Saratoga Springs 7n7

hertamaniac

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 9, 2017
Nice job gents.

There are boats leaving from DS that let you explore the tree-houses AREA directly and it was worth our time. Additionally, the DVC center is at SS. Not to divert, but DVC center at SS was a well orchestrated move to provide an emotional experience. I think it was great, but I am a pragmatic which didn't appeal to me at this time.

We found the grounds to be well above average. I cannot comment on the restaurants, but the lobby area with the surrounding theme was a good touch.

Of course, having Joffrey's coffee being served makes this a must try!
 
Generally speaking this review was pretty good.

I totally agree that the Artist's Pallette is a bit chaotic. The sad thing is that it has actually improved greatly in that regard since opening. I find the food there to be very average. Usually nothing to complain or rave about.

One thing of note is that Treehouse Villas are NOT the Grand Villas at this resort. There have full sized Grand Villas which are quite expensive on a points basis, but the Treehouses are only slightly more points than a 2 bedroom. It will cost you anywhere from 2 to 26 points more per week, depending on the time of year, to go from a 2 bedroom preferred to a Treehouse. It's a great deal, but availability is limited and the location is not quite as convenient. It all depends on what you are looking for.

A Grand Villa is a very large (over 2000 sq. ft.) multi floor 3 bedroom room that technically sleeps 12.
 
Love to take the boats over to DS from SSR. Also Tables in Wonderland makes the Artists Pallette a little better if you have access to that perk. While I agree that it is chaotic and its a shame that the Turf club isnt open for lunch, I really believe Disney thinks the proximity to such a wide array of food choices within walking distance at DS makes improving the resort dining experience a low priority.
 


Liked that they gave SSR some love. It is one of our home resorts. We are runners, so we really appreciate the walking paths and beauty of the grounds. We tend to like to escape the parks, so we favor resorts like SSR, OKW, and AKV. Agree about Artist’s Pallette and the lines, but have found the food to be good. Steve mentioned the nice feature pool, but SSR added the Paddock feature pool which is fun as is the pool by the Grandstand area. I mention this because my kids thought this was a big plus. And although the arcade is small, they do have a great community center with fun activities for the kids that only DVC resorts have. A great review - just think they left out some nice features that families would enjoy.

And they pointed out the weird window over the tub that is the same at most DVC resorts, which I agree with, but I have one son, who shall remain nameless who LOVES it. He takes a bath whenever we stay in one so he can watch tv from the tub. And he never takes bath. So weird and funny that he loves that feature so much;)
 
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they also didn't mention the boat - a fun way to get to disney springs - one we used a lot....in addition to walking..
and in the movie they showed the grandstand pool after the treehouses, instead of after the grandstand...so a little confusing..

in august we were in the grandstand - the toddlers enjoyed the waterplay area at that pool...
and it was short walk to the main pool where the 3 year old must have gone down the little slide into the pool at least 200 times over the course of the 3 weeks we were there...
i think that's one of the only pools at WDW with a very easy short slide meant for toddlers who LOVE it...adore it...
in fact, i like the main pool at SSR much better than stormalong bag at YC/BC.....the main SSR pool is very child friendly especially with the little toddler slide into the pool and the waterplay area....
 


Kidani Village also has a toddler slide.

going into deep water? rather, waist high water for adults, deep for the toddlers...
is it like that?
those are so great for the kids...my 3 year old grandson was in heaven on that slide....he wanted to walk over there every day of our 3 weeks...couldn't get enough of it..

.
 
going into deep water? rather, waist high water for adults, deep for the toddlers...
is it like that?
those are so great for the kids...my 3 year old grandson was in heaven on that slide....he wanted to walk over there every day of our 3 weeks...couldn't get enough of it..

.

3' deep as I recall. I took a couple of photos, but they're not great. However, it may give you a sense of this slide.

I like the zero entry factor.

KV3.JPG

KV1.JPG

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3' deep as I recall. I took a couple of photos, but they're not great. However, it may give you a sense of this slide.

I like the zero entry factor.

View attachment 311952 View attachment 311953

yes those pictures do seem to be of the same slide structure as at SSR...
the SSR main pool has a big slide - that they mentioned in the podcast, but also that little one which was clearly a big draw for all the toddlers..

good to know there's another one on property!!

.
 
SSR Resort isn't my favorite, but I've stayed there 2 times in the past year and cannot find any real fault with it.

The grounds are very nice and it is easy to walk around. Walking to DS is great too and very easy.
 
Hello. I was very curious to get your responses about SS. I am been a DVC member since 2006 and an ex-Disneyland Hotel FD cast member. I worked through the new DTD and the California Adventure park expansion and loved my 6 years there.

Now, fast forward, now living in PA. For the last 6 years we have stayed at OKW, reserving 2, 3-Bedroom Grand Villas, due to the number of adults. We love it there. The only time we did not stay at OKW was due to the room accommodations not being available, being that the Villas would be near each other (ie in the same building). We always eat dinner at home and each family takes there turn. The 2 times at SS I can say were big disappointments. Sadly, to the point that I felt a letter to DVC was necessary and in both turns we were given back our points for one villa for the entire stay. We usually stay 6-7 days around Labor Day weekend. The issues we discovered: unclean kitchen pans, baby socks, broken lamp, front door not working (only could access the villa via the 2nd floor), etc. Never in the previous years at OKW had we experienced anything wrong. Now, as a previous cast member I know things happen. But, I hope that we never have to stay there again.

Curiously, 2 family members won't be joining us this year and we are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We are looking eagerly to see a new and fresh DVC location for us.
 
Hello. I was very curious to get your responses about SS. I am been a DVC member since 2006 and an ex-Disneyland Hotel FD cast member. I worked through the new DTD and the California Adventure park expansion and loved my 6 years there.

