december14disney
December Magic
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2008
- Messages
- 645
Hi all! My fiance and I just returned from our first DVC stay using developer points at SSR. We actually split our points and are using them for 2 stays...one this past week and then from Sept 26-Oct 3rd. A good deal for us with those incentive points--2 vacations!
Either way, we were in the Grandstand section room 8236. It was an absolutely fantastic location and, in fact, we are requesting that section AND building for September. We were right next to the bus stop and the Grandstand pool. We also had a view of the pool! We always had a seat on the bus and were always the 1st to drop off which made it nice. We also thought the Grandstand pool was fantastic and refilled our mugs at the pool bar at any time of day. Our room was spotless, nothing broken, everything looked really new. We chose to use our developer points for studios to get more nights out of them and were pleasantly surprised with how large it was. One thing we couldnt figure out--the air conditioning. Is it on a motion sensor? Every time we came back to the room it was hot! But then we would be in there and it would immediately cool down.
SSR bus service seemed to be 80% hit 20% miss. Unfortunately that 20% is when you just REALLY needed that bus to come...you know what I mean? I wouldnt call it worse than any other resort by any means. We usually could get to a park in a half hour.
The resort itself? Gorgeous and SO peaceful. It was a busy week at Disney but you wouldnt know it staying there. We walked every morning in the warm sun to refill our mugs and it was fantastic. My fiance was itching so bad to golf on those courses I almost pushed him out on the course! We saw otters running every morning. This little family that would skip around. Birds everywhere. So many bunnies I couldnt even believe it. It was so peaceful. If I called for a last minute trip and SSR was all that was available I totally wouldnt mind. In fact, when bringing family down (parents, etc) my fiance and I decided with all the amenities, golf for the guys, spa for the girls, this would probably be the resort that we picked. Plus it did seem far away but not in a bad way. Peaceful. Like you werent at a theme park locale. And we would want that for our parents, etc.
About the celebrate theme: it was my birthday and of course I wore my button. Every single cast member said something. The theme was fun and my fiance and I really enjoyed the street party at MK. The gift card I got on Tuesday (my birthday) but used on Thursday (thus again proving it doesnt expire). I bought myself a really nice watch. A nice treat! I received a ton of free desserts and pixie dust. I would recommend to anyone to celebrate an event in Disney--it was fantastic!
The crowds: Well, we usually go the 2nd/3rd week in December so---they were larger than that! But doable! I would say about a 7/8 the entire time we were there. Towards the end a TON of cheerleaders were in the parks though. Clapping and cheering. For a second it was fun but it did get old pretty quick. On Friday we went to an early breakfast at CP and checking in behind us was 50 cheerleaders. No joke. They really slowed down the character movement but what can you do--its Disney and if I could have gotten that opportunity when I was in high school I would have went too!
The weather: Wow. If the end of April is always like this we will be there every year. 85, sunny, a little breeze, not a cloud in the sky. Gorgeous. We almost booked a couple extra nights at Pop as we just didnt want to leave. Of course we called MS and discovered it was $145 a night. $145 a night! We laughed and loved DVC even more.
Dining: We tried a few new restaurants. Chef Mickeys, Ohana, Le Cellier, Yak and Yeti to name a few. The stand outs? Yak and Yeti and Le Cellier for sure. But Yak and Yeti even more because we just werent expecting it to be that good. Highly recommend!
Flower and Garden: Wow. WOW. I wish we had more time to enjoy this because its stunning. We have never been during this time of year and that, coupled with the weather made it even more outstanding.
A couple notes: Our first DVC stay was spectacular. It really changed our touring style. We got up, ate breakfast (we found the studio kitchen great for what we would use it for), and just made our way to the parks. Sometimes we didnt make rope drop! THE HORROR! hehe We just rode what we wanted at that minute. We went back and spent the whole afternoon 1-5 usually with drinks by the pool. DVC actually made it seem like a REAL vacation. We absolutely were never stressed or overly tired. It was great. We actually came in early one night (7 or 8PM), ate our carry out dessert in bed and watched a Netflix movie we brought with us. AT DISNEY! I know I couldnt believe it either. But it was fantastic. One more note: we took the Backstage Safari tour at AK in the morning and it was great. We got a lot of information. Saw a ton of backstage stuff. Got to pet a white rhino. Took the safari but instead of the poacher lines we heard some safari secrets. Then got a snack, free mug and pin. Totally worth the 56 dollars or so with the Disney Visa discount. Now that we arent commado anymore--we will take many more of these tours!
A few more pictures--I know that is what everyone wants!
