Why do so many people dislike SSR?

[Disney fan in TN]

My wife and I are not yet DVC members, but we have been trying to decide between SSR and OKW because there are lots of resales on the market and they are both close to Downtown Disney. We have not taken the "official" DVC tour but have strolled both areas and they seem really nice to us. I don't expect every one to be SSR fans or else Disney wouldn't need to have different themes, but there seems to be a lot more negative posts concerning SSR than any other location.
For my family this is a really big decision and we want to get it right considering the length of the contract.

We have personally walked the ground on almost all of the properties and it is a tough decision. Any advice would be appreciated. BTW- We have a 5 year old and 8 year old that really like the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

[mamaprincess]

You should love the resort you purchase. I love SSR so what others think about it has no bearing on my feelings about it. You should choose a resort that is your style. One that makes you feel really happy when you think about staying there because as time goes on and more members come on board, it will be harder and harder for you to get something somewhere else at or after the 7 month window.

Why are you looking at SSR and OKW other than the fact that there are a lot of resales on the market? What about them do you love?

Just some food for thought.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

without getting too detailed (and aggrivated )

It's too big....(as in 900 units or 300 more than the next biggest site (okw))
and by "big"....i mean that the facilities are more crowded than is comfortable....not the size of the layout

it's near the car heavy, outside gateway to WDW.....and next to the commercial shopping district that is geared as much towards locals as it is travelers.......it doesn't have the same kind of feel

there're really no theme....it is basically a couple of uniform paint colors and a statue of a horse in a courtyard or two.....not really an "immersive" experience.....and absolutely nothing that reminds anyone of the real area it's "based" on....if you've ever been there

and for me personally.....it's just that it was the site of a prior resort disaster that was the Disney Instititute....and it was "redeveloped" so quickly that not alot of "Disney thought" could have gone into it.
They've also basically tried to squeeze as many units as possible into one place.....just as a cash cow and a convenient funnel into the shops of downtown.



but some really like it......i put it below all other DVCs...including Hilton Head and Vero as far as "disney" qualities.....

it might be for you.

the warning i would give is that the home resort priority window has become huge and will continue to do so as time goes on.....so if you have any desire of spend time at the more "desirable" locations (beach club, boardwalk, wilderness lodge, contemporary, animal kingdom)....then you want to seriously stop and think about that before you purchase anything....

...lest you repeat my mistakes

 

[MILLZ]

Again The Horse Is Dead Already Let It Be Different Strokes For Different Folks. Plenty Of Threads On Here Discuss This Why Start Another One

 

[Disney fan in TN]

Sorry, I didn't mean to raise an issue if this has already been discussed. This is only my second time on this site and since everyone here seems so informed and friendly I decided to make a post.
I'll keep researching each location to find what works best for my family. That is a good excuse to plan a trip right?

BTW- someone asked why we were looking at SST and OKW. The primary reason is because we like going to Downtown Disney at night. Maybe I should really look at the other resorts first. My biggest fear is having to sit and wait for a bus and having to try and "fit" a stroller onto a loaded bus. Us husbands always get stuck trying to deal with a stroller and a crowd of people

 

[edk35]

Hi there. We bought into SSR in Jan. 07 and we like SSR. We love the closeness to DTD and we like the styling and were very happy when we stayed there twice. Our children are 17, 14 and 9. They also love this resort. My kids also enjoy DTD so this made it easier to choose SSR too. The main pool is nice and we seem to always get our request of where we want to stay. I think you are going to get a zillion different answers on here because there are so many resorts that people own or like to stay at even if it is not their home resort. We have tried BWV, OKW and BCB. LOVED BCV too. There is always BLT too. I think you have to wait til early Oct. though to purchase.

We just purchased an add on at AKV ....you mentioned your kids like the lodge there. Have you considered AKV?? They have a nice incentive going on too. If you buy into SSR ...you will also get the Treehouse Villas as part of the deal. I don't know if this interest you or not. So far I am happy with SSR. We stayed at OKW this past summer and it was nice and we are actually staying there again for a split stay in Nov. because SSR is booked for our last two nights. My boys loved the Community Hall and the rooms are huge whicv is a super plus along with the lower points. OKW is not my first choice of a resort to stay at but it is not a vacation deal breaker..... I would stay in any of them if it meant a trip to Disney. So far for us.....DVC is not just about that 11 month window. We have gotten to stay at the two EC DVC resorts with less than the 7 month window in the summer. Sure if you want to go the week of Christmas or during Food and Wine festival.....you might need to own a certain resort.

Good Luck with your decision....I know it is hard. I can never make up my mind where to stay...because I plan on staying at all of them....and not just staying at my home resort year after year. At least that is the plan.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I would plan a trip and visit all the DVC onsite.

Just keep in mind you wont be pushing a stroller for the next 50 years.

Number of years left is a big consideration.

Alot of people dislike alot of things. The only way you can avoid a crowded bus is to drive. All busses get crowded at some time and if you want to travel all over the "World" you cannot avoid the busses no matter where you stay.