Now, fast forward, now living in PA. For the last 6 years we have stayed at OKW, reserving 2, 3-Bedroom Grand Villas, due to the number of adults. We love it there. The only time we did not stay at OKW was due to the room accommodations not being available, being that the Villas would be near each other (ie in the same building). We always eat dinner at home and each family takes there turn. The 2 times at SS I can say were big disappointments. Sadly, to the point that I felt a letter to DVC was necessary and in both turns we were given back our points for one villa for the entire stay. We usually stay 6-7 days around Labor Day weekend. The issues we discovered: unclean kitchen pans, baby socks, broken lamp, front door not working (only could access the villa via the 2nd floor), etc. Never in the previous years at OKW had we experienced anything wrong. Now, as a previous cast member I know things happen. But, I hope that we never have to stay there again.

Curiously, 2 family members won't be joining us this year and we are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We are looking eagerly to see a new and fresh DVC location for us.


we were at SSR for 3 weeks in august - in two 2-bedroom villas (4 adults in one 2-bedroom, 2 adults/2 toddlers in the other 2-bedroom)
we enjoyed our stay there, but agree with you that mousekeeping is very bad at SSR...
we have never experienced such a low level of housekeeping at any of the WDW resorts (and we've stayed at almost all of them)..

the room was left dirty - the kitchen floor filthy and sticky, dirty towels and sheets, towels not replaced (meaning only 2 were left in the entire two bedroom for 4 adults)..
in general really bad housekeeping..
we wrote notes asking mousekeeping to wash the floor PLEASE....but no....
finally in desperation we called....still no luck..

but the rest of the resort made up for it...as bad as mousekeeping was, the rest of the resort was much better..

.
 
we were at SSR for 3 weeks in august - in two 2-bedroom villas (4 adults in one 2-bedroom, 2 adults/2 toddlers in the other 2-bedroom)
we enjoyed our stay there, but agree with you that mousekeeping is very bad at SSR...
we have never experienced such a low level of housekeeping at any of the WDW resorts (and we've stayed at almost all of them)..

the room was left dirty - the kitchen floor filthy and sticky, dirty towels and sheets, towels not replaced (meaning only 2 were left in the entire two bedroom for 4 adults)..
in general really bad housekeeping..
we wrote notes asking mousekeeping to wash the floor PLEASE....but no....
finally in desperation we called....still no luck..

but the rest of the resort made up for it...as bad as mousekeeping was, the rest of the resort was much better..

.
Were you staying as DVC guests or regular resort guests? My reason, if you are using your points are property owners of SSR than you are paying good money stay at a resort that you have connection to and no room should be left unkept for the next Disney guests, ever. I would have suggested you write to DVC and explain your unpleasant experience.

What would you say was your best DVC resort stay at a WDW resort?
 
Kinda confirmed my suspicions about what SSR really is. The sprawling OKW style is just not my thing. Even the Poly I wish was a little more compact.
 
While beautifully landscapedl, I did not personally care for SSR when I stayed there, and it was VERY spread out - we were a LONG walk from a bus stop, and even a long bus ride from the main area. Also - the color palette in the units did not appeal to me, I found it "drab"But - I have to say - I've had several excellent meals at the Turf Club, went out of my way to eat there several times even when not staying there, and considered it a "hidden gem".
 
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I am not sure, but as a cash paying customer at DVC (in our case, OKW), I'm pretty sure we got daily mousekeeping. When we ran short on H2O products, we merely walked across our walkway to the CM closet and were able to replenish our needs; please no diatribes.

Does this same policy apply to SSR/all-DVC properties? I also am not sure of the DVC mousekeeping policy using points, but I thought it was dependent on length of stay and was pretty concise on what mousekeeping does and does not provide.
 
Were you staying as DVC guests or regular resort guests? My reason, if you are using your points are property owners of SSR than you are paying good money stay at a resort that you have connection to and no room should be left unkept for the next Disney guests, ever. I would have suggested you write to DVC and explain your unpleasant experience.

What would you say was your best DVC resort stay at a WDW resort?

we were paying guests (not DVC).....3 weeks at 2 two-bedroom villas cost us $25,000....
yes, we paid a LOT for those dirty rooms!!
but the horrible mousekeeping didn't ruin our magic....we very much enjoyed the resort other than that..
i did send an email to george whatever his name is about the new parking fee and in that email i talked about the drop in standard/quality at the resorts...
specifically mentioning mousekeeping..
when i was called back, that was the major area the CM wanted information about...

and i should clarify - mousekeeping came into our rooms every day - they were just the worst housekeeping we've ever encountered on property....they left the rooms dirty and never left even one towel animal...not even the 3 circle hidden mickey...
but i wouldn't have minded the lack of towel animals had they actually washed the kitchen floor....or even smiled once when we walked by them....not your typical disney mousekeepers...

.
 
we were paying guests (not DVC).....3 weeks at 2 two-bedroom villas cost us $25,000....
yes, we paid a LOT for those dirty rooms!!
but the horrible mousekeeping didn't ruin our magic....we very much enjoyed the resort other than that..
i did send an email to george whatever his name is about the new parking fee and in that email i talked about the drop in standard/quality at the resorts...
specifically mentioning mousekeeping..
when i was called back, that was the major area the CM wanted information about...

and i should clarify - mousekeeping came into our rooms every day - they were just the worst housekeeping we've ever encountered on property....they left the rooms dirty and never left even one towel animal...not even the 3 circle hidden mickey...
but i wouldn't have minded the lack of towel animals had they actually washed the kitchen floor....or even smiled once when we walked by them....not your typical disney mousekeepers...

.

A three week vacation in two grand villas? WHAT. Holy smokes.
 

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