Considering staying at Old Key West...for first time

[ThunderRebel]

We've never been there, but may be able to save around $1,000 by staying there over the Boardwalk Inn for our next trip. Just wondered if anyone had any comments from their experiences. Obviously, the downfall is not being able to walk to Epcot or Hollywood, but for $1,000, it may be too good to pass up. Would appreciate any tips of room or area requests - it appears to be a massive property. Going on the trip is my husband and 17-year-old daughter. We pretty much do parks and eat the whole trip. Not a lot of down time at the resort, but certainly appreciate ambiance and atmosphere. Thanks in advance.

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

We've never been there, but may be able to save around $1,000 by staying there over the Boardwalk Inn for our next trip. Just wondered if anyone had any comments from their experiences. Obviously, the downfall is not being able to walk to Epcot or Hollywood, but for $1,000, it may be too good to pass up. Would appreciate any tips of room or area requests - it appears to be a massive property. Going on the trip is my husband and 17-year-old daughter. We pretty much do parks and eat the whole trip. Not a lot of down time at the resort, but certainly appreciate ambiance and atmosphere. Thanks in advance.

We stayed there for 10 nights back in 2014 in a two bedroom villa, we took the in-laws with us and as much as I love them, there was no way we were sharing a room with them for 10 nights.
We were looking at booking two rooms at the Yacht Club & asked the Disney Rep from Disney UK to price up OKW at the same time.
I can't remember exactly what we paid but compared to what the YC would have cost, it was several thousand UK pounds cheaper, they were offering a significant discount at that time for OKW & SS, free dining & memory maker were included & they were also also doing the 14 day ticket for the price of 7 offer as well.

Just looked at the OKW map to remind me which building we stayed in & it was 48, so a fair distance away from Hospitality House but still within walking distance if you felt like the exercise, this really did not cause us any issues with buses or pool use as the stop that we used was never busy so we always got on the first bus that arrived, there was also a quiet pool just across the road.
The in-laws had dinner in Olivia's one evening & really enjoyed it, they still talk about it even now.
All four of us fell in love with the resort & in particular the space that we had in the villa, not being close to a park did not cause us any issues, any time that we wanted to be somewhere quickly or didn't want to wait for a bus we drove, the boat ride to Disney Springs is great as well.
The resort itself is beautiful, it still has that Disney magic & special things that they do so well but it's not over done & it really is a relaxing place to stay.
We tagged on 4 nights at the YC at the end of our stay & stayed there again in 2017 & are booked there again for 14 nights in November, as you said there is something special about being able to walk to Epcot or HS from the Boardwalk area, but we would definitely go back to OKW again if we were taking the in-laws or other family members.

 

[WDWmazprty]

Never stayed there but we have eaten at Olivia's Cafe. Great food! I loved the Shrimp and Grits!

 

[lorreejean]

We love OKW and have stayed there many times. It has a relaxed atmosphere and is very charming. A few differences you might want to think about. OKW studio rooms are larger than most standard hotel rooms. They also have a kitchenette in the studio that has a fridge, microwave, toaster, and coffee pot. Also has cups, glasses, paper plates, paper bowls, plastic flatware etc. Standard hotel room will have the fridge and coffee pot only. Laundry is free to use at any DVC resort. Most of the buildings have no elevator - except #62-64. If this is an issue ask for a ground floor room. Also, these are exterior access rooms, so if you have a car you can park close.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

So we stayed there for one night last trip after staying at BCV and the Poly. We had a rental car so I cant speak to the bus system but they certainly came by often. It's very spread out but seemed nice enough. But like you said you cant walk to the parks, so it's really up to you, I am not going to say it's better that BWV...but different. One bonus, the studios have 2 queen beds, so nobody is stuck on the fold out.

 

[hystericalbende]

We stayed in January for the first time and loved it. The rooms were recently renovated, so it has a fresh feel. We also liked the low key atmosphere. It was definitely a calmer vibe than other resorts, and we were one of the few families we saw with a young child.

