SSR Lovers and/or Owners Thread!

[Doug7856]

... Most times we have had the most amazing great treatment from CM's, from bell services to housekeeping to Turf Club to the front desk.

We too have had good experiences with the CMs at SSR. We have had inexperienced service, but I don't equate that with bad service.

 

[Dizny Dad]

. . . An eldery woman was at the check-in desk. She was so hateful. When we asked for a location, any other location closer to a pool with our DDs (8,5), she said everything was full without any checking. . . . . . .

We also have experienced this person. We tried working with her a number of times, you know, every dog gets one bite, but three trips "Home" ago we refused to allow her to check us in. We let someone go ahead of us. After checking in with a delightful person, as we were walking away from the desk, the manager approached and asked us why we refused the lady in question. I stated that she offered a less than Disney experience. He immediately asked me if it was her attitude that seemed to be a problem. I agreed with him and laid out pretty much the identical story AirGoofy spelled out.

Two trips Home ago we witnessed a manager taking her out into the sitting area between the front desk and Artist Palette and discussing something that obviously should have taken place in the back room. I hate to say it, but I was rooting for the manager.

Again last trip Home she was there. I was ready to refuse her again, but was selected to go to another.

 

[AirGoofy]

We also have experienced this person. We tried working with her a number of times, you know, every dog gets one bite, but three trips "Home" ago we refused to allow her to check us in. We let someone go ahead of us. ... Again last trip Home she was there. I was ready to refuse her again, but was selected to go to another.

Perhaps this is why SSR gets so bashed out there among the DVC resorts. You know the expression about first impressions. And, if it had not been for the accomodation from Lewis, I probably would have been one of the nay-sayers. In this economy, I don't want anyone to lose their job, but there are positions, even at Disney, where an employee could be moved to avoid working with the public. Fortunately, I know where I want to stay at SSR and who to avoid at the check-in line. Still, it should not have to be this difficult.

 

[Dizny Dad]

. . . . . it should not have to be this difficult.

Can't agree more.

 

[DisneyFreaks]

Good morning neighbors! I am thrilled to be going back home again in november. By moving our dates back by one day we have been lucky enough to get two THV for the week before Thanksgiving. (11 of us going)
I know nothing about the THV except for what I have read here on these boards so I'm hoping maybe some of you who have already had the pleasure of staying there can help me out a bit. I have a few questions that I cannot find answers to in the searches I've done. First of all we have requested a view of the river. Can someone tell me approximately how far a walk this would be to the main SSR area and what area the walkway ends up at? We are not bus people at all and our DGSs would love to try the Grandstand pool. Also I've seen several pictures of the tub/shower in the master bathroom but none of the toilet. Does the master bath have a water closet or is the commode right inside the room? Now parking? How far are the lots from the treehouses themselves? We will only have one car per THV but has anyone had trouble parking in these lots? We will be using our cars to go to the parks each day and usually stay until closing. Will there be problems getting a spot that late? And lastly....what about snakes? With two young boys ( 5 & 8 plus a very skittish grandma) are snakes a problem? Anyone have any encounters? We are so excited to be staying at the THV. This will be a whole different kind of Disney trip for us. Thank you for any information you can provide.

 

[stopher1]

I know nothing about the THV except for what I have read here on these boards so I'm hoping maybe some of you who have already had the pleasure of staying there can help me out a bit. I have a few questions that I cannot find answers to in the searches I've done.

First of all we have requested a view of the river. Can someone tell me approximately how far a walk this would be to the main SSR area and what area the walkway ends up at?

We are not bus people at all and our DGSs would love to try the Grandstand pool. Also I've seen several pictures of the tub/shower in the master bathroom but none of the toilet. Does the master bath have a water closet or is the commode right inside the room?

Now parking? How far are the lots from the treehouses themselves? We will only have one car per THV but has anyone had trouble parking in these lots?

We will be using our cars to go to the parks each day and usually stay until closing. Will there be problems getting a spot that late?

And lastly....what about snakes? With two young boys ( 5 & 8 plus a very skittish grandma) are snakes a problem? Anyone have any encounters?

Hi there DisneyFreaks! We just returned home from WDW last week with 3 nights of our 10 night stay being at THV. If you want to check out my TR, there are lots of pics and information about them. Here's a link:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2369934


To answer some of your questions here, though...

Walking to the main part of SSR is not bad at all. The walkpath is located down by the SOUTH Bus Stop, near the pool and the Boat Launch - and takes you up to the Grandstand parking area, close to both the pool and the Bus stop there. So depending on where you are within the THV, your walk will be shorter or longer. We stayed in unit 7056 directly overlooking the pool, about a 2 min walk to the South Bus Stop. Our walk over to the Grandstand was about a 5 min deal, and another 3 or 4 to get to the Carriage House. One day I walked from our unit up past the NORTH Bus Stop to get photos of the THV sign at the main road entrance into the THV, and that took me about 10 min at a very casual pace. There are units up near the driving entrance - so your timing will vary walking to the Grandstand based on where you are located.

As far as a river view goes - it also depends on where you are located. There are several units with a river view, some as far north as the main entrance, and as far south as the south bus stop. We had asked for a water view ourselves, and ended up looking over the pool, since as the lady at the counter said at check-in, it's filled with water! Not quite the water we'd wanted, but hey, we ended up really enjoying our location being close to all 3 "amenities" - the bus, the boat and the walkway.

Regarding the toilet in the Master bath - yes, it is in a water closet inside the master bathroom. As you walk into the bathroom, the door is immediately to your right.

Regarding parking - each of the units are clumped into "pods" of 3 or 4 units. There is a walkway from the road in to the units, and there are parking spaces, pretty much one per unit along the road to the left and right of the walk way. There are no parking lots as you find in the main parts of SSR.

