Don't understand the coldness toward SSR

[jarestel]

Some who post here approach a DVC trip with way more intensity than others. 9:00 AM calls to MS on exactly the day of the 11 or 7 month window, fretting about wait lists, agonizing over view requests, getting to/from parks as quickly as possible, requiring the pool water to be in a specific type of container, etc... I don't think it's so much a coldness towards SSR as it is a need to have exactly what the plan calls for or disappointment ensues.

Having said that, though I find SSR to be a fine place to stay, it's not my first (or last) choice when making reservations. But there's certainly nothing objectionable about staying there, IMO.

 

[Anthony1971]

I would think that most of the people who say negative things never stayed there.... I find it very common on these boards to see people post things that either just do not exist at a resort or wrong infomation period that is easily picked up on if you stay there...
Don't get the walking part the same people that love to walk into the back of EPCOT at 9am and run to the front of the park to get to soarin first suddenly have a condition when it comes to SSR same for BLT to MK
Staying close to a park OK some advantages if you can walk (again with the walking) at close but it is by far not faster to get to the parks.
in conclusion BWV BCV BLT walking good SSR OKW walking bad
AKV WLV buses good SSR OKW buses bad
Further long inside hallways are far better then short outside ones even when you are trying to sleep either early at night or late in the morning.

 

[spiceycat]

have you seem the reviews on BLT - they are much worst.

like most DVC resorts - they appeal to different people. Some members who hate BLT (must be crazy...) love SSR.

everyone has different taste and likes - so don't expect everyone to love your resort. they won't.

 

[WDWMom]

Some who post here approach a DVC trip with way more intensity than others. 9:00 AM calls to MS on exactly the day of the 11 or 7 month window, fretting about wait lists, agonizing over view requests, getting to/from parks as quickly as possible, requiring the pool water to be in a specific type of container, etc... I don't think it's so much a coldness towards SSR as it is a need to have exactly what the plan calls for or disappointment ensues.

Having said that, though I find SSR to be a fine place to stay, it's not my first (or last) choice when making reservations. But there's certainly nothing objectionable about staying there, IMO.

Great post

 

[Sammie]

I think some of the lack of love for SSR comes from members who bought there without doing their research as to whether they would like what SSR has to offer and the fact that some resorts require the home advantage more than others, I don't blame that on SSR.

 

[nuts]

Well, I am in the minority. My teenagers won't let me book anywhere else. They like DTD at night.

 

[monami7]

We Own at SSR and after Staying there wish we didn't. When we looked at it we loved the view and the rooms. It is a very nice hotel and if 1 thing that trip would have went right it may have been OK.
First my request was totally ignored and we had that view of nothing with a walk to everything. That was annoying but acceptable at first.
Next the light was broke in the master bedroom. Like there was no light that would turn on. It took them 3 days to fix that.
Then the elevator was broke to our 3rd floor. Not too annoying unless you have 2 double strollers that are really a hassle when kid are sleeping. It took them 4 days of us calling twice a day to take care of that problem.
Next they tried to charge us for cleaning the room when it was their day to clean.
Individually these issues wouldn't have made much difference but all together left a bad taste in my mouth. The entire party felt like the staff thought "well Disney has their money so who cares when we take care of anything".
They did nothing to compensate us for any of this either.
At the end of that trip we spent 3 nights at OKW. As soon as we opened the door to the 1 BR DH said "Oh this is why we bought DVC!"
We LOVE OKW. We would have bought here originally but we were before the extra years and we wanted the extra years.

Having said all that I never have trouble booking OKW so it really dowsn't matter where we "Own". We have stayed at OKW, BWV and AKV many times. All were wonderfull experiences. I am sure at some point we will stay at SSR again. I just hope the trip is better.

 

[JANBERRY]

We love SSR and bought there because of location. The walk to DDT is so easy and not very long at all. If you add up how far you walk around the parks in a day it is nothing. As for the bus journeys, to us they are all part of the experience. My only complaint is that we can't go more often.

 

[MrsG]

We own at BCV, AKV, BLT & SSR. We've stayed at SSR twice and enjoyed our stay there both times. Both of our children and their spouces have stayed there as well and really enjoyed it. DH & I were just talking about this last night. Let me say right now, BCV is our favorite. We love the proximity to Epcot, our favorite park. But SSR certainly has a lot going for it. We loved that we could walk to DTD. I think once that area is completely referbished, SSR will be more in demand. We were very impressed with the improvement when we went down during Pres week. The more this area is built up, the more people will realize how wonderful it is that SSR is so close.

The only, and I mean only, downside to SSR that we saw, is that the apt. door opens up to a cement hallway, as it does in the value/moderate resorts. If that could be changed, I think many more people would stay there.

 

[iloveokw]

Different strokes for different folks. We love OKW, Vero and HH...own at all three. We only bought after we stayed at OKW a couple of times, Vero and HH one time .....don't think we would be DVC members if we hadn't fell in love with OKW almost 30 years ago. Have stayed at every DVC but AKL...but did stay there before it was a DVC.

