things i liked about SSR

tinker-kyle

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 12, 2005
Messages
205
Here's a thread for the SSR owners out there who read all the negative things about SSR ... we're just back from 9 days in a dedicated two bedroom (our first stay at SSR)

1. our room ... was clean. (well i did find a fruit loop under the seat cushion) but otherwise everything was clean and fresh smelling and when i walked in to room during our weekly cleaning ... mousekeeping was scrubbing shower stall.

2. our location ... building #3 in the springs - close to bus stop, artist
palatte, main pool, boat dock, and path to DTD. (congress park buildings look like they have terrific views)

3. artist palatte ... i loved this place. food was awesome. our group of 7 ate saratoga salad, chicken and shrimp cesar, chicken artichoke flatbread (my fav), pulled pork flatbread, regular flatbread (my DD loved it), and special spicy chicken flatbread, also meatloaf dinner special, roast beef and blue cheese sandwich, and two panini special (roast beef and portobello special was great!) we also got some basics like chili and hot dogs. i do not know why people complain about this place ... i couldnt find a thing wrong with it.

4. the bus service ... with the exception of one am (MK bus was full by the time it got to springs) Bus service from the springs was amazing (or we were just incredibly lucky) as was bus service from the parks. we did wait 40 minutes that one am ... but other than that we never waited more than 10-15 minutes for any bus.

5. boat service to and from DTD ... fun and convienent. they drop you at west side, but you can take shuttle to and from dock near the rainforest cafe. we found that shuttle boat captain, if he had no passengers, would make a special trip to SSR.

6. path to DTD ...this is a beautiful well-lit walk. sort of a longish walk ... but we did it serveral times in both daytime and nighttime. it is faster than the boat.

7. high rock springs pool ... according to my DD - the slide is a "10." she only gave OKW slide a "7." despite the chilly weather - pool was well-heated and active. not too crowded ... any a very friendly group of kids. DD made a new friend every day. sunday's pool games were a big hit too.

8. CMs were friendly and knowledgable - that includes front desk, concierge, retail portion of artist palatte, and food service. (there was a huge difference in friendliness level when compared to food service staff at POP and other food courts i visited) CM's at Artist Palate ASKED neraly every time if we had discount card (10% for DVC 20% for DDE.) Also CM's at Horsin Around bike rentals were very patient ... my DD was having bike issues.

9. bike rentals ... definitely worth it. we had a great time discovering the lay of the place.

10. the people ... everyone i met seemed happy and nice. nobody seemed to be having a bad time.

oh ... one thing to keep in mind. apparently the "internal bus service" is not consistent .. but i did overhear that the DTD bus operates as an internal bus so if you need to use the internal bus service ... check that out. we did not need to use it.

another thing .. my family we tend to be towel pigs. so we "borrowed" towels from the pool .. nobody seemed to care and we returned them all, but well that sorta solved any towel problems.

one negative to report ... but this may be more DVC in general.
we asked to change our full cleaning from tues to wed ... i did this 3 times (MS by phone, front desk at check-in, and housekeeping by phone on monday) everyone said "sure" but did not say that they would charge me $40 to change. This charge showed up on my bill (we always request a copy one mid-week to make sure things are square) it was easily fixed and the $40 was credited ... but just something to think about.

well ... i hope you enjoy your SSR stay as much as we did

~t-k
 
Thank you for the positive post. We have stayed at three of the DVC resorts and there are things that we like and dislike about most of them. We are planning on staying at another one in January. Anyway, I get tired of people posting all their negative thoughts about a resort. To each their own, but people get worried when they read the negatives and they may not be negatives to everyone. We love SSR, Artist's Pallette and the walk to DTD. We own another timeshare and we pay just as much in dues as our DVC, and we don't get any better if as good of service there. I guess if some people don't like SSR enough to stay there again, that will just make it easier for us to stay. People have to make a choice; don't go to WDW because you can't find a room other than SSR, or go and enjoy themselves and look for the positives not the negatives all the time.

Can't wait for our January trip! :banana:
 
Thanks, we will be there in 3 weeks and I am really looking forward to it. :cool1:

We requested a room in the springs also. I can't wait to try out the slide. I think the little one will be a big hit too (I have a 4 year old and a 17 month old.)

We got a rental car, but like to use WDW transport so that is good to hear. I am a bit unsure about the busses there.

The walk to DTD, does that put you out on the west end? If so that is a rather long walk around for us since we don't really shop there, mostly at the orginal area.


Can't wait, thanks for your report. We will be in a studio.
 
DisneyPhD ... the walkway ends behind rainforest cafe so you come in right by the disney scrapbook store and the big christmas shop. do they call that the east end? to me it the old "market place"

also your little ones will love the pool ... are you familair with "zero entry" pools. its starts out shallow like a beach ... so they will be able to walk with going in over their heads.

i asked my DD (shes 8) about the little slide and she said "its short." perfect for the under 4 set.

have fun!
 

