Sunshine1010
03-22-2007, 03:25 PM
Sooooo, I went to WDW from March 13-20. I thought I would let you know some opinions I had. ...tell you about some things I saw and experienced...and give you an overall opinion....
1. THE TRAVEL THERE AND BACK - Took SW. Got A seating the way there and had SSR do the boarding passes for the way back and got B seating. All went find (Concierge did it).
2. MAGICAL EXPRESS - this went fine - both ways. No wait upon arriving. On the way home, they were right on time.
3. SSR - nice resort. Nothing much for the kids...which we expected. This resort had the feeling for adults. One way was the shop - for example: the CBR had LOTS of toys in their shop....SSR had hardly any. BIG difference. We knew it was a more 'adult-themed' resort and it was very nice.
We asked for Congress Park with a view of DTD (on the lake) - got it and it was BEAUTIFUL - day and night. 10 minute walk from DTD. For those of you who want to know --- Congress Park is the only one that is really close to DTD. I'd want to wait for the bus to DTD at any other the other 'regions' of SSR (Carousel, The Paddocks, The Grandstands....etc.). The Springs is where you want to get off at for the main desk (which is called the Carriage House).
There isn't a dedicated internal bus system at this resort...but if get on a bus to ANY destination (Epcot, MGM, etc), the last stop for pick ups is THE SPRINGS and that will take you back to the main place (main desk, main pool, CS/TS/snack, arcade, etc.....). If you want to get from the main area (The Springs) to your part of the resort, you have two choices. You can either walk or you can hop on the bus for DTD.....ride to DTD and let them drop off people...and then wait for the DTD bus to go back to SSR and go to your specific bus stop. We opted to walk back everytime,...but we caught the bus to actually GO to The Springs.
We rented Surrey Bikes there. With DVC membership, it was 17.95 for 30 minutes. Not sure if I'd do it again --- you can rent a boat with a DVC membership for 24.95 for 30 minutes at DTD - I'd rather do the boat. We'll probablyy do that next trip. BUT - the Surrey bikes were fun for my son and it really gave us a chance to see the resort. It's VERY peaceful. We will be back.
The CS area didn't have a lot of choices. CBR had TONS of better food. There wasn't even a contest.....hand down - CBR wins on the CS between the two. But, from what we did get - it was good. Very adult themed foods (turkey and brie sandwich ----- roast beef and blue cheese sandwich). ....Not many choices for kids (pizza, chicken nuggets, PBJ...etc.). Every night after 5pm they would have more of a 'dinner food' at the CS restaurant (meatloaf, etc.....). We never got to try that - but it would have been nice.
The rooms are awesome. We got a 1-bedroom. I must be a dork because the best thing - besides the view - was the fact that I had a washing machine and dryer. WOW - I cannot tell you how nice it was to know I could do laundry every night when I got in. The whirlpool bath was NICE and the water system always had hot water - even for 3 people taking showers in the morning and a load of laundry going.
There are no elevators in the buildings. ...so if you can't go up stairs - keep that in mind. But I could be wrong...we always went in the back door (facing DTD) and so we never saw the front of the building. They could have elevators - I don't know.
At the CS restaurant/store - they have artist things for the kids (hence - the name of the place - Artist Pallette). The kids can crayong and draw on a pad of paper while eating. It was a nice distraction.
The employees at the store were never on the same page. I asked questions and got a different answer a lot.
DVC members can rent DVD's for free....you can rent 3 at a time - for 1 night. Due back at 10am the next day. They have three books to look through - R, pg-13 and G. We rented Mary Poppins 1 night.
The coach that goes into a sleeper bed was nice because it gave my son his 'own room' and gave us some privacy at night to where we didn't have to go to sleep as soon as he did. But, I'd hate to sleep on it....it wasn't the most comfortable thing (but who would expect that?).
We stayed 7 days, so we were entitled to towel and trash service. They did their job and did nothing extra (but I didn't expect them to).
Kitchen items - plentiful. They don't provide salt/pepper. The store has MANY items that you can buy. You can basically go grocery shopping.
Grocery delivery there was basically non-existent. As you know, you can order groceries through the DVC resort. Well, we called to do it one night and they stated that to do that - we would now have to GO THERE, fill out a sheet, pay upfront, and they will eventually deliver them. Apparantly there had been some problems so their service is changing there. Keep that in mind - If you want groceries delivered - I now suggest another service besides theirs.
