Trip Report: A Week at Old Key West Part 7

Kay7979

FANTASY NOVEL AUTHOR
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Jul 14, 2004
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Well, it finally had to happen. A cold front is due to come through today after a week straight of 80 degrees in early January. The high today is projected to be about 75, but will drop later, and it is already sprinkling lightly. The worst part of it is that the new pool slide is finally open. I give the pool a longing look at we head out of the resort, knowing my choices are to swim today in the rain and potentially cool air, or go without, because we leave for home mid-day tomorrow and there is not much time left and we still have a lot to squeeze in.

Today's agenda begins with breakfast at Boma's, a tradition since we first discovered their great breakfast buffet. We love going through Animal Kingdom Lodge and looking at the various African artifacts and displays. The gift shop has some unusual and quirky gifts, too, and is always worth a visit.

There is not much of a wait before we are seated. So far we have not bothered to make PS arrangements the entire week and we have had little or no wait anywhere. Boma's has their own fruit drink blend which we enjoy, and some very interesting egg dishes and other items that you won't find elsewhere. They have a breakfast version of pizza with egg that is worth a try. The selection of pastries are great and I know that my eyes will be bigger than my stomach, as my mother always used to say. The room is so spectacular, with the soaring ceilings, earthy colors and materials, and the exotic grounds beyond the windows, we are not in a hurry to finish our meal. It is easy to believe you have been transported to a far away land.

By the time we finish breakfast, it is raining a bit harder, but still not too bad, so we walk outside along the paths that lead to viewing areas where we can take photos and video of the animals. We see zebras and girraffes and wildebeasts etc. After a while we go back in and go up a few floors in the lodge to the level that has the bridge that crosses the lobby. This is a great vantage point from which to take pictures. Next we try something we have not done before. We walk a great deal of the length of hallways on one of the upper floors. At junctures where buildings meet, there are open areas with showcases containing African art and implements on display. You can spend a couple hours, I imagine, if you had nothing else to do, just going from floor to floor, looking at the exhibits. Also in the areas where the buildings join, there are large windows overlooking the savannah. We walk for a long way through the string of interconnected buildings, stopping at the viewing areas to see different vistas of the savannah and an assortment of animals from these various vantage points. If not for the rain, we would never had tried this, and it is amazing how much you can see without ever leaving the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Since I had the camcorder, I could zoom in, like using binoculars, to see animals that would otherwise be too distant to see well.

At around 12:30 we headed over to DTD to try out Disney Quest. Neither of us had been there before. I had not wanted to wait for a rainy day, since I knew everyone else would do the same thing and it would be more crowded, but the previous days had been too spectacular to be indoors. I crossed my fingers, remembering that it was early January, and hoped that January crowds would be the equivalent of a light day any other time of the year. Having no basis of comparison, I can only say that the lines did not seem terribly long.

Fortunately I had read a couple comprehensive reviews about DQ so I knew the basic layout and knew what we wanted to try. The building itself is quite amazing, and potentially confusing with the five floors and assorted stairs and elevators. We made our way down to the floor that featured Pirates of the Caribbean, Battle for Buccaneer Gold. This is a new attraction and we knew it would be the highlight of our trip, since PoTC is our favorite ride at MK. In fact, at home, sometimes when we are driving along on our way to spend a fun day somewhere together, we break out spontaneously into the theme song, heavy on the Yo, Hos!

We were a little concerned about how this would work since the attraction needs more than two people to really enjoy it, and most of the crowd consisted of groups of teenagers. We were lucky to be in line behind one other older couple. We struck up a conversation and found out they had just gotten in after driving straight through from Ohio with a bus full of band students. They had had practically no sleep, but wanted to make the most of their time at WDW, so had ventured immediately to DQ. When it was our turn we donned our 3D goggles and ventured inside the attraction. I won't spoil it for those who have not experienced PoTC for themselves, but I will just say that we blew up a good number of ships and were shouting and firing our cannons as if our lives depended upon it, but still ended up in "Davy Jones Locker!" We wanted to go again that day, but never got around to it. I am glad we started with that attraction. It was great!

Our second favorite was the Jungle Cruise. That was a pretty neat "ride" especially from a technological standpoint. It was almost as much fun to watch others on this attraction while we waited our turn. The inflatable raft dips and rolls as the riders negotiate the "waves" and they paddle along the rivers of the simulated Jungle world on the screen.

We thought Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters was cute, but kind of lame. Maybe if we were teenagers or kids we would have been more impressed. The Alien Encounter simulator ride was pretty good. I would do that one again.

We didn't try everything, and spent some time relaxing over coffee at the Wonderland Cafe. Actually, we cut our time shorter than we intended after trying Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride. We both made it through pretty well until toward the end of the simulation, when the speed of the simulation made us both pretty queasy. It bothered DH more than myself, but neither of us felt quite right afterward, even after sitting down for awhile. So, while we were disappointed to make an early day of it we decided to leave.

We walked outdoors, to pouing rain and temperatures in the mid 60s. It had been in the low 70s when we arrived,and we had worn shorts and short sleeve shirts. Maybe it was the combination of the wind and the rain, but it felt much colder than it really was. We had taken the bus over, and now we wished we had our car waiting for us. It took us a while to find our way to the bus stip, and the wait was fairly short after that.

Back at Old Key West, it was time to fill up the coffee mug and get warmed up. It is around dinner time, but we don't feel like eating much thanks to Aladdin, so I make us sandwiches in the condo and we finish up the fresh oranges we picked up earlier in the week at the flea market. I decide to do the packing today since we will be checking out at 10:00 and need to be at the airport by about 3:00 PM tomorrow. I actually get DH to help me. Usually I do the packing and unpacking while he stretches out on the couch in the condo and watches TV, but this time he pitches in. (must be a strange side effect of motion sickness :->) With the packing out of the way we decide that the chilly day has put us in the mood for a long hot soak in the whirlpool. After that we just lounge around in the living room and watch TV and talk. It has been a great trip and Old Key West resort has been a significant part of our enjoyment. It has been a pleasant and comfortable home base. The Victorian pastel buildings are cheerful and homey, the golf course surrounding the resort forms an oasis from the noise and crowds elsewhere. We loved the quaint buildings along the waterfront, having a cool drink at the picnic tables overlooking the marina, and the Caribbean music lending that extra bit of relaxed atmosphere. It is amazing when we think how busy we have been this week and how much fun we have had, with only spending one full day at MK and one half day at DQ. The rest of our time was spent principally exploring the various Disney Resorts and absorbing the unique atmosphere at each, riding the boats, busses, and monorail, and trying various restaurants. You really can have a great time without spending a fortune. It is possible to go to WDW and relax. You can definitely go without kids and find plenty to do as a couple.

My next review will wrap up our trip with the last half day and some closing thoughts.
 
I love DQ and can hardly wait to go again with our two oldest grandkids.......I think they were young when they first went.........countdown for us is 25 days...thanks for your report
 















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