Dec 1-5 with Pictures

[Doug7856]

We had a wonderful visit to WDW earlier this month. Our last Christmas trip was in 2001. We love Christmas at WDW. Cast: me, DW, DS age 2 (almost 3) and dear MIL. Resort: Disney's Saratoga Springs.

We arrived late afternoon on December 1 to our new "home" away from home at SSR. This was our first stay at SSR and won't be our last. We love the resort and it had many wonderful features. The pool is great but we only had warm enough temps for one pool day. The landscaping at the resort is beautiful and we loved the peaceful retreat!

We just enjoyed our first evening exploring the resort and a short 10 minute walk to DTD for a few pins!

On Thursday, we enjoyed breakfast at Cape May. This was our first Character Breakfast at the Beach Club. We really enjoyed the easy pace with the characters. Our son has a crush on Minnie Mouse but he wasn't too sure aobut Goofy! That afternoon we all had a good long nap -- especial DS!

That evening we went to MVMCP. We love the parade and DS enjoyed meeting the characters.

The Character Hop was a highlight of DS's visit. He loved riding Dumbo for the first time and lasted until we left the park at 11:45 pm!! No melt down which we credit to the long nap earlier in the day.

This was our fourth MVMCP. It was the most crowded, but not to a point that we could not enjoy it. We were dispointed that there were only to spots for photos (we did not get one, a long wait with a 2 year old is not fun!). Also, there were only two spots for cookies. There were lots of character encounters and the entertainment was fantastic.

On Friday we went to Epcot. We had dinner at the Rose and Crown -- worst meal at WDW we've ever had. Not bad food (although not great either). The service was very poor. It took half an hour for drink orders to be collect and when our meal was done it took another half hour for the dessert order to be taken. After waiting another 20 minutes we finally asked for the desserts in a to go box. The whole thing was over two hours long and they were not busy at all. The priority seating was for 4:30 pm.

The Candlelight Processional was one of the best we’ve seen. Kirk Franklin was an outstanding narrator. This was a highlight of our trip.

We ended the evening with a spin on Mission: Space. My first time. I enjoyed the ride, but it won't be a top priority in the future.

Saturday was our last park day and we spent the day at MK. They were filiming the Christmas Day Parade so the park really looked great. The weather was very cool with a short bit of rain.

We didn't watch the parade, but we did enjoy seeing the floats preparing for filiming. We got some great photos of Mickey and Minnie waiting for their turn. They really played to the crowd during the fairly long wait!

My wife and I topped off the evening with a visit to MGM to see the Osborne Lights (DS stayed at the resort with dear MIL .

It was a wonderful trip that we will remember for a long time. DS keeps asking to look at the pictures and asking when we're going back!

 

[meeko_33785]

Looks like you had a great time. Thanks for posting this.

 

[athenna]

Thank you so much for posting this. I am a new DVC member and SSR is my home resort also and I love hearing positive feedback about the resort!

 

[MelessaG]

You probably crossed paths with my parents without realizing it. They were at SSR, Epcot, and did the CP package Fri. night at Rose & Crown too. I bought them their CP package as a 33rd anniv. gift, they didn't complain about the service at R&C. I hope they got treated right on their special night.

 

[Credit Man]

Thanks for the report.

 

[crcormier]

Glad you had a great time. You took some GREAT pictures! I have to second your review of the Rose & Crown, I had the same experience, good food, but very slow service.

 

[LYNSUE]

I too am a new DVC member at SSR. I am so happy to hear you liked it. There have been some negative feed back from the discussion boards on DVC. Looking forward to finding out for myself fall of 2005. Thanks for the great report.

 

[nkjzmom]

Doug...glad you had a good trip. I love your pictures of the castle and of SSR in your signature.

 

[Doug7856]

I too am a new DVC member at SSR. I am so happy to hear you liked it. There have been some negative feed back from the discussion boards on DVC. Looking forward to finding out for myself fall of 2005. Thanks for the great report.

I think you will like SSR. I frequent the DVC discussion boards as well. I've noticed heated discussions. Every resort has its fans and there seems to be a tendency to critique the ones you don't own. We personally love SSR and feel that it’s the best of all the DVC resorts — but that’s just our opinion!

 

[Doug7856]

You probably crossed paths with my parents without realizing it. They were at SSR, Epcot, and did the CP package Fri. night at Rose & Crown too. I bought them their CP package as a 33rd anniv. gift, they didn't complain about the service at R&C. I hope they got treated right on their special night.

I'm not sure why the service was so poor. The waitress was very pleasant. It just seemed to take forever to get anything. We were the first party seated that evening and the third to have drink orders. I think it was an organizational thing. We have had wonderful meals at the Rose & Crown but this one was very disappointing. Also, lingering over a meal is not so bad — if you don’t have other plans afterward and don’t have a two year old with you!

 

[Doug7856]

Glad you had a great time. You took some GREAT pictures! I have to second your review of the Rose & Crown, I had the same experience, good food, but very slow service.

Thanks for the compliment on the pictures! I'll have to confess that these are the best of the bunch. I did send a comment to Guest Services expressing my concern about service at Rose & Crown -- not that I want something, they just need to improve the service in my opinion.

By the way, I've enjoyed reading your trip reports. Have you written any books yet? You've got a great writing style.