First let me thank all the veteran DVC Disers for all your advice.
We were looking forward to taking our extended family/friends and your advice made it so much easier. We were at SSR July 2 - 9.
We originally were a group of 13, 11 family and 2 close friends. We lost 3 due to a family emergency. First bit of good advice, book a 2 bdrm plus what you need if the family doesn't buy their tickets up front.
When my 7 yr old niece ran off the Magic Express toward us , she said "Are you feelin' it?" My DH asked her, "Feelin' what?" She says, "THE MAGIC!"
So the whole week, we all would turn to each other and say, "Are you feelin' it?"
Location: I requested Congress Park. My friend arrived earlier for work and was put in the Paddock, but then moved before we arrived to Congress Park.
We arrived on Sat noon and were put in a studio in the Paddocks. I said that we were part of a Grand Gathering and one of our party was already in Congress Park. The CM took all of our reservations names and went to the back for a few minutes. When she returned, we had all our rooms in Congress Park in the same building. Our room wasn't ready then but was ready at 3pm. My Dad checked in on Sunday and the 2 bdrm wasn't ready in the morning but was ready again at 3pm. We had rooms 2105, 2132, 2135, all first floor with nice patios. My DSIL loved the location because she is not a all day park person, so she was at the quiet pool swimming and as a smoker, all she had to do was walk to the front or a little further to the smoking area by the river.
Mousekeeping: We a 2bdrm and 2 studios, all were clean. My DDs did find
a lip gloss under the bed the last night. We had to call for a new remote, more toilet paper, and cutting knives and mousekeeping was there within 15 minutes. T and T went smoothly for all rooms.
Transportation: I was a little concerned how my Dad(84) would be not having his beloved monorail right at hand and waiting for buses. We timed all our waits (my DDs wouldn't do exact times, just approx). The longest wait was when my DH and Dad waited 30 minutes from Epcot to SSR. But other than that, we waited no longer than 20 minutes for any bus. Most times were 10 minutes or less. Our rooms were right by the Congress Park bus stop.
Wegoshop: I ordered groceries from wegoshop. Very easy process, even added some items right before we left. I asked them to use Publix and Whole Foods. Publix has their ads online and I was able to add some more fruit at the last minute and our pasta that was on sale. It was delivered on time and the fruit was wonderful. Note to those who aren't using Owner's Locker and cook in the room, bring salt and pepper!
SSR grounds: We were a 6 minute walk from the front desk. My DH said that in the morning it took him 5 minutes to get to Artist Palette to fill his refillable mug which was how long it took him last year to get to Capt Cooks at the Poly. It took me 10 minutes to walk to DTD. On Saturday, we walked to DTD for lunch at the Earl of Sandwich. It took us a little longer because my niece had to stop for the wildlife
An egret was standing under a tree literally 3 feet from us and my niece whispered, "Walk slowly and whisper, we don't want to scare him." Lots of wildlife, bunnies, lizards, wild birds galore along the river and just a few huge insects Thursday, my DH rented a bike and rode all over plus over the bridge to OKW (don't know that he was suppose to do that, but he did) My older DD is training for DLR half marathon, so she got up early to walk/run with DH around the lake.
SSR Spa: On Thursday, my DSIL, DD1 and I had spa treatments. DSIL and I had 50 min Swedish massages and DD1 had the spa manicure/pedicure.
It was so relaxing. Hot tub/sauna available with complete shower facilities with hairdryers, mirrors and lotions. Cold water, tea and fruit available for you in the spa lounge and in the locker rooms. The gym facilities had everything my DD1 needed to work out. My DH used it several times and also was impressed. My DD1 said her manicure/pedicure was VERY relaxing as well as very well done.
SSR Photopass session: We booked the first sitting at 8:30. I prebought the
CD, and with our DVC discount the sitting fee was $25 with tax. The session was suppose to be 30 minutes. Our photographer took 45 minutes at 5 different spots. My DH said he saw another early session with another photographer that was using different spots. He took over 100 pics, several pics of each pose. Haven't had a chance to look at them all yet, but there are some really nice ones.
