Good news for SSR fans

[wtpclc]

DVC is not stuck with the 7/11 windows, because they do not guarantee that you will be able to trade to other DVC resorts. I am inly guaranteed SSR in my contract. I'm not a lawyer and skimmed through much of the paper work. However, I still caught that I may lose teh ablility to stay anywhere but SSR. I find it hard to believe that an overwhelming number of people would have bought at a resort that yas "yuk" or "inferior" when they knew that it may be their only option. At this point, even if they didn't take away the ability ot trade out, there are currently no other DVCs after 2042. Are there trips I'd like to trade out for? Sure. I'd like to go to BWV for my 10th anniv trip, as we spent our honeymopon at BWI. However, we always end our days at DTD and would love to be able to walk home at night (or drop off packages ).

 

[OneMoreTry]

This may be difficult for some of you to understand, but many of us like to and need to ESCAPE FROM the parks on our vacation. My family doesn't need all the constant, intense "theming" and Disney STUFF the whole time we are at WDW.

Just like I can't eat heavily seasoned food every day all the time. I know some people like that. I like it for an occasional meal, but then I need something simpler in between.

If you don't understand that need to get away to a quiet secluded place or you don't see that OKW has this in a way that some of the other resorts don't, then you won't understand the appeal of a resort like OKW. It's still secluded from the world. It's still my WDW "home." But it's tucked away so that many visitors to WDW don't even know it's there -- and that's part of the appeal.

I know BCV and the other hotel/DVC resorts have quiet areas. That's great. I can see why so many people love them with all their themes, etc. But there are a bunch of us that don't want that all the time. We like our little Disney condo. (I'm even a little sad about the OKW slide. I don't see it as a plus for OKW. It's just another gimmick. Oh well, not my decision.)

[I can't comment on SSR. Haven't stayed there, but suspect it's attraction is similar to OKW.]

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

SSR is our least favorite, and we would only take it as a last resort/tripbuster. Thanks to that one DIS board thread, It really sticks in my mind the concept of the "800 unit apartment complex". In Chicagoland there are many of those monster complexes. I'm glad there are many SSR fans, but I'll keep booking my home resorts a 11 months to avoid having to stay there.

 

[magicmommy]

DH and I bought SSR last September when we were on our first vacation without the kids. My sons are 15 and 13. When we travel with the kids we are now faced with travelling in the summer or school vacations. Though I have not officially had my first trip home to SSR I have been over twice to check things out. The last visit being only last week. Again to reiterate what many have said before, the beauty of DVC is something for everyone. Many of the things that folks find unappealing about SSR are some of the things we like best! I often travel for business typically staying in Hiltons or Marriotts and a lobby and interior hallways don't mean that much to me. As for the size of SSR it seems like a little village to me. I love the spread out feel and know that on a hot day when we go in August I'll enjoy the respite from the busy parks. My boys love DQ so that is another plus. Do I want to try other DVC resorts? Sure, as a matter of fact we are starting our 12 day trip with 3 nights at BCV and with all the buzz about SAB we are anxious to try it! When we were at WDW last week we strolled over to BC and guess what? DH says can we cancel the first 3 days and just stay at Saratoga...I think this place will be a zoo! I said no way...gotta room...gotta try it! And finally lets all be thankful that we even have a choice. Iam so happy we bought into DVC and hope to enjoy many magical years there regardless of which resort I stay at!

 

[tjkraz]

]I just don't think that when the entire resort is completed that those buildings farthest out will be as amenable to families travelling with small children or elders as some of the other DVC. For those who haven't had the opportunity to encounter the special challenges that travelling to WDW, either as an elder or with one, I can assure you that it's not the easiest thing to do. Worthwhile, yes, easy, no.

At risk of beating this dead horse further, I'll just close with these comments:

1. I've stayed at both SSR and BWV with two toddlers and a senior. We found it much easier to get around SSR than to deal with all of the walking involved in staying at the Boardwalk.

2. If the Carriage House / main pool is used as the measuring point, the buildings currently open in Congress Park ARE the "furthest out." All of the units in The Paddock are closer to the common areas. Yet, when staying in Congress Park, it only took us 5-6 minutes to walk to the main pool. Heck, it takes that long to get from a room in the Beach Club Villas over to Stormalong Bay.

