POFQ vs SSR

[prm1968]

Hello! Starting to plan our trip for October 29-November 4, 2023. It will be myself and my daughter and son-in-law. Considering either 2 rooms at POFQ or renting DVC for a 2 bedroom at SSR. What are your thoughts? I like that SSR is within walking distance to Disney Springs as the food options are not much. I like the size of POFQ and the food options. The price is about the same. Decisions, decisions Thank you for your input.

 

[kanerf]

Keep in mind that at SSR you will have a full kitchen as well.

 

[Tiggerish]

POFQ has the boat to Disney Springs and it only has one bus stop. It is a smaller resort so no room is far away from the amenities or bus stop.

SSR has multiple bus stops so depending on where you are you can spend more time circling before actually leaving for a park or getting home. While SSR does have a walking path to Disney Springs and a quick service food area, depending on where you are in the resort, it can be a long walk. However, the living room area for socializing and the kitchen with a full sized refrigerator, toaster, coffee pot, dishwasher is very nice even if you don't cook full meals, just for breakfasts, snacks and drinks. Also it will have a washer/dryer in the room to use for free.

Both are excellent choices so I understand why it is hard to choose.

 

[han22735]

SSR for sure. The full kitchen, laundry and living room to hang out in would be great. 2 feature pools and being able to walk to DS was a great perk.

 

[Miffy]

For me, I'd choose the two rooms at POFQ for a number of reasons, but the main one is that renting DVC points is a risky proposition. I mean no offense to DVC owners here who rent their points.

What I mean is that if you rent points, you are basically stuck with the reservation. You'd have to reserve months in advance and if your plans changed--or your daughter's or son-in-law's plans changed--it's unlikely you'd be able to change the reservation. And more unlikely still that you'd be able to get a refund.

When you reserve a room through the WDW reservation system, you can modify or cancel your reservation if needed. Not a problem.

I've stayed at both resorts and I like them both, however, I prefer POFQ. They have a much better variety of food at their QS, there's usually only one bus stop, although late in the morning once on my last trip there, they also picked up at POR, but only after picking up at POFQ, and I love the boat to DS.

SSR has multiple bus stops and it can seem endless when going to MK, for example. This wouldn't be an issue if you're driving, but maybe you won't have a car.

Both resorts have beautiful grounds and a lot of walking paths . . . assuming you still want to walk after putting in 10 miles in the parks!

One other vote for POFQ: If your daughter and SIL decide not to go on this trip and you still want to go, you could just cancel one room and keep the room you booked for yourself. But if you have SSR booked, you are stuck with the 2-bedroom and in fact stuck with the entire reservation.

 

[prm1968]

Thank you all for your input. I don't think we can go wrong with either. I do like the point that booking POFQ will allow flexibility. Thanks again!

 

[Ronaldo17]

Thank you all for your input. I don't think we can go wrong with either. I do like the point that booking POFQ will allow flexibility. Thanks again!

Have a great trip wherever you decide

 

[Hitchhiking Ghost]

For me, I'd choose the two rooms at POFQ for a number of reasons, but the main one is that renting DVC points is a risky proposition. I mean no offense to DVC owners here who rent their points.

What I mean is that if you rent points, you are basically stuck with the reservation. You'd have to reserve months in advance and if your plans changed--or your daughter's or son-in-law's plans changed--it's unlikely you'd be able to change the reservation. And more unlikely still that you'd be able to get a refund.

When you reserve a room through the WDW reservation system, you can modify or cancel your reservation if needed. Not a problem.

I've stayed at both resorts and I like them both, however, I prefer POFQ. They have a much better variety of food at their QS, there's usually only one bus stop, although late in the morning once on my last trip there, they also picked up at POR, but only after picking up at POFQ, and I love the boat to DS.

SSR has multiple bus stops and it can seem endless when going to MK, for example. This wouldn't be an issue if you're driving, but maybe you won't have a car.

Both resorts have beautiful grounds and a lot of walking paths . . . assuming you still want to walk after putting in 10 miles in the parks!

One other vote for POFQ: If your daughter and SIL decide not to go on this trip and you still want to go, you could just cancel one room and keep the room you booked for yourself. But if you have SSR booked, you are stuck with the 2-bedroom and in fact stuck with the entire reservation.

There is definitely a risk when renting points directly from a DVC owner. There has to be a lot of trust, and it is the buyer at risk not the seller, so I agree with that. But, if renting points thru a company that acts as intermediary, the risk is minimized quite a bit. I think now the bigger ones even give options if you have to cancel. You are correct, it was very difficult getting any kind of refund if you had to cancel, but I've been reading in other forums where changes have been made.
With regards to cars. if you do have a car, you have to pay a resort fee at POFQ to park it, whereas you wouldn't at SSR.

