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Old Key West it is...
- Thread starter krueg66
- Start date
raiden
Member
Dont own there but have stayed there. Its one of my favorite resorts. Rooms are bigger, the setting is more intimate and quieter, has one of the best bars and restaurant(as far dvc resorts), boat ride to DtD is very nice(not to mention parking at DtD is a racket and taking a bus there sux).
But its all about opinion and what you like. Some people think im crazy bc I dont care for BWV. The BCV is my second favorite.
But its all about opinion and what you like. Some people think im crazy bc I dont care for BWV. The BCV is my second favorite.
OldKeyWest
New Member
I stay at OKW every trip and it is the best resort IMO. It is quiet, secluded, and the largest rooms in WDW (literally) which is a huge bonus. The buses are quite frequent so never a long wait. There are two main pools and small pools. The big main one is at the Hospitality House. The smaller main pool is at the back of the resort on Turtle Pond Road. The smaller pools are on Miller Road and South Point Road. We last stayed on Miller in Jan '07 and there were rarely any people ther. The Hospitality House has the check in, a bus stop, Olivia's Cafe the table service which I love it has a great "mom and pop" feel, Gurgling Suitcase the bar, Good's To Go the countert service with your typical CS foods, and Conch Flats General Store which is the gift shop with some basic food items like chips, milk, cereal, soda, water, etc. There is also a game room , comunity center, basketball, tennis, and volley ball courts, and sauna. All rooms have a balcony and if you are staying in a one or two bedroom vacation home it has its own laundry room which is priceless. Hope all this info helps and you have an amazing trip which I think you will because this really is a special "home away from home"
We own at Beach Club and usually stay there. But last year we did a big family trip and needed a 2 bedroom. The only hting available and within our point limit way OKW. At first I was kinda bummed having never stayed there so not knowing what to expect. Boy where we surprised. Not only are the rooms significantly bigger, but very nicely done. The pool is great not BEach CLub great but perfect for the little ones and just to cool off. As the others said the buses are frequent, there is about 4 or 5 stops in the resort itself but no problems there. The only thing complaint I had and it was a small one we where very far form the main hospitality house, so it was we either had to catch a park bus and exit up front or a long walk to the hospitality house. Not a big problem but we are spoiled with the beach club and everything being right there.
But if we where ever to do a 2 bedroom again it would be there, plus with it being the first resort its significantly less points.
**Off topic a bit why do so many peopel switch resorts mid stay, I never got it, I hate the idea of packing up twice chekcing in twice and what not. I like getting to a place and not having to worry about anything til we need to check out. Is there something I am missing? I can understand if resorts are not available the full length, but I read alot about peopel switching half way through. PLease don't take offense to my post as I am not intending it that way, just wondering why and if my family is missing out on something.
But if we where ever to do a 2 bedroom again it would be there, plus with it being the first resort its significantly less points.
**Off topic a bit why do so many peopel switch resorts mid stay, I never got it, I hate the idea of packing up twice chekcing in twice and what not. I like getting to a place and not having to worry about anything til we need to check out. Is there something I am missing? I can understand if resorts are not available the full length, but I read alot about peopel switching half way through. PLease don't take offense to my post as I am not intending it that way, just wondering why and if my family is missing out on something.
Trust me, we don;t want to switch. We want to stay at BWV the whole week but the availability is not there for us yet. Our friends parents own @ OKW, we got the first five days @ BWV and we are on the waitlist for the last two days...
I've never understood that either...unless you stayed say a week @ Poly and then another week @ Yacht/Beach or something!!!
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
We switched resorts mid trip last year. Sometimes you can't decide where you'd rather stay, so you split the difference. I wouldn.t recommend it for a short trip (less than a week) but we were there for 11 days. Spent a week in a studio at Wilderness, taking full advantage of the water launch to both the MK AND Fort Wilderness (having dinner at Trails' End then seeing movies at the campfire). Then, we stayed 3 nights in a 1BR at Boardwalk. This was the more mellow part of the stay, spending more time poolside (a great pool, btw. But since I'm more of a Disney nut then my wife, when she'd want to take nap in the afternoon, I'd walk/boat to Epcot or the Studios, and experience some of the attractions she was less interested in seeing. Plus, with the washer/dryer in the room, we could pack less & we left with all laundry done.
