2 Bdroom at VWL or SSR??

[DisneyMOM09]

Which would you choose and why? We have pretty much decided to stay in a 2 bdroom villa for our 2009 stay. We have narrowed it down to the VWL and SSR. I know 2 totally different resorts! I love the theming of the WL, but it would cost us 600+ dollars more to stay there over SSR. So I thought I'd turn to the real WDW experts and get your opinions! We will be a party of 7, 5 adults(ranging in age from 40 to 21) and 2 children! Do you have a different villa suggestion? Any advise and opinions are welcomed! Thank you so much!

 

[Amy&Dan]

You might want to post this on the DVC board, since these are both DVC resorts you will get a lot of responses.

I can answer to the SSR aspect. That is our "home" resort and we love it! The grounds are lovely, its a newer resort so the units are in very good shape. I have stayed in two, two bedrooms and they were lovely. SSR is centrally located. If you are not renting a car and plan to dine at other resorts, SSR is very nice. Its very close to Downtown Disney so you can go over to that bus stop area and get to any resosrt on property very easily. SSR has a great main pool area, it has zero entry depth which is great and a wonderful slide. If you love DTD then SSR is ideal. I also love the counter service at SSR, Artists Palette, I think its the best cs in all of WDW. SSR has great bus service and doesn't share busses with any other resort.

Wildnerness Lodge is so nice and close to the MK so if you will spend a lot of your time there that might be the better choice. It also has things that SSR doesn't, like being attached to a full service hotel (room service isn't available at SSR) with all of those amenties.

You can't make a bad choice. I am a cheap-o so I would probably save the money and go with SSR but that's just me!

If you go with SSR, I would request:
The Springs if you want to be near the main pool and lobby.
Congress Park if you want to be near to DTD
The Grandstand is nice since its picked up and dropped off first on the bus route, is very close to the main area and also has a very nice pool, that has spray cannons and its own pool bar. It doens't have a slide like the main pool but it has a lot more than the other quiet pools around the resort.
The Paddock is nice and quiet and not too remote and is also picked up and dropped off pretty early in the bus route.

The only area I would not recommend is the Carousel. And that is only IF you don't have a car and want to be close to the main pool. The Carousel is the furthest out but it does have a quiet pool, bus stop and is very quiet.

 

[DVC Mike]

Which would you choose and why? We have pretty much decided to stay in a 2 bdroom villa for our 2009 stay. We have narrowed it down to the VWL and SSR.

I would choose VWL.

VWL offers a magnificently rendered theme - probably the best! It features a quiet, peaceful and romantic setting, is the smallest DVC resort at WDW, is just a relaxing boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom, offers room service and valet parking, has an award winning restaurant (Artist Point) plus Whispering Canyon Café, and a great pool (Silver Creek Springs feature pool) with a Geyser.

SSR has an apartment-style setup (standalone, not attached to a hotel), features an understated, subdued theme, and is a large, very spread out resort (the largest DVC resort) with a long distance from some rooms to dining and services. It is close to Downtown Disney (for restaurants and nightlife), but offers only limited onsite dining (Artists Palette and The Turf Club). There is no room service or valet parking, but it does have convenient self parking.

Room sizes are similar:
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[stacy6552]

You really cant go wrong with either one. Based on your plans, I'd save the money and stay at SSR. Its right across from DD and PI, which will be alot of fun for most of your party.

 

[ElizabethB]

We have stayed at WL and SSR.

I would absolutely pick WLV over SSR. WLV, being part of the WL complex, has marvelous theming, an excellent on-site restaurant -- Artist Point, convenient boat access to MK and the nightly water parade. There is also the lake and marina. WLV is well worth $600 more.

We recently stayed at SSR. It is very large and very spread out. We didn't think there was any discernable theming, notwithstanding the effort to tie it into horse racing. The buildings are large, without outdoor corriders, and to us the property looks like a run-of-the-mill central Florida condo development. We didn't like being able to see non-Disney buildings from the property. And, we didn't find the convenience of being near DTD to be worth all of the disadvantages.