Please tell me SSR is not all that bad...

[IHeartTink04]

We had some points in holding due to an issue with vacation at my husband's work and just now got into our 60 day window and the only resort available for our whole stay is SSR.

We are new DVC owners and we are used to staying at the monorail resorts so SSR is a huge difference to us. My main concern is the transportation. We have two little ones, a 3 year old and a 2 year old and the bus is freaking me out!

Please tell me it will be okay!

 

[hakepb]

It won't be as easy as a monorail to MK, but it won't be as bad as a bus from BWV to MK, either.

SSR and OKW take the "back way" to MK and avoid the main parking tollbooth vs BWV that then stops at Swan then Dolphin before back-tracking onto World drive (with the tollbooth). Overall I think my SSR bus experience has been better than what I experienced at values and a moderate. plus SSR usually gets a fairly close bus stop to the park entrance..


You'll be fine if you plan to take advantage of SSR, such as the great kids pool at Paddock, or the splash area at Grandstand.
Take a boat to DTD...

 

[chalee94]

if you have a car, you should be able to park right outside your building so it's easy to drive to the parks and you get free parking at the wdw parks.

i have stayed at SSR and didn't have a problem with the buses...you might need to be patient, though. sure.

if you are on the congress park side of SSR, you can go to the DTD bus hub if you need to get a bus to a specific resort for a dining reservation or something.

but SSR is a nice resort and i've heard the pools are great. it's primarily a resort-of-last-resort because it's the largest DVC resort (in addition to the location being fairly central but not right next to a park).

 

[kim532]

Last trip I stayed there with the same thought. Oh no..stuck at SSR. I loved it! I can't wait to stay again. When it comes time to add on points, I will have to seriously consider a SSR resale.

I loved the main pool. Loved the quiet pool closer to our room.

The busses weren't bad.

Loved that there was no never-ending hallway to walk down. Once at VWL we got the dreaded dumpster view and I hated walking that hallway all the way down to the end to have a view of the dumpster.

Kim

 

[Sammie]

This is one of our favorite resorts. The pools are some of Disney's best. We never had problem with the buses.

And if you are going to all 4 parks, its more centrally located to all parks than any other resort, as is OKW. Do you only go to the Magic Kingdom when you stay at a monorail resort?

I will take a bus that is reliable over the monorail that seems to break down way too often recently. Being stuck on that thing is no fun.

 

[DannysMom]

With little ones, check out the Paddock area. We stayed at SSR when my twins were 3 and they LOVED the kiddie splash area at the Paddock Pool. There are nice pics up on AllEars. The buses aren't that bad. Yeah, it isn't the monorail, but relax you are on vacation.

ETA, check out the SSR Owners & Lovers thread!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards App, please excuse any typos or autocorrects!

 

[tkbk]

We owned at BWV and when we did an add on we choose SSR after our first SSR stay. It is extremely convenient if you like to experience other resorts as dining locations. we always request congress park and then we are right near the path to downtown disney which empties out right at the bus stop. So it's like being able to take resort to resort buses instead of having to transfer buses at the parks to get to a different resorts.

 

[tjkraz]

If you've stayed at the monorail resorts, then you're certainly familiar with riding buses to Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney...possibly the waterparks too. And you're familiar with the not-so-brief journey to Epcot which involves two separate monorail rides and a train switch at the TTC.

Might take a few minutes longer to reach the Magic Kingdom but it's not going to dramatically alter your vacation.

Tens-of-thousands of guests rely on Disney buses for their transportation needs every day.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Your little ones will love the multiple pools at SSR. Paddock has a fun play area. Grandstand and Springs have fun splash areas. Only Congress Park doesn't have much of a play area for kids. It's a standard non-themed pool.

 

[bc133]

We've stayed at SSR twice and love it! We'll be staying there again in February 2015. As many pp have stated, the kiddie splash area is amazing, location to DTD can't be beat, and you don't have to share a bus with other resorts-major plus! We love SSR! Enjoy your trip!!

 

[Shannon12]

What nobody has mentioned is this...my 2 and 3 year old LOVED riding the buses! It was never a problem in our 2 trips with them so far...AKV & BWV.

 

[IHeartTink04]

Thanks for all the of the replies. I feel a little better.