 

[Miffy]

There is definitely a risk when renting points directly from a DVC owner. There has to be a lot of trust, and it is the buyer at risk not the seller, so I agree with that. But, if renting points thru a company that acts as intermediary, the risk is minimized quite a bit. I think now the bigger ones even give options if you have to cancel. You are correct, it was very difficult getting any kind of refund if you had to cancel, but I've been reading in other forums where changes have been made.
With regards to cars. if you do have a car, you have to pay a resort fee at POFQ to park it, whereas you wouldn't at SSR.

There are of course many trustworthy DVC owners renting out their points. I wasn't really referring to that. I was referring to the difficulties and/or impossibilities of making changes and/or canceling a reservation. AFAIK, even going through a service, you can't outright cancel but can only, in some instances, get a "refund" that the company hangs on to for a future reservation.

I just looked at one of the DVC rental sites. I don't know if one is allowed to name them, so I won't. But this particular site, one of the popular ones, states its policy is "cancellations, upgrades, and date modifications are not permitted."

The other main DVC rental site that I'm aware of does allow for cancellations, however, the money is not refunded to you but can be used only for a future rental with them and the closer to your check-in date you cancel, the less you get refunded. Unless you would cancel 120 days or more before the reservation, you would be getting only a percentage of your upfront cost credited to your account at that company. That's definitely better than nothing, however, if you cancel your reservation booked directly through Disney, you get a total refund up to 5 days before check-in (if you booked room-only) and even after that, if you cancel, you lose only your one-night deposit. That, to me, is a huge difference.

I think these are important things to consider before deciding on what avenue to use for booking a room at WDW. Yes, a DVC rental can be a good deal, but it's not a good deal if you need to make changes or cancel. And it's really not a good deal if you end up having to leave WDW earlier than you anticipated. This actually happened to me once a few years ago. We were staying at SSR, booked directly through WDW, and they didn't charge us for the nights that were still on our reservation after we left. We didn't even ask, they just did it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The easiest area to walk to DS from SSR is the preferred area, so you would probably have to book it that way. We stayed at SSR in a non-preferred area and tried to walk over there and not only was it a haul, we got lost. Finally figured it out during the daytime, but it was confusing and long. OTOH, we biked over to DS from OKW via SSR and that was also a haul, but we enjoyed it. Walking is sort of endless. I would probably go with POFQ and take the boat. We did like SSR, though, too. I like being able to change things if I need to, so renting points, to me, isn’t ideal. I know others like it, though.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

We would go with POFQ in a heartbeat. Having a kitchen is not important to us and we like the POFQ theme so much better then SSR's, the smaller size is wonderful and the boat to DS is great and relaxing, we will take that over walking even though it takes longer. Plus, you can always walk over to POR and enjoy that resort as well and maybe do a carriage ride. Not to mention all the restraints with DVC, having to PIF right away, cancelling issues etc.

 

[meggiebeth]

It’s definitely a personal decision but if it were me, I’d choose Saratoga Springs easily over POFQ. It’s much more upscale, it feels more adult-oriented than POFQ, and it’s great being walking distance to Disney Springs. The rooms are much nicer IMO and with a two bedroom villa, you have many more amenities than two standard guest rooms. Having a washer dryer we find really useful and it’s nice to have a communal living area and some extra space.

Saratoga Springs is definitely a very big resort, so if you’re looking for a smaller one, POFQ may be worth a look, but if you’re happy with the size of Saratoga Springs, that’s the one I would be leaning towards personally!

 

[nolatravelgirl]

SSR is considered deluxe so you would be able to partake in evening magic hours.

 

[Sparkly]

Here at POFQ right now and would definitely stay here over SSR. Gorgeous resort, boat to Disney Springs and only one bus stop so easy to get to parks. Plus it's compact and no room is too far from the main building.

 

[kwdw]

For your trip, SSR. I’m assuming part of the reason for the trip is to spend time together as a family. The shared living room/dining/kitchen area ina 2 bedroom DVC resort will do that. I think that way outweighs the theming and plusess of POFQ. I love POFQ, too, but I wouldn’t do that for a family trip if my other choice was a 2 bdrm in SSR.

Now, if you have concerns they will cancel or you will cancel, yes, DVC rentals carry risk. I’ve found both big companies and private owner rentals to all be perfectly smooth when not canceling them. But trying to cancel a DVC rental? Read the contract as that is not as simple as canceling a resort room with Disney, if possible at all.