SSR Lovers and Owners Part 3

[ppppiglett]

Last time we stayed at SSR, the spa had a "Length of Stay" pass that you could purchase for access to just the hot tub/sauna. Anyone know if they still offer that? We haven't been since 2011 and finally getting to go back in March. Really loved that pass tho at the end of the day!

 

[js]

Hi.
For those that have stayed in Standard Views, do you usually request lower or upper floors.
Right now, I have a two bedroom, standard view. I am going to request, Grandstand (my mom has a scooter so I want to make
sure we are at the first stop) and odd number. When I am on TP and looking at views, it seems most upper views have the
trees blocking the view. I was going to request Pool View but it doesn't seem there are too many of the rooms that overlook the pool
so I was going to request golf course view. I would rather look at people and activity when I'm in Disney but I want to hopefully stay
away from parking lot view, which would seem more even number rooms.
I was going to request either Building 15 or 17.

 

[Cirlonde]

Has anyone ever done the painting activity at SSR, "Win, Paint, Show"? I just saw it on @WDWToday's Twitter feed and it looks interesting, but I can't find any details...like what time it happens or how much it costs? The tweet says every Thursday.

https://twitter.com/WDWToday/status/1070437667802898432

 

[PrincessNelly]

Didn't see it mentioned anywhere... photos of the upcoming refurbished rooms

https://dvcnews.com/index.php/resor...6NPZLZmDGQmxGPcLsRsuqxV2cj-ioAzC23TDxrlaC6uuA

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

Didn't see it mentioned anywhere... photos of the upcoming refurbished rooms

https://dvcnews.com/index.php/resor...6NPZLZmDGQmxGPcLsRsuqxV2cj-ioAzC23TDxrlaC6uuA

We just returned from our first stay at SSR. While we loved our studio as is, the images of the new sofa bed in this article have me excited about an extra bed that might actually be comfy.

 

[Wakey]

I think the new SSR rooms look really nice.

 

[Franrose]

We checked in a few days ago as hotel guests, and I could not for the life of me get someone to pop some linen & blankets on the sofa bed for my children. No matter who I spoke to, I kept getting the story that as this is a DVC hotel, guests must make their own sofa bed (despite the fact that we have daily full housekeeping service). They kept telling me too that if I'd bought an extra bed for a 5th person, I'd have to make that up as well... hotel booking guests can't bring a 5th bed so that whole issue is completely irrelevant to my stay.

Eventually a housekeeping CM bought sheets and blankets but he almost threw a fit when I asked if he would please make up the bed - he huffed and muttered under his breath, put one sheet on, and then turned and walked out leaving the rest for me. My husband had not made it to the hotel yet (we had a death in the family back in Australia a few days after we first arrived here in the US, and he'd had to fly back at short notice) so I was already stressed and felt so worried we'd made the wrong choice for our stay. As it happens, since then the bed has been made up beautifully each morning, but it is so disappointing when the staff here have zero idea of what they are are supposed to provide when they sell these rooms as full-fare hotel reservations. Are non-DVC bookings *that* rare and unusual?

 

[Franrose]

Oh and I also arrived to no working phones. One had no cords at all and the other was unplugged behind the sofa bed... someone got sick of the daily info calls

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Oh and I also arrived to no working phones. One had no cords at all and the other was unplugged behind the sofa bed... someone got sick of the daily info calls

That's weird. When we stayed there as a cash guest, we had zero issues with the sofa bed being made up. When we arrived, the sheets were already on it. When the room was cleaned each day, the bed was re-made and folded back up inside the sofa. We did unplug the phone a couple of times as my toddler jept calling the fire department , but the front desk kept calling my cell until we plugged it back in, stating they had to have the phone connected in case of an emergency.

I'm sorry you've had some bad luck there, but hope everything goes smoothly for the rest of your trip.

 

[Franrose]

That's weird. When we stayed there as a cash guest, we had zero issues with the sofa bed being made up. When we arrived, the sheets were already on it. When the room was cleaned each day, the bed was re-made and folded back up inside the sofa. We did unplug the phone a couple of times as my toddler jept calling the fire department , but the front desk kept calling my cell until we plugged it back in, stating they had to have the phone connected in case of an emergency.

I'm sorry you've had some bad luck there, but hope everything goes smoothly for the rest of your trip.

It's been funny. Day one - refused to make up the bed (I spoke to no less than 5 people and all said, "nope, we don't do that, too bad how sad sucks to be you" (ok, maybe that's not a direct quote but that's how it felt!) and phones not working; day 2: bath tap stopped working, day 4: all lights and the power to the desk in the main bedroom have stopped working, that's the next thing to call maintenance about. It's like we bought the haunted mansion ghosts back with us lol (although I found the day 1 stuff upsetting as I was without my husband & stressed, we are from Australia and a couple of days into our vacation his Father died suddenly and he had had to fly back to help arrange a funeral, so I was on my own with kids, loads of luggage, and a front desk who were completely indifferent to what I was asking. $700 a night or whatever it is for 13 nights - no, I don't expect to have to put linen on any beds).

 

[Blessings2018]

Just returned from a stay as a cash guest and the sofa bed was already made upon arrival. Mousekeeping made up the sofa bed each day but never folded it back into the sofa. It was fine as we were always exhausted coming back from the parks each day and ready for bed!

