I had purchased 6 days here from Redweek.com from a owner there. I have stayed off Disney property and on Disney property and I have have to say that on Disney property is the way to go if you have small kids. Let me share my experience with you regarding the Disney transportation.

We were going to Cinderellas castle for breakfast and my daughter (age 4) was all dressed up. When we got on the bus (since Disney transportatation takes you everywhere!) the driver told us to wait until everyone got off the bus since they do something special for the princess's. So, we got to the Magic Kingdom and waited for everyone to get off the bus. When my daughter went to get off of the bus, they rolled a red carpet out for her! I couldn't beleive how nice (and thoughtful) that was. They then gave her a balloon and took some Polaroids of her. That totaly made her day. Another "disney difference," that makes the trip worthwhile.

As far as this resort is concerned, it was clean, comfortable and very friendly. When you check in they have balloon animals that they make for the kids. The resort is very spread out so if you are stationed at the back of the resort (like we were) be prepared for a walk to the front of the resort (about 3/4 of a mile).

The atmosphere there is very nice and it seems very well kept and a nice place for families. We would definatly visit again!!

We stayed at OKW in late April. I am a regular at WDW and have stayed on property at several locations. OKW was not my favorite. The place is HUGE and sprawling. The walk to the pool (if you are lucky enough to be able to walk to the pool) is long. The do offer shuttle busses but do you really want to take a bus to the pool?

We stayed in a 1 bedroom condo which promised acommodation for up to 4 people. There were 3 of us. Two married, one single. We planned on the single person using the "Pull out Queen Bed". WARNING. They do not tell you that the setup is such that there is NO direct access to the bathroom without going through the master bedroom.

Also, the "pull out queen" was very, very uncomfortable and no sheets were provided for that.

I would recommend a Moderate level resort such as Carribean Beach is a better deal. Favorite resort on property remains Beach Club/Yacht Club.

We stayed at Old Key West, and I was wondering why my wife would book us in here. It's not like I'm a Parrothead kind of guy. But what
I was picturing (a place with narrow, crowded streets, overrun with six-toed cats and drunken authors) was not in fact what materialized.

My wife booked a studio room that lists out at nearly 350 bucks a night, for our mini-vacation. We got a better deal than that, but still, this is not an inexpensive place.

But, we got upgraded...

To a two-bedroom Villa that lists out close to 700 bucks a night.
Specifically, room 3624 of Old Key West (copy & paste these numbers into Google Earth or Google Maps to see the precise location of our suite: 28.372169, -81.534128)

When we got into our suite I thought I had died and gone to hotel heaven. I've made it quite clear in past reviews that I simply LOATHE
"luxury hotels." It isn't because I hate luxury, or that I'm just too
much of a peasant to enjoy the finer things, it's that I don't consider luxury hotels the slightest bit luxurious.

Marble & granite don't impress me. I've installed, cleaned, & restored them, so they have no mystique to me. Nor do gold-plated elevators. I ain't sleeping on the elevators. And I hate tiny, overpriced rooms where everything a normal person needs is unavailable and/or costs an arm & leg. Being in such a place makes me wonder why I left home to spend money on being inconvenienced at a place I don't like as much as home.

OK, enough about what I don't like. Time to talk about what I do like.

So, what's so darn great about a two-bedroom villa at Old Key West? Lessee. First, unlike many Disney hotels, it's extremely car-friendly. Pull up to your building, you're one to maybe six parking spaces and a flight of stairs away from your room door.

Second, the living room / kitchen. Don't picture a kitchen that's been crammed into a living room. It's merely the lack of a wall between the two rooms that makes me report them as one. The LR has a three-seater, queen-sized sleeper couch, a two-seater loveseat, a nice fat chair with an ottoman, a dining table with four chairs, and plenty of room to walk around besides. I reiterate, TEN people can sit comfortably in the living room, and nobody is tripping over someone else's legs to get to the bathroom or the fridge.

Speaking of the fridge, it's full-sized. Not apartment sized, not dorm sized. Full sized. "Can hold groceries for a week's stay for a family of six" sized. Also full-sized were the range, microwave, dishwasher, clothes washer, clothes dryer, HVAC (real, ducted central
heat & air) coffeemaker, toaster, blender, two-compartment sink, the full set of dishes for 8, the pots & pans (including baking & 9x13 lasagna pans, etc.)

Wow. When is the last time you stayed at a hotel where you could seriously consider making cookies from scratch, roasting a turkey, making spaghetti, cooking bacon, eggs & pancakes for breakfast, and it was not only possible but almost easy?

Oh, but I gush on over kitchen gadgets. Back to the LR. Of course it has a TV with cable to go with the seating for 10. It also has a double-door cabinet 5 feet wide and 2-1/2 feet deep, for storing your luggage & large bits of whatnot. Off the LR is the 9' x 13' balcony with four chairs, a table, a ceiling fan, a view of palm trees, a large pond, and ducks playing tag with each other. This balcony is as large as some hotel rooms I've stayed in.

The Master suite features a 17' x 15' bedroom w/ king bed & large nightstands on either side; a two-room bathroom: one with whirlpool tub and pedestal sink, the other with toilet, sink with plenty of counter space, and standing shower big enough for two, (wink wink, nudge nudge) and a room that's bigger than most hotel bathrooms that just houses the washer, dryer, ironing board and iron with very long cord.

That would certainly be enough, wouldn't it?

Almost completely wasted on us was the other bedroom suite, measuring
roughly 18' x 14' (on average - room wasn't square, I didn't bring a protractor,) featuring two queen-sized beds.

