Current Dilemma

[Tony Bush]

Okay,,,,, can't book POFQ with Thomson ! Widened my search and have found some good deals with Virgin. Now, do I stay with POFQ with the QS dining plan, or for £250 more (for 3 people) stay at Sarataga springs with the upgraded dining plan. (bearing in mind that 6ft 5 DS will have to sleep on a double sofa bed)
Personally I think its a no brainer but.. any comments on both resorts will be greatly appreciated.

Tony

 

[Pixiedust1983]

Okay,,,,, can't book POFQ with Thomson ! Widened my search and have found some good deals with Virgin. Now, do I stay with POFQ with the QS dining plan, or for £250 more (for 3 people) stay at Sarataga springs with the upgraded dining plan. (bearing in mind that 6ft 5 DS will have to sleep on a double sofa bed)
Personally I think its a no brainer but.. any comments on both resorts will be greatly appreciated.

Tony

Having stayed at both I would say I would pay extra for Saratoga and have the better dining plan.

 

[flortlebap]

I was asking myself the same thing today.

The SSR deal is way better value, but the rooms just look... Meh. Like your grans house. I guess I was expecting more from a deluxe?

Depends what you're looking for though

 

[joolz1910]

OKW rooms are bigger than SSR. There was a double sofa bed in the living room which was OK for the kids but I would not want to sleep on it. The sleeper chair was actually a lot more comfortable. The 1 beds are massive!

 

[starrysky]

I was asking myself the same thing today.

The SSR deal is way better value, but the rooms just look... Meh. Like your grans house. I guess I was expecting more from a deluxe?

Depends what you're looking for though

That's why we have been to OKW twice the rooms at SSR just did not look half as nice.

I loved OKW the overall feel of the resort is very laid back and the landscaping is lovely.

 

[edinburghlass]

I would ask yourself why you picked POFQ and what was important to you in picking that resort?

I picked POFQ a) from 2Tiggies excellent trip reports b) no car and being a small resort with good bus service this appealed c) small resort to get round with creaky knees and doing enough walking round the parks d) QS suited us, daughter and I, rather than booking meals for every night as we tend to decide in the morning where we are going e) boat to DTD for WPE and bacon wrapped meatloaf

We enjoyed it so much we have booked to go back again in May!

 

[Tony Bush]

I liked POFQ again because it looked nice, had great reviews. The options for the dates I need to go are limited and I boiled it down to a choice between the two via the virgin website. I really like the look of Saratoga Springs. If I have a studio appartment, are these close to the main pool/restaurant/bus stops ? or are they dotted around. Any tips for locations to request ?

 

[Tink2312]

I liked POFQ again because it looked nice, had great reviews. The options for the dates I need to go are limited and I boiled it down to a choice between the two via the virgin website. I really like the look of Saratoga Springs. If I have a studio appartment, are these close to the main pool/restaurant/bus stops ? or are they dotted around. Any tips for locations to request ?

The studios are dotted throughout all buildings at the resort (and there are many). We stayed in The Grandstand on both of our visits but if going again, with the newly renovated pool and snack bar in the Paddock section, I would book there. The main pool is in the Springs section, but for me that's too busy/ high traffic. It is however close to the main restaurants. There's a bus stop in every section (5) so there's no need to worry about that. Congress Park is the area opposite Downtown Disney and has some lovely views over the lake. The only section I would avoid is Carousel - we had a villa in this section on our second trip and asked to move. It had a lovely view of the golf course and it was quiet but too far away from the main building (about 7 minutes walk).

SS is a lovely resort and I would definitely chose it over POFQ.

 

[2Tiggies]

The SSR deal is way better value, but the rooms just look... Meh. Like your grans house. I guess I was expecting more from a deluxe?

Depends what you're looking for though

I feel the same about SSR and while I can see the appeal to those who do not want to be surrounded by typical Disney theming everywhere, I'd sooner stay at one of the value resorts than at SSR. It isn't just the rooms that don't appeal to me - there was just a complete absence of any kind of atmosphere there at all IMO. Now while I can completely see that being a major plus for some, it's not for us.

Are there any deals for OKW that are similar? Personally I would have no qualms staying there and gave it some heavy consideration for us for next year because of the nominal difference in price between OKW and POFQ. Our issue is that we actually don't want the regular DDP and because you can't downgrade free dining it would have had a negative impact on the way we structure our day. However, if we could have taken it with QSDP instead of having the TS meals I may well have jumped at the opportunity

 

[disney_princess_85]

It isn't just the rooms that don't appeal to me - there was just a complete absence of any kind of atmosphere there at all IMO.

I know what you mean, I felt exactly the same prior to staying there. In fact, I remember likening it to an old people's home on more than one occasion! However, when I actually stayed there (couldn't resist that that deal), I totally changed my mind- ok, it's not as "Disney" as the other resorts perhaps but it's got beautiful landscaping, great pools and a pleasant, serene feel. We're trying OKW this year (and AKL for one night too!).

OP, I don't think you can go far wrong with whatever you decide- I've stayed at Pop, CSR, POFQ, SSR and WL, and I've loved them all in different ways. I do think that SSR would be your best bet in this case as you get much more for your money vs. a mod.

 

[Elise79]

A studio at OKW has 2 bed rather than bed and sofa. And you will get the DDP there too.

If you want a moderate I can highly recommend CSR. We stayed 5 times prior to buying DVC and love it there. It has great rooms and the CS restaurant is fab if you are on the QSDP.

 

[scoobydooby]

Remember if you upgrade your DD plan you have tip expenses too. We just paid 20% tip at 16 meals and it has cost around $600. We had about 10 appetisers and 8 alcoholic drinks.

 

[edinburghlass]

Have you priced up booking POFQ via WDW and your flights through Thomson for the dates you want?

 

[Tony Bush]

Have you priced up booking POFQ via WDW and your flights through Thomson for the dates you want?

I know i should look at this option but it always seems like far too much hard work. Got to think of car hire too, i like it all to be in one easy place.

Tony

 

[queendisney]

Have you priced up booking POFQ via WDW and your flights through Thomson for the dates you want?

I did this in a different thread. OKW was actually coming out a few hundred pounds cheaper then the Port Orleans resorts and with the upgraded dining plan. I put in dates for 2 weeks in October 2014. If you book through Quidco by tomorrow there is another 3.5% cash back on your booking. We are booking POR tomorrow for November 2014 and we haven't even been on this years hol yet

 

[Magic Megadegs]

OKW is a lovely resort x Just come back and would book again without hesitation. Visited a friend staying in WL whilst we were there in a standard room (smaller than a room at Premier Inn) and there is no way we could stay in a room that size for two weeks. The irony was that it would have cost us more than to stay in a 1 bed villa at OKW. Pretty resort WL but zero space to swing a cat. OKW we were in a one bedroom villa and it was huge and lovely. The studios were also really generous and would offer you more room.

My friend chose WL due to proximity to MK. We met twice during our visit and left at the sane time. Both times we were quicker from OKW than she was from WL. I think the proximity argument is flawed unless you are in a monorail resort x

We visited POFQ and Riverside to eat and again thought it was sweet but quite large with several bus stops and preferred the feeling at OKW. I think with them being a Vacation Club Resort there are a few more amenities and services. SSR would be similar but for us didn't have the same warm feeling we got at OKW. Good luck with your choice x

Price up with WDW direct and see what they can do x

 

[Minniesgal]

We are DVC members at AKV And VGF but we love SSR. I think it is a lovely resort and would stay there any day

Conversely we don't think very much of OKW

 

[Clare D]

We are currently here at SSR in a studio and we are a family of 4 with 2 boys (10 & 5) on the sofa bed. TBH the room decor hasn't been an issue the room at OKW was brighter though as the colour theme is more flowery.
I was a bit worried about staying here after reading some reviews about the resort and after we had a 1 bed villa at OKW last year (we had booked a studio and got lucky).
However, I think this is a great resort. We are staying in the Paddock in a ground floor and the carousel bus stop is just 10 second walk away. We are the second pick up in the morning. We have a 2 minute walk to the Paddock pool where there are free laundry facilities (washer and dryer). It is a 10 minute walk to DTD and it is only a couple of minutes walk up to the carriage house where there is the Artist Palette counter service. I also like the fact that there are parking spaces just outside the rooms whereas as POR we had a room in one of the Magnolia blocks and had quite a walk to the car park.

Last year we liked OKW but where we stayed we used to have to take the car to the pool. Also there was no counter service only a hatch near the pool but I did like the fact that it was smaller than SSR.

I like the fact that at OKW and SSR you get the table service dining plan as we couldn't do 2 weeks of counter service meals.

The studio here at SSR has a little kitchen area which has a normal sized fridge but our 1 bed at OKW the fridge was massive and the room had its own laundry facilities.