Old Key West Resort Review

Old Key West Resort offers Deluxe Villa accommodations at Walt Disney World. In this WDW hotel review, we’ll share photos of the reimagined guest rooms, amenity info, tips for staying at Old Key West, and whether we recommend it over other resorts.

For starters, Old Key West Resort was the first Disney Vacation Club (DVC) property. At the time, it was simply known as “Disney’s Vacation Club Resort.” At the time, it was intended to be the only DVC resort. If perusing the dozen-plus resorts detailed in our lengthy Buying Guide to Disney Vacation Club, it’s easy to see how the once small-scale timeshare program expanded into something colossal.

Still, Old Key West maintains its intimate charm and feels like something from a different era of Walt Disney World. The resort features the gingerbread architecture and leisurely romance of the Conch Republic in the Florida Keys. The Victorian styling of the resort coupled with cool pastel colors and lush vegetation that has had some time to mature really gives Old Key West a great ambiance.

Check-in at Disney’s Old Key West Resort is located in the Hospitality House, which is along a dockside strip that contains the resort’s fitness center, arcade, Olivia’s Cafe table service restaurant, Conch Flats General Store, Good’s Food To Go quick service restaurant, the main pool, Gurgling Suitcase bar, and the marina.

While Old Key West Resort is a huge, sprawling resort, all of these “essential” amenities are in close proximity to one another. Aside from your guest building, this is the only other area of Old Key West that you’ll really need, unless you choose to walk the grounds, which I enjoy and recommend.

If you’re looking to avoid walking, staying close to the Hospitality House will ensure easy access to Even though the resort is spread out, it’s nice to have all these locations in one cluster.

From here, you can also take a boat to Disney Springs or catch a bus to the parks. All of these little shops reminded me of a real quaint seaside dock, which really completed the theme.

Usually when I write these reviews, I use the term “we” when referring to the opinions presented–because the opinions are those of both Sarah and me. I can’t do that with Old Key West Resort, because our opinions don’t fully align. While I enjoy the sprawling layout of the resort, Sarah thinks it’s way too large.

I enjoy the dining here and setting removed from the parks. Sarah wishes there were better restaurants, better transportation to the parks, and more offerings at the resort. A couple of things we can agree on are that the pool is awesome, the laid back atmosphere is delightful, and that the “Please Help Keep Our Town Clean – Conch Flats” trash cans are a cool touch.

I can sort of see her point with regard to theming being bland, but I disagree. The idea of a Florida Keys themed resort in Florida is a bit odd, since the themed resort will never match the authenticity of the nearby destination.

However, it’s still an idealized and fictional version of the Keys, and thinking of Old Key West in more broad terms–as simply a tropical resort set in “Conch Flats” makes its theming much more appealing to me. While I instantly associate it with the Florida Keys due to its name, I think that if it had a different name, there wouldn’t be the “issue” of it having a Florida Keys theme.

Even aside from this, I don’t think the theming is bland. The architecture is creative and accomplishes the Gingerbread style (the non-edible kind) quite well. The grounds are lush and grown in, and the area by the Hospitality House oozes with theming. I think it’s difficult to deny this. Just hearing the music in this area as I watch the sunrise or sunset puts me in that island state of mind.

I feel like I should be playing the ukulele as I sip a margarita in my lounge chair. The theming may not be as readily apparent as, say, the BoardWalk Inn, but I definitely feel like I’m “Conch Flats” when wandering around Old Key West, and given that, I feel its theming is successful. It may not have the most appealing theming to Florida locals, but I’d hazard a guess that most guests aren’t locals.

Rooms at Old Key West are largest of all Disney Vacation Club resorts. For example, the standard studio room is 390 square feet, which is comparable to most standard Deluxe Resort rooms. By contrast, a Bay Lake Tower studio is roughly 300 square feet. This difference is quite noticeable, as there’s a lot more free space in the Old Key West studio room than most other Disney Vacation Club studios.

If room size is important to you, Old Key West is definitely worth a look…

As mentioned above, Old Key West was the first Disney Vacation Club resort, opening in 1991. It has undergone several renovations over the years, with the most recent still underway but concluding by mid-2019. We have stayed at Old Key West pre-refurbishment and post-refurbishment, and there was a noticeable difference post refurbishment.

