Just got back from Disney SSR....BEAUTIFUL!!!!

[conciergekelly]

Back to the OP. Glad you had fun on your vacation. I am sure that you have many more great vacations. Take care!

 

[dancingmomca]

Just posted under another thread but to add to the positives we too just arrived home from a relaxing week long stay at SSR. Not a negative thing to say about it.
The grounds are beautiful and as the vegetation matures will be even more so. We were in Congress Park(by choice) and found it very quiet. The pool is cooler than the theme pool but again I like refreshing swims not bath water(could be that I come from that arctic nation of Canada..lol). At the end of the stay with the weather being in the mid 80's each day I would venture that the water temp was around 80.
All staff encountered were friendly and helpful.
Enjoyed the fitness centre with its state of the art equipment and the daily walks around the complex and DDT.
Buses were no issue to the parks. Food was great but we only sampled the fare at AP once as we tend not to eat at the same place twice on vacation as we enjoy trying out different venues.
Took a leisurely cruise on the ferry to OKW for supper.
Have booked a return trip in 2 months for a conference DH is attending. We were to stay at 5 star resort but think this will be much more relaxing and convenient for my daughter and I to get around and DH will enjoy being able to get away from the work aspect for a few hours each day.
For those of you booked there in the future I hope you enjoy your stay there as much as we did. I know with all the negative comments posted it can be a bit worrisome. Relax and enjoy.

 

[Linda/Ohio]

We were in Congress Park-one-bedroom-2225 for a few days last week. It was a lovely accomodation. I really like the layout and the amenities in the units. We had a rental car and several days used that to get to the parks. Other times we used the bus and once the ferry back from Downtown. I personally liked the quietness--I love Disney--but have a need to get away from the craziness--too much Mouse for me.

We also took a jaunt to Cocoa Beach area to take a gander at the ocean, lunch and checked our e-mail while in that area.

We had breakfast foods in the room and also snacks. Otherwise we ate out. We at at AP once--the last night--too tired to make a trek somewhere else. We also ate at Wolfgang Pucks (dining room), Marakeesh (Epcot) with music and belly dancers, Le Chefs de France....

I thought perhaps this issue might be similar to cruising--some people say that get an inside cabin-as you will only be there to shower and sleep. We prefer to get a larger cabin with a balcony--as we like to be in the cabin and relax in the peace and quiet. So resort choice is probably in the same arena--personal preference.

 

[Daitcher]

I sincerely apologize to the OP. I'm glad you enjoyed your first trip home. My attempt at humor had no place on this posts. Once again I apologize. Happy travels.


DAVE

 

[NMW]

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Thanks for posting!

 

[Glorydaz]

I sincerely apologize to the OP. I'm glad you enjoyed your first trip home. My attempt at humor had no place on this posts. Once again I apologize. Happy travels.


DAVE

Dave, with this post you have shown your true colors..a gentleman at heart. not everyone can apologize when they err.. and I thank-you for that.

your posts have merit and they, like many others, are written from the heart.. sometimes we just forget where we are.... Michelle

 

[Carneymom]

to the OP: I am glad you had a good time and I am looking forward to my first stay in Nov.
To the two nay-sayers: I for one am glad you don't like it there, now I don't have to worry about you being there at the same time as me and ruining my trip with your negativism. (aka sarcasm).
Everyone is entitiled to their opinion but you don't have to take every oportunity to express it.

 

[boatboatboat]

ummmmmmmmmm the OP had a great time there.

 

[disneygal55]

First of all let me say that "beauty" is definitely in the eye of the beholder. Everyone is entitled to their opinion about what they like in a resort. We bought SSR sight unseen last March and took our first trip there last November. We too read a lot of negative things about the resort and were glad to find some positive reports also. MY DH and I stayed offsite of WDW for our honeymoon but have been vacationing at least once yearly,for over twenty years, at various Disney resorts (Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, All Star, and Pop Century) so we are not novices. Let me say that SSR is beautiful but in our opininon lacks any WOW or pixie dust appeal. We could go just about anywhere and find the SSR style of resort. My 2 DS's were completely silent as we drove into the grounds. My DH also didn't comment...As a family we did not care for it. Disney really needs to add something to make us go "WOW, this is so great"! I know that some DVC'ers really like this place and that's great but a lot of us feel that something needs to be done to make the place extaordinary...after all we paid quite a bit for "our home away from home" and deserve the best. We definitely plan on buying more points but unless they can make SSR more appealing to us...we will try another resort. For those of you who have not stayed at SSR please try it. It may be just what you are looking for. I know how upset I was to hear all of the negative reviews...it really is beautiful but not what we were expecting.

 

[bradpga]

OP here...........
Wow what a thread!!! As I stated, my family had a wonderful time at Walt Disney World and enjoyed our stay at SSR. Thanks for the positive and kind words from most of you. For those SSR haters- Get a life! Do you not have anything better to do with your time? I look forward to visiting each and every DVC resort as I am sure each will offer a unique experience. Although I intend to stay at them all, I am proud to call SSR my home. Visiting other resorts is a privilege all DVC owner should take advantage of. If you haven't stayed at SSR please be my gueat as I am sure you will love it. Yes it is a beautiful and peaceful resort. Yes it is a 4 iron away from down town disney, pleasure island, and great golf. I really enjoyed taking a 5 minute walk down the beutifully ladscaped trail to DTD and ending my day with an adult beverage or taking the kids for icecream.

