Another lovely DVC weekend with my prince! 🤴🏻

[Dotluvsdisney]

Hello everyone! Hubby and I have been on quite the journey since his retirement a little over a year ago. We bought DVC resale points at the Poly in 2021 and then added on in 2023 at CCV.

A bit about us! I married my prince 6 years ago. Here is my Aaron amongst some Erins at church.



We are a blended family with teens, a young adult, and our best boy, Gordy the wonder dog (aka our most obedient child.)



My son who is graduating high school soon (in the running for an electrician apprenticeship ) and Aaron’s youngest will be coming back in June for a Universal/DVC stay at the Poly.



We came for a quick resort only trip at SSR to rest and recharge with each other before tackling Universal in the heat with our boys. We also wanted to try out the quick service dining plan and scope out whether it’s something we want to use with the teens.



Aaron is sleeping off some Polite Pig as I write this. We have had an amazing time! Will add more details about our drive down, the Four Seasons massage and our time at SSR and DS using the QS dining plan in a bit. Thanks for stopping by and have a magical day!

 

[DLo]

Following along . Looking forward to reading more .

 

[happily single]

Following along, can’t wait to hear about the massages

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

Hello again! Not gonna lie, have the post Disney blues. (May have had to book our next DVC stay at the Poly Tower next February this morning to cope.)

We just got home and were pleasantly surprised to find the kitchen still clean with only the faint odor of smoke from a small dry ramen microwave disaster. Thank you to my Jakey for holding down the fort and taking care of Gordy!

A bit more about our quick weekend trip. Friday, 4/25/25 was glorious! So much fun ahead! We were delighted to sleep in (until 6:30), bid farewell to our boys and hit the road. Traveling from Jacksonville to Orlando can take as little as 2 1/2 hours or as long as 5 depending on traffic. Over the years, I have found the best times to head down are early Saturday morning or mid morning on a weekday. We had a 1:30 appointment for a couples massage at the Four Seasons. Were packed and hit the road at 9:00.

Made the prerequisite stop at Bucc-ee’s (Daytona Beach is far less crazy than the St Augustine location). Filled up on $1.88 gas and our first ride through the world’s funnest car wash machine. Well, that may be a bit of exaggeration but, we are easily entertained! Glowing Bucc-ee head appearing on our windshield tickled us to no end. Here is a pic we took at our first ever Bucc-ee’s visit on our move to CA in TX. Those billboards are effective. Holy moly, so many pumps!

First stop, Four Seasons Spa! We both came from humble beginnings and so, feel very blessed to be able to enjoy such a treat. It was amazing! I go for, what I call a “bougie spa day,” about once a year. Have been to the Ritz in Orlando, Amelia Island, and Gaylord in Nashville. The staff, lounges, and massage therapists were top notch. It was busy but, did not feel rushed. Everyone was so kind and we left feeling nourished! I so enjoyed reading my book and relaxing here. Sadly, the ladies steam room was closed.



I hopped in the ladies hot tub and tried the outdoor pool but, too many “kids” (recently turned 21 year olds) imbibing for our taste. The sweetest lady, Rosalba, tended to me on the ladies side. She let me know that we could access the lazy river, another set of steam rooms, and the entire pool complex. It looked impressive and we will definitely come back again to check that out!

I can say, I much preferred the setting here to the comparably priced Ritz in Orlando. If you ever get a chance to explore north Florida, the Ritz Amelia Island Spa has its own outdoor pool and is on a gorgeous beach.

Next stop check in at SSR!

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

Following along . Looking forward to reading more .

So happy to see you again!

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

Following along, can’t wait to hear about the massages

They were wonderful! Next time, we should book for AFTER all of the walking.

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

Hello again! We made it home safely and hit the ground running with a busy week of work and adulting. Dropping a few notes from our trip before I forget them all!

We got checked in Saturday just after 4 with a visit to the front desk and (gasp!) a chat with a live human after mobile check in failed. Humans>machines. But, maybe not dogs. Very smooth and easy! Over to our room at The Springs.

What a wonderful location! We loved the central proximity to: main check in/Artist’s Palette, feature pool, Community Hall, boat launch AND walkway to Disney Springs. Now that we have been to SSR a few times, it’s becoming one of our favorites.

Aaron decompressed after the drive and, we hit the trail to the Paddock Pool for dinner! Fun walk across the little bridge. On the way we saw some cardinals (reminds Aaron of his grandparents who helped raise him, now in Heaven), some cute little blue feathered friend (not a jay), and a picture perfect little bunny. The melody of bird calls and scent of jasmine as we walked soothed our souls. *Side note, want to come back and take advantage of the free guided bird walk.*



On this trip, we tried out the QS dining plan. After looking over the menus for the 3 eligible spots: Artist’s Palette, On the Rocks at the main feature pool and the Paddock Grill, we settled on Paddock. (*A note upon looking back. Of all our QS meals, the winners were Polite Pig and BOTH pool bars at SSR. What a fun surprise. And great value for the DDP.)

