Saratoga Springs or Boulder Ridge?

[MCoryB]

We’re two adults with no kids, going to WDW in mid-September, renting points to stay in a DVC resort for seven nights. We can get a preferred studio at SS for $1,479 or stay in a BR studio for $1,843. Is Boulder Ridge worth the $364 total difference, in your opinion?

 

[VGCgroupie]

Yes 100%. Boat over to MK. Boat to Poly or Grand Flo. Just such a better location.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It really depends on what kind of trip you’re planning to have. Will it be parks heavy? Do you enjoy Disney Springs a lot? You could walk there.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

We really enjoy SSR bc of the walking distance to DS and the workout facility. I like to stay at a place that I can walk somewhere (DS or a park). We really enjoy our stays at CCR in the cabin but I do feel more isolated there, even though MK is just a boat ride away.

 

[teamsamant]

When my wife and I go just the two of us to Disney we prefer a few resorts over others.

One of the ones we prefer is Saratoga.
There are less kids there.
The access to the Springs nightlife is excellent since you can just walk over or take the boat ride.
There is a golf course.
The little bar outside Turf club has a pool table and is ofter quiet.
Grounds are nice to walk, grab a drink and relax.

BRV wouldn't be bad either. We like the Geyser Point bar area for a good evening hangout.

Either choice you make will be a good one.

 

[AstroBlasters]

We’re two adults with no kids, going to WDW in mid-September, renting points to stay in a DVC resort for seven nights. We can get a preferred studio at SS for $1,479 or stay in a BR studio for $1,843. Is Boulder Ridge worth the $364 total difference, in your opinion?

Yes.

 

[patty57]

It really depends on what kind of trip you’re planning to have. Will it be parks heavy? Do you enjoy Disney Springs a lot? You could walk there.

I agree with this. If your trip is MK heavy, then Boulder Ridge. If you spend time at DS, then go with Saratoga.

 

[WinterSolider]

Yes 100%. Boat over to MK. Boat to Poly or Grand Flo. Just such a better location.

Unless you're going to Magic Kingdom >50% of the time, you'll spend more time on transportation staying at Wilderness Lodge than you will at Saratoga Springs.

Yes, Wilderness Lodge is closer to Magic Kingdom. Saratoga Springs is closer to literally everything else.

I would still choose Boulder Ridge just because I prefer the theming, but people tend to overstate the "convenience" of MK-area resorts.

 

[muppets3d]

I do agree with transportation, other than MK the transportation at Wilderness Lodge is not ideal. The buses share with other resorts so they're often full and on top of that they seem to never be there when the app/billboard says they will be. They're always either early or late so you end up just sitting at the bus stop waiting.

Other than transportation I prefer Boulder Ridge to SSR in every way. I am not one of those people who treats Disney Springs like WDW's fifth gate, honestly they could bulldoze it tomorrow and I'd be completely fine. Each to their own!

 

[5kidsmommy]

We own at Saratoga so I will admit my bias. We travel alone now and it is our preferred resort. We love being able to walk over to Disney Springs and prefer the quietness of the resort. Wonderful pools too. I love the whole Wilderness Lodge area but just to visit. It just feels secluded and transportation to everywhere seems to take forever. So I'd choose SSR over BR.

 

[han22735]

I agree with the above posters.... unless you are spending a lot of time at MK then I would pretty much prefer to stay anywhere else. SSR is one of our favorites...great pools and being close to DS is a huge plus.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I do agree with transportation, other than MK the transportation at Wilderness Lodge is not ideal. The buses share with other resorts so they're often full and on top of that they seem to never be there when the app/billboard says they will be. They're always either early or late so you end up just sitting at the bus stop waiting.

Other than transportation I prefer Boulder Ridge to SSR in every way. I am not one of those people who treats Disney Springs like WDW's fifth gate, honestly they could bulldoze it tomorrow and I'd be completely fine. Each to their own!

Personally I don’t love DS. But the rest of my family does. And more and more, we’re having resort heavy trips. I like the idea of going over to DS to bowl or see a movie sometimes (which we haven’t actually done yet). Shopping, eh. Eating, sure. There are a few foods and restaurants I like over there. This was my $22 banana split recently at Ghiardelli. (I’d get it again in a heartbeat, lol.)