Above you can see a photo of the old room design, and below is the now look. While I enjoyed the decor and theming prior to the refurbishment, the rooms definitely look and feel a little more modern now. Perhaps a bit too modern, as I think the laid back vacation home look really worked, and that’s pretty much gone now.

The living area itself is very large by Disney Vacation Club room standards with pastel color palette. Unfortunately, most of the hints of the Conch Republic are now gone.

On one stay, we went from Bay Lake Tower (some of the smallest DVC rooms) to Old Key West, and the size difference was quite noticeable. I wouldn’t say these make the best use of the space they have, but you can still tell that they have more floor space than all other rooms. Only the Polynesian Villas give them a run for their money.

The bathroom and kitchenette were also fairly sized and the dual sinks made getting ready in the morning easier. Overall, I think the room is fine, although it’s certainly not my favorite room on property. Too bland.

I’m generally not one to fret over the size of a room, after all, it’s just the two of us. If you have a family of 4 staying in a Studio, you might value its large size more than we did.

While this review highlights the studio accommodations at Old Key West Resort, you can see photos of the other redesigned rooms in our Photo Tour: New Rooms at Disney’s Old Key West Resort post.

As is the case with all Walt Disney World on-site hotels, Old Key West is fully integrated in the My Disney Experience system, which means that guests receive MagicBands and can make FastPass+ reservations. See our Guide to FastPass+ at Walt Disney World for more info and recommendations. 

One of the other common complaints about Old Key West is that it’s huge. I won’t deny this–at one time it was going to be Disney Vacation Club (all of it!). It was built to handle a lot of guests.

However, as I’ve stated many times, I like spread out resorts, as they give me places to explore. Unfortunately, an internal bus system comes with the large size here, which can make commuting to the parks a pain (…or a zany adventure?).

The internal bus loop is inefficient and involves a lot of u-turns and stops, so it can be a long bus ride if you board at one of the earlier stops. If you enjoy inefficient transportation systems, you’re sure to love Old Key West! This is probably my biggest complaint about the resort, and one that’s easy to overlook if you don’t use the buses.

Luckily, in my opinion, there are few weaknesses. A very important strength of Old Key West is its cost. No, not the one Disney charges–that one is absurd. The cost you *can* pay if you know what you’re doing. If you’re a Disney Vacation Club member, you likely know that the point chart at Old Key West is very favorable to members. For this same reason, it’s also really favorable to non-members who rent Disney Vacation Club points!

It’s not unrealistic to expect to stay at Old Key West for less than $150/night by renting Disney Vacation Club points, which we highly recommend during the week in one of the lower seasons. In addition to that, since Old Key West is one of the larger and less popular resorts, it’s one of the first resorts (along with Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa) to receive the deepest discounts through Pin Codes and other targeted discounts (even with these, it’s still usually much cheaper to rent points).

Thanks to the great theming and excellent ambiance, room size, relative (lack of) popularity in the Disney fan community, and nightly rates, Old Key West takes the crown as my most underrated resort at Walt Disney World. This might come as some surprise considering that I ranked it #6 of 7 Disney Vacation Club resorts, but the competition is intense.

If you expanded those rankings beyond Disney Vacation Club resorts, Old Key West would do much better. Rooms at Old Key West can frequently be had for Moderate rates by following our tips for renting DVC points, and Old Key West would likely be at the top of my Moderate Resort Rankings.

Overall, I love Old Key West Resort and it’s one resort at Walt Disney World that I have a great time just wandering around. My only complaint about Old Key West is that they don’t provide you with complimentary shoulder-parrots and casks of rum. (I’m no expert on the Keys, but I’m pretty sure King Buffett mandates that in the real Keys.) Walking around the grounds with the thousands of palms always puts a smile on my face, and the Hospitality House area gives me that island state of mind. As one of the great minds of our era once sang, “changes in latitude, changes in attitude.” That song could have easily been about Disney’s Old Key West Resort, and because of that, its pricing, and its relative popularity (or lack thereof) in the fan community, it’s my pick for most underrated Walt Disney World resort-hotel.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

Your Thoughts…

What do you think…is Old Key West actually under-appreciated, or does its large size make it a dud for you? Is there some other reason you like or dislike it? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!