We spend a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom and that is why I was a little worried since we usually have such easy access. But we will be in Walt Disney World, how can you complain?!

Where should we request our room?

 

[darkwing818]

This is one of our favorite resorts. The pools are some of Disney's best. We never had problem with the buses.

And if you are going to all 4 parks, its more centrally located to all parks than any other resort, as is OKW. Do you only go to the Magic Kingdom when you stay at a monorail resort?

I will take a bus that is reliable over the monorail that seems to break down way too often recently. Being stuck on that thing is no fun.

Agree 100% Love the Paddock section.

 

[jennylyn_b]

We had some points in holding due to an issue with vacation at my husband's work and just now got into our 60 day window and the only resort available for our whole stay is SSR.

We are new DVC owners and we are used to staying at the monorail resorts so SSR is a huge difference to us. My main concern is the transportation. We have two little ones, a 3 year old and a 2 year old and the bus is freaking me out!

Please tell me it will be okay!

SSR is our favorite! We have a Dd that was 2.5 on our last trip in May (we take her every six months since her first bday). The buses are always good for us plus there is the boat to DTD. We've never had an issue.

It's our home and we have three contracts and will be getting more. We love it at SSR. It's beautiful and peaceful. The pools are nice and the artists palette is decent cs with some nice offerings. Turf club is great too!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

We have two little ones, a 3 year old and a 2 year old and the bus is freaking me out! !

Why, what are your concerns, getting on and off, making sure there's seating? My son and millions of other children have been negotiating the buses for eons now without incident, I think you'll be fine!

As far as SSR, it gets a bad wrap, it's a lovely resort! I'm a Congress Park , DTD view lover but with the new Paddock pool, with young kids, that's what I would choose!

 

[IHeartTink04]

Why, what are your concerns, getting on and off, making sure there's seating? My son and millions of other children have been negotiating the buses for eons now without incident, I think you'll be fine!

As far as SSR, it gets a bad wrap, it's a lovely resort! I'm a Congress Park , DTD view lover but with the new Paddock pool, with young kids, that's what I would choose!

My concerns are multiple bus stops at one resort and waiting a long time for buses. Not really getting on and off. Plus the distance to the parks from the resort.

 

[tjkraz]

My concerns are multiple bus stops at one resort and waiting a long time for buses. Not really getting on and off. Plus the distance to the parks from the resort.

How close are monorail resorts to Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom or Downtown Disney?

Also, buses to all monorail resorts are shared with at least one other destination. It doesn't take any longer for a bus to make the loop through Saratoga Springs than it does for the Contemporary bus to drive over to Ft. Wilderness or Poly to pick-up additional guests.

As for wait times, the same dispatchers are sending buses to all resorts. There's no reason to expect buses to appear with greater frequency at one resort over another.

That said, people have good experiences and poor experiences at resorts all the time. Given the lack of schedules, you never know whether you just missed a bus. But honestly, you are worrying needlessly if you think buses are going to have an overwhelmingly negative impact on your trip.

 

[jennylyn_b]

My concerns are multiple bus stops at one resort and waiting a long time for buses. Not really getting on and off. Plus the distance to the parks from the resort.

Request grandstand section then. It's the first on and first off. It's really not a big deal with the other stops in the resort. We do it all the time with our dd. Also, she loves riding the bus as do many kids and its fun for them. Almost like a ride!

 

[spruce]

We've stayed there a few times for short notice, short stays as the only option. Maybe we haven't given it a fair chance but ssr is our last choice for a dvc stay. For that style resort, we like Okw much better because of it's theme. Ssr is a jump to the parks stay instead of a resort stay. For that it has worked well since reservations are easier.

 

[ocean702]

At ssr now. Utilizing congress park bus stop and while the ride back is longer cause u stop at three other bus stops first its still an easy ride to all the parks. I can see the busses pulling into congress parks stop from our balcony and they are pretty constant. We haven't waited more than 10min for a bus this trip. And the bus has only been packed twice- after illuminations at Epcot and at park closing after emh t magic kingdom. Every other ride we've been on by ourselves or with a handful of people. This is our first dvc stay and we are enjoying this resort- esp the proximity to dtd.