First Stay at Home Resort - SSR

[kilik64]

I wanted to be one of those people who bought SSR and never actually stayed there, but with us deciding to take both sets of GP on this trip, just made sense to stay there.

Went 3/5/23 to 3/11/23 which was spring break for us. It was not a super busy week at the parks, busy for sure, but not terrible. We did all four parks, had a good time in each. Just some bullet point thoughts:

- We had 3 studios, requested travel together and got building 52 in paddock, we had 5201. Grands had 5212 and 5232. They both loved the room and view from balcony. Great room, end of hall and right next to the paddock pool, was great for our resort pool day. 5201 also had a very nice view of water as well.
- Room had some minor wear and tear, but was super clean so nothing to complain about at all with the room.
- Pools had been reported as packed since high rock springs pool was closed, paddock wasnt super busy when we went, chairs were scarce but we found a seat in the kid play area
- Kid play area at paddock was great, all 3 kids (8,3,2) liked playing in it.
- Paddock slide is solid, i liked it more than the one at SAB from last year or the one at BLT
- Artist palette is indeed pretty mediocre for food. Ate there first night due to a storm that rolled in, the roasted chicken I had was decent but nothing to write home about. We had breakfast there on checkout day and it wasnt very good.
- Buses, not sure if just luck or what, but we never had a full bus really. I think we had one bus ride where there was a couple people who stood, but that was about it. We did early entry every park day and for three of those we had a bus all to ourselves. For park return, we waited for another bus by choice once when leaving MK after park close, but it was only a few minutes for another bus to come and it was maybe half full when we left. I was dreading dealing with buses, but was pleasantly surprised with how well they were for us.
-Boat to DS was a bit of a hike from our room, but its a nice ride and the drop off isnt far of a walk from The Boathouse where we ate for dinner on our resort day.

Overall we really liked SSR and wouldn't mind staying there again. Excited to get back to a split stay on next trip though, shooting for BRV and BWV!

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

Welcome home! We have “stepped out” on SSR our last two trips, and will again in Sept. Hope to go back next spring. Cheers!

 

[DizDaD7]

We also are owners at SSR, but took us a while to actually stay here... It grows more & more on you when you end up staying there more times TBH. The only drawback we had was that the Turf Club was not opened. & I'm not sure if it is now, or if it will ever open again....It was a nice hidden gem TBH, Especially the Prime Rib...
Stayed here 4 times. twice in Grandstand (1 of those really close& 1 of those was the absolute furthest room) LoL. Also at the Paddock, opposite end of the bldg, closest to the pool.i believe bldg 5101 to the left when you cross the bridge.
& the last stay was also with in laws, in the Springs.. We were 3 rooms in the 1st bldg left of the bus stop. 4101... 2nd floor. Literally steps from everything which was superb. Just bad for bus pickups to the park....

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

We also are owners at SSR, but took us a while to actually stay here... It grows more & more on you when you end up staying there more times TBH. The only drawback we had was that the Turf Club was not opened. & I'm not sure if it is now, or if it will ever open again....It was a nice hidden gem TBH, Especially the Prime Rib...
Stayed here 4 times. twice in Grandstand (1 of those really close& 1 of those was the absolute furthest room) LoL. Also at the Paddock, opposite end of the bldg, closest to the pool.i believe bldg 5101 to the left when you cross the bridge.
& the last stay was also with in laws, in the Springs.. We were 3 rooms in the 1st bldg left of the bus stop. 4101... 2nd floor. Literally steps from everything which was superb. Just bad for bus pickups to the park....

Turf Club has reopened for dinner.

 

[purpliequeen]

Welcome home! We were one of the early purchasers to SSR in '03 when they released presales and stayed in 2004. We liked our first trip home, but got bitten by the DVC bug and wanted to try out all the resorts. We did our first stay back in May 2021 after 17 years and LOVED it! The second time we stayed, we experienced the renovated rooms, which are so well thought out and beautiful/clean/serene. We had forgotten the proximity to Disney Springs and that was one of the best parts of the trip. Disney Springs vs. the old Downtown Disney is incomparable! Like you, we wouldn't hesitate to come back.

 

[justadreamaway77]

My favorite place to run! I also love heading over to Old Key West via the path to grab a Bloody Mary from The Gurgling Suitcase!

 

[Deano45m]

We also are owners at SSR, but took us a while to actually stay here... It grows more & more on you when you end up staying there more times TBH. The only drawback we had was that the Turf Club was not opened. & I'm not sure if it is now, or if it will ever open again....It was a nice hidden gem TBH, Especially the Prime Rib...
Stayed here 4 times. twice in Grandstand (1 of those really close& 1 of those was the absolute furthest room) LoL. Also at the Paddock, opposite end of the bldg, closest to the pool.i believe bldg 5101 to the left when you cross the bridge.
& the last stay was also with in laws, in the Springs.. We were 3 rooms in the 1st bldg left of the bus stop. 4101... 2nd floor. Literally steps from everything which was superb. Just bad for bus pickups to the park....

We ate at the Turf Club over Christmas and it was the worst meal by far. I had heard it was a hidden Gem but maybe it should stay hidden. I was excited for the prime rib but is was flavorless and my dads was killed LOL!!!

 

[DizDaD7]

We ate at the Turf Club over Christmas and it was the worst meal by far. I had heard it was a hidden Gem but maybe it should stay hidden. I was excited for the prime rib but is was flavorless and my dads was killed LOL!!!

YEP I recently heard that as well, while watching one of Pete Werners disney dining shows.... It's been about 8 years since I've been, but didn't think it would fall off the boat...Anyhow, Pete mentioned that the Head chef from Flying Fish, will be leaving there, and heading up 3 DVC properties. Riviera, OKW, & SSR.. So maybe this will breathe a lil fresh air into Turf Clubs lungs...

 

[Jack Kerouac]

We bought our first DVC contract (Poly) late last year. We discussed adding more points at another resort so we could invite friends and family along, or I could escape with the boys for a weekend getaway. We decided to buy a small SSR contract (I wanted either SSR or OKW extended). Posts like these make me feel like we made a good decision.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Thanks for the report! We haven’t stayed at SSR yet, but I have heard great things about the rooms. We are thinking of doing a weekend trip with no kids to just hang by a pool and hit Disney Springs, so that may be the time we stay at SSR.

 

[lynnfitz]

We stay there (rent points) when we're not doing many parks so we have access to Disney Springs. Nicest CM's over there! We really enjoy it, the 2 bedrooms are really nice. The last 2 times we stayed there the room was ready by 10 a.m.! I went to the lobby and asked for a room closer to DS, and the CM moved us to a fantastic location. Of course I can't remember the name, but it was on the corner just across from the preferred buildings. We've also done the walk over to OKW which is nice to do in the morning, we walk over there, then take the boat do DS for some shopping. Nice way to spend a morning.

 

[intamin]

SSR is a great option. It really gets more flak than it deserves as I've re-iterated time and time again on this website. It has amazing proximity to Disney Springs, has great point charts, is pretty much always available and has great rooms. I own at RIV, AKV and AUL and have no problem using those points there. I think people are always just hesitant to stay there because since it's always available, people are always trying to see where else they can stay INSTEAD of SSR. There's some valid complaints regarding the bus service and it's internal bus loop since it's such a huge resort but otherwise it's pros far outweigh the cons. I'll be sad once I'm no longer able to stay there using my AKV/AUL points there although it's only a few years over their contract life that I won't be able to stay there.