Old Key West Grand Villa in January

KC Mouse

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 7, 2017
Not too long ago my wife and I purchased our first 230 point loaded contract to Old Key West. We had explored several different resorts but eventually fell in love with the relaxed, laid back feel of OKW. The ferry boat to Disney Springs, Olivia's restaurant and the beautiful balcony views convinced us to buy in at this resort.

With a loaded contract we had the available points to shoot the moon and reserve the 3 bedroom Grand Villa. We searched for the best available time and discovered a twelve night stay available in January. We jumped at the chance to experience this amazing villa.

We gathered our family to devise a plan. Joined by my sister in-law and her kids, we decided to kidnap my Mother and Father in-law to treat them to an all expenses paid vacation to Walt Disney World. We sprung the news on the parents and made our arrangements.

With a Disney inspired joy we watched our Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Miami Dolphins in one of the coldest playoff games in NFL history. We awoke at 2:00 in the morning to discover a freak overnight ice storm. With fear and trembling the KC Mouse crew drove the icy Missouri roads to the Kansas City airport. To our relief we arrived just in time for our 7:00 AM flight to Orlando.

Arriving at our resort at promptly 12:00 we checked our luggage and began to explore. After walking the premises we grabbed some lunch at Good's Food to Go and relaxed in the seating area at the customer service pavilion. At 4:30 our 3 bedroom villa was finally ready.

The first and most impressive feature of this villa was the obvious size difference. In the words of my beloved mother in law "This place is bigger than my house, it must have cost a ton!" Oh Nana, your so silly. Not to mention the master bedroom was twice the size of most deluxe studios. Or as Nana would say, "This room in an incredible waste of space, don't expect to be waltzing in on us unexpected." Haha, how sweet...Nana... how freaking sweet!

My wife and sister in law took the smallest of the rooms leaving me with two 25 year old roommates and my 6'4, 16 year-old son. Our room carried the musk of 3 grown men and 1 pubescent mountain troll. Even with a pullout sofa and chair I enjoyed the company of these portly gents. The size of this villa can not be overstated. It is ginormous.

Interestingly enough, I spent most of my free time enjoying the view of the golf course, complete with crashing golf balls and bush-league play. In all honesty it as a beautiful view, perfect for late-night family chats and early morning coffee. We all enjoyed the experience and held it as one of our favorite features of the resort.

We spent evenings in the parks roughly every other day. Mainly because of how much we loved our OKW resort. We were within walking distance to the main pool and enjoyed the convenance of bus transportation steps away from our room. Down Miller's Road our only draw back was the traffic noise from the adjacent highway.

An unexpected surprise, was the partial fireworks view from our stairway windows. There is nothing more magical than stumbling into Spaceship Earth lit up for the nightly spectacular. It was the perfect pinch of pixy dust to make the vacation sparkle.

Our most treasured memory was opening up the balcony doors and cranking up the volume to watch our beloved Kansas City Chiefs take on the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game. As Chiefs fanatics we belted out our tomahawk chop chant as we toppled the best team in the AFC. The fact that we were nestled in at our home away from home made it all too sweeter.

Overall, I would say it was one of the most magical vacations we have ever experienced. In the words of my sweet caring mother in law, "You probably paid out the @$$ but it was worth it...for me at least." Worth it indeed darling, sweet, ever so tender Nana ...worth it indeed.
 
To me there is something very magical about owning an OKW 230 point contract. That is one of the original contract sizes and you're buying in to the only true Disney Vacation Club (that was it's name before the name spread to other resorts).

Congratulations on being able to experience the magic. While I don't own there, it is a truly incredibly special thing to be an owner of a 230 point contract at OKW...
 
Sounds as if your and Nana's reactions to a GV at OKW was similar to mine last year. Ever since we joined DVC at OKW 22 years ago, I've had a "bucket list" dream of staying at an OKW GV. Although it took 21 years, we did it last year with DS and family. And like you, we also loved all the times we sat on the balcony watching the golfers, especially since DH, DS, and now one of my DGDs are all really into golf. It is definitely bigger than our house, and possibly bigger than DS's, even with 3 kids! I don't know what the smallest room is, since I'm not able to climb stairs (ours was a HA GV). I agree with Nana that the master bedroom is huge, but I don't mind the space. A "well-worth it" trip, wasn't it?!
 


Our first contract was/is a 190 point OKW contract. We've bought and sold SSR and BWV contracts ,but have always kept our original OKW contract. We added another 50 points about 2 years ago and are in ROFR for another 50 ,just enough for a GV every other year or so with our growing family.
 
Sounds like a great trip. We stayed in a 2 bedroom this past January and loved the space especially the large balcony overlooking the golf course. One day I'd love to stay in a GV!
 

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