The Best Home Away from Home at Disney
Written: Feb 06 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Rooms are huge!
Cons: Cost.
The Bottom Line: The best resort to stay at on Disney property. By far the most relaxing and spacious of all of them.
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| serena21's Full Review: Disneys Old Key West Resort |
Old Key West resort was Disney's first "timeshare" resort built and while it may be the oldest, it is by far the best. I bought into the Vacation Club at Saratoga Springs, but have stayed at Old Key West more than any other resort on the property. I typically stay in their 2 bedroom dedicated units, because I am usually traveling with children that do not need a door to the outside world in their room.
The Room Types
There are 4 different types of rooms. All rooms have portacribs.
There is a studio (sleeps 4), which comes with a mini-fridge, coffee maker, microwave, and toaster in a small kitchenette area. There are 2 queen size beds in the room as well as a small table and chairs, TV, dvd or vcr, and batroom. This studio isn't your typical rectangular hotel room, it is actually kind of oddly shaped, but this provides for a very large open feeling room.
There is a one bedroom unit (sleeps 4), which comes with a large living room, decent sized dining area, and full kitchen. The master bedroom has a king sized bed, large bathroom and jacuzzi tub. The sofa in the living room pulls out into a full sized bed. There is also a washer and dryer.
The two bedroom (sleeps 8) units can be either a lock off or a dedicated 2 bedroom. The lockoff is a combination of a studio and a one bedroom with a door between them. The dedicated unit does not have a door leading outside in the bedroom with 2 beds, nor does it have a kitchenette. It has 2 bathrooms and a laundry room with a washer and dryer.
The three bedroom unit, which sleeps 12, is actually 2 stories. The first story has a huge living room, a large dining table that seats 8, a smaller dining table that seats 4, full kitchen, powder room, and a full laundry room. There is also a master bedroom on the first floor with the same amenities as a 1 bedroom unit. The second floor has 2 bedrooms, each with their own standard sized bathroom, and two queen beds. There are TVs in all 3 bedrooms and the living room. There is also a queen size sleep sofa in the living room.
Mousekeeping
When staying on points --
Trash & Towel Service
For stays of seven or less nights, Trash & Towel Service is provided on day four.
Full Cleaning Service
For stays of eight or more nights, Full Cleaning Service is provided on day four and Trash & Towel Service is provided on day eight.
When paying cash --
Housekeeping will be in every day and make the beds, refresh towels, etc. I am not sure if they actually change the sheets every night.
The Property
There are several quiet pools around the property, but the main pool is by the hospitality house. The main pool has a pool slide shaped like a sand castle. There is also a hot tub and sauna at the main pool.
Attached to the hospitality house is community hall. There are video games, pool table, foos ball, and board games. There is as TV with movies that you can rent as well. This is also where you would rent a bike to ride around the resort, or watercraft to take out into the canal that the resort is on, which eventually leads to the lake by downtown disney.
There is a shop at the hospitality house with souveneirs or things to stock your fridge. There is also a quick service restaurant overlooking the pool, or Olivia's which is a table service restaurant. The food at both is quite good.
Transportation
This resort can very easily be a place where you can park your car and leave it. There are bus stops that have buses come for each of the parks, or to the hospitality house before it leaves the resort. There is also a downtown disney/internal bus. This bus can be boarded at the hospitality house and makes a loop through the resort before leaving. It's actually one of the best ways to get around.
Final Thoughts
My best vacations in my whole life have been spent here. We didn't get up and rush to the parks. We usually had breakfast in the room, then went to the pool area, would have lunch, go in the pool for a while, then go back to the room to get ready for dinner. We would depart our rooms around 4 for dinner reservations at either Olivia's or another resort's table service dining location, then head to the parks. By doing this, we avoid the hottest time of the day, as well as the busiest. We also get to enjoy extra magic hours where the park stays open 3 hours late for resort guests only! So while we were out a little late, we could sleep in and take our time and just relax. Staying here is not just another trip to the parks, but truely a relaxing enjoyable vacation for everyone!
I have stayed at other vacation club resorts on property and this is my favorite for how relaxed and spacious it is. Plenty of room for the whole family to not get into each other's hair, especially when traveling with multiple sets of adults as part of your family. There are things to do at the resort that will keep kids occupied, so getting up at the crack of dawn to rush to the park and spend 12 or more hours there is not necessary!
I stay on points and it is one of the cheapest resorts to stay at using points, but I have looked into cash reservations and the studios can run almost $200 a night. Renting points from an owner can be far cheaper.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
serena21
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Location: Cape Coral, FL
Reviews written: 226
Trusted by: 43 members
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