Disney's Old Key West Resort
Disney's Old Key West Resort is a Disney Vacation Club resort at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, themed to the relaxed island atmosphere of Key West at the southern tip of Florida. It holds a particular place in Walt Disney World history as the very first Disney Vacation Club property, and its spacious, low-rise villas are set along waterways and fairways a short boat ride from Disney Springs.
History
The resort opened on December 20, 1991, under the straightforward name Disney's Vacation Club Resort. It was Disney's first experiment with a points-based vacation ownership programme at Walt Disney World, offering members larger, apartment-style accommodation rather than conventional hotel rooms. Only part of the resort was ready for the first guests, and building continued in phases as membership grew.
As further Disney Vacation Club resorts were announced, a generic name became confusing. Following the opening of Disney's Vero Beach Resort, the property was renamed Disney's Old Key West Resort in January 1996, a name that reflected its theming for the first time. The resort has remained a Disney Vacation Club property ever since, bookable by members using points and by other guests for cash when villas are available, and it has been refurbished periodically to update its interiors while retaining its laid-back character.
Theming and layout
Old Key West imagines a fictional community sometimes described as Conch Flats, in honour of the Conch Republic, the tongue-in-cheek name Key West residents gave their island. Pastel-coloured buildings with tin roofs, wooden shutters, ceiling fans and wide verandas recall the clapboard houses of the real Key West, and the planting is lush and tropical, with palms and flowering shrubs softening the streets.
The resort is large and spread out, arranged as a series of small neighbourhoods along Peninsular Road and Old Turtle Pond Road, among others. Villas range from Deluxe Studios to One- and Two-Bedroom Villas and Three-Bedroom Grand Villas, and the resort is frequently noted for the generous size of its rooms compared with later Disney Vacation Club properties. The Hospitality House area, near the entrance, forms the village centre, containing check-in, shops and the main pool, while quieter leisure pools serve the outlying neighbourhoods. A waterway runs through the resort, carrying boats to Disney Springs, and paths wind past the fairways of the Lake Buena Vista golf course.
Dining and amenities
The resort's table-service restaurant is Olivia's Cafe, by the Hospitality House, a casual spot named for a fictional Key West resident and decorated with photographs and mementos meant to suggest a family-run local favourite. It serves American fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Quick-service meals are available at Good's Food to Go, drinks at the Gurgling Suitcase bar beside Olivia's, and snacks and refreshments at the Turtle Shack by the Old Turtle Pond Road pool.
Recreation centres on the main Sandcastle Pool at the Hospitality House, with its lighthouse-themed water slide, alongside three quieter pools, a sauna, hot tubs, tennis and basketball courts, and Community Hall, where Disney Vacation Club resorts traditionally offer games, crafts and film screenings. Transport is by bus to the theme parks and water parks, and by boat along the Sassagoula River route to Disney Springs; unlike resorts such as Disney's Riviera Resort, it has no Disney Skyliner or monorail connection, which contributes to its secluded feel. Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa are reached by bus, or by bus to the Magic Kingdom and then the monorail.
See also
- Disney Vacation Club
- Disney Springs
- Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Disney's Contemporary Resort
- Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa