First DVC Booking

[Thumper03]

First let me say that we have reservations at OKW for 9 nights in a Studio from Feb 22-Mar 2. We are very excited about our first DVC trip.

OKW (to us) appears to have the best value for a Studio for the points, of all the DVC resorts on Disney property...but I'm sure that's arguable.

Since we just joined last weekend, and knew that we wanted to go in February, we knew the window for planning was quite "tight"...and it was. Our preferred week was Feb 15 through 24th. We were trying to work between Jr High Basketball and Track season. But, Presidents day on Feb 18th made that quite impossible. One strange thing that DVC Member Services told us, that we have difficulty accepting..."there is no availability anywhere on Feb 17th and 18th". WOW!!

We went in February last year. We booked our rooms very early, and had no issues, but then we wanted to plan a change of resorts mid-way through our trip, and to our surprise (and MJ's) we found ourselves nearly locked in due to limited or no availability at either resort. So there's a lot of non-specific activity at WDW in February...conventions, and group events, etc.

In short, I expected to have some difficulty, but I didn't expect to hear no availability.

It took three exploratory phone calls to DVC to get the right mix of dates and resort options to fall in line. That's nothing against member services at all. They were trying to give us all kinds of options...different mix of dates, changing resorts or room sizes mid-trip, etc. DH and I just had to deliberate after each conversation before we could settle.

We finally decided the move the trip out one week, (Track wasn't going to start officially until March 3rd), which opened up quite a bit more availability...though not at AKV. We had SSR, BWV, WL, and OKW to choose from...both one-bedroom and studio options.

We took the incentive points when we signed up, so we had extra to work with right away. We still wanted to bank some points to plan a big trip at AKV in 2009, so OKW fit the bill perfectly.

After getting the resort booked, I was worn out. So, we haven't even discussed tickets, dining, etc yet. I believe we can call member services for all of those things. We're also excited that we'll be there for ESPN the Weekend...never done that before.

I do have a couple of specific OKW Studio Room questions.

1) Is there a freezer in the undercounter refigerator?

2) Do they supply any dishes and eating utensils in the Studio rooms?

3) Any particular advice, tips, or neat trivia for OKW?

Thanks everybody!!

[Maleficent's Dad]

I do have a couple of specific OKW Studio Room questions.

1) Is there a freezer in the undercounter refigerator?

2) Do they supply any dishes and eating utensils in the Studio rooms?

3) Any particular advice, tips, or neat trivia for OKW?

1. There is a very small freezer section in the fridge. It is small and not very effective; think of college dorm room fridges and you get the idea of the size.

2. There are some paper plates and plastic utensils in the room. You will not find real plates and silverware. In studios, we've some times had as few as 4 bowls and plates. More recently, there were closer to a dozen. These don't get refreshed btw. I assume you could call housekeeping and ask for extras.

3. Enjoy the resort. Your room will have a DVD player and the Community Hall has free DVD rentals to DVC Members. Community Hall has lots of free stuff for members to do - rentals of equipment, ping-pong tournaments, air-hockey tournaments, etc... The CM's usually have some sort of DJ/Dance things set up on the pool deck in the early afternoon.
We like being close to the main area/main pool in OKW. Request a room accordingly. Great resort and very laid back!

[Horizon93]

We recently had our fist DVC srat and it was also at OKW. We were in a studio in building 24, close to the Hospitality House. The studio was excellent. In perfect condition. The resort has a great feel, very relaxed and friendly. We will definitely stay there again in the future.

Have fun!