Those of you who have stayed at saratoga springs, PLEASE HELP!!

[missdopey]

Hi. We're currently booked to stay at Port Orleans Riverside for a week in August (doing a split stay, one week onsite, one week off) and for the past 6 weeks i've been undecided whether to upgrade to Saratoga Springs. They currently have the fantastic deal for UK visitors and it ends up about £14 more to stay here instead of POR. I was just hoping that some of you guys who had stayed here before could give me abit of advice. Do you think its worth the extra? My main problem is i don't want to end up being disappointed because i'm expecting more with it being a 'deluxe'. We have always stayed in Values before so it's not like i will beable to compare the two.
What did you like/not like about the resort?
Which building would you suggest to stay in? (we will have a car so bus stops are not an issue).
Anything else you think might help.
Thanks in advance!!!

 

[jtlover]

We are staying at SSR for our first time this September and we are staying in a 2 bed villa. I would say it depends on which one you are looking to stay in as to whether you feel it is worth it.

The plus for us is that it is like a home from home whilst on holiday which a fridge and cooking facilities. Also that it is walking distance from DTD.

I dont know which building is the best to be in as we are not bothered about one nearest to the bus stops as we have our own car and dont plan on using the buses.

Hope others can give you some more info

 

[karentan]

we stayed there last year, renting DVC points, and will definately be back. we loved it there, stayed in 2 different sections (paddock then congress park), loved being able to walk to downtown disney in the evening. the mini kitchen was very handy, its great having your own balcony, and we had a lot more room than usual.
we've stayed in POR before (loved it there too), but given a choice of the 2, SSR wins hands down now.

 

[Tink2312]

Definitely worth it! we stayed there for the first time in 09 and booked for 10 and 11 too because we loved it so much.
Best building really depends on whether you want to be close to main pool (springs), DTD (congress park) or in quieter area (paddock or grandstand). Only one I wouldn't stay in is the carousel - too out of the way for us.
If you're going for free dining then be aware the food court is smaller and more limited than por, but we thought the food quality was excellent and we never had problems finding a table.
We also found the bus service excellent and the resort had a much more relaxed and less crowded than por when we popped over there during our trip to ssr.

 

[Disneymad]

Another for SSR. I'm a DVC owner at BWV and VWL but I've split stayed at SSR on my last 3 trips and will be doing so again on my next one - that should hint at how much I like it!

Being in walking distance to DTD is a big plus for us (there are in fact 2 paths, one to westside and 1 to marketplace). The boat ride is also very pleasant.

I love the atmosphere at the main pool which feels so laid back and homely and we don't have any kids! The pool games are fun to watch but tucked over in a corner normally so also easy to phase out if not interested.

Artist's Palette is the CS, as mentioned it's fairly small and a little limited, but what they do is very good. Nice flatbreads, sarnies and salads.

Turf Club Grill restaurant is a hidden gem too - we always eat there our last night - and I can only assume it gets overlooked because it's off the beaten track for most people unless actually staying there.

 

[Gav N Becx]

We're SSR DVC owners and stayed in a studio villa Dec 2008.
Overall good location, nice room and an easy walk to DD.
We stayed in the Grandstand. This was good for buses as it is the first pickup/drop-off point.
We did find the buses quite busy, but that might have been because it was close to Xmas.
The biggest selling point for us was definitely the proximity to DD....even more so now with Paridiso 37 (great for food & drink sitting outside).
Also liked the counter service food at SS - good for a cheap but filling breakfast and they had a reasonable range of food items throughout the day.
What type of room have you been offered? You will get a full kitchen with a 1 bed villa, but for us (2 adults), a studio was certainly sufficient. The microwave/oven was good enough for making snacks, especially my favourite nachos, jalepenos and melted cheese...always a winner when sitting on the bed flicking through those amusing US adverts

 

[luke]

One reason I'd say it's worth the tiny price to upgrade is I imagine you'd be getting the free standard DDP rather than the quick service one?
We've not stayed there but I'm going to try and request Congress Park for it's proximity to DTD.

Glad you mentioned Paradiso 37 Gav, I'm looking forward to trying 'the worlds coldest beer'

 

[Sammie]

We love Congress Park area, closest to Downtown Disney, best views of the lake and Downtown Disney and best quiet pool. Great location.

