Where is the imaganation???? SSR Trip Report 6/19 to 6/23!!

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

Well I'm sorry to say SSR has NO MAGIC for us!!! The room 3525 (one bedroom) The Springs was was fine if you want a regular room at a holiday inn or something but we were @ Disney!!!!! For an HA room too it was small. We should have moved!! I was so unenchanted by the place that I called MS on Monday & booked BCV studio for 2 nights before our Magic cruise next year. Mom doesn't even want to see OKW now.

The buses were SO SLOW for the resort too!!! It seemed to be slower from park back to resort. We had two lifts not work & had to wait @ least a half an hour or more for a new one!!! We have never had lifts break there before. We actually had nice OKWers let us go on their bus home!!!

We needed to bring rain gear!!!

I also made ressie @ the spa & decided not to go. Didn't call to cancel (my bad) because they charged my card the WHOLE amount!!!! $165.00 for not showing up! A little steep if you ask me! I could see a no show fee but the whole amount??

THE GOOD:
The weather wasn't too bad out except for the rain & the crowds weren't too bad either!!
Turtle Talk with Crush @ Epcot Living Seas. Very Cool
6/19 Dinner @ GF Cafe: Very nice! Will Returned. I always feel good when I'm @ GF. The theat of rain told us to stay away from Wishes! Next time!
6/20 Coral Reef @ EPCOT Lunch Cool & the food was good. Will go back!!
6/20 Dinner Prime Time @ MGM always fun! Fantasmic the rain held & it was fun!
6/21 Canine Companion Interview 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Not bad! I will know offically if I'm on the list for a service dog. I think I made it but I can't say for sure!!! It will be a 3 to 5 year wait but it will help me so much. Will let you all know in a month.

6/21 dinner WP Cafe: Very good & will return!
6/22 HOB lunch! Great!
6/22 Chefs De France dinner: great but service was slow! Also the most expensive.
6/23 Boma breakfast. Good as Always

So with the exception of SSR we had a great trip!!! Any ?

Ms. Sparrow aka Allison

 

[lllovell]

Hey Allison!

I am glad you made it there and back safe and sound! I kinda wish you had gone to OKW to check out a HA room there, since I suspect it would be MUCH bigger, but I don't have first hand experience to say for sure! Either way, it sounds like the resort didn't do it for you, but your good spirits kept you from letting it spoil your trip! Great for your whole family!

We will keep our fingers crossed for you getting on the list! A little pixie dust can't hurt!

Welcome back!

Laura

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Sorry you didn't feel the magic at SSR this trip.

I would still encourage you to try OKW one day but maybe only if you spring for the 1 bedroom because I think that it is a totally different experience from a studio. My family actually enjoy spending more time in the room because we find it so relaxing.

At certain times of the year, a one bedroom at OKW is not that much more in points than a studio elsewhere.

So, give OKW a try and SSR again one day (maybe in the distant future), but I have a feeling that you will stick what you know you will love for a while - and I don't blame you!

Glad you had a great trip otherwise!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Glad that you're back on the boards, I was missing you! Too bad you didn't enjoy your SSR stay, but it's great that you were able to get the BCV room that you wanted.

Pixie dust for you as you wait!


Bobbi

 

[jiggerj]

Awww nuts! I feel bad that you didn't enjoy your stay. I have friends down there right now for their first trip home to SSR and I dont think they are too happy themselves with SSR. I am happy that the rest of your trip was wonderful though. Isn't House of Blues great!???? Thank you for the report!

 

[tinkgrl]

Awww nuts! I feel bad that you didn't enjoy your stay. I have friends down there right now for their first trip home to SSR and I dont think they are too happy themselves with SSR. I am happy that the rest of your trip was wonderful though. Isn't House of Blues great!???? Thank you for the report!

Hi,

HOB is Yummy & we get a DVC discount of 20%!!! Which helps!!!!

Ms. Sparrow aka Allison

 

[MJTinNH]

Thank you for your report Allison. Glad you had a good interview and will keep my fingers and toes crossed for a canine companion for you!

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

Ah Allison....was missing those pics of JD....glad you (and he) are back.
OKW is so very different from SS...and its true that the 1 bedroom in low season is only a few more points than the other studios. Think: jacuzzi tub.

I am glad your interview went well and hope there is a companion available much sooner than a year...Pixie Dust!!!!!!!

 

[gopherit]

Well, at least you found some bright spots during your stay -- even if they did all have to be outside the resort!

I have to say, once you try a 1br, there is no going back -- expect a nasty case of add-on-itis to cure the problem! (What's that someone said -- cut back on trips instead? Perish the blasphemous thought, sez I!) I have stayed in a studio at OKW and a studio at BCV (and technically, at BWV too since their 2brs are all lock-offs). And frankly, I think ALL the DVC studios are like "hotel" rooms but that's because I got turned on to the 1 and 2BR rooms and, spoiled rotten DVCer that I am, nothing short of that will do, lol!


It's a sad bit of knowledge that every time DVC goes to plan a new resort, they take the plans from the last DVC resort and wash 'em clean for the new resort.... and I think they must be to be shrinking in the dryer just a bit each time, lol, because with each resort, it's a little smaller in terms of interior size. So while I admit I find all studios to be "hotelish", I don't think you can compare OKW (the flagship) to SSR (the newest kid on a block of 7). Give it a shot! My mom loves OKW -- it's the only WDW resort she will stay in, LOL!