Our location was perfect, I requested to be near a pool (to avoid carousel because we had no car) and also requested Grandstand because of bus route. Stayed in building 85, best location for its proximity to Artists Palette and close to the bus stop. Also right next to the pool there although it was too cold to use it. We loved using the MDE app to find when the next buses were coming! Very accurate and a great time saver!

 

[Franrose]

Just returned from a stay as a cash guest and the sofa bed was already made upon arrival. Mousekeeping made up the sofa bed each day but never folded it back into the sofa. It was fine as we were always exhausted coming back from the parks each day and ready for bed!

Our location was perfect, I requested to be near a pool (to avoid carousel because we had no car) and also requested Grandstand because of bus route. Stayed in building 85, best location for its proximity to Artists Palette and close to the bus stop. Also right next to the pool there although it was too cold to use it. We loved using the MDE app to find when the next buses were coming! Very accurate and a great time saver!

That is where we are - building 85 - I am loving the location! Perfect for everything and so quiet.

Can you tell me where on the app the bus info is? I've looked but not found it. Either way, we have had such good luck with busses this stay!

 

[Blessings2018]

That is where we are - building 85 - I am loving the location! Perfect for everything and so quiet.

Can you tell me where on the app the bus info is? I've looked but not found it. Either way, we have had such good luck with busses this stay!

When you open the app, click on Saratoga Springs. Then it gives you options to review your bill, dining plan credits and buses. Took me a few days to find it

 

[Franrose]

When you open the app, click on Saratoga Springs...

Thanks!!

 

[SwanVT2]

I just put in a room request for the Paddock because the pool looks awesome for DD. How far is the farthest walk from Paddock to the Carriage House/ Artist's Palette? Likewise, how far is the walk from the Paddock to DS? DD will be 6 and we are all able walkers. Finally, how frequently do the internal buses run? Thank you.

 

[Blessings2018]

My DH and I took a walk to see the Paddock pool and grill. It’s very nice. You can walk to Disney Springs from there or even take the internal bus from Paddock to the Congress Park stop then walk to Disney Springs from there ( we did that from Grandstand one day) Finally, you can take the boat over to Disney Springs. We are able walkers and found getting around was fine. We walked back from Disney Springs also.

We found the buses ran about every 20 min. I mentioned in an earlier post we found the bus schedule on the mde app to be very useful.

 

[Tink10]

Well...I never thought I'd say this, but I'm now a SSR junkie.

My first stay, I hated it & left after one day.
My second stay was only one night, but dreadful.

I have to say that now, I think of SSR as the best kept DVC secret out there. We've stayed there 4 more times since the second stay and are totally & completely sold on NOT planning a darned thing...taking things day by day & just letting the cards fall where they may is just amazing.

We were at BWV 2 weeks ago and I was just horrified by the crowds at the resort. Shocked that kids were hanging out in the Bellevue Lounge at 11:00 at night and was really horrified by the condition of the room. So ty ty ty to this thread for teaching so much about SSR.

 

[SweetSerenity]

Well...I never thought I'd say this, but I'm now a SSR junkie.

My first stay, I hated it & left after one day.
My second stay was only one night, but dreadful.

I have to say that now, I think of SSR as the best kept DVC secret out there. We've stayed there 4 more times since the second stay and are totally & completely sold on NOT planning a darned thing...taking things day by day & just letting the cards fall where they may is just amazing.

We were at BWV 2 weeks ago and I was just horrified by the crowds at the resort. Shocked that kids were hanging out in the Bellevue Lounge at 11:00 at night and was really horrified by the condition of the room. So ty ty ty to this thread for teaching so much about SSR.

Why did you not like it before? Considering a trip there in May with my mother.

 

[Tink10]

Why did you not like it before? Considering a trip there in May with my mother.

We have always been Bwv, Bcv, Akv people and I always felt that SSR was just too removed. But now, that’s what I love about it.

The parks just get more and more crowded, but at SSR, we just don’t feel it at all.

 

[Cirlonde]

Why did you not like it before? Considering a trip there in May with my mother.

We have always been Bwv, Bcv, Akv people and I always felt that SSR was just too removed. But now, that’s what I love about it.

The parks just get more and more crowded, but at SSR, we just don’t feel it at all.

This is my favorite thing about SSR as well. For me, the hotel is a break from the hustle and bustle of the parks so I don't want to come home to a place that feels almost as crowded as the parks. SSR provides the most peaceful and serene setting for relaxing downtime. My second favorite thing is the close proximity of Disney Springs, which is great for when we want to do a resort-only day (or whole trip). This way, we still have lots of good options for dining as well as easy access other resorts via the bus loop.

I've also never been one to get hung up on the distance between my hotel and the parks. Granted, I've never stayed at a WDW hotel that was within walking distance of the parks, but we did stay one year at the Royal Pacific at Universal Studios and I ended up dreading the walk between the hotel and the parks! My feet were already tired by the time we got into the actual park, and don't even get me started on how the walk mysteriously doubles in length when you're headed home at the end of the day, haha!! So for me, I'd honestly rather have a hotel that involves having to take a bus because it means I get dropped off so much closer to the gates than if I had to walk from my hotel room door.