Why is SSR a "love it" or "hate it" DVC

[rutgers1]

SSR will never satisfy the people who don't like condo style accommodations. It will never satisfy the people who don't like anything that isn't right next to a park.

So, with that said, what can they do?

I actually started a post on this topic a while back. I wish I could find it, as there were some great responses there. Obviously, Disney thought they were hitting a home run with the resort given:
1) proximity to DTD
2) proximity to golf course
3) on-site spa

I think the missing ingredient is something for the kids. Yes, it has a pool, but perhaps they need one of the following:
1) the BIGGEST arcade at a Disney resort. That would sell my kids. Not just an arcade, but the BEST one. This would not cost much money, and it could actually EARN them money.
2) a super cool playground area, perhaps in a horse/racetrack theme.
3) a field with horses roaming free????? (not sure if this is possible, but the kids would love it)
4) a great ice cream place

A family with kids doesn't care about golf or proximity to DTD, or at least not enough to put the resort ahead of BLT, Beach Club, Boardwalk, etc. When my kids looked through the DVC book, they were immediately drawn to the animals at AKL, the boardwalk at BWV, and the photo of Beaches -n-Cream at the Beach Club. There was nothing on the SSR page to really pull them in. If there was a page with horses, a giant arcade, a super cool playground, or an ice cream parlor, I think they would have been more attracted to the resort.

For my wife and I, we think it is an awesome resort. It would be our first choice by far if it were just us. We are still happy we bought there, but I can see why some prefer other resorts, and I also see how Disney could make some changes to make it more enticing to a wider group of DVC members.

 

[bczang]

We love it...it is relaxing and the construction/theme is so calming and beautiful!

 

[Bergenslovesdisney65]

Hi There!

We just returned from our first 5 day stay at SSR. This is our home resort that I purchased last year without ever visiting. We loved SSR. For those that may complain about the resort, here is what we loved about the resort:
It is definitely quiet.....for the exception of the main pool which is very crowded unless you get there early, the rest of the resort is very peaceful. We hardly saw anyone coming or going (We were in the Grandstand section, 2BR villa, room 8235). Our room was beautiful, over looking the golf course. We had a pool just a few minutes away from our room, bus station right out front.

A few things that I found "different" from our other stays at the CBR were the following. The restaurant area is fairly small compared to our stay at CBR (granted, I don't have a lot to compare too, just a general observation). The set up wasn't great. For how big SSR is, the service/dining area is very small. CBR had a great way of handling the flow of traffic in the morning. SSR we found ourselves getting pagers to wait for our breakfast, the beverage area is small and very crowded and the food choices are very select. I actually expected better because it is a higher end resort then CBR. We had the deluxe dining, so we only experienced breakfast here. We did have lunch the first day we arrived waiting for our room and it was just okay. I think they could do a better job in this area.

The shuttle service was spotty at best. We waiting almost 45 minutes to catch a bus home from DTD. We also waited over 30 minutes to catch the bus to Magic Kingdom. People were definitely unhappy about this, especially when other resorts (had multiple buses coming and going). We did notice on our 3rd day waiting at the bus stop in SSR that there was someone timing the buses coming and going. It did seem to improve towards the end of our trip.

Overall, we loved SSR. We are not big DTD people, so unless you love DTD, the proximity was not a bonus for us. MK is a long bus ride, so is AK, especially since during the day and late afternoon you also are stopping at BBeach.

I do feel like maybe we missed out on some perks we were not aware of?? Since I am a rookie at this..........are DVC owners entitled to anything special? Someone mentioned a character meet n greet, we never saw that? Any suggestion would be helpful. Thanks for letting me ramble!!

 

[crisi]

I actually started a post on this topic a while back. I wish I could find it, as there were some great responses there. Obviously, Disney thought they were hitting a home run with the resort given:
1) proximity to DTD
2) proximity to golf course
3) on-site spa

I don't think they thought they were hitting a home run as to creating a popular resort at all. I think they thought they were creating a home run in terms of maximizing capital and sunk costs. They had much of the infrastructure in place from the Disney Institute. For Disney, SSR was cheap to build after 9/11 when they needed something to sell (BCV had sold out). They managed to sell (which is really the important thing to DVD) points for as much or more than they had sold VWL or BCV points. Because of the format, they were able to pace building to sales, and not have a lot of money invested in construction that might take years to sell (like at BLT, where almost all the construction costs had to come before they could start selling).

They can't build junk and not tarnish the Disney brand - SSR is a really nice resort. But the idea of demand balance was not one of the attributes Disney was considering in the construction - and I don't think its something they really consider ever. Demand balance is something that is pretty far down the line in considerations for first purchase, does create some member dissatisfaction, but that dissatisfaction is often resolved when the member adds on at a different resort - that's a win for Disney.