 

[JustAFan]

Old Key West is great. We've stayed there twice and love it. It is spacious, but if you don't mind walking a bit, it's quite beautiful. The landscaping is very nice. It's one of the more quiet resorts, with a calm, laid-back feel. While you can't walk to Epcot, it is a fairly short bus trip. MK is a little bit more of a trip, but not too bad. If you want to eat at the restaurant or swim at the main pool, buildings 23-26 are a short walk. They're also very close to the Peninsular Rd bus stop. There are some buildings that back up to the golf course if you like that kind of view. I would personally try to stay fairly close to a bus stop. Some of the buildings are a little bit of a hike to the bus (i.e. 22, 38, 42, 49, 50).

Have fun!

 

[CLEtoWDW]

Heres my take on OKW....
We typically stay at EPCOT Area Resorts (BC/YC) and absolutely love the convenience of being able to walk/boat to EPCOT and HS. Our typical stay is about a week in order for us to get everything we want out of our Disney vacation. The times we have stayed at OKW I noticed we typically need at least 9-10 days to accomplish the same vacation we typically experience at BC/YC. We typically need to take breaks during the afternoon and getting to and from OKW is aggravating to say the least IMO. I know $1000 is a lot but when you factor the extra time necessary to get to and from the resort the extra money to stay at an EPCOT resort is well worth it.

 

[DisneyFreak]

Pros:

• Bigger, better rooms
• Better layout, no long halls that go on forever
• Better food
• Nice, relaxed atmosphere
• Walk or boat to Disney Springs

Cons:

• More bus time
• No elevators
• Can't walk to parks

 

[CLEtoWDW]

Cons:
No elevators

I seem to remember staying in a section of OKW where the complex had an elevator? Now that was many years ago so it may have been removed?

 

[DisneyFreak]

I seem to remember staying in a section of OKW where the complex had an elevator? Now that was many years ago so it may have been removed?

My bad. The only buildings with elevators are 62, 63, & 64. These are the three "newest" buildings at the resort and ones I have never stayed in.

 

[CLEtoWDW]

My bad. The only buildings with elevators are 62, 63, & 64. These are the three "newest" buildings at the resort and ones I have never stayed in.

Thanks for confirming this for me.

Also, totally agree with your other “Cons.” We once waited for a Magic Kingdom bus for almost an hour at OKW! It was to the point of almost being laughably bad.

 

[ThunderRebel]

Heres my take on OKW....
We typically stay at EPCOT Area Resorts (BC/YC) and absolutely love the convenience of being able to walk/boat to EPCOT and HS. Our typical stay is about a week in order for us to get everything we want out of our Disney vacation. The times we have stayed at OKW I noticed we typically need at least 9-10 days to accomplish the same vacation we typically experience at BC/YC. We typically need to take breaks during the afternoon and getting to and from OKW is aggravating to say the least IMO. I know $1000 is a lot but when you factor the extra time necessary to get to and from the resort the extra money to stay at an EPCOT resort is well worth it.

Thank you for this comparison! We do love the convenience of walking in and out of Epcot and back to our room for an afternoon rest. I'd love to save the money, but it's hard to give up the easy access. Still waffling, but leaning Boardwalk. We are squeezing in a 5-day trip, so we try to go-go-go once we arrive. End up exhausting ourselves getting up early for EMH, racing to rides, making lunch and/or dinner reservations, and being in the right park for fast pass windows.

 

[ThunderRebel]

We stayed there for 10 nights back in 2014 in a two bedroom villa, we took the in-laws with us and as much as I love them, there was no way we were sharing a room with them for 10 nights.
We were looking at booking two rooms at the Yacht Club & asked the Disney Rep from Disney UK to price up OKW at the same time.
I can't remember exactly what we paid but compared to what the YC would have cost, it was several thousand UK pounds cheaper, they were offering a significant discount at that time for OKW & SS, free dining & memory maker were included & they were also also doing the 14 day ticket for the price of 7 offer as well.

