Old Key West or Saratoga ?

[princessjodiebo]

So we have been batting various ideas about and was thinking that saratoga or old key west would be great for us - upgraded dining plus kitchen to grab breakfast in before hitting the parks


I really can't see much difference between them just wondered if anyone had been there and could offer any advice ???

 

[jamez2014]

Havnt been to either but was in the same position and went with Saratoga, two reasons 1) close (and I mean really close) to downtown disney and 2) has a sofa rather than two beds, as couple this made more sense. Hope that helps

 

[pickers1982]

For me position is the first thing to consider

 

[Elise79]

If you are a couple i would pick SSR as the studio has a bed plus sofa giving you a sitting area.

Family i would choose OKW as it has 2 beds in the studio.

If you havent got a car SSR is easier to get round on foot and has better QS food options.

 

[Clare D]

We are a family of 4 and have stayed at both resorts.

At OKW in 2012 we were lucky enough to get a free upgrade to a 1 bed and it was huge. The resort was big but had a real laid back feel to it. The downside was the fact that there was no counter service area so we used to get in the car and nip to the Riverside instead.

At SSR we had a deluxe studio last year which was fine for us as the kids were 5 and 10. It has a decent sized food court, the kids love the main pool and the paddock pool which also has a slide and you can walk to DTD even though you can't use the path as it is closed due to the work at DTD.

Both have free laundry facilities in the pool houses and you can park outside your accommodation rather than in a main car park.

If it helps we are returning to SSR again this year and have booked a studio again. I can't justify £700 extra for a 1 bed when we don't spend much time in the room and I'd rather have the extra as spending money

 

[dixonsontour]

Will be staying at okw for 3rd time.

Reasons - okw studios are bigger, 2 beds suits us better, theming - ssr doesn't appeal

Don't think you can go wrong with either

 

[phi2012]

We stayed at okw in June 2013. Really liked it, but we were in a one bed. This time round we are gonna book ssr as it is closer to dtd, and we'll only be staying in a studio this time, although the rooms are bigger at okw we decided having the sofa bed option means we can chill in the arvo without having to sit on a bed and just pull out the sofa bed at night for the kids. I think either are good options and we would happily stay at either.

 

[jon18uk]

We had a one bed room at SSR and it was OK, walking to DTD was a major plus. But theming was nothing special, resort was huge and felt like a ghost town. We got a building midway between main building and the walkway to DTD marketplace, next to quiet pool and was good location. Wouldn't have been happy with some of the buildings that are a long way from main building.

Stayed there for same reason as you, was cheaper to go for SSR or OKW than to pay the dining upgrade at a moderate.

If the price was the same including the regular dining plan, I would stay at Port Orleans as the atmosphere at the resort is much better.

 

[MarkF0wle]

We've stayed at both, 1 each on our last 2 trips across. That said we're a party of 4 & we get a 2BR Villa so can't speak for exact accommodation.

OKW has bigger rooms, the 2BR was huge in comparison to the SSR 2BR. I think that is the same all the way through though as OKW has big rooms in comparison to SSR.

OKW doesn't have very good food options. The QS is limited & has no indoor seating. We have a picky eater & for breakfast it served nothing she would eat. 2 of the 4 also had only 1 item they would eat during the day. The QS at SSR has many more options & plenty of indoor seating. I think the TS at both places is pretty "meh". Maybe slightly favouring Olivia's, but there are much better choices out there.

I think the theming at OKW is better, but the layout of the resort can be problematic. If you're stuck at the bottom of the resort you're probably talking a 15 minute walk into the main building. If you don't have kids & are happy with quiet pools it's not a major issue unless you want to use your refillable mugs (if you get them). Whilst we were right next to Turtle Pond with a refill station, it was only open something like 11-5, basically when we were at the park. Main building was too far to walk, our mugs were basically redundant at OKW. SSR is more compact, so getting to the main building is only a 5 minute walk. We were in Grandstand next to a pool bar & although it was hardly open the drinks station was separate & open pretty much all day & night. Used the mugs a lot here.

I measured the distances in relation to another thread, the building furthest from the main building at OKW is twice the distance than the further building at SSR from it's main building.

Transport was basically the same. SSR is walkable to DTD but I wouldn't walk it, I'd get the boat which you could also get from OKW. Buses to parks were basically similar.

Overall, I prefered OKW for it's theming & the room size. But SSR wins hands down for convenience & amenities. We're heading back next year & we chose to stay at SSR over OKW, which is probably my strongest endorsement.

In reality though, they are both awesome. There isn't a wrong decision.

 

[wayneg]

As others have said you can't go wrong.

Personally stayed at OKW 4 times and would again. No interest in SSR but OKW stays have been so good I wouldn't want to risk trying SSR.

 

[MrRomance]

Going for my 4th stay at SSR in October and absolutely love it. On balance, I think it wins out over OKW but to be honest, it's fairly marginal. The thing that tips the balance for me is that SSR has the walkway to DTD and has a better food court, but that is all that really separates the two. OKW has slightly bigger rooms, but if you don't spend an abundance of time in your room, that is a moot point.

 

[higgy66]

Having stayed at both as a family of 4 we preferred OKW

I was worried about the comments regarding the poor CS options before we went to OKW but we always have cereal/bagels in our rooms on a morning before heading out so the only time we used it was for a late CS when we had evenings relaxing by the main pool and I have to say I loved their burgers!!!!

The main reason I wouldn't choose SSR over OKW is the sofa bed as this was very uncomfortable - we all tried it and the kids ended up with the main bed and after 2 weeks I was ready for home and my own bed!! There's 2 full beds at OKW and we much preferred that option

 

[princessjodiebo]

There will be 4 of us including 17 year old daughter and 13 year old son - they would rather share with each other and just put pillows between them as in my daughters words she would get more room sharing with her own dwarf brother than me ( he is tiny to be fair )

I think we would only be grabbing maybe 1 or 2 CS options at the resort so thats not really an issue but i think the idea of 2 beds rather than a sofa is the crucial thing

2 weeks til we can book so still have time to change my mind umpteen times

We went to pofq 3 years ago adn have tried many times to go back but finally i know we can definitely go next year for a quick visit then back again 23 years after that for my daughters 21st my 40th and my sons 16th

That will be a mammoth trip though so will be living on here

 

[BudgieMama]

If you are a couple i would pick SSR as the studio has a bed plus sofa giving you a sitting area.

Family i would choose OKW as it has 2 beds in the studio.

If you havent got a car SSR is easier to get round on foot and has better QS food options.

This was key for us. We're a married couple, we only need one bed, so SSR was a better choice as it has just one bed and a sofa. We'll use those, but not two beds, so OKW was out for us.

 

[Lauren101]

We've stayed in both and had the 2 bed villa in both. We prefer OKW as it was bigger and just like the feel of the place better.

Having said that SSR was better for the CS food court and we were much nearer the pool and central area - so liked that too.

You can't really go wrong - both lovely.

Lauren

 

[Wedgeh]

Old Key West has grown on me, I've walked around, but never stayed at SSR and it's not my favourite so for me it would be OKW. That said I suspect whichever you choose you'll be delighted, you'll be at Disney after all

 

[princessjodiebo]

I think i am going to have to stop showing the dis to hubby and asking for his input

He has now suggested AoA or an all stars and we just pay as you go for food as we are only there for a short period of time and do we want a lot of TS meals as it may cut into our time too much plus to make it worth while i always choose expensive restaurants and then forget about the tip ( too many cocktails normally )

I seriously am thinking of password protecting my laptop now

He's even sorting out spreadsheets to work out whats best - I may put him on the naughty step if it continues