Info on Saratoga Springs

[kimluvswdw]

INFO ON SARATOGA SPRINGS

Please give me any info on this resort. I have the chance to stay there but know nothing about it. How close are the rooms to the buses? How about the food court? Any other info would be great.

Thanks alot!

 

[jjohnson]

Here's a link to a map of SSR:
http://www.willcad.org/maps/resorts/resort_ssr_m.jpg

The Springs section is closest to the main pool & food court.

 

[Skroops]

This is a beautiful resort! We would stay here again in a heartbeat.(with a good rate! )

The bus system is similar to CBR and CSR where the bus loops around the large resort with a few bus stops. It works well so that you do not have far to walk throughout the resort to any bus stop.

It is a new resort, and the furnishings and the beds are very comfortable.

The food court was rather limited when we were there last year. What we did eat was good, and we liked the ambiance as it is much more relaxing than other food courts at WDW. The grocery selection was good, and it was handy to have grab and go foods in our room.

The pool area was a hit for our family. It has a water jet play area kiddie pool, and a nice playground.

It is a short walk (or boat ride) to DTD.

Enjoy!!

 

[cobbler]

Also check out the DVC boards for more info on SSR.

 

[purpliequeen]

We loved this resort!

As stated above, everything was brand new. When we first opened the door to our room, it looked as if it was never used before. The CM's were great and helpful. The resort is beautiful- even if it is large. Everything was very peaceful and quiet.

The Artist Palette had a lot of wonderful choices. The walk to DTD is also only 10-15 min depending on your walking speed. The pool was gorgeous, a little crowded, but we were there during the xmas holidays.

The bus service was also fine. It was nice not having to share the service with other resorts and there are three pick-up areas at SSR: The Paddocks, Carousel, and Springs; therefore, it is not a long walk to your closest bus stop. Although we were there when there was construction, it did not disturb us.

Hope you have a great time. PM me if you have any other questions.
Raina

 

[Bob P]

Also tons of info here:
http://allearsnet.com/acc/faq_ss.htm

 

[Coloradomom]

Things we like about SSR:

1. Refillable mug station right by the main pool
2. Community Hall has great activities for kids (and grown ups)
3. Artist's Palette has more than "burgers and fries" menu
4. We like the Paddock, near a bus stop and quiet pool/playground.
5. Rooms are clean, well kept ,relaxing atmosphere. After a busy day at the parks it is nice to come back and sit on the balcony.
6. You can do a carriage ride if you'd like
7. Easy walk to DTD.
8. Several hot tubs throughout property...important to us because when we stayed at POR (which we loved) we could NEVER get to use the hot tub.

And what everyone else said,too!

 

[jwfla422]

This is so EXCITING!! We're staying here for the first time in a few weeks for a "non-DISNEY park" trip!! I can't wait (hopefully the weather will cooperate most of the time), we plan to spend a lot of time at the pool(s).

Coloradomom What types of children's acitivities do they have???

Skroops Are the beds really comfy?? We are VERY SPOILED with the heavenly beds at the Swan. Everytime we stay somewhere else we most those heavenly beds...

 

[Cinderella]

SSR is my favourite resort. We stayed in the Springs section, and were literally a hop skip and a jump to the bus stop. We were even closer to the bus stop there than we were when we stayed at VWL, as we didn't have any long corridors to walk down.

We are hoping to stay in the Springs section again in October. It is close to all the amenities, such as the main pool, shop, counter service food, and restaurant (opening in July).

We like this resort best, because it has a relaxing feel - like okw. It's condo style, rather than hotel style, and each small building only has a few villas. The views are lovely. We had a view of two small lakes with fountains, and a bridge.

The pool was lovely and warm - even in December, and it had a fun slide, and also had zero entry, which would be great for small children.

The decor in the rooms was upscale and sophisticated.

Also, Saratoga has the best Spa on Walt Disney World property.

The only downsides we found were the buses. But others have found them to be fine. I think it was just bad luck on our part - because at a recent Wilderness Lodge stay - we saw lots of Saratoga buses at the parks, whilst we were waiting for Wilderness Lodge buses!

The only other downside was small balconies, but the only large balconies I have seen in a DVC property, or any Disney property was at OKW.

 

[seabright1]

If you are staying in a studio, plan on bringing extra clothes because this big "apartment complex" has only 3 laundry rooms. Bus stops are fairly close to the apartment buildings. Enjoy your trip!

 

[LIFERBABE]

If you are staying in a studio, plan on bringing extra clothes because this big "apartment complex" has only 3 laundry rooms. Bus stops are fairly close to the apartment buildings. Enjoy your trip!

How many laundry rooms do you need? The others only have 1 except for OKW. As someone who spent 2 weeks in a SSR studio last summer and another week over Christmas, I found the laundry rooms to be very convenient and always available.