 

[twinboysmom]

We Own at SSR and after Staying there wish we didn't. When we looked at it we loved the view and the rooms. It is a very nice hotel and if 1 thing that trip would have went right it may have been OK.
First my request was totally ignored and we had that view of nothing with a walk to everything. That was annoying but acceptable at first.
Next the light was broke in the master bedroom. Like there was no light that would turn on. It took them 3 days to fix that.
Then the elevator was broke to our 3rd floor. Not too annoying unless you have 2 double strollers that are really a hassle when kid are sleeping. It took them 4 days of us calling twice a day to take care of that problem.
Next they tried to charge us for cleaning the room when it was their day to clean.
Individually these issues wouldn't have made much difference but all together left a bad taste in my mouth. The entire party felt like the staff thought "well Disney has their money so who cares when we take care of anything".
They did nothing to compensate us for any of this either.
At the end of that trip we spent 3 nights at OKW. As soon as we opened the door to the 1 BR DH said "Oh this is why we bought DVC!"
We LOVE OKW. We would have bought here originally but we were before the extra years and we wanted the extra years.

Having said all that I never have trouble booking OKW so it really dowsn't matter where we "Own". We have stayed at OKW, BWV and AKV many times. All were wonderfull experiences. I am sure at some point we will stay at SSR again. I just hope the trip is better.

I would certainly not excuse the elevators being broken as that would irritate me as well but you said you liked OKW. I refuse to stay there again because of the stairs. After 8 days on the 3rd floor I won't do it again, especially now with a double stroller. Otherwise, I loved it there. Just wondering....

 

[perfectyears]

ssr is my home and we love going there, as you said nice rooms, grounds, pools and the fact that it is so close to down town disney aswel its nice to just wonder over there last thing at night and relax. i have never had any problems with any part of it and now they have got the tree houses i cant wait to get back there and try them out.

 

[MEK]

I own at SSR and now have a contract pending at VWL. To be honest, I would have preferred to add on at SSR but I could not find a 100 pt March use year contract there through resale.

I have booked all my stays exactly 7 months out and to date have stayed at SSR, Vero, BLT, VWL, and Kidani. I will be staying at BCV in May. And I can't wait to try OKW and the Boardwalk. Oh yeah - I'm visiting HH in late October (but doing mostly a cash reservation because the price is a screaming deal).

I love SSR and really wanted to add on there to book a treehouse. I also love Kidani. I don't "love" the whole woods theme of WL because when I am in Florida I want tropical, but I adore Ranger Joe and the whole history behind the VWL (modeled after a roundhouse complete with Walt's trains) really intrigues me. I look forward to staying there at Christmas.

And while I loved the location of BLT, I did not love the resort. It was just "meh" and not really worth the point expenditure.

So, there truly is something for everyone and once I make the complete DVC rounds I will go back and start over again.

 

[MKCP1984]

Our home resort is SSR (love it!), but we've stayed at BCV, BWV, SSR, VWL, and Vero Beach. (Also Port Orleans, GF and my favorite - the Polynesian!! in the days before DVC member)
Each trip becomes a chance to try something new, so we enjoy staying at all of the different resorts. (love the flexibility of DVC and hope that never changes)
Our plan is to explore each resort, having unique experiences each year. I must admit that we do frequent BWV, but we'll definitely stay at SSR again.
Besides, they are all Disney resorts, so you cannot go wrong.
So, to each his own -- or -- whatever floats your boat!

 

[alldiz]

I would never "bash" OKW or SSR have stayed at them both and enjoyed my trip immensly.

They are not my favorite simply because I prefer indoor corridors.

I am still looking forward to my Aug OKW trip though. I think OKW might have a slight edge over SSR for me because it seems closer to the parks and the balconies are more private. So I guess easy choice for me OKW over SSR because I prefer it and it is cheaper points. If needed though I would be very happy to stay at SSR.
Kerri

 

[Longhairbear]

I can understand the love it, or hate it attitude. We've loved the 2 stays we've had at SSR. We loved the themeing, and the grounds. It's great to walk to DTD, or take a boat. Lots of members love BWV which we absolutely hated and will never go back. To each his own.

 

[spandelides]

SSR is our favorite resort. Nice to be further our. Fells like more of a vacation.

 

[jimmytammy]

I like both OKW and SSR, but what turns me from them towards the others are location and size. A resort that big seems impersonal to me. But I own at VWL, being the smallest, so big doesnt appeal to me. DTD is not a draw for me either. The parks are the draw, so close proximity from Epcot and MK resorts appeal to me. Dont get me wrong, once in either resort, Im cool with them. Just prefer the others for above reasons.

 

[tjhsr]

I think some of the lack of love for SSR comes from members who bought there without doing their research as to whether they would like what SSR has to offer and the fact that some resorts require the home advantage more than others, I don't blame that on SSR.

This seems to be the factor lately that starts threads about changing SSR. We tried BLT and there is nothing wrong with it just not what we want. I would not suggest any changes its just not our cup of tea. But i know people love BLT and thats great.

 

[Fatalbie]

IMHO,
-Distance from outlaying buildings to drink machines, food, pool.
-Weak restaurant.
-Small pool. The reno they are doing to the pools might be an improvement.
-Large, slow bus route.
-Not near a park (I don't consider DTD a park)

Drink distance may be legit, although that is not real important to me. My fridge is right there in my room if I need a beverage, regardless of resort.
Completely disagree with #2. Turf Club is a fantastic restaurant, one we actually seek out.
I have no problem finding good pool space and its getting better all the time.
Bus no worse than other resorts. Have you taken a bus from BWV or OKW-no better/worse
Takes longer to walk to DHS from BWV than a bus from SSR, in my experience.

This is not discount your experiences, just to show that it is perception for many likes/dislikes. Just depends on the person.

I also love OKW and since I can usually get that when I reserve, I actaully pay lower dues for the larger rooms.

SSR is absolutely a great resort, for me.

Jim