SSR - Dont go without a rental car

[UConnJack]

Like when all the sub-standard water pipes burst at BWV and they had to refurb several rooms because of water damage

Exactly. Like I said, I wasn't singling out any particular resort. However, if memory serves, SSR had some pipes burst too that caused a bunch of damage.

 

[Chuck S]

Exactly. Like I said, I wasn't singling out any particular resort. However, if memory serves, SSR had some pipes burst too that caused a bunch of damage.

Absolutely, the point is, for the OP, that Disney isn't always responsible for when things "need" maintenance. Appliances today don't last nearly as long as they did 30 years ago. My grandparants had the same GE refrigerator for 35 years, no problems at all. A lot of those old turban top units are even still operational today, as well as a lot of the old natural gas Electrolux refrigerators.

The products built today are made for a "disposable/replacement" society, not built to last. I think Disney does a pretty good job keeping up with things, but to expect the quality of products we used to experience in the USA is, unfortunately, somewhat unreasonable.

 

[crisi]

Cab service at the parks and resorts is not good to say the least. If wanted cabs you should have called well in advance and given them a time that you wanted to be picked up, I'm sure the front desk could have arranged this. But to just call and expect them to get there fast and blame SSR because they did not is foolish.

That hasn't been our experience at all with cabs - and we are pretty cab reliant at Disney - I've probably taken 20 cabs or more. But I've never tried to catch one from other than a few places where there are cab stands - the front of AKL (the bellman did have to call for a cab, which pulled up in less than five minutes - and only because we had a large party and needed a van), BWV (have been able to catch cabs without calling except in the van situation), or from the parks on rare occations (always cabs at the cab stands). Drivers have always been polite and taken the most direct route. We've even gotten to the point of having "regular cabbies" - at least one cabbie recognizes us when we catch his cab. Sometimes the cabs have been less well maintained than ideal - but its a ride.

I have learned cab tricks - like when going to the MK ask to go to the Contemporary - otherwise you end up at the TTC and have to ferry or monorail in.

 

[UConnJack]

Absolutely, the point is, for the OP, that Disney isn't always responsible for when things "need" maintenance. Appliances today don't last nearly as long as they did 30 years ago. My grandparants had the same GE refrigerator for 35 years, no problems at all. A lot of those old turban top units are even still operational today, as well as a lot of the old natural gas Electrolux refrigerators.

The products built today are made for a "disposable/replacement" society, not built to last. I think Disney does a pretty good job keeping up with things, but to expect the quality of products we used to experience in the USA is, unfortunately, somewhat unreasonable.

I agree to a large degree. But I think you need to claify "Disney isn't always responsible". It may not be entirely their fault something falls apart, but it is thier responsibility to quickly address it, even make wholesale changes, if it turns out they used poorly constructed materials.

 

[jarestel]

I remember a time when staying at VWL, it took us one hour and twenty minutes to make the boat trip from WL to the MK and then to monorail over to the Poly for our meal reservations. We left an hour before we were due to be at the Poly and still arrived 20 minutes late. (an actual distance of less than a mile if we could have walked. And no, at the time the direct bus to MK didn't exist)

Now I have stayed at VWL many, many times and I knew this was not at all the norm for Disney transportation. Obviously there was an unusual problem. However, knowing this didn't make me feel any better. Nor, I suspect, would the other folks waiting for the never-arriving boat have felt any better if I had taken them in my comforting arms and patted their stressed out hands, all the while re-assuring them that in blanety-blank stays, I had never seen this happen before.

Anyway, the point is, sometimes snafus just happen. There are 2 types of Disney guests --- 1) those who have experienced the snafu, and 2) those who are going to experience the snafu. Just a matter of time. It's important to remember that whenever we read about someone's less than magical experiences, we COULD be next. But probably won't be.

I still prefer to stay at VWL and harbor it no ill will for past transgressions. Sometimes things just don't go right. The sweet thing about Disney/DVC is that usually things go great!

