SSR or OKW

[Leleluvsdis]

We are planning a trip with 4 adult next in December, and I am having a hard time deciding in a resort. We stayed at OKW in October and were really happy about it, but I think SSR looks very intersting as well. We will be in a 2 bdrm for 7 nights. I am looking for some pros and cons if possible. Thanks in advance!!

 

[hakepb]

OKW units are huge, and SSR rooms will feel smaller. SSR dedicated BR will have 2 queen beds like OKW. OKW actually has a table for 4 on its balcony (every other resort just has chairs)
Only 2 OKW buildings have elevators if you have mobility issues..

For adults I may lean SSR if you plan on going 2x to DTD, use the spa or golf..otherwise I might go for the space at OKW

 

[lovin'fl]

SSR is my very very least fave DVC resort and we probably won't stay there again (unless we do a TH villa). It is a spread out treeless complex that has NO Disney theme-ing at all...IMO. The rooms are small and it's near nothing...except Downtown Disney which we, personally, couldn't care less about. The buses are horrible and we felt like we just sat on a bus for too much of our day (or sat waiting for a bus).

OKW is also not near anything (parks). But it is more quaint and serene and has huge well laid out villas. You can boat to Downtown Disney, if that's important to you. The points are less to stay at OKW too. The buses aren't great here either but if you are near the HH (either get the HH booking or go for the buildings nearby) you can at least go to the HH bus stop to go to the parks (and that's the last stop on the way out, so you aren't sitting on a bus while it makes it's rounds through the resort). The the stop at Penninsular Rd is the 1st stop coming back from the parks and you can hop off there.

 

[hakepb]

As a place to crash between all-day theme park visits, SSR lacks the crucial proximity advantage...but SSR is very enjoyable if you plan to spend time at SSR, enjoy the feature pools, or the amazing DtD and water view from the Congress Park quiet pool, walking paths, golf, spa, take a boat to DTD...
And SSR's landscaping is becoming more beautiful as it matured (but true to its theme, the landscaping is what you see up north vs the exotic tropical beauty of OKW)
They have improved the QS dining with the new pool, and the new interiors (in progress) have a few more Disney touches..
And I prefer SSR's bus to MK over BWV (that always takes you to the non-Fisnet Swan and Dolphin)
So, if you wind up at SSR, plan to take some resort time to enjoy the resort

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

Depends on what kind of vacation you are planning....lots of park time? Dining plan? Pool time?


We have stayed in all the DVC Florida locations and have had wonderful vacations in all of them. We love SSR for a relaxed vacation that includes some time at DTD but mostly relaxing at the Congress Park pool. I am heading there in April with my 17 year old daughter and that is where she asked to stay.

The first resort we stayed at was OKW. You can't beat those large rooms and huge two-bedroom balconies. I find it a little too quiet for my taste but the room sizes are really a huge advantage. It's a little more of a walk to DTD but still is fairly close

On vacations that are a little more adult and include sampling the beverages in EPCOT we love BWV's. Their quiet pool is very relaxing and there is a lot to see and do right nearby.

If it is a Commando park vacation, then being on the monorail at BLT is wonderful. As well, quick access to the other monorail resorts for dining is a big advantage.

VWL is also good for park days. There you have easy access to the trails at Fort Wilderness for biking etc. we also like the close proximity of the quiet pool to the pool bar for grabbing quick drinks and sitting at the quiet pool.

Depending on how you plan to spend your time, there is a resort that will match it perfectly. As you may guess from my comments above, we often book split stays so we can enjoy the best of two DVC worlds!

 

[Sammie]

Both are great resorts and honestly how can anyone say that SSR is treeless It has beautiful landscaping.

They are both centrally located to "all" parks, and transportation is good at both. In fact SSR and OKW are closer to all 4 parks than any other DVC resort.

SSR has a better quick service restaurant and very nice indoor seating.

OKW has the largest villas.

As to theme, both are very well themed. OKW being exactly that Key West of the past and SSR is themed similar to Saratoga Spring, NY.

 

[heynowirv]

Nice post Sammie,I agree.

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Thanks to everyone for your input! I would love to get at an Epcot or MK DVC because we are huge park goers. Typically only have 1 day that we don't go to the parks. We will be trading in RCI, and SSR/DVC are the most readily available. We may break down and do a studio\1 bd room combo or 2-1bdrm combos to get an Epcot or MK resort. We will have to see what becomes available. We can book in february, and have enough points for numerous combinations. DH would love to stay at WL, and I would love to stay at AKL. Mom wants to stay at BLT, and Dad wants to stay at EPCOT. (see the dilemma haha)

I guess we will see what becomes available. I did not mind OKW at all and would love to stay there again, but since this will probably be our last trip as just husband and wife, I would like to get the most out of the parks as possible, and being closer to the parks would definitely help in that area.

Thanks again everyone for your help!! For any other comments, please feel free to give them!!

