WWYD? offered free upgrade

[NCardella]

Just returned from our 3night Labor Day stay at SSR and have to say we really enjoyed it. Will probably post a trip report as soon as I can get my thoughts together.

Some highlights: upgrade process went smoothly. We are so used to waiting in long check in lines at Pop/All Stars that to walk right up to a counterperson waiting for us was foreign, but we loved it.

The resort was relaxing, inviting, and quiet. The enormous crowds at the park had us questioning why we even left the resort at all.

Found transportation a breeze from this resort. Loved being one of the first bus stops at each park. Pop/All Stars are always a long walk to the last bus stops. Liked that each section at SSR had their own bus stop as well, not having to walk to a central location spoiled us.

Loved our view. We were in Congress Park, with a view of Downtown Disney which was neat to see at night, the kids loved that. We liked also that we were a stone's throw from our section's pool, and left the kids there watching tv one night so we could soak in the hot tub for a while.

More later, but suffice to say we are now spoiled. DH actually contemplated renting points from a DVC owner for another stay! Will have to lurk on the DVC boards now!

 

[NCardella]

The only major problem we encountered was when they (OKW) printed our tickets they didn't print on them that we had the DDP so every time we ate we had to explain that we really did have the DDP and we weren't tricking them.QUOTE]


This happened to us, too! But after the 2nd time being questioned about it we would hand them the card and say "yes, we know it doesn't say it on our room key but the DDP is there, we promise!"

 

[Ellasgirls]

Hi Everybody!!!

We just got back late last night. Had a great time but the heat really got to me more than a few times. Our 1bdrm villa @ OKW was great. DSIL and I were both placed in Bldg. 16, ground floor, which was really close to the Hospitality House. The only thing a bit disappointing was the bus service which seemed to be hit-or-miss. Maybe it was just the time of day we were trying to get around but I've decided any future stays at this resort will include a rental car.

We had a few weird things happen during our stay. First, DH opened the front door and noticed a sign on it, he leaned over to read what the sign said...yep, you guessed it -- "Wet Paint"! Anyway, it was actually the door frame that had been painted, so DH's shirt and shorts had a white streak down the back. I called the front desk to ask why no one had left a message or knocked on the door to notify us and the lady was really nice and told me she was extremely sorry and asked what the value of the clothing items were. I asked if there was anyway to have the people in laundry services just remove the paint and she said they were afraid it would ruin the material. We were given a credit to our account for an amount slightly higher than the total I gave her. I appreciated her doing this, but was really aggravated as this is the kind of stuff that causes the rates to go up for everyone and could have easily been avoided.

The next thing that happened was our room was unsecured most of the day as when we returned after closing the MK, the door handle to our room had not been latched properly and we were able to push it open without using the key. Luckily, nothing had been taken and it appeared no one had entered the room other than housekeeping. I called again to let the front desk know as it was a bit disconcerning to think what could have happened if someone had realized the door was not closed all the way. A received a call back a few minutes later notifying me they were sending someone over to read the lock to determine if it had been housekeeping or maintenance that entered the room last.

We went to the parks everyday and witnessed very few people wearing Dream ears, lanyards, or Fast Passes. It was very disappointing to never even witness anyone receiving a prize. Apparently by extending the promo it has now turned into a year of a Half Million Dreams.

Parks were crowded, but manageable. We certainly tried to take advantage of FP's whenever possible. The rain/thunder/lightning was also a problem as it would just come down in sheets! We also packed our panchos everyday.

Free DDP was nice, but by the end of our stay we could hardly stand the thought of another big meal. We dined at Le Cellier, San Angel Inn, Hollywood & Vine, Rose and Crown, Concourse Steakhouse, Olivia's, Kona Cafe, and Spoodles. The best: Le Cellier, the worst: San Angel Inn. I had heard so many negative things about San Angel but thought I would find out for myself. Our orders were incorrect, the food was lukewarm, DD's steak was way too rare so we asked them to cook it a bit longer....they didn't bring it back until they were actually serving the rest of us dessert. I would never go there again and would have been extremely upset if we had been paying OOP for any portion of it.

I didn't mean for this post to sound so negative, because we did have a really fun time -- however, it's good to be back home. We've decided to go to Disneyland for our next visit as we haven't been there for several years now and feel it is just different enough to get some of the magic back that was missing a bit from this trip.

