Saratoga with kids?

[dopeygirl76]

We own at SSR and are just now doing an add-on there. We joined DVC last year and stay ed for the first time when DDs were 1 & 4 - the diversity of SSR is what we like. As others have said - the main pool is AWESOME and the bigger kids seem to love it. We stayed in the Paddock section and had a quiet pool right outside the door - our DD4 thought it was "our pool" and there was also a playground right next to the pool. Although she LOVES MK she was perfectly content that trip to stay at SSR for those two fun things. We also enjoy DTD and like the closeness. The buses were the only drawback - but we always go knowing that transportation can be a pain. However - we stayed at VWL in Oct 08 and have to say the transportation there was MUCH worse - perhaps because we thought it should be better - especially the proximity to MK. But from now on we will rent a car and continue to try the other resorts - happy that we own @ SSR and never disappointed to have to stay there!!!

 

[Golden Rose]

We thought we wouldn't like SSR and only stayed there because we had developer points that needed to be used there. We were very pleasantly surprised by it. We had a car (two, actually - we were there with my DM and her DH) and loved being able to park close to the room. My DM and her DH were doing a no park "Florida golf vacation", playing a different course every day, and they both absolutely loved SSR. Honestly, I think they now understand why we bought DVC. They walked or took the boat to DTD almost every day of the trip, and would stay there again gladly.

We liked it, but the weather was just too cold to enjoy any of the pools when we were there in January. I know there is a playground somewhere, but it definitely wasn't close to our room and we never looked too hard for it. DS (age 3.5 during the trip) couldn't swim because of the cold, and wasn't excited about SSR's facilities the way he was about AKV, WL, or the water parade view from our room during our previous trip at the GF. He didn't express any dislike of the SSR setup, he just wasn't excited about it.
I'm sure he would have liked it better if we had been able to swim.

 

[LIFERBABE]

My boys favorite resort has always been SSR. We stay at all of them but they only want AKV if its concierge. BCV and BWV they can take or leave. They dont request to go there, but I love it so I book it. None of us really cared for VWL or OKW. We would choose BLT over VWL and SSR over OKW to give an idea of our preferences.

SSR is the only resort they request to visit. They are now 10 and 12 and we've owned since they were 3 and 5.

Here are their reasons
They can swim whenever they want to. All of SSR's pools remain well lit at night. We often end our nights with a visit to the hot tub or pool and I wont let them swim if the lights are off and I cant see bottom. The pools are away from the villas and the villas all have double paned glass so they dont have to be whisper quiet as to not disturb others.

They love DisneyQuest. DQ closes most nights midnight or later. They get to hang out with their dad, walk back to the room. They have AP's so go almost every evening. They only want to visit the parks once or twice a week but DQ daily.

They love Earl's and Ghiard. and Bongos. We often stop and get special treats. Virgin Megastore sells video games and they often save up bday money or gifts so that they can buy something there.

We like to go to the movies. We will wait until we are at WDW on a rainy day to see the latest Disney movie. We stay 2 weeks, so there is at least 1 movie day.

Community Hall is great and has an Awesome staff. Lots of activities scheduled, very hands on and they offer parties and an outdoor Sports court with shuffleboard, b-ball and tennis.

Lots of paths to walk and run and ride.

Water features and wildlife. Every walk is different because there is so much natural beauty to see. Fish, birds, fowl, lizards, rabbits, ducks, squirrels, flowers.

Close to Typhoon Lagoon. We have AP's so we hit TL for a few hours a couple times a stay. The wave pool is awesome and so is the lazy river.

Artist Pallette, they like the chili and the chicken and the refillable mugs self serve stations.

Yes SSR is larger, but there is alot to be said about not being on top of people all the time when you have kids. We love meeting people from all over and are very friendly, but SSR offers the ability to be alone with your family also. Often at night we will have the pool or hot tub to ourselves or the BBQ pavilion or a path to race on.

Both boys learned to swim at Congress Park because they practiced every night when the pool was empty.

Everyone has different things they enjoy, we knew from our first stay that SSR was a resort we would enjoy even when we tired of the parks. Dh and I are planning to take up golf when we retire and we've also hosted family at SSR because it offers something for everyone including more affordable dining options at DTD.

 

[Rotti955]

We are starting to look around at the Saratoga resales. All of your posts make me think this would be the resort for us. We are traveling to Disney this year and are staying at a DVC resort to try out the experience.

Thanks for all of your great stories and photos.