Nicest thing I saw there: I left my wallet with EVERYTHING in it at the main desk. They called me and I went back and got it and it had everything in it - including all my cash.
Worst thing I saw there: a girl vomited in the couch area between the restaurant and check in area. The parents didn't even help her. Didn't even get up from their couch to sit next to her. They let her throw up all over the carpet, table and couch and didn't even try to move her to the bathroom which was a total of 15 feet away. When she was done - they took her in there and cleaned her up. The staff helped clean, but didn't mark it off for people not to sit there. A teenager came and sat down right in the spot and I told her to get up and move and told her why. She was horrified. At least the place should have put a sign up for the place to dry....or something.
Bell services - great. You need to cal the night before and make an appt to pick up the luggage. If you are there, you get a ticket. If not - you have to just give your name when you pick it up.
The arcade - my son loved it.
The pool - PACKED. I mean PACKED. I heard a few people complaining of all the people. The other pools were very manageable.
The store and CS place was SMALL. VERY small. I was surprised. It was always chaotic.
For those of you who like noise when they sleep: they have a ceiling fan - but it's practically silent....bring a fan of your own. Bathrooms don't have a constant vent that you can turn on....it's motion sensored so it only goes on when you are in the bathroom.
This resort room was CLEAN. WAAAAAAYYYY cleaner than CBR was.
Balcony had 2 chairs and a table. Clean.
Bus stops are covered in case it's raining. But to get to the bus stops - you'll get wet if it's raining.
SSR is the home of the DVC sample house...so you always saw people going to and from there.
Community Hall - it is a little room for children. They had arts and crafts, cartoons going, a ping pong table, foos-ball, and toys. This is where they do the activities for kids...but most of the activities were at the pool. This place was a nice retreat ---- AKL doesn't have this and either did CBR. But - it only has 2 chairs in front of the TV...kinda wierd for a huge resort. BUT - everytime we went in - it was empty. I actually fell asleep once in the chair while my son played with my husband. It was nice.
Lots of flowers at this resort. Very pretty. Lots of fountains in the lakes (ponds) between the buildings. Very serene.
1. THE TRAVEL THERE AND BACK - Took SW. Got A seating the way there and had SSR do the boarding passes for the way back and got B seating. All went find (Concierge did it).
2. MAGICAL EXPRESS - this went fine - both ways. No wait upon arriving. On the way home, they were right on time.
3. SSR - nice resort. Nothing much for the kids...which we expected. This resort had the feeling for adults. One way was the shop - for example: the CBR had LOTS of toys in their shop....SSR had hardly any. BIG difference. We knew it was a more 'adult-themed' resort and it was very nice.
We asked for Congress Park with a view of DTD (on the lake) - got it and it was BEAUTIFUL - day and night. 10 minute walk from DTD. For those of you who want to know --- Congress Park is the only one that is really close to DTD. I'd want to wait for the bus to DTD at any other the other 'regions' of SSR (Carousel, The Paddocks, The Grandstands....etc.). The Springs is where you want to get off at for the main desk (which is called the Carriage House).
There isn't a dedicated internal bus system at this resort...but if get on a bus to ANY destination (Epcot, MGM, etc), the last stop for pick ups is THE SPRINGS and that will take you back to the main place (main desk, main pool, CS/TS/snack, arcade, etc.....). If you want to get from the main area (The Springs) to your part of the resort, you have two choices. You can either walk or you can hop on the bus for DTD.....ride to DTD and let them drop off people...and then wait for the DTD bus to go back to SSR and go to your specific bus stop. We opted to walk back everytime,...but we caught the bus to actually GO to The Springs.
We rented Surrey Bikes there. With DVC membership, it was 17.95 for 30 minutes. Not sure if I'd do it again --- you can rent a boat with a DVC membership for 24.95 for 30 minutes at DTD - I'd rather do the boat. We'll probablyy do that next trip. BUT - the Surrey bikes were fun for my son and it really gave us a chance to see the resort. It's VERY peaceful. We will be back.