 

[Meggysmum]

OKW has the advantage of huge rooms and great balconies but personally I hated the resort. We were at the furthest point (all that was available) which felt isolated, looked over a stagnant pond and had all the bus noise as every bus used the parking area as the turn-around. I thought the decor of OKW is wonderful too, much better than the flowery stuff at SSR.

SSR I thought was a lovely resort though. Much better counter service options and refill stations more easily accesible than at OKW. I liked that there were lakes to walk aound and sit by (unlike OKW where it's inaccesible gold courses although it looks spacious) and the walk to DTD was great to stretch our legs arfter shuffling around the parks in the crowds.

I would stay at OKW again but only if I could get the near HH listing. I felt we were so far from HH and it also looked more in need of a bit of TLC in our block too.

 

[lovin'fl]

Thanks to everyone for your input! I would love to get at an Epcot or MK DVC because we are huge park goers. Typically only have 1 day that we don't go to the parks. We will be trading in RCI, and SSR/DVC are the most readily available. We may break down and do a studio\1 bd room combo or 2-1bdrm combos to get an Epcot or MK resort. We will have to see what becomes available. We can book in february, and have enough points for numerous combinations. DH would love to stay at WL, and I would love to stay at AKL. Mom wants to stay at BLT, and Dad wants to stay at EPCOT. (see the dilemma haha)

I guess we will see what becomes available. I did not mind OKW at all and would love to stay there again, but since this will probably be our last trip as just husband and wife, I would like to get the most out of the parks as possible, and being closer to the parks would definitely help in that area.

Thanks again everyone for your help!! For any other comments, please feel free to give them!!

Oh....I thought you were trying to decide between OKW and SSR. Well, BWV is our very fave as it is wonderful to walk to Epcot and HS and you can monorail to MK from Epcot. There is a ton of dining options right there too.

AKV is nice in that there seems to be some sort of availability (not value rooms, but something) at 7 months out. AKV is great theme-ing and has some great dining options too. If you go with Kadani instead of Jambo, you get an extra bathroom too. We have not stayed here yet...we hope it'll be our next stay.

We have yet to stay at BLT but it looks nice and I can't wait to try it out. We did stay at the Contemporary for a couple nights once and it was fantastic. The monorail is way better than the buses IMO. The rooms look really cool and I think they have the extra bathroom too. Cost a ton of points though...so that puts it down on our list.

We did VWL for part of a split stay once and it was lovely, but nothing out of this world. It is down on my list with SSR and I don't think we'll ever stay there again.

BCV is another great location. We are about to stay there for the very 1st time (in 2 weeks ). It will probably go up there with BWV near the top of our list because of location. And it has the best pool on Disney property...SAB. The only thing that makes it go down on our list is that it costs a ton of points to stay there...which BWV does too, but if you own BWV you can book a standard view for less points (or if you are lucky enough, at 7 months out, to get standard view).

So based on what I know about the resorts and considering all things- like how many points, location, etc- this is my order of preference (and we do 2BRs now):
1- BWV (standard view)
2- AKV (value or standard view)
3- BCV or BWV- preferred view
4- BLT (standard view)
5- OKW
6- SSR- Treehouse Villa
7- AKV- savannah view
8- BLT- lake view
9- VWL
10- SSR

 

[BEASLYBOO]

You've already stayed at OKW (my favorite resort) so why not try SSR, also a favorite!

Favorite area of SSR, Congress Park, Downtown Disney View!

Honestly, no pros-cons, love them both!

 

[downontheBW]

If you're booking through RCI, to make sure you get at least something at WDW, you could take whatever 2BR comes up first that matches your dates and purchase the cancellation insurance. Chances are that it will be OKW or SSR.

You could try for another resort by starting an ongoing search or keep checking with RCI on availability. I think you can only do the ongoing search with RCI weeks, not RCI points.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Resort preferences are very personal. For that reason, my advise is to try each resort at least once during the ownership of your DVC membership. Then you'll know which ones you like and which ones you don't. For ourselves, we found that doing split stays helped us to explore and try all the resort more quickly. If we're down for a quick stay of a long weekend or less than a week, certainly we'll stay in the same room. But our summer trips that last two weeks are always split between at least two different resorts. (It makes it seem like two different vacations.)

SSR happens to be my most favorite resort, although I thoroughly enjoy our other two home resorts as well. I make sure we spend at least one week at SSR every year. I love the look, feel, and theming of the whole resort; like the way that transportation is consistent to every park; find it to be one of the most convenient resorts when we have a rental car; like that we're close to both Downtown Disney and the Crossroads Shopping Center (where we have quite a few favorite restaurants); love the pools; find the dining options to have some of the best selection of the various DVC resorts; and find that it's the resort where we somehow have the most-relaxed, laid back vacations.

