SSR Owners. Tell me the Good, Bad and the Ugly.

[Cruelladeville]

Let me first say that I like SSR, and we just got back from there yesterday! But you wanted to know the good, bad, and ugly, so I thought I would give you the bad, from my viewpoint:

The pictures in Artist's Palette--I hate those big things that hang from the ceilings! ( Artist's Palette has the BEST meat loaf, though)

The size of SSR--we didn't have a car, and when you shop at the gift shop, and then have to carry the food back to your room, well, that got old really fast. The water bottles got to be really heavy!

The buses at SSR are the old ones, for the most part, and they are in disrepair. They don't "kneel", so it's difficult to get into them if you are arthritic, and some of the buses have handicap ramps that don't work.

This is the worst that I could think of. I hope it doesn't dissuade you from buying SSR.

 

[tomandrobin]

The size of SSR--we didn't have a car, and when you shop at the gift shop, and then have to carry the food back to your room, well, that got old really fast. The water bottles got to be really heavy!

If you are buying alot of groceries, bell services will bring them to your room.

The buses at SSR are the old ones, for the most part, and they are in disrepair.

Buses are not assigned to a particular resort. The bus you get is just random. You may have just been unlucky on getting broken and old buses. Too bad you can't turn that into "Dream Team" luck!

 

[newharmony]

We own SSR but don't care for it. We are here now (couldn't get in anywhere else for 18 nights) and they told us yesterday that the DVC owners no longer received the 10% discount for food at the Artist's Palette. I don't know what else may have been affected.

 

[Mtnman44]

Kenny,

A couple points you may wish to consider.

I bought SSR last year and I'm sure it's fine. Haven't actually stayed there yet. However, if I were buying today, I'd likely buy at OKW or AKV. Why? Basically it's because there is more home resort advantage at the other resorts. There is something you gain by being able to book at 11 months. Currently, there is no such real advantage at SSR. Even if you own at OKW or AKV, you can still book whatever you want at SSR at 7 months so why not own somewhere else to give yourself more options?

OKW - Yes it is "older" but is that really going to make a difference? These properties are very well mainained in general. In ten years, I doubt you'll be able to tell a difference. OKW have the largest and best (in my opinion, having only seen them on paper and photos) floor plans. They have certain great features unique to the resort such as large tubs and full beds in the bedrooms and studios (not sleeper sofas). As mentioned, they have significantly more square footage and large patios. On top of all of that, they are significantly cheaper in terms of point costs. This enables you to either buy fewer points, or make your points go farther or get larger rooms. The grand villas are significantly more affordable point wise. Now that this resort has about 50 years on its contract, I think it's my favorite.

AKV - Home resort advantage here with special views, value rooms, 1 BRs that sleep 5 and have two baths, flat pannel TVs, and concierge rooms. Great on site restaurants and significant themeing and unique environment. Again, you could still most likely get what you want at SSR if that is still your preferred resort.

Something to think about. In summary, SSR is new and it's great, but it is the largest resort and so by definition, is the least likely to be fully booked at 7 months. There are no special booking categories thus there is much less of a need for the home resort advantage.

 

[RLRDA]

There's a thread on the DVC-Planning board that talks about SSR being named by Zagat's (travel mag ? - not sure what it is) as having the best and nicest rooms on property in WDW. Someone also posted on that thread that the SSR Spa was one of the top 5 resort spas in the U.S. last year.

 

[mamatojon]

Likes -

Quiet, peaceful, relaxing
Community Hall
I actually prefer the more subtle theming over some of the others
Decor, room colors
Views - I like how most rooms have pleasant views of landscaping, fountains, etc.
Buses - I like that you don't have to share with another resort

Dislikes -

Artist's Palette - I love the food there that is currently offered, but I think the selection needs to be widened and the seating area is just simply not enough. I would love to see more of a food court area, separate from the store area.

 

[sandals1959]

Thanks everyone! I was starting to feel like I should have bought elsewhere, so my buyer's remorse was kicking in. I don't have any points til '09, but I will definitely visit during summer '08.

 

[eporter66]

Unlike many people here, we did not consider a lot prior to joining DVC. We had been to WDW a number of times, knew we loved it, and felt it would provide great vacations for our family.

Thankfully - we bought into SSR, and have stayed there a number of times already, and we love it. Not sure what you are looking for from DVC, but here are the reasons we bought in, and what we love about the resort.

1. My wife and I are big WDW fans. We went before having our daughter, so we knew we loved it - and figured it would provide great memories and vacations for our family

2. It is an easy trip from where we live (Upstate NY), because we have always been able to get a direct flight to Orlando. 2 and 1/2 hours and we are in Florida.

3. We bought 150 pts, and I feel that has been plenty. I really read these boards to understand the point system, and that is important. Make sure that DVC will work for you. We still do other vacations besides WDW.