Great meals and great cocktails! We were able to grab our refillable mugs here too. I neglected to take food pics (enjoying the moment). I had the Power Bowl with shrimp and Aaron had shrimp tacos. Both were delicious! My bowl was also very pretty and a generous portion. Super fresh and well prepared. The pineapple mule and Blueberry lemonade cocktails were also just what we had hoped. Aaron goes for the fruity drinks between the 2 of us. Bonus if there’s an umbrella!

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

After dinner, we wandered around back to the main pool/check in area. We saw some lawn games so, I had to test Aaron’s sportsmanship at Tetris.

Then we peeked into the Community Hall. I’ve actually never visited one before even though we have been to Disney resorts a number of times over the past 20 years. What a great place! It was empty aside from us and a CM. We picked magnets from a wall of free colorables. Hubby (aka my Grumpy Cat) was drawn to melancholy Eeyore while I’m a big Stitch/Tigger fan. There were several activities, free and paid. Mosaics, tiles, tie dye, cute little ceramic magnets, and movie rentals.

Added my Stitch to a little pixie dust gift we left behind for someone to discover outside the elevator on our way home. Fun pencil case with some candy inside. Hope it founds its way to a good home! My sweet prince got us started on this on one trip when we made a bunch of pressed pennies and spread them around Epcot. Then, I saw some of the amazing pixie dust gifts y’all here on Disboards share! It’s fun to spread some magic (and to be generous to the awesome workers helping us enjoy our trip). Maybe one day we will have more time to be a little more intentional.

I gotta go help get our house and laundry clean this Saturday after out last weekend of play. TTFN! Next up: snacks and steps around Disney Springs.

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

Time to reminisce about snacks and stepseps around Disney Springs! After our drive down, spa massages, resort fun, and Paddock Grill dinner, we settled in for the night. The beds at SSR were soooo comfy and the room was immaculate! Very satisfying to walk barefoot on a sparkling clean floor, sans Gordy’s fur bunnies.

️We got up and I drove over to the main lobby to nab coffee for us with our resort mugs. When making Joffrey’s in the room, I have found that 2 cups of water for one packet makes a palatable brew. When we are staying for longer periods of time, or with kids, we bring gallons of drinking water and use that for our coffee which helps a bit too.

After my caffeine fix, drove over to Congress Park for the free Storytime Yoga at 9. Very cute class! Beautiful view of DS. Peppy instructor, could scale up or down, and family friendly. They even setup and cleanup your yoga mats and offer chilled water!


This site lists other free activities at the resort.

https://www.magicalresortguide.com/saratoga-springs-free-recreation-activities

I wanna come back for the birding tour! Aaron grew up not too far from Saratoga Springs and said the bird house details/Purple Martins were definitely a part of life in that part of NY.

After yoga, time to pull hubby out of his math/philosophizing time to enjoy the pool. We headed over to the main pool this time as Paddock was super busy. We shared a salad and cocktail. Yum and yum! Had some nice convo with a family from NJ and then, time to grab a boat to the Springs.

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

Snack time! Aaron and I definitely like to talk about what we will be eating on vacation. Aaron had decided: Mickey pretzel. I had decided ice cream. We both wanted to try Polite Pig. All of our snack dreams came true! The only wait was on my ice cream at Swirls on the Water. Normally, I’m a Dole whip girl all the way but, the Banana Foster Sundae in a waffle bowl with caramel crunches?!? Everything was covered under the Dining Plan and, these were all great values. At PP, I preferred Aaron’s apple cocktail to my old fashioned mainly because of the volume. Service was amazing there! After we made our little bellies so happy, we had fun shopping.


Ironically, Aaron loves shopping! Way more than me or my son. But, it was a nice day out with nothing else to do so we both enjoyed buying ourselves a little treat at the O’Neil shop, perusing the tea store and a few more stops along the way. It was over 90! The AC was a nice reprieve. Uniqlo had great t-shirts! My son loved his fancy moisture wicking underwear I got him.
An homage to the carbs for a cat loving amiga…


At the end of April, on a Saturday, the Springs was busy, but this is one of those few “lulls.” So, not super crowded, which was nice as neither of us is willing to stand shoulder to shoulder in 90+ heat to shop. The Lego store had a line to enter. (No thanks.) I did get to hold hands with my man Mr. Potato Head. His app, which I downloaded years ago, is a HIT with my therapy kids. And for some reason you cannot get it anymore.


We had a wonderful weekend! And I’m so happy I get to relive my memories here with people who “get it.” Thank you for reading. I wish y’all well. And all means all! Have a magical day!

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

And Aaron says, Merry Christmas! Cuz he’s not waiting in line to take these pictures if we are back during the holidays. This is the wisdom of a grumpy cat.

 

[DVCjj]

What a fun Trip Report! Loved everything you did and agree with all your choices. Also love your white outfit!

Thanks for taking the time to write & send pics!!