Tell me about Saratoga Springs!

[rdsx28]

Hi all,
WL is our home and it’s booked for October. Our daughter wants to visit with a friend in October and we have the option of booking Saratoga. Please tell me what you like about it, the best area to stay in (we would be looking for a studio) and how the transportation is to the parks. Thanks for the help as I’m clueless about this resort!!

 

[SwanVT2]

You should check out the DVC resort forum and their SSR thread. We love the hotel! Start there and if you still have questions, let me know!

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Love SSR. You can walk to disney springs. Also from the springs you can take a bus to any of the resorts so if you book a dinner at a resort you have transportation there. Best location is personal preference. I like paddock pool for the pool or the springs for location to main building and boat to ds

 

[SwanVT2]

Love SSR. You can walk to disney springs. Also from the springs you can take a bus to any of the resorts so if you book a dinner at a resort you have transportation there. Best location is personal preference. I like paddock pool for the pool or the springs for location to main building and boat to ds

Read my thoughts!!

 

[CastAStone]

Check whether you’re booking Standard or Preferred; Most people’s favorite standard room location is Paddock due to its feature pool and QS restaurant (a smaller number prefer Grandstand for being close to dining, no one seems to prefer Carousel); for preferred people have split preferences between congress park (very short walk to Disney Springs) and The Springs (very close to pool/dining).

It’s very relaxed and actually feels more vacation-y than most of the resorts IMO.

 

[CastAStone]

.

 

[kilik64]

No one touched on buses really yet, but we had zero issues. We were in paddock which I’m pretty sure is in the middle of the loop. Never had a full bus doing rope drop and closing down parks. I think we waited for another bus at mk but other then that never had a long wait. We rope dropped all 4 park days we did and we were the only ones on the bus 3 out of the 4.

This was during spring break so fairly busy time of the year.

TLDR - I wouldn’t have any worries over the buses at ssr

 

[Melissa Perez]

I think SSR really shines when you take full advantage of the resort - booking dinners and enjoying DS to the fullest, and even a pool day or two. agreed with PP that it can feel more resort-y and vacation-y than being in the hustle and bustle of other resorts

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

Check whether you’re booking Standard or Preferred; Most people’s favorite standard room location is Paddock due to its feature pool and QS restaurant (a smaller number prefer Grandstand for being close to dining, no one seems to prefer Carousel); for preferred people have split preferences between congress park (very short walk to Disney Springs) and The Springs (very close to pool/dining).

It’s very relaxed and actually feels more vacation-y than most of the resorts IMO.

I like to walk and prefer quiet locations so Grandstand buildings nearest the Treehouses and Carousel locations fit me well.

 

[jo-jo]

No one touched on buses really yet, but we had zero issues. We were in paddock which I’m pretty sure is in the middle of the loop. Never had a full bus doing rope drop and closing down parks. I think we waited for another bus at mk but other then that never had a long wait. We rope dropped all 4 park days we did and we were the only ones on the bus 3 out of the 4.

This was during spring break so fairly busy time of the year.

TLDR - I wouldn’t have any worries over the buses at ssr

Did you notice any issues with people using a EVC? I'm concerned needing to wait for several buses, cause the spots for scooters are fill. We would be leave room about 9 ish, back about 2 ish , leave again about 5 ish, and back 9 ish.

 

[kilik64]

Did you notice any issues with people using a EVC? I'm concerned needing to wait for several buses, cause the spots for scooters are fill. We would be leave room about 9 ish, back about 2 ish , leave again about 5 ish, and back 9 ish.

We didn't have any in our party and I don't really remember more than maybe 1 or 2 times that there was one on the bus we got.

That definitely could be a concern, would really just be luck of the draw for that, hopefully you don't have any problems though.

 

[zackiedawg]

I'm a big fan of Congress Park and stay there 95% of the time. On rare occasions when I stayed 'standard' category, I request the Paddock building closest to Congress Park, or Grandstand closest to the main building. The ability to walk quickly over to Disney Springs is key when I stay there, both for the food and entertainment options it provides, as well as using the Disney Springs busses to get around much of the time which gives a nice extra option to the Saratoga busses.

Since I rarely 'rope drop', I often use Disney Springs busses when going returning from the parks as well. For Magic Kingdom, I can walk over to Contemporary when leaving (especially useful after fireworks when the bus stops at MK can be packed - sometimes you can go 2, even 3 busses before boarding - a 5 minute walk over to Contemporary, hop the Disney Springs bus, then walk back to Saratoga is faster, and more relaxing too. For Ecpot, simply walk out the International Gateway and use Beach or Boardwalk busses to DS. For DHS, walk over to Boardwalk, or gondola to Riviera. For late risers, it works headed to the parks too - but if you're an early starter, the DS busses usually don't start running to resorts until 10am or so.

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

We didn't have any in our party and I don't really remember more than maybe 1 or 2 times that there was one on the bus we got.

That definitely could be a concern, would really just be luck of the draw for that, hopefully you don't have any problems though.

We don't use an EVC but did see someone using one on at least half the times on bus rides to the parks and at least once there were two EVCs on our bus.