Just looked at the OKW map to remind me which building we stayed in & it was 48, so a fair distance away from Hospitality House but still within walking distance if you felt like the exercise, this really did not cause us any issues with buses or pool use as the stop that we used was never busy so we always got on the first bus that arrived, there was also a quiet pool just across the road.
The in-laws had dinner in Olivia's one evening & really enjoyed it, they still talk about it even now.
All four of us fell in love with the resort & in particular the space that we had in the villa, not being close to a park did not cause us any issues, any time that we wanted to be somewhere quickly or didn't want to wait for a bus we drove, the boat ride to Disney Springs is great as well.
The resort itself is beautiful, it still has that Disney magic & special things that they do so well but it's not over done & it really is a relaxing place to stay.
We tagged on 4 nights at the YC at the end of our stay & stayed there again in 2017 & are booked there again for 14 nights in November, as you said there is something special about being able to walk to Epcot or HS from the Boardwalk area, but we would definitely go back to OKW again if we were taking the in-laws or other family members.

WoW! What a deal you got! I'd love free dining and Memory Maker and the heavily-discounted ticket. With in-laws, it sounds like OKW is the perfect place to stay! Thanks for the input!

 

[correcaminos]

Thank you for this comparison! We do love the convenience of walking in and out of Epcot and back to our room for an afternoon rest. I'd love to save the money, but it's hard to give up the easy access. Still waffling, but leaning Boardwalk. We are squeezing in a 5-day trip, so we try to go-go-go once we arrive. End up exhausting ourselves getting up early for EMH, racing to rides, making lunch and/or dinner reservations, and being in the right park for fast pass windows.

I have completely different feelings on BW vs OKW. I have had far worse bus service at BW to the other parks. Only Epcot is always better unless you walk to DHS. If you are a park all day long person, save the $1k. I find OKW to be much more quiet. Our last trip to BW as miserable with noise. I like the pool at OKW much better too. With that $1k saved you could uber instead of buses too and be way better off

 

[ThunderRebel]

I have completely different feelings on BW vs OKW. I have had far worse bus service at BW to the other parks. Only Epcot is always better unless you walk to DHS. If you are a park all day long person, save the $1k. I find OKW to be much more quiet. Our last trip to BW as miserable with noise. I like the pool at OKW much better too. With that $1k saved you could uber instead of buses too and be way better off

Good point about using Uber to avoid buses. We've only relied on Disney transportation to get from park to park/park to resort, so we're inexperienced there. However, if Uber/Lyft is more efficient, then it would be worth it, especially if we're saving $1k.

 

[CLEtoWDW]

Good point about using Uber to avoid buses. We've only relied on Disney transportation to get from park to park/park to resort, so we're inexperienced there. However, if Uber/Lyft is more efficient, then it would be worth it, especially if we're saving $1k.

One problem with Uber is getting to MK. Being dropped off at the TTC is less than ideal.

 

[correcaminos]

Good point about using Uber to avoid buses. We've only relied on Disney transportation to get from park to park/park to resort, so we're inexperienced there. However, if Uber/Lyft is more efficient, then it would be worth it, especially if we're saving $1k.

MK is the only one that could be harder with the TTC but you can drop off elsewhere near by. Still for both MK would require a bus anyway. Heck for that one you could do a Minnie Van and still come out ahead.

 

[Plowboy]

Stayed at OKW twice. Once on Miller's Road which was a several minute walk to the Hospitality House, the other time we were way to hell and gone down in Bldg 49 (hey, someone has to stay there!). We loved the accommodations both times, love Olivia's and the boat to Disney Springs. We're staying there again next spring. The one thing I will probably do next time is put in a request for a specific area not so far from Hospitality House.

 

[Disneyfreak Jen]

I stayed at OKW in October 2016, was there for a week and during Hurricane Matthew. I LOVED it!

I stayed in building 41 in Turtle Pond, right next to the pool. Had a studio. Excellent location. Pool had a lot of good options, I swam pretty much every afternoon. Laundry is also there. They have a video app you can log into on your phone and see when your machines are done.

Busses were fantastic. Often I had the bus to myself. Never stood once the whole trip. Kitchenette came in extremely handy during the hurricane lockdown day.

The car noise on Bonnet Parkway is noisy but I use a white noise app on my phone and slept soundly each night.