We were in building 34....but had a gorgeous view of a pond and golf course. We were on Turtle Pond Rd. Didn't you fall in love with the one bedroom villa...we are now spoiled for all future Disney vacations. We were there Aug 26-Sept 1...maybe even saw each other and didn't know it! I will be changing my pic at the bottom soon with updated pictures of my family...I also agree with you on the rain! It reminded me of a movie set and I was amazed at all the wet, white t shirts women were wearing and not worrying that you could see EVERYTHING God gave them Glad you had fun!

 

[bell.of.the.ball]

I am back, tired, and stuffed but we had a great time. Loved the free dining and SSR. Thanks Disney for the upgrade

 

[Dianewes]

So the upgrade was great needless to say!!! We were in SSR in the Grandstand Section ... the pool there was really good, the kids liked it lots. The bus service was great also because we were the first stop, that is good in the am and great in the pm!! The free dinning was fantastic, our meal at the Coral Reef was a lot more $$ than the cost would have been to buy the plan for the day ... I am still in shock that we ate for free !! I found that the plan would have been very cost effective since we did a table service everyday, and normally do. So disney has me as a future customer of the DDP

Yes, it was like walking on the sun hot there... but it is Florida in the summer, expected.

There were lots of people that I saw wearing the YOAMD fastpasses and lanyards and also the ears .... we did not get a dream, but really... free food and a fabulous upgrade... that was our dream.

So me and my 2 girlfriends our 6 kids and their parents had quite a memorable and enjoyable trip !!

 

[Kitty-chan]

We're back too, and had a great time!

We were in SSR Springs section, in the building right behind the bus stop. Great location for Artists' Palette and the pool, and ME, but MAN was the transportation bad! Every bit as bad as I'd heard. One morning we waited over an hour for a bus and missed the first half of MK's EMH. My son started carrying a book around for all those long waits at the bus stop.

LanaJae, I think we met on the bus to Epcot one day! I hope you were able to get your Photopass picture?

Other than the transportation issues, I really loved SSR. We were in a studio on the third floor, and had a beautiful view from the balcony, especially in the evenings. I would sit out there and watch the sunset, or watch for the bunnies who'd sometimes play out on the patio below.

It rained a lot so we carried ponchos everywhere. We even picked one up for Pal Mickey, who liked to hang out on the rocking chairs near Artists' Palette and read the Hidden Mickeys guide.

I'm a little sad now that the vacation's over and I don't have another WDW trip planned . . . but I had a great time, and I know I'll be back sooner or later!

 

[DISNEYNY]

Just back from SSR yesterday. We loved it and had a great stay. We were in the Grandstand section and were very glad we asked for it. That section was first to be picked up and dropped off. There was never a problem for us with the transportation. I felt very bad for the people in the Springs section. They almost always had to stand and several times didn't get on the bus. The Grandstand section was not a far walk from the Main pool or the restaurants. The only complaint we had was the pullout bed. My DD 13 & D Niece 16 said it was horrible. They called it the rock!!

 

[extremesoccermom]

Hello everyone, we also got back late last night! I am at work today . We had a great time and SSR was wonderfull! I plan on doing my first trip report here this weekend as soon as I catch up on my sleep.
It was a real whirlwind vacation but we had a great time. We LOVE SSR and can't wait to go back as new DVC owners.
They origianally had us in the Carousel section but were able to give a room in the Springs section as I had requested. It was the perfect spot right across from the pool.
The buses were OK for us except the first and last mornings. The DDP was great, we ate so much food and brought home a bunch of drinks and snacks. We even had to throw away a couple of left over deserts our last morning. We just couldn't eat it all. I think I made myself sick our last day finishing up our 2 TS at LeCellier lunch (I ate it all but then could not eat the rest of the day and actually felt a little sick to my stomach on the way home) But I only gained 3lbs!!!

 

[LanaJae]

LanaJae, I think we met on the bus to Epcot one day! I hope you were able to get your Photopass picture?

I was so hoping you'd post, I found your name and put you on my friends list or whatever it's called here - I looked back and saw that you were on the free upgrade here too, sure wish I had asked you - my mind was elsewhere because of trying to figure out those pictures and a little cooked too from the morning/afternoon at MK. It would've been great to spend more time visting.

