dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Day 1: September 11th 2008
We have been coming to Orlando regularly since our honeymoon in 1998, but have always stayed offsite. When we visited Orlando last November, we did a DVC tour and decided to become members. This trip was our first trip "home" and our first ever stay onsite.
We could not believe when we were told that our room was ready as soon as we arrived at Old Key West at 10 am. When we got off the bus the bellman took our suitcases and gave us a receipt saying that they would look after our baggage until our room was ready in the afternoon. We only went to reception to check when we should be back to check in, when they told us that our room was ready now. We were equipped with maps, time guides and our Member Perks guide and were sent on our way. One of the bellmen gave us a lift in a golf cart. Once he realized that this was our first stay at Old Key West, he gave us a quick guided tour. We had a ground floor studio at the back of the resort in the Turtle Pond area. This made me happy, as I had read about the fantastic pool in this area that was virtually always empty. Our patio was surrounded by a whole jungle and was backing onto a waterway. We unpacked a bit and had a cup of coffee and then went to explore the resort.
Old Key West is so pretty. The pool near our room was huge. We walked back towards the Hospitality House and ended up having lunch at Olivias. They had a fantastic Chicken Tortilla soup and I had a great burger. DH passed on the soup, but he had the Key Lime Tart. He let me have a taste and it was out of this world.
After dinner, I headed off to the parks. I had not really decided where I wanted to go, but I thought I would get on the first bus that came along. That happened to go to the Magic Kingdom. I was a little worried as it was nearly 2 pm by the time I arrived and I thought the wait times would be horrendous. So I admired the Halloween decorations by the entrance and at Town Square and then browsed the shops. When I got to the information board, I found that most rides were a walk on and that the longest wait time was about 35 minutes for Peter Pan and Space Mountain.
I headed over to Fantasy Land and got a Fast Pass for Peter Pan and rode Its a Small World. From there I headed over to Liberty Square to ride Haunted Mansion. I decided to go to the Hall of Presidents and got there just as the parade was about to go past. So I stood in the shade in front of the building that houses the Hall of Presidents and watched the parade first. Right across from me where two cast members that were translating the parade into sign language, which was absolutely amazing to watch. After the parade I headed for the Hall of Presidents to watch the show. The only time previously that I had seen the show was when Bill Clinton was still president.
Once the show was over, my slot had opened for Peter Pan. I did a quick de-tour to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to get a Fast Pass and then went and rode Peter Pan.
After Peter Pan I headed over to Adventure Land to do the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean, both of which were a walk on. I still had some time left before my slot for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened and wandered around Frontier Land to take in all the clever detail. About 5 minutes before I could ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the first raindrops started to fall. When I got to the front of the line, there was an announcement that a thunderstorm was approaching Orlando, but that they would continue to operate the ride until it got closer. I got onto the ride and the heavens opened. A monsoon came down on us and I was absolutely drenched. I thought I heard some thunder, but was not sure, as the ride was so noisy. Once I got off the ride, they announced that the ride was now closed, as the thunderstorm was too close.
The rain was still coming down good and heavy and I run for shelter. The DVC booth at Frontier Land did the job nicely and I was talking to the DVC staff, who told me to expect a big announcement early the next week. The thunderstorm was rather impressive. There was such a loud bang that nearly made me jump out of my skin.
Once the thunderstorm had blown over and the rain had eased off a bit, I decided to head to Future Land, where I found that Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin was a walk on. I had never seen this ride with less than a 60 minute wait, so this was too good to pass up. I ended up doing the ride three times in a row before leaving the park soaked, but happy.
When I came to the bus stop, I saw my bus pulling out, but another one was along about 20 minutes later. I had arranged to meet DH at the boat dock at Old Key West at 7pm and we were planning to head to the Rainforest Café at Downtown Disney for dinner. Unfortunately the boat service to Downtown Disney was suspended due to the weather and we had to wait for the bus. We waited for nearly an hour for the bus and saw multiple busses for each park going by.
Eventually we got to Downtown Disney and the line at the Rainforest Café was horrendous. So we passed on that experience and headed for Portobello Yacht Club instead. The food was fantastic, but it was rather noisy. Once we had finished our meal, we headed back for the bus and again we waited forever until one came along.
Eventually we ended up back in our room and went to bed. There was some strange noise that later turned out to be the fountain that was running day and night, but we were so tired that we fell asleep regardless.
