[AlvaroLuis]

I'm not a DVC member, but we finally received our confirmation from Interval Intl. (exchange company) for a week (Jan 8-15, 2005) at Old Key West Resort. It will be a one-bedroom apartment, full kitchen, king size bed in main bedroom and sofa bed in living room.

My wife and I are very excited (we haven't told our children...it will be a surprise!!! ) Our only experience at a Disney resort was 2 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge about 2 years ago.

Need ALL the information I can get about this resort: how is transportation, are the rooms comfortable, is the sofa bed big enough for our 2 children (14 & 11) and if not, is there a way to get an additional bed (a sleeping bag might not be an acceptable option for more than a couple of nights ), how is the restaurant (Olivia's), etc. Since this is an exchange, I don't think we will have much of a say about room location, but given the opportunity, what would be a good choice?

I might come up with more specific questions later on. Would appreciate any help with these questions.

Thanks,

[spike]

My family loves OKW!

"how is transportation"
Bus transportation is fine, it is hit and mis on the waite time (15 -30) but I take my car and I would rather drive to where I am going. You are also able to take a boat to DTD which we like to do.

"are the rooms comfortable"
The one bedrooms are very comfortable, I think they are the bigest square footage wise of all of DVC. Lots of room to spread out.

"is the sofa bed big enough for our 2 children (14 & 11) and if not, is there a way to get an additional bed (a sleeping bag might not be an acceptable option for more than a couple of nights )"
I think your kids will do fine in the sofa bed, my kids love it but they are alot younger. DVC will not provide additional bedding.

"how is the restaurant (Olivia's)/"
I Olivia's is nice, we dined their once and we not be going back any time soon, their are just to may other places we would rather go.
"Since this is an exchange, I don't think we will have much of a say about room location, but given the opportunity, what would be a good choice?"
I would think you would have just as good as an opportunity as a DVC memeber to requset a spacific location, I think it is all timing and if your location is available. OKW is a very quite resort and all the buildings are similar. It is a matter if you want to be near the main pool/quite pool ect.
I hope this helps, and good luck with the Half Marathon.

[AlvaroLuis]

Thanks Spike, you have been very helpful.

I agree with you, with so many restaurants....I'm sure Olivia's will be our choice for a quiet dinner if we do not want to leave the resort.

Thanks again,

[A Goofy Family]

[quote=spike]My family loves OKW!



"is the sofa bed big enough for our 2 children (14 & 11) and if not, is there a way to get an additional bed (a sleeping bag might not be an acceptable option for more than a couple of nights )"



I have that same concern since we are staying at SSR and our children (twins) will be 11. I called DVC and asked if I could bring an air mattress since my children would prefer sleeping separately... They had no problems with that as long as we did not add additional people to our room. So, we're packing an air mattress and if the sofa bed doesn't work out, then we'll blow up the airmattress and everyone can be comfy for our entire visit.

[AlvaroLuis]

We'll be flying in from Panama, so an air mattress might be just too bulky for us to carry around, but it is a good idea though! We'll probably just stop by Walmart and buy whatever they got cheap and comfortable. Thanks!

[AlvaroLuis]

I just received the confirmation from II by email. There was some problem with the one they mailed to me (have not received it yet).

There is a non-refundable pay of $95 to cover for resort services (ie. early entry, use of DVC member assistance to make dinner reservations and tee times, etc.)

My question is that apparently, since I'm not renting but rather exchanging, I get to enjoy the same treatment as any other DVC member and I would like to know WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Would that make any difference at the time of making PS for character meals?

[bigpoppapump1]

I don't think that $95 is a resort fee. I am a dvc member and when I exchange at interval, I have to pay a $95 fee as well. But I can't tell you if you will receive any different treatment, but I can't imagine you would. Also, okw has the largest rooms of all the dvc resorts. My family stayed there in january and had plenty of room. The air matress is a great idea, since sofa beds are not too comfy. See you in january, 2005. (Jan.1-15)

[AlvaroLuis]

It might just be a coincidence that the exchange fee you pay and this resort fee is $95 in both cases. When you look at the information for any Disney resort at the II website there is small print stating there will be a fee for using the resort facilities. I already paid a higher exchange fee since it is considered to be an international exchange in our case. Anyway, we'll find out when we get there.

