Just back - my humble opinion on SSR.

[AnnaTink]

Hi,

I have just returned from 9 nights at SSR with my parents, during the time we were there they celebrated both their birthdays and their wedding anniversary

It was their second time at SSR but my first, so just thought I'd give my not-so-important opinion

Overall I thought it was a lovely, peaceful resort. This was meant to be a quiet break and it was perfect for just that. We were in a 2 bedroom apt in Congress Park - 1811. The room was spotless - and I did check throughly . The quiet pool area was lovely with a fantastic view of Downtown Disney and as it was so lovely and warm we used it everyday!

The buses appeared to be quite frequent and we never waited longer than 20 minutes which was fine for us.

We thought the check in staff were excellent, very helpful, very friendly. My dad mentioned the reason for the trip and was promptly handed badges for both their birthdays and anniversary. Then when we returned to the room the night before my Mum's birthday (the first to be celebrated) we found balloons and cards for each of them waiting (my Mum got a signed photo from Cinderella, My Dad Mickey and Donald, and for their anniversary one from Mickey and Minnie). They thought it was a lovely touch and really appreciated the gesture.

Only, and minor-ish fault, and one which ha been mentioned on here before is that Artist Palette finds it hard to cope with demand, and it would help if their was a seperate till area for the gift shop to the food.

Overall though we loved it and I will definitely be going back (asap if I get my way )

 

[TisBit]

I am glad you enjoyed your trip! I will be honest, I kept waiting for the "but" in your trip report. Seems most of them start out nice and end up saying how "we were too far away", "I stubbed my toe on the outside concrete steps, why aren't they carpeted" or some other complaint about it not living up to VWL/BCV/BWV/AKV or even the value resorts!

I am looking forward to our trip home Thanksgiving. We will be there for 10 days and thinking of doing a split stay....but on the fence about it. Do you think 9 nights was too much there?

 

[AnnaTink]

I am glad you enjoyed your trip! I will be honest, I kept waiting for the "but" in your trip report. Seems most of them start out nice and end up saying how "we were too far away", "I stubbed my toe on the outside concrete steps, why aren't they carpeted" or some other complaint about it not living up to VWL/BCV/BWV/AKV or even the value resorts!

I am looking forward to our trip home Thanksgiving. We will be there for 10 days and thinking of doing a split stay....but on the fence about it. Do you think 9 nights was too much there?

I can understand that But we honestly loved it!

I've stayed in all but the AKV and think they all have their good and bad sides We definitely were not too far away from anything, we actually thought SSR was pretty well located.......on the carpet front......it would have been nice but really it doesn't affect my stay whether the hallway has carpet or not....as long as the apartment has

As I said, we wanted our stay to be quiet and relaxing and staying at SSR it was just that, so in that respect no, 9 nights wasn't too much, it all depends whether you'd prefer to be in the 'heart' of the action for part of your stay or not. I thought I'd miss the BW (my personal fave) but I didn't at all, we went to Spoodles and spent some time there and it was enough, it was nice to go back to the peace at SSR. I don't know if that helps at all lol

 

[tomandrobin]

Do you think 9 nights was too much there?

Nope, sounds good to me. We are going to be at SSR for 9 nights at New Years!

We are looking forward to when we are able to take two weeks or three weeks at a time.

 

[tomandrobin]

Hi,

I have just returned from 9 nights at SSR with my parents, during the time we were there they celebrated both their birthdays and their wedding anniversary

It was their second time at SSR but my first, so just thought I'd give my not-so-important opinion

Overall I thought it was a lovely, peaceful resort. This was meant to be a quiet break and it was perfect for just that. We were in a 2 bedroom apt in Congress Park - 1811. The room was spotless - and I did check throughly . The quiet pool area was lovely with a fantastic view of Downtown Disney and as it was so lovely and warm we used it everyday!

The buses appeared to be quite frequent and we never waited longer than 20 minutes which was fine for us.

We thought the check in staff were excellent, very helpful, very friendly. My dad mentioned the reason for the trip and was promptly handed badges for both their birthdays and anniversary. Then when we returned to the room the night before my Mum's birthday (the first to be celebrated) we found balloons and cards for each of them waiting (my Mum got a signed photo from Cinderella, My Dad Mickey and Donald, and for their anniversary one from Mickey and Minnie). They thought it was a lovely touch and really appreciated the gesture.

Only, and minor-ish fault, and one which ha been mentioned on here before is that Artist Palette finds it hard to cope with demand, and it would help if their was a seperate till area for the gift shop to the food.

Overall though we loved it and I will definitely be going back (asap if I get my way )

I am so happy to read that you had a great time! Its those little extra things that make Disney above the rest.

The AP lines can be troublesome, even for a die hard SSR fan like me.

 

[TisBit]

I think the easier answer for me would be for you guys just to say, go ahead and split stay. I so want to try different places and these boards make me paranoid that we won't be able to, so think take advantage whenever we can...LOL

 

[Claire L]

Sounds like you had a great time We loved SSR when we were there for 14 nights in October last year. Our room was in the Grandstand area and the location was so peaceful and the pool excellent. Never used AP except for some milk but agree the combined gift shop and food area pay point was not too good.

Claire

 

[tomandrobin]

I think the easier answer for me would be for you guys just to say, go ahead and split stay. I so want to try different places and these boards make me paranoid that we won't be able to, so think take advantage whenever we can...LOL

If you are able to move at the 7 month mark, by all means go for it! It is one of the benifits of ownership. On the plus side, DVC makes it real easy to change resorts.

We are of the mind set that once we unpack, we don't repack until its time to go home. You can put this in the same catagory as drive or use the Disney transportation.