What we like about SSR
1. Resort is elegant, and peaceful. We love the decor, and it feels like an upscale resort, but at the sametime it is a very relaxed atmosphere.

2. Location - Many like the resorts close to the parks. After a day at the park, I dont mind being removed from the excitement. If I want to continue my day, we have Downtown Disney which is a walk, boat or car ride away. Good restaurants, and a fun place to spend an evening. Also - we rent a car on vacation, so we dont rely on the disney transportation system to get around WDW.

3. Golf - I am a golfer, and LBV Golf Course is right on property.

I honestly do not have any dislikes about the resort. We have stayed at two other resorts so I do have something to compare SSR to. We really enjoyed the Boardwalk villas, and not to contradict my statement above, but it was nice to be close to EPCOT during the Food & Wine Fest. So, I do understand why people say pick the resort you like best, or the location or park you visit the most.
That being said, you are vacationing in WDW, how bad can anything really be?? SSR is a beautiful resort. You may find another resort you like better, and the beauty of DVC is you can stay at the other resorts.
We just stayed at OKW a week ago. I really liked the resort, it also has a very laid back feel. The one thing it lacked for us was that "WOW" factor. It is a very nice resort, but it just did not have the same impact as SSR, Wilderness Lodge or the Boardwalk for us. But I would stay at OKW again - it had its own unique charm.

I have nothing bad to say about SSR. We feel fortunate that we have been able to afford this. So far, DVC has been a great deal for us, and we have no regrets about joining at Saratoga Springs.

E

 

[SanDeeKath]

Congrats at buying at SSR. I would have chosen AKV instead, but that is personal choice. I have seen SSR come up all the time on II, which I access with Starwood weeks. What that means is that I can trade into SSR slightly off season (Oct-Nov, Early Spring) with my $2500 resale Sheraton timeshare quite easily.

AKV is another story. It is very unique and has categories of rooms (views) that make the 11 month booking window key. As a matter of fact I called MS today to try to get a ressie for a friend of mine for 5 days in Oct or Nov and the lady informed me that the resort is practically completely sold out for all of 2008! Huge demand, she said. There are a few random rooms on Tue or Wed nights but nothing consecutive in any size at all right now.

What that tells me is that the demand is really high for AKV. So you NEED that 11 month owner's window to book! Not so with SSR or OKW.

So my advice -- buy where it is hard to get in. You will be able to get a room at SSR very easily at 7 months, unless of course you are wanting to go for New Year's or Thanksgiving. In that case buy at SSR and start calling first thing in the morning for ressies each day!

Katherine

 

[mayopac]

Hello....
Will be staying at SSR over the summer and was wondering about the room temp sensors? Does anyone know how that works, and is there a specific code for them?

 

[LIFERBABE]

Congrats at buying at SSR. I would have chosen AKV instead, but that is personal choice. I have seen SSR come up all the time on II, which I access with Starwood weeks. What that means is that I can trade into SSR slightly off season (Oct-Nov, Early Spring) with my $2500 resale Sheraton timeshare quite easily.

AKV is another story. It is very unique and has categories of rooms (views) that make the 11 month booking window key. As a matter of fact I called MS today to try to get a ressie for a friend of mine for 5 days in Oct or Nov and the lady informed me that the resort is practically completely sold out for all of 2008! Huge demand, she said. There are a few random rooms on Tue or Wed nights but nothing consecutive in any size at all right now.

What that tells me is that the demand is really high for AKV. So you NEED that 11 month owner's window to book! Not so with SSR or OKW.

So my advice -- buy where it is hard to get in. You will be able to get a room at SSR very easily at 7 months, unless of course you are wanting to go for New Year's or Thanksgiving. In that case buy at SSR and start calling first thing in the morning for ressies each day!

Katherine

AKV is not even close to being finished so I feel the above is a bit of an exaggeration. You have 300,000 plus members with access to the few completed rooms at AKV where currently, most of 2008 is in the 7 month window already.

No one will be able to judge AKV availability until all the rooms are released to inventory. It will not be a small resort.

It's OK to be a proud owner of any DVC resort, but perspective should also be maintained.

I am a proud owner of SSR, BCV, OKW, AKV and BWV

 

[summergolf]

For the way we like to vacation SSR is perfect for us

enjoy your purchase

 

[SaratogaShan]

AKV is not even close to being finished so I feel the above is a bit of an exaggeration. You have 300,000 plus members with access to the few completed rooms at AKV where currently, most of 2008 is in the 7 month window already.

No one will be able to judge AKV availability until all the rooms are released to inventory. It will not be a small resort.

It's OK to be a proud owner of any DVC resort, but perspective should also be maintained.

I am a proud owner of SSR, BCV, OKW, AKV and BWV

I agree completely! It takes a while after the completion of a resort to gauge what the usage patterns might be. Since SSR is just now declaring the last of its inventory, all assumptions about usage and availability to this point are ....well.....assumptions!