 

[culli]

I got a call back same day I sent message! I had to call them back as I missed the call. I just got off the phone with them, they called me back ON EASTER!!!!

Really nice lady and she said the OKW was a pilot and it seems to be going very well. I pretty much told her everything that has already been discussed so no need to rehash. I told her just thinking the more members who bring up a topic the better, she agreed so if you have not contacted them and want booking categories please do so....can't hurt.

I found this odd, she did say to contact her personally and she will assist me in room assignments and getting what I wanted.

 

[J&JAKV08]

I don't think it is a "love" "hate" issue. I just think because there are so many DVC resorts to choose from at the world that all of us tend to compare resorts down to the finer details. The simple fact is we are lucky to have so many great choices to help meet all our wants and needs. SSR is a great resort with a lot of wonderful amenities that appeal to some and not to others. While it is not my first choice if it was the only DVC resort to choose from I would still love every stay.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I got a call back same day I sent message! I had to call them back as I missed the call. I just got off the phone with them, they called me back ON EASTER!!!!

Really nice lady and she said the OKW was a pilot and it seems to be going very well. I pretty much told her everything that has already been discussed so no need to rehash. I told her just thinking the more members who bring up a topic the better, she agreed so if you have not contacted them and want booking categories please do so....can't hurt.

I found this odd, she did say to contact her personally and she will assist me in room assignments and getting what I wanted.

Way to go Culli!!!! Get me some kind of booking categories, and I am there!!! I have been waiting to try SSR.... HAPPY EASTER!!

 

[Chuck S]

Remember that the more booking categories there are that it will make booking stays, especially longer stays, crucial during the 11 month window.

For instance, say an SSR owner finds out at 6 months out that they have a 10 night vacation leave approved at work. Now, instead of just calling and booking a "studio" at SSR which may be available, they now may have to book 2 nights in Grandstand, 3 nights in Carousel, 2 nights in Paddocks and another 3 nights in carousel, meaning, of course, multiple moves with separate check-ins and DDPs, if added. You need to weight the possible inconvenience over the guaranteed categories. Some posters have already reported having to move because of the Near HH category at OKW.

 

[Simba's Mom]

. Some posters have already reported having to move because of the Near HH category at OKW.

Really?! What a pain in the tuckus! I didn't really care about the near HH category at OKW before, but now I see the disadvantage.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Remember that the more booking categories there are that it will make booking stays, especially longer stays, crucial during the 11 month window.

For instance, say an SSR owner finds out at 6 months out that they have a 10 night vacation leave approved at work. Now, instead of just calling and booking a "studio" at SSR which may be available, they now may have to book 2 nights in Grandstand, 3 nights in Carousel, 2 nights in Paddocks and another 3 nights in carousel, meaning, of course, multiple moves with separate check-ins and DDPs, if added. You need to weight the possible inconvenience over the guaranteed categories. Some posters have already reported having to move because of the Near HH category at OKW.

Sorry, I have to disagree here. Booking categories seem to be working just fine for BWV, AKV, VB, and soon to be BLT. All reservations can be made up to 7 days...no need to piece meal as you describe. Nope, I only see it as positive. It MAY also alleviate the 7 mos. free for all if SSR owners actually want to stay at their resort at 7 mos. Again, this is only assuming most SSR owners switch at 7 mos, I really don't have data on that. I only see it as a positive....I'm sure the Carousel will be there for those that don't care where they stay.....

 

[Chuck S]

Sorry, I have to disagree here. Booking categories seem to be working just fine for BWV, AKV, VB, and soon to be BLT. All reservations can be made up to 7 days...no need to piece meal as you describe. Nope, I only see it as an advantage. It MAY also alleviate the 7 mos. free for all if SSR actually want to stay at their resort at 7 mos. I only see it as a positive....I'm sure the Carousel will be there for those that don't care where they stay.....

No, not all reservations can be made up to 7 days. While you can book 7 days, the room HAS to be available. It is certainly possible to call at 7 months or less and not have the same room available for all 7 nights of a reservation. Just as people booking at BWV may not be able to get all of their nights in the standard view category, and have to switch to preferred. Or calling at 6 months out for 7 nights in AKV concierge, there have been reports of only one or two nights available, and they have to book the rest of the vacation in a different room.

If I called today for a concierge room at AKV for 7 nights begining 6 months from now, don't you think it is entirely possible that only one or two of the nights would be available? 7 nights would certainly not be guarateed to be available.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

No, not all reservations can be made up to 7 days. While you can book 7 days, the room HAS to be available. It is certainly possible to call at 7 months or less and not have the same room available for all 7 nights of a reservation. Just as people booking at BWV may not be able to get all of their nights in the standard view category, and have to switch to preferred. Or calling at 6 months out for 7 nights in AKV concierge, there have been reports of only one or two nights available, and they have to book the rest of the vacation in a different room.

