SSR.....why?

[dizney4us]

For us, SSR feels most like a "home away from home" than any other DVC resort. We like the condo styling. We like having our car right out front (when we choose to rent). The have THE BEST gym facility not just on property, but of any resort we have ever stayed at. The SPA was written up in Conde Nast as one of the best SPAs in the country.

We are not park commandos. We like to hang out and relax. We like to workout or go for a run while on vacation (crazy to some, I know... ). When we do go to the parks for the day, we like to come back and feel like we are "home" (which is the whole idea behind DVC as a whole, right?) and SSR just has more of that then any other resort for us.

We agree! We love SSR and feel it is truly a "resort", a place you could go fro just for the place itself. I could go there and not do parks, in fact, DH and I go home to SSr in 18 days and we are only doing parks for 3 days because we want to enjoy the resort this time.

 

[Ducky4Disney]

We bought in Oct 03 while it was under construction. We didn't have a whole lot to compare it to since we'd only stayed at CSR before. I think this worked in our favor because we didn't have a bias going into it. We saw the BCV models and they were nice, but the SSR models were so appealing to us - nice muted tones, style wasn't too vintage or modern, and the horse theme of Saratoga Springs just sounded great.

After staying there, I can't imagine owning anywhere else. We've tried BCV and we didn't like the hotel feel to it and the actual hotel attached to it (or that *it* was attached to) - very noisy and crowded.

We're trying VWL this fall and I think I'm gonna like this resort! The grounds look beautiful and I do like the theme, but it looks like the furniture needs to be upgraded from the pics I've seen - it looks outdated.

SSR's style, layout, theme, and location are perfect for us!

D4D

 

[mr_incredibles]

To each his/her own. So if it doesn't fit you must acquit. Look somewhere else.
Best wishes. May the force be with you and may you find your way home.

 

[shelby101301]

When we bought this past Feb, we had a choice between there and AKL. The dues were cheaper, and the price per point was cheaper. We figured we could still stay anywhere so why not go for cheaper?

We did not realize at the time that it may be hard to book at the 7 month mark at other places. BUT we are not summer/Christmas park visitors, so it may not be an issue for us. We're taking our first trip this next Feb and was able to get both BC and BW. (We cancelled BC when we found out they were going to be refurbishing the pool while we were there)

Seriously..we saw the models, walked the grounds...it looked fine to me. I mean, I've never stayed at a bad Disney hotel, so why worry? Anyway, that was our thinking at the time...

HTH!

 

[rutgers1]

Here is why we bought:

1) It was one of two that was selling at the time. I felt that AKV was too "dark." The color scheme wasn't my cup of tea.

2) We like the condo style buildings, as opposed to the hotel style of several of the other DVC resorts. It just makes us feel more at home. In fact, I have always maintained that I would prefer to stay in the "moderate" POR than the "deluxe" Contemporary or Wilderness Lodge. I hate to be on top of other guests and prefer the spread out nature of places like SSR and POR.

3) The pool area is very pretty.

4) I like the color scheme of the entire resort, including the rooms. To me, the rooms are nicest that I have seen.

5) We like DTD, and the thought of walking there is cool.

6) Spa....cool.

7) Since we'll have this for long after our kids are grown, it seemed like the best place to spend our post-children years.

In all honesty, I kind of regretted the purchase a wee bit when I visited the Beach Club a few days later, as I thought my kids would have absolutely loved it there. However, the more I think about it, the happier I am.

 

[ColleenG]

They picked it because it was for sale when the members decided to buy and like other new resorts DVD offered incentives.

Ditto, and didn't realize we could buy into other resorts as a resale. We are happy with SSR. We will be staying there for the second time this October. We aren't in the room much except to sleep so I would be happy even at a value resort. Although now I have been spoiled by the space in a villa, especially with 4 kids.

 

[PinkTink63]

Another thing that I really like about SSR is that you can very easily walk to DTD and get a bus to any of the other resorts. This makes it so much easier to get to evening dinner reservations. At most other resorts I've have to take two busses or drive myself. I know many people like to drive so this is not an issue with them, but DH and I like to have a drink with dinner and we are sticklers for safety. It is really nice to be in a place where someone else can do the driving for you!

Shhhh! I think that is the best kept secret!

