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Walt Disney World

Old Key West

Old Key West Resort (originally 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 several other properties at Walt Disney World. DVC membership information is available, but unlike many timeshares, staying here will not trigger a hard sell.

Based on a Key West theme, the resort is more spread out than many at Disney World. 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 studio (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 a studio stuck together), and a three-bedroom grand villa (two stories, three bedrooms, four bathrooms, and huge).

General Information - Hide Section
  • Address: 1510 N. Cove Road, Lake Buena Vista, FL, 32830
  • Resort Phone #: 407-827-7700
  • Resort Fax #: 407-827-7710
  • Reservation #: 407-934-7639
  • Date Opened: 5/17/1991
  • Resort Category: DVC
  • Room Information
  • # of Buildings: 49 guest buildings with several common buildings.
  • # of Rooms: 704 rooms
  • Room Rates: See the official Disney page for Old Key West for current room rates.
  • Services Information
  • Concierge Service: No
  • Valet Parking: No
  • Room Service:
  • Internet: Wired in-room ethernet port. $9.95 for 24-hours.
  • Laundry: All units except studios have in room washers and dryers. There are also free self-service laundry rooms near each pool (provide your own detergent).
  • Pools and swimming: The main pool is behind the lobby building and includes a slide, kiddie pool, playground, and hot tubs. Three other smaller pools are scattered around the resort.
  • Gym and Exercise: The R.E.S.T. Beach Recreation Department has several exercise machines. A jogging trail leads past the Saratoga Springs Resort to Downtown Disney; basketball, tennis, volleyball and shuffleboard courts are also available. Bicycles are available for rent at Hank's Rent 'N Return.
  • Spa: Massages are available, by appointment, at Slappy Joe's.
  • Turndown service: No
  • Smoking:
  • Owner's Locker
  • MousePlanet partner Owner's Locker provides a highly useful service for repeat Walt Disney World visitors. It will allow you to to store a large amount of your "only-in-Florida" belongings on-site between your visits. Owner's Locker will deliver your locker to your resort early on the morning of your arrival and pick it up the day that you leave. Your locker will stay in climate-controlled storage until you return on your next visit. Owner's Locker delivers to resorts throughout the Orlando area, not just to Walt Disney World. Some of the many things that Owner's Lockers have been used to store are full-sized liquid containers to avoid the TSA hassle, clothing, holiday decorations for annual visits, pool playthings, and more. Visit their site and check them out for yourself, or order now!
  • Transportation Information
  • On foot: Downtown Disney is reachable by a walkway (about a mile). Walking to other destinations is not recommended.
  • Bus: There are five bus stops around the resort and provide direct access to all four parks and Downtown Disney. Other destinations would require transferring busses.
  • Monorail: Not accessible
  • Ferries: A ferry connects Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, and Downtown Disney.
 
Dining - Hide Section
  • Olivia's Cafe— All three meals are served at Old Key West's only full service restaurant. A variety of options though things tilt towards seafood.
  • Other dining — Good's Food to Go has standard fast food options as well as ice cream.
Entertainment and Shows - Hide Section
  • The Old Key West Resort has two video game arcades (The Electric Eel and The Flying Fisherman). Recreational activities include shuffleboard, basketball, volleyball, and tennis. Guests can also rent DVDs for use in their rooms (free for DVC members). The resort holds various interactive events through the day (on a changing schedule so see materials provided at check).
Stores and Shopping - Hide Section
Reader Reviews - Hide Section

The following are recent reviews for the Old Key West from our Reader Review system. Click the Show All Reviews link to see every review for this location. To browse all reviews in the system, please see this page.

