OKW Lovers Thread. Part 2

[Deb & Bill]

We just found out that our purchased points reservation for January of 2017 came through! We used one of the "middle man" companies (I didn't know if I was allowed to mention them) and we've been waiting for them to have a points owner with available points for us to purchase. Anyway, it unexpectedly worked out last night and now we're all booked and very excited!

So of course I have a question immediately and I thought the experts on this post would be an even better resource than the company we used.

We got a 2 bedroom villa. My understanding was that "near the hospitality house" was a special booking category and somewhat difficult to obtain. This is not a priority for us. We will have a car that we plan to drive to the parks (my husband has hate/hate relationship with Disney busses!), we plan to stock up and not be relying on the limited food service available, and probably won't even be swimming too much as it will be late January. What is desirable for us is a nice view off the balcony, parking near our room, and hopefully quiet (I read that some of the buildings have a lot of road noise?). I was going to request "water view" or whatever it is when I did online check in at 60 days out.

So, lo and behold when I entered our confirmation number into my MDE account it popped up "Room type: 2 Bedroom Villa-Near Hospitality House". At first I was afraid this might keep us from getting the things that matter more to us personally but then I thought well, if that's what everybody else wants then maybe there's something to it! Also, because of the somewhat complicated process of making any changes (through the middle man and then through the owner) should I just leave this alone? We stayed at OKW once before and were in building 32 on Old Turtle Pond Road and we loved that location. The view was great and being in the interior of the resort, there was lots of peace and quiet. I had planned to cross my fingers and hope for something similar, which of course wouldn't happen if we're truly "near the Hospitality House". And maybe that's better anyway and we just don't know what we're missing! We really didn't spend any time exploring the resort last time because we were so insulated in our location so maybe we missed out on things we would have enjoyed.

Obviously I am an overthinker and long winded so if you're still reading, any advice? Should I just let this ride and feel lucky that we got something that others "try" for and don't always get or should I go to the trouble of changing it and risk backing up to Bonnet Creek Parkway or something like that? I've already flip flopped twenty times in the last hour. Thanks in advance for any help!

You can request a villa either in the cluster right next to the HH (11-14) or right across the bridge from the HH (23-26). I think the 23-26 cluster has a better view and less bus noise. 23-26 would be right next to the Peninsular Road bus stop.

 

[KyGirl]

Thanks for your response.

So how would I do that? Would I have to get the owner to make the request for me for the 23-26 cluster? Should I be pleased that we got the HH designation booking?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks for your response.

So how would I do that? Would I have to get the owner to make the request for me for the 23-26 cluster? Should I be pleased that we got the HH designation booking?

You could ask the owners to enter that you want to be close to Peninsular Road or when you do online check in, select near Peninsular Road.

 

[Rickycowslip]

How solid are the floors? If the people above our room come back at 1 in the morning are they going to wake us up?

 

[Chuck S]

How solid are the floors? If the people above our room come back at 1 in the morning are they going to wake us up?

If they purposefully stomp around you will hear them. If they walk normally, you likely won't notice.

 

[BobNed]

How solid are the floors? If the people above our room come back at 1 in the morning are they going to wake us up?

Depends on who's above you. I've had stays where I never heard a sound from above. I've had stays where I thought Ringling Brothers had their circus elephants above us. Turned out to be little kids who ran everywhere, and parents who were completely oblivious or just didn't care.

 

[Rickycowslip]

thanks, option one has to be duel bathroom entrance as we will be five in a one bedroom can't decide if option two is location or upper floor, assuming of course these requests bear any relation to the room allocated...

 

[sgtdisney]

How solid are the floors? If the people above our room come back at 1 in the morning are they going to wake us up?

I think the new laminate floors may be a little more forgiving than the older, original hardwood floors in the Grand Villas. Once, years ago, we were in a Grand Villa and a couple people in our party had flight delays and cancellations, and didn't get to the resort until after mid-night. They came in and we didn't make a lot of noise, but they did wheel their luggage into the great room, etc. Not even 15 minutes later Disney security was pounding on our door and telling us we were making too much noise. We we weren't, intentionally anyway. We were just living in the room, which we told them. They left and we didn't have another problem after.

 

[pasta]

I booked paying cash in a two bedroom. Can I request HH area? If not, what should I ask for in order to be near the main pool? Also, how do I get a dedicated two bedroom? I don't want a lock-off. Thank you

 

[Chuck S]

When a two bedroom is reserved, they normally use the Dedicated first, unless a lock-off is specifically requested. Since you are a cash reservation, all requests would need to be made through the regular Disney Reservation Center.
As far as near HH, that category is normally only for reservations made through DVC, you can request to be near main pool, and they'll likely put you in bldgs 15, 16,62,63,64,27,28 or 29. Those are the closest buildings to HH that are not part of the Near HH DVC category.

 

[pasta]

Thanks for the reply! This helps a lot. I will put in a request using touring plans. If request doesn't happen, what is the worst case for distance from main building walking in minutes? I hear so many mixed reviews about OKW, and I want worse case scenario in my mind, then I can only be happy if It is better.

 

[Chuck S]

Well. the very WORST case scenario would be bldg 50, it is the farthest from HH, and is a little over half mile walk ( equal to about half the way around EPCOT's World Showcase Promenade)....but no matter where you are staying at OKW, you can hop on any park bus, HH will be the last stop before exiting the park, just tell the bus driver you're going to the front desk. To return to your villa, walk across the bridge to the Peninsular Rd. bus stop and again hop a park bus, to return to the bus stop nearest your villa. There are 5 bus stops within OKW.