 

[Coach Rick]

That just stinks when a vacation doesn't go the way expected. Disney has long been raising the bar on the rest of the "vacation destination" industry, and therefor created an expectation that is sometimes difficult to live up to 365 days a year. Not to make excuses, as none can be offered when disappointing a guest on a special vacation. Bottom line, when I look at what I paid, and what I pay for maintanance fees, I do expect a certain amount of service. Being an owner at two other "timeshare" resorts, I honestly feel Disney does it best. I have owned a timeshare for 27 years, and IMO, nobody offers anything close to the level of service and quality that Disney does, but we do pay for it.

I always rent a car. I swear I only put about 100 miles on it in a week at the World, and I do use it for all visits to the parks. For one thing, we now vacation with the whole family, and I always get an ECV for mom, so I need a way to move that thing around, and a minivan usually works for that. I guess I am a control freak of sorts, and I just like knowing I am in control of what time I leave and come home regardless of what time of day that is. The past two years we have stayed at BWV, and I can say that when going to EPCOT or MGM we usually take the boats, knowing that if I really don't want to wait we can walk back, but we have taken the van on occasion to MGM. I guess it's personal preference.

Bottom line is, can't undo what has been done, and it's too bad it was a bad experience. I hope in the future your vacations are as special as you expect.

 

[Alychel1]

Does SSR have car rentals onsite?

If not, how would one go about renting a car if they used Disney transportation from the airport to the resort? DTD offer car rentals? Or would I have to get a taxi to take me to a car rental place?

 

[BroganMc]

We were an hour and a half late after figuring the time spent on the bus and then getting off the bus and walking to Bongos. Our actual wait time at the bus stop was over an hour. And no we couldn't just walk, we needed to be close to transportation because of the mobility issues. That was why we called MS in the first place.

Hold on. The shower was at Bongos and you were in the closest building to DTD marketplace? Yet you waited on a bus and cab and cry foul because your husband had mobility issues due to his surgery?

You realize, you could have walked to DTD ferry dock in Marketplace in the same distance as it took to get to the CP bus stop. Then taken a ferry to West Side and still have walked the same distance.

Better yet, the entire distance from that building to Bongo's is .6 miles. Yes, someone recovering from major surgery has less stamina, but if he couldn't manage .6 miles how the heck did he manage anything in Disney?!

Heavens sake, my dad was 73 when he had his triple bypass. 2-3 weeks after the surgery he walked from his doctor's office to the cardiacunit in the nearby hospital and that was the same distance. It also happened to me a very hot June day. Took him a while but even the doctor encouraged him to go for the walk. Walking is absolutely crucial to the recovery of a cardiac patient. They make you do 2 miles on a treadmill during cardiac rehab, and that's starting 6 weeks after surgery.

I'm sorry you had a trying time, but I think you are laying a lot of blame on Disney for things you should have been responsible for. If you husband was that immobile, then it behooved you to rent a scooter or wheelchair for the man. I can just imagine the stress he was under trying to keep up with the frantic wedding party.

One last thing, getting a rental car for SSR may help in getting you to the parks and other resorts quicker, but for DTD it's not great advantage. I've spent half an hour just trying to find a place to park. If it hadn't been so cold December I would have gladly left my van in the lot and walked over with my now 75 year old dad. I fact, that's exactly what we plan to do this May. (And the main reason we've given up traveling big trips in the colder months.)

 

[tjkraz]

Does SSR have car rentals onsite?

None of the Disney owned resorts have car rental desks. The Dolphin resort has a National (or Alamo?) desk and I've heard that at least one of the non-Disney resorts near DTD has a rental desk.

If not, how would one go about renting a car if they used Disney transportation from the airport to the resort? DTD offer car rentals? Or would I have to get a taxi to take me to a car rental place?

Alamo has a rental facility at Disney's Car Care Center. They will provide complimentary round-trip transportation if you wish to rent a car from there.

IMO, if you're flying into MCO you are better off renting a car there rather than using DME and then getting a car at Disney. Or, if you only want a car for part of your trip, just get it from one of the locations noted above.

 

[Sammie]

Bottom line, is it is easy to blame someone else in this case SSR, than sometimes realize that mistakes in planning were made. I am sorry things did not go smoothly but I also really think you could have eased some of this with some advance planning.