DisneyPhD said:
[...]The walk to DTD, does that put you out on the west end? If so that is a rather long walk around for us since we don't really shop there, mostly at the orginal area. [...]
The route starts at the College Park area, walks past the Fireworks Viewing Pavillion along the water, and ends up by the bus area of DTD, not by WE, so you're right at the shops and restaurants.
 
Thanks for your post. We just signed our paperwork for SSR and are excited to visit next Fall.
 
tinker-kyle said:
DisneyPhD ... the walkway ends behind rainforest cafe so you come in right by the disney scrapbook store and the big christmas shop. do they call that the east end? to me it the old "market place"

also your little ones will love the pool ... are you familair with "zero entry" pools. its starts out shallow like a beach ... so they will be able to walk with going in over their heads.

i asked my DD (shes 8) about the little slide and she said "its short." perfect for the under 4 set.

have fun!

Great! (thanks DrTomorrow too.)

When we tried to walk it last (this was May 2004 and it was just opening) the walkway wasn't open and the only way to go was the boat from the west end. We had a car, but they wouldn't even let us park there.) We had an hour before we had to leave for the airport and didn't have time for that. We just wanted to check the place out. We have never visited before so it is all new for us. (With AP we keep skipping DTD since why go there when you can go to park for the same price.) However I think we will spend more time at DTD this trip. I can't wait to try out Earl of Sandwich.
 
It is unfortunate when people have negative experiences but life is full of them and they can and have happened at every DVC resort, not just at SSR.

We really love SSR and by no means is it perfect, but neither are the 3 other DVC's we call home. DVC overall, is a great product and worth every penny to our family. Isolated incidents and all.

We really enjoy SSR, so much in fact, that I had originally booked BCV @ 11 months for Christmas and New Years weeks and after much consideration, switched our second week to SSR. We love DTD during the holidays. It is so festive and we spend alot of time there so we wanted to be able to walk home. I hate moving, but I knew we would really miss staying at SSR this trip, so it will be worth it to us.

There is also a walkway that leads from the Carriage House over the Golf Bridge and behind Cirque so there are actually 2 ways to get to DTD from SSR walking. That path is a little longer, but it takes us right to Disney Quest.

My advice for those trying to book and cannot get their first choice of resort is to PLEASE use the waitlist!! It does work!
 
Thanks for your great post.

Do you have any pictures or comments about how SSR was decorated for the holidays? It is one of the few resorts for which I have not been able to find holiday photos.
 
I like to hear all sides, good, bad and indifferent, and just take it all with somewhat of a grain of salt, knowing that people are different.

Does anyone have experiences/impressions to share about the SSR grand villas? That's what we've got for our January trip, and we're REALLY looking forward to it. We desperately need this vacation!
 
Thank You for this great post. It is nice to see that not all comments about SSR are bad. I agree with most of you. Life is full of ups and downs. It is how you choose to deal with them that matters. If you let it go and ruin your fun then that is on you. Deal with it give them a chance to fix it and move on. Can't wait to go in July!!! :flower:
 
oh a few more things ...

the exercise room at SSR is outstanding, not that i made it there more than once.

there are several cute "horsey" touches ... such as the portraits of famous disney horses in the lobby and the "get ready to race" horns that go off every hour or so.

as for holiday decorations ... i have no photos ... lots of pontsettas around.

the grand villas looked amazing from the outside ... you can pick them out b/c of the tall catherdral windows other than peeking in people's windows as we walked by i have no other input around them. we never made the open house the whole week.

i think that part of the reason we saw everything on the positive is that we were traveling with family that hadnt been to disney in 28 years ... it was like seeing everything in a new light.
 
DrTomorrow said:
The route starts at the College Park area, walks past the Fireworks Viewing Pavillion along the water, and ends up by the bus area of DTD, not by WE, so you're right at the shops and restaurants.

Congress Park. You can also pick up the walkway from the parking lot of Congress Park near the building closet to Downtown Disney. It merges with the lakeside walkway.
 
tinker-kyle said:
Here's a thread for the SSR owners out there who read all the negative things about SSR ... we're just back from 9 days in a dedicated two bedroom (our first stay at SSR)

1. our room ... was clean. (well i did find a fruit loop under the seat cushion) but otherwise everything was clean and fresh smelling and when i walked in to room during our weekly cleaning ... mousekeeping was scrubbing shower stall.

2. our location ... building #3 in the springs - close to bus stop, artist
palatte, main pool, boat dock, and path to DTD. (congress park buildings look like they have terrific views)

3. artist palatte ... i loved this place. food was awesome. our group of 7 ate saratoga salad, chicken and shrimp cesar, chicken artichoke flatbread (my fav), pulled pork flatbread, regular flatbread (my DD loved it), and special spicy chicken flatbread, also meatloaf dinner special, roast beef and blue cheese sandwich, and two panini special (roast beef and portobello special was great!) we also got some basics like chili and hot dogs. i do not know why people complain about this place ... i couldnt find a thing wrong with it.

4. the bus service ... with the exception of one am (MK bus was full by the time it got to springs) Bus service from the springs was amazing (or we were just incredibly lucky) as was bus service from the parks. we did wait 40 minutes that one am ... but other than that we never waited more than 10-15 minutes for any bus.

