OKW Room info...

[ES0412]

This will be our 1st time staying at OKW in the 1 BR villas. I was hoping for some recommendations as to what building to request. Also, when should I make the request?

 

[WebmasterDoc]

OKW view options are water, golf course and woods. All offer a nice relaxing atmosphere from your balcony/patio.

The best time to make requests is when you make the reservation, as that is the order in which they try to fill them.

If you have any wishes like non-smoking, near a pool or which floor- you should also make those requests as soon as possible. Try to make your requests in their order of importance- again that is the order they try to meet them.

Good Luck!

 

[loribell]

Glad to know this. I probably wouldn't have requested any thing other then non smoking when I made my ressies since they say to fax in room request for the WDW hotels 3 days before arrival. Thanks for that piece of info.

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

Since many of the OKWesters think that every view is a good view, just asking for non-smoking isn't a bad bet.

If you don't mind some steps, lots of people prefer the upper floors - sometimes a little better view (but then you can't easily feed the ducks) and a little less noise.

Generally, the way it works (or so I was told a year or two ago) is that 4 or 5 days prior to a particular arrival date, reservations are arranged in terms of date - oldest reservations first. Then within that, medical requests have the highest priority, followed by smoking preference, and then any other request has equal priority (which basically means by date).

The problem is that there's no real "look-ahead" function (in fact there may be if the same person handles room assignements from day to day and actually does "look-ahead") - hence even medical requests may sometimes go unmet because people have been given the needed rooms (even the day before) and haven't checked out on that particular date; those people may or may not have needed the room in question, and a suitable alternate rrom may or may not have been available (a truely complex problem). Another problem is that sometimes the front desk will re-arrange things for people at check-in (squeeky wheel gets the grease syndrome) - causing a ripple effect thru many pre-assigned rooms; and something that gives the somewhat mythical (depending on who you talk too) "room controllers" ulcers.

As a result, the simpler the request, the better - but sometimes even just asking for something like non-smoking (or smoking) may not be an option when you check-in. Then, it becomes a matter of how important it is. For us visiting at Christmas, we'll take whatever GV we get, but will be willing to pay the price to change rooms to a GV with an elevator when it becomes available because of a wheelchair in our party - I figure my dad and I can walk the wheel chair up and down steps for a few days if needed (we've done it before and we haven't lost a wheelchair yet!).

 

[Jeanne]

I have always put in requests, and rarely disappointed. I simply make it very clear that nonsmoking is a medical request and would be thrilled if by chance any of the others come with the deal. I go with those expectations, and if any requests other than nonsmoking are met, I take it as extra pixie dust on this trip. We like to be near the hospitality house, but that also leaves us at the last bus stop of the night, a plus on one end, a definate draw back on the hot, sweaty nights, Don't let the requests get you down, and you will love wherever you are.

 

[SueM in MN]

It's best to make all requests at the time that you make your reservation or modify your reservation to include them ASAP after. Make sure that whatever is the most important to you is listed first because whatever is listed first is assumed to be your most important request.
The more requests you have, the more difficult it is to fill all of them and a specific room or building is more difficult to fill because there are few rooms that meet your requests.