The CS area didn't have a lot of choices. CBR had TONS of better food. There wasn't even a contest.....hand down - CBR wins on the CS between the two. But, from what we did get - it was good. Very adult themed foods (turkey and brie sandwich ----- roast beef and blue cheese sandwich). ....Not many choices for kids (pizza, chicken nuggets, PBJ...etc.). Every night after 5pm they would have more of a 'dinner food' at the CS restaurant (meatloaf, etc.....). We never got to try that - but it would have been nice.
The rooms are awesome. We got a 1-bedroom. I must be a dork because the best thing - besides the view - was the fact that I had a washing machine and dryer. WOW - I cannot tell you how nice it was to know I could do laundry every night when I got in. The whirlpool bath was NICE and the water system always had hot water - even for 3 people taking showers in the morning and a load of laundry going.
There are no elevators in the buildings. ...so if you can't go up stairs - keep that in mind. But I could be wrong...we always went in the back door (facing DTD) and so we never saw the front of the building. They could have elevators - I don't know.
At the CS restaurant/store - they have artist things for the kids (hence - the name of the place - Artist Pallette). The kids can crayong and draw on a pad of paper while eating. It was a nice distraction.
The employees at the store were never on the same page. I asked questions and got a different answer a lot.
DVC members can rent DVD's for free....you can rent 3 at a time - for 1 night. Due back at 10am the next day. They have three books to look through - R, pg-13 and G. We rented Mary Poppins 1 night.
The coach that goes into a sleeper bed was nice because it gave my son his 'own room' and gave us some privacy at night to where we didn't have to go to sleep as soon as he did. But, I'd hate to sleep on it....it wasn't the most comfortable thing (but who would expect that?).
We stayed 7 days, so we were entitled to towel and trash service. They did their job and did nothing extra (but I didn't expect them to).
Kitchen items - plentiful. They don't provide salt/pepper. The store has MANY items that you can buy. You can basically go grocery shopping.
Grocery delivery there was basically non-existent. As you know, you can order groceries through the DVC resort. Well, we called to do it one night and they stated that to do that - we would now have to GO THERE, fill out a sheet, pay upfront, and they will eventually deliver them. Apparantly there had been some problems so their service is changing there. Keep that in mind - If you want groceries delivered - I now suggest another service besides theirs.
Nicest thing I saw there: I left my wallet with EVERYTHING in it at the main desk. They called me and I went back and got it and it had everything in it - including all my cash.
Worst thing I saw there: a girl vomited in the couch area between the restaurant and check in area. The parents didn't even help her. Didn't even get up from their couch to sit next to her. They let her throw up all over the carpet, table and couch and didn't even try to move her to the bathroom which was a total of 15 feet away. When she was done - they took her in there and cleaned her up. The staff helped clean, but didn't mark it off for people not to sit there. A teenager came and sat down right in the spot and I told her to get up and move and told her why. She was horrified. At least the place should have put a sign up for the place to dry....or something.
Bell services - great. You need to cal the night before and make an appt to pick up the luggage. If you are there, you get a ticket. If not - you have to just give your name when you pick it up.
The arcade - my son loved it.
The pool - PACKED. I mean PACKED. I heard a few people complaining of all the people. The other pools were very manageable.
The store and CS place was SMALL. VERY small. I was surprised. It was always chaotic.
For those of you who like noise when they sleep: they have a ceiling fan - but it's practically silent....bring a fan of your own. Bathrooms don't have a constant vent that you can turn on....it's motion sensored so it only goes on when you are in the bathroom.
This resort room was CLEAN. WAAAAAAYYYY cleaner than CBR was.
Balcony had 2 chairs and a table. Clean.
Bus stops are covered in case it's raining. But to get to the bus stops - you'll get wet if it's raining.
SSR is the home of the DVC sample house...so you always saw people going to and from there.
Community Hall - it is a little room for children. They had arts and crafts, cartoons going, a ping pong table, foos-ball, and toys. This is where they do the activities for kids...but most of the activities were at the pool. This place was a nice retreat ---- AKL doesn't have this and either did CBR. But - it only has 2 chairs in front of the TV...kinda wierd for a huge resort. BUT - everytime we went in - it was empty. I actually fell asleep once in the chair while my son played with my husband. It was nice.
Lots of flowers at this resort. Very pretty. Lots of fountains in the lakes (ponds) between the buildings. Very serene.