I liked too the idea of an air mattress. I'm sure my daughter would rather do this than having to sleep with her brother all week...a day or two she wouldn't mind...but...A WHOLE WEEK!!!!

Will you be at OKW in January '05 as well?

[ryanrop]

I've done both with the exchange and without the exchange. The only thing I noticed different without the exchange was they actually put the dvc owners name on my key card and b/c of that, we were able to receive some dvc discounts at some dining locations which was nice.

The first time we stayed at OKW was Sept of 2003. We got the 2 bedroom suite and had to pay the $95 fee, which we didn't mind because the price we got was fantastic. This time we stayed in a studio room and let me tell you, we wish we would have gotten the suite again, the two don't even compare. We travelled with a 4 month old and could have really used the in room washer/dryer.

Here are my tips based on both stays:

1. Request your room to be by the hospitality house. The bus pretty much stops right outside here and it's the last stop when picking up which means you don't have to ride on the bus for 10 mins while they pick up other guests at the other 4 stops.
2. If you are going with children, get a bottom floor for obvious reasons
3. Eat at olivias at least 1 time as the food there is great
4. If you aren't staying by the hospitality house and the bus stop is not right out front of your room, drive to the hospitality house instead and wait for the bus there. It's much easier to put sleeping children in your car than having to walk from a bus stop to your room, trust me on this one :)
5. Eat the apple bannana tortilla dessert at Olivia's, it was awesome :)

Hope these help, all in all, the OKW is a fantastic place to stay. Once you figure out a good strategy for the busses, you will be fine. Next time we stay, I will drive instead of using the busses b/c if you are staying at the resort, you get free parking anywhere on the grounds and you don't have to wait for any busses.

Have fun, I'm going back in Jan as well, can't stand hot weather and we just got back and it was too hot!!!!

Ryan

[AlvaroLuis]

Wow, great tips Ryan! I'm already taking notes and making changes in our plan.

I might choose to drive a couple of times too, depending on the plan for that day.

Thanks for all the info...hope you have a wonderful vacation next January!

[llama]

Originally Posted by AlvaroLuis

Wow, great tips Ryan! I'm already taking notes and making changes in our plan.

I might choose to drive a couple of times too, depending on the plan for that day.

Thanks for all the info...hope you have a wonderful vacation next January!

Quite frankly, if you have a car, I would drive everywhere except to the Magic Kingdom. Driving to AK, MGM and Epcot is definitely faster. I agree that Olivia's is a great restaurant. It has a great family feel and "comfort" food. One word about chosing a building. The one bedroom suites in the older buildings of OKW only have one door to the bathroom and that requires going through the master bedroom. So, if you want a little more privacy, request buildings 30 and higher. Buildings 62, 63 and 64 are very close to Hospitality House, and have two doors to the bathroom. (BTW - we spent 2 weeks at WDW in January - one with Interval and one with DVC - and there was no difference in treatment we received).

[AlvaroLuis]

Thanks Llama,

I'm planning on requesting a room in one of those buildings (62, 63 or 64). Do you know of any link that would show me information on what DVC members get (like discounts and stuff)?

[llama]

Originally Posted by AlvaroLuis

Thanks Llama,

I'm planning on requesting a room in one of those buildings (62, 63 or 64). Do you know of any link that would show me information on what DVC members get (like discounts and stuff)?

You can try www.disneyvacationclub.com. That's just the general information site. Quite frankly, the discounts for DVC members are not that great. A small discount on some restaurants and tickets is about it. It's always been a sore spot of mine that we aren't offered at least a substantial ticket discount. We have invested a lot in Disney and some monetary recognition of that would be nice.

[AlvaroLuis]

I did check that DVC website and you're right...discounts aren't that great...but still, I'll take them if they offer them to me.

Thanks,