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| Fast
Facts |
| Resort Address: |
1510 N. Cove Road, Lake
Buena Vista, 32830 |
| Resort Phone: |
(407) 827-7700 |
| Resort Fax: |
(407) 827-7710 |
| Number of Rooms: |
704 |
| Resort Category: |
Home Away From Home |
| Resort Location: |
Downtown Disney Resort
Area |
| Check In Time: |
4:00pm |
| Check Out Time: |
11:00am |
| Room Types (maximum
capacity): |
Studio (4), One Bedroom
Vacation Home (4), Two Bedroom Vacation Home (8), Three
Bedroom Grand Villa (12) |
| Room Service: |
Pizza and Snacks Only |
| Valet Parking: |
No |
| Laundry Service: |
Yes |
| Fully Handicapped
Accessible: |
Yes |
| Semi-Handicapped Accessible: |
n/a |
| Wheelchair Roll-In
Showers Available: |
Yes |
| Hearing Impaired Conveniences: |
Yes |
| Non-Smoking Rooms
Available: |
Yes |
| Room Safes: |
Most Rooms |
| VCR Available: |
Yes |
| Data Port Available: |
Yes |
| Coffee Maker Available: |
Yes |
| Microwave Available: |
Yes |
| Refrigerator Available: |
Yes |
| Full-Kitchen Available: |
Yes |
| Concierge Service: |
No |
| Monorail Service: |
No |
| Table Service Restaurant(s): |
Olivia's Cafe |
| Character Meals: |
Breakfast at Olivia's
Cafe (Pooh and Friends) Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday
Only! |
| Counter Service Restaurant(s): |
Good's Food to Go |
| Lounge(s): |
Gurgling Suitcase, Turtle
Shack. |
| Services (Salons,
etc.): |
No |
| Shopping: |
The Conch Flats General
Store sells character merchandise, souvenirs, and sundries
and provides film developing service and is usually
open from 7:00am - 11:30pm. |
| Pool Description: |
There are four pools
including the main one which has a large whirlpool and
a sauna and is "dressed up" a bit with a children's
play are. The unthemed quiet pools are scattered
about the Complex. |
| Children's Clubs,
Programs: |
The Disney Discovery
Club is available for ages 6-14. Check with the
front desk for days, times and fees. |
| Fitness Center: |
Nautilus and Cardiovascular
Machines, Sauna, Massage. |
| Other Recreational
Facilities: |
Bikes, Pedal Boats,
Rowboats, Pontoon Boats, Tennis, Sand Volleyball, Shuffleboard,
Electric Eel Arcade. Also, the Lake Buena Vista
Golf Club plays right through OKWR! |
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Overview
Old Key West Resort (previously known as
the Disney Vacation Club Resort) was Disney's first attempt at a
timeshare resort. The Disney Vacation Club has now grown to
include two offsite resorts (Vero Beach, FL and Hilton Head Island,
SC) as well as Boardwalk Villas, Villas at Wilderness Lodge (under
construction), and Beach Club Villas (being designed). DVC
membership information is available at many locations throughout
Walt Disney World...and you can get a tour and a review of the program
any time you'd like. Currently, Old Key West Resort is available
both to members (making use of their timeshare) and guests (paying
cold, hard cash).
Based on a Key West theme, the resort is more spread
out than many at WDW. Light pastel colors, tin roofs, breezeways,
breadboard trim, and walkways paved with crushed seashells all pull
you into the Key West of yesteryear. Several different types of
accommodations are available including a deluxe room (larger than
most, but still a typical hotel room, but with two queen-sized beds),
a one bedroom vacation home (with a full kitchen, living room, and
master bedroom suite with a Jacuzzi and king-sized bed), a two-bedroom
vacation home (basically a one bedroom and deluxe room stuck together),
and a vacation villa (two stories, three bedrooms, four bathrooms,
and huge!!).
Room Description
The rooms at Old Key West Resort are among the most
spacious at Walt Disney World. They are tastefully decorated
in a bright Key West style with light pastels, shells, and knick-knacks
that hearken back to the marine salvage business that made Key West
so economically strong in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries.
