Back from Saratoga Springs

[Portugal1000]

Been back exactly a week from a 17 night holiday to Saratoga Springs. We booked the free dining & 44% off package and had the most fantastic time. We have styaed at Saratoga before and we love it there. We had a 1 bed in the Grandstand section which I highly recommend. Really cannot fault the resort.
The free dining was great. I have never eaten so much and was truly amazed to find I had lost 2 pounds! Must have been all the walking and the heat. We enjoyed every meal but a few highlights were Le Cellier, Raglan Road and Turf Club. Loved Wofgang Puck express, has to be the best quick service restaurant.
The parks weren't too crowded and for the first time we did the evening extra magic hours at MK which was great as alot cooler and were able to just walk on rides till 1am.
The only downside was the heat. It's exhausting if you are in a park. I was ok but my son was not his usual self and I think he preferred being at the hotel this time as he loved the pools. We usually visit in December when the weather is lovely but not an issue.
Happy to answer any questions.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Glad you enjoyed your trip. We booked the same deal and are heading to SSR in 11 days! We've requested Grandstand too, and I hope we get it. Glad you enjoyed the Turf Club too, we're eating there for the first time this trip, and I always hear good things about it.

I'm hoping the heat will have died down a little by then!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi,

Glad you had a good time.

Few questions:

How far was it from the Grandstand area to the centre of the resort, I can see from overhead views that if you are in one of the buildings further away it does look a fair bit to walk.

Did you find the whole resort quite spread out - tempted by the price of SSR but worried we may end up at one of the more distant buildings.

We had a DVC tour a few years ago but only around the main area, I just thought the dining/bar options a bit limited Artiste's Palette for instance is a general store & a dining area too, didn't see the Turf Club.

Grandstand pool areas look great for kid's with the water fountains, is that how you saw it.

Did you alk to DTD or catch the boat.

Glad you had a good time , any response appreciated - to be honest it's ou 3rd preference behind Magic Kingdom & Boardwalk locations but that price is appealing.

 

[eeyorefanuk]

Hello, glad you had a lovely time.

Question re Saratoga Springs .. we are thinking of staying there and paying rather than points.

How often was the room cleaned and new towels given please

 

[mushumadness]

really glad you enjoyed it!

we go for halloween 2010! staying at saratoga springs, with free dining plan

cant wait

we will be in a two bed villa though, have no idea where they are

 

[jjk]

Hello, glad you had a lovely time.

Question re Saratoga Springs .. we are thinking of staying there and paying rather than points.

How often was the room cleaned and new towels given please

Hi we have just returned from saratoga Springs, we paid and our room was cleaned every day.

We stayed in the paddock room 47359 2 bedrom villa) and we had a five minute walk across the lake to high rock springs pool and artist pallette.

we really loved this resort it had a lovely relaxed feel to it we spent a lot more time at resort this year, it was also great to be able to walk or catch the boat to Downtown disney our teenage lads loved it. we have usually stayed in villas before but we enjoyed saratoga springs so much we cant wait to go back next year

 

[Laurafoster]

Hello, glad you had a lovely time.

Question re Saratoga Springs .. we are thinking of staying there and paying rather than points.

How often was the room cleaned and new towels given please

If you aer paying to stay there then its no different than paying to stay at any of the other Disney Hotels - You will receive Maid service everyday.

If you use points to stay there (including if you rent points from someone) then its every 4th day that you get trash and towel service and the every 8th day you get a full maid service (change of beds etc).

 

[eeyorefanuk]

Hi we have just returned from saratoga Springs, we paid and our room was cleaned every day.

We stayed in the paddock room 47359 2 bedrom villa) and we had a five minute walk across the lake to high rock springs pool and artist pallette.

we really loved this resort it had a lovely relaxed feel to it we spent a lot more time at resort this year, it was also great to be able to walk or catch the boat to Downtown disney our teenage lads loved it. we have usually stayed in villas before but we enjoyed saratoga springs so much we cant wait to go back next year

Hello, sorry did you get clean towels every day???

Your holiday does sound lovely

 

[jjk]

Hello, sorry did you get clean towels every day???

Your holiday does sound lovely

yes we did get clean towels every day, it was no different to staying in any other hotel, mouse keeping were excellent

 

[eeyorefanuk]

yes we did get clean towels every day, it was no different to staying in any other hotel, mouse keeping were excellent

Oh good, I know it is naughty but like clean towels every day !

I noticed you had free dining, did you eat at saratoga for breakfast or any other meals? Any good?? Cannot decide if using counter service for breakfast is a waste and better to have something for lunch?

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We stayed in the paddock room 47359 2 bedrom villa) and we had a five minute walk across the lake to high rock springs pool and artist pallette.

Hi , is the resort map misleading then, perhaps the overhead aerial views too because it looks quite a distance away.
Did you not feel a little isolated being away from the centre of the resort - probably a daft question given you had such a good time.
Just with Joshua not being the best walker, whilst I am attracted by the reduced price offering value for money I don't think being too far away from the main area is suited to our needs.

 

[Lilybee]

We are staying at SRR in 8 days. First time at SSR so this review looked great.

Not long now !

