First trip to SSR--- need info please!

[luvthedis]

We usually stay at BWV but we are branching out and are going to stay at SSR this trip. I know nothing about SSR. We never took the tour and just bought BWV, resale, after staying there one time. So, I would love to know what are the pros and cons of the different sections of SSR (I've read that there is a "Springs" and "Grandstand" and "Congress Park"). Some of the stuff I've read about the size of the resort is starting to scare me!!!

Also, is it possible to see any fireworks at all from any building/view at SSR?

Some of the things that are important to us are: Good view, close to food, close to bus stop (have kids!), cool pool (slide or some fun kid stuff).

Also, how is the SSR bus system? We'll have a car....should we just drive to the parks?

Thanks for the info and advice!!

 

[Rwars10230]

So here are some answers to your questions. Yes the resort is large but each piece of it has it's own charm and a little physical activity is good for all of us from time to time.

Bus Service is about the same as other resorts. Busses do not share with any other resort but will stop at multiple locations within the resort.

The best view is if you can get one of DTD, at night it is really cool to see.

I am not sure about the fireworks viewing.

The main pool has a cool play area and a slide.

You should have tons of fun. It is a much quieter resort.

Have Fun

 

[CarolAnnC]

We have stayed at Congress Park and enjoyed it very much. There is a beautiful "quiet" pool there with laundry room, in case you are in a studio. We also had a car each time and found it convenient whether heading to a park or only up to the Main Pool.

 

[abk96]

We stayed at SSR in July and loved it. We originally requested to be in CP with DTD view but that didn't happen so I asked to be in the Grandstand area. We loved it!

I would ask for one of the 2 buildings near the Grandstand pool and see if you can get a view of the pool, which we had and it was great, or I think you can get a view of the golf course too.

The pool at the Grandstand is beautiful. They have the squirting horses for the kids to play with too. There's a refill station there for refillable mugs.

The Grandstand is only a 3-4 minute walk to Artist's Palette for food.

And the bus stop is right there too.

We thought it was a perfect location.

Good luck to you and have a great trip.

 

[RLRDA]

We just returned from our 1st SSR stay in late August. We had requested The Springs section but were given a 2BR on the 1st floor of The Grandstand section.

PROS:
*The Grandstand is the first stop for pick up and drop off on the bus route
*The quiet pool area is wonderful and has a children's water play area
*It was a short (5+/- minute) walk to the Carriage House (main pool, Artist Palette, Turf Club, water launch) and the walkway is such that there is no need to cross a street.

CONS:
*none come to mind....we really enjoyed this section.
*If you really like a view (not a priorty for us) you might have a view of the golf course not DTD


Enjoy your TRIP!!

 

[luvthedis]

Thanks for all the great info! I think Grandstand sounds perfect for us, with CP being second. Getting on and off the bus first, with kids and strollers, is a big plus. Also the pool with the horsies sounds fun, and the close proximity to the main area is important.

Although a view of DTD is tempting, too.......Wow, I guess either would be great.

Anybody know if there's any view of fireworks from any building? My kids always love to watch Illuminations from our balcony at BWV and I was hoping we could at least catch a glimpse of something from SSR. Or are we too far away?

 

[Cee]

What wonderful views! And the walk to DTD is barely 10 minutes. You will
love it, love it, LOVE IT there. OH. And the carrot cake and the chocolate
cake at the Artist's Palette are to die for.

 

[allaboutmm]

I also want to thank all of you, we are in the process of buying in DVC with SSR being our "home resort". Great info!

 

[castleri]

This was taken from a studio in the CP section that overlooked the bus stop. The fireworks in the distance are Wishes I think although am not certain. They really are a long way off but were fun to watch anyway even without the sound. Views can be very subjective- My DH loved overlooking the bus stop because he could sit on the balcony and watch and listen to all the people coming and going. We have had the same room both times we have stayed at SSR. Am hoping for a Grandstand room this time but will be happy with just about any room especially if it is on an upper floor.

 

[loribell]

We could see some fireworks, although it was very obstructed by trees from the Grandstand area. It had to be fireworks from Illuminations because of the timing of it. But as I said they were very obstructed.

