Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Home Away From Home

I've finally realized why I don't like change at Old Key West.  It truly is my home away from home.  They are renovating the rooms at Old Key West and I'm afraid it will be like when you go home for a visit and your mom has turned your childhood bedroom into a guest room.  The space is familiar but it just doesn't feel like yours.

My parents bought into Disney Vacation Club in 1993 and I was in senior high school at the time.  We've most often stayed in a two bedroom villa.  I love knowing where my things go and I enjoy the familiar decor.  During the time that we've been a DVC family, I've gone to college, lived in London for a semester, participated in Disney's College Program, gotten married, moved away and had two children.  I've lived in four states, two countries and multiple dorms/apartments/houses.  All of my grandparents have passed away and their homes have been sold.  My parents are looking to buy a new house.  Old Key West has been the constant among all the change.

Non-Disney folks often wonder why some of us return time after time.  The typical answer to why we go so much is that there is always something new.  I assert that it is also the sameness that draws us back.  Amid the chaos of real life, we know we can escape to a World where people are nice and things are pretty.  Our favorite snacks are waiting for us.  Treasured attractions reassure us that magic is real.  And someone is always there to welcome us home.

5 comments:

  1. Love this post. It is so true! Change and evolution in Walt Disney World is inevitable, but there is nothing like seeing the familiar things: the Magical Express bus waiting for you outside the airport, the gateway at the edge of property, or the train station, beckoning you into the Magic Kingdom. Great post!

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  2. Oh Amy this "Amid the chaos of real life, we know we can escape to a World where people are nice and things are pretty," is exactly what I needed to hear today. Thanks lady!

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  3. Just got back from a two week split stay at Old Key West and Boardwalk Villas. This was our first time at OKW. We absolutely loved it, though we were in a renovated room and had nothing to compare it to from the past. Of all the DVC properties we have stayed at thus far, OKW is my favorite. There is just something very welcoming and "homey" about it. In regards to the reliables that we lean on to ground us in this crazy world, I definitely agree that there are lots of sights, feelings, smells, and experiences that I hold on to and rely on from year to year -- and there are many of them.

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  4. OKW happens to be our favorite too. I love everything about it. I am telling myself it will be refreshing to be in all 'new' surroundings, yet still be in the 'same' homestead if that makes any sense. Nothing like a fresh coat of paint to make it all new again. We have yet to stay at all the DVC properties, but OKW will still probably remain our very favorite.

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