Old Key West or Saratoga Springs

[chipndale09]

We are planning our next trip to the World for the end of Feb, first week March 2013. We a group of 6 people ( 1 child 11 yrs , 5 adults). We usually do the moderate resorts but figured since we will be dividing the hotel bill 3 ways, we figured on upgrading to a villa or a treehouse. 1 person in the party does not walk so well anymore and must take breaks to sit afterwhile. We are thinking of renting a battery wheelchair or a regular wheelchair. The person also does not mind staing at the resort once in awhile (so something with a view would be good) , rest of us go to the parks. We are group that likes to golf and love downtown disney and of course the parks.

Which Resort would be better for our scenerio? My understanding that both of these resorts are more geared to the Disney Vacation club members (which we are not part of). What are our chances of getting a treehouse or a neat villa for this time period?? How far should we book in advance? Is either still fun for kids? Are the pools kid friendly (slide, water jets etc...) What are the pros and cons of each?

Thanks for any advice

 

[Zummi Gummi]

You won't have any trouble getting what you want at either of those resorts, with one exception...the treehouses. The treehouses fill up very quickly. Everything else at SSR or OKW will pretty much be available up to the time of your arrival, though of course you should book as soon as your dates are confirmed and you can pay the deposit. If a discount comes out (which is highly likely for your travel dates), you can apply it to your reservation.

That being said, I'd look at Boardwalk Villas or DAK Lodge. Both are much better properties (and have a lot more to do at the resort) than SSR or OKW, which are two DVC resorts I have zero desire to stay at. Ever.

 

[lovedonald]

i have stayed at both resorts
Saratoga springs has more pools and water activities. they also have a way that you can walk to downtown disney that is relatively short. Saratoga Springs has a horse racing upper state new york theme and doesnt have a lot of shade. It is right across the lagoon from downtide and the club house for one of the golf courses is on property. Another thing you might want to consider i believ the grand villas are one level at ssr but two at okw. If you can get in the tree houses they are nice but would not suggest for someone who needs a wheel chair they are a little secluded.

Old key west to me is more peaceful. The main pool does have a water slide but ssr does have the better pools. The rooms are also bigger at okw than ssr. Both have boat transportaion to downtown disney.
okw has better views of the river and better views if the golf course which runs throgh both ssr and okw.

any more specific questions let me know i will try to reply

 

[vjgraham]

I will disagree with a previous poster concerning SSR. I have never stayed at OKW but I have been to Saratoga. Our experience at SSR was wonderful, and we would definitely stay there again. The resort is beautiful and the villas are spacious and very nice. The location may not be as nice as the Beach club or Boardwalk villas, but Saratoga sometimes has better specials than the other two mentioned. We found the sit down restaurants good as well as the main pool too. The area we were at "The Carousel" had it's own pool with water jets , hot tub, and walk up pool bar. Saratoga is also one of the newest DVC resorts so the rooms are in better shape than OKW. OKW btw was the original DVC resort so they rooms are much more dated. OKW does have the largest villas as it's main advantage. Saratoga has a boat to Downtown Disney as well as bus service to the theme parks. Remember, although AKL is nice also, they are far away from all theme parks except Animal Kingdom. Hope this helps..

 

[Freshee61]

My vote goes for Saratoga for prettiness of that hotel! IMO it can't be beat and the Treehouses *bliss*!
As for everything else to into consideration okw has the upper hand because of price and location but those aside I would pick Saratoga
Totally rent the electrical scooter as they are worth it. I've heard There's companies that delivery them for free to the resorts at a better price that what you pay to only use at parks.

 

[chipndale09]

my only "worry" about the tree houses is the ones by the water might be in a noisy location. We normally stay at the POFQ and when we take the downtown boat, goes under the bridges and it honks it horn several times for oncoming boats. I even recall one night at 11pm he was even honking then. I thought to myself, it must be annoying for those treehouse right next to the canal, especially when they are passing every 10 mins or so.

Are there tree houses further from the water? Are the tree house far from everything? Too far or a decent walk to bus, boat, over-counter service?

thanks everyone for the advice so far :wave:

 

[lovedonald]

a couple things to consider if you are thinking about the treehouses. One most treehouses have many stairs that you have to walk up and down except for a select few that are handicap accesible. there is no bus that takes you directly to the parks you have to jump on a bus that goes to ssr then get off that one to get on another bus to the parks. there are treehouse that are not right next to the water they sit next to one of the holes on the golf course instead.

 

[shuflemstr]

I have stayed at both. We stayed at SSR for a few years which became our favorite resort. I finally convinced my mom to stay at OKