Day Twenty Three: The House at Saratoga Corner

[Miffy2003]

Thursday December 30th

Today we are returning to WDW to check into Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa for our first DVC trip “home”. Only Jon and I know this our ultimate destination; everyone else thinks we are checking into the Holiday Inn Nikki Bird on the 192. As you can imagine we are very excited and agree an early start is necessary to get the most out of our stay at SSR – that and the fact that we can’t wait to get there! So we suggest leaving at 6.15am. Julie and Derek are very early risers and will be up at this time anyway but for some reason have an aversion to setting off too early anywhere in the morning. Derek seems to think we won’t arrive until lunchtime which is a little odd, unless they have moved WDW since we travelled down less than a week ago. It was a touch frustrating getting going as we were ready and checked out by 6.15 but the seniors seemed to have left it until the morning to start packing. Still, we got away at 6.30 so not too bad.

The traffic was reasonable and we had covered over a hundred miles when someone needed to stop at the local facilities. When we parked there was a big sign saying “Beware! Venomous snakes in this area. Do not leave the rest area” so you can imagine how pleased Karen the Snake-phobic was at that! Needless to say I decided I could wait for the rest room and let everyone else go instead. We arrived at WDW before nine and decided to head up to Crossroads for breakfast; we would be nice and close to SSR then; I also (sad though this may seem) wanted to savour the “we are oh so nearly there” feeling for just a little bit longer.

We stopped the car and jumped out and poor Amber was very travelsick again. Fortunately it was in the car park rather than the car this time. We vow to buy something to try and combat this as I have visions of her being ill in Basil Jelly’s car and I can only imagine what reaction that would cause

We have our breakfast at Perkins (love their Eggs Benedict!) and then tell everyone we are setting off for our hotel. We tell the seniors we know a “short cut” to the 192 which runs behind Downtown Disney and take the road that leads to Saratoga Springs. As we turn into the entrance I am immediately struck by the lush green lawns that surround SSR. We stop at the entryway and tell the CM we are here to check in, and get a lovely “Welcome Home”. As we head up the sweeping driveway there are lots of noises of confusion from the back of the car and then some tears from Julie (actually, she cries on and off for an hour every time she sees something new and realises she is actually going to be staying here for two days!). The construction is obviously very visible as we head towards the Carriage House but there is no noise and you can only see it when making your way in and out of the resort. I think it is safe to say that Julie & Derek are very pleased and the girls are ecstatic when they realise that Donald’s water play area that they have admired many times on the Internet will be at their disposal for the next few days!

We go to check in which takes only a few moments (and get some more “Welcome Homes!”); the room isn’t ready but we are told to go ahead and enjoy the resort, with a phone number provided to call later and find out our location.

Now I am initially not as impressed with the décor and surroundings of SSR as I was at the Boardwalk, but over the next few hours I realise that this is part of the charm; it is very upscale and beautiful but (to me) not as immediately striking as the Boardwalk. But, the more time I spend here the more I love it. It is so relaxing; the atmosphere is extremely pleasant and the little touches around the resort all come together to make a most serene, stunning and welcoming resort. We are so happy to finally be here!

We explore all the communal areas in the Carriage House; the Artist’s Palette is very attractive yet informal which is ideal for a quick snack or drink. The shop has all that you would expect from a Disney resort with the usual goodies and there is a nice area in the food court to buy groceries. There isn’t a huge selection but there’s certainly enough to make yourself breakfasts and the odd dinner if you should wish to. We also pay a visit to the Turf Club, which looks a most attractive place to sit and have a cocktail or three!

It is a nice sunny day today (finally!) so we head down to the pool. As expected, the girls go mad when they see Donald’s play area and go charging in. They are fully clothed but they are having so much fun I say nothing!

We get changed in the most exquisite changing rooms I have ever seen in my life and grab some sun loungers. The pool isn’t very busy; I would say less than a third of the loungers are occupied. The pool area is lovely; the themeing is perfect and the zero entry a great idea. It is quite shallow and perfect for children. The waterslide is really good fun and Amber would spend all day going up and down this! Erin prefers the small waterslide and goes up and down many times. It is an extremely relaxing atmosphere and the beautifully designed and coloured buildings surrounding the pool area are wonderful to look at while you swim. They also provide shade which will be ideal in the hotter months.

We have a pleasant lunch at the Artist’s Palette. The barbeque pork flatbread is divine! The food we have here over the next few days is all freshly cooked to order and very nice, but there is definitely not enough choice. I think a full service restaurant here would be a real asset, although it is true that the many varied eateries of Downtown Disney are only a ten minute walk away. Hopefully DVC will reconsider this, although the Artist’s Palette is never busy I wonder if this is because the relative lack of choice is keeping people away?

cont.....

 

[Miffy2003]

...cont


We return to the pool for an hour or so longer but when I call at two our room is ready so we head off, very excited at the thought of our 2BR villa. It is room 2221, on the ground floor of the building overlooking Fulton’s Crab House. We have a view of DTD as I had requested so are very pleased.

Words cannot describe how amazing I find the villa. It is absolutely huge! Probably bigger than our first house ever was! The furnishings and décor are beautiful, very upscale and tasteful and all wonderfully themed. The pictures say it better than I can, but cannot do justice to how pristine the accommodation is.