We got the pictures, but it was an ordeal! I had to go to guest services and pay for a full day ticket for Lana and myself, then I had one hour to get back there to get a refund. I got to the camera shop and the line was 40 people deep and they were all crabby - the door was open and it was really hot in there. I stopped a CM just to ask if it really was possible to get the photos 2 days later and if she thought I could get through the line in an hour and she took my coupons to check. Then she called me up and said yes, they're here and you can use them so step over to view them. Then this lady started screaming that she had a plane to catch and everyone started glaring at me. The CM told me to stay there and she'd show me the pics, and I just whispered to print anything from the Disney Visa greeting, I didn't need to see them, so she did and we left. They weren't very good pictures lol - the lighting was so strong - I was able to see the others on photopass when we got home and if I'd known they were that bad... well.... but the best part was meeting you and that was worth it!

They don't have a good setup for photopass as people stand there forever looking at their pictures. I think they should have a separate line for the visa thing as you technically are to get it that day per the coupon. I think if I'd read it and gone there and seen the line, I would've skipped it. We didn't use our own camera for the greeting because of the free 5x7, that was dumb of us.

Oh, and when we were talking about Pal Mickey, I found out back at MK that ours was broken from the get-go. They rebooted it twice with some remote and it still wouldn't work (it worked for games, not for inside things), so they finally gave us a new one (he was less than 24 hours old), so wasted another 2 hours on that, but it was in air conditioning

We also rode the monorail back to MK and that was something we'd never done so was fun, and strangely enough, we walked in MK at the exact same time my husband and son got there, even though he was sound asleep when we left to go to Epcot and I never made any planned time to meet, I just said I would call him when we were there and find out where they were.


I hope you enjoyed your dinner. We ate at LTT that night and it was fantastic.

We really had trouble with transportation on Friday. I don't know why, it was just awful all day.

When I was reading back on this thread, I saw that your husband was laid off, so I hope he's back to work now.

It'll be a LONG time before we're back to WDW, so I'm stuck to this thread and the budget board now. We might get to go to Disneyland for a day next year though.

 

[Riverhill]

Got home this morning at 4 a.m. Upgrade was wonderful. We ended up with 4 counter service and 14 snacks leftover at the end of the trip. There is no way I could eat that much food. Room was great. I loved having the washer/dryer in the room.

Only downside was the bus service. We waited over an hour for a bus to AK. Wasted a lot of time waiting on bus service. I spoke with a CM who told me that SSR is known for having bad bus service.

Loved the hot weather!!! The High Springs Pool was great for the kids. The slide was a blast

Now I just have to come to terms with my post Disney depression.

 

[Kitty-chan]

We also rode the monorail back to MK and that was something we'd never done so was fun, and strangely enough, we walked in MK at the exact same time my husband and son got there, even though he was sound asleep when we left to go to Epcot and I never made any planned time to meet, I just said I would call him when we were there and find out where they were.


I hope you enjoyed your dinner. We ate at LTT that night and it was fantastic.

When I was reading back on this thread, I saw that your husband was laid off, so I hope he's back to work now.

It'll be a LONG time before we're back to WDW, so I'm stuck to this thread and the budget board now. We might get to go to Disneyland for a day next year though.

I love the Monorail between Epcot and MK! Sometimes when I'm staying offsite I'll park at Epcot when I'm going to MK, because at Epcot you can usually park close enough to not need the parking tram (which I have an irrational hatred of), and the monorail's quick and fun. Especially awesome if you get into the front car!

Dinner that night was okay. We ate at Coral Reef, which I found incredibly noisy! I wouldn't eat there again. The food was okay, but not as good as I'd heard it would be.

My husband is in fact back to work, thank goodness!! Thanks for asking.

I don't know when we'll get back to WDW either . . . I'm having a bad case of post-vacation blues! But I'll get back there eventually, I always do.

 

[jwboucher]

Back home - I have to read through what I missed - some doesn't look good - accidents, yikes - sorry to read this!

SSR was beautiful, we were originally assigned to Grandstand, but they moved us to Paddock so that we could get in our room right away (1 pm). We were on ground level at the end of the long bridge. When people said SSR is big, I didn't quite get the picture - it's HUGE. We got lost twice, and misdirected more than twice.

Daily mousekeeping was fantastic, they brought new laundry soap and all other supplies every day, not enough bath towels though - only 4, but too many washcloths to count - I had a stack of 25 clean ones when we left.

I'm so tired that I can't even think now, just wanted to say that the whole upgrade thing went flawless and same with free DDP, ADRs, etc. The only problem we had was that Magic Express brought us to the wrong terminal today to come home, which wasn't a big deal because you just walk across to the other side.

