Checked in at SSR (with photos!)

[RobDoc]

We left OKW this morning and checked into SSR for our last 3 nights on this trip. We arrived at the Carriage House (check-in area) about 10:30am and were offered a 1BR villa. It was a 1st floor Garden View room and would have been fine (it is on the end facing the Golf Clubhouse). No view of DD, but it does have a water view of small portion of Trumbo Canal as well as the auxilliary canal that runs towards the interior lakes of the resort.

Our request had been upper floor/water view and I was told that there was one available- but not yet cleaned. We opted to wait for the water view room, so we hopped on a bus and spent the next few hours at DD, ate lunch at the new Earl of Sandwich (very nice) and came back to SSR (by boat) and toured the models (again), visited Community Hall, the arcade, the exercise room and Spa (the exercise room is available at no charge for both SSR and OKW guests) and enjoyed a drink at Artist's Palette.

At 3:00pm our room was ready and we were delighted that we waited. We are in the center of the building, 4th floor with a spectacular view of Cirque, DQ, HoB, Bongos, PH and the PI West End Stage! I'll post some more resort photos later as well as a resort layout report.

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The buildings are NOT numbered 1,2,3,4,etc in the order they open. We are in what has been called building #1, but the rooms in this building run from 2501-2836. Building #2 will be numbered 2101-2436 when it opens in June and buildings 3 and 4 will be numbered 1101-1436 for bldg #4 and 1501-1836 for bldg #3. Each building has 4 floors with a total of 46 villas (counting lock-off 2BR as one). In this building, one of the GV's is being used as a model and one of the lock-offs is being used as a model.

There is some variation in the location of the connecting door for some of the lock-off 2BR villas. All lock-off studios have a queen bed and double sleep sofa, but the dedicated 2nd BR will have 2 queens in each. In the model 2BR (lock-off) the connecting door is in the entry-way, but in our villa, the connecting door is in the living room (there is a hall closet with room safe in the foyer where the model has the connecting door).

It is a good distance from ANY of the buildings to the boat dock. the phase 2 buildings (#5-7) will be located across from the High Rock Springs Pool. The resort has dedicated bus service (pretty empty buses right now with only 1 building open). Each bus stops at the pool area and will make a stop at the Carriage House (check-in area) when the system gets in full swing.

The Artist's Palette has a nice selection of items and a large seating area to enjoy a meal/snack/drink. The Turf Club Lounge overlooks the dock area and has a TV, Billiards Table and very comfy room to enjoy a drink of quiet conversation.

Community Hall consists of several rooms with a variety of games, computers, ping-pong, Foosball, card tables, etc. The exercise room has a great assortment of state-of-the-art equipment. The pool looks great- but we haven't tried it yet.

The Win, Place or Show Arcade has a large assortment of video games, pinball machines, etc.

The Spa seems to be really first class with a staff eager to please everyone.

Landscaping is beautiful, the furnishings are elegant and the staff very attentive. EVeryone had a smile on their face and greeted us wherever we went.

Construction continues at a good pace and all twelve foundations are complete and phase two (opening Jan, 2005) is well along with it's progress.

There is a pair of swans in the lake, adding a nice touch to the setting.
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The children's play area is great and there is a covered picnic area with charcoal grills available adjacent to the auxilliary pool and Fireworks Pavilion.
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There are two clay tennis courts and a basketball court - both near the LBV golf clubhouse.

Stay Tuned!

 

[Patricia721]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm eagerly looking forward to your pictures and your resort layout report.

Glad to see you're back on the boards, congrats on the grandbaby and hope that your wife is feeling better!

 

[MAC3]

WOW! That sounds great Doc. Thanks for the review! I'm eager to stay here (eventually)! Can't wait for the pictures.

Have a great vacation!
Lisa

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

There are two clay tennis courts

That is very nice indeed and the first I've heard it. Thanks Doc.

HBC

 

[magictrickboy71]

Howdy,

I hope you are enjoying you stay at SSR.

Can you please tell me where the bus stop for the park is. Is it by the rooms or the check in area.

Thanks,
FRank

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by WebmasterDoc
Community Hall consists of several rooms with a variety of games, computers, ping-pong, Foosball, card tables, etc.

Are the computers for members to use for e-mail,etc? Or are they for kids to play video games only. How many computers are there? Is there a charge to use them?

