SSR Trip Report 8/25 - 8/30

[eporter66]

Another DVC trip in the books, and some great new experiences!

Arrived on Friday 8/25, and we always take our travel days as a laid back, relaxing kind of day. So, we got to check-in around 12:30 and our room was ready!

• Grandstand - Room 9310 - 2 Bedroom
• First time in the Grandstand section (have stayed in Congress Park and Paddock on previous trips). Probably my least favorite in comparison to the other areas, but still enjoyed it. We love the Paddock pool, and quiet pool in the Congress Park Section. Haven't warmed up to the Grandstand pool yet
• Room was in good condition, Jacuzzi tub wasnt working, but they fixed the next day, and dryer also needed to be fixed.
• Spent most of our time at the main pool

Weather - for most days it was overcast, usually had rain in the afternoon, and Saturday night we had heavy rain from about 5-8, but just as we got back to MK, it began to drizzle and die off - so perfect timing. Honestly, for me this was perfect park weather, the sun was not beating down on us all day, and we all know the August sun can take a lot out of you. The rain and drizzle was actually refreshing, no issues with it

Friday 8/25 - Went over to Disney Springs to have our traditional first meal at The Earl of Sandwich. Love what they have done over there, Disney Springs is beautiful, the parking garages are fantastic, and made it much easier to just park and go. Hung out at the pool most of the day, and just relaxed. Made a quick run to the Winn-Dixie for supplies, and just ate in the room Friday night to prepare for our park time.

Saturday 8/26 - Magic Kingdom
We hit the main rides early, Big Thunder (2x), Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and had fast passes for the Mine Coaster and Space Mountain. Walked around and did a few other rides until around 1:30. Went back for a swim, and then out to dinner to Sweet Tomatoes - trying to be a little healthy and have salad. Around 5:00, it began pouring buckets, really heavy rain for about 2 hours. As we saw it start to let up, we decided to head back to MK, and got in Pirates, Space Mountain again, and saw the fireworks and show at the Castle.

Sunday 8/27 - Animal Kingdom
We made our decision that no matter what, we were going to wait in line and do Avatar. It was worth the wait. We got to the park around 8:30, and waited about 75 minutes in line. What a fantastic ride, can't say enough about it. Disney hit a homerun with this one. So impressed. The other rides did not have real long wait times (we skipped Safari - which kind of bummed me out), but hit all the others. Again, afternoon pool and dinner at the Boathouse.

Boathouse at Disney Springs - Great meal and great service. The staff was fantastic, and the food was really good, I think this is a favorite of mine. I took my parents in March for their Anniversary, and now back with my family. Two great meals, this one will be on my list of favorites, and I will be back.​

Monday 8/28 - EPCOT
This has always been my favorite park (although AK may now rival it). We spent the morning doing Soarin', Mission Space, and Test Track among other rides. Sad to see Innovations being renovated, we enjoy that area. Walked around and got my usual Fish & Chips for lunch. Walked over to the Boardwalk for an Ice Cream and then over to Hollywood Studios for Star Tours and Tower of Terror. Lines were long for the Rock-n-Roller Coaster so we decided to skip. Went back to EPCOT and hit Soarin again and Spaceship Earth on the way out.

Tuesday 8/29 - Universal & Islands of Adventure
Our plan had always been to wait until our daughter was a little older to hit Universal. I thought these parks were great, different feel than Disney, but great just the same. Both Harry Potter rides were good, I think my favorite may have been King Kong. The Jimmy Fallon ride through New York was a lot of fun. I was not in the mood for the Coasters that day, but will have to get back and do them another time. Universal has some extremely clever rides and queues, and the Harry Potter train was excellent. We will definitely go back to these parks again.

Wednesday 8/30 - Animal Kingdom
We went back to do Avatar again, and the line was worse than Sunday. Maybe people were coming in for the Holiday weekend. So, we hit that, Dinosaur, Everest and then back to the hotel for a swim and lunch, and had to leave for the airport by 3:00

Overall - Another great vacation. We are looking to try one of the other DVC resorts next time, just for something different. We had friends staying at the Beach Club, who we spent a lot of time with over the vacation, and they really liked it their. We have never stayed at that resort, but have been to the Boardwalk, and the area is great for the easy walk to Hollywood Studios and Epcot.

I never thought I would say overcast and rainy was a good thing, but in late August I think it was perfect. Great vacation overall!

 

[jsrj21]

My family and I went over to SSR this August to check it out. It is a very relaxing and quiet resort. We always stay at CBR but have been pondering DVC. We like the easy commute to Disney Springs. You can even take a nice walk over. Thanks for posting your trip report.

 

[eporter66]

My family and I went over to SSR this August to check it out. It is a very relaxing and quiet resort. We always stay at CBR but have been pondering DVC. We like the easy commute to Disney Springs. You can even take a nice walk over. Thanks for posting your trip report.

Yes, it is a quiet and relaxing resort. We bought back in 2003 and have been very happy with our purchase to date. Do your research, and make sure it is right for you and your family. Here were a few of our reasons:

• Florida is one of the easiest destinations to get to, and from our airport, we can get direct flights into Orlando.

• The accomodations are really nice, and it is more relaxing to be staying on property for us.
• We have family in the area, so we can even use DVC as a place to stay when we visit family (and will most likely sneak Disney time in)
• We have begun exploring doing things outside the parks and there is a lot to do. Even on Disney property, golf, tennis, bike riding, camping. My wife has run two marathons at Disney and used DVC for her stay with her friends.
• We do eat in the room (especially breakfast). Being able to do a quick grocery run and have food, drinks etc...in the room is a money saver.
• We usually rent a car since we do some things off property

We do use our membership, and to date have never lost points. We only have 150, but it seems to work for us. We borrowed for a few years, and now we have rolled points the last few years, which has allowed us to up our accomodations to a two bedroom.

I will admit that we love Disney, and it has been great to see Disney up their game recently with the new rides, updates etc. But, honestly, we usually spend a day or two just relaxing around the resort swimming, biking etc, and we enjoy that just as much.

There does seem to be a lot of negativity to the SSR resort, but I am not sure why other than if it is not to someone's taste visually. It is a big resort, and I like the location, very close to Disney Springs. We rent a car, so I cannot speak to the transportation. We have used the buses on occasion and for the most part they seem fine to us. We have always tried to go during non-peak times, but now that our daughter is in 8th grade, it is difficult to take her out of school for a vacation. We chose the last week in August knowing that the sourthern schools are back in session and hoped the crowds would be lower. We did well, and although August is not ideal for me going to Florida, it was a great vacation.

Good luck

 

[jsrj21]

Wow, thanks for the info. My family and I have gone to Disney World so much that we could have aid for the DVC already! Now that my son is older, he's been talking to me about it because he loves it too - hence why we were visiting some of the resorts on our last trip here in August. What we liked the most about SSR was the proximity to DS. However, when we visited, we liked the tranquility and something about the resort that we really can't explain. I've done tons of research and although it's a bit confusing about use year, how many days I can stay, buying more points, etc, I have to figure it all out before we decide. We've never bought a timeshare so the learning curve is a bit steep - at least for me. By the way, your bullet points are pretty much a carbon copy of what we do - with the only exception of breakfast in the room.

Thanks again!

 

[eporter66]

We were very hesitant to do a time share as well, but as time passes it has been good for us.

We bought a small amount of points (150), but it has worked for us. We've had years where we borrowed, and years when we banked points. Have never had an issue with using them.

We really feel the resorts offer a nice destination for relaxing and doing other things besides the parks.