We purchased and then visited prior to closing and enjoy all our homes for different reasons and seasons.

 

[CraftyMouse]

Sorry, I didn't mean to raise an issue if this has already been discussed. This is only my second time on this site and since everyone here seems so informed and friendly I decided to make a post.
I'll keep researching each location to find what works best for my family. That is a good excuse to plan a trip right?

BTW- someone asked why we were looking at SST and OKW. The primary reason is because we like going to Downtown Disney at night. Maybe I should really look at the other resorts first. My biggest fear is having to sit and wait for a bus and having to try and "fit" a stroller onto a loaded bus. Us husbands always get stuck trying to deal with a stroller and a crowd of people

No matter which resort you stay at, you're going to have to take a bus sometimes, and sometimes you're going to have to wait for a bus. That will be true whether you purchase/stay at SSR, OKW or any of the other DVC resorts (and the WDW resorts, in general). The boats from EPCOT and the Studios (that service BCV and BWV) also get very crowded, as do the monorails. And there are often waits for both of those as well. It's just part of the deal sometimes.

As for resorts, we love OKW. We love the feel of the resort, the theming, the units, etc. We also enjoyed our stay at SSR very much. My only negative about SSR is its size. We consider it a close second, at WDW, to OKW. Honestly, we truly like each of the DVC resorts. They all have something great to offer and are each so unique. That said, we're happy to have our points at OKW & HH as they are our favorites...so definitely buy where you most want to stay.

 

[veenstra56]

Alot of DVC veterans decided early on that they weren't going to like SSR, primarily (I believe) because they knew that all those new SSR owners were going to try and scoop up all their BCV, VWL, and BWV reservations at the seven month mark, thereby making it much more difficult for those original owners to book stays at their respective home resorts (it happened, of course, so perhaps they were justified). SSR had a bad rap before the first brick was laid.

Others don't like it because they believe that it is too big, too distant (from parks) and not well themed.

For what it's worth, we really love SSR, but everyone is different.

 

[hakepb]

Disney is changing DTD (I believe PI is now closed?) Make sure the new DTD plans still fit into your needs.

To me, SSR bus service has been quite good. It is never as crowded as I experienced staying at All-Star sports. SSR also (usually) runs it's own dedicated busses (Although I've heard of a few mid-day shares with OKW)
And at the parks, SSR gets a nice spot # 4 which makes it a little closer to the park entrances. If you stay at BCV or BWV, then you may be sharing busses with BWV, Swan/Dolphin and YC/BC (Although I think the nice boats to EPCOT and DHS even out that disadvantage) so there are more bus disadvantages at other resorts.

As mentioned, buy where you want to stay.
OKW, SSR and AKV (with Kidani) are all be so large that most of the time their typical rooms will be available at the 7 month window to non-owners. Now if you want a "cheap Grand Villa", buy OKW. A unique Treehouse, buy SSR, or the value/concierge rooms at AKV, buy AKV. You need the 11 month bookings to get greater access to those unique categories.

 

[Granny]

We have personally walked the ground on almost all of the properties and it is a tough decision. Any advice would be appreciated. BTW- We have a 5 year old and 8 year old that really like the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

First of all, welcome to the DIS Boards.

Secondly, I personally wouldn't choose a 50 year contract based on 5 & 8 year olds. Obviously, they will only be children for a small part of the contract length. Rather, I'd focus on places you and your spouse will really like. I guarantee you that the kids will love any of the DVC locations as long they are in WDW!

Lastly, rather than give you the pros and cons of resorts, let me direct you to a thread that has some good discussion from a lot of seasoned veterans about weighing different aspects that are important to YOU and your spouse(the only ones that matter in this decision). Here's a thread on HOW TO CHOOSE A HOME RESORT.

Good luck!

 

[Sheribo]

We love SSR. We have stayed at other DVC resorts and found them to each have their own special qualities. For a non-park family vacation away from the snow every March break, we want SSR. We love the easy access to DTD. I could see that if you're looking for the traditional trip do WDW (Parks & Mickey) then it's not the place for you. It has the Disney quality but not the Mouse.

 

[minnierealtor]

When we finally made the decision to buy DVC Disney was only selling BWV and we wanted to buy directly from Disney therefore our choice of home resort was a given. We have only stayed at our first home resort once and didn't care for it. We stayed at OKW several times thereafter and it was ok. We bought a large add-on at SSR and we love it. The short walk to DTD is a big plus along with the on-site golf and spa. We have never had a serious problem with buses like we experienced at BC. My suggestion is to pick a home resort that will fit you for years to come. When we bought DVC our DD was 6, she is now 15 and SSR is her favorite resort.

 

[Disney_Villain]

It's too big...i mean that the facilities are more crowded than is comfortable...there're really no theme...so if you have any desire of spend time at the more "desirable" locations...lest you repeat my mistakes

The OP seems to have made up his own mind as to what is a "desirable" DVC resort (he's already walked about the complexes of both OKW and SSR and not hated them).

 

[westjones]

We have stayed at all the DVC at Disney and there are things we like and dislike about them all. You have to figure out what is most important to you.