CM/Guests interactions: Only had 2 interactions with rude people. One was the Pearl Factory employee that got huffy with me for asking if they had any Mickey settings. She actually walked away from me after answering me and I was going to buy a pearl anyway, didn't buy my pearl there. The otherincident was at lunch at the Earl of Sandwich. It had started pouring and we had just finished our lunch trying to decide what our next move would be. My DSIL and I saw a woman standing near our table looking for a spot to sit and we looked at each other and said let's decide what we're doing, there are folks waiting. At the same time, I could feel someone breathing behind me, and as I stood up this other lady started pulling my little table away from the other. Now I still had my drink and wrapped sandwich sitting on the table. She literally grabbed my chair as I turned to take my stuff. I had to reach across her to get my drink and sandwich and she shot me a "look", no words spoken and sat in my chair. The other woman quietly thanked my DSIL for the other table and sat down before the other woman could take her chairs. All the CMs we encountered were friendly and helpful. When my Dad fell up the steps to the bus, the bus driver got out of his seat and made sure he was OK. It was so nice to see the other guests ask my dad if he was alright.
Some negatives if you want to call them that. The dishwasher door didn't close easily and one afternoon, we had a little water on the kitchen floor - reported to Maintainance and the front desk. The standing lamp in the Master didn't work - reported to Mousekeeping. The internet drop in the second bdrm didn't work - reported to front desk personally (didn't really bother us since I used my airport express for wifi)
General impressions: We made the right choice for our family by choosing SSR. My DB/DSIL love the resort, don't even want to try BCV/BWV/AKV.
As the landscaping grows in, it will be even better. Love Congress Park, and my DDs say that they like being able to walk to DTD to shop and go to the movies. To a person, we all say, we can't wait to go back "home".
Are you feelin' it?
We were looking forward to taking our extended family/friends and your advice made it so much easier. We were at SSR July 2 - 9.We originally were a group of 13, 11 family and 2 close friends. We lost 3 due to a family emergency. First bit of good advice, book a 2 bdrm plus what you need if the family doesn't buy their tickets up front.
When my 7 yr old niece ran off the Magic Express toward us , she said "Are you feelin' it?" My DH asked her, "Feelin' what?" She says, "THE MAGIC!"
So the whole week, we all would turn to each other and say, "Are you feelin' it?"Location: I requested Congress Park. My friend arrived earlier for work and was put in the Paddock, but then moved before we arrived to Congress Park.
We arrived on Sat noon and were put in a studio in the Paddocks. I said that we were part of a Grand Gathering and one of our party was already in Congress Park. The CM took all of our reservations names and went to the back for a few minutes. When she returned, we had all our rooms in Congress Park in the same building. Our room wasn't ready then but was ready at 3pm. My Dad checked in on Sunday and the 2 bdrm wasn't ready in the morning but was ready again at 3pm. We had rooms 2105, 2132, 2135, all first floor with nice patios. My DSIL loved the location because she is not a all day park person, so she was at the quiet pool swimming and as a smoker, all she had to do was walk to the front or a little further to the smoking area by the river.
Mousekeeping: We a 2bdrm and 2 studios, all were clean. My DDs did find
a lip gloss under the bed the last night. We had to call for a new remote, more toilet paper, and cutting knives and mousekeeping was there within 15 minutes. T and T went smoothly for all rooms.
Transportation: I was a little concerned how my Dad(84) would be not having his beloved monorail right at hand and waiting for buses. We timed all our waits (my DDs wouldn't do exact times, just approx). The longest wait was when my DH and Dad waited 30 minutes from Epcot to SSR. But other than that, we waited no longer than 20 minutes for any bus. Most times were 10 minutes or less. Our rooms were right by the Congress Park bus stop.
Wegoshop: I ordered groceries from wegoshop. Very easy process, even added some items right before we left. I asked them to use Publix and Whole Foods. Publix has their ads online and I was able to add some more fruit at the last minute and our pasta that was on sale. It was delivered on time and the fruit was wonderful. Note to those who aren't using Owner's Locker and cook in the room, bring salt and pepper!