While the size of SSR, OKW, and yes...eventually AKV would seem to make rooms more readily available at these resorts.....only time will tell.

Shan

 

[Gopher5]

Don't know if you've made your decision yet, but we bought 150 points at SSR last year. We spent a lot of time thinking about whether it was the right resort. We were 36 with 3 kids and length of contact was important to us. So it was between AKV and SSR. In the end we choose SSR because of its proximity to Downtown Disney. While we were impressed by some of the AKV features, and hope to stay there in the future, we didn't think the extra cost was warranted.

We plan on a family stay every other year (the cost of airfare is the discouraging factor). DW and I hope to go for a long weekend in the off years.

We stayed as a family last fall and had a great time. It erased any lingering doubts we may have had about whether we made the right choice.

 

[dbragas]

Hello....
Will be staying at SSR over the summer and was wondering about the room temp sensors? Does anyone know how that works, and is there a specific code for them?

Check out post #13 on this thread for a how-to on overriding the thermostats...
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23534367

 

[BroganMc]

No one will be able to judge AKV availability until all the rooms are released to inventory. It will not be a small resort.

That's something I was thinking about. Everyone assumes because SSR is 800+ rooms and has a certain set of detractors here that demand will always be less than what other resorts are. And it has been true that SSR has had rooms available longer in the first 4 years of its life. But then we also forget that Disney was constantly opening buildings and declaring units before the inventory was sold out. Once it reaches sell out this year, we won't be seeing that. In fact, the last building is already declared. So what it has for availability is based solely on that 1-2% Disney owns and owners trading out.

I know I already had trouble getting an HA studio at 7 mos. I had to go with the less used and more expensive 1bedroom option.

 

[Cee]

What's not to like(love)?

 

[5 for WDW]

Congrats on your new "home"!! We are big SSR fans.

We bought into DVC sight unseen and have never regretted going with SSR. The resort is large but, no where near as large as some reports led me to believe. My daughter was just shy of 4 during our 10 day stay there in September and had no problem walking all around the resort with us, without a stroller, after spending all day in the parks.
The grounds are beautiful. The CM's are friendly and helpful.
Our bus service was flawless our whole stay. Better service then any of our other stays onsite since 1996. (Really, I mean that..lol)
We were in The Grandstand section last stay and it was a perfect location. Close to everything and our one bedroom was immaculate.
Our kids love the themed pool in that section and the main pool.
The walk over to DTD was pleasant.

I could go on and on.

As for always being able to book a room after the 7 month mark. I went for three days in December with two friends. (DH's and kids stayed home)
I tried to get SSR about one month out and nothing was available. The only resort we were able to get in was BWV, Which I was not a fan of. I was on the phone the first day of my 11 month mark to get SSR for this December. My kids do not want to stay anywhere else!

I hope you enjoy SSR as much as we do!!

 

[mamaprincess]

To those whose kids don't want to stay anywhere else, ours don't either. They are mildly curious about AKV which we bought because of the 11 month advantage with lower point rooms and we are a family of 5, so the 1 bedroom there sleeps 5 and has 2 bathrooms and that keeps us from having to book a 2 bedroom. We gave them the option of staying anywhere else for our upcoming trip and they begged to stay at SSR again. They love it!!!

For my hubby and I, the decor is the most elegant of all the resorts. We felt the room decor at the other resorts looked a little cheap and cheesy thus can't see staying at any of them for any long period of time. AKV we feel, stepped it up on the room decor although the decor is either your taste or not at AKV. It's really african themed there and that is not for everyone. a Kingdom Towers will take it to the next level I'm sure because it will be so expensive to buy.

We do like the locations of BWV, BCV and WVL but we always drive so being right next to the parks is of little consequence to us. We like the parking right outside of our villa, a perk that OKW also shares.

We go to DTD several times during our trips for counter service (Earl of Sandwich, Wolfgang Puck Express, Cookes of Dublin, Ghiradelli's). We feel that the food options at SSR are better than any other resort because of the proximity to DTD where there are tons of restaraunts and delicious counter service options.

We love the look of the grounds and the beautiful colors of the buildings. SSR is just a gorgeous looking resort.

The CM's are really wonderful. We have had nothing but good experiences with the CM's.


The kids love High Rock Springs pool and could hang out there all day. We haven't tried the spa yet but have heard nothing but rave reviews about it so we may fit it in on our upcoming trip. It's nice to know it is on property.

The only thing I don't like about SSR is that there are no booking categories. I'd like to see a booking category for a DTD view (congress park) and I'd also like to see a booking category for the Grandstand and the springs (close to main pool and carriage house). It's bites to know that you can book 11mos out and someone can waltz in at the last minute and get a DTD view or some other really desirable location just because their flight got in earlier than yours. That needs to be fixed so that there will be a clear advantage to owning SSR.

 

[mamaprincess]

double post