I packed ponchos every day except yesterday and we were soaked at MGM/DS three times, so don't forget the ponchos.

Oh - one strange thing, we took the bus from AK to CSR to have ribeye for counter service at Pepper Market. The entire CSR seemed to be empty, it was downright surreal, I don't know if we just hit it at an odd day or what. Food was excellent though - only bad meal we had was at Sunshine Seasons (I think that's the name) at Epcot. Never had bad service anywhere for any meal.

Heat and humidity - another thing that you can't understand unless you've been there this time of year! I am LMAO at all the people (not on this thread) who asked about taking pants along. I have never been so hot in my life. Body Glide sucks, Monistat chafing gel is awesome. Coppertone continuous spray is fantastic too - not one speck of burn on any of us.

Only saw one family with YOAMD ears on - in May, I saw many, it must be slowing down.

We were at the Grandstand. We checked in around 11am and only had to wait 45 mins for the room to be ready. Which meal did you get at Sunshine Seasons? Hubby really wanted to eat there but DD wanted Mexican so we went to the Mexican CS. DH and I thought it was good...DD and her friend didn't really like it...only draw back was having to eat outside...HOT!

 

[jwboucher]

We left on 9/23 around 3:30pm. We decided to make a big circle around the cities which added 2-3 hours to our trip. The first night we stopped in Woodstock, VA at a Comfort Inn. This place had the most comfortable beds that I have ever slept in at any motel. We left around 9am and figured since we were making good time we would stop at South of the Border. We pulled into the first area where the drug store is and I told hubby I wanted to go to the gift shop. That meant crossing the road and going in the other direction. I did suggest that he just stay on the same side and go through the parking lots. Nope, he went out on the main road, didn't see a pick-up truck coming and got hit in the front end. No one got hurt. We had heavy damage to the front end. The fender was dended, bumper gone, hood bent at the hinges and moved toward the passenger side, no lights at all on driver's side. We contemplated going back home...but we were already half way there...had reservations....and the van was driveable. So after a couple hour delay and hubby getting a ticket...we were on our way. We stopped a couple of hours at another Comfort Inn....not nearly as good as the first one. We left around 9 or 10 the next morning and stopped to see my SIL, who lives in FL, then on to Pop for the night. I really liked almost everything about it. It I had a gripe, it would be the distance we had to walk dragging our luggage. Other than that it was great. We were in the 50's section. The food court was great. We had cheeseburgers when we got there, and had omelets for breakfast. I would stay there again. On 8/26 we moved to SSR. We had a 1 bedroom villa in the Grandstand section with a view of the parking lot. It was close to the pool and parking so it was OK. We ate at their counter service a few times...I think we did a lunch... hot dog, dinner....roasted chicken with mashed potatoes & carrots, Breakfast...western omelet with potatoes....all meals were good. During the week we ate at: Ohana's, 50's PT, Hoop Dee Doo Revue, Crystal Palace, Whispering Canyon & Coral Reef. I think the favorite meal out of the group was Whispering Canyon. Our counter services during the week were: Pop's food court, SSR food court, Cosmic Rays, Disney Quest food court and Cantina San Angel. DQ food court had the best desserts...cheesecake brownie (YUM!)...best meal would be Cosmic Rays ribs & chicken..and the steak & cheese sandwich at DQ.

Now we are home and our van is in the garage with $5000 worth the damage. At least I am driving a 2008 van as a rental. Got it for the compact price...good knowing people.

I think the accident put a damper on the whole vacation. I think we need to go back and do it over!!

 

[LanaJae]

We were at the Grandstand. We checked in around 11am and only had to wait 45 mins for the room to be ready. Which meal did you get at Sunshine Seasons. Hubby really wanted to eat there but DD wanted Mexican so we went to the Mexican CS. DH and I thought it was good...DD and her friend didn't really like it...only draw back was having to eat outside...HOT!

I think you made a smart choice though! We had the salmon dinner and it was disgusting - I swear they made it days ahead of time and then it was cold and dried out too - everything was bad there, even the fountain soda. The rest of the restaurants made up for it though, everything else was perfect.

I think we probably should've waited for our room at Grandstand, but my family was anxious to get in somewhere and they said it would be a few hours. As it turned out, the small pool at the Paddock was good for keeping an eye on the kids though and there wasn't enough shade at the main pool for me. I wish we'd come over to your pool to check it out, it looked cute.