We own at BCVs, but I prefer BWV (my kids prefer BCV). For us, 'time' it the biggest issue. We like not having to wait for buses for Epcot and Disney Studios when staying at BWV or BCV. Just this July, I called and got a reservation for dinner in England for 15 minutes from the time I called in my room, and we were able to walk right over to it with a few minutes to spare.

We stayed at SSR and enjoyed being able to walk to DTD, but we really don't spend that much time there so it isn't that important to us. If you don't go to the parks much and just like to relax and want a lovely resort to walk around and just enjoy, both SSR and OKW are very nice.

If you are looking for a nice place to stay, but you want a lot of park time and don't want to wait for buses, look at one of the resorts near the parks. If you could afford it, I think the new BLT resort would be wonderful! I like being able to just walk to MK and to be able to walk the fireworks from the roof will be so nice and I hope we can get in sometime at the 7 month window.

Now VWL is also very nice especially if you like biking or walking because you have all of Fort Wilderness to explore right next door.

AKL is nice (haven't actually stayed in the villas yet), but for us, it isn't the place we would want to always stay at, but it is wonderful for a change of pace.

I agree that you might want to take a mini trip and visit all of the resorts and see what one looks best for your needs. Try to imagine what type of vacation you want and what are the most important features for you and your family.

DJ

 

[Lauralei]

SSR should have booking categories. That is the main problem. I own at SSR but have only stayed there once. I was very disappointed because I didn't get a DTD view. The rooms and grounds are lovely but its the view that separates it from other resorts. Since the new BLT, the Boardwalk and AKV have booking categories I don't see why they can't do this with SSR. It's so annoying to have the option to book at 11 months and it really doesn't make any difference. So far I have had no problem in booking my vacation at other DVC resorts 7 months out and as long as there are no booking categories at SSR I will continue to do so. If I had no other alternative, I would rather stay at OKW because at least then I would have no expectation of a DTD view and nothing to be dissapointed at. I really feel that Disney did a poor job with planning how SSR is handled.

 

[Mississippian]

No matter which resort you stay at, you're going to have to take a bus sometimes, and sometimes you're going to have to wait for a bus. That will be true whether you purchase/stay at SSR, OKW or any of the other DVC resorts (and the WDW resorts, in general). The boats from EPCOT and the Studios (that service BCV and BWV) also get very crowded, as do the monorails. And there are often waits for both of those as well. It's just part of the deal sometimes.

You never should take a boat to EPCOT if you stay at BCV or BWV, and you don't have to take a boat to Hollywood Studios. Furthermore, it's easy and cheap to take a taxi to the Polynesian on days you visit the MK. For your return, you will always take the monorail and walk through EPCOT to your resort. So the only time guests at these resorts ever need to take a bus is to go to the AK.

 

[vicki_c]

We loved SSR and are very very happy we bought there. We've only tried out VWL and although we love the WL, we didn't really enjoy VWL as much as SSR.

I'll be staying at OKW in November, and BCV in December, so I'll have to see if my opinion changes, but we really enjoyed SSR, so it's not true that everyone hates it!

 

[LIFERBABE]

You never should take a boat to EPCOT if you stay at BCV or BWV, and you don't have to take a boat to Hollywood Studios. Furthermore, it's easy and cheap to take a taxi to the Polynesian on days you visit the MK. For your return, you will always take the monorail and walk through EPCOT to your resort. So the only time guests at these resorts ever need to take a bus is to go to the AK.

I think that is a little presumptous. I could also walk back to Texas after the vacation is over
That's alot of walking to avoid the busses.

 

[d-r]

It's not our favorite, and this is just us. The one time we stayed there, there was a lot of problems with getting our luggage from magic express, we ended up going a couple of days before our suitcases got straightened out. That was probably just the luck of the draw that could have happened anywhere, but it just made our impressions worse. To us, it sort of has the negatives of the different dvcs, without the positives the different ones bring. But thankfully everyone likes different things. I'll try to explain. We don't like key west being spread out and having to take all the busses. We don't like that it isn't "near" one of the parks like the others. But we do like that you can park right outside, and we love the size of the rooms and the greeness of the setting. So it has its ups and downs. SSR is so big and spread out. It isn't close to the parks, it is to downtown disney but that isn't that big to us. It is sort of like a motel with the outside hallways and doors. It isn't like a resort, and it isn't like the condos of old key west, it is like the worst of both. You can't park right outside, but you can't be right next to a central bus stop either without riding the bus around to a bunch of stops. When we stayed there the only restaurant was the artist pallette thing and it was kind of nuts.

We own points at BCV and WLV and now AKV. We bought points at SSR before it was built, but after we stayed there we sold them. It just wasn't the place for us. We like the resort feel more. SSR is sort of like the moderate of the dvcs to me. But I'm sure for others it probably combines the bests of the different dvcs, instead of seeming like the worst to us. Just isn't our favorite.

And it is so big. There are so many points there. I personally wish they hadn't built it or that it wasn't so big. There are too many points there with people who want to stay at the smaller places, it throws the system out of whack, imho.