Those who don't want to walk are more than welcome to use the internal busses.

 

[jarestel]

If my wife makes a new dish for supper and asks me "how do I like it?", I can say
a) This tastes like crap, what is this crap, why did you make this crap...
or
b) I don't think this particular seasoning agrees with me...

Both responses express to my wife the fact that I don't care for the new dish, but only answer "b" spares me from wearing the crap. It's all in the presentation.

By the way, I think the OP did a fine job of expressing why SSR didn't appeal. This isn't directed that way at all.

 

[fkj2]

At risk of beating this dead horse further, I'll just close with these comments:

1. I've stayed at both SSR and BWV with two toddlers and a senior. We found it much easier to get around SSR than to deal with all of the walking involved in staying at the Boardwalk.

2. If the Carriage House / main pool is used as the measuring point, the buildings currently open in Congress Park ARE the "furthest out." All of the units in The Paddock are closer to the common areas. Yet, when staying in Congress Park, it only took us 5-6 minutes to walk to the main pool. Heck, it takes that long to get from a room in the Beach Club Villas over to Stormalong Bay.

Those who don't want to walk are more than welcome to use the internal busses.

Yeah, you're wailing a dead horse.

Haven't you noticed all those buildings still under construction closer to the road? Those buildings will eventually be the buildings farthest away from the walkway to DTD.

 

[Muushka]

If my wife makes a new dish for supper and asks me "how do I like it?", I can say
a) This tastes like crap, what is this crap, why did you make this crap...
or
b) I don't think this particular seasoning agrees with me...

Both responses express to my wife the fact that I don't care for the new dish, but only answer "b" spares me from wearing the crap. It's all in the presentation.

By the way, I think the OP did a fine job of expressing why SSR didn't appeal. This isn't directed that way at all.

Too funny!

PS I agree that the OP did a great job writing about how they feel about SSR

 

[Mississippian]

If my wife makes a new dish for supper and asks me "how do I like it?", I can say
a) This tastes like crap, what is this crap, why did you make this crap...
or
b) I don't think this particular seasoning agrees with me...

Both responses express to my wife the fact that I don't care for the new dish, but only answer "b" spares me from wearing the crap. It's all in the presentation.

By the way, I think the OP did a fine job of expressing why SSR didn't appeal. This isn't directed that way at all.

If your wife also added that she had taken steps to make sure you would have to eat this dish on a regular basis, even though she really had a good idea that neither you nor most people would like this dish, then I would hope you would tell her the dish tastes like crap.

If you look at the resale market, you can easily tell what people want in a DVC membership. They want to be close to Epcot or the Magic Kingdom. They want to have great dining and nightlife options. OKW really doesn't deliver in this area, and that is why there are tons of OKW points available at discounted prices. But at least OKW DOES have bigger rooms at bargain prices. SSR offers neither of these advantages.

Again, it's the sheer numbers. 800 units with poor dining and transportation options devalues memberships in all of the other resorts.

I understand that many people like SSR, and I'm glad. My hope is that DVC will drastically limit my (and everyone else's) ability to stay at other resorts, perhaps reducing the 7-month window to two months. Since SSR is so great, none of the members there will suffer, and those of us who don't care for SSR will have less chance of being forced to stay there.

 

[bz8bls]

I remember staying on the SSR property when it was called the Disney Villas and I love SSR because of the location as well. I would love to have access to a golf cart (was offered for the Disney Villas) for a fee. I think this would be an excellent mode of transportation for those who would like to go to DD.