We didn't have the points for such a long trip in a 1 BR, so it was either this plan, or a shorter trip (I couldn't take off work for a longer vacation). And this way we got to experience 2 resorts in which we never stayed. No regrets here.
We didn't have the points for such a long trip in a 1 BR, so it was either this plan, or a shorter trip (I couldn't take off work for a longer vacation). And this way we got to experience 2 resorts in which we never stayed. No regrets here.
RickEff
Active Member
:wave: I guess I'm one of those people you don't understand!
I love switching resorts when I'm at WDW. As long as it's over a week. It's a different experience at each resort. It's like having several mini-vacations instead of one.
Disney actually does the moving, so we just have to do the packing. Usually at that time we're ready to do laundry anyway so that makes it a bit easier.
One other major point, we're not traveling with kids. I can certainly see where that would become really time consuming if you had to pack up an entire family's belongings each time.
The last point of course is, YMMV. I can understand the wanting to stay at one place the entire time, but choose more often than not to get different experiences during each trip!
urbanvegan
New Member
Make sure to try a Turtle Krawl at the Gurgling Suitcase! :wave:
AmazingAshtay
New Member
We'll be at OKW in January too, you'll love it.
Don't get me wrong...i'm just psyched we are going. Not to mention our friends parents are giving us the units for FREE! I would like to just stay at the Boardwalk the whole time as we are two couples without kids that enjoy the adult beverages so the bars at Boardwalk are within stumbling distance!!! :fork:
That being said, I have never stayed at OKW so that would be OK too for the last two days I think...
That being said, I have never stayed at OKW so that would be OK too for the last two days I think...
OKW is a nice resort. The rooms are bigger, and the atmosphere is pretty laid back.
The Boardwalk is nice for the nightlife, and at OKW you had Pleasure Island. With it closing, not sure what the new plans are. But, you can still head over to DTD, they have Raglan Road (Irish Pub), and I am sure a few of the other places (House of Blues / Rainforest Cafe') have bars you can have some drinks in.
The Boardwalk is nice for the nightlife, and at OKW you had Pleasure Island. With it closing, not sure what the new plans are. But, you can still head over to DTD, they have Raglan Road (Irish Pub), and I am sure a few of the other places (House of Blues / Rainforest Cafe') have bars you can have some drinks in.
epcotWSC
Well-Known Member
I've stayed there a couple of times.
Pros: Big rooms, comfy, laid back, great pools
Cons: Buses take forever to come (see below), not that close to most of the parks (really close to DTD & TL, fairly close to Epcot and close enough to Magic Kingdom though)
I like the pool, it's not very big and fancy but it's nice to just relax by. Also the slide is quite fun. The smaller pools are great too because you don't get very many people at them, so it's nice to go to them and just relax with only a few people around instead of like 50 or more people.
The reason why I say that the buses take forever is because the resort is so big (this includes at the parks too). You can see the bus come into the resort, and by the time it gets to the last stop before it leaves the resort a good 10 or 15 minutes pass. I remember waiting for the bus for like 20 minutes at times while every other resort's bus would come around before finally OKW did. When it's the middle of the summer and you've been walking around all day, waiting is the last thing you want to be doing.
The resort is further from the parks than the Epcot resorts. I think that the Epcot resorts are in the best location. Right next to two parks, and in between AK & DTD.
All in all it's a great place though. I'd like to try the Boardwalk, but I really like OKW.
Pros: Big rooms, comfy, laid back, great pools
Cons: Buses take forever to come (see below), not that close to most of the parks (really close to DTD & TL, fairly close to Epcot and close enough to Magic Kingdom though)
I like the pool, it's not very big and fancy but it's nice to just relax by. Also the slide is quite fun. The smaller pools are great too because you don't get very many people at them, so it's nice to go to them and just relax with only a few people around instead of like 50 or more people.
The reason why I say that the buses take forever is because the resort is so big (this includes at the parks too). You can see the bus come into the resort, and by the time it gets to the last stop before it leaves the resort a good 10 or 15 minutes pass. I remember waiting for the bus for like 20 minutes at times while every other resort's bus would come around before finally OKW did. When it's the middle of the summer and you've been walking around all day, waiting is the last thing you want to be doing.