 

[missdopey]

We would be booking a studio as there is just the two of us. We have already upgraded to the ddp at por which is why the difference in price is so little. The food court shouldn't be much of a problem as we will probably eat lunch in the parks most days, so we would only eat at artists palette perhaps twice and already have our dinner adrs booked.
I have looked at pictures of ssr and the views of dtd look amazing, the way the rooms seem to be set out it looks like the room door is on the opposite side to the balcony? Does this mean most rooms in congress park have balconies that overlook downtown disney?
Also what is paradiso 37? I haven't come across this before?
Thank you for all your help, it's great!!! I think I'm pretty much settled on switching to saratoga springs. I love the idea of making nachos in the microwave as a nighttime snack!! That's a fab idea!

 

[UKDEB]

Our preference has always been for Grandstand as it's the newest area, although as the years march on, that becomes less of a draw as it has inevitably lost that brand new feel. It's close to all the amenities and handily placed for walking to Downtown Disney West Side (and across to Old Key West if that appeals to you).

Best building really depends on whether you want to be close to main pool (springs), DTD (congress park) or in quieter area (paddock or grandstand).

We've not stayed there but I'm going to try and request Congress Park for it's proximity to DTD.

We love Congress Park area, closest to Downtown Disney, best views of the lake and Downtown Disney and best quiet pool.

The proximity of the various neighbourhoods to Downtown Disney cropped up in another recent thread and I'd intended to clarify this point then, but it slipped my mind. Whilst it's certainly true that Congress Park is closest to Downtown Disney as the crow flies, what most people don't realise is that, in terms of walking, Grandstand is actually closer to West Side (as is The Springs). It does depend on which building you're allocated within those neighbourhoods, but measuring from the closest points of each, it's a shorter walk to the boat dock from Grandstand. (The boat dock is the point at which you exit SSR to walk to West Side.) Congress Park, though, is better positioned for being able to walk to both West Side and Marketplace. Grandstand is also closer to the main complex and pool than Congress Park. The Springs is closest of all.

We stayed in the Grandstand. This was good for buses as it is the first pickup/drop-off point.

This is a good point. Although we always hire a car, we do sometimes take advantage of the bus when it suits us to do that, such as when we know we'll want a drink or two, or when going to MK (so as to avoid the TTC). Being the first pick-up means you don't run the risk of the bus being full, and if I'm going to be forced to do a circuit of the complex, I'd rather it was on the way out than on the way back.

I have looked at pictures of ssr and the views of dtd look amazing, the way the rooms seem to be set out it looks like the room door is on the opposite side to the balcony? Does this mean most rooms in congress park have balconies that overlook downtown disney?

Most do, but, even then, some have better DTD views than others. I can let you know which room numbers to request, if you're interested - I have all necessary the information to work it out, somewhere.

Also what is paradiso 37? I haven't come across this before?

Paradiso 37 is the new Mexican/South American restaurant and tequila bar which has opened in one of the old Pleasure Island clubs. MouseSteps has a great 3-part photos review. Part one, together with links to the rest of the review, is here. MouseSteps also has some great photo tours of the walks between SSR and DTD.

 

[Clare D]

Having stayed at POR I do think it is a lovely resort but for the extra I would do SSR for the fact that you get the table service dining plan, which you would have to upgrade at POR. I haven't stayed at SSR but love how close it is to DTD.
On a free day you could always take the boat to POR and POFQ and have a wander around there one day.

 

[disney_princess_85]

Another vote for SSR. I'm really looking forward to my first stay there in August.

Most do, but, even then, some have better DTD views than others. I can let you know which room numbers to request, if you're interested - I have all necessary the information to work it out, somewhere.

If you don't mind, I would also appreciate this information.

 

[UKDEB]

No problem. I have a few things to do today, but I'll get all the information up together and post back later.

 

[missdopey]

Thanks!!

UKDEB your a total SSR expert, I love it!
Part of me wants to request a building/room and part of me thinks I should just see what i get then i can't get annoyed at myself for picking somewhere i wish i hadn't. I have no preference really, it would be great to have a view of DTD but i'm not going to be upset if I dont.
Have any of you ever seen any alligators hanging about on the golf course at night, I'm sure i read on another post that people had seen them and i just wondered if this was a regular occurance. They terrify me, but I would love to see this, I spent the whole journey back from cape canaveral last year looking out of the car window to see if I could spot one.

Disney Princess 85 what dates are you staying at SSR? From your counter it looks like we may be there around the same time.

Is the path from DTD to SSR safe to walk at night? (I wouldn't be on my own)For example if we went for drinks over at DTD one evening and walked back at closing time or would you suggest to get the bus? I'm just wondering if it's well lit and open spaced (rather than being lined with trees/bushes the whole way).

 

[UKDEB]

Is the path from DTD to SSR safe to walk at night? (I wouldn't be on my own) For example if we went for drinks over at DTD one evening and walked back at closing time or would you suggest to get the bus? I'm just wondering if it's well lit and open spaced (rather than being lined with trees/bushes the whole way).