 

[PAcricket]

We are:
-Ken & Loretta (40’s), Angelina (20)
– First DVC owner trip
– Multiple WDW trips
– This Trip – SSR 1 BR

Previous Trips
On-site – Polynesian, Port Orleans Riverside - Mansions
Off-site – camping, condo, hotel
Toured/Dined/Shopped all WDW resorts except value resorts
Spring, Summer, Fall

-Traveling with Friends (60 & early 50’s), twin 9 year old boys & almost 5 year old girl
- First WDW trip as adults & first ever for the kids
- Accessible 2 BR

Summary
Upsides
1) Rooms are brand new & nicely decorated. Shades of soft greens predominate. Beds & pillows are comfortable. Window coverings include both sheers & light-blocking drapes. There are two TVs & the living room TV has a DVD player. There are granite countertops in the kitchen area.
2) It was lovely to have the extra bedroom, washer & dryer, and the kitchen. The dishwasher was also very nice to have.
3) The whole resort has a quiet, peaceful elegance about it. This extends from the décor of the rooms to the public areas.
(The one exception is the volume of the toilets when they flush. It actually hurts
your ears.)

Downsides
1) Limited Food & Retail Outlets
-There is one store, sort-of combined with the food court. The store/food court is small & has limited options compared to other WDW food courts & is strangely merchandised. There are no other retail or food outlets.

-We went into the lounge during the day to see what it looked like. This is essentially a very large room with a pool table & chairs. There was one staff member and no guests (see below).

-The pool bar served a half (and I’m not being dramatic) plastic cup of wine for $7.50. I expect Disney to be expensive, but I also expect it to be a good value. For example, I wouldn’t have been surprised to pay $7.50 for a full glass of wine in Disney surroundings. I was really surprised. The server at the pool bar noted that the wine served there was the same as served at the lounge. This didn’t make me feel any better.

2) Stingy Trash & Towel Service
I expected trash & towel service only & had researched what was provided & not, but was surprised that it was as limited as it was (i.e., there were some paper towels still, so no new ones were left).

3) Future size of the resort/number of people…
If the plan is to keep the resort as it is, I simply can’t see how guests could be accommodated in the numbers that the resort will have, when it’s finished.

-The public areas are all built onto one end of the property.

-There is no full service restaurant & only one very limited combo food outlet/store.

While there are restaurants available at Downtown Disney, I don’t think it’s practical for a family to trek over there after a day in the parks. The wait at those restaurants is also an issue with tired & hungry kids. If I were going to load kids into the car for dinner, I wouldn’t take them to DD restaurants, because of the cost & wait time (which is revenue lost for Disney).

-The pool is nice, but not spectacularly themed. However, it will seem very small when the resort is completed if it’s the only themed pool.


Summary/My best guess…
In my humble opinion, I believe the people who will like SSR best include:
- those who don’t mind less of a resort “feel”
- those who are comfortable with access to grocery items, restaurants, etc.
- those who benefit from more “down time/relaxation” (at least while the resort is not
fully built).

This resort has a different feel than any of the other WDW resorts we have been to – decidedly less “Disney.” I was not bothered by the exterior hallways or the cars parked outside the doors or even the bus service. However, for the WDW experience & value, I do not rate this resort high compared to others on property.


Special Notes
Transportation
Buses are the single transportation option for most people, if you don’t rent a car. Boat transportation is at one end of the resort & only an option for the limited number of people close to that end. The walk to Downtown Disney from our Congress Park room was shorter than the walk to the boat dock from our room. We walked some combo from/to DD and our room 3 times in one week & I wouldn’t walk it more than that.

Bus transportation was fine. Overall, the buses seem to run frequently. They are supposed to run every 20 minutes. There was a night at MGK when no bus came to the SSR stop for more than 25 minutes & someone in line had to go have park personnel call for a bus to be sent. Also, be aware that the bus from DD to Saratoga Springs, first goes to Pleasure Island & DD Westside before the stops at SSR. My husband waited for the bus one night at DD while my niece & I opted to walk back to the resort. He returned 30+ minutes later.

Customer Service “Issues”
Norway Princess Breakfast
The wheelchair ramp would not work on the first bus for Epcot we tried to board. Since this was the morning of our Norway Princess Breakfast reservations, I called ahead to let them know that we may arrive a few minutes late because of this. Be aware that no one answers the phone at the Princess Breakfast in Norway – not for me when I was transferred from Disney Dining & not when Disney Dining tried directly. The breakfast was nice & we saw all 5 of the princesses there with no difficulties, including princesses returning when one child was in the bathroom. (OK, so Princess Aurora was “short” & piled all the autograph books on top of each other to sign them at one time -- very “just get this done”!)

