? for those familiar with SSR!

[Liljam]

I am taking my family for our first trip as DVC members in May and I have booked a GV with a request for CP.

I am curious about the views from the GVs. Is there any chance we'll get a parking lot view or are all GVs facing nice views (even if it isn't the DTD one I hope for?) I think I had read somewhere that there are 2 GVs in every building - is this correct? And if so, what is the chance that they will all be full with the exception of the one we booked when we arrive on May 3rd? I would like to plan my travel time around getting to the resort at a decent hour to hopefully get our requests fulfilled, but I didn't know if that decent hour needs to be 9am or 11am (for example) even though I'm aware the room may not be ready until 4pm. Also if there is any additional advice you can give me, that would be great too! 3 people going are 1st timers and I want to make the trip special for them. I even considered doing one of the Welcome packages with wine and such - are those packages worth the price tag? If not, I could easily through together my own little Welcome baskets and maybe bell services would be kind enough to put them on the beds before we arrive??? Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[BroganMc]

Here's a map of the general floorplan for SSR buildings:

http://disneydoc.homestead.com/ssrfloor.html

As you can see, the Grand Villas are placed on the second floor inside the corners of the U-shaped facade.

And here's the map of the resort:

As you can see all the buildings face the resort interior so your view in GVs would be of lakes, golf course, pool or DTD depending on the neighborhood.

The only way I can see you not getting a clear DTD view in Congress Park is if they place you in the GVs in building 15xx. That is angled toward the pool and away from DTD Marketplace.

As to when to arrive for check-in, I believe that depends more on your day of the week. There's a lot of turnover on Sunday morning so arriving by 9-ish saves you a lot of wait time in line. Friday has a lot of checkouts so the most room availability. But when it comes to GVs, there are so few and they are always in high demand that I doubt it matters too much. Chances are your GV will have been assigned to you a few days ahead of time anyway by the room assigner and based on your requests.

I have been able to switch an HA room (another scarce room type) a few times by arriving at 9-9:30am. However, the room I was assigned at NYE was fulfilling my room requests. I checked in after 3pm and the room was ready.

As far as welcome packages, I'm not certain Bell Services accesses a room prior to occupancy. They won't place it in your room before you check-in. However, the resort may very well place any baskets you want later when they bring the luggage.

Some of the tips for enjoying this resort are located in the SSR Owners thread. There's another dedicated thread here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1406647

My favorite thing to do is to grab my refillable mug and take an early morning walk (7am) about the resort. I head to Artist's Palette first for some hot chocolate since the mornings can be a bit cool, then chose one of the pathways in my map. It's nice to see the resort waking up. By the time I finish my hot chocolate, usually it's time to return to the room to dress for the day or else grab a cool refill and breakfast at AP.

 

[Liljam]

Thanks, that map is awesome for getting around the resort and knowing approximate distance!! Seems like we're gonna be happy with any view then! I've only seen a small portion of the resort when we purchased. If we were in a studio, I wouldn't worry about the view as much, but I really used a lot of points and banked and borrowed for this trip with my family - I want to make it great for them! Oh and I can't wait for those morning strolls! I'll check out that other link too!

 

[BroganMc]

Thanks, that map is awesome for getting around the resort and knowing approximate distance!! Seems like we're gonna be happy with any view then! I've only seen a small portion of the resort when we purchased. If we were in a studio, I wouldn't worry about the view as much, but I really used a lot of points and banked and borrowed for this trip with my family - I want to make it great for them! Oh and I can't wait for those morning strolls! I'll check out that other link too!

Have fun. Just don't get too set on the family enjoying themselves that you stress yourself out. I find my family have their own paths to happier got mad ness, usually involving a few grumbles. (My sister got mad once because I brought her back from DTD via Congress Park's sidewalks instead of letting her walk down the main street to our Springs room. She said she wanted a shortcut instead of the scenic route. Dummy me. I should have known sending her and my 6 & 8 yo old nephews walking down a busy street was a better thing to do than a .1 mile safer sidewalk path. After all, her feet were tired dagnammit!)

FWIW those SSR GV's are really stunning. I like to take my guests up to the model rooms just to show it off. Doubt I'll ever stay in one though. I'm far too cheap with my points.

 

[Liljam]

FWIW those SSR GV's are really stunning. I like to take my guests up to the model rooms just to show it off. Doubt I'll ever stay in one though. I'm far too cheap with my points.

Lol! I fell in love with them too and swore I could never figure out how to use my points to get there without going in to point debt but I had my 06 points I banked, got my 07 points and borrowed some from 08. I knew we'd only be taking one trip this year and probably taking a year off because we just had a little boy so I found the perfect chance! Now my husband says "next time we'll take my family... there's plenty of room" but he doesn't realize that unless pigs fly this is probably it for those GVs lol! I actually can't wait to try out the other resorts on points for studios!

BTW, that link you sent for the maps is great for pictures and for the layouts of the buildings! Thanks again, I just can't wait to get there!