 

[steves100]

How quick to grand villas sell out? Would like to have reserve one for 1st time for June of 2017. Only issue is that I have to wait for my 2017 points that come up in February. Is there any chance they might be around then?

 

[Chuck S]

You do not need to wait until your use year begins to book a DVC reservation, you can still book at the 11 Month (home resort) 7 month (non-home resort) window.
The points have to be available at time of travel, not time of booking.
So you can book in July (if your points are OKW points) or November, if points are from another resort.

 

[pasta]

I've decided to rent a car. Looking at the map, it seems parking is available near each unit. Am I correct in my assumption? Are you allowed to park near the main pool if you don't want to use the internal bus loop? Thanks again!

 

[Chuck S]

Yes, parking is very convenient in most buildings, the exception is bldg 64. You can park near the main pool, but it can be difficult to find a spot certain times of day.

 

[ercrbc]

I love reading this thread! So much good OKW info on here. We own points here and it's our favorite resort. We just stayed two nights in bldg. 11 before a cruise over Spring Break and it was great, but we are looking forward to trying a non HH room for our trip this August. Reading this thread made me curious for OKW lovers who have stayed all over the resort...how would you rank your favorite buildings (neighborhoods) you have stayed at?

We have stayed in bldgs 14, 17, 27 (HA), and 11. I would rank them 14, 27, 17 and then 11. But honestly none were bad locations and the rooms in each were wonderful. Our favorite trip was probably our first which was in 14, we had never stayed at OKW and absolutely loved it. Looking back I suppose there was some bus noise, but we didn't mind as the location was great and we had a lovely pond/golf course view. I put 11 last because parking was more challenging right in front of the HH and our view was woods/jungle. I don't remember parking being an issue in 14, but we were there in early Sept years ago, and not during super busy Spring Break. Location wasn't as great from 11 and it was nearly as far to walk to the pool as staying on Millers Rd.

We have a 2BR reserved for 8 nights in Aug, non HH and I'm thinking of requesting Penisular Rd and/or South Point. I would love to get one of the canal view rooms everyone raves about, but we would also like to take advantage of being dropped at the PR bus stop and walking to the HH stop to leave for the parks. Plus we spend a lot of time at the pool, small pool big pool it doesn't matter we will use both. My DH will be at a conference off property for three days and will take the car (he will come back around 5 each day), and since I will be using busses with three kids location to the bus is important. I won't be disappointed no matter where we are placed, but I love to read opinions and see how other OKW lovers rank each location

 

[Chuck S]

My favorite area is Turtle Pond, bldgs 30 to 35. Bldgs 45 and 46 and 55 are good, too. they have nice canal views

 

[Karabear15]

I love reading this thread! So much good OKW info on here. We own points here and it's our favorite resort. We just stayed two nights in bldg. 11 before a cruise over Spring Break and it was great, but we are looking forward to trying a non HH room for our trip this August. Reading this thread made me curious for OKW lovers who have stayed all over the resort...how would you rank your favorite buildings (neighborhoods) you have stayed at?

We have stayed in bldgs 14, 17, 27 (HA), and 11. I would rank them 14, 27, 17 and then 11. But honestly none were bad locations and the rooms in each were wonderful. Our favorite trip was probably our first which was in 14, we had never stayed at OKW and absolutely loved it. Looking back I suppose there was some bus noise, but we didn't mind as the location was great and we had a lovely pond/golf course view. I put 11 last because parking was more challenging right in front of the HH and our view was woods/jungle. I don't remember parking being an issue in 14, but we were there in early Sept years ago, and not during super busy Spring Break. Location wasn't as great from 11 and it was nearly as far to walk to the pool as staying on Millers Rd.

We have a 2BR reserved for 8 nights in Aug, non HH and I'm thinking of requesting Penisular Rd and/or South Point. I would love to get one of the canal view rooms everyone raves about, but we would also like to take advantage of being dropped at the PR bus stop and walking to the HH stop to leave for the parks. Plus we spend a lot of time at the pool, small pool big pool it doesn't matter we will use both. My DH will be at a conference off property for three days and will take the car (he will come back around 5 each day), and since I will be using busses with three kids location to the bus is important. I won't be disappointed no matter where we are placed, but I love to read opinions and see how other OKW lovers rank each location

Me too! We just bought in, in December with OKW as our home. We loved the atmosphere there, but it is nice reading along in this thread about stuff I would never have thought about, or found on my own. We are hoping for one of those sweet canal view 2BR villas in November!

My favorite area is Turtle Pond, bldgs 30 to 35. Bldgs 45 and 46 and 55 are good, too. they have nice canal views

45 and 46 were what I requested...hopefully it is granted!

 

[flyergrad09]

Hi everyone! My husband and I just found out that we will be staying at OKW next February for my 30th birthday trip thanks to the kindness of my aunt and uncle who are DVC owners there. I've stayed at OKW before, but I was 11 years old, so I don't remember very much of it, other than that I loved it!

This will be the first trip that we've taken together where we won't be on the DDP. I'm trying to get an idea of what we will need to order from Garden Grocer, but I can't find information on if there are plates, glasses, utensils, and napkins in the rooms. We're staying in a Deluxe Studio. Thanks!