OK people, get me pumped up for Saratoga Springs!

[buzznwoodysmom]

Well, we were trying to rent DVC points from someone and were requesting BC, BW, and AKL. He called me back and said that BW was available. By the time I told him to go ahead with the ressies BW was booked. The only DVC available for us is SSR. While I am sure it is a great resort, I am not too thrilled about it. We are on a waitlist, but incase we don't get in somewhere else I need someone to convince me that SSR is a great place to stay. We are only staying for two nights following a Vero Beach stay and will probably only do a water park, or possibly a half day at MGM to ride Toy Story Mania and Block Party Bash. We really wanted to just enjoy our resort and just being in WDW for a few days. Our kids are 6 and 8 and are both boys. They have no idea we are stopping by WDW for a few nights on our way home. Please, please tell me SS is a great place to stay!!!

[5fromabove]

:mickey: Hi! SSR is our home resort and we went there for the first time last October. The main pool is wonderful, there's a water slide that comes out of "rocks" and our kids loved it. Especially our boys who were 7 and 11 at the time. Another wonderful thing is that you can walk to DTD from most of the rooms, or use the peaceful boat ride over there. I'd recommend that you request either the Springs or Congress Park sections, as they are close to the pool and to DTD. We had a wonderful view off our balcony of DTD lit up at night, and the walk was less than 10 minutes for us. The rooms are clean and new...light decor, very nice. The atmosphere at SSR is relaxing. The Turf Club Bar & Grill has wonderful food...one of our favorite meals actually on our trip. Also, there is the Artists Pallete, which offers great counter service options (healthy made-to-order sandwiches, etc). I think you'll have a great time. :) Enjoy!

Here are a few photos of the interior of a SSR 2 bedroom...
The master...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/5fromabove/DSC_0083.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/5fromabove/DSC_0084.jpg

Master bath...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/5fromabove/DSC_0085.jpg

The kitchen, living room area. My family is out on the deck looking at DTD. We were in Congress Park section, overlooking the quiet pool. Great location.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/5fromabove/DSC_0086.jpg

The other bedroom and bath
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/5fromabove/DSC_0087.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/5fromabove/DSC_0088.jpg

Hope this helps. :)

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

:)We love SSR!!

My kids are 10,8 and 4. They love the main pool and the themed pool in The Grandstand section.

The grounds are beautiful. Our one bedroom was immaculate and we love the furnishings.

All of the CM's were pleasant and helpful.

Our bus service in September was perfect.

We asked the kids if they wanted to try to get another DVC resort for our trip this December and they refused.

We will gladly stay there again and again.

[disneydeb]

I have a friend whose son refuses to stay anywhere else! I've never had the priviledge of stahying there though.:(

[TheRustyScupper]

1) You will enjoy SSR.
2) The positives outweigh the negatives
3) Have a great time!

Bad:
. . . very, very. very large resort
. . . limited dining, with mediocre TS dining (Turf Club)
. . . can be a good hike to main building

Good:
. . . decent bus service
. . . nice rooms
. . . close to DTD for shopping and dining
. . . good food court
. . . nice main pool, with zero-entry
. . . convenient satellite pools

[NewmanFamily6]

SSR is our home resort. Our children are 11, 7, 5, & 5. They absolutely love the themed pool. My Dh absolutely loved being a little Disney free of the themeing after long days in the park. The rooms are beautiful and the children enjoyed the playground as well. It is also nice to be close to DD if you want more restaraunt choices:mickey: We will be back there Jan 09!

[Ed]

SSR is one of our home resorts; AKLV the other. We just got home from a 4-day stay at SSR (our third or fourth there), and I couldn't be happier. Rooms are spacious, grounds are beautiful, pools and hot tubs are great. Yes, it is a huge property, but that allows lots of breathing room between buildings. It's far enough away from the hubbub of the parks, yet only a short bus or car ride to MK, Epcot, Studios, Typhoon Lagoon, and right around the corner from Downtown Disney. We had dinner a few nights ago at the Turf Club; food and service was excellent, and the overall ambiance very relaxing.

[JMTStone]

SSR is our HOME resort and we like it just fine. The zero-entry pool was perfect for everyone in our family. It was quiet in the room (we thought surely there were more people there Thanksgiving week) and the bus service was great. Always a seat!

We plan to try all of the DVC resorts (BWV is next) but will be happy to call SSR home for years to come!

[cloud9]

We had a similar issue last September. My dm invited my dh and I to go on a last minute trip and SSR was the only dvc resort available. My dm always said she never liked it and didn't want to stay there.

However, when we arrived she changed her mind. It is a beautiful resort. The sit down restaurant (Turf Club?) was excellent. Everyone ordered something diferent and it was all very good. They have an outdoor seating area overlooking the river too. The room was very comfortable. At the Springs pool there is an area for kids to shoot water canons at each other. The bus service was very good. I recommend a room at the Springs or at least using their bus stop. The boat to DTD was also very nice. It drops you off right in the middle of the shopping area which saves your hoofs after a long day in the park. I would be very happy to stay at SSR again in the future.

Enjoy your stay!

