Welcome Home to Old Key West and a dinner with a view

The alarm went off at 7 and we both got out of bed with a moan, but we knew it was time to head back home to Walt Disney World and Old Key West. We showered, got ready, packed up the rest of stuff and had some more in-room coffee and the rest of the night before’s picnic. Once we were ready we called luggage services to help with the luggage and had it stored at their holding area. We then walked down to the boat landing to catch the next boat to the parks.

It arrived about 5 minutes later and we were on our way. Since we had missed Rip Ride Rockit the day before we wanted to try and get on it this morning. We walked right to the ride, just to find out that it would only open at 11am! Oh, well, there are other rides to go on before. So we went on the Simpsons Ride again, then went over to the Mummy which we rode twice again.

Once we got off we saw that the Rip Ride Rock It coaster was running, but it was running empty. So we went over just to find out it already had a 90 minute wait and we decided to just give it a miss, go back to the resort and then drive to Walt Disney World. We arrived back at the resort at around 11.30, Tom went to pick up the car from the parking lot and then we both went to pick up our luggage from bell services.

They helped transport the luggage to the car and loading it in and off we went towards Walt Disney World and the last 12 nights of our holiday! It took about half an hour to go from the Royal Pacific Resort to Old Key West and it felt so good to go through the gates and be greeted with a friendly Welcome Home. We parked the car in front of the Hospitality House and strolled through the store.

Then we walked right to the front desk to check in as there was no one else around. It was unbelieveable, but they had even noted on the reservation that this was my birthday trip and they had a villa ready right then and there. We picked up our Keys to the World and went to explore our new Home Away From Home before we wanted to have lunch at Downtown Disney.

We were stunned when we got into the villa because not only was it really beautiful, but from our balcony we had two water views. Right underneath our balcony there was a pond and behind it you could overlook the golf course and a little to the right you could see the quiet pool. We were on the top floor and were just happy! Once we had hauled everything up the stairs and had rested a little we went back to the car and over to Downtown Disney.

We were stunned that the parking lot looked really full and it was quite hard to find a space to park our car. But once we had parked it we were on our way off to Wolfgang Puck’s Express to spend the first of our free dining credits.

Tom decided to have the Rigatoni with Chicken Alfredo - fresh artisan rigatoni tossed in Alfredo sauce and sliced all-natural roasted chicken breast, topped with fresh Grana Padano parmesan, a piece of Focaccia Bread and small Caesar Salad, while I had the Spicy Chicken Pizza - all natural chicken, roasted red and yellow peppers, mozzarella, tomoatoes, leeks, crushed red chilis and fresh cilantro. For dessert we both ordered Crčme Brulee and it did not disappoint.

When we had finished our meal we decided to stroll through the shops at Downtown Disney for a while, pick up a chocolate sample from Ghirardelli’s and check out the World of Disney Store. By then it was mid afternoon and the skies started to get grey so we decided to head over to Publix and do a little grocery shopping to fill that big fridge at Old Key West. We stocked up on all “essentials”, likes drinks, a few snacks, cold cuts and salads and made it back to the resort relatively dry. Since it was raining anyway I loaded the washer and did some laundry, then we both relaxed in our living room.

At 6.30 we drove over to the Contemporary for our 7.25 dinner reservation at the California Grill. When we signed in on the second floor we requested Ron to be our server and went up to the restaurant. We spent some time out on the observation deck to watch the sun set over the Magic Kingdom and enjoy the evening. At around 7.30 we went inside and waited to be led to our table. It took about half an hour more until we were finally seated at one of the two top tables right at the big window overlooking the Magic Kingdom.

Our table was decorated with Mickey confetti and Ron was quick to come over to greet us and bring us some water. We both ordered Diet Cokes and I had a Strawberry Daiquiri as well. As usual we decided to share a starter, this time we decided on the "BLT" Flatbread - with Heirloom Tomatoes, Applewood Bacon, Provolone, Crisp Romaine, and Lemon Mayonnaise.

It took a while until it was ready, so we really enjoyed the wonderful view of the Magic Kingdom. Once we had finished our starter a basket full of their wonderful warm Sourdough Bread was brought over, together with some Salted Butter.

For our main courses we had ordered the Florida Stone Bass with Gnocchi, Wild Mushrooms, Bacon, Almonds,Edamame, Grilled Romaine, Vidalia Soubise for Tom and the Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese Polenta, Button Mushrooms, and Zinfandel Glaze for me. Both of our dishes were wonderful and we enjoyed them very much. By that time it had started to drizzle a little bit, so it was nice to have this window seat. Tom enjoyed an Espresso after his meal, well, better a double Espresso, courtesy of Ron, topped with two wonderful biscotti. We could not leave the California Grill without dessert, so Tom got the "Trio of Temptation", Cheesecake with Pistachio Cookie and Chocolate Banana Sauce, White Chocolate Mousse with Passion Fruit Purče, and California Strawberries with Mojito “Sabayon” and I got the Sweet Celebration, "Peaches and Cream"…California Peaches, Dulce De Leche Cake, and Panna Cotta.

These heavenly desserts were served right when the fireworks started, so we were able to enjoy them AND the fireworks. What a wonderful combination! Before we settled the bill we took a photo together with Ron, then we said our goodbye’s and rode the elevator down to pick up the car. We had it valet parked and it took a few minutes to get it, and then we finally were on our way back to our “home” for the next 12 nights. 

After being welcomed home at the gate, we parked the car and went up to our villa. We sat on the sofa and had another drink before we finally went to bed.