We just had another great trip to SSR and it is also our favorite DVC. I gave up 2 weeks at BWV (confirmed standard view ressie) to stay at SSR and did not regret it 1 bit! We had a great time, and I would do it again.

There was plenty for us to do and plenty of relaxing things to do too! We loved Community Hall, the pool, the quiet pool, the pool the fitness center, spa, everything!

Really, why worry about the size? All you care about is your room to the amenities of the resort. We had an AWESOME view, close parking, close to the main areas and close to busses. We were literally right around the corner from DTD and the busses at SSR are direct to the Major theme parks.

We were also less than a mile and a half from 2 major grocery stores, and as much as I hate grocery shopping, it was nice to know there were 2 nearby. We met another couple there and 1 of them walked to Gooding's for morning excersise and to pick up a few things.

While there, I would try to see the negatives that others see and post here, but in the end, there was no place I'd rather be with my family and we have our pick of 4 of the 5 onsite DVC's. All great places and all of them beat home and work so I really don't see the need to try to belittle SSR.

 

[seabright1]

I am just expressing my "personal" experience at the Saratoga Springs AC. I had a difficult time doing my laundry at the Paddocks complex that I had to drive to the Congress complex to do my laundry. Your experience may be different and that is good for you. To me Saratoga Springs does not have that DVC resort feel.
I had a way far better experience at OKW, BCV and WLV.

 

[emma'smom]

Much nicer than any apartment complex I've ever lived in!! If that was an AC available in NYC where I lived in a six floor walk-up for 1500. a month! I'd take it! Stop the SSR bashing....it's just tacky!

 

[seabright1]

Some people may want to see the other side of the coin too. Some people like Saratoga Springs and some don't. And I am one of the people who does not .To put it at its best I think Saratoga Springs is "OK" if it is the last WDW resort that is available.
Disney should improve their standards when they build their next resort...and this is for the benefit for all DVC members.

 

[thelobstershanty]

We just returned from SSR and I would like to add our opinions to this discussion.
I am definitely not bashing SSR. We enjoyed our trip very much. What's not to like when you are in WDW? I must say though, that I did have some disappointments with SSR. It seems with each new DVC resort they build they are cutting more and more corners. When BWV, VWL and BCV were built the room sizes were decreased. However, this is more than made up for by the superior locations of these resorts. However even with VWL and BCV they cut corners by eliminating the bathroom sink cabinets in the studio. But other improvements were made, i.e. more elevators in the buildings, dedicated 2 brs, etc. so, it pretty much evened its self out.
At SSR we noticed quite a few instances where corners were cut and did not see any improvements or enhancements. Some of the downgrades we noticed were the loss of a bathroom sink cabinet in the studio, only 1 location in each building to get ice, and only 1 trash room per building. The kitchen area in the studio appeared smaller than the other DVC resorts. There are less kitchen cabinets, also in the studio. The hallways detracted from the beauty of the buildings--either open the hallways up like OKW or close them completely in and air condition & carpet them like BCV, BWV and VWL. The food court selections leave a lot to be desired. There is no sit down restaurant--true one is opening up next month but that took almost 2 years and numerous complaints to get that to happen. The elaborate tile work in the bathrooms has been eliminated. The Mickey icon railings are very sparsely placed on the buildings. The resort is huge and upon completion will be massive. The bus service was terrible, to the point that we just ended up driving everywhere. However this is not a SSR specific problem, we have had good and bad bus service at every WDW resort we have stayed at.
Did we let these things ruin our stay? Of course not--we had a great trip. But it does sadden us to see DVC keep cutting corners at the new resorts and yet continue to raise the price.
There were things that we really liked about SSR. We loved the furniture. After the light beachy furniture of OKW, BWV & BCV and the rustic furniture at VWL--the furniture at SSR was a welcome change. We loved the view of DTD from our Congress Park villa. There is a drawback to this location though--the view is incredible but so is the noise level from PI. On the weekend nights especially, the music and noise went on until 2 AM. Of course, once you closed the balcony door it was quiet. The noise from PI did not bother us at all because we are people that like a lot of activity when on vacation, but I can see where this could be a problem for those that want quiet. We liked the refillable mug station at the main pool--very convenient.
Overall we had a great trip and liked SSR just fine. We like all WDW resorts. Is SSR our favorite resort? No, but then neither are a lot of other WDW resorts. We found SSR to be very similar to OKW in many aspects. Would we stay at SSR again? Yes, we would. It will never be our first choice of resorts but it is a nice resort.
We decided if it ever comes down again to the only 2 DVC resorts with openings are OKW & SSR (which is what happened this trip); we would pick SSR if we were staying in a studio and OKW for a 1 br or larger.