There are four categories of rooms:
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In a Studio you'll find a typical hotel room set
up with a couple of queen beds, bathroom (with a single sink
in the vanity area), desk, television in a cabinet with some
drawers underneath, and a small table with a couple of chairs.
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The One-Bedroom Vacation Home are much larger
with a master bedroom suite with a king-sized bed, a full
bath (with shower), and a whirlpool tub. There is
also a full living room with a sleeper sofa and a kitchen and
dining area adjoining.
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The Two-Bedroom Vacation Home is essentially an
adjoining One-Bedroom Vacation Home and Studio with a connecting
door.
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The Grand Villa is huge. It's bigger than
my house! Literally! It has three bedrooms each
with it's own bathrooms (the master bedroom has the wonderful
whirlpool tub) and a living room and full kitchen and dining
room.
In a studio, only limited "kitchen" facilities
are provided. You'll find a wetbar, coffee maker, and small
under-counter microwave, and small refrigerator. The kitchens
in the one- two- and three bedroom accommodations are full ones
with all appliances (refrigerator, stove and oven, microwave, toaster,
blender), dishes, glassware, pots and pans, silverware, and utensils.
You'll also find paper towels, dish soap and a sponge in either
"kitchen."
One tremendous feature of all of the Boardwalk Villas
rooms except the studios is the full sized washer and dryer in a
separate laundry room.
Preferred Room Locations
As
at most WDW resorts, you'll have to determine what is most important
for you as you decide on your accommodations requests.
The views that are available include woods and water
views and golf course views...but most of the buildings really are
quite similar. the exceptions might be buildings 45 and 46
that overlook the Trumbo canal.
Other important considerations are proximity to a
bus stop, pool, and the main Hospitality House / Turtle Krawl resort
complex. For that reason, buildings 11, 12, 13, and 14 are
highly sought-after. Other favorites include 23, 24, 25, and
26 because of their proximity to Peninsular Road's bus stop and
relatively close proximity to the main resort complex.
The buildings along Old Turtle Pond Road (30-44) and
South Point Road (45-56) tend to be a bit quieter than some of the
others just because they're more remotely located.
Food and Drink
Olivia's is the OKWR formal restaurant, but it's really
not that formal. A Winnie-the-Pooh character breakfast is held here.
OKWR also has a couple of snack and drink bars on Turtle Krawl.
The one that is most colorfully named is the "Gurgling Suitcase".
Activities
Turtle Krawl, the resort's entertainment area, includes
a general store, a library, a themed pool area, an exercise room,
volleyball, tennis, and shuffleboard courts. Several types of boats
are also available for rental for a cruise down Trumbo Canal to
the Sassagoula River (which runs north to Port Orleans and South
to the Village Marketplace).
Disney Transportation
Old Key West Resort is serviced by bus. Frankly, the
bus is my preferred mode of transportation at WDW anyway. The monorails
tend to get very crowded. Boats take so long to load and travel.
As far as the buses are concerned, granted, they are
noisy and smelly, but Disney takes great pains to keep them very
clean. The air conditioning almost always works. Furthermore, the
buses drop you off so close to your hotel door, that it's hard to
complain about them too much.
The current route of the theme park buses in OKWR
(as of May 2000) is Peninsular Road, South Point, Old Turtle Pond
Road, Millers Road, and Hospitality House. The buses to Downtown
Disney run "backwards" so you can always get on a bus
that will take you to Hospitality House and Turtle Krawl.
In addition to the buses, water taxis to the Village
Marketplace / Pleasure Island area are available, too.
Other Comments
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Be aware that check in time at OKWR is an hour
later, at 4:00 pm, than most WDW resorts.
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OKWR pools are not staffed with lifeguards!
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The full-sized refrigerators in the one-, two-,
and three-bedroom units all have ice makers. The smaller
refrigerators in the studios have some small plastic trays for
making a limited amount of ice, but if you want more you'll
have to go to the closest bus stop where you'll find an ice
machine.
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