Now I understand how DVC members can go to WDW and not want to be at the parks all the time. I was originally desperate to get to the Magic Kingdom today but there is no way we can bear to leave Saratoga Springs and instead spend a couple of hours luxuriating in our fabulous surroundings.


cont.....

 

[Miffy2003]

...cont

We have a PS booked for Chef Mickey’s tonight so decide to pop into the MK for Spectromagic before heading to the Contemporary. We jump on a bus to MK (how great it is getting dropped so close to the park entrance! Much closer than those All Star bus stops ) Now, MK seems relatively quiet. Obviously it is extremely busy but I had expected it to be much worse, and we are lucky enough to snag an excellent viewing spot at the Main Street train station. Spectromagic is as great as ever but I think that Fantillusion at Disneyland Paris may just beat it. I am amazed that it lasts for nearly 25 minutes!

We hop on the monorail to the Contemporary and check in. There seems to be quite a wait at Chef Mickey’s so we enjoy a drink at the Outer Rim bar. It looks very dated in here to me – old fashioned “contemporary” much like Tomorrowland was before they changed it. I imagine the view across Bay Lake in daylight would be spectacular though.

After about twenty minutes our pager goes off and we make our way to Chef Mickey’s. We have a fantastic table; it’s right at the back, overlooking the Magic Kingdom! There is a visual obstacle (one of the huge struts that supports the A Frame of the hotel) but we think we will get at least a partial view of Wishes when it starts.

We have the usual fun at Chef Mickey’s. It is a very energetic and somewhat noisy experience but this all contributes to the fun-filled atmosphere I think. The Goviers throw themselves into napkin twirling and singing at the appropriate places and we see all the characters several times. Minnie is very pleased to see our two Minnie Mouses. The food, as ever, has a great and overwhelming selection and I enjoy several portions of the best mashed potato in the world – Mickey’s Parmesan Mash. We all enjoy our food and leave a little room for dessert, which also has a huge variety to choose from. We are lucky enough to see Wishes from our table, which makes the meal even more memorable.

After our meal I suggest walking back to MK to pick up the bus rather than going all the way round on the resort monorail. I can’t believe how close it is to MK! Well under five minutes to the bus stops. We wait a little while for the bus to Saratoga (about seven minutes?) and certain members of our party start moaning about the bus taking ages. Now I think this is a bit unfair as a seven minute wait by anyone’s standards is hardly excessive. There is then a comment about “If we were still at the All Stars we would be on a bus by now” and the sheer ungratefulness of this comment takes my breath away! I am about to say something in exchange when suddenly Amber says “Look! Look!” and we realise the Electrical Water Pageant is just floating past. We have never seen this before and it is a nice little spectacle. The girls thought that it was real! Disney magic at exactly the right time.

As if by magic when the EWP draws to a close a bus to Saratoga arrives! We are soon home and tucked up in bed. What a fantastic day. Saratoga Springs is everything we had hoped for – and more.

 

[KayleeUK]

Sounds like you had a wonderful first day at home

Was that a lovely SSR shirt I see Jon wearing.

 

[Miffy2003]

Was that a lovely SSR shirt I see Jon wearing.

Oh yes

 

[florida sun]

Fantastic Karen as usual. Loved the photos, your girls are adorable.


Sue

 

[wils]

WOW It looks lovely.

Loved your mini Minnies!

 

[MsPennieLane]

Wow, Saratoga Springs looks such a beautiful resort! Loved your photos, and your photos of Chef Mickey's they're fab.

Anz

 

[Hilary]

So glad SSR turned out to be all you'd hoped for, especially after your disappointing trip to the Gulf coast. The photos are wonderful

“If we were still at the All Stars we would be on a bus by now” and the sheer ungratefulness of this comment takes my breath away!

Another case of "I know exactly how you feel!" coincidence, Karen When DH's family came with us on our DVC points (in a GV at OKW and studios at VWL) a couple of years ago, the three families all went their separate ways for a few days after the first week in Orlando, and then regrouped. What did s-i-l keep telling us? How luxurious their stay in a Radisson Resort had been!

Thanks for all the SSR details - I'm really looking forward to staying there now!

 

[MazdaUK]

I hate people who keep telling you how fantastic something/somewhere else is when you've taken the trouble to include them in your precious holiday plans! (DM, MIL and DSis always doing it - even if we all go away together still tell us how much better some other beach was or something!). Basically you need to enjoy a holiday while you have it - NO holiday is ever perfect (not even a WDW one), so even if things are not as good as you hoped at least you're not at work/doing the washing/stuck on the M25 or whatever!

 

[wicket2005]

Lovely report. Thank you.

Thank you Mazda for digging these good reports up.

 

[MazdaUK]

How sad am I working my way through back reports??

But they're so good, and its the nearest I'll get for a while

 

[wicket2005]

How sad am I working my way through back reports??

:

You are not sad at all, I would be doing just the same thing if you had not got to them first, we seem to be on a new trip report drought.

 

[MazdaUK]

Perhaps that's because everyone else is still out there (NOT FAIR)