long-time disney, first-time saratoga...

[smw]

so the plans are made and we're going in may. im 32 now and have been every few years since i was a little one. not the coolest thing to say, but its far and away the best, most amazing place in the world.

so here's the question...

we've typically stayed at the big 3: grand floridian, contemporary, or polynesian. i love the hotels themselves, and you cant beat having the monorail at your door. so how hard is it to get around from saratoga springs? ive seen some complaints about it being an issue.

looking at the maps, i would assume its a quick, easy trip to epcot and dhs, but magic kingdom could be a hike. it says to take the bus, but would it not be faster to go to epcot or the ticket center and then the monorail?

also, saratoga doesnt look very "disney" from the photos ive seen. is this the case? little bummed by this, if im honest. i love being surrounded by it at the "big 3" hotels.

 

[vicki_c]

It is much better to take the bus directly from SSR to the parks, then getting into any kind of transferring at TTC thing. That would take much longer.

Saratoga is really pretty, very relaxing, but doesn't have an "in your face" Disney theme. It is actually very well-themed for what it is supposed to be, a replica of Saratoga Springs, NY.

 

[Sammie]

What is a Disney look. I don't find any of the monorail hotels very Disney themed. Only All Star movies to me has a Disney theme.

If you mean that it feels more Disney to you, because you can see the castle, then that you won't get and based on the location of SSR I would not expect too.

There are Disney touches all through SSR. Hidden Mickeys in the rooms, Disney horses in the lobby area. etc.

It is a beautiful condo set up resort. We find the transportation to be very acceptable. SSR is not that far from MK as they go past Port Orleans and in past Fort Wilderness. I would never drive to MK.

 

[smw]

What is a Disney look. .

ok, maybe not so much a "look."

i guess its really just my intimate familiarity with the main 3, really. i "know" them to have such disney essence in them and completely associate them with disney... whereas seeing the saratoga pics its like im looking at some totally random, unaffiliated hotel.

guess the only thing to do is give it a shot. cant always be in my comfort zone.

 

[Sammie]

ok, maybe not so much a "look."

i guess its really just my intimate familiarity with the main 3, really. i "know" them to have such disney essence in them and completely associate them with disney... whereas seeing the saratoga pics its like im looking at some totally random, unaffiliated hotel.

guess the only thing to do is give it a shot. cant always be in my comfort zone.

Honestly and no offense at all, I think the "Disney" thing is more mental than actual. We feel like we are in the middle of Disney at any Disney resort regardless of theming, location or cost.

Because honestly if you removed the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian and the Contemporary from their location they could be some totally random unaffiliated hotel.

And actually I don't think any of the big 3 have Donald at their pool.

 

[smw]

Valid point. Probably mostly me building the association over the years.

 

[Sammie]

Valid point. Probably mostly me building the association over the years.

Understandable. SSR is a great resort, very different from the big 3, but a beautiful relaxing, elegant place in its own right. Lots of Disney touches and some of the best staff at Disney.

Hope you have a wonderful stay and Turf Club restaurant is a very good choice.

 

[summerrluvv]

We stayed at SSR last January. I found the transportation to be the worst part. It felt like it took forever for a bus to get there, then they had to stop at the other bus stops within the resort. The resort itself is nice though. Wasn't a big fan of the food choices. Not sure if you have kids, but we stayed in a 1 bedroom and not little kid friendly at all. There is no door that blocks the tub off from the bedroom and the faucets are at a child's reach.

 

[christine*]

I agree with the above poster. We stayed at SSR last March. SSR transportation left me wishing I rented a car. It felt like it took forever to get anywhere. The resort is very spread out. I can't remember which building I stayed at but it was inconvienent going to the main hall to just get a snack or even refill a mug.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Its funny how experiences differ! We have stayed at SSR around six times and always had great transportation. I love the way it does not share busses and the route through the resort is very quick. Far quicker than the shared route many other resorts have.

As for proximity to the parks, we didn't find it far to anything. To MK, it takes the short cut past the Port Orleans resorts and then past Ft. Wilderness. I have to say that is one of the loveliest drives, you feel like you are out in the country and we always see a a lot of deer on our way to MK. We really love this whole area of WDW, our favorite resorts are SSR, OKW and POR. I enjoy being close to DTD but also enjoy the fact you have the river with the boats. If you average the distances to all the areas of WDW, there really is no resort that does that much better than any other. All WDW resorts, including SSR and the Big 3, are close to some areas, not as close to others. WDW is a huge place so no one resort can be close to all that WDW has to offer.

One wonderful aspect of SSR as far as transporation is that if you are dining at other resorts, its got very quick and easy access to DTD and all its resort bus stops. Our last stay there was in the Congress Park section and even though we were in the building that was the furthest from DTD, we were still able to walk over to the DTD bus stop in less than ten minutes. We dined all over the "World" that trip because we had such easy access from our resort.

SSR also has great pools and in fact a second "main" pool will be completed in late June. The quiet pool in the Congress Park section has incredible views of DTD and at night, its really beautiful.

To me its great, we actually preferred it over Boardwalk or the Poly but everyone is different.

Be sure and eat at Turf Club, its one of the best kept secrets for table service in WDW. Although its not that best kept anymore, I see so many people respond to how much they enjoy it. I love the outdoor patio esp for dinner.

As far as Artist Palette, the quick serve I find it has better selection than most deluxe resorts but of course nothing on par with a value or mod food court. But we never lacked for variety and I did enjoy having indoor and outdoor seating at AP.