Background info:
We own non-DVC timeshares, and until this year have always used them to exchange into Orlando-area off-site timeshares, which are incredibly easy to get into and cost much less in terms of exchange points than DVC resorts do. So aside from one night at the Swan five years ago, we had never stayed on-site at WDW until this trip staying at Old Key West. The big question for us was whether staying on-site was worth it - would the Disney amenities compensate for the much higher exchange rate? I'll get to the answer to that question later.
Saturday, October 20 - Arrival Day.
Our trip to Orlando was completely uneventful - no traffic en route to the airport, no flight delays, no in-flight turbulence. (Well, there was a screaming baby in the row right in front of us, which literally drove hubby to drink.) Upon arrival around 6:00 p.m., we easily found the Magical Express and got right in line for the Old Key West bus, which according to the sign would also stop at three other resorts. However, it seems that nobody was travelling to those other three resorts because we instead got added onto the Magic Kingdom resort bus route. This would not have been a problem if the bus had not driven past Old Key West, taken us on a tour of the Contemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian, and then finally stopped at Old Key West on the way back to the airport. As it was, we didn't arrive at our resort until nearly 9:00. We quickly checked in - no problems there - and I was pleased to discover that they had a birthday button waiting for hubby, who was celebrating his...um...39th. Yeah, let's go with that.
By then we were famished. I'd hoped we might have time to check out Downtown Disney or maybe even travel to another resort for dinner, but we decided that the fastest, easiest way to get dinner was to go to Olivia's, the table-service restaurant at Old Key West. (While waiting a few minutes for a table, hubby got that drink I mentioned earlier - a rum runner at the tiny bar adjacent to the restaurant. That and a very nice glass of merlot with dinner helped him forget that screaming baby and the long, long bus ride.) Unlike many of the restaurants at other resorts, Olivia's seems not to be a popular dining destination - I've never read a review on this or any other Disney fan site. Well, I can tell you that if you ever happen to find yourself at Old Key West and decide to dine there, you won't be disappointed by Olivia's. It's very low-key and casual, but the food is quite good. Hubby started with the conch fritter appetizer - neither of us had ever tried conch before - and we both loved them. They looked kind of like hushpuppies - if you've ever had Rhode Island clam cakes, they're like them but with a flavor like nothing I've ever tried before. They came with two dipping sauces - hubby liked the remoulade best, while I preferred the key lime mustard. For our entrees, I ordered the market fish (pan-seared grouper that night) with roasted potatoes, succotash and lemon tarragon butter. I'd never had grouper before - it's a light fish, which I am not normally a fan of - but I thought the grouper was delicious. (Totally unrelated - a truck just drove by our house and when I first heard it I thought it was one of the Disney buses, which we could faintly hear from our room at OKW. Wish it were!) Back to dinner - the roasted potatoes were crispy and flavorful, and even the succotash was good (lima beans normally turn me off). The lemon tarragon butter was also tasty, but I left most of it on the plate - I was trying to eat at least semi-healthy that week. Hubby got the seafood pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, vegetables, olive oil, and garlic and loved it. I had a taste and it was indeed quite good. Then, since hubby was wearing his birthday button, he got a free brownie sundae. Yay!
Old Key West is a sprawling resort of two- and three-story gingerbread buildings with winding roads, lots of cul-de-sacs, picturesque ponds, and a gold course. After dinner, we decided to walk from Olivia's to our one-bedroom unit instead of getting bell services to take us. Our carry-on luggage was just two backpacks, so even though our building was at the other end of the resort, it was still an easy walk. When we arrived, we discovered that one of the bus stops was conveniently located right across the street from our building, but in spite of that our second-floor unit was nice and quiet. Our windows overlooked the golf course, so the view was nice, and shortly after we arrived we heard fireworks - it was Illuminations. We could see flashes of light from the show but couldn't actually see the fireworks. Still, it was really cool knowing how close we were! Our two checked suitcases were delivered shortly after we arrived (since tipping is an occasional topic of conversation around here, I'll mention that I tipped the guy $5.00), so we unpacked and settled in for the night.
, so the trip report might slow down a little after tonight's last entry.
