Saratoga Springs Resort

[DizNee143]

We just booked our WDW vacation yesterday!!!!

We were sad we couldn't get any of the resorts we wanted. There was only room available at SSR. So we obviously took it, lol.

We have never been, I've been going crazy looking things up about about the resort since I got off the phone from booking. Just wondering if I can get some personal reviews of the place, the good, the great, the bad, the ugly.

I know it's close to DTD and I'm excited about that..although I would of loved being closer to MK like we wanted since we have 2 little girls. But I'm trying not to complain since we are still going to Disney, just didn't get the resort we wanted, lol.

Thanx everyone!!

[sassafras]

We stayed at Saratoga Springs for the first time last August. Like you, we were unsure about staying there and, in fact, avoided it like the plague for years. Finally we decided ok, why not? I must say that it was one of the most relaxing resorts we had ever stayed at at DW and we are returning there this year. Some people will say it doesn't have that " Disney Magic", but we found we liked it. It was very quiet, so quiet that we didn't see too many people for the first couple of days we were there. It wasn't really that far to any of the parks other than the Animal Kingdom and we found the buses were rarely crowded. I don't think we ended up standing once during our whole 10 days there and we certainly weren't packed in like sardines. As for the resort itself, it is quite spread out. We were originally given a room in Congress Park which is quite a walk to the Hospitality House where the food court, gift shop, and main pool are located. Luckily the second day in, our door lock died and it was going to take quite a while to fix it, so they moved us to the Springs. I would suggest you request a room in the Springs if you can. It's right across from the main pool and Hospitality House and the bus stop is right there. You can catch a boat at the back of the Hospitality House to go to Downtown Disney or take a bus. The main pool has a cute splash pad for the kids beside the large pool and snack bar. It was never overcrowded. There is a walkway to Downtown Disney so it is possible to walk there although it was closed while we were there. Probably the worst thing we dealt with during our time there was getting stuck at the bus stop at DD (which was the first stop as the buses head in) late one afternoon while a storm was rolling in. Buses kept pulling up, unloading, refusing to pick up since they were headed to Typhoon Lagoon (which is close to DD) to empty it out. After about 20 minutes of this, a whole group of us hiked down the side of the road in the grass and walked into SS past the guard shack just to get out of the storm. I would suggest that you look at the photos and videos of the resort on the web. That might help with feeling better with the resort. Hope this helps and have a good trip!

[VWL Mom]

Right now it's showing both AKL and OKW available 12/9-16 in all room categories. The system was a bit glitchy overall yesterday so you may want to check again. Don't forget to wait list 2 choices too.

[DizNee143]

Right now it's showing both AKL and OKW available 12/9-16 in all room categories. The system was a bit glitchy overall yesterday so you may want to check again. Don't forget to wait list 2 choices too.

Our trip is 12-2 to 12-9
Anything for those dates?

[VWL Mom]

Our trip is 12-2 to 12-9
Anything for those dates?

Oh I'm sorry, I thought I read on your other post that you were at 7 months. Nothing really available during your time, Wednesday night seems to be the big problem. I would still put in the wait lists if you haven't already done so.

[TheHD]

It may not have the perks that some of the other resorts do, but you won't be disappointed.

[DizNee143]

I hope we'll like it..it seems like a nice place..and really I'll be in Disney world..I don't car if I had to sleep in a car for a week. Lol..
And I know one person can have the worlds worse experience while another person could have the best time of there life..

[VacationDisney]

Have a great time. Like you said it IS a WDW vacation

[DizneyFreak2002]

SSR, like BLT, gets a bad rap... BLT gets a bad rap for placement and design... SSR gets a bad rap for everything else LOL... I like SSR.. It is my home resort... I have never hated staying there...

I always request a DTD view and a room close to the buses in Congress Park... I enjoy the walk over to DTD... And I've never felt like I was ever too far from a bus stop...

I did have a problem with my room this past October... The sliding glass door leading to the balcony was either off the track, needed lube, or was just broke... Was very hard to open the door... Called maintenance, but no one ever came to fix it... Didn't ruin my enjoyment of the room however... We still managed to open the door and sit out on the balcony enjoying a cup of morning/evening coffee or a cold bottle of water...

I think you'll really enjoy SSR...

[TheHD]

I loved our balcony view. Saw Characters in Flight hovering about many days/nights.

[Aurora]

First, I second the suggestion that you waitlist the resorts you want for your stay. You never know -- you might get what you want. But for sure you won't get anything else if you don't waitlist.

Second, as to your question about SSR, it's our home resort and there's a lot we like about it:

1. The rooms themselves are traditionally decorated and feel very warm, homey and comfortable.

2. The resort is across the lake from Downtown Disney, so although it's not a theme park, it's a great second choice.The views from Congress Park are lovely.

3. We really like the restaurants and the pool. We also like how everything is in a central area.

4. Some people don't like how spread out the resort is, but we do. We don't mind a stroll to the resort hub -- it's very pretty.

What we don't like as much:

1. Not near a theme park. Our last stay was at Bay Lake, and it was so nice to be able to walk from the MK. I can't speak to the transportation because whenever we've stayed at SSR we've had a car.

2. The entrances to the rooms. I know it's horse themed, but the "halls" are anything but welcoming.

Have a wonderful vacation.

[PetefromRI]

We sounded just like you when we stayed last Sept. but were pleasantly surprised how much we liked it.We were a short walk to the main pool and restaurant.We thought that we wouldn't like it because of the lack of palm trees since we're from New England but we really liked this resort.The pool area is gorgeous and there's a refill station for your Disney Cups right next to the pool bar.We'd stay here again in a heartbeat!

[Tinkerfan4ever]

We stayed at SSR in 2012. Our "home" is the Boardwalk Villas, so we were used to being close to the action and SSR was a different experience, but in a good way.

It is a short boat ride to Downtown Disney. It is located next to one of the golf courses... I can't remember which one...

It was very quiet and relaxing.

We requested the Grandstand section. It is the first bus pickup for the parks (keeping in mind it was the last for drop offs). The Grandstand was about a 5 min walk to the boat to Downtown, the main building (with Artists Point and Turf Club), and the High Rock pool. The Grandstand also has its own quiet pool.

It is a large spread out resort, but if you know what you are getting into, I think you will find it to be very relaxing and quite enjoyable.