What bothered me, was that NO ONE could direct us specifically where to go or took responsibility to ensure we knew where we were going. Each person we asked either gave us a generic answer (“ask the bus driver, they will tell you where to go”) or they gave us an answer that said they weren’t listening to the question (“just go through any turnstile”), when we asked where to enter for a breakfast reservation before park opening. We eventually found where we needed to go, but had to have our entire party, including the adult in the wheelchair duck under a rope my husband was holding up to get into the park before opening. It was a stunning & unfortunate lack of customer service, especially since it was out friends’ first trip to Disney. My friend said she had never before seen my husband “agitated.”

Bell Service
After reading other reviews, I would agree that the Bell Service was very “relaxed.” When we arrived early Saturday morning, there was no one in bell services. The person who checked us in, directed us out to our car parked in the main check-in circle. Several minutes later, he came out, followed later by someone else to take our bags from our car. Our friends arrived very late Saturday night (3 kids, Mom & Dad in a wheelchair) who were met with a “slight attitude” according to my laid back friend when they opted not to have their room keys have the charge card function. They were told that the same person from check-in would be out to help them with their bags & that they could wait there for the internal resort bus, but the attitude prompted them to walk to the room.

Overall, we would have stayed elsewhere & purchased elsewhere if available at the time. I think we will try to stay at another WDW resort in the future.

 

[tjkraz]

If you look at the resale market, you can easily tell what people want in a DVC membership. They want to be close to Epcot or the Magic Kingdom. They want to have great dining and nightlife options. OKW really doesn't deliver in this area, and that is why there are tons of OKW points available at discounted prices. But at least OKW DOES have bigger rooms at bargain prices. SSR offers neither of these advantages.

Let's see:

OKW - Resort has been open for 12+ years and has 531 units.
BCV - Resort has been open for 3 years and has 208 units.

Methinks you are ignoring the SUPPLY side of your equation when drawing your conclusions. OKW owners have been part of the DVC program for more than a decade, which is more than enough time for folks' vacation habits to change, marriage, death, divorce, etc. There are also 2.5 times as many units at OKW.

In other words, there are many reasons OTHER than sheer demand to explain the volume of OKW resale contracts on the market. Your argument is meaningless.

And, in comparison to SSR, in less than 2 years since SSR went on sale they've sold upward of 300 units worth of points in the resort. Resales at a resort the size of BCV are barely a blip on the radar compared to that volume. We're talking about a volume upward of 5 MILLION SSR points sold.

There is no shortage of demand for SSR points.

My hope is that DVC will drastically limit my (and everyone else's) ability to stay at other resorts, perhaps reducing the 7-month window to two months.

Don't count on it. IMO, one of the most important selling points of DVC is that they are marketing SEVEN resorts, not just one. As long as DVC is actively selling new points, I can't imagine them touching that home resort advantage.

In fact, I could see the 7-month window getting LARGER before it gets smaller. Our contracts state that DVC only needs to provide a one month advantage for Home resort bookings, so they could very easily make it an 11 / 10 month window. Not that I necessarily believe that will happen...

So back to my original question...if DVC is in such shambles with your resort rapidly losing value, why did you buy in the first place?

 

[tjkraz]

Yeah, you're wailing a dead horse.

It takes two...

Haven't you noticed all those buildings still under construction closer to the road? Those buildings will eventually be the buildings farthest away from the walkway to DTD.

In the post you quoted I didn't even address DTD.

But, about 8 posts ago I believe I said that the vast majority of the buildings are 15 minutes or less from DTD on foot. Obviously there are others further away. Those unwilling to walk--be it 5 minutes or 20 minutes away on foot--are welcome to use the convenient bus service.

 

[Mississippian]

Let's see:

OKW - Resort has been open for 12+ years and has 531 units.
BCV - Resort has been open for 3 years and has 208 units.

Methinks you are ignoring the SUPPLY side of your equation when drawing your conclusions. OKW owners have been part of the DVC program for more than a decade, which is more than enough time for folks' vacation habits to change, marriage, death, divorce, etc. There are also 2.5 times as many units at OKW.

......

