Jecca
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2001
Just back yesterday after a 16-hour drive home from OKW. We spent our first night in WDW at the All-Stars Sports, a last minute reservation we made as we arrived in Orlando. I was glad to have the room, but also glad it was only for one night. The only way I can describe it is... depressing. It was kinda dark and loud and small. Blah... and no offense to anyone who loves All-Stars; this is my opinion only.
We then moved onto 3 nights at AKL Concierge, and we literally stayed in the resort for all three days. No parks, no Downtown Disney, no nothing. Just lounging at the pool and in the Concierge Lounge. That is a level of pampering that I can definitely get used to.
Finally, we moved onto 5 nights at OKW, our first stay there. Our room wasn't ready for a few hours after we arrived, so we had a lovely lunch at Olivia's and then took a drive to Celebration. Cute town. Anyway, we were in room 4611, a one-bedroom a quick walk to the South Point bus stop. It was lovely, really. Very quiet and I loved the view of the waterway behind the building. Also, huge compared to what we're used to at BWV and BCV. The bus transportation was very good, I thought. We never waited more than maybe 10 or so minutes. However, we did hear some complaints from other guests who had waited more than a half hour for a bus on more than one occassion.
Our room was in good shape, all things considered. There were a few annoyances, though. I use a wheelchair, but always ask for a "normal" room because I prefer not having a roll-in shower. That said, I'm used to a certain level of "Universal Design" that was just not present at OKW. The towel bars were ALL (all 3) out of my reach. Also, some of the doorways - like the ones into and out of the laundry room - were too narrow for my chair to fit through. Although I didn't stay in a specifically wheelchair accessible room, I have to say that these were disappointments to me. I DO expect some Universal Design and I don't think it's too much to ask for. As a completely separate issue, our unit felt very dark at night - like all the light bulbs were 5 watts or something. That's just a preference thing, though. Also, it was incredibly easy for bugs and other creatures to pop into our room. I know it comes with the territory of a door to the outside, but it was irritating. We had a baby lizard come in and it was like a comedy of errors for my dh and I to get him back outside safely. I finally cajoled him onto a sheet of paper and out he went. Meanwhile, he was probably freezing his little lizard butt off...
The parks were great as always. We were very lucky to have dry weather, but it was hot as all get-out. My review of two new attractions: Lights, Motors, Action! - HUGE let-down (not that I was expecting a lot here, but it was just so blah. Plus, stand-by wheelchair seating was abysmal, but that's another story); Soarin' - FABULOUS! What a fun fun fun ride. We waited for it - stand-by - three times, once for 40 min, once for 60 min and once for 90 minutes. Worth it each and every time.
Overall, it was a great trip. We tried new restaurants and loved them all, and really enjoyed the parks. I was very glad to have tried out OKW, and while we really liked it, I think we'll be sticking to BWV and BCV. They're where we feel at home. Good thing we're all set at BWV in November for the F&W Festival!
We then moved onto 3 nights at AKL Concierge, and we literally stayed in the resort for all three days. No parks, no Downtown Disney, no nothing. Just lounging at the pool and in the Concierge Lounge. That is a level of pampering that I can definitely get used to.
Finally, we moved onto 5 nights at OKW, our first stay there. Our room wasn't ready for a few hours after we arrived, so we had a lovely lunch at Olivia's and then took a drive to Celebration. Cute town. Anyway, we were in room 4611, a one-bedroom a quick walk to the South Point bus stop. It was lovely, really. Very quiet and I loved the view of the waterway behind the building. Also, huge compared to what we're used to at BWV and BCV. The bus transportation was very good, I thought. We never waited more than maybe 10 or so minutes. However, we did hear some complaints from other guests who had waited more than a half hour for a bus on more than one occassion.
Our room was in good shape, all things considered. There were a few annoyances, though. I use a wheelchair, but always ask for a "normal" room because I prefer not having a roll-in shower. That said, I'm used to a certain level of "Universal Design" that was just not present at OKW. The towel bars were ALL (all 3) out of my reach. Also, some of the doorways - like the ones into and out of the laundry room - were too narrow for my chair to fit through. Although I didn't stay in a specifically wheelchair accessible room, I have to say that these were disappointments to me. I DO expect some Universal Design and I don't think it's too much to ask for. As a completely separate issue, our unit felt very dark at night - like all the light bulbs were 5 watts or something. That's just a preference thing, though. Also, it was incredibly easy for bugs and other creatures to pop into our room. I know it comes with the territory of a door to the outside, but it was irritating. We had a baby lizard come in and it was like a comedy of errors for my dh and I to get him back outside safely. I finally cajoled him onto a sheet of paper and out he went. Meanwhile, he was probably freezing his little lizard butt off...
The parks were great as always. We were very lucky to have dry weather, but it was hot as all get-out. My review of two new attractions: Lights, Motors, Action! - HUGE let-down (not that I was expecting a lot here, but it was just so blah. Plus, stand-by wheelchair seating was abysmal, but that's another story); Soarin' - FABULOUS! What a fun fun fun ride. We waited for it - stand-by - three times, once for 40 min, once for 60 min and once for 90 minutes. Worth it each and every time.
Overall, it was a great trip. We tried new restaurants and loved them all, and really enjoyed the parks. I was very glad to have tried out OKW, and while we really liked it, I think we'll be sticking to BWV and BCV. They're where we feel at home. Good thing we're all set at BWV in November for the F&W Festival!
