I was at SSR on opening day and prior for Member Homecoming and JL announced that Carousel and Grandstand would be built during the event due to the sales volume at SSR.
That I agree with. Disney announced they would build The Carousel and The Grandstand in May 2004 when the resort opened.
And yes all the materials for SSR indicated both Carousel and Grandstand on the maps. They were listed as future development, not part of the original offering but still fully indicated on all materials and maps.
There I have to disagree. Below is a scan of the original marketing materials we received for SSR in the fall of 2003. Congress Park is listed. Paddock and Springs are "proposed construction."
I also have to correct a comment I made earlier. I said that my POS made mention of the other land being part of SSR. I went back and looked at the POS and that statement was incorrect. The original POS made
no mention of the land which is home to The Carousel, The Grandstand or the Treehouse Villas. That information was amended to the POS in a later draft--probably sometime after the May '04 announcement.
When I attended and stayed at SSR for Member Homecoming/Grand Opening, most of the Springs was completed. They were putting in furnishings in buildings closest to the main area. So Springs and Paddock were pretty much a done deal and Carousel and Paddocks were already listed as the next phases.
Again you're off on your timing.
On May 17, 2004 one building opened in Congress Park. The other three buildings in CP opened June, July and August of '04. If you saw furniture being moved into any rooms, those rooms were in Congress Park.
The buildings in The Springs and The Paddock did not begin to open until March 2005. Our first stay at SSR was December '04 and I have video of my son--them age 3--watching all of the construction trucks working on Springs and Paddock. They were definitely under construction throughout 2004, and many well into 2005.
Springs and Paddock opened, one building per month, from March to October 2005.
Carousel and Grandstand opened on an irregular schedule from October 2006 to July 2007.
The Turf Club Bar & Grill opened in July 2006.
Im sorry but paying for Private Dining including the gratuity and fees poolside is not "food available" nor does it address the ability to use counter service credits poolside or at Kidani proper. If I want Private Dining, then I want to eat in ummm PRIVATE! Using 2 TS credits for a snack at the pool is hardly membership friendly. A pool that is not a villa porch away but off to the side across a lobby and a parking lot. Room service delivery to the pool is not what I would call "food available" for the average member family.
Sounds like a more reasonable alternative is getting Disney to ditch this "private dining" thing and be more flexible with the dining credits....
And I dont think it was an "oversight" but a poor decision yet again by DVC management despite the history. They are waiting for "Member Response" just like they did at SSR and those that don't express their dissatisfaction are doing themselves and their home a huge disservice.
You're welcome to give me a big, fat "I told you so" if Disney does open another restaurant. But I still think it's fighting an uphill battle to get two restaurants in a 320-unit resort. Particularly with there being three more restaurants a short (albeit sometimes inconvenient) distance away.