1st Stay at SSR. Grand Stand or Congress Park?

[kenny]

We are "going home" for the 1st time 9/27-10/5.

Was wondering which section to request. Was originally thinking Congress Park because of the view of DTD, and the fact that you could walk to DTD from there.

I am also reading good things about the Grand Stand section, since it is close to main pool but also feels quiet and private.

Anyone every stayed at both? What are the good and bad of each. Not sure which would be better for out 1st time. Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[tomandrobin]

We have stayed in the Grand Stand, Paddock and Congress Park. We have liked all three sections, but for different reasons.

If you want DTD views and easy walking to DTD stay in Congress Park. If you want to be close to the main pools and the AP, stay in the Springs or Grand Stand. We like the Grand Stand cuase it is the first bus stop in the resort.

 

[Heidi P]

Is it difficult to walk from the Grand Stand section to DTD? This will be our first trip there as well and I don't have a clear sense of the size of the resort. Are we talking about an extra couple of minutes of walking? I have 3 small children and would love the best of both worlds. It would be nice to walk to DTD since we'll need to catch a bus everywhere else.

 

[tjh0817]

How often will you be using the main pool is the first question you need to ask yourself. If you are not planning on having too many pool days than you need to answer if the view of DTD is more of a need than the conveinance of not having any bus issues.
The Grandstand gets you a preferred bus stop, you wont have to deal with full buses; also its nice returning from the parks and not having to sit through all the stops.
The Springs gets you closest to the pool, and one nice thing about the Springs is that its a short walk to the preferred Grandstand bus stop.
Springs is also closest to the boat launch to DTD.

Only perk to Congress Park is the view and short distance to DTD.

All depends on whats most important to you... DTD, Pool, or Bus Stop preference.

 

[kenny]

We always rent a car so I am not too concerned about the bus stop.

 

[DaisyDebbie]

Kenny with a car the Congress park section has a gate in and out so you don't have to drive through the whole resort.

Heidi, I would not try to walk from the Grandstand to DTD, especially with small children. Too far. But I'm not much of a walker.

 

[Mischa]

For our first trip "home" we stayed at Congress Park - we loved it. But then again, it was just DH & me - so we weren't planning on going to the main pool. We loved the short walk to DTD (not to mention the view!) We also didn't think the bus stop was too inconvenient. It was a bit of a walk, but we enjoyed it and didn't mind.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[lsutigerita]

We have stayed 2 times at SSR. First visit, I did not make any request and we ended up in the Paddock section. Our last visit, we requested and received the Grandstand section. We preferred the Grandstand section.

 

[spiceycat]

grandstand gets my vote and I have stayed at Congress Park too

it is close to the main pool, has it own pool, and close to the thing little ones can run through - splash???

anyway here is a map
http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/SSMap.pdf

the boat to DTD is close to Grandstand and Springs. So just go take the boat.

you will be using the main pool more than going to DTD - especially with little ones.

 

[kenny]

How far of a walk is it from CP to the main pool?

 

[hope3702]

I stayed at Congress Park when my little one was just over a year and then the Grandstand like 5 months after that...I would have to say that Grandstand or Springs is much better with the kids...My wife and I are walkers so walking isn't an issue...but just being close to the main pool/grandstand pool/AP/Turf Club is worth it...The boat is easy to DTD from Grandstand/springs...I am going again in May and requested Springs/Grand...The pool and the Grandstand is great

 

[BroganMc]

How far of a walk is it from CP to the main pool?

Roughly .25 mile. About a 5 minute walk.

 

[BroganMc]

I stayed at Congress Park when my little one was just over a year and then the Grandstand like 5 months after that...I would have to say that Grandstand or Springs is much better with the kids...My wife and I are walkers so walking isn't an issue...but just being close to the main pool/grandstand pool/AP/Turf Club is worth it...The boat is easy to DTD from Grandstand/springs...I am going again in May and requested Springs/Grand...The pool and the Grandstand is great

I'd second that. With Congress Park you do get a playground near the pool and a faster walk to McD's, but I expect most young kids would prefer the zero-entry pool with waterslides.

Grandstand is best of both worlds because you get access to two theme pools, Artist's Palette and have the first bus on the route (i.e. empty busses).

I've only stayed in Springs and Grandstand so far, but in walking around the resort I find I prefer those sections. I wouldn't mind staying in the Paddocks' buildings across the bridge either. Congress Park just doesn't do it for me.

 

[JENR]

We stayed in the Grandstands last May. We were in a brand new studio and it was so nice. We loved that section. We were on the ground floor and my boys loved playing on the patio with their motorcycles and watching the golfers. The grandstand pool was awesome and they showed movies at night. It was still very close to the main pool. We are walkers so we walked to DTD every day from the Grandstands with our two boys who were 3 and 7 at the time. We would sometimes go the back way through the West Side (which took longer but it was different).

In Oct we stayed in Congress Park as it was my DD sweet 16 and we let her pick. She wanted to be close to DTD. That was also very nice but I would much rather be in the Grandstands area.

 

[DMKEDM]

We've done both and on balance I'd vote for Grandstand.

Love Congress Park...love the five-minute walk to Marketplace...and I will say that a room in Congress Park that has a view of DTD is special, but one on the other side of the building that overlooks the parking lot not so much! We've had both and while views aren't a big deal to us, the difference was really really noticeable!

Also love Grandstand, and it's 3-minute walk to the main pool (or step out of the building to the Grandstand pool/splash-and-play area), and first bus stop status...

It's also only a five minute walk to West Side...if you're eating at Wolfgang Puck's (one of our favorite restaurants), it's actually closer (by a lot) than from Congress Park. Ditto for DisneyQuest, Cirque, or the movies...Pleasure Island is six of one half a dozen of the other. Marketplace is significantly closer to Congress Park, but is where the boats drop you off and the boat ride starts just a short way from Grandstand...since a boat ride is an "outing" in and of itself, as well as "transportation," that makes up for a lot of the distance/convenience that you "lose" if you don't stay at Congress Park --

And, if you like to walk for exercise, as I do, from Grandstand there's a gorgeous walk around part of the golf course over to Old Key West (it's about a mile) that's really nice...of course, you could walk to the starting point of that path from Congress Park, too...it would just add another quarter or third of a mile to the walk...

At the end of a day in the parks (or anywhere), and you just want a snack (and didn't stock your kitchen/kitechnette), the walk from Congress Park to Artists Palette can seem long, even tho it's only 1/4-1/3 of a mile...it's just across the way from Grandstand. And getting on and off the bus first turned out to be a bigger deal than I thought it would.

So, we'd vote for Grandstand, altho would be perfectly content at Congress Park if Grandstand weren't available...