Back from SSR July 18-25!!

[Ms. WDW]

The bus to DTD may have a different route within the resort. But I'm pretty sure it does stop at the Carriage House. I can ask my SIL tonight when I call her. She's there now. I'm so jealous.

 

[a Really Bad Egg]

We loved SSR! It is very beautiful, quiet and relaxing.

The only downside we experienced was the overcrowding at the Artist's Palette. It was not that there were too many people, just a design flaw that caused congestion with foot traffic flow.

Other than that, the place is great. We have good memories and miss it already.

 

[nisiemouse]

Yes. The Carriage House is actually the last stop before heading off the property to the parks.

You'll love SSR. This was our second trip and each trip is better than the last.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Thanks so much. We can't wait to try Saratoga. We have only stayed at OKW and BCV in the past. This is a spur of the moment trip for ds and I. We are taking advantage of some great Southwest fares. DH and dd will be in Atlanta that weekend. We are going to the pirate and princess party on the 18th.

 

[Ms. WDW]

Yes. The Carriage House is actually the last stop before heading off the property to the parks.

You'll love SSR. This was our second trip and each trip is better than the last.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

I have a very bad habit of calling the "Springs" bus stop the "Carriage House" bus stop. Because it's the closest to the Carriage House I consider the two to be one in the same. But again the answer is yes.

 

[byoung]

Hi all, just back from SSR and I have a "review" for you and my pros and cons of SSR..

OK-Cast: DW,DS 18,DD 13,son's GF 17,DD's friend 13 and me. We got a 2BR at SSR. After a short stop in Daytona Beach, we got to SSR at 3:58pm. We were checked right in, in room 2227 in the Congress Park (what I asked for). The room was on the 2nd floor, and VERY nice. No problems with the unit except for the light switch would cut off the alarm clock radio, so I had to reset the receptacle on the wall 3 times!! Other than that, no problems at all..

NOW, for the PROS: A nicer unit than BWV (granite ct, newer stove,etc). Beautiful resort, lots of trees, and the unit was very clean!!

NOW, for the CONS: IF you like the buses to go around the resort (aka CB,PO,etc), I did NOT! I like one stop, and get off and walk. Times to parks:
mk-22 min, AK-21min, DD-4 min, Epcot-15 min. It takes a long time to get to Congress park. ALSO, talk about walking- you must walk 1/10 of a mile just to get to the main pool.. not a bad walk, but after a day at the parks, you don't want to walk that far. You have just walked 3-4 miles, 1/10 is like a 5 mile hike!!! It is a lot farther than 1/10 mile at Carousel, etc... I just laugh at people who complain about the walk at BWV...
ALSO, my son, and all the teenagers were actually BORED a couple of times because of nothing to do during the rain we had, and we had a lot of rain!! At BWV, you have arcades, ESPN, shops, etc in easy walking distance. I guess they just missed that...

Couple of other issues: At the parks, people irritated me at the FP, because all the South American groups at the parks (a lot of them by the way), had 30 or so tickets to put into FP, and they held up the whole line seperating the tickets!! That in a word-sucked!!

Well, I DID like SSR, just thought you guys staying there want a 'view' of others staying there..

It IS a nice option of other DVC propeties...

ALSO, viewed the new AKL villas at SSR, and all I can say is WOW!!! Flat screen tv's, 2 bathrooms, fold out recliner, they are VERY nice!!!

deerh

Thanks for reporting.

 

[Flyerfan]

How far of a walk from DTD is the farthest building at SSR? We don't mind the walk. Just getting a feel for how big the resort is.

 

[veenstra56]

I think that, to a certain degree, people who like SSR tend to be a little more laid back in their approach to vacationing.

I know that when my kids were small we were on the go all the time, and went to parks most every day, open 'till close. Our reasoning was that we needed to get the most of our money and limited time, and we purchased BWV at least partly because it was so close to the 'action'.