Thanks for the the SSR update Doc and enjoy the rest of your stay!!

 

[RobDoc]

It appears there will be three bus stops (plus one at the Carriage House eventually). There are three identifiable areas of the resort. Congress Park (bldgs 1-4), The Springs (bldgs 5-7) and The Paddock (bldgs 8-12). Each has it's own Bus Stop- although it appears that bldgs 11 and 12 will be closer to the Congress Park stop when the open summer '05. Buses run - about every 20 minutes- to all Theme Parks, Water Parks and DD just like at all the resorts.

The computers are for game playing and seem to be free. It looked like they had joystick setups. Looked like there were three of them near the ping-pong table and Foosball table.

There will be a paved walking/jogging/bike trail around the perimeter of the resort- the distance will be 2 miles. The old Fairway Villas are still intact and are being used to house CM's. There is signage indicating the area is for CM's only.

Once construction is completed, it appears the second entrance (onto Buena Vista Drive) will be available for guest use. It is currently being used as a construction entrance, but there is a guardshack still there from DI days.

The boat stops frequently- it stops on the way to OKW from DD and also stops on the return trip from OKW. OKW guests will be able to use that for pool hopping or to use the excellent Fitness Center.

 

[wdwstar]

thank you, the pics are great, oh i cant wait to stay there even if its only one night next week !

 

[disneycrazed139]

Thanks for all the details, Doc!

BTW--Which building do you think has a better view of DQ, Cirque, etc.? Buildling 1 or 2? Is the one near the quiet pool 1 or 2? Thanks! Glad you're enjoying!

 

[LIFERBABE]

Thank you!! WELL DONE!

That view is AWESOME!!! The play area looks great. Everything looks great. It's good to hear about the 2 mile paved area also.

wdwstar see you at SSR!!! LOL

 

[Doug7856]

Wow!! Thanks for a wonderful review!

 

[Sammie]

Thank you so much for sharing, we were all eagerly awaiting some report from anyone staying there.

Is the continuing construction on the other units bothersome, due to noise or looks?

 

[lsutigger2]

Thanks Doc! You always give the best reports!

Glad to see back on the boards!

Enjoy the rest of your stay.

 

[PamOKW]

Doc, you are just so dependable and a font of such great info! Thanks again for getting us all in on the "ground floor". I noticed the other day they were using the "Mickey railings" like at OKW -- glad to see you got one on your balcony. Thanks also for the close-up of the horse towel animal -- that is just so cute. (I'm sure those are going to be going home with people -- pretty soon we'll have to pay for washcloths.)

 

[willory]

wonderful review doc! Thanks so much! A quick question--does SSR have a dvd or vcr player? Also while I am at it what about OKW? Just planning for the next 2 trips! Thanks

 

[Divamomto3]

THanks Doc!! I can't wait for August!!!

 

[helenabear]

Thanks for the review and pics, Doc

 

[KarenB]

Hi Doc-hope you are having a great time!!

We will be setting sail on the Magic this July. After the cruise, we have reservations at POR (used all our points on the cruise )!! We have a day of no parks and would like to visit SSR. How would you suggest we get there from POR? (no car-only WDW transportation)

Enjoy the rest of your trip,
Karen

 

[TOMAR@SSR]

Hi Doc!
The view from your villa looks sooo lovely! Hope you guys are enjoying it, and thank you for the very detailed review of our new home away from home!! Can`t wait to see it in person!

thanks again!
____________________________
Maria

 

[RobDoc]

I think that all four of the first phase buildings will have a good view of Cirque. Building 1 is directly across the lake, but all will have a good view.

The alternative pool sits directly between bldgs 2 and 3.

We've noticed no constyruction noise at all. keep in mind that the balconies all face away from the construction so there shouldn't be much sound anyway.

With the a/c running, we can't hear any outside sound from inside the room. Even on the balcony, there is minimal sound from DD/PI. I'll be on the balcony in 40 minutes to check out the PI fireworks at midnight.

I've completed the building survey and will report that tomorrow. All SSR buildings seem to have the same configuration, so the listing will work for every unit in the resort. I've confirmed the layout of this building with #2 (opens in June) and it is identical.

I'll try to post a new resort map soon- I'll probably have to wait to scan it when I get home.

Stay tuned!