As stated, never would I rely on Disney transportation for special events such as weddings. And definitely regardless of where you are staying never take a bus to DD and expect to get their quickly. We waited 2 hours once at the Contemporary for a DD bus.

When you checked in and did not get your medical request, did you ask if they could give you something closer for medical reasons.

Why have the front desk manager call for cabs, I would have done that myself, in advance and had them arrive at my building at a certain time. You can even do that a day before.

If you called from your room phone, you might have gotten the Call Center instead of the actual front desk and if so, there is your reason no cabs showed up. The Call center is useless.

Did you have a small wedding party, because I know that my friend who is having a Disney wedding was required by Disney do have either buses or vans provided by Disney for all their wedding transportation. They were not given an option.

Hopefully your DH is on to a full recovery and your wedding party will have fond memories, but I don't think SSR is the blame for your problems except for maintenance issues which hopefully were addressed.

 

[Madi100]

I'm sorry that your trip was not as you planned it to be. However, the reason we love SSR is because we don't rent a car.

I didn't realize that people even rode the bus to DTD, especially when staying at Congress Park. We loved how close we were to the bus stops at DTD. And we were close to the bus stop for the parks also. I loved Congress Park. You could very easily walk to the boat dock at SSR or walk to DTD and find the boat dock that drops you off right by Bongos. I think even if you had a car, by the time you walk to the parking lot at SSR, drive to DTD and park, you've almost walked as far as it would take for you to walk to the boat dock.

Again, I'm really sorry you were disappointed, but please be fair to the people who might be reading your post who have never gone to SSR. Under normal circumstances one can survive quite nicely without a car at SSR.

 

[fishermouse]

Heavens sake, my dad was 73 when he had his triple bypass. 2-3 weeks after the surgery he walked from his doctor's office to the cardiacunit in the nearby hospital and that was the same distance. It also happened to me a very hot June day. Took him a while but even the doctor encouraged him to go for the walk. Walking is absolutely crucial to the recovery of a cardiac patient. They make you do 2 miles on a treadmill during cardiac rehab, and that's starting 6 weeks after surgery.

The first day of Cardiac Rehab has you walking at least a mile on a tred mill. may be a slow pace but .6 miles should take no more than 20 minutes.

 

[Starr W.]

I'm sorry that your trip was not as you planned it to be. However, the reason we love SSR is because we don't rent a car.

I didn't realize that people even rode the bus to DTD, especially when staying at Congress Park. We loved how close we were to the bus stops at DTD. And we were close to the bus stop for the parks also. I loved Congress Park. You could very easily walk to the boat dock at SSR or walk to DTD and find the boat dock that drops you off right by Bongos. I think even if you had a car, by the time you walk to the parking lot at SSR, drive to DTD and park, you've almost walked as far as it would take for you to walk to the boat dock.

Again, I'm really sorry you were disappointed, but please be fair to the people who might be reading your post who have never gone to SSR. Under normal circumstances one can survive quite nicely without a car at SSR.

We took the bus back DTD-SSR one night and by the time we had to wait for traffic, we could have either walked back or taken the boat. Good chunck of time was taken up by a couple who had to whine to the driver they waited 30 minutes(strange because they got to the stop after us,and we were only there 15 minutes). Of course DH had to say something.

 

[shelleyz]

Just wanted to add that when we stayed at SSR in December we had pizza delivered. We got in at like midnight and the front desk called for pizza delivery for us. Think it was Dominoes. Do they not deliver there anymore?

 

[SyrCinderella]

I realize some of you don't understand why DH couldn't walk to DD, or the ferry. He couldn't. And the point is that Member Services could have avoided much of the stress if they had CORRECTLY noted "Medical Reason" on the request made over 2 mos before our arrival. He called specifically to have that NOTED on the reservation, which they didn't do.

Regarding the cabs, we often take them from other resorts. The problem has something to do w/SSR, and the front desk even told us that. Not our words, theirs.

We were talking about renting a car, but DH is still recouperating and he was trying to avoid the stress of driving on unfamiliar roads. The point to this post was if we had realized what we know now, we would have. Hense the title of this post.