Another great thing about the Grandstand, if you are in one of the buildings closest to the pool is that if you just miss a bus you can walk over to the Springs bus stop and still catch it. It is a very short walk and was very handy.

 

[Detailor]

I'll start off with the confession that I'm not a DVC owner and I've developed a preference for larger resorts as I like to walk the properties every morning of my stays, so for me the size of SSR isn't daunting but rather welcome. I'd point out that the only part of the property that I think seems a little far from other amenities in the Carousel section. Those buildings are a little bit away from the closest pool area - the quiet pool at Paddocks - and a long walk from the main themed Springs pool at the clubhouse area.
I wasn't overly impressed by the moderately themed pool area in Grandstand, nice but just okay in my opinion. But I know others have said they really like it. Perhaps it isn't quite as crowded as the themed Springs pool is with the food and drink and store all right there. The Springs pool and GS pool are pretty close to one another.
We stayed at SSR during the 4th of July holiday week this year and stayed in Congress Park - I had requested that section. We ended up with a third floor unit overlooking the CP quiet pool and a great view of the westside section of DTD. This ended up being perfect for us as we spent a bit of time at DTD and we had an amazing view of the 4th of July fireworks with the main fireworks barge located in the water just in front of us (we watched the fireworks show from our balcony).
It's a longish walk from CP (at least the building we were in) to the themed pool area but not much more so than from the furthest buildings in the Grandstand section. For us the convenience to DTD was a big plus for this section of SSR.
SSR is an outstanding resort. I thought that the location on Disney property was convenient, but the resort doesn't have the big plus of BWV and BCV with immediate access to theme parks. For this resort I think a car makes transportation a lot more tolerable than Disney busses. Yes, I understand that others love the Disney bus system and I like to use the busses, boats and monorail when we're park hopping. But I prefer getting into the car and heading to the parking lot early and getting a great park spot before 'rope drop.'

Dick Taylor

 

[PinkTink63]

We just got back from a 8 night stay at SSR and 6 nights at BCV. (First time at both)

First of all, hands down, SSR was our best view! We were in CP 3rd floor at the very end, right next to the quiet pool and laundry facilities (very handy, I might add!) We had a beautiful view of DTD! It was a little walk to the main pool, but not intolerable. The walk to DTD was even shorter, which was great! The resort itself has quite a peacefulness about it!

We were told we had an EPCOT view when we checked in at the BCV. Not! We had a view of the woods and the smoking lounge directly in front of us! We could see the very tip of America and few sparks coming from the end of the building. Not exactly what I was expecting! Anyway, it was a quick walk to EPCOT, which was really nice!

Back to SSR! We were very close to the bus stop. (Coming home we were the 4th stop) This is the first time we actually used the bus system, because we were in Florida for 3 weeks and I didn't want to rent a car for that long, we had to use it for the first 8 days. We found it quite effecient, so much so, that my son and I decided to tell Dad (Mr. Impatient!) when he arrived,that it was much quicker using the bus system than him driving everywhere! We never waited more than 15 min. for a bus, but usually it was 5 and under. We decided that we will use the bus system more on future trips. One more thing, if you are staying at CP and you have a reservation at another hotel, it is very quick to walk to DTD and hop on a bus!

I don't know if you can see any fireworks from CP, because we weren't around when the were going off!

I do also like the balconies at SSR. There is at least a little bit of a barrier between them for a little bit of privacy. There were none at BCV and I had not thought any about that before, but we couldn't even sit on our balcony without being right in the middle of everyone else.

The main pool was kind of crowded, but nothing like the BCV. We were able to at least get a longe chair at SSR.

Anyway, have fun! We loved the resort!

 

[shellbelle1971]

I LOVE the open-hearth-oven flatbreads from Artist's Palette! MMMMM! I don't care which section of the resort I'm in; as long I can send one of the kids down there to get take-out for me I'm good!

 

[loribell]

I love them too. They also had a great chicken panini sandwhich as a lunch special one day while we were there. It was superb!!!