We woke in the morning and the kids spent some time sat out on the balcony whilst finishing the rest of the tidying, Caroline and the kids made their way over to Hospitality House to spend the last of the snack credits and pick up a photo album. By some stroke of fortune the Chelsea match was on the telly so I managed to get a fix of English football prior to returning home, however all too soon it was time to get picked up by bell services and transport us all over to Hospitality House for the last time.
Those grins are fixed... we weren't happy to be leaving!!!
The real bonus for us was that we were able to weigh our suitcases prior to getting to the airport, this saved us as one of the suitcases was way over the 20kg weight limit that we had, so after a little re-packing we were a little more confident that we would avoid paying a luggage excess at the airport. We caught the boat over to Downtown Disney and had some lunch at Cookes of Dublin, using up some of our counter service credits, and we intended to get some sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich for the airport but the queue in there beat us. We caught the bus back to OKW and just had time to nip to Goods to Go and pick up some sandwiches there before our ride to the airport arrived.
The journey to the airport was a sombre affair, the kids were very tired and we weren't really in the mood for the drivers small talk! We were soon at Sanford and by the looks of things, just beat the majority of the Thomas Cook travellers which was fortunate as they were checking in four flights! We avoided any charges and were soon in duty free buying some last minute rum and bourbon, though I wussed out of getting the three litre bottle of Jack Daniels for the fifth trip running, and having got through customs without so much as a glance from the customs officers, regretted it for the fifth trip running!
The flight home was pain free with Billy getting two hours of sleep, and it was remarkably quick, taking seven and a half hours. The majority of the bags made it off the conveyor fairly quickly, but any thoughts of a quick getaway were denied as Caroline's suitcase was literally the last case off the plane!
Billy and Isabelle proving that you do need a holiday when you come back from a Florida holiday!
We picked the car up and were home in just over an hour, and the holiday was done.
Final Thoughts
Old Key West - what an absolutely fabulous resort, it was everything we were hoping for, very relaxing, spread out resort with a real calming effect. It was lovely walking through the resort, there was very little to remind you that you were on Disney property, the cast members were very friendly, and the kids were treated like royalty every time we went to Hospitality House. Our room being next to Turtle Pond was a real bonus, the much criticised OKW bus service was not a major issue, we had two occasions in two weeks that caused us to grumble - far superior to the bus service that I had experienced when staying at All Star Sports. Olivia's was fine, though we found there were much better options away from the resort when competing for our dining plan credits. Even having joined DVC and with the improved options open to us, I will be very surprised if we do not end up back at OKW for our next holiday.
Dining Plan
We were undecided about the dining plan to be honest, whilst it does encourage you to try out different options, booking meals so far in advance does take some of the magic away. We paid an absolute fortune in tips when we were tallying up at the end of the holiday, and it kind of snuck under the radar, some of the bills were ridiculous looking back. Our next holiday will involve eating offsite more, and also, eating a little more realistically, I don't mind desserts, but having them after every meal was too over the top. I also won't be repeating my blunder of buying beer from a Disney shop either!!!
So, thanks for reading through my trip report those who have stayed until the end, we had a fabulous time, spent some really valuable family time together and all four of us can't wait to get back very soon.
See thee later.