NO----this resort is not blanketed with obnoxious mickey/ minnie paraphanalea so if you want the feel of "magic kingdom" or "pop century" this is definately not for you!!!! Personally, I get enough of that at the parks so please keep the pixie dust out of SSR!!!

Anyway, I look forward to many Disney trips in the future and I am excited about visiting ALL the DVC resorts. Oh and to the Boardwalk loving/ SSR hater, I'll be enjoying your precious BWV 12 years after your privileges are up! Happy trails...............

 

[boatboatboat]

can I be on your team the next time you are in a golf scramble?

you must swing a heck of a 4 iron.

 

[bradpga]

OK- I was waiting on someone to catch that. You are right, a 4 iron would come up a little short, more like a Driver. I am a golf pro thus the name "bradpga" and I think I could hit it to Fulton's boat with a Sunday punch!

 

[MyGoofy26]

Thanks for the review "bradpga" - I'm in the researching stage right now and SSR looks more and more appealing. It looks just beautiful already, I can't imagine once it's finished.. It's a little frustrating hearing the same things over and over - someone thinks up a quip and won't let it die, using it in every thread and forgetting that the reasons they choose resorts aren't the same reasons everyone chooses resorts. We rarely eat at our resort (opting to try new places all over property), we usually end up at Downtown Disney a couple/few times each trip, we don't eat by the pool, we don't order room service, we enjoy being in places that are spread out since it's calmer and quieter and you can actually relax, we don't go commando for the parks anymore so proximity means little to us since we only go maybe half the days of our trips.

It seems that people who hate SSR for various reasons think, or at least post as if those reasons apply to everybody. It's one thing for someone's opinion to be negative, but please don't try to project that onto everyone.

 

[NYBlue1]

I am a happy owner at SSR , I think its a beautiful property and enjoy the fact that is not so close to the action SOMETIMES. Other times I want to be close to the parks and in the preverbial "thick of things". Thats why its cool that you have a resort like SSR in my opinion, its a Totally diffrent vaction experience that the properties that are closer to the parks. I will not say ON SITE cause thats just not true, reguardless of what you mean , on site is on site, that means in Disney world property not next to a theame park.

I have been traveling to Disney since the 70s with my family and have lost count how many times I have been there on vacation, now that I have my own family I was thrilled to be fortunate enough to be able to afford my share of the magic. That being said I chose to be a SSR owner. Its a little more removed from the hustle and bustle, its right next to downtown and offers more food choices than the other resorts just a 5 minute walk away.Whats to hate about that? In my book, not a thing.

I have been theme parked to death over the years and find that I can burn through all of them in a 7 day stay in 3 to 4 days and be satisfied enough that I have seen everything I need to see. I than enjoy a SSR atmosphere to spend the rest of my vacation. Thant being said let me switch gears.

I completly understand and agree with the points that the disgruntled posters are making. If Im to pay top dollar for my DVC membership why should my home resort not be up to par with the others? As great as I think SSR is, when looking at some of the convience and amenitites the other resorts do have, its not a fair comparision if you are truly putting the properties through the microscope. Because I have enjoyed the world for almost 30 years does not mean that the rest of the owners have and they may want to be in the thick of the action, with all the rooms that SSR offers this will impact those owners. Thats not fair, IMO.

As other posters have stated, make a pool of all pools, some special theamed Disney something that makes SSR stand out, so people feel they are getting a deluxe resort even though they are not on top of the parks. (even though they are still on property/on site )

As much as I love SSR and its concept and pools and spa and grounds ,close proximity to DTD and PI, I totally understand where people are comming from when they say it falls short of the others. As other posters have said , wanting the most for our money is not a bad thing.

That being said, I do love SSR and I am totally happy there, for the reasons I have stated, that does not make me any less of a person, or knowlegable consumer, its just what I like. I do expect most however would enjoy the 100 mile and hour pace of a resort thats close to the parks, has poolside service, ect ect. Just dont tell me im less of an anything cause I like the resort I like. I dont feel that the posters being given a hard time in this thread are doing that, they just want quality to be equal to all when it comes to the extra special stuff.

 

[boatboatboat]

Nice post NYBlue1.

I hope DVC hears you, and makes SSR a better resort, like you have asked them to.

 

[Splash Mountain Fan]

Just back from 5 nights at SSR. We also absolutely loved the resort. We visted all five WDW DVC resorts and liked them all but we are completely happy with SSR being our home resort. We also love DTD (especially at night) so SSR works well for us. Unlike many, we like the layout of the resort. When we visted VWL we thought alot of the areas seemed much more congested. We do like Boadwalk and Beach Club too, but SSR is definately our pick to be "welcomed home". We can't wait to close on our resale!!!

 

[disneygal55]

SSR is after all in WDW. Obnoxious Mickie/Minnie paraphernalia?? If Walt were still alive...

 

[soozer52]

Just got back from 4 days SSR and 2 days at VB--absolutely loved, loved, loved them. We are SSR owners and have stayed there twice now. Whats the complaint? Clean, attractive, well landscaped, friendly service, busses on time, fitness club, spa...I've stayed at the Fairmont, the Wyndham, Hyatt and Hilton in various cities at various times in the last 40 years. I am a seasoned traveller and travel consumer. These are both great places!

OT--glad you had a good time. I'm sure you will have many, many more. I know we will!

PS-The "humor" went over my head too.I just thought "How silly!"