(That would be a total of 1 king, 2 queens, and a queen fold-out couch, in one hotel suite - there's room for eight to sleep very comfortably. If you're traveling with a large brood, or another family, or several other couples, this place is the way to go.)

The other suite features a slightly less opulent bathroom, "merely" featuring toilet, full-sized tub/shower, and expansive countertop & sink. Just like my bathroom at home except a bit bigger. OK, perhaps a lot bigger. And with a lot more counter space.

There are other features, such as:

- enough cabinets and closets to make sure you never have to even think about living out of your suitcase.

- a folding yuppie baby crib (stored in master bath closet - yes of
course the master bath has a closet.)

- a small in-room wall safe with actual key (Medeco brand lock, which is important because it means no employee or passerby would be able to take the key home and have copies made at the local hardware store or locksmith.)

- "Little" things like a laundry basket, bucket, mop, broom & dustpan, and yes, a full-sized, commercial vacuum cleaner, in the front closet. If you're here for a while with your family, there will be a spill here and some laundry to do there. Ain't it nice to just take care of it, rather than have to call the front desk and explain how your four-year-old ralphed in the kitchen and
spilled the whole box of cheerios into the carpeting, then wait for some poor maid to have to deal with your mess?

OK, enough about the room, and on to the little touches:

I know this part is not like genuine concern, caring, or a handmade present from somebody who cares about me and my wife in the depths of their soul, but rather just good marketing. But...

At some point in time during reservations or check-in or sometime in there, we must have mentioned it was our anniversary. We get back to the hotel after the first day, and there's a little bouquet of three balloons, with "congratulations" and "Happy Anniversary" printed on them, and a picture of Mickey & Minnie Mouse signed by, well by some hotel employee obviously, but ostensibly Mickey & Minnie, personally to the wife and me.

Again, I know it's just marketing, but it was as close to actually sweet as a curmudgeon of my caliber could stand.

Downside / bad things: Uhm, not a lot, actually. If I paid full retail for the room I'd have wanted a private butler or something, but for the money we spent, this was just fantastic. I guess if I had to complain about something, the toilets were pressure-assist models that made a bit of noise on refill (that's room 3624, I couldn't tell you if the ones next door did.) If you have trouble with stairs, ask for a room on the ground floor, there isn't an elevator.

All in all: Best hotel ever, if you're anything like me. However, if you actually _like_ being on the 27th floor of the shiny building, calling room service every time you get hungry, waiting around for the train or the bus or paying 25 extra bucks to park your car again when you get back, well you'll just hate this place, even though I'm sure you can room service if you want, and there is public transportation available, just like everywhere else at Disney.

On the way in, a stop at Albertsons, 12981 S Orange Blossom Trl
(28.377414° -81.403025°) can get you all the food, soda, beer, etc. you need for your stay. There are a dozen restaurants, a pharmacy, gas station, Target, etc. at the same tollway exit. There are also a thousand other stores you could go to, this happens to be the one we went to, and it had everything we needed and was on the way from the airport.

Since we are Disney Vacation Club members (Disney's version of a timeshare), we stay at OKW often. Our most recent trip was Jan 06 for the Disney Marathon. We stayed for four nights in a one bedroom and the last five nights in a two bedroom since we invited friends to join us in our villa for the marathon. Our friends were just flabbergasted when they checked into the villa. We gave them the second bedroom and we got the master bedroom (our son slept on the queen sized sleeper sofa in the living room). The huge living room was a great place to hang out during the day and the porch was big enough for all 7 of us to eat breakfast or just look at the birds and golf course.

Because this is a DVC resort, if you stay as a timeshare guest, you don't get your room cleaned every day. If you stay 8 nights or more, you get a full cleaning on day 4 and your towels replaced and trash removed on day 8. If you stay less than 8 nights, you get your trash removed and towels replaced on day 4. And if you want extra towels, you must pay for them. But with a washer and dryer right in the villa, you can wash your towels every day if you want to (studios have free access to washers and dryers near the pools). We just hang ours up after we use them and let them dry for the next use. If you stay as a paying guest to Disney (you pay them and not a member), you will get a full cleaning every day. You can pay extra for additional cleanings if you stay as a DVC guest.

The resort is large, but there are multiple bus stops where you can hop on any bus to the Hospitality House (buses always stop there last before leaving the resort). Then you can walk back to your villa from the HH or you can walk over to the nearest bus stop at Peninsular Rd and ride a bus back to your villa. This bus stop is a very easy walk from the HH - just over the bridge. There is also an Internal Bus that starts at the HH and ends at the HH. It is also the Downtown Disney and Typhoon Lagoon bus. Buses for each theme park or Disney destination come about every 30 minutes.

One of the best features of the resort is the kitchen in your villa. With a one, two or three bedroom villa, you get a full sized kitchen that is stocked with dishes, etc. So you can cook your own meals if you'd like to. Or just keep the basics in the refrigerator - milk, OJ, soda, beer. Even the studios have a kitchenette - microwave, undercounter refrigerator, toaster, coffeemaker.

One drawback for some guests is the lack of elevators in the buildings. Only three (the newest buildings built around 1998) have elevators. The rest of the buildings (max three story) have stairs. So if you have lots of stuff to haul, including baby strollers, it can be difficult. If you have someone in your party who has difficulty taking the stairs, you can request a first floor room/villa.

We're headed back to OKW for Thanksgiving 2007 and are really looking forward to it.