[MomOfAPrincess502]

Saratoga is our home resort and we stayed there for the first time last October. I too was a little apprehensive about it since I had read so many negative reviews, but we had a wonderful time. We took 21 people with us so we had a two bedroom and three studios. All of the rooms had plenty of space. I would request a room close to the carriage house though or you will be doing lots of walking. All the kids loved the main pool with the waterslide. The Artists' Palette is great for breakfast but the choices are limited for dinner. Bus service can be a little slow at times so allow plenty of time for that. But overall everyone had a fantastic time and I would highly recommend the resort. We will be staying there again this October!

[mouseketeer mom]

HI Denise!
How cool! You are going back in June! Have you been to Vero Beach before? I think it looks great and would love to try it, so let us know how you and your family like it. A couple of days at Saratoga Springs??? Just enjoy and let us know about that too! I've never been but wouldn't hesitate for a couple of nights! Enjoy!

[buzznwoodysmom]

Hi Lisa,

This will be our first visit to Vero as well and we are so looking forward to it. We knew we wanted to do a beach vacation this summer, but wanted something different. I can't imagine we won't love it, it looks amazing. We just couldn't be that close to WDW without a quick stop. SSR will be fine if we don't get in somewhere else. We are on the waitlist for BC, BW and AKL. All are resorts we've never tried so it'll be a new experience either way. The best part is that the boys know we are going to the beach and staying at a disney resort, but they have no idea we are going to WDW for 2 nights. We'll just say "look boys Dad took a wrong turn and look where we ended up" as we drive through the gates. Cheezy, I know, but they are going to flip out. I'll be sure to post trip reports so you'll "hear" all about it. How is your planning for Colorado going?

[mouseketeer mom]

I don't think its cheezy! I would do the same thing. You will flip out when your boys flip out. That is going to be so exciting! Are you more excited about your trip to Vero or to WDW? Tell the truth! We're all set for Colorado! We are going during the 4th of July week so that will be fun. We are going to WDW the second week into the third week of August. Our first time during the summer heat so wish me luck. We are still doing Thanksgiving again and wondering if you would be there again too! I went to my first meet today (NJ meet) and I still feel bad about not hooking up with you in November!

[buzznwoodysmom]

Lisa,
Your right, I'll probably cry when they realize we are in WDW. I've surprised them before with a birthday trip, but they were much younger and didn't fully realize we were really there. We watched a few, well actually a lot of videos on youtube the other day and they were both on the verge of tears. They are just like their mamma, they love the mouse!

I am really looking forward to both Vero and WDW, but I have to admit I almost forgot we were going to Vero once I started getting reservations for WDW. The plan is to spend the day we check in at the resort swimming, shopping, eating. And to spend the second day between MGM and one of the water parks. Then we have breakfast at Cape May for the day we leave. We'll probably stop by a few resorts and hit DTD before we head on home. Knowing us, we'll get in every second we can before we head home. This is one of the reasons I love the fact that we never fly, we can leave to come home when ever we want.

Unfortunately we will not be in WDW for Thanksgiving this year. We thought about it a lot, but it just won't happen. Kevin's sister and her family who were there with us last year are going back this year and really wanted us to go back with them so it's really hard knowing we aren't going. Kevin is going to be in Thailand for three weeks in May for the National Guard and then he'll have another two weeks in Kentucky in December to make his captain ranking. He can't justify taking an additional week off in November for another vacation. He'd be gone for one week for our trip, back at work for one week, then gone for two weeks for his National Guard training and then the week he'd go back to work would be Christmas week, so it's just too much. Plus we just bought a house so we have lots of stuff we can use that vacation money for on the new house. We are considering doing the Thanksgiving trip again in 09 so if your family makes it a yearly tradition, we can all meet up then. We'll have to meet up no matter what!!!!

I know you are going to really enjoy Colorado. It's just a beautiful place to see. Pictures will never do that place justice. Just amazing!

I forgot to mention, we've been to WDW in August and it was very hot. It was our first time and we didn't have a clue what we were doing, but I just remember it being so hot. It seems from reading your trip reports from your Thanksgiving trip, your family enjoys afternoons at your resort for swimming. You should be fine then. We stayed offsite and didn't take any mid day/afternoon breaks and it was miserable. I am sure you'll still have a blast!!!! Where are you staying in August?

[mouseketeer mom]

Looks like its a toss up between Beach Club and the Poly. My DH loves the Poly, considers it our home away from home and my kiddos are begging for the Beach Club again and that awesome pool there. Soooo..I wasn't sure I wanted to split a stay again but looks like we will..starting at the Beach Club and ending at the Poly. Resorts look pretty wide open for August if we change our minds. Its funny tho., I'm barely thinking about Colorado since we made our August plans;)

[buzznwoodysmom]

Its funny tho., I'm barely thinking about Colorado since we made our August plans;)

Oh my, we are so alike!!! I am the same exact way. We usually try to do two trips a year, one to WDW and the other to somewhere else. I get really excited for our non disney trip and then once we start planning our next disney trip I almost forget about our other trip. I am doing the same thing with Vero. We were super excited about Vero and then I go and book a few nights at WDW and almost forget about the main part of the trip. I guess disney is etched into our DNA. LOL.

I hope you have fun on all your trips this year. I'll be on the lookout for trip reports.