We have been coming to Orlando regularly since our honeymoon in 1998, but have always stayed offsite. When we visited Orlando last November, we did a DVC tour and decided to become members. This trip was our first trip "home" and our first ever stay onsite.
We could not believe when we were told that our room was ready as soon as we arrived at Old Key West at 10 am. When we got off the bus the bellman took our suitcases and gave us a receipt saying that they would look after our baggage until our room was ready in the afternoon. We only went to reception to check when we should be back to check in, when they told us that our room was ready now. We were equipped with maps, time guides and our Member Perks guide and were sent on our way. One of the bellmen gave us a lift in a golf cart. Once he realized that this was our first stay at Old Key West, he gave us a quick guided tour. We had a ground floor studio at the back of the resort in the Turtle Pond area. This made me happy, as I had read about the fantastic pool in this area that was virtually always empty. Our patio was surrounded by a whole jungle and was backing onto a waterway. We unpacked a bit and had a cup of coffee and then went to explore the resort.
Old Key West is so pretty. The pool near our room was huge. We walked back towards the Hospitality House and ended up having lunch at Olivias. They had a fantastic Chicken Tortilla soup and I had a great burger. DH passed on the soup, but he had the Key Lime Tart. He let me have a taste and it was out of this world.
After dinner, I headed off to the parks. I had not really decided where I wanted to go, but I thought I would get on the first bus that came along. That happened to go to the Magic Kingdom. I was a little worried as it was nearly 2 pm by the time I arrived and I thought the wait times would be horrendous. So I admired the Halloween decorations by the entrance and at Town Square and then browsed the shops. When I got to the information board, I found that most rides were a walk on and that the longest wait time was about 35 minutes for Peter Pan and Space Mountain.
I headed over to Fantasy Land and got a Fast Pass for Peter Pan and rode Its a Small World. From there I headed over to Liberty Square to ride Haunted Mansion. I decided to go to the Hall of Presidents and got there just as the parade was about to go past. So I stood in the shade in front of the building that houses the Hall of Presidents and watched the parade first. Right across from me where two cast members that were translating the parade into sign language, which was absolutely amazing to watch. After the parade I headed for the Hall of Presidents to watch the show. The only time previously that I had seen the show was when Bill Clinton was still president.
Once the show was over, my slot had opened for Peter Pan. I did a quick de-tour to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to get a Fast Pass and then went and rode Peter Pan.
After Peter Pan I headed over to Adventure Land to do the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean, both of which were a walk on. I still had some time left before my slot for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened and wandered around Frontier Land to take in all the clever detail. About 5 minutes before I could ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the first raindrops started to fall. When I got to the front of the line, there was an announcement that a thunderstorm was approaching Orlando, but that they would continue to operate the ride until it got closer. I got onto the ride and the heavens opened. A monsoon came down on us and I was absolutely drenched. I thought I heard some thunder, but was not sure, as the ride was so noisy. Once I got off the ride, they announced that the ride was now closed, as the thunderstorm was too close.
The rain was still coming down good and heavy and I run for shelter. The DVC booth at Frontier Land did the job nicely and I was talking to the DVC staff, who told me to expect a big announcement early the next week. The thunderstorm was rather impressive. There was such a loud bang that nearly made me jump out of my skin.
Once the thunderstorm had blown over and the rain had eased off a bit, I decided to head to Future Land, where I found that Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin was a walk on. I had never seen this ride with less than a 60 minute wait, so this was too good to pass up. I ended up doing the ride three times in a row before leaving the park soaked, but happy.
When I came to the bus stop, I saw my bus pulling out, but another one was along about 20 minutes later. I had arranged to meet DH at the boat dock at Old Key West at 7pm and we were planning to head to the Rainforest Café at Downtown Disney for dinner. Unfortunately the boat service to Downtown Disney was suspended due to the weather and we had to wait for the bus. We waited for nearly an hour for the bus and saw multiple busses for each park going by.
Eventually we got to Downtown Disney and the line at the Rainforest Café was horrendous. So we passed on that experience and headed for Portobello Yacht Club instead. The food was fantastic, but it was rather noisy. Once we had finished our meal, we headed back for the bus and again we waited forever until one came along.
Eventually we ended up back in our room and went to bed. There was some strange noise that later turned out to be the fountain that was running day and night, but we were so tired that we fell asleep regardless.