindy]

Almost. You can take ANY bus, including Disney Springs to get TO the hospitality stop. To return, the best way is to walk across the bridge to the Peninsular Road stop (Not Miller's Rd) and hop on any bus. Another way to return is to wait at hospotality for the incoming Disney Springs bus, as Disney Springs is also the internal loop bus, and stops at Hospitality First and Last, but generally it is much faster to just walk over to the Peninsular Road stop.

Okay thanks!

 

[disneykins]

Haven't been on these boards in a while, Covid stopped our travels and our last visit was just us 2 seniors at Kidani. Now we're planning our first grandchilds first Disney trip for early December. We always thought of ourselves as OKW experts having been there so much since we bought in 1993. But there are so many changes, we want to make sure we do our research.
We have a 2BR requested near HH. We have us, our DS, DD & DSIL & GS age 2. We took our kids at that age but always did 10-14 day trips (we had free park passes for the first 7 years). We would rope drop the parks, return for nap and lunch/dinner in the villa then return for evenings and fireworks. With the free passes, we could do 3 or 4 rides and anything we missed we could do later or the next day. Now we are thinking a 4 day pass, one for each park. We are trying to figure out the best way to ensure GS gets his nap and eats well, and still allow the 5 adults park time. We'll have a car and plan to eat most meals (breakfast and dinner) in the villa. Maybe a character meal but they're pricey for 5 adults.
Does OKW have a splash pad? Playground? Do they still do smores at night? Do they supply life jackets?
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Tony and Debbie

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Haven't been on these boards in a while, Covid stopped our travels and our last visit was just us 2 seniors at Kidani. Now we're planning our first grandchilds first Disney trip for early December. We always thought of ourselves as OKW experts having been there so much since we bought in 1993. But there are so many changes, we want to make sure we do our research.
We have a 2BR requested near HH. We have us, our DS, DD & DSIL & GS age 2. We took our kids at that age but always did 10-14 day trips (we had free park passes for the first 7 years). We would rope drop the parks, return for nap and lunch/dinner in the villa then return for evenings and fireworks. With the free passes, we could do 3 or 4 rides and anything we missed we could do later or the next day. Now we are thinking a 4 day pass, one for each park. We are trying to figure out the best way to ensure GS gets his nap and eats well, and still allow the 5 adults park time. We'll have a car and plan to eat most meals (breakfast and dinner) in the villa. Maybe a character meal but they're pricey for 5 adults.
Does OKW have a splash pad? Playground? Do they still do smores at night? Do they supply life jackets?
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Tony and Debbie

We took our about to turn 3yo in Feb (along with Aunty and Uncle, Grandma and Grandpa and our 7.5 yo). We did 5 park days (one for each park except 2 for MK).

We packed lunches so we could eat in lines and anywhere when we were hungry and got groceries so the kids had familiar snacks.

The adults took turns going back for late night hours a few nights (mostly at MK) which gave hubby and I a date evening while grandpa watched the kids (we did put them to sleep before going out though) and while mom and dad and the kids took breaks in the afternoon the other adults stayed and played. Another day my youngest didn't want to go back to the parks so he went to the pool with grandpa while mom, dad and big bro went back to Epcot. Also a few days as mom dad and kids headed back to the parks we met grandma and grandpa heading back to the resort to start getting dinner ready.

We did a breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe, it was cheaper than a character breakfast but still a fun.

OKW has a splash pad at the main pool but my littlest was content to be carried around the pool and didn't go over to it. They did have life jackets available. I'm 90% sure there is a playground but we never got there. Pretty sure they had movies and smores but again, after long park days we never made it there.