Key West / Pre-Fantasy Fest Trip Report

My wife and I just got back from our first trip to South Florida. We hit Ft. Laurderdale (family relative with waterfront home), Miami (Hotel Faena), Islamorada (Casa Morada) and Key West (The Marker). This weekend was the weekend before Fantasy Fest in KW and things were definitely warming up. The hot temps and high humidity seemed to help. We mostly partied in KW day and night so don't have much in the way of restaurant or tourist site reviews.

We were craving a nice restaurant meal on Saturday so we had a quick dinner at A&E Lobster house. I had an excellent surf & turf with 8oz. filet and a florida lobster tail. My wife had an amazing seafood au gratin that was thankfully not too thick. No app or desert as we wanted to get out to Duval street and we were full anyway.

Friday night on Duval was pretty tame as there were some children there in the early evening. As the night wore on, it got a little crazier. We were comfortable wearing small bathing suits (speedo type for me, bikini for her) but there were very few people wearing anything close to that. As a result we got a lot of attention in the form of high fives, fist bumps and requests for pictures (which we granted). There were not very many costumes around. We also went back to the Garden of Eden after having been there for several hours that afternoon. We loved the Garden of Eden and spent a lot of time there during our visit. Friday's dinner consisted of hot dogs from a cart across the street from Garden of Eden. We went back to the hotel at 2am.

Saturday we had breakfast at Blue Heaven and then walked the southern end of Duval and had pizza by a very rough ocean. We then walked to the Bourbon Street Bar for a drink and we swan in their pool. They had a very good male singer and we would have stayed longer but our attire wasn't quite right for the crowd. We then stopped by Fat Tuesday to see the raucous scene there - a large bridal group doing some serious dancing and shaking. I was shocked and dismayed to see two parents with their 4-5 year old child - sitting at a high top table at the edge of the room, laughing hysterically at the goings on. One drink there and then back to our hotel to take a dip in the pool. Next we went to Garden of Eden to lay out on their lounge chairs. They have only about 6 chairs in the middle of the seating area next to the bar. The perimeter of the area contains built-in wood benches that are quite comfortable. The loungers were vacant when we arrived but there was a small crowd at the bar and on the benches. So we gathered our courage, set our towels (which we brought) on two of the chairs and got naked. The crowd at the bar varied from 25% to 60% nude from visit to visit and moment to moment. Many of the clothed visitors came by for a quick drink to see the naked people. So we felt like we were providing a service to them. Later another couple joined us on two more chairs and I was happy about that - strength in numbers you know.

We also went to the tiny beach at the end of Simonton Street and sat on the upright chairs from Lagerheads Beach Bar. They wanted $10 each for their loungers and we were only staying for one drink. That little beach and bar are pretty cool and chill considering they are a block or two from Mallory Square.

Saturday night on Duval was a lot more intense than Friday, but still nothing like next weekend will be. We saw some great costumes and there were other skimpily dressed revelers like us. We wore our matching jungle print thongs. I also wore some little stickers as pasties for my nipples (reminder - I'm a guy). I had been doing this all day on the street and got great responses from people. I got the idea from a female mannequin wearing them in a storefront. Saturday night we got even more picture requests and shout-outs. I'd bet if we had worn the same outfits next weekend for the actual parade we would have been hardly noticed. We again got back to our hotel about 2am.

The Marker is a great location for attending Fantasy Fest. Four blocks off Duval and on the same street as Garden of Eden.

The trip was everything we hoped for and I expect we'll be back again in the near future. In Miami we spent time at Haulover Beach and I will write about that separately for no other reason I'm tired of writing.

Nice report, thanks. It'd been more than a few years since we visited Key West. I can't remember many of the places we went to, but I do remember Blue Heaven & Green Parrot.

FF was on our "to do" list but after Canadian steel makers were classified as a national security threat we decided to spend our vacation dollars elsewhere in the world. Last year we went skiing in the Cdn Rockies and did Italy for 2 weeks in late Oct at the same time as our cancelled FF trip; this vacation season we are booked for St Kitts and SXM.

At the right time we WILL one day lift our boycott and Key West will be at the top of the list, but we think actually during Fantasy Fest.

I have done a lot of hotel research on KW / FF and it seems that for the best hotel deals you have to book at least 14-18 months in advance. Did this factor into you booking the weekend before the first FF weekend? Did you book well in advance or last minute?

If you don't mind....your age ranges? aside from the parents with little kids (who should not be allowed to be parents without supervision) what was the age range of the crowds?

We booked on August 2nd. We're 56 years old and I would say we were in the sweet spot. But the range was very wide - from 20's to 70's. We had a nice long conversation on Haulover beach with a couple in their mid 20's and it was very encouraging to see people being nude in their younger years. Most everyone we spoke to in KW was our age or older.

Nice trip report...thanks for sharing.

I just returned home late last night via the Key West Express high speed catamaran ferry after 5 days/4 nights (Saturday noon to Wednesday 5 pm) in Key West for my 15th Fantasy Fest (and 13th with the Krewe de Krazy Life---the same group that also comes with me annually to Hedonism resort)

I was disturbed about the amount of children out late at night on Duval and elsewhere. I understand when cruiseships are docked in town during FF that some exposure to revelers will occur, but seeing strollers in the Fantasy Zone at night is troublesome.

Still a great early-week time was had by many including myself and many of those in the Krewe

I had some great times including yesterday (Weds.) afternoon at the Marker resort with 16 of us enjoying Patrick & the Swayzees music around the pool. Also, the BEST tequila bar and margaritas at Agave308 bar and Mariam as the one of the best bartenders in Key West. Chrystal at the Red Garter Saloon (dayshift) also made for a great afternoon respite from the heat and humidity. All the guys at Capt. Tony's Saloon working hard through the night keeping the 100's of Krewe and other guests happy were welcome nighty.

My decision to attend FF was made this summer when I found my travel calendar suddenly cleared and by then room availabilty was limited and at a premium price but I did find space at NYAH (Not Your Average Hotel) for under $200 per night. I had stayed there before and found it conveniently located, quiet and comfortable if even a bit spartan.

I attended several pool parties with Krewe members who had rented houses and enjoyed the socializing without having to shout over music or get jostled by street crowds. Greene Street in front of Capt. Tony's was closed every night but Saturday for the overflow crowds.

I have many "favorite" dining places in KW but this year tried some ones and all with good-to-great results including the biggest surprise and pleasure of all---Hot Tin Roof for the Sunday brunch with the founder of the Chapman Brunch menu. I also enjoyed the Retired Surfers Bar & Grill, Mary Ellen's, the Marker, and Off the Hook Grill among others. I still love Blue Heaven, Faustos Market, Half Shell & Turtle Krawls, Conch Republic, Patio, and late-night Angelini's etc.

The themed costumed nights are always my favorite and I did the Little Black Dress (Sat), Zombie (Sun), Fetish (Mon) and instead of Tutu (Tues) or Plaid (Tues) I went with shimmery/glam and people seemed to love based on the number of photos I was asked to be in. Because of the heat and walking I did in the daylight, I opted not to wear my traditional boots or stillettos this FF.

Overall, I saw more participation this year, especially by the 20 & 30-somethings which was a nice surprise and the options, both day and night, continue to grow for attendees which is nice especially for those (like me) that have been so many times and like to try other events and venues.

I'll be back again in 2020...

Great trip report thanks! We went to FF in 95' and 99' but not since. Always a great time. We're going to try for next year. We did watch the live Duval Street cam on Saturday night to get in the right frame of mind.