So back to my original question...if DVC is in such shambles with your resort rapidly losing value, why did you buy in the first place?

In answer to your second question, I think we are going to see some real inflation in the next few years, and I think DVC is a good buy. It would be a much better buy if it were not for the shabby quality (in terms of amenities and location, not room furnishings) of the much overbuilt SSR. I will say that when I bought I wasn't aware that SSR would be 800! units.

As for the price of DVC points, the fact that OKW is older really doesn't matter. If it were a better resort, it would be trading at a premium even if it were a million years old. As I've said, OKW at least has big rooms and low point prices. Under the right circumstances, I'd like to stay there.

The bottom line is that after OKW, every new on-site DVC resort enhanced the value of DVC points. That is, of course, until SSR came along. I don't care how you try to contort the issue, 800 units with lousy dining and lousy transportation are not going to enhance the value of everyone else's DVC points.

Again repeating, SSR would be fine if it were 200 units, designed for the rare person who doesn't want to be near the parks and likes to have a real hassle in order to dine out. But 800 of these units is overkill and devalues the product. I would say the same, by the way, if DVC decided to add 800 more units to OKW.

 

[mrsminniemouse]

4. From Congress Park, we had a lovely view of DTD and I liked the fact that, during daylight hours, we could walk to DTD (sign said closed dusk to dawn.)

:

We walked to DTD at night many times. Is this a new rule?
There is a little wooded area to the left of the path to DTD. I saw a sign there saying it was closed from dusk to dawn. Is the main path shut too?

Mandy

 

[athenna]

I don't care how you try to contort the issue, 800 units with lousy dining and lousy transportation are not going to enhance the value of everyone else's DVC points.

Again repeating, SSR would be fine if it were 200 units, designed for the rare person who doesn't want to be near the parks and likes to have a real hassle in order to dine out.


'lousy'
Because YOU and a few others don't like it, that means it's lousy??
You've got to be kidding, right?
For every reason you gave that SSR is 'lousy', someone probably ENJOYS SSR for those same reasons. We get it, you don't like SSR. Bully for you.

 

[Dean]

In answer to your second question, I think we are going to see some real inflation in the next few years, and I think DVC is a good buy. It would be a much better buy if it were not for the shabby quality (in terms of amenities and location, not room furnishings) of the much overbuilt SSR. I will say that when I bought I wasn't aware that SSR would be 800! units.

As for the price of DVC points, the fact that OKW is older really doesn't matter. If it were a better resort, it would be trading at a premium even if it were a million years old. As I've said, OKW at least has big rooms and low point prices. Under the right circumstances, I'd like to stay there.

The bottom line is that after OKW, every new on-site DVC resort enhanced the value of DVC points. That is, of course, until SSR came along. I don't care how you try to contort the issue, 800 units with lousy dining and lousy transportation are not going to enhance the value of everyone else's DVC points.

Again repeating, SSR would be fine if it were 200 units, designed for the rare person who doesn't want to be near the parks and likes to have a real hassle in order to dine out. But 800 of these units is overkill and devalues the product. I would say the same, by the way, if DVC decided to add 800 more units to OKW.

I think all factors are important. I DO believe there is more demand for BCV, BWV and VWL. Why else would they be harder to reserve? But the other factors are important for VB, OKW, HH and BWV to a degree and esp for OKW since it is oldest. Larger means more contracts available. Older means more likely not to be needed or wanted any more plus a lower initial buy in. Location and less amenities reduce some people's interest. All of these factors are applicable to resale prices and I think they all apply somewhat equally.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Mississippian says : If you look at the resale market, you can easily tell what people want in a DVC membership. They want to be close to Epcot or the Magic Kingdom. They want to have great dining and nightlife options. OKW really doesn't deliver in this area,

As difficult as this is for you to comprehend Mississippian, not everyone wants this. In fact, based on the amount of OKW contracts, ALOT of folks don't want this. When we bought into DVC, we had a choice and chose OKW (pre BCV/VWL/SSR). I stayed at BWV once and have no plans to return ? LOTS of people actually prefer the serene village appeal of OKW/SSR. Some of us even prefer (gasp) to be able to park our cars right outside our rooms ! Many of us don't need or want an "in your face" atmosphere and rather prefer to be able to unwind a little and be a little bit further away from the action. I don't think you can tell what all DVC Members want by what the resale market has to offer because alot of it is based on overall units at each resort. If BWV/BCV/VWL/OKW were all the same age and size I might buy into your thinking. But because the variances are just so wide, I cannot.

