Calling all Saratoga Springs previous Guests!!!

emsparkles

emsparkles

New Member
hello, my first thread so bear with me... i have (finaly! 10 years in the planning!) booked my WDW holiday for may and we are staying at the Saratoga springs resort, this is a new resort for us and was not even built the last time we came to WDW!! We are thinking this is in walking distance from Downtown Disney?! is there a section of the resort that is nearest to DTD and possibly a bus stop in the resort so we can still get the buses thats near by too?! It seams like a massive resort so do we have far to walk for the main buliding? we do have a car but we want to use it as little as possible and stick with good old WDW transport!! Id like to request a block/section so we can get the best out of the resort! any tips or help would be appreciated!!
 
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Meeko's Mom

Meeko's Mom

Member
For my family, the best location is The Springs. It is the closest to the main pool, restaruants etc. If you go through the main building over by the Turf Club Restaruant there is the dock for the boat shuttle to DTD and there is also a walking path to DTD. It is a fairly quick walk. We have also stayed at Congress Park and the Grandstand. Neither of which was a horrible walk to any of the main areas of the resort. You can also hop on any one of the buses to travel internaly. We love this resort, it is our home resort for DVC. Have a great trip, you will love it there. :)
 
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Crush Dude!

Crush Dude!

Back from WDW!Counting down to DLP in November!
emsparkles said:
hello, my first thread so bear with me... i have (finaly! 10 years in the planning!) booked my WDW holiday for may and we are staying at the Saratoga springs resort, this is a new resort for us and was not even built the last time we came to WDW!! We are thinking this is in walking distance from Downtown Disney?! is there a section of the resort that is nearest to DTD and possibly a bus stop in the resort so we can still get the buses thats near by too?! It seams like a massive resort so do we have far to walk for the main buliding? we do have a car but we want to use it as little as possible and stick with good old WDW transport!! Id like to request a block/section so we can get the best out of the resort! any tips or help would be appreciated!!
Click to expand...

Love the 45% Discount :sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:
 
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EvilQueen-T

EvilQueen-T

Well-Known Member
we stayed in the saratoga springs treehouses in may. loved them. we had a large mixed group and having 4 separate sleeping areas was great. would easily do again.
 
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stillgoofy

stillgoofy

Well-Known Member
We've stayed in the Congress Park section twice. Loved it there. Great location. DTD right accross the water and only few minute walk there. Quiet pool there, although we did go up to the main pool several times. Not too far to walk to main building. We also had a car but did mainly walking throughout the resort. It is a very quiet and serene resort to come back to after the hectic day at the parks. And the grounds are beautiful. Enjoy!
 
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PhilharMagician

PhilharMagician

Well-Known Member
If you want to be close to DTD then I would recommend Congress Park. This is our favorite section in SSR. The quiet pool also has a great view of DTD. We have done evenings where we have taken a bottle of wine down by the pool and just relaxed and watched the lights, had a swim and enjoyed a glass of wine. It was really nice when the Pleasure Island fireworks went off every night @ midnight. A couple of times we had a room that had a perfect view of the fireworks from the balcony. They weren't anything like MK's, but were enjoyable nonetheless.
The walk to DTD is not bad. We like to dine at other resorts in the evenings and then take the WDW bus to DTD. We can wander around DTD and then take a short walk back to our room. To me this is the biggest convienence of the resort.
The walk to the main building is not bad, however the Artist Palette can be quite crowded for breakfast. I have not stayed there since they open the new Paddock Pool counter service restaurant. I would have to assume it has taken the load off of Artist Palette.
The bus stop is centrally located for all 4 Congress Park buildings and it is not far at all to walk too.

I think you will enjoy SSR no matter where you stay. It is a beautiful resort.
 
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smw

smw

Active Member
we stayed there this past may with my fam and to be honest it was just ok. we were in the springs building, which is definitely the most convenient to the pool, lobby, food. the bus situation was kind of a pain, since there are 5 or so stops to make at sarasota alone. and maybe its just me but i dont like hotels where your door opens to the outside. i think im just spoiled by the monorail hotels being our norm, both in terms of convenience and atmosphere.
 