On the other hand -- if you want to avoid buses, I also admit you might fare better at BCV or BWV where you are very near 2 parks already. Sounds like the lifts were giving you issues; I recall one night when we were at MK (and staying at BWV) we got stuck at the bus stop for what seemed an eternity (btut was probably closer to 45 minutes) because of a lift issue. That sort of thing does happen, and it is very frustrating for all involved.

ANYWAY -- glad you had some "sunshine" despite the "rain" ... BTW, should we expect to see images of "Charlie" on your siggie, or is that space sacred only to pirates?

 

[RobDoc]

Sorry you felt your 1BR villa at SSR was like a Holiday Inn (it was actually MUCH larger than any HI room). The 1BR at SSR is the same size as the 1BR at BWV, VWL and BCV. The studio at BCV will be MUCH smaller, as 1BR villas are almost twice the size of studios. Only OKW has larger 1BR villas for an onsite DVC resort.

As for the bus breaking down, that happens at all resorts and is not unique to SSR or any other WDW resort.

Glad you were able to find something good about your trip. I hope the next one is more to your liking!

 

[travelbug]

Thanks for posting your report! Sorry to hear that you were disappointed with SSR, but I'm glad that other parts of your trip were good.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you as you wait to hear about a companion dog. Let us know!!

 

[kathleena]

I remember all your polls trying to decide where to stay and I'm so sorry that you were disappointed.

While true that the others have the same size 1br and OKW is larger, the magic of the resort outweighs the room for me. And we all know that magic is felt differently for all of us!

Good luck with your service dog plans!

 

[wdwstar]

sorry to hear you were not fond of SSR, sometimes that happens, especially when your use to another resort. I think the rooms are nice, i like the view of DTD and i like both pools, quiet & main pool. I think its location is ok, i like to be in the back ground of epcot, you feel like your really part of disney. i really liked the fireworks at SSR on new years eve, all i can say is wow!
but i think dvc can do a little more with SSR, restuarants & show movies in that theater. i am glad you had great meals.

 

[Ducky4Disney]

Sorry that SSR didn't do it for you. To each his own though.

I thought that all the rooms were pretty much the same (except for OKW which definately has bigger rooms). I've seen an HA studio at BCV. It was OK - there was NO vanity space in the bathroom however. And it was on the 5th floor, which seemed odd to me. What about evacuation plans?

D4D

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

Allison, I tried to avoid this, but Mom and I were discussing it last night...I am very sorry you did not like SSR. I have never seen it except from afar on a boat from OKW to DTD.

I do have an issue with lumping another DVC resort that you have never experienced in with SSR arbitrarily Why would you pre-judge the very first DVC and assume it has no theming?!!! Besides, unless you get the two bed studio, the rooms at OKW are huge and very disney-like

JMO

 

[tinkgrl]

Allison, I tried to avoid this, but Mom and I were discussing it last night...I am very sorry you did not like SSR. I have never seen it except from afar on a boat from OKW to DTD.

I do have an issue with lumping another DVC resort that you have never experienced in with SSR arbitrarily Why would you pre-judge the very first DVC and assume it has no theming?!!! Besides, unless you get the two bed studio, the rooms at OKW are huge and very disney-like

JMO

Hi,

My mom & I got to take a OKW bus home. They went home 1st then us. Mom & I didn't like how spread out it seems. Sorry but for right now we will be going to either BCV or VWL!!

Ms. Sparrow aka Allison

 

[lodgelady]

hi- I am just reading your post today. I have not stayed at SSR, but we did stay at the Disney Institute years ago and liked the golf-resort feel.
One afternoon a few weeks ago while DH and kids played at Disneyquest I decided to stroll over and take a look at SSR.
I must say that the whole property had a very different feel to it since it's rebuilding into SSR. The property is very neat and attractive. I recognized the spa building near the main pool also the golf club is still there. I did not look at the model since it was not official DVC member visiting time. I peeked into the restaurant and walked around outside only.
Overall, I agree with you and some of the other reviewers. I was underwhelmed. SSR feels quite large (they should stop building already!) and the common areas seem small by comparison. OKW is large too, but all of the foliage gives privacy and a sense of peace. Maybe once the landscaping matures, the size and number of buildings will not seem as large? As far as the room size, since I have stayed at OKW, everything else seems tiny! Blame it on the rising costs of building supplies.
Personally, I prefer the less urban sensibilities of resorts like OKW and VWL over the theme at SSR.
I am sorry that you were disappointed with your trip. Hopefully, your BWV will give you back your pixie dust!

 

[NMW]

Sorry your trip was not full of magic. Good luck with the companion dog! We like the "hotel" DVC resorts too. Even though the rooms would certainly be larger and OKW fans would argue that there is plenty of "magic", I can understand your hesitation in trying it after not liking SSR. We are planning our next 2 trips at BWV (our home) and I am trying to talk DH into trying another resort for our 3rd trip. I'm not having that much luck! He has no interest in SSR because of the lack of onsite sit down restaurants and people we know have tried it and not loved it. I'd like to try it and make up my own mind, but I don't want to be responsible if we don't love it!

 

[Pinnie]

Thanks for your report!

I alway say that each person is going to have his or her favorite DVC resort and others may pale by comparison. This past weekend, I tried out VWL and did not find it to my liking. It had a much "heavier" feeling while I like lighter colors and the pastels of BCVs. We have decided that our SSR points will be used for our NON park travels when we come down to Orlando. There are DCI shows in the summer and that is when we will use our points there.

Best wishes with acquiring a service dog. Keep us updated!

pinnie

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

Pixie Dust on acquiring the service dog.

I too missed the Johnny Depp pics and I vote to keep the pirate in place.

Sorry you didn't feel magic at SSR.