Mississippian says : As for the price of DVC points, the fact that OKW is older really doesn't matter. If it were a better resort, it would be trading at a premium even if it were a million years old.

Fortunately the majority of people don't suscribe to this way of thinking. Sure I think the age and size of OKW factors in here. There's no rational logic for your theory as I'm sure many people here realize. OKW has a huge following of fans here on the DIS. I think this is just a small sampling of the fan base OKW has outside of the DIS as well. OKW has CONSISTANTLY held high marks given by TUG (timeshare users group) : http://www.tug2.net/ (you have to be a TUG Member in order to view the database). But BWV rates a 9.55, BCV a 9.08 & OKW a 9.49. So I think, considering that OKW is older than the other two, she's holding her own pretty darn well and has strong trading power. As I stated earlier, I've read many, many reports over the years I've been on the DIS about people desiring to trade into OKW from other DVC resorts. Some of those people, not only want to trade into OKW, but have no desire to stay at their "home" resorts ever.
SSR is still very new (still selling, well I might I add, and still under construction). I'm highly suspicious that the majority of SSR Members are buying there with having no desire to stay there. I'm sure there are some, as there are with EVERY DVC resort. I have no doubt that it will develop it's own fan and will also get high marks on TUG. SSR is not currently in the TUG database yet, but I'm sure it will receive high ratings as well.


As for the OKW resale market, as Tjkraz very logically stated :

OKW owners have been part of the DVC program for more than a decade, which is more than enough time for folks' vacation habits to change, marriage, death, divorce, etc. There are also 2.5 times as many units at OKW. In other words, there are many reasons OTHER than sheer demand to explain the volume of OKW resale contracts on the market. Your argument is meaningless.

BWV/BCV/VWL haven't been in operation nearly as long and the last two are very small compared to OKW. And SSR is still building. Naturally, you're gonna see more OKW resales based not only on how long it's been around & changing lifestyles, but also the FACT it has many more owners as well. Just kind of makes sense there will be more resales ?

 

[MiaSRN62]

Dean says : I DO believe there is more demand for BCV, BWV and VWL. Why else would they be harder to reserve?

Less units available maybe ? OKW has so many more units and it's Members are generally older (having purchased back in '91). Thinking alot of those older OKW owners are venturing out or just simply not utilizing their points due to lifestyle changes. Also, I feel people naturally want to try a newer resort to see what it's like. DVC makes it so easy to do this.

Again repeating, SSR would be fine if it were 200 units, designed for the rare person who doesn't want to be near the parks and likes to have a real hassle in order to dine out.

Rare ? There's a few of you here on the boards who just can't grasp that some of us enjoy peace and serenity (and getting away from it all !) OKW has been around for a long time and has a very large following here on the DIS. We actually chose it over BWV. Imagine that ? I think the use of "rare" is way off. "Lousy" transportation and dining at SSR ? Hassle ? Again, I'm not seeing this. Took us 10 min to walk to Cape May Cafe from BWV (in the pouring rain I'll add) for dinner one time. SSR owners have DD dining at their disposal via walk/boat/bus (nice option in times of rain) ? I'm sure SSR owners can get there in the 10-15 min range.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Mississippian, I don't see anything in your post that is "FACT". Everything you state is YOUR opinion. The fact for us is that we will NEVER stay at BWV and probably not stay at BCV, although I would consider it. Not everyone prefers to live in a city. Some of us prefer our acreage in the country, and couldn't imagine living in the city. I am one of those. My real home is a large log home on a ten and a half acre prairie/oak savannah. My vacation "home" is a villa at OKW where I don't feel hemmed in by hallways, buildings, and nightlife. Just because you like those things doesn't mean everyone has to. Frankly, I hope lots of folks continue to bash OKW, because it might mean I'll never have trouble getting that GV every time I want it.