Walt Disney World Resort Review: Old Key West

I’m not sure if the view our family has of this resort is slightly skewed because of the experience we had at an Airbnb the night before we checked-in. We also found one of our favorite Disney snacks at this resort, and we were able to take advantage of one of our favorite “free” activities while we were here. Taking the boat over to Port Orleans French Quarter for some Mickey beignets.

Again, maybe it is because we had a nightmare of an experience at an Airbnb, but as soon as we pulled onto the property for Old Key West, it truly felt like our vacation had begun. The entire family felt immediately relaxed and happier. Not sure if that is because we were on property anywhere, or just at this resort, but it was a huge boost to the trip, and really helped set the stage for our stay.

The entire time we were here, I will say it was one of the most, if not THE most, relaxing resorts we have ever stayed at in all our vacations.

overview

Old Key West is a deluxe villa resort at Walt Disney World. It was the first Disney Vacation Club Resort, because of this you can only book these rooms so far in advance as they are open to “DVC” members first. The villas are surprisingly affordable compared to a few other DVC resorts. So it is a great place if you have a larger family, are traveling with in-laws, or just want some extra room to spread out. Bonus the villas have a washer a dryer as well as a full kitchen. These things are a game changer when traveling with babies and small children!

It is located in the Disney Springs area, and has a boat to take you there nearly anytime of day, weather permitting. This boat also gives you the ability to resort hop over to Port Orleans French Quarter, Port Orleans Riverside, and Saratoga Springs. Transportation to the parks are only available via bus.

Old Key West features a pool snack shack, a quick service restaurant, a table service restaurant, and a bar. All the food we had was pretty good.

Old Key West offers four different pools around the resort, which because of the size of the resort, is a great option for families that don’t want to take a bus or drive to the front of the resort, just to go to the pool.

If you have ever been to Key West, and you have experienced the laid back atmosphere down there, you will completely understand the atmosphere at Disney’s Old Key West resort.

what we love

Two things our family loves to snack on at Disney are Mickey pretzels and Mickey beignets. Now you can get Tiana’s beignets at Magic Kingdom, but everything tastes better when it is shaped like Mickey. And, unless we have always missed it, we were under the impression we could only buy Mickey pretzels at the park. We had never seen them anywhere else.

Well let me tell you, after we arrived, our oldest son was already asking when he could get a Mickey pretzel. He didn’t want anything else. He only wanted a Mickey pretzel. Then, as if a sign from above, there was a little snack stand by the boat to Disney Springs, and what was one of those snacks? A Mickey Pretzel. I think we bought two from the resort every single day, not to mention the ones we bought in the park as well.

Then, Old Key West is one of the resorts that allows you to take a boat over to Disney Springs. This also means you can take a boat over to the other resorts that are on the boat route. So, as you can guess already. This means we took the boat from our resort over to Port Orleans French Quarter for some delicious Mickey beignets. What can we say, snacks are important to us.

This was really great for the day we arrived. We arrived well before check-in time. However, we were able to check our bags at the resort, eat a very nice meal at Olivia’s Cafe, then take a boat over to Disney Springs while we waited for our room to be ready. Once ready, it was a quick boat ride back, and finally time to relax in our room.

Other cool things about the resort. If you stand on the walkway by the bridge as you leave the pool and restaurant area, you can see EPCOT’s firework show each night. You can’t hear the music, but you can definitely see the fireworks. We had never heard that anywhere, so that was a fun surprise.

The parking situation for each building was also very nice, assuming your building was not right next to the Hospitality House (main building of the resort).

The environment at the resort was also very laid back. It did not have the same feel as some resorts do. There was no go, go, go feeling to the resort. It was truly a Key West vibe, and therefore, once again and as always, Disney’s theming was on point.

areas of opportunity

One thing about the resort that brings it down, especially for being a deluxe resort, is the number of bus stops. Officially, there are only five stops on the Old Key West bus route. I’m not 100% sure this is true, because it certainly felt like there were closer to 10 stops. This might have been the case though because at each stop, there was almost always someone that was getting on or off that was on a scooter. Maybe this was just bad luck, or maybe the clientele of this resort is a bit older.

With so many other deluxe resorts giving you the ability to walk to a park, take the Monorail to a park, take a boat to a park, or take the Skyline to a park, in addition to the buses, this is certainly an area of opportunity that can be improved at Old Key West.

A second area of opportunity for Old Key West would be the lack of restaurants. Most deluxe resorts have quite a few options. I am sure one reason there has been no thoughts of expansion in this area is because of the quick ride to Disney Springs, and all the dining options available there. However, for a deluxe resort, I would like to have had an additional dining option.

overall

Old Key West offers you a great opportunity to stay at a deluxe resort for a reasonable price. Yes, you have to deal with a lot of bus stops, but this is one of the reasons the price is so good. If good food, a good pool, a laid back environment, and proximity to Disney Springs are important to you, Old Key West would be an excellent resort to stay at during your next Walt Disney World vacation.