We've walked many times and, yes, it's safe. The low-level lighting is a bit dim in a couple of places, but not a cause for concern. [Incidentally, the path to OKW is closed at dusk. That could be potentially dangerous as the path is right alongside the water's edge.]

 

[UKDEB]

Having read through this prior to pressing "submit", I have to say that it all sounds like complete gibberish. Even if anyone can decipher it, you'll probably have lost the will to live by the time you've finished reading. In case it's of any use to anyone and, as I've spent so long typing it, I'm going to post it anyway. For the time being, I shall mainly be answering to the name, "Anorak".

All the buildings at SSR are configured in the shape of an elongated, squared-off "U", each with 8 "sides" (a bottom, 2 sides, 2 ends and 3 inner facets). That's a difficult concept to get across in words, so before I attempt to explain the room numbering system, it will help to post a couple of overhead shots of Congress Park (courtesy of Bing Maps)

Looking across Congress Park towards Downtown Disney (i.e. the four Congress Park buildings are at the bottom of the shot)

Looking towards Congress Park from Downtown Disney

Close-up of the buildings

The "windows" along the bottom of the U (i.e. the longest side), facing out, are mostly walkways (if you go to Bing Maps and zoom in, you'll see they're actually open). The corners house one-bed units, but their windows and balconies face out to the sides, so no room has a view looking out from this elevation. Most people would describe this as the front of the building as it houses the entrance to the stairs and lifts. In all cases, this side faces the car park.

The rooms inside the U all have a view of some description, but also overlook one another. As far as Congress Park is concerned, you can see from the photos that all have at least a partial view of DTD.

The rooms on the outer sides of the U will sometimes face the outer side of the building next door and sometimes will have open views. From the photos, you can see that at Congress Park, two of the sides face out over the car park (where the two central buildings are at their closest point), four face one another and will have partial views of DTD, and the two at either end have unrestricted views, but don't face directly towards DTD, so again will only have partial views.

In my opinion, the best rooms are those facing out from the ends, or tops if you like, of the U. In the case of Congress Park, you can see those at the ends of the two middle buildings look over the quiet pool towards DTD. They also face one another, but the proximity is such that it's not such a big deal as those inside the U. My preference would be for those on the ends of the outer two buildings as they have uninterrupted views across DTD.

Within these coveted ends (well, they might not be, but I think they should be ) there are 8 Studios per building - 4 on the first (ground) floor, 2 on the second floor and two on the third floor. Bear in mind, though, that they all have adjoining 1-beds, so they can also be used as 2-bed lock-offs, meaning they might not always be available as Studios. (There are 24 Studios per building, all potentially doubling up as 2-bed lock-offs).

If anyone's still with me at this point, please take a sweet from the jar and go to the top of the class.

I had intended to explain the numbering system (and I will if anyone is genuinely interested), but it might be easier for you to tell me where you'd like to be (or where you want to avoid) and I can give you the room numbers.

 

[disney_princess_85]

Wow, thanks Deb! I must be spending far too much time on here as I understood what you said perfectly.

As long as I'm not facing a car park, I'm happy. I'd also like to be close to the pool (not fussy then!).

Disney Princess 85 what dates are you staying at SSR? From your counter it looks like we may be there around the same time.

My dates are Aug 26-Sep 10. When are you there?

 

[crabbie1]

NOW DEBWould you like to do the same for all the other areas Only joking I am staying there for the first time in september but as I have a small child and not driving I think the grandstand or the springs will be better for us. Would I be able to request a pool view at granstand or the springs or are the pools far away from the rooms.We have a studio booked and when we stayed at OKW we were on the end.Also how many floors do the buildings have and are there any lifts.
Sorry Deb for all the questions.

 

[UKDEB]

There are four floors and, yes, there are lifts.

At Grandstand, one side of one of the buildings has views over the quiet pool. That equates to 8 Studios:

8132 and 8136 (1st floor)
8232 and 8236 (2nd floor)
8332 and 8336 (3rd floor)
8432 and 8436 (4th floor)

8 = Grandstand
Second digit = floor
Final two digits denote position within building

The Springs doesn't have a quiet pool and, although it's the closest area to the main pool, because of the way it's configured, you won't get a great view of the pool from any of the rooms there (unless anyone who's actually stayed in a room at The Springs knows different, of course).

 

[scojos]

we are requesting GS (with a deep clean due to ds severe asthma) could you reccomend a quiet room, not ground floor, not a lock off (ie he would need to come through main room to get to corridor),
we would like the back of a close building to reception (back so not too much traffic!!)#
im not difficult, but my asd son is