Finally - snakes. We saw lots of various types of critters - mostly birds and squirrels, but definitely no snakes. I can't say they don't exist in the woods, but we certainly did not encounter any in our traipsing around the THV's.

I hope you have a wonderful stay!

 

[DisneyFreaks]

Thank you so much for answering my many questions stopher1. Actually I had read your trip report previously and your wonderful report and awesome photos are what helped us decide on booking the THV! Another thank you. It's so nice to know that the walk is not as far as it looks on the map. As for location we just requested a view of the river. (thanks for posting the check in CM's comment. LoL) Is it best to leave it at that or should we actually ask for certain unit numbers? I don't do this with room numbers when booking the other resorts. We cannot wait for november and are already counting the days.

 

[stopher1]

Thank you so much for answering my many questions stopher1. Actually I had read your trip report previously and your wonderful report and awesome photos are what helped us decide on booking the THV! Another thank you. It's so nice to know that the walk is not as far as it looks on the map. As for location we just requested a view of the river. (thanks for posting the check in CM's comment. LoL) Is it best to leave it at that or should we actually ask for certain unit numbers? I don't do this with room numbers when booking the other resorts. We cannot wait for november and are already counting the days.

Ahhhh, thanks.

If you are okay with just ending up with some kind of water view - I'd leave it like that. Certainly it is just a request and not guaranteed...but you might just get what you want. If it were me and I wanted to be closer to the walkway, I might modify my request to be water view near the boat launch or south bus stop or... whatever - but then again, the next time, I might just specifically request unit 7056 again... I'm not sure. Either way, I'm betting you'll have a very nice stay there.

 

[BeccaG]

Joining! We love our SSR, especially with the THVs which we staid in the week before Thanksgiving and loved!

 

[DisneyFreaks]

Ahhhh, thanks.
If you are okay with just ending up with some kind of water view - I'd leave it like that. Certainly it is just a request and not guaranteed...but you might just get what you want. If it were me and I wanted to be closer to the walkway, I might modify my request to be water view near the boat launch or south bus stop or... whatever - but then again, the next time, I might just specifically request unit 7056 again... I'm not sure. Either way, I'm betting you'll have a very nice stay there.

Thanks for the tip. I think I may just call and mention being near the boat launch. We visit DTD alot so that would work well for us. Sounds like you really enjoyed your pool view though. I know we'll love the THV. Our family enjoys camping and being outdoors and those treehouses have always peaked our curiousity.

BeccaG....Welcome! So glad to hear you enjoyed your stay at THV. Our trip will be the week before Thanksgiving as well. How were the crowds and weather that week?

 

[kikiq]

Just some pictures of the THV from the trail by Grandstand

Walkway between buildings to THV

View of the THV across the golf course behind Grandstand

And for those who need a picture of some warm weather

 

[my3princes]

We will be staying in the THV in July. We would like a Villa that is as close as possible to the pool entrance. Does anyone know which one we should request? We have our car so we're not concerned with bus stops or getting places, just getting to the pool quickly.

 

[DisneyFreaks]

Just some pictures of the THV from the trail by Grandstand

Terrific pictures kikiq. Thanks. Do the THV near the golf course have decks that actually face the green or the woods? I don't think I'd like a golf course view very much (although DH would probably disagree. LoL)

 

[Sheribo]

One month (28 days really) till our first visit to THVs. So excited. Thanks for the photos.

 

[stopher1]

We will be staying in the THV in July. We would like a Villa that is as close as possible to the pool entrance. Does anyone know which one we should request? We have our car so we're not concerned with bus stops or getting places, just getting to the pool quickly.

We stayed in 7056 which was directly looking out over the pool. Unfortunately there is no direct path from the unit entrance, but it was a short walk around the trees along the road to get to the pool entrance (@ 2 min). 7057 & 7058 were in the same grouping of units as ours. Walking underneath our deck you could walk right up to the pool's fence and look over it.

 

[my3princes]

We stayed in 7056 which was directly looking out over the pool. Unfortunately there is no direct path from the unit entrance, but it was a short walk around the trees along the road to get to the pool entrance (@ 2 min). 7057 & 7058 were in the same grouping of units as ours. Walking underneath our deck you could walk right up to the pool's fence and look over it.

Thanks.

If I'm reading the map correctly it looks like 7035, 7036 or 7037 would be near the pool entrance?

 

[stopher1]

Thanks.

If I'm reading the map correctly it looks like 7035, 7036 or 7037 would be near the pool entrance?

Correct, those are the closest to the pool entrance.

 

[KLEONARD]

October trip, Grandstand parking lot view. The picture is modified by Tilt/Shift process.

Kevin

 

[leane]

We are doing a triple split stay SSR is our "meat" resort on the sandwich.

I have read through many threads and other sites and DVC members have give great reviews. I have a question.

Smoking, Yes I am a naughty one that still hasn't let go of the habit. The maps of SSR I can find all state that there is a smoking area in front of each building. Is that correct?

2nd question..
When I made my room request I requested to be in a specific building prefernce listed as Congress Park, Grandstand and then Springs.

How did I do?

 

[pnyltwk]

We are doing a triple split stay SSR is our "meat" resort on the sandwich.

I have read through many threads and other sites and DVC members have give great reviews. I have a question.

Smoking, Yes I am a naughty one that still hasn't let go of the habit. The maps of SSR I can find all state that there is a smoking area in front of each building. Is that correct?

2nd question..
When I made my room request I requested to be in a specific building prefernce listed as Congress Park, Grandstand and then Springs.

How did I do?

We enjoy Congress Park. It is not that far away from Main Pool or the Hospitality house. It is a five minute walk to DTD. We love that convenience.

Yes I believe there is a bench by the front entrance of each bldg that is a designated smoking area.