 

[jwboucher]

I think you made a smart choice though! We had the salmon dinner and it was disgusting - I swear they made it days ahead of time and then it was cold and dried out too - everything was bad there, even the fountain soda. The rest of the restaurants made up for it though, everything else was perfect.

I think we probably should've waited for our room at Grandstand, but my family was anxious to get in somewhere and they said it would be a few hours. As it turned out, the small pool at the Paddock was good for keeping an eye on the kids though and there wasn't enough shade at the main pool for me. I wish we'd come over to your pool to check it out, it looked cute.

The Grandstand pool was nice. There was a refill station there too, but it closed early.

OMG!! The deck at the main pool was so HOT, you had to run to the pool or burn your feet!!!!

 

[LanaJae]

We left on 9/23 around 3:30pm. We decided to make a big circle around the cities which added 2-3 hours to our trip. The first night we stopped in Woodstock, VA at a Comfort Inn. This place had the most comfortable beds that I have ever slept in at any motel. We left around 9am and figured since we were making good time we would stop at South of the Border. We pulled into the first area where the drug store is and I told hubby I wanted to go to the gift shop. That meant crossing the road and going in the other direction. I did suggest that he just stay on the same side and go through the parking lots. Nope, he went out on the main road, didn't see a pick-up truck coming and got hit in the front end. No one got hurt. We had heavy damage to the front end. The fender was dended, bumper gone, hood bent at the hinges and moved toward the passenger side, no lights at all on driver's side. We contemplated going back home...but we were already half way there...had reservations....and the van was driveable. So after a couple hour delay and hubby getting a ticket...we were on our way. We stopped a couple of hours at another Comfort Inn....not nearly as good as the first one. We left around 9 or 10 the next morning and stopped to see my SIL, who lives in FL, then on to Pop for the night. I really liked almost everything about it. It I had a gripe, it would be the distance we had to walk dragging our luggage. Other than that it was great. We were in the 50's section. The food court was great. We had cheeseburgers when we got there, and had omelets for breakfast. I would stay there again. On 8/26 we moved to SSR. We had a 1 bedroom villa in the Grandstand section with a view of the parking lot. It was close to the pool and parking so it was OK. We ate at their counter service a few times...I think we did a lunch... hot dog, dinner....roasted chicken with mashed potatoes & carrots, Breakfast...western omelet with potatoes....all meals were good. During the week we ate at: Ohana's, 50's PT, Hoop Dee Doo Revue, Crystal Palace, Whispering Canyon & Coral Reef. I think the favorite meal out of the group was Whispering Canyon. Our counter services during the week were: Pop's food court, SSR food court, Cosmic Rays, Disney Quest food court and Cantina San Angel. DQ food court had the best desserts...cheesecake brownie (YUM!)...best meal would be Cosmic Rays ribs & chicken..and the steak & cheese sandwich at DQ.

Now we are home and our van is in the garage with $5000 worth the damage. At least I am driving a 2008 van as a rental. Got it for the compact price...good knowing people.

I think the accident put a damper on the whole vacation. I think we need to go back and do it over!!

Sorry about the accident - TG no one was hurt! Wish I'd known about the DQ food court, sounds great.

 

[LanaJae]

OMG!! The deck at the main pool was so HOT, you had to run to the pool or burn your feet!!!!

It was horrible! My 6YO daughter's hands blistered when she put them on the edge of the pool to pull herself up. I never went back after that, but my husband took our son over for a short time. I wish we hadn't been so tired at the end of the day, it probably would've been fun then. I think the drink station closed early there too. We didn't have one near us, so I shouldn't have bought refillable cups for all of us.

 

[cocowum]

The Grandstand pool was nice. There was a refill station there too, but it closed early.

OMG!! The deck at the main pool was so HOT, you had to run to the pool or burn your feet!!!!

LOL. The first time we walked across that deck... yikes!!! We did have great fun at the pool, we just made sure to have our flip flops near by.

 

[LanaJae]

LOL. The first time we walked across that deck... yikes!!! We did have great fun at the pool, we just made sure to have our flip flops near by.

Maybe my grandpa was telling the truth when he said, "it was so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk" - I would never have guess that light-colored cement could get that hot.

 

[lisaviolet]

Hi guys,

Yeah, I've found you. I've been wondering how all your upgrades went and what you thought. I'm enjoying reading about your trips.

Lisa