If I called today for a concierge room at AKV for 7 nights begining 6 months from now, don't you think it is entirely possible that only one or two of the nights would be available? 7 nights would certainly not be guarateed to be available.

Point duely noted (oh and happy Easter/Passover to you!)....it is being done will smaller resorts than SSR....with SSR's size, I see no problem at all.

 

[Dean]

Remember that the more booking categories there are that it will make booking stays, especially longer stays, crucial during the 11 month window.

For instance, say an SSR owner finds out at 6 months out that they have a 10 night vacation leave approved at work. Now, instead of just calling and booking a "studio" at SSR which may be available, they now may have to book 2 nights in Grandstand, 3 nights in Carousel, 2 nights in Paddocks and another 3 nights in carousel, meaning, of course, multiple moves with separate check-ins and DDPs, if added. You need to weight the possible inconvenience over the guaranteed categories. Some posters have already reported having to move because of the Near HH category at OKW.

True if there aren't enough villas in a given category. No one had to move but rather they accepted reservation that had that contingency. SSR should be the least concerning in this regard, that's why I referred to it's size in the same context. Still, those last couple of reservations are going to have that risk, I minor bump in the road to this issue IMO. Now for somewhere like BCV, VB or HH, it'd create much more issues unless it were combined with a min stay scenario. IMO, the 7 month issue for availability is a non issue because those are either not members at that resort or members that delayed 4 months in reserving. It is certainly unreasonable to avoid a benefit for the members for that possibility. There are other factors for the system when you add any complexity or variables but for SSR, they should also be the least of all the current resorts for such a matter.

 

[hakepb]

2) Some say it is not "Disney" enough. But every morning when I wake up and see DTD I know I'm at Disney. Yes! It isn't themed "Disney." But AKL is themed Africa, VWL is themed Yellowstone, BCV is themed, well, beach house, Boardwalk is themed carnival (or scarry clown horror movie) OKW is themed Florida. Each has a little Mickey thrown in somewhere. Let's face it, the best Disney themed resorts are the value resorts.

To me, "Disney" themeing is not all about hidden Mickeys (although I think SSR interiors could use more, an oversight design mistake they corrected with AKV and BLT)
Disney themeing is all about complete imersion in a theme, whether it is the first time you enter the resort for check in, When you dine at the resort, when you leave the bus after a day in the parks you need to experience the theme with all your senses (sight, sound, smells, touch (i.e cobblestone pavers will have a different walking feel than plain concrete))
It is easier to have this complete environmental control when you regurarly walk through the resport lobby. Even the All-Stars have you walk through the lobby, then by the pool after getting off the bus.
Now you do not need a lobby to experience a theme change, OKW aparantly does better with the lush landscaping around the resort, the parks all have successful theme changes in the different lands. I think SSR could do more at the bus stops (Grandstand might be the best one, so perhaps they learned something as the resort was built)
And the restaurants/shop areas do not seem to fit the theme (It might be my lack of knowledge of te real Saratoga), but to me they seem like the sort of places a new money entrepenuer came into SSR in the past 10 years and built what they thought the real Saratoga needed. I want to feel like I am experience what the locals experienced for the last 50+ years, or what the "old money" people grew up doing. I think that is where the theme is...

SSR is still a lovely place. I remember catching glimpses from DTD when it was built , wishing I could afford to stay in a nice Disney place like that, and thanks to DVC, I now do!

 

[arthur06]

WOW!!! Tons of great info!

 

[spiceycat]

SSR will never satisfy the people who don't like condo style accommodations. It will never satisfy the people who don't like anything that isn't right next to a park.

So, with that said, what can they do?

I actually started a post on this topic a while back. I wish I could find it, as there were some great responses there. Obviously, Disney thought they were hitting a home run with the resort given:
1) proximity to DTD
2) proximity to golf course
3) on-site spa

first of all when SSR opened there was something next door called PI. to appeal to the young 20 & 30's.

first DISNEY (not DVC) did away with the fireworks - blaming it on SSR - which made me mad.

then they did away with PI - which pretty sure was some of the reason that young couples and singles brought at SSR.

DVC did not know that Disney was going to close PI. If so they would not have mentioned it. Or the fireworks - heck they build a special place for members to watch the fireworks.

DVC did something for kids - that main pool. It was not designed for adults.
kids seems to love it.

the arcade at SSR is very, very nice. but hardily ever used. NEVER, NEVER seem it fully used. So why build a bigger one when the one they have is not used. Now seem the ones at POR, CR, heck even OKW - being fully used.

the only resorts with a better one are POR, Pop and CR. CR is no longer top.

for playgrounds - kids seem to like the water area better. so SSR put in one at Grandstand.

really think DVC has tried at SSR.