BEASLYBOO
OKW/Disney... my happy place.
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2007
- Messages
- 5,849
We've re-discovered SSR and absolutely loved it. OKW is not only my home resort but also my favorite resort. During those times when I haven't been able to get OKW I've taken whatever resort was available, in the end any/all DVC resorts will do in a pinch. I never make requests and I had been very lucky with location and views, until SSR that is. Our previous 2 SSR stays were spent in the dismal Carousel area, both times, facing the guard gate/parking area, so this time I made a request for Congress Park, DTD view.
We checked in quickly, no wait, it was 1:30pm and we got our 2br villa right away, #2601/03. As we entered the living room and I opened the drapes, OMG, what a view, the balloon to the left, the water, the boats and Downtown Disney. The 7 of us just stood there gawking, trying to get the slider to open. Of course I had to be the 1st one out, walking right into a bunch of spider webs. When my son said, "Mom you have a baby spider in your hair! " I thought he was kidding, he wasn't! Rather than flail around screaming,
as I've been known to do in the past, I calmly asked him to remove it. I, later took the broom out and swept the webs and the spiders out and over the balcony. This is Florida, and resorts like OKW, SSR, WLV will have more wildlife than the typical hotel types like BWV, BLT etc., which honestly is why I prefer them. I love seeing bunnies, possums, squirrels, but spiders maybe not so much. I swept the balcony tops and sides each morning, these spiders are hard working and efficient little suckers.
The villa was spotless, it had everything it was supposed to have, showed little no no wear and tear. One of us headed to the main pool with the kids (which they loved), and the rest of us headed over to Publix to get groceries. I love to cook so we always reserve a 2br, we only eat out a few times and I wouldn't know what to do without the full kitchen andlaundry area. The 1st night of any stay at Disney however we either eat at Olivia's or the Turf Club, so I had made 7pm reservations at the Turf Club. We cleaned up, headed off to dinner, we were seated within 10 minutes. I had the prime rib, as did 2 other (perfectly cooked), my son had the lamb chops, his favorite, a grilled tuna and 2 grilled chicken kid's meals. Dinner was very good, as was the service. I have to say I love their Yukon Gold mashed potatoes.
After dinner we took the boat (conveniently near the restaurant) to DTD, the kids love to walk around and it's simply beautiful at night. I bought them each fragrant bath balls at the Soap/Bath shop (?). Yes, we all fight for jacuzzi time. At 11pm the line for the boat was huge so we opted to walk bac to SSR. A really nice walk, by the water back to the villa. We enjoy walking around and SSR & OKW really are the preferred resorts for this, at least IMO. It was a wonderful 1st day.
Coffee and breakfast every morning out on the balcony, a really great start to my day! I really enjoy a nice view and a balcony which is one of the reasons I fell in love with OKW and this time SSR paid off. The next morning all of the kids were out on the balcony enthrawlled by the remote control lawn mower that mows the grass on the sides of the water banks, it looks like a big rumba vacuum cleaner!
Living in Florida since 1973, we've been to Disney numerous times so in the summer we forgo the regular theme parks. This vacation we opted for Blizzard Beach, Busch Gardens (only 1.15 minutes from SSR),Typhoon Laggoon and a day of outlet mall shopping.
We had breakfast in the villa each morning, I made lunch on the shopping day and then dinner on both water park days! Homemade pizza one night (Publix sells ready made pizza dough in the bakery)and spaghetti bolognese the last night. I love sitting around the dinner table listening to the kids (13, 13, 10, 9) laughing and joking around. Rachel (10) a new guest to our group, introduced us to her families mealtime tradition of Roses & Thorns, sharing what your best thing of the day was (rose) and what the worst thing (Thorn) was.
All in all it was a very relaxing trip even though filled full with activity but most of all, we really enjoyed spending time together. For me that's been the best part of DVC, sharing it with dear friends and family.
At this point I would put SSR as my second favorite resort! The Congress Park area was fantastic! Aarg! Maybe one day I'll figure out how to post pictures!
We checked in quickly, no wait, it was 1:30pm and we got our 2br villa right away, #2601/03. As we entered the living room and I opened the drapes, OMG, what a view, the balloon to the left, the water, the boats and Downtown Disney. The 7 of us just stood there gawking, trying to get the slider to open. Of course I had to be the 1st one out, walking right into a bunch of spider webs. When my son said, "Mom you have a baby spider in your hair! " I thought he was kidding, he wasn't! Rather than flail around screaming,
as I've been known to do in the past, I calmly asked him to remove it. I, later took the broom out and swept the webs and the spiders out and over the balcony. This is Florida, and resorts like OKW, SSR, WLV will have more wildlife than the typical hotel types like BWV, BLT etc., which honestly is why I prefer them. I love seeing bunnies, possums, squirrels, but spiders maybe not so much. I swept the balcony tops and sides each morning, these spiders are hard working and efficient little suckers.The villa was spotless, it had everything it was supposed to have, showed little no no wear and tear. One of us headed to the main pool with the kids (which they loved), and the rest of us headed over to Publix to get groceries. I love to cook so we always reserve a 2br, we only eat out a few times and I wouldn't know what to do without the full kitchen andlaundry area. The 1st night of any stay at Disney however we either eat at Olivia's or the Turf Club, so I had made 7pm reservations at the Turf Club. We cleaned up, headed off to dinner, we were seated within 10 minutes. I had the prime rib, as did 2 other (perfectly cooked), my son had the lamb chops, his favorite, a grilled tuna and 2 grilled chicken kid's meals. Dinner was very good, as was the service. I have to say I love their Yukon Gold mashed potatoes.
After dinner we took the boat (conveniently near the restaurant) to DTD, the kids love to walk around and it's simply beautiful at night. I bought them each fragrant bath balls at the Soap/Bath shop (?). Yes, we all fight for jacuzzi time. At 11pm the line for the boat was huge so we opted to walk bac to SSR. A really nice walk, by the water back to the villa. We enjoy walking around and SSR & OKW really are the preferred resorts for this, at least IMO. It was a wonderful 1st day.
Coffee and breakfast every morning out on the balcony, a really great start to my day! I really enjoy a nice view and a balcony which is one of the reasons I fell in love with OKW and this time SSR paid off. The next morning all of the kids were out on the balcony enthrawlled by the remote control lawn mower that mows the grass on the sides of the water banks, it looks like a big rumba vacuum cleaner!
Living in Florida since 1973, we've been to Disney numerous times so in the summer we forgo the regular theme parks. This vacation we opted for Blizzard Beach, Busch Gardens (only 1.15 minutes from SSR),Typhoon Laggoon and a day of outlet mall shopping.
We had breakfast in the villa each morning, I made lunch on the shopping day and then dinner on both water park days! Homemade pizza one night (Publix sells ready made pizza dough in the bakery)and spaghetti bolognese the last night. I love sitting around the dinner table listening to the kids (13, 13, 10, 9) laughing and joking around. Rachel (10) a new guest to our group, introduced us to her families mealtime tradition of Roses & Thorns, sharing what your best thing of the day was (rose) and what the worst thing (Thorn) was.
All in all it was a very relaxing trip even though filled full with activity but most of all, we really enjoyed spending time together. For me that's been the best part of DVC, sharing it with dear friends and family.
At this point I would put SSR as my second favorite resort! The Congress Park area was fantastic! Aarg! Maybe one day I'll figure out how to post pictures!
Loved reading all about your SSR trip BEASLEYBOO. LOVED IT! 
Especially since we both love to hang out at our DVC.
Yeah! 
