Old Key West Daydreamin’

We’re finally in the doldrums of winter here in overcast-Indiana, so naturally my mind has turned to sunny-Florida.  As I mentally check out by cranking up my Jimmy Buffett 8-tracks, my mind wanders to some of my favorite tropical escapes at Walt Disney World. Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Resort, and Disney’s Old Key West Resort all seem like great destinations for my escape. Since I still have some Disney Vacation Club points for use-year 2012 in this fantasy, it looks like I’ll be staying at Old Key West Resort.

In reality, we actually just stayed at Disney’s Old Key West Resort earlier in January (although I’m not a huge Disney Vacation Club cheerleader, we stayed on points at four Disney Vacation Club resorts in 2011 and loved the accommodations at each and every one). For those unfamiliar with it, Old Key West Resort features the gingerbread architecture and leisurely romance of the Conch Republic in the Florida Keys. I thought gingerbread architecture was what I had seen in the lobby of the Grand Floridian during our Christmas visits, but apparently there’s more than one type, as the Disney bus system constantly reminded me about Old Key West’s gingerbread architecture every time we boarded it. I’m not one to doubt a bus narration, so I’ll assume it’s true. In any case, Old Key West definitely does have a great look. The Victorian styling of the resort combined with cool pastel colors and lush vegetation that has had some time to mature really makes Old Key West a great resort to call home.

Within the complex of the resort, there’s a lot to love. This was the first Disney Vacation Club Resort that Disney built, and was actually known for a few years simply as “Disney’s Vacation Club Resort.” Obviously with the proliferation of DVC, this name had to change. First, the resort is huge and sprawling. So large that it’s one of the resorts with an internal transportation system. Depending upon your perspective, this could be bad or good.

If you’re a runner, it’s probably a great thing. If you’re a parent of small children trying to get them from the far end of the resort to Olivia’s for breakfast, it’s probably a bad thing. I like the size, as it gives me something to explore early in the morning when I wake up.

The check-in desk at Disney’s Old Key West Resort is located in the Hospitality House, which is set along a dockside strip that contains the fitness center, arcade, Olivia’s Cafe table service restaurant, the Conch Flats General Store, Good’s Food To Go quick service restaurant, the main pool (featuring one of the coolest slides on property!), the Gurgling Suitcase bar, and the marina. Even though the resort is spread out, it’s nice to have all these locations in one cluster. From here, you can also take a boat to Downtown Disney or catch a bus to the parks. All of these little shops reminded me of a real quaint seaside dock, which really completed the theme.

I know some people say that if they want a real tropical theme, they’ll go to that location, and a trip to the Florida Keys would be easy to accomplish if you’re already in Florida, but in the real Florida Keys, when I’m ready for some nighttime fireworks, my only options are shooting off the ones I smuggled in with me. Not quite the same as Illuminations or Wishes. I’m also pretty sure I can’t board a roller-coaster simulating a flight through space in the real Florida Keys, and I’m also fairly certain the closest thing real-Florida Keys has to a monorail is a play-set that circles Christmas trees in private homes. Admittedly, Old Key West “isn’t quite the same” as real-Florida Keys, but it’s certainly a sufficient substitute when vacationing at Walt Disney World.

If you like larger rooms, you’ll probably be a fan of Old Key West. Likely due to it being the first Disney Vacation Club resort, rooms here are larger than at all other Disney Vacation Club resorts. For example, the standard studio room is 390 square feet, which is comparable to most standard Deluxe Resort rooms. By contrast, a Bay Lake Tower studio is roughly 300 square feet. This difference is quite noticeable, as there’s a lot more free space in the Old Key West studio room than most other Disney Vacation Club studios.

Although the resort opened in 1991, it just underwent a substantial refurbishment in 2010 that now has all of the rooms looking great. Our room was nice and looked like it had recently been refreshed. The living area itself was large with pastel color palette and hints of the Conch Republic. I thought this looked a tad on the bland side, but that’s a minor criticism. The bathroom and kitchenette were also fairly sized and the dual sinks made getting ready in the morning easier. To see the room for yourself, head over to the TouringPlans YouTube account, where I’ve posted a video of our room (click subscribe while you’re there–we have exciting things coming!). All in all, we were very pleased with the room.

We always walked from our room to the bus stop, as it was the last stop on the loop, and although we rarely were able to take a seat on the bus, we found that we could walk from our room (which was pretty far from the Hospitality House) to the Hospitality House bus stop to catch a bus faster than the bus would get from our bus stop (the second on the loop) to the Hospitality House stop. The internal bus loop involves a lot of u-turns and stops, so it can be a long bus ride if you board at one of the earlier stops. We enjoyed walking around enjoying the ambiance of our resort more than riding around on a bus, but your mileage may vary on that.

One of the best things about Disney’s Old Key West Resort is that it can be a relatively inexpensive way to stay in a Deluxe Resort if you plan correctly. If you’re a Disney Vacation Club member, you likely know that the point chart here is pretty favorable to members. For this same reason, it’s also really favorable to non-members who rent Disney Vacation Club points! You could easily stay here for less than $150/night if you rent points during the week in one of the lower seasons. In addition to that, since Old Key West is one of the larger and less popular resorts, it’s one of the first resorts (along with Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa) to receive the deepest discounts through Pin Codes and other targeted discounts. It could actually be cheaper for you to stay here than at some Moderate Resorts!

Overall, as you probably can tell by the tone of this post, we loved Disney’s Old Key West Resort. It gave us that island lifestyle feeling, minus the strong diet of spiced-rum and talking parrots sitting on our shoulders, which was quite relaxing. It might not have been so relaxing for other guests when I screamed “Cheeseburger in Paradise” at the top of my lungs (kidding…they loved it!) nor did they quite understand why I was constantly doing the Macarena dance (that’s the official dance of the islands…right?), but we had a great time!

When you stay at Old Key West Resort, make sure to stop at the Conch Flats General Store to pick up some of the beautiful resort-specific merchandise. It’s great for taking a relaxing slice of Old Key West back home with you, especially if you live in one of those frigid Northern states. After all, as one of the great minds of our era once sang, “changes in latitude, changes in attitude.” All this talk about relaxing and sunshine makes me want to consult the Crowd Calendar and book another trip!

What do you think of Disney’s Old Key West Resort? Are you ready to hop on a plane right now and head down to some Florida sunshine?! Let us know in the comments!