DW and I spent about an hour at SSR today. Here are a few random thoughts...
- Even with only one building open, DVC apparently has reserved at least one Grand Villa and a lockoff 2B to be used exclusively for touring purposes. I hope nobody was bumped to accommodate this. I'm assuming that the plan is to have model rooms at the sales center, but they must not be ready at this point.
- Speaking of the DVC sales center, it was absolutely hopping. We visited about 5pm on a Wednesday. There were at least 3 groups touring the models, and we saw others meeting with Guides as we walked past the sales building itself.
- The rooms themselves were very impressive. Matching granite countertops (or at least a reasonable facsimile) in the kitchen and bathrooms. Rich, luxurious furnishings. We'd never been in a Grand Villa and DW was suitably impressed. I don't know if all of the GVs are alike, but this one had vaulted 2-floor ceilings in the living area, four bathrooms, and the aforementioned access to the second floor of the villa from the resort hallways. Interestingly enough, we did not see a balcony off of this particular GV. The Guides in the room were all with potential clients, so we didn't want to bother them. But we double-checked all of the bedrooms and living room and did not see exterior access. The living room did have that great full-length window with a full view of DD.
- The bus stop was very conveniently located for the Phase One buildings. No more than a 2-3 minute walk from the front door of any unit.
- Parking lots are right behind the buildings as expected. No complaints there.
- At least one of the Phase Two buildings already had paint on the exterior. Looks like they are moving along nicely.
- You really can't avoid the construction when you arrive at the resort. As soon as you pass through the main gate, there are steel frameworks to the immediate left and straight ahead. I could see heavy machinery, including large cranes, on the property. Althought we didn't particularly notice any noise being generated.
- The food court was nothing special. I didn't look at the menu at all, but the food prep area was less than I expected. The gift shop was also not very large, but I did walk away with a couple of SSR shirts. The CM working there claimed that they didn't create a very large area because of the proximity to DD.
- Most of the CMs looked bored to death. The food court was vacant for about 20 minutes while we were inside.
- The pool area looks fantastic. Regarding the size, I don't think it's any smaller that the pool at BWV, which services a comparable number of guests between the Villa and Inn halves of the resort.
- The walk from the pool to the resort buildings was negligible, IMO. We're only talking about 4-5 minutes at a leisurely pace. However, the location of the boat dock leaves something to be desired. The dock location appears to be a very poor with respect to the guest buildings.
- The boat service, on the other hand, was fairly nice. I did not see any posted schedule at the dock as is the case with OKW. We visited during the evening period when service increased. We waited about 10 minutes before a boat headed to our dock. When the first one arrived, the captain said that he was going to OKW and that the DD boat should arrive in a couple of minutes. Sure enough, it was only 2-3 minutes before a boat arrived which had already been to OKW and was on its way to DD. All-in-all, I swear that I saw at least 5 boats with the identical blue and yellow color scheme that was shown in photos posted here. One boat was parked at the the dock when we arrived. I assume some of them that passed by were headed for PO.
- The captain of our boat claimed that in the evening hours it should only be 15-20 minutes between boats at SSR. And he mentioned that during the daytime, they normally do not stop at the West Side dock, but if you want to go there, just mention it to the driver and he'll gladly drop you at that location.
- Most of the seats on the boat were damn uncomfortable. From having worked in the restaurant industry during college, I'm familiar with the concept of keeping people somewhat uncomfortable to encourage them to vacate the table. But is that really necessary at WDW? Most of the park we used benches at WDW feel like the old sofa beds with the bar in your back.
Looking forward to a review from someone who's experienced it first-hand.
- Even with only one building open, DVC apparently has reserved at least one Grand Villa and a lockoff 2B to be used exclusively for touring purposes. I hope nobody was bumped to accommodate this. I'm assuming that the plan is to have model rooms at the sales center, but they must not be ready at this point.
- Speaking of the DVC sales center, it was absolutely hopping. We visited about 5pm on a Wednesday. There were at least 3 groups touring the models, and we saw others meeting with Guides as we walked past the sales building itself.
- The rooms themselves were very impressive. Matching granite countertops (or at least a reasonable facsimile) in the kitchen and bathrooms. Rich, luxurious furnishings. We'd never been in a Grand Villa and DW was suitably impressed. I don't know if all of the GVs are alike, but this one had vaulted 2-floor ceilings in the living area, four bathrooms, and the aforementioned access to the second floor of the villa from the resort hallways. Interestingly enough, we did not see a balcony off of this particular GV. The Guides in the room were all with potential clients, so we didn't want to bother them. But we double-checked all of the bedrooms and living room and did not see exterior access. The living room did have that great full-length window with a full view of DD.
- The bus stop was very conveniently located for the Phase One buildings. No more than a 2-3 minute walk from the front door of any unit.
- Parking lots are right behind the buildings as expected. No complaints there.
- At least one of the Phase Two buildings already had paint on the exterior. Looks like they are moving along nicely.
- You really can't avoid the construction when you arrive at the resort. As soon as you pass through the main gate, there are steel frameworks to the immediate left and straight ahead. I could see heavy machinery, including large cranes, on the property. Althought we didn't particularly notice any noise being generated.
- The food court was nothing special. I didn't look at the menu at all, but the food prep area was less than I expected. The gift shop was also not very large, but I did walk away with a couple of SSR shirts. The CM working there claimed that they didn't create a very large area because of the proximity to DD.
- Most of the CMs looked bored to death. The food court was vacant for about 20 minutes while we were inside.
- The pool area looks fantastic. Regarding the size, I don't think it's any smaller that the pool at BWV, which services a comparable number of guests between the Villa and Inn halves of the resort.
- The walk from the pool to the resort buildings was negligible, IMO. We're only talking about 4-5 minutes at a leisurely pace. However, the location of the boat dock leaves something to be desired. The dock location appears to be a very poor with respect to the guest buildings.
- The boat service, on the other hand, was fairly nice. I did not see any posted schedule at the dock as is the case with OKW. We visited during the evening period when service increased. We waited about 10 minutes before a boat headed to our dock. When the first one arrived, the captain said that he was going to OKW and that the DD boat should arrive in a couple of minutes. Sure enough, it was only 2-3 minutes before a boat arrived which had already been to OKW and was on its way to DD. All-in-all, I swear that I saw at least 5 boats with the identical blue and yellow color scheme that was shown in photos posted here. One boat was parked at the the dock when we arrived. I assume some of them that passed by were headed for PO.
- The captain of our boat claimed that in the evening hours it should only be 15-20 minutes between boats at SSR. And he mentioned that during the daytime, they normally do not stop at the West Side dock, but if you want to go there, just mention it to the driver and he'll gladly drop you at that location.
- Most of the seats on the boat were damn uncomfortable. From having worked in the restaurant industry during college, I'm familiar with the concept of keeping people somewhat uncomfortable to encourage them to vacate the table. But is that really necessary at WDW? Most of the park we used benches at WDW feel like the old sofa beds with the bar in your back.
Looking forward to a review from someone who's experienced it first-hand.