I didn't mean to flame SSR. I am hoping that if we all comment about these things that are not working up to Disney standards, they will fix them. I can't understand why the DD bus is such a problem. If it has to do with people parking at SSR and taking the bus over, that needs to be addressed in a different manner (how about showing your reservation or room key at the guard shack?). I can't understand why Disney would want to lose potential $$ by not providing any type of room service (again somthing we use all the time at other DVC facilities). I truly feel that Disney tries their best to make us happy and if we let them know about these little things, the resort could be spectacular.

 

[tjkraz]

I realize some of you don't understand why DH couldn't walk to DD, or the ferry. He couldn't. And the point is that Member Services could have avoided much of the stress if they had CORRECTLY noted "Medical Reason" on the request made over 2 mos before our arrival. He called specifically to have that NOTED on the reservation, which they didn't do.

No flames intended...really! I understand that DVC dropped the ball on the request.

But I think you said that you had requested a room in The Springs for medical reasons. If you were relying on bus service, why did the location of the room have any bearing on the medical condition? The buildings in The Springs all share one bus stop as is the case with Congress Park. I don't see how getting a room in The Springs would have saved any travel time.

Or am I confusing different issues here? Just curious.

 

[coloradodad]

It is amazing how many doctors there are in the house. I have to say maybe the original poster could have done some things a little differently and planned more, but there is no way to plan for all that can go wrong.

Never having been to SSR and considering joining DVC my worst fear is that after 2 perfect trips at POFQ that I have the "bad" trip my first DVC experience. Then I would have to answer to DS and she has a long memory.

Better luck on your next trip. I guess the moral is don't take the bus to DTW (although we did from POFQ and waited about 5 minutes - must have lucked out).

mg

 

[starbox]

I can't understand why the DD bus is such a problem. If it has to do with people parking at SSR and taking the bus over, that needs to be addressed in a different manner (how about showing your reservation or room key at the guard shack?).

I don't think parking at SSR is the issue, since you have to have resort ID to get in the gate. I think that DTD busses are a problem from every resort simply because DTD is not a popular enough destination to justify running continuous busses every 15 minutes from every resort only to DTD all day long, till 2 am. This is why all DTD busses share servivce with another destination - making them even slower. Bus service does pick up at night, when more people are heading to DTD and the waterparks and AK close - but morning/afternoon service is not in enough demand to justify the enormous expense of 15-10 minute dedicated bus service, and I don't think it ever will be.

I am very sorry you had a bad experience with the busses, but I do think a better title for your post would be "don't do DTD without a rental car". As a DTD fan that's stayed at many resorts, I'll agree that bus transport to DTD usually ranges from barely tolerable to abysmal.

 

[Starr W.]

It is amazing how many doctors there are in the house. I have to say maybe the original poster could have done some things a little differently and planned more, but there is no way to plan for all that can go wrong.

Never having been to SSR and considering joining DVC my worst fear is that after 2 perfect trips at POFQ that I have the "bad" trip my first DVC experience. Then I would have to answer to DS and she has a long memory.

Better luck on your next trip. I guess the moral is don't take the bus to DTW (although we did from POFQ and waited about 5 minutes - must have lucked out).

mg

We paid cash for our first SSR and for us it was great, good enough for us to plop down a pretty penny for a contract.

I have travelled alot, due to work and with DH and finally the kids. Trust me I have enough episodes with airlines, coworkers and my family that most people would post "those horror story" threads about.

Now we have our 'first official DVC' trip in May, staying at VWL and I know DH has a bee in his bonnet about transporataion issues. He loved the fact SSR doesn't share buses and at Thanksgiving we had excellent service.

 

[Firebug]

Does SSR have car rentals onsite?

If not, how would one go about renting a car if they used Disney transportation from the airport to the resort? DTD offer car rentals? Or would I have to get a taxi to take me to a car rental place?

Hertz has a rental desk at the Shades of Green resort. They will come and pick you put at your resort. You sign the papers and off you go. You return the car at the Shades of Green resort and Hertz will take you back to your resort. You just have to call ahead. The Shades of Green resort is next to the Poly for those that didn't know.

Alamo, I believe has a rental place at the Car Care center which is next to the MK parking lot. I have never used them so I don't know exactly how that works.

FB