5. boat service to and from DTD ... fun and convienent. they drop you at west side, but you can take shuttle to and from dock near the rainforest cafe. we found that shuttle boat captain, if he had no passengers, would make a special trip to SSR.

6. path to DTD ...this is a beautiful well-lit walk. sort of a longish walk ... but we did it serveral times in both daytime and nighttime. it is faster than the boat.

7. high rock springs pool ... according to my DD - the slide is a "10." she only gave OKW slide a "7." despite the chilly weather - pool was well-heated and active. not too crowded ... any a very friendly group of kids. DD made a new friend every day. sunday's pool games were a big hit too.

8. CMs were friendly and knowledgable - that includes front desk, concierge, retail portion of artist palatte, and food service. (there was a huge difference in friendliness level when compared to food service staff at POP and other food courts i visited) CM's at Artist Palate ASKED neraly every time if we had discount card (10% for DVC 20% for DDE.) Also CM's at Horsin Around bike rentals were very patient ... my DD was having bike issues.

9. bike rentals ... definitely worth it. we had a great time discovering the lay of the place.

10. the people ... everyone i met seemed happy and nice. nobody seemed to be having a bad time.

oh ... one thing to keep in mind. apparently the "internal bus service" is not consistent .. but i did overhear that the DTD bus operates as an internal bus so if you need to use the internal bus service ... check that out. we did not need to use it.

another thing .. my family we tend to be towel pigs. so we "borrowed" towels from the pool .. nobody seemed to care and we returned them all, but well that sorta solved any towel problems.

one negative to report ... but this may be more DVC in general.
we asked to change our full cleaning from tues to wed ... i did this 3 times (MS by phone, front desk at check-in, and housekeeping by phone on monday) everyone said "sure" but did not say that they would charge me $40 to change. This charge showed up on my bill (we always request a copy one mid-week to make sure things are square) it was easily fixed and the $40 was credited ... but just something to think about.

well ... i hope you enjoy your SSR stay as much as we did

~t-k

Thanks for sharing. Our experiences with SSR are very similar to your. I really like Artist's Palette, too and definitely feel it's a huge improvement over most fast food areas and such a nice bright sitting area to enjoy your food. Also I found the staff here to be very willing to tweak some of the offerings if you want something added or left off. Very accommidating.
 
Great! Our first trip home was wonderful too.

And if anyone goes and wants to check out what the other rooms look like they have a member open house everyday from 5-7pm where you can see a studio, one bdrm and the villa.

The villa is AWESOME!! It is downright gorgeous. To bad the points for it are so dang high!
 
We love SSR, also! It is relaxing, peaceful, has beautiful room decor...it is so nice to come back from a busy day in the parks to a relaxing, nicely appointed room. We like being close to DTD, and don't get me started about the spa. I was in the reception area and got such a good feeling from it!! My DH loved his massage there and said that he knows I will enjoy future trea t ments there (can't wait)!!

I have been quite frustrated from all of the bashing done about SSR. There really is no need for it. There are problems that need to be worked out everywhere and ya know what, I have had to call mousekeeping in non-DVC resorts. It happens and should be taken care of immediately. If you don't like the location or theming, stay elsewhere. That is the beauty of the DVC.

And please, for all of the new members who call SSR home, it is a beautiful resort and you and your families will make memories to last a lifetime!!
 
lts862 said:
We love SSR, also! It is relaxing, peaceful, has beautiful room decor...it is so nice to come back from a busy day in the parks to a relaxing, nicely appointed room. We like being close to DTD, and don't get me started about the spa. I was in the reception area and got such a good feeling from it!! My DH loved his massage there and said that he knows I will enjoy future trea t ments there (can't wait)!!

I have been quite frustrated from all of the bashing done about SSR. There really is no need for it. There are problems that need to be worked out everywhere and ya know what, I have had to call mousekeeping in non-DVC resorts. It happens and should be taken care of immediately. If you don't like the location or theming, stay elsewhere. That is the beauty of the DVC.

And please, for all of the new members who call SSR home, it is a beautiful resort and you and your families will make memories to last a lifetime!!

I am hoping to have a spa treatment or message next trip (christmas present.) How did you like it? I am hoping it is very relaxing and pampering. I go to the Lifetime gym sometimes, but that is just stanard fair.
 
I'm glad to read these nice posts on SSR. we just joined DVC and SSR will be our Home for the next 49 years and we have never seen the place !! But we are big believers in the Magic and we're confident we'll like it there.
Of course my wife is looking forward to the Spa too.
 
Welcome Home neighbor in Mass. and at SSR, maybe we will meet up sometime in the next 49 years!
 
Thank You for such a WONDERFUL, POSITIVE review. We are traveling to SSR for the 1st time in April, with Our children. We own at BWV and WLV and wanted to try something new. I was regretting Our descion until I read Your review. I am just so thankful to be able to travel and stay in "DISNEY" A+ RESORTS! Their standards far exceed some of the places we have stayed in. Looking forward to time with my family at SSR ! Thank You again. Kelly
 










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