SSR - Dont go without a rental car

[Madi100]

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.

I completely agree with you. This is not a Saratoga Springs issue at all. It's a transportation issue. I don't think renting a car would have saved that much walking, just waiting. And, it wouldn't have mattered what section you were in, the resort shares a bus. I think the reason there is so much disagreement in this post is simply because of the title.

 

[BroganMc]

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.

Oh I understand mobility issues. My own mobility is so impaired I can manage about 20 feet without my powerchair before I simply have to sit or fall down, and along the way the risk of tripping and doing myself serious injury is an all too real possibility. But then I've been plagued with mobility issues since childhood. I finally got smart and got myself a powerchair a few years ago. Now I have a normal person's mobility range.

What concerns me in your estimation of the transport issues you experienced is that you don't have a full grasp of the problems you would have experienced even with a rental car. I've stayed at SSR in the Springs and I've used my own van to get to and fro all the resorts & parks including DTD. I can tell you DTD is the absolute WORST destination for parking!

The parking lot routes are all messed up forbidden right turns and forcing you back out onto Buena Vista. The lot is almost always full by lunchtime. There's no handicapped parking to be found unless you drive around in a circle for half an hour and wait for someone to move. Frequently I end up parking in the farthest space in the lot and wheeling up to the mall, dodging cars (and taxis) as I go. It's so bad, we've often had to resort to dropping some folks off at the curb, hunting for a spot and hoping to find them later.

And that's the easy location. Try finding a close spot in a theme park lot. Heck, Magic Kingdom's closest parking is still a long walk from the TTC. That's why my dad has taken up using a scooter in Disney World. It means the difference between him having a pleasant vacation and being overstressed. I think if you had availed yourself of one, you would have had a much more pleasant travel to Bongos.

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 think the reason SSR might not have a standing line of taxis the way BCV and BWV do is because the public area is in DTD. That's where you'd be tripping over the things. The Boardwalk area is the size of SSR & DTD combined. So taxis tend to congregate around the more public areas: lobbies for the hotels.

Could someone else in your party not have driven? I realize they restrict cardiac rehab patients at first (my dad was not allowed in the front seat of a vehicle for 6 weeks due to risk of an accident), but that's why my siblings and I took up the task of chaffeuring him around. When he did have to rely on paratransit to get to a doctor's appointment, it was strictly as a last resort. (Those things require 24 hours notice and they have a 1 hour leeway on pickup.)

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.

Unfortunately your OP came off as a resort slam. This in the midst of recent weeks' of similar SSR slams. I stayed away from it at first because I knew from the subject title it was going to turn into yet another SSR debate. The irony I find in the situation is that your intended destination was Bongos. You were so close you could have swam across to it. Now if you had the shower at the California Grill or the Grand Floridian tea room, as I originally assumed, I could see true reason for being at the mercy of poor public transportation.

As it is, I can't help but think the poor planning came in not getting hubby a decent pair of electronic legs. The distances you tried to circumvent with your long waits for transportation were not more than what you would have had to walk if you stayed at BCV this trip and had all your events in that area.

 

[loribell]

I've used my own van to get to and fro all the resorts & parks including DTD. I can tell you DTD is the absolute WORST destination for parking!

The parking lot routes are all messed up forbidden right turns and forcing you back out onto Buena Vista. The lot is almost always full by lunchtime. There's no handicapped parking to be found unless you drive around in a circle for half an hour and wait for someone to move. Frequently I end up parking in the farthest space in the lot and wheeling up to the mall, dodging cars (and taxis) as I go. It's so bad, we've often had to resort to dropping some folks off at the curb, hunting for a spot and hoping to find them later.

I have to totally agree with you here. I have a hard time finding my way out of the parking lot when I try to leave. I would much rather walk or even wait on a bus, even as long as it takes, than try to navigate that parking lot!

 

[Cee]

I loved having one. One of the reasons we stay at SSR is so we can walk to DTD. Those busses are always the longest wait it seems. We had the opposite
experience with SSR staff. We called for extra pillows, and got them within
10 minutes. Then there was another knock on the door....more pillows! Then
a little later, another knock...........more pillows!

 

[disneykid4ever]

We've stayed in the exact building you described and found the walk to Downtown Disney a snap. It would have only taken your daughter 10-15 minutes as others have stated. It's kinda crazy to sit and wait for a bus for an hour when you could have just strolled over.

Also, you CAN get pizza delivery at SSR!! We've had Giordano's delivered and I believe you can also get Papa Johns delivered!!

 

[Alice Sr.]

That has been my motto since the early to mid '90's. IMHO the bus system has at been unreliable at best, and not worth the hassle. I know many would disagree and that's fine, less drivers on the road is a good thing. That being said, SSR was the worst we have been subjected to. Makes me want them to discontinue the free transportation from MCO so I'll be forced to renting cars again.

JMHO,
Alice