We bought, like many others, because of the great incentives at the time. We bought sight unseen and haven't regretted it! The resort is really beautiful and has it's pros and cons which have been mentioned on these boards. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

I think all of the DVC's have something different to offer and that is what we love about it. We bought to stay at all of them and have! If you really only want to stay at a particular place most of the time, then I would say, "Buy where you want to stay!" If it is not the most important thing, "Go for the best deal!"

 

[PinkTink63]

I tend to be an "SSR basher" because I think the resort is overbuilt and throws the DVC system out of balance, but with that said, if you like to go to spas, and you are not primarily visiting WDW to visit the parks, then you may love it. It's a pretty resort, lots of open area, but does require a lot of walking. Really not what most families with children are wanting to do on a WDW vacation.

I do think Disney decided to sqeeze as much money as they could out of SSR while giving as little as possible in return in comparison to the other resorts. But that's just my opinion.

I beg to differ! We spend much of the time at the parks and found transportation from SSR quite efficient last summer! That is more than I can say about the bus rides from the BWV & BCV. At SSR We never waited more than 10 min. for a bus and went directly to the parks! We had about a 6 min. walk to DTD where you have many choices of shopping and food or catch a bus to another resort. This year we stayed at BWV and waited about 40 min. for the bus, several times.

We take turns picking the resorts to stay in and next summer my son, who is 14 wants to stay at SSR! He loves it there! We have never even used the spa or the arcade, we just love the atmosphere!

JMO!

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

We also bought into SSR sight unseen a few years ago. We had just come back from a stay at VWL and figured that if all of the DVC resorts were comparable to that than we would be very happy w/ DVC!! Honestly, my DH and I thought we would probably never stay at SSR, but after reading all of the wonderful things you are all saying about the resort, we may look into it for our next trip!
We usually like to stay at BCV or BWV b/c of proximity to Epcot and Hollywood studios, but SSR is sounding very appealing!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I tend to be an "SSR basher" because I think the resort is overbuilt and throws the DVC system out of balance, but with that said, if you like to go to spas, and you are not primarily visiting WDW to visit the parks, then you may love it. It's a pretty resort, lots of open area, but does require a lot of walking. Really not what most families with children are wanting to do on a WDW vacation.

I do think Disney decided to sqeeze as much money as they could out of SSR while giving as little as possible in return in comparison to the other resorts. But that's just my opinion.

Sorry, but I must respectfully disagree with you! We do the parks pretty much every day of our trips (even the 17 night long ones), that is why we bought DVC and that is why SSR was perfect for us. And in fact, I see so many families at SSR, its hard for me to believe they are all there and not emphasizing the parks on their vacation. We find that being about the same distance to each park is great for us since we visit each park equally. I don't do spa's so that didn't figure into my decison at all. I also don't golf and spend maybe 2 hours per trip at DTD. But I still found SSR had the most to offer our family. We looked at resale's and we decided that even without the longer contract, we would pick SSR. We think the units are the nicest. We also rarely rent a car and rely solely on WDW transportation. SSR has been great for us in that respect. We have never had an issue. As for the walking, again, I don't think its a big deal. I mean if my 70 year old mother who was terminally ill at the time could walk that resort, I think anyone can! To me a WDW is about walking and you will get that in one way or the other regardless of where you stay.

As far as transportation, I think SSR is as good as any other resort I have stayed at WDW. Having a bus to each and every park and being walking distance to the bus stop at DTD is great if you want to dine at another resort. I hated the way at BWV we had to walk back to the resort one night after we stayed past Fantasmic to shop. In my mind its unacceptable the boats close when they do. They encourage guests to stay late and shop which we did, but then exited to find a dark, closed boat dock and a dark, deserted path back to Boardwalk. So being walking distance to a park isn't always the best. And BLT may be walking distance to MK, but it will share busses with other resorts to the other parks. So to me all the DVC resorts, all the WDW resorts in general have transportaion pros and cons.

We think SSR is beautiful, if others don't that is what is so great about DVC and WDW in general. Something for everyone! I very much agree, buy where you want to stay. And think longterm. The resort that may seem perfect now, may not be perfect ten years from now. We found that SSR had the most to offer for our family based on the entire length of our contract. Again, its just going to be different for everyone.