Walt Disney World Resort - Oak Trail, Orlando

I was challenged with the weather. 50 degrees and showers. However the price was great and they let me play 18 holes for the price of 9 !!!! I also was going to a Disney cruise next and did not want own clubs to store. This course has lower cost rentals. If alone,this is a better $$ to spend than other courses.

Two of us played Oak Trail in the morning on Friday May 2. I originally made a tee time for 7:10 for a single, but changed it to the next later available tee time for two at 8:10. We arrived at 7:40 as requested by the reservation specialists at Disney. The entrance to the Oak Trail course is the same as the Palms and Magnolia courses, but none of the area signs indicate this. Just follow the signs to the premier courses (near the Polynesian Resort) and you'll be fine. The woman at the counter in the pro-shop was definitely not the typical super-nice and friendly Disney staff that one comes to expect after a week traipsing around the parks. The other staff including the grounds crew were on-par, pardon the pun, with Disney standards. (Although there was one grounds crew member who turned on the sprinkler to one of the Palms course greens while two wild turkeys were standing very close. The crew member was obviously trying to hit them as he said to us, "Ha! Almost got 'em that time!" Somewhat disappointing that he would be trying to hurt the wildlife.) We were pointed towards the 1st tee and told that there is no one ahead of us, so we were free to tee off whenever we wanted. So why was there no tee time between 7:10 and 8:10? Curious. We headed out to the first tee, which was very sandy and sparsely covered with grass. The fairway didn't look very good either. The entire first hole is in rough condition. The green might as well be patched together with green doormats, literally. I wish I had brought my camera. Putting was an adventure. The condition of the course got progressively better as the round went on, which was a good surprise. I have played on much nicer 18-hole courses for the same money elsewhere (Midwest and New England), but this is Disney, so what do you expect for $38+tax? I haven't played any other area courses, but it seems that as far as value goes, this was the best bet for morning golf the area. The courses is walking-only and is very walkable. There aren't a lot of hazards to bother the average player, but the course is challenging enough. The scenery and wildlife were wonderful. We saw several (8-10) wild turkeys, four deer, osprey, and a small alligator to name a some of them. The premier courses are visible from Oak Trail on many of the holes. We finished our round in approximately 2h 30m, including a few extra balls on several holes. We were never waiting at any tee boxes and never had anyone waiting behind us. All in all, the round was very comfortable and we enjoyed the course. The icing on the cake would be if this course was kept about half as nice as the Magnolia and Palms courses. I would play this course again if I needed a morning tee time, but I would probably go for Magnolia, Palms, or Celebration at the off-season twilight rate.