 

[EvertonCJ]

We have also just returned from SSR staying in the Paddock. This was perfect for us as it was very close to a quiet pool and a bus stop. It was also within 5 minutes of the Artists Pallette. We used quite a few of our counter service credits at the Artists Pallette. The meals that they offer are not as heavy as many of the other counter servive places. My daughter used to have a chicken caesar salad which she loved. I enjoyed having a sandwich with a small bowl of soup or chilli. This left more room for the table service meals in the evening meaning that we enjoyed them alot more. We also ate at the Turf Club and had a fabulous meal, but, beware a glass of wine is very expensive!!!!!! We enjoyed ourselves so much we are already looking to book SSR for next year.

 

[orangetiggs]

we ate at the turf club last night and we were not impressed, the service was so slow and yet it was not busy.

We are booked to stay at ssr next year and the resort is big, we were shown a studio in the springs section and it was very close to the main building

 

[heatherbelle]

Johnny, if you ring Disney and ask them for one of their disabled rooms, then these are usually close to the main building. They should be able to give you one of those, if you have the request on your booking. Give them a ring and see what they say.

 

[wayneg]

The free dining was great. I have never eaten so much and was truly amazed to find I had lost 2 pounds! Must have been all the walking and the heat. We enjoyed every meal but a few highlights were Le Cellier, Raglan Road and Turf Club. Loved Wofgang Puck express, has to be the best quick service restaurant.

We had no chance of getting weighed before we boarded the cruise but I believe after 16 days free DDP we didn't gain any weight, or very little. We were discussing it today, yes we ate plenty but they were more balanced meals than we eat offsite, ate more veg and potatoes rather than fries offsite, also we would usually goto Publix and spend a fortune on crisps & sweets, on DDP didn't need to. Some people say you get too much food on DDP, we didn't find that, it was just right for us, used every credit.
Le Cellier would probably be top of our list to book if we do it again, really impressed with quality of steaks & service there, didn't try Raglan rd and Turf club surprised me but we got a really good server, it was a lot better than I expected. Also agree with WPE, great for CS.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Johnny, if you ring Disney and ask them for one of their disabled rooms, then these are usually close to the main building. They should be able to give you one of those, if you have the request on your booking. Give them a ring and see what they say.

Thanks Heather, to be honest SSR is at the moment not our first choice.
Most of our holiday we plan to be in a villa but fancy a few nights at the Grand Floridian first with also 2 or 3 at another resort too.
However, the cost of some is more than we want to pay given the already high August prices, hence we have talked about SSR as an alternative.
We just prefer a Magic Kingdom location or an EPCOT one as we feel being close to MK/monorail/GF/Poly and Boardwalk/BCV/EPCOT are ideal for us.
At the moment we are strongly considering a Swan/GF stay before the 12 or so days at the villa. Julie can get a decent AAA rate for the Swan.

The price of SSR is a bargain, but we prefer the location of other resorts.

Thanks anyway and it is certainly something we can bear in mind irrespective of where we stay so it is sound advice, and to be honest we should have thought about that before we stayed at the Boardwalk in 2006.

 

[fairytale]

Glad you enjoyed SSR. I love to hear positive reports about a resort were due to stay in soon

I too have requested the GRANDSTAND section. In your opinion how long is the walk to DTD

I hear so many conflicting estimates?

 

[Portugal1000]

Hi,

Glad you had a good time.

Few questions:

How far was it from the Grandstand area to the centre of the resort, I can see from overhead views that if you are in one of the buildings further away it does look a fair bit to walk.

Did you find the whole resort quite spread out - tempted by the price of SSR but worried we may end up at one of the more distant buildings.

We had a DVC tour a few years ago but only around the main area, I just thought the dining/bar options a bit limited Artiste's Palette for instance is a general store & a dining area too, didn't see the Turf Club.

Grandstand pool areas look great for kid's with the water fountains, is that how you saw it.

Did you alk to DTD or catch the boat.

Glad you had a good time , any response appreciated - to be honest it's ou 3rd preference behind Magic Kingdom & Boardwalk locations but that price is appealing.

I didn't just request Grandstand, I requested a specific building, floor and view and got exactly what I requested. I asked for the closest Grandstand building and 8500/8800. I mentioned that I had been in room 8507 previously and would like the same building but on a higher floor with a golf course view. We ended up with room 8745 which was perfect. It was 2 minute walk from reception but what I liked most was that you came out of the building and the gate to the Grandstand pool was right there. In my opinion the best building of the whole resort because you have a quiet pool and a couple of minutes from the busier pool. Alsthough saying that, I also think The Grandstand pool has to be the nicest pool area to just relax. My son loved the splash area and added bonus that there is a small bar where you can also get your refills.
Also room was very quiet. Resort was 98% full and I never heard a sound from anyone when in the room.

I didn't really visit other parts of the resort but it is very big. I think you be ok with a room request as I should imagine alot of people requet the Springs and most probably don't request anything in advance.

I really lover Turf Club but also like Artist Palette as everything prepared freshly. wouldn't want to eat there every day but never had a bad meal.

We caught the boat and walked a couple of times to DTD but it was so hot i have to admit to being lazy most of the time and driving.

This is my favourite resprt and for the price they are offering at the moment I think its a fanstastic deal, especially with the free dining. Cant recommend highly enough.

 

[binkytell]

so good to hear another positive for saratoga.

have been a little worried as we have booked 2 bed villa for next year,
taking mil & Fil and my sister for their first visit to disneyworld.

we stayed at yacht club this year, and loved being so close to epcot,
but to be honest i dont think i really care where i stay as long as its
in the disney bubble im happy