The day we had been waiting for has finally arrived! 20 Months after we booked our Disney Fantasy cruise- after all of the planning, anticipation, research...it was here! We could hardly believe it!
We had booked this cruise as a dummy date onboard the Magic in 2010. When we were finally alerted that people had been able to pre-book Fantasy cruises through their TA’s in February of 2011 we were delighted to be able to assign our empty cruise block a date: September 22, 2012! This was very exciting to us- only about 6 months after the Fantasy’s Maiden Voyage so she would still be brand spanking new but hopefully we had given her enough time to work out the kinks.
So we spent the next nearly 2 years planning, reading, researching…watching her being built from a bare steel frame up to a beautiful vessel on the Meyer-Werft webcam. We shared the anticipation with a wonderful group here on the Dis. Together we watched her built, christened, then finally sail out on her Maiden Voyage.
And then just 26 short weeks later it was our turn!
Wednesday September 19, 2012 started as just a normal day, off to school for the kids and work for Ron. I spent the morning finalizing laundry and packing and printing- or attempting to print- my magnets. You see, I used to print my magnets on magnet paper but the last few cruises I had been just printing them on cardstock and using adhesive magnet strips. But…here we are a mere hour from leaving I am ready to print and WHERE IS MY CARDSTOCK?!?! After a harried search through an armoire finally I found a box of printable cards and envelopes. A cursory examination and the “cards” looked like regular plain old 8.5 x 11 cardstock. Sweet! I hurriedly printed up all of my magnet designs and then- we were done! Ready to get this party started!
Ron left work early and picked up the two older kids at school and I picked up Sarah from her school. We met at home packed the bags and we were off to Walt Disney World! We live in Tampa FL, so the trip is only about an hour or so East across I-4.
Who’s excited??? Or...not?
Just an hour later…look!
Look out Mickey, here we come!
We have arrived!
Due to the generosity of a wonderful friend from whom I rented some DVC points we would be staying for the first time at a DVC resort- Old Key West. We were very excited about this, as normally in situations where we only need a place to lay our heads at night for a few short hours we would opt for a cheaper hotel room offsite via Priceline or Hotwire or one of those travel sites. But this really helped put us in the right mindset for a luxury DISNEY vacation!
As we drove through the familiar WDW property we realized we didn’t bother to map out exactly where OKW was. Hmm. I think it’s by Downtown Disney I say. Ron grumbles. I scramble on my phone to map it. It’s Disney after all- we are here every 2 months or so we know this place like the back of our hands. Right?
Well we headed in the direction of Downtown Disney and turns out I was right. We spotted this DVC gazebo thing and I knew OKW was right behind it.
Yep yep!
So we pulled in and parked and Ron Savannah and I headed in to check in.
It was very quiet in the lobby at this time of day. Everyone was super friendly and check in only took about 5 minutes.
A quick view of the lobby. I thought I took more pics but I guess I didn't.
We had booked (via our awesome friend) a room near the “Hospitality House”- which means near the lobby restaurants and main pool area. Since OKW is so large and sprawling instead of just making a location request at other resorts, here you actually select this location specifically when you book your reservation. It doesn’t cost any extra to stay in rooms/villas near the Hospitality House but I did love the way this was done. That way it isn’t just a “request”- if there is availability when you book and you specify this location that is where you will be. I really liked that.
The lobby was beautiful and the resort did indeed have an authentic Key West feel. Besides that for sure they have the best soundtrack on property. Jimmy Buffett…hello!
And so we were checked in and headed to our room. It was located directly across the parking lot from the Hospitality House. Perfect!
Our building:
To get to our room we followed the path through these buildings:
And up the stairs:
We were in Room #1220 a second floor studio overlooking the golf course:
Welcome Home!
The room was definitely clean, a good size, and well appointed. It was homey and comfortable.
It had two queen beds a dinette, a kitchenette and a large bathroom. More than enough space for us for one night!