Average Reviewer Rating: 4.1 out of 54.1 out of 54.1 out of 54.1 out of 54.1 out of 5
Number of Old Key West Resort Reviews: 16
Show All Reviews
2.0/5.02.0/5.02.0/5.02.0/5.02.0/5.0   October 19-23, 2009
Reviewer: BrandonHRich (brandonhrich@gmail.com) Nashville, Tennessee     December 07, 2009
We are Disney Vacation Club members who had our first experience with the Old Key West Resort this Fall. We have stayed at Saratoga Springs, Villas at Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk Villas, Animal Kingdom Villas and some off-property hotels in Orlando prior to our OKW experience. First I will speak to the positive aspects of the stay. I thought the theming of the resort was very well done, with many touches that reminded me of its namesake. Our 2-bedroom villa was clean (except for some mold in the guest shower) and it had a very nice view of a waterway and a golf course. Also, I love the close proximity of parking at OKW which is similar to Saratoga Springs. The overall experience and theming at OKW is pleasant, but not awe-inspiring like some of the other Disney resorts. Now to my dislikes. We took friends with us and, to save DVC points, spent our first night in a studio then transferred to a 2-bedroom villa. Our studio was on the ground floor and was perfectly fine. Our 2-bedroom unit was on the third floor. Much to my shock and horror, we discovered that there are no elevators at Old Key West Resort!!! I don't even know how this is legal. Not only did we have to lug our baggage up and down thoses steps upon arrival and departure, but at the end of a long day in the parks I was in no mood to climb to get to my villa. I cannot imagine why nobody with DVC bothered to tell me about the lack of elevators. I was not told this when we bought our DVC points nor when we booked this trip. I was horrified, especially since we had brought friends with us to share in our awesome DVC resort experience. Aditionally, the decor and furnishings in the villas are in desperate need of updating. The beds in both the studio and the 2-bedroom were very hard and uncomfortable. Not firm. Hard, like you would expect from a very cheap, poor quality mattress.
If you like the Key West, Florida theming and if you like the close proximity of parking and if you like the proximity to Downtown Disney and if you want to be on the cheaper end of the villas, and as long as you don't mind climbing steps...then this is a good option. If you are spoiled like I am and want an elevator and a plush bed...book Saratoga Springs or another of the villa options.
 
11 out of 27 people found this review helpful
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5.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.05.0/5.0   December 16 - December 23, 2007
Reviewer: sjsjbrook Ontario, Canada     January 27, 2008

The Hotel Theme really doesn't have a Disney look to it. However my entire family loved loved loved the resort.

We were Welcomed home when we entered the lobby. The kids were given flower baloons.

Our room was huge, which was great for our family of five. As we were on vacation, with a 4 and 6 year old, we didn't rush out of our room in the morning. We were able to have a leisurely breakfast every morning. During rest times, they was plenty of room for everyone to do their own thing.

When we went to the parks, we returned to find that the dishes did themselves (I thought that was absolutely wonderful).

They were happy to bring us a bed rail for our 4 year old who did fall out of the high beds several times our first night.

The pool staff were friendly and the pool was warm and a perfect depth for none swimmers. I got to sit on the edge and avoid going in ( it was quite cool the week we were there).

The staff here were very happy, they waved and smiled whenever they past us.

I would definately stay at this resort again.
 
21 out of 22 people found this review helpful
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2.0/5.02.0/5.02.0/5.02.0/5.02.0/5.0   6/22/07 - 6/24/07
Reviewer: AndyMan Atlanta, Georgia     June 27, 2007
Our first time at Old Key West resort, we were kept waiting for over 10 minutes at the main entrance gate by a security person in an SUV talking to the entrance person so we decided enough was enough and drove around the guy... he came after us like we had done something wrong... we parked up to go to checkin and got an earful from this guy who said we had to show id to the security person at the front gate, we told him that he had been talking for over 10 minutes and we got tired of waiting so I went around him. I started to get back into the car to go to the gate when he said I could show him my id which I respectfully did... not a good start to the weekend! Woohoo, no lines at the checkin, this was very refreshing!

Luckily we were in building 11 which is actually close to all the amenities, it was only a 150yd walk to get to the ice machine.

The room itself was pleasant and airy altough sharing it with cobwebs was more than a little disappointing for a Disney experience. We were facing the woods and our patio overlooked the Air Conditioning blowers.

The beds in the resort appear to be 2 different sizes, the actual bed frame is about 4 inches larger than the mattress so be careful when skirting around the bed corners because the frame has a tendency to bite (got me 4 times in 3 days and my right knee is black and blue because of this)

The other disappointing thing about the room itself was the chairs (of all things)... the seat cushion seemed to be covered in that plastic table-cloth type material that always manages to cling to the back of your legs. Not the most comfortable seating when trying to login to the internet connection.

The pool(s) were easy to get to as were all of the general amenities and parking outside of the room was easily accessible and not crowded at all.

Transportation to and from all the parks seemed to be frequent and friendly be it bus or water taxi.

Overall, personally, given I could have gotten into Port Orleans for $70/night cheaper... I would say that we should have gone that route BUT we're trying to do all the disney resorts and give an overall feeling for the year.

Think we'll pass on this resort next time around
 
14 out of 44 people found this review helpful
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Links of Interest - Hide Section
MousePlanet Links
  • A Photo Tour — Brian Bennett provides a detailed tour of the entire resort (January 2007).
  • A Photo Tour — Sue Holland shows you one of the resort's Grand Villas (January 2003).

Offsite Links (we can not vouch for their accuracy or timeliness)


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