Transportation tips if staying at Saratoga Springs

[HEARTSOFJOY]

We are hoping to book a one week stay at Saratoga Springs and have read in past posts that transportation is an issue for this resort.. What is the best way to get around this? Should we just rely on Uber or Lyft? This will be our first stay and am wary of the transportation issue for this resort.

 

[DVCDUDE48]

Your best bet is to either Uber/Lyft or rent a car as we do. You are always on your own time and not wasting it waiting for Disney Transportation! We have always rented a car and never regretted it.

 

[kdm31091]

It's not so much it's an issue, it's just that you have to pack your patience. It is not the best resort if you are on a park heavy trip and on a relatively tight timeframe. I love the vibe and SSR and walkability to dining/shopping options at Disney Springs but the weakness is definitely park access. Your best bet is renting a car or using Uber/Lyft unless it's a leisurely paced trip with regard to the parks.

 

[Tigger's ally]

We never rent a car and adjust accordingly. We actually love the busses and are usually on the first bus to any park because we love rope dropping and plan accordingly. I also drink alcoholic drinks everywhere I go so the busses are a welcomed sight.

 

[erionm]

If you book a standard location room, request the Grandstand Section. Grandstand is the first stop for buses headed to a theme park.

 

[dez1978]

We never rent a car and adjust accordingly. We actually love the busses and are usually on the first bus to any park because we love rope dropping and plan accordingly. I also drink alcoholic drinks everywhere I go so the busses are a welcomed sight.

Can I ask a question? We are staying at the Hilton Orlando Palace in DS, is SSR walkable from there? I was considering taking a bas there from the parks and walking back to the hotel in the evenings. And if so, which bus stop would be closest?

 

[Stargazer65]

I've always had a car because we always drive from home to WDW. However, we almost always use the bus when we stay at SSR. IMO the wait is not so bad, not worth renting a car just to save a little time.

 

[wfjny]

While we own at BLT, we really love Saratoga Springs. We drive to Disney, so we always have a car.

We tend to take the bus to MK only. The busses work, it is just there are quite a few stops at the resort, and a lot of people. They can take time. Normally we drive to the other parks. I do think it depends on your scheduling and your patience level.

 

[Stargazer65]

Can I ask a question? We are staying at the Hilton Orlando Palace in DS, is SSR walkable from there? I was considering taking a bas there from the parks and walking back to the hotel in the evenings. And if so, which bus stop would be closest?

You can walk from the Hilton Orlando Palace to DS across that pedestrian bridge, then you can walk to SSR. Congress Park Bus Stop would be the closest. It would be a pretty long walk, I've never walked from that hotel but my guess would be about 20-30 minutes.

 

[dez1978]

You can walk from the Hilton Orlando Palace to DS across that pedestrian bridge, then you can walk to SSR. Congress Park Bus Stop would be the closest. It would be a pretty long walk, I've never walked from that hotel but my guess would be about 20-30 minutes.

Yikes. That might be a little too far at the end of a long day lol.

I'm kicking myself for renting out all my points for the year. We didn't plan to go at all this year, but then last month a opportunity dropped in my lap. We have a ridiculous amt of hilton points tho so still basically "free". I think it would have been nicer to try to find a ssr room tho

 

[DonMacGregor]

We always rent a car, regardless of what resort we are staying at. I use free days earned throughout the year on business travel, so that, plus free resort and theme park parking, make it an easy decision. We find the extra time saved each day not relying on bus/monorail/boat/skyliner to be worth it, and there's added freedom to wander outside the bubble. We still use all of the Disney transpo, don't get me wrong, but there's something nice about the autonomy of not HAVING to rely on it. In fact, we were super strong proponents of MDE and used Minnie Busses all the time pre-pandemic, but rented a car on one stay at OKW and were converted.

 

[erionm]

Can I ask a question? We are staying at the Hilton Orlando Palace in DS, is SSR walkable from there? I was considering taking a bas there from the parks and walking back to the hotel in the evenings. And if so, which bus stop would be closest?

The entrance to the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Palace is directly across from the back entrance to SSR. Search for the Hilton in Google Maps and you can see how far it is.

 

[Stargazer65]

Yikes. That might be a little too far at the end of a long day lol.

I'm kicking myself for renting out all my points for the year. We didn't plan to go at all this year, but then last month a opportunity dropped in my lap. We have a ridiculous amt of hilton points tho so still basically "free". I think it would have been nicer to try to find a ssr room tho

I mapped it and it says it's actually only 16 minutes, so a little shorter than I said.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Yikes. That might be a little too far at the end of a long day lol.

I'm kicking myself for renting out all my points for the year. We didn't plan to go at all this year, but then last month a opportunity dropped in my lap. We have a ridiculous amt of hilton points tho so still basically "free". I think it would have been nicer to try to find a ssr room tho

Hey, I need to tell my boss that there are actually some "GOOD" things that can be dropped in my lap!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tigger's ally]

I mapped it and it says it's actually only 16 minutes, so a little shorter than I said.
View attachment 618906

And while I wouldn't advise it with kids, I would definitely short-cut that route if it were just the wifey and I!

 

[Stargazer65]

And while I wouldn't advise it with kids, I would definitely short-cut that route if it were just the wifey and I!

There's definitely a good jaywalking opportunity that cuts out going through DS altogether. I wouldn't advise it though if you were three sheets to the wind.

 

[dez1978]

The entrance to the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Palace is directly across from the back entrance to SSR. Search for the Hilton in Google Maps and you can see how far it is.

So if I wanna be super stupid, It's just a quick RUN across Buena Vista Dr lol

 

[dez1978]

And while I wouldn't advise it with kids, I would definitely short-cut that route if it were just the wifey and I!

There's definitely a good jaywalking opportunity that cuts out going through DS altogether. I wouldn't advise it though if you were three sheets to the wind.

I might try that. It's just a mom's trip so no kids!

 

[Brian Noble]

have read in past posts that transportation is an issue for this resort.

Getting from point A to point B is an issue for any resort at least some of the time. Some resorts are close enough to some things to walk to them or use some other mode of transportation, but nothing is close to everything. SSR has several internal stops, but doesn't share with any other resort. It's location is a little off to the side, but it is close to some high-volume routes to the parks.

WDW is big, and if you're seeing any reasonable subset of it, you're going to spend some time getting back and forth, no matter where you are staying. As they say on the Transportation board: There is no pixie dust in transportation.

I confess I usually rent a car when I stay at SSR, but I usually rent a car no matter where I'm staying---and that's been BCV, BLT, BRV, BWV, OKW, and SSR as DVC stays, plus POFQ, POR, and CSR when I'm paying cash. But, I also often use the buses from each of them, and SSR didn't strike me as out of league with any of the others.

If I was at SSR without a rental car, I probably wouldn't bother with Uber/Lyft/Taxis most of the time. I'd make an exception if I was going resort-to-resort for a meal, or maybe if I had a hard deadline for arriving somewhere for a reservation that I really needed to make.

The one caveat I'd offer: I have been at SSR when the early morning buses can fill before they get to the last stop. If I were staying at Springs, I might be tempted to walk over to another bus stop during the peak morning time. But, I always seem to find myself in the Standard section, so that's never an issue.

 

[Tigger's ally]

There's definitely a good jaywalking opportunity that cuts out going through DS altogether. I wouldn't advise it though if you were three sheets to the wind.

In my older Beer drinking only days now, I seem to never reach 3 sheets. 2.5 is pushing my old body! And it usually is never over 2 until I get to the balcony, porch where I am staying...