Old Key West: Our Best Disney Vacation Yet

Scattered among the grounds at Walt Disney World are the Disney Vacation Club resorts, some of the best accommodations on Disney property. On our last trip to Disney World we had the privilege of staying in one of these "home away from home" resorts, and it was our best Disney vacation so far.

Disney's Old Key West is one of Disney's many time share resorts, including Saratoga Springs, Boardwalk Villas, Beach Club Villas and Villas at Wilderness Lodge. The rooms in these resorts are designed to feel more like a condominium than a hotel. Studio apartments have 2 beds, a small kitchenette and a private patio or balcony. One and two bedrooms have a full sized equipped kitchen, living room with DVD player, a dining area, a master bedroom with a king size bed and jacuzzi bath, balconies or patios and a full washer and dryer for laundry. The two story three bedroom Grand Villas have the master bedroom plus 2 more, and 4 bathrooms.

We first considered staying at Old Key West because, traveling with my children, my father, and my sister and her husband, we were looking at renting 3 of the value resort hotel rooms for our party. Since my father, sister and I all live a thousand miles away from each other, we wanted room to visit especially after the children had turned in for the night, and unless we could get 3 interlocking hotel rooms that wasn't going to happen. After some research on the web, I decided the DVC resort was the way to go. Because we were not DVC members at the time, I first looked at renting the rooms through Disney, but since they are considered Deluxe resorts (like the Grand Floridian) it was far out of our price range. Instead I found a DVC member who was willing to rent his timeshare to me for about the same price as the three value rooms I was going to get in the first place. What a deal!

Old Key West was designed to have an old Florida feel. The buildings are painted in pastels and the grounds are full of waterways, fountains, bridges and flowers. The view from our private patio was especially beautiful, surrounded by tall flowering bushes we faced directly out onto the lake. It was our favorite place to eat breakfast and drink our coffee every morning in the Florida sun. Old Key West has four pools. The main pool has a hot tub, a kiddie pool and a "sand castle" water slide. We spent the most time at this pool, and the kiddie area was fantastic for my little ones. There are also 2 playgrounds where I would take my older daughter to burn off some energy while the baby was napping. 2 of the pools are "quiet pools," needless to say, with the kids I didn't get there too much!

While we like to spend most of our time at the parks, there are times when the hustle and bustle sounds less than appetizing and we just like to stick around the resort for the day. Old Key West has Hank's Rent-N-Return, where we rented a pontoon boat and spent a couple of hours taking a leisurely boat ride around the complex and taking in the scenery. It really felt more like a Florida vacation and less like a Disney vacation for that day! My dad and I played a couple of games of tennis and my sister and her husband took the kids to the arcade to play some video games. We were able to spend the entire day at the resort and we were entertained the whole time. We didn't have to pack up a single diaper bag or load everyone on the bus once! And then, after our day of relaxation, we were ready to get back into the Disney swing of things again.

Speaking of buses, the transportation options from Old Key West are wonderful! The resort has a dedicated bus to the parks, which cuts down on the number of stops you have to make and the general length of the ride (and how long the kids will put up with it!) When we wanted to go to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping, we boarded a ferry boat at the Hospitality House and it was wonderful! After so many buses, a smooth, scenic boat ride kept the kids interested and excited.

The one feature of Old Key West we used the most was the full sized kitchen in our two bedroom suite. It was the easiest time I've ever had with meals at Disney! My sister and I did one quick hour of shopping, and with the exception of our one planned dinner at Chef Mickey's and the one obligatory Disney turkey leg, we did not have to eat out at all the whole trip. We would wake up, start the coffee maker, cook a healthy, filling breakfast and sit out on the patio as a family. It was a great start to every day! We'd load the dishes in the dishwasher and then leave for a day at the parks. We'd come back for lunch and dinner too. With the money I saved making the meals myself, I easily paid for the trip and had much better control over what my family was eating. It also made meal times a quiet, family occasion and gave us grown ups a chance to catch our breath each day.

It was by far the most stress-free trip we've ever taken. When Disney says "home away from home," they really mean it! It was just like having a little home to go back to every day. Just a word of warning, if you have the opportunity to stay in a Disney Vacation Club resort like Old Key West, watch out! You'll never want to do Disney any other way ever again.