So in conclusion: Fantastic. Couldnt have had a better stay. The ONE thing we want from DVC? Screen doors on the balcony!!!!!
Let me know if you have any questions!
~Katie
Either way, we were in the Grandstand section room 8236. It was an absolutely fantastic location and, in fact, we are requesting that section AND building for September. We were right next to the bus stop and the Grandstand pool. We also had a view of the pool! We always had a seat on the bus and were always the 1st to drop off which made it nice. We also thought the Grandstand pool was fantastic and refilled our mugs at the pool bar at any time of day. Our room was spotless, nothing broken, everything looked really new. We chose to use our developer points for studios to get more nights out of them and were pleasantly surprised with how large it was. One thing we couldnt figure out--the air conditioning. Is it on a motion sensor? Every time we came back to the room it was hot! But then we would be in there and it would immediately cool down.
SSR bus service seemed to be 80% hit 20% miss. Unfortunately that 20% is when you just REALLY needed that bus to come...you know what I mean? I wouldnt call it worse than any other resort by any means. We usually could get to a park in a half hour.
The resort itself? Gorgeous and SO peaceful. It was a busy week at Disney but you wouldnt know it staying there. We walked every morning in the warm sun to refill our mugs and it was fantastic. My fiance was itching so bad to golf on those courses I almost pushed him out on the course! We saw otters running every morning. This little family that would skip around. Birds everywhere. So many bunnies I couldnt even believe it. It was so peaceful. If I called for a last minute trip and SSR was all that was available I totally wouldnt mind. In fact, when bringing family down (parents, etc) my fiance and I decided with all the amenities, golf for the guys, spa for the girls, this would probably be the resort that we picked. Plus it did seem far away but not in a bad way. Peaceful. Like you werent at a theme park locale. And we would want that for our parents, etc.
About the celebrate theme: it was my birthday and of course I wore my button. Every single cast member said something. The theme was fun and my fiance and I really enjoyed the street party at MK. The gift card I got on Tuesday (my birthday) but used on Thursday (thus again proving it doesnt expire). I bought myself a really nice watch. A nice treat! I received a ton of free desserts and pixie dust. I would recommend to anyone to celebrate an event in Disney--it was fantastic!
The crowds: Well, we usually go the 2nd/3rd week in December so---they were larger than that! But doable! I would say about a 7/8 the entire time we were there. Towards the end a TON of cheerleaders were in the parks though. Clapping and cheering. For a second it was fun but it did get old pretty quick. On Friday we went to an early breakfast at CP and checking in behind us was 50 cheerleaders. No joke. They really slowed down the character movement but what can you do--its Disney and if I could have gotten that opportunity when I was in high school I would have went too!
The weather: Wow. If the end of April is always like this we will be there every year. 85, sunny, a little breeze, not a cloud in the sky. Gorgeous. We almost booked a couple extra nights at Pop as we just didnt want to leave. Of course we called MS and discovered it was $145 a night. $145 a night! We laughed and loved DVC even more.
Dining: We tried a few new restaurants. Chef Mickeys, Ohana, Le Cellier, Yak and Yeti to name a few. The stand outs? Yak and Yeti and Le Cellier for sure. But Yak and Yeti even more because we just werent expecting it to be that good. Highly recommend!
Flower and Garden: Wow. WOW. I wish we had more time to enjoy this because its stunning. We have never been during this time of year and that, coupled with the weather made it even more outstanding.
A couple notes: Our first DVC stay was spectacular. It really changed our touring style. We got up, ate breakfast (we found the studio kitchen great for what we would use it for), and just made our way to the parks. Sometimes we didnt make rope drop! THE HORROR! hehe We just rode what we wanted at that minute. We went back and spent the whole afternoon 1-5 usually with drinks by the pool. DVC actually made it seem like a REAL vacation. We absolutely were never stressed or overly tired. It was great. We actually came in early one night (7 or 8PM), ate our carry out dessert in bed and watched a Netflix movie we brought with us. AT DISNEY! I know I couldnt believe it either. But it was fantastic. One more note: we took the Backstage Safari tour at AK in the morning and it was great. We got a lot of information. Saw a ton of backstage stuff. Got to pet a white rhino. Took the safari but instead of the poacher lines we heard some safari secrets. Then got a snack, free mug and pin. Totally worth the 56 dollars or so with the Disney Visa discount. Now that we arent commado anymore--we will take many more of these tours!
A few more pictures--I know that is what everyone wants!
So in conclusion: Fantastic. Couldnt have had a better stay. The ONE thing we want from DVC? Screen doors on the balcony!!!!!
Let me know if you have any questions!
~Katie