 

[TisBit]

If you are able to move at the 7 month mark, by all means go for it! It is one of the benifits of ownership. On the plus side, DVC makes it real easy to change resorts.

We are of the mind set that once we unpack, we don't repack until its time to go home. You can put this in the same catagory as drive or use the Disney transportation.

Thanks...thats what I wanted to hear!

My current plan is to call at the 7 month mark (not day by day) and see what is available...if there is something for the first or last part of the trip we will go for it, otherwise we will stay put and be happy!

 

[tinkerbella's mom]

Glad you loved it. We were there for 7 nights 9/8/07-9/15/07, we also loved it. Stayed in the Springs section which was perfect for us with DS-3 and DD-5. My husband loved that the buses were pretty frequent and empty so getting the double stroller and kids loaded was easy. We enjoyed our stay so much we came home and became DVC members. Our home is AKV ( chose it cause of the longer contract), and when we planned this yr's vacation where did DH want to go? Back to SSR - he likes the emptier buses- LOL.

PS. Kids won and we will be staying "Home AKV". Hope the buses aren't too crowded in Nov.

 

[AnnaTink]

I think the easier answer for me would be for you guys just to say, go ahead and split stay. I so want to try different places and these boards make me paranoid that we won't be able to, so think take advantage whenever we can...LOL

Lol - I'd say go for the split stay in that case definitely!!! I love to try new resorts and have done split stays before to do so - we've always been able to get what we wanted but then we're pretty 'go with the flow'! I'll be trying out AKV as soon as I can

 

[SandyCA]

We are looking forward to when we are able to take two weeks or three weeks at a time.

Now that sounds like ! Can't wait till DH and I can do that as well!

 

[LSchrow]

I am glad you enjoyed your trip! I will be honest, I kept waiting for the "but" in your trip report. Seems most of them start out nice and end up saying how "we were too far away", "I stubbed my toe on the outside concrete steps, why aren't they carpeted" or some other complaint about it not living up to VWL/BCV/BWV/AKV or even the value resorts!

too true
btw, we looooove the open, uncarpeted hallways at SSR: you can smell & feel the warm floridian air every step to your room, stopping along the way to gaze at the stunning, lush landscaping & beautiful architecture of the resort

I am looking forward to our trip home Thanksgiving. We will be there for 10 days and thinking of doing a split stay....but on the fence about it. Do you think 9 nights was too much there?

personally, we would probably stay at SSR, but we like to unpack everything (& hide the suitcases ) so it feels like home. also, i think it takes at least a full week to fully appreciate most of what there is to see and do at any DVC resort (we were at SSR for 6 days, & felt that we were able to see/do only about half of the resort & its "offerings").
that's actually one of our favorite things about owning DVC: you know there's always a "next time".
have a great trip!

 

[BroganMc]

Annatink,

I'm glad you had a good time. When we took my sis & BIL last oct for their anniversary, the resort surprised them with balloons and cards from Mickey & Minnie. What made it even nicer is that our neighbors across the hall saw the delivery and added their own present: a crayon-drawn Happy Anniversary sign held up with Princess band-aids. The family had a couple little girls who got into the magic.

Could just be me, but every time I visit SSR I encounter the nicest neighbors. I think it's the tranquil surroundings that puts everyone in a good mood.

I am looking forward to our trip home Thanksgiving. We will be there for 10 days and thinking of doing a split stay....but on the fence about it. Do you think 9 nights was too much there?

I've done 3, 5, 8 and 9 nights at SSR. This year I'll do 7-12 nights, depending on how my plans work out.

IMHO, the longer the better. I wish I could swing my entire 21-day April stay at SSR, but I simply don't have enough points. (We're doing two weeks offsite beforehand.)

However, we usually drive down, have APs and break up our park days with resort visits and pool days. We've been known to spend an entire morning just walking around SSR soaking up the atmosphere. It's so much fun to greet all those morning coffee runners and EMH park hoppers with a cheery smile.

We are hoping to split up our October 12-day trip with 3 days at another resort, just to try something different.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm glad you and your family had such a nice SSR vacation! I wish you many more!
Bobbi

 

[cathydisneynut]

We had a great two weeks there last January, only spoiled by two drunks hammering on our door at 11pm, and they'd gotten the wrong room! Security were great, came out and got them, and its not stopping us going back in October. That incident can happen anywhere, but very impressed with Disney's response.

 

[AnnaTink]

btw, we looooove the open, uncarpeted hallways at SSR: you can smell & feel the warm floridian air every step to your room, stopping along the way to gaze at the stunning, lush landscaping & beautiful architecture of the resort

I have to agree The first day we went down to the pool we turned a corner and were greeted by a stunning view of Fulton's Crab House from across the lake - it wouldn't have been possible if the hallways were enclosed. The whole resort is so beautiful and lush, it would have been a shame to have shut it out.

Annatink,

I'm glad you had a good time. When we took my sis & BIL last oct for their anniversary, the resort surprised them with balloons and cards from Mickey & Minnie. What made it even nicer is that our neighbors across the hall saw the delivery and added their own present: a crayon-drawn Happy Anniversary sign held up with Princess band-aids. The family had a couple little girls who got into the magic.

Could just be me, but every time I visit SSR I encounter the nicest neighbors. I think it's the tranquil surroundings that puts everyone in a good mood.

I thought it was such a nice touch - my parents thought I was responsible, it took me a while to convince them it was just good ole Disney magic

Tranqil is the perfect word for the resort, it was so peaceful and combined with that fabulous floridan sun you can't help but walk around with a smile on your face - I'm totally hooked

 

[3DisneyKids]

Sounds great! Glad the SSR CMs provided that extra magic!