SSR grounds: We were a 6 minute walk from the front desk. My DH said that in the morning it took him 5 minutes to get to Artist Palette to fill his refillable mug which was how long it took him last year to get to Capt Cooks at the Poly. It took me 10 minutes to walk to DTD. On Saturday, we walked to DTD for lunch at the Earl of Sandwich. It took us a little longer because my niece had to stop for the wildlife
An egret was standing under a tree literally 3 feet from us and my niece whispered, "Walk slowly and whisper, we don't want to scare him." Lots of wildlife, bunnies, lizards, wild birds galore along the river and just a few huge insects Thursday, my DH rented a bike and rode all over plus over the bridge to OKW (don't know that he was suppose to do that, but he did) My older DD is training for DLR half marathon, so she got up early to walk/run with DH around the lake. SSR Spa: On Thursday, my DSIL, DD1 and I had spa treatments. DSIL and I had 50 min Swedish massages and DD1 had the spa manicure/pedicure.
It was so relaxing. Hot tub/sauna available with complete shower facilities with hairdryers, mirrors and lotions. Cold water, tea and fruit available for you in the spa lounge and in the locker rooms. The gym facilities had everything my DD1 needed to work out. My DH used it several times and also was impressed. My DD1 said her manicure/pedicure was VERY relaxing as well as very well done.
SSR Photopass session: We booked the first sitting at 8:30. I prebought the
CD, and with our DVC discount the sitting fee was $25 with tax. The session was suppose to be 30 minutes. Our photographer took 45 minutes at 5 different spots. My DH said he saw another early session with another photographer that was using different spots. He took over 100 pics, several pics of each pose. Haven't had a chance to look at them all yet, but there are some really nice ones.
CM/Guests interactions: Only had 2 interactions with rude people. One was the Pearl Factory employee that got huffy with me for asking if they had any Mickey settings. She actually walked away from me after answering me and I was going to buy a pearl anyway, didn't buy my pearl there. The otherincident was at lunch at the Earl of Sandwich. It had started pouring and we had just finished our lunch trying to decide what our next move would be. My DSIL and I saw a woman standing near our table looking for a spot to sit and we looked at each other and said let's decide what we're doing, there are folks waiting. At the same time, I could feel someone breathing behind me, and as I stood up this other lady started pulling my little table away from the other. Now I still had my drink and wrapped sandwich sitting on the table. She literally grabbed my chair as I turned to take my stuff. I had to reach across her to get my drink and sandwich and she shot me a "look", no words spoken and sat in my chair. The other woman quietly thanked my DSIL for the other table and sat down before the other woman could take her chairs. All the CMs we encountered were friendly and helpful. When my Dad fell up the steps to the bus, the bus driver got out of his seat and made sure he was OK. It was so nice to see the other guests ask my dad if he was alright.
Some negatives if you want to call them that. The dishwasher door didn't close easily and one afternoon, we had a little water on the kitchen floor - reported to Maintainance and the front desk. The standing lamp in the Master didn't work - reported to Mousekeeping. The internet drop in the second bdrm didn't work - reported to front desk personally (didn't really bother us since I used my airport express for wifi)
General impressions: We made the right choice for our family by choosing SSR. My DB/DSIL love the resort, don't even want to try BCV/BWV/AKV.
As the landscaping grows in, it will be even better. Love Congress Park, and my DDs say that they like being able to walk to DTD to shop and go to the movies. To a person, we all say, we can't wait to go back "home".
Are you feelin' it?
Thanks for the report. Looking forward to checking it out for ourselves.
I had hoped that we would be in the main room so that we might be able to see Wishes. But we got a table by the front entrance, bummed at first but thankful we were eating at 8:30 not 9:10. Ended up being the best place. We had the best server and the gal who does the entertainment found out my Dad is from Hawaii, so right before the fireworks, she came over and spent time with us. Plus our server brought out a gal from Germany who was part of the College Program to talk with my DD2 who wants to apply next year. We got the "old" dessert of pineapple with caramel sauce as well as the bread pudding. The pastry chef gave my niece a special cupcake with mickey sprinkles. We were very blessed to have had wonderful CMs that night. And my niece and I still were able to see the Wishes from an empty window table. 