The resort is further from the parks than the Epcot resorts. I think that the Epcot resorts are in the best location. Right next to two parks, and in between AK & DTD.
All in all it's a great place though. I'd like to try the Boardwalk, but I really like OKW.
pepples22
New Member
WOW - is what I can say about OKW
I really didn't like the idea of OKW, it was our first DVC visit and I wanted to stay in Animal Kingdom, this is where I got married from and thought it would be special, also it is the reason we brought into DVC. We could not have it, instead we got OKW for two weeks. :brick: I was dreading it on the plane over.
It was only hubbie and me going so no children or family. When we got there, the rooms were huge, the view was nice, and we never heard our neighbours.
We hanged out by the pool at lot during the second week of being there, the gurling suitcase is the pool bar and I loved the pina colandas, hubbie had the turtle crawl and rum runners. It was really nice there.
The boat to Downtown Disney is nice to relax on and the music on the boat I can't get out of my head, it is playing again in my head now.
We tried to book OKW for christmas this year but only managed to get a day of stay there, we jumped at the chance, we are going to sit by the pool and visit the pool bar for the day.
Trust me you will love it!
I really didn't like the idea of OKW, it was our first DVC visit and I wanted to stay in Animal Kingdom, this is where I got married from and thought it would be special, also it is the reason we brought into DVC. We could not have it, instead we got OKW for two weeks. :brick: I was dreading it on the plane over.
It was only hubbie and me going so no children or family. When we got there, the rooms were huge, the view was nice, and we never heard our neighbours.
We hanged out by the pool at lot during the second week of being there, the gurling suitcase is the pool bar and I loved the pina colandas, hubbie had the turtle crawl and rum runners. It was really nice there.
The boat to Downtown Disney is nice to relax on and the music on the boat I can't get out of my head, it is playing again in my head now.
We tried to book OKW for christmas this year but only managed to get a day of stay there, we jumped at the chance, we are going to sit by the pool and visit the pool bar for the day.
Trust me you will love it!
Got back on Saturday and I have to say, OKW was WAY better than Boardwalk Villas! The bar stayed open until midnight...huge plus. Olivia's was great, the rooms were big and it was QUIET. Boardwalk was great, don't get me wrong but we already said next time we go back we are staying at OKW for 10 days. The buss situation kinda sucked, we got left late at AK and they had to make a special run for us, and we seemed to wait quite awhile some of the time but that's really no biggie...
Thanks for following up with your trip experience, krueg 66. We stayed at OKW in October and for the most part had a good experience. We liked Olivia's and all the amenities (pool, kids area, etc.). Enjoyed the bit of extra square footage as well. We had bus issues as well. The resort was big enough that walking could take a fair bit of time (especially with our 3 year old) and on two separate occasions we had to wait more than 45 minutes for a bus (inlcuding one for the MK the day we landed and it made my wife and son very late for MNSSHP).
The busses were really the only bad thing about the resort...but like I said, it wasn't that big of a deal to us. We weren't really in any kind of rush to get anywhere anyways.
Tom
Beta Return
We stayed in a 2-br in Building 18 on Jan 2 and 3, before we moved to WLV for the rest of our trip. I had only heard negative things about OKW and wasn't looking forward to it....
.....but I liked it WAY better than WLV. The room was HUGE, it was quiet, we had a great view of the golf course, and the bus service was decent.
I think we had a bad experience at WLV because we had a corner 2-BR. YUCK! It was tiny and cramped and had hardly any closets and NO drawers in the master bedroom. We lived out of suitcases. I hope the rest of the WLV rooms aren't like that or we'll never stay there again. It was just awful. Plus, I don't like how the master bathroom opens right into the living room either.
.....but I liked it WAY better than WLV. The room was HUGE, it was quiet, we had a great view of the golf course, and the bus service was decent.
I think we had a bad experience at WLV because we had a corner 2-BR. YUCK! It was tiny and cramped and had hardly any closets and NO drawers in the master bedroom. We lived out of suitcases. I hope the rest of the WLV rooms aren't like that or we'll never stay there again. It was just awful. Plus, I don't like how the master bathroom opens right into the living room either.