To prove how subjective resort preferences are, SSR is my favorite and OKW is one of my least favorite. The resorts are similiar in many ways, so you might think I'd like them about the same. Nope. The only one I liked less than OKW was AKV. (That's all relative, though. Every single WDW DVC resort is wonderful in its own way, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay at any of them again. Given the choice, though, OKW and AKV would be at the very bottom of my booking priority.)

It's difficult to put a finger on why OKW didn't click for me. A few of the things I listed for SSR apply to OKW, too. Some of the things I didn't like at OKW were the decor of the rooms, the overall layout of the resort, the counter service dining option, and the pool. I also wasn't thrilled at carrying luggage and groceries up steps.

There are owner/lover threads for both resorts. You may want to take a look through these. They may give you a few ideas. SSR OKW

 

[going/again]

Both are great resorts and honestly how can anyone say that SSR is treeless It has beautiful landscaping.

They are both centrally located to "all" parks, and transportation is good at both. In fact SSR and OKW are closer to all 4 parks than any other DVC resort.

SSR has a better quick service restaurant and very nice indoor seating.

OKW has the largest villas.

As to theme, both are very well themed. OKW being exactly that Key West of the past and SSR is themed similar to Saratoga Spring, NY.

I often read quotes about SSR, and sometimes ask myself have they really been there or are just rehashing someone else's posts, IMHO it's a great resort.

 

[lovin'fl]

Resort preferences are very personal. For that reason, my advise is to try each resort at least once during the ownership of your DVC membership. Then you'll know which ones you like and which ones you don't. For ourselves, we found that doing split stays helped us to explore and try all the resort more quickly. If we're down for a quick stay of a long weekend or less than a week, certainly we'll stay in the same room. But our summer trips that last two weeks are always split between at least two different resorts. (It makes it seem like two different vacations.)

SSR happens to be my most favorite resort, although I thoroughly enjoy our other two home resorts as well. I make sure we spend at least one week at SSR every year. I love the look, feel, and theming of the whole resort; like the way that transportation is consistent to every park; find it to be one of the most convenient resorts when we have a rental car; like that we're close to both Downtown Disney and the Crossroads Shopping Center (where we have quite a few favorite restaurants); love the pools; find the dining options to have some of the best selection of the various DVC resorts; and find that it's the resort where we somehow have the most-relaxed, laid back vacations.

To prove how subjective resort preferences are, SSR is my favorite and OKW is one of my least favorite. The resorts are similiar in many ways, so you might think I'd like them about the same. Nope. The only one I liked less than OKW was AKV. (That's all relative, though. Every single WDW DVC resort is wonderful in its own way, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay at any of them again. Given the choice, though, OKW and AKV would be at the very bottom of my booking priority.)

It's difficult to put a finger on why OKW didn't click for me. A few of the things I listed for SSR apply to OKW, too. Some of the things I didn't like at OKW were the decor of the rooms, the overall layout of the resort, the counter service dining option, and the pool. I also wasn't thrilled at carrying luggage and groceries up steps.

There are owner/lover threads for both resorts. You may want to take a look through these. They may give you a few ideas. SSR OKW

I agree 100%. Everyone should try each resort once and see what they like and don't like. That's what we are doing and after our trip coming up, we will try to stay at AKV and then BLT (then there will be a GF to try too). We did stay at SSR for 3 nights and hated it...not really sure what it was either. It felt kind of stark and blah to us and we'd sit and wait for a bus for long times and then sit on the bus as it stopped at the very numerous stops at SSR (which I guess would be the same at OKW, except we own there and can book near HH at 11 months out and do the 'get on at HH and get off at Penninsular' trick). OKW is not really our fave either but it is good for A- conserving points and B- getting a huge villa (though with the new hardwood floors throughout the villa, it was very noisy above us...never had a noise problem at any of the other resorts except HHI when we were next to the entire building's HVAC fans). But, yes, one person's dream resort is another person's nightmare resort. My SIL's family LOVE SSR and love to book in the part that's next to the path to Downtown Dis as their DSs walk there every day. My kids aren't really into DD, so it's not a draw for us.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

SSR is my very very least fave DVC resort and we probably won't stay there again (unless we do a TH villa). It is a spread out treeless complex that has NO Disney theme-ing at all...IMO. The rooms are small and it's near nothing...except Downtown Disney which we, personally, couldn't care less about. The buses are horrible and we felt like we just sat on a bus for too much of our day (or sat waiting for a bus).

OKW is also not near anything (parks). But it is more quaint and serene and has huge well laid out villas. You can boat to Downtown Disney, if that's important to you. The points are less to stay at OKW too. The buses aren't great here either but if you are near the HH (either get the HH booking or go for the buildings nearby) you can at least go to the HH bus stop to go to the parks (and that's the last stop on the way out, so you aren't sitting on a bus while it makes it's rounds through the resort). The the stop at Penninsular Rd is the 1st stop coming back from the parks and you can hop off there.

I agree with this! We will not stay at SSR again, but I'd be happy to go back to OKW.