 

[VGCgroupie]

Unless you're going to Magic Kingdom >50% of the time, you'll spend more time on transportation staying at Wilderness Lodge than you will at Saratoga Springs.

Yes, Wilderness Lodge is closer to Magic Kingdom. Saratoga Springs is closer to literally everything else.

I would still choose Boulder Ridge just because I prefer the theming, but people tend to overstate the "convenience" of MK-area resorts.

You can boat and catch the monorail over to Epcot. Yes it’s transportation but it’s a boat ride and a monorail at WDW. I will take that over a bus anyday. Especially a when the resort has an internal bus loop.

If spending lots of time at DS SSR would be better.

BRV is a higher end property imo and paying only $364 over 7 days is a deal. Again imo

 

[beccasmom]

We are huge BRV fans. We enjoy the easy proximity to the (smaller) pool and quick walk to one of our favorite eateries, Geyser Point. Transportation is unfortunately not the best except for the MK, but at least the bus stop is a quick walk from the BRV building. The WL lobby is absolutely gorgeous, but the BRV has a lovely rather cozy lobby area as well with comfy chairs (and it’s much quieter)!

SSR is terrific for proximity to DS which we also really enjoy. I find the resort to be a bit overwhelming due to its size, but that’s certainly not a deal-breaker. I have not stayed there since the room renovation, but I have heard it was beautifully done.

You can’t “lose” with either resort, but I find choosing the more convenient one in terms of your itinerary makes trips a lot easier.

 

[stevelle]

I've never stayed at either, but I've gone to Disney Springs and feel no need to ever go again. Honestly don't understand why some people love Disney Springs so much. So I'd vote for BRV, and plan to try BRV on my next visit in August.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I've never stayed at either, but I've gone to Disney Springs and feel no need to ever go again. Honestly don't understand why some people love Disney Springs so much. So I'd vote for BRV, and plan to try BRV on my next visit in August.

Agree. I am flying to Florida for the parks and the resorts.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I don’t want to ruffle any feathers, because I know this can be a contentious subject, but I just wonder if modes of transportation like the monorail and skyliner are always fully reliable. Twice on our last trip (CR/OKW split stay) when we were over visiting the Polynesian, the monorail was broken/shut down. Had to scramble to get on a boat with loads of other people, in the rain. We’ve also watched the Skyliner completely down during dinner at Sebastian’s. We don’t go to Disney all that often - once, maybe twice a year - so it makes me wonder how often these things actually go down if we see it happen frequently when we’re there. It’s a pain when you have somewhere you have to be and rely on that to get you there. We always rent a car so it’s not usually a huge deal for us, but it can be, if so. If we’re paying top dollar to be in MK area for the monorail, it’s a pretty big disappointment if it’s not fully functional when we need/want to use it.

 

[zackiedawg]

I've never stayed at either, but I've gone to Disney Springs and feel no need to ever go again. Honestly don't understand why some people love Disney Springs so much. So I'd vote for BRV, and plan to try BRV on my next visit in August.

I don't really even like Disney Springs - I don't go there to shop. BUT - if you're an adult staying at a Disney property either alone or with other adults, you either have to rely on the resort's own restaurants and bars for food or nighttime entertainment, or bus out or back from somewhere else to eat at a park or other resort. Saratoga's walking access to Disney Springs provides several dozen table-service restaurants with food of all types, a dozen or more excellent bars for drinks, lots of live music, sports bars to watch games, and easy transportation hub to every other resort. That convenience is why I love being close to Disney Springs - all the food and bar options.

To the OP - my pick would be SSR as well. I love Boulder Ridge and the theming is beautiful. Geyser Point is great and I like the quiet old fashioned Territory Lounge too for cocktails. But you're more limited to easy places to get to - MK is nice to boat over to, and starting in the afternoon you can take a boat to Contemporary which adds a few restaurant and bar choices. Otherwise, Saratoga being close to Disney Springs gives you so many more food and bar choices, and multiple transportation options to and from parks - both from SSR's own bus stops, as well as Disney Springs busses (aka - you can bus to Contemporary and walk into MK, bus to Beach Club and walk into Epcot, bus to Boardwalk and walk into DHS - and same coming back from the parks). Especially if your room in SSR is preferred - request Congress Park section at all costs, which will put you closest to Disney Springs.