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smw

smw

Active Member
let me add this:

there's nothing wrong with ssr and its a very nice, very pretty resort. its just more of a "normal" nice hotel feeling, as opposed to a distinctively-themed, immersive type such as poly/contemp/gf.
 
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Emyli Mouse

Emyli Mouse

Member
Saratoga review

We went in June of 2010 and loved staying there. We stayed in the Paddock, which was great for bus transportation because this is one of the last pick-up stops (if not the last) on your way to your destination. A downfall is the other way around: when you're coming home after a long day at the park, you're the last to be dropped off. Our location was pretty far from the downtown Disney walkway, but we did it and had a blast. We didn't have a car, so if we wanted to go to another resort for dinner or just to check it out, we would walk to the main transport center there and grab a bus. We saw some river otters playing in the waterway and in the grass around the bridge right before we got to DD. Over by the golf course, there is a walkway that goes past the tree houses and connects all the way to Old Key West. Great am walk. All these places are connected by boats too.
We loved just hopping over to the quiet pool over there. There really was barely anyone there. I don't know how that's changed now. We didn't eat a lot in the artist's palate because we bought food and put it in our fridge, but we enjoyed ordering pizza!
Overall, it's a great resort and it is really big. We would stay again though, if we had the opportunity!
 
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slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the boards. I'd also recommend Congress Park (I should probably stop, next time I want to stay there it'll probable be packed).

One negative about staying in Saratoga is how long it takes to get counter service food at Artists' Palette; it's really not nearly big enough or planned well enough to accommodate traffic during busy times, based on the size of the resort. Which is why Congress Park is such a good location. You're still just a few minutes' walk to the main building, the main pool, etc. But walk a few minutes the other way (10, max), and you're at Downtown Disney's Marketplace, with their dining options. You can walk there, pick up food at Wolfgang Puck Express or Earl of Sandwich, get it "to go" if you want and walk back to your room in the time it would take you to get your food at Artists' Palette. Also much better options for food as a result.

Plus, by being so close to the Marketplace, you also have easy access to the bus stop that will take you to any of the resorts on property. If you wind up making dining reservations at, say, Beach Club or Animal Kingdom Lodge, you can just walk to this bus stop, rather than wait for a bus to take you to a park and then transfer to another bus to take you to the resort. Saves tons of time.

And yes, the quiet pool there is quite nice, includes a whirlpool tub, and laundry machines are right there so you can wash your clothes and take a dip without having to make an extra trip.

Enjoy your trip.
 
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PhilharMagician

PhilharMagician

Well-Known Member
slappy magoo said:
Welcome to the boards. I'd also recommend Congress Park (I should probably stop, next time I want to stay there it'll probable be packed).

One negative about staying in Saratoga is how long it takes to get counter service food at Artists' Palette; it's really not nearly big enough or planned well enough to accommodate traffic during busy times, based on the size of the resort. Which is why Congress Park is such a good location. You're still just a few minutes' walk to the main building, the main pool, etc. But walk a few minutes the other way (10, max), and you're at Downtown Disney's Marketplace, with their dining options. You can walk there, pick up food at Wolfgang Puck Express or Earl of Sandwich, get it "to go" if you want and walk back to your room in the time it would take you to get your food at Artists' Palette. Also much better options for food as a result.

Plus, by being so close to the Marketplace, you also have easy access to the bus stop that will take you to any of the resorts on property. If you wind up making dining reservations at, say, Beach Club or Animal Kingdom Lodge, you can just walk to this bus stop, rather than wait for a bus to take you to a park and then transfer to another bus to take you to the resort. Saves tons of time.

And yes, the quiet pool there is quite nice, includes a whirlpool tub, and laundry machines are right there so you can wash your clothes and take a dip without having to make an extra trip.

Enjoy your trip.
Click to expand...

Gone are the days when the Artists Palette was empty. When SSR first opened and only the Congress Park section was open the resort was empty. The busses were always empty and even at the end of the night and the parks were dumping masses of people you could get a seat every night going back to SSR.
 
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