Now we tend to take things slower. We have taken the time to smell those Disney roses. We take more walks and hang out at the pools much more often. We rarely go to the parks more than a couple days a trip. SSR is perfect for that.

We fell in love with SSR (and recently purchased an add-on there) because of it's isolation from the parks. We love the relaxed atmosphere. It is certainly a different experience from BWV. I wouldn't say it's better or worse. But it is definitely different.

 

[veenstra56]

How far of a walk from DTD is the farthest building at SSR? We don't mind the walk. Just getting a feel for how big the resort is.

I'd say about 20 minutes. There is a bridge that takes you to DTD West Side or you can walk to DTD Marketplace the opposite way.

 

[LIGrumpyGirl]

Couple of other issues: At the parks, people irritated me at the FP, because all the South American groups at the parks (a lot of them by the way), had 30 or so tickets to put into FP, and they held up the whole line seperating the tickets!! That in a word-sucked!!

I was there at the same time as you. My one complaint about these groups is how they disrespect WDW. I understand they paid like I did - I welcome everybody - but show some respect. Pushing and shoving to get to characters...walking in front of stollers...and my favorite - the mess they leave after sitting for parades and fireworks. Maybe I just feel that everybody should take care of the parks...

 

[Detailor]

We must have passed each other at some point. I was at SSR from the 14th through the 21st.

I love Congress Park. We were in a 1BR - 1745 - 3rd floor overlooking the quiet pool and Downtown Disney. Great!! The first time we stayed there we found the walk difficult to the mail area. This year it didn't seem long at all.

My DD and I were in 1745 from June 30 to July 7. I agree that the location of CP and 1745 in particular is great. We walked to DTD frequently from both ends of the resort and I walked the resort grounds a few times during the week to get to know each of the areas. We loved the view from the balcony and had quite a show on the 4th for the fireworks that were set off from a barge out on the water right in front of us. It was a perfect spot for us and I really liked the atmosphere of SSR.

Dick Taylor

 

[Detailor]

Unfortunately I have to agree about the BWV beginning to show age. I was there last October and while everything was clean and in place, you could see wear and tear. Especially after just being at SSR a few months before.

But something interesting.....when we checked into SSR a few weeks ago I had to call Maintenance. Half of the tiles surrounding the jacuzzi in the dressing area (we had a 1BR - 1745) were loose or completely off; laying on the floor! Someone could seriously cut themself. Now, how mousekeeping missed this is a puzzle. And we noticed that the pillows on the couch in the livingroom were not "seated" properly. The ones that you rest your back on; they "gapped" when you tried to set them in place. Almost as if someone was using them "folded" up or something. We noticed 4 holes in the wall; yes holes. Almost as if someone poked some into the wall. It's a good thing we've stayed there before or I would have been disappointed in the condition of this particular unit. Plus....the DVD player was missing and we had to call on that also. I told DH I wanted them to know we were missing it NOW and not when we checked out!

But I do love SSR; no regrets here at all. It's just unfortunate that not everyone treats the units the way they should.

I'll be at the BW in October and I can't wait!!

Wow, having stayed in SSR 1745 two weeks before you did we didn't have any of the problems that you cited. I'm guessing that whomever was in there in the week between us must have used the unit very badly. No holes, no folded pillows, no loose tiles and the DVD player was there (we used it) but there wasn't a remote for it.

Dick Taylor

Dick Taylor

 

[ldo]

And if so, what did they play and what time?

 

[deerh]

When I was there, I did not pay attention to the movies or what was playing. BUT, it rained a great deal at night, so they might have cancelled whatever they had planned..

deerh

 

[deerh]

Another thing on my 'dislike list' of SSR was the # of balconies. Where as BWV has 3- count em' 3 balconies/2br, SSR only had 1 balcony and that was in the dining room, so every morning my son would 'grunt' because I wanted to go out on the balcony to drink coffee, and he was sleeping on the couch/bed, so I had to be quiet...

THAT was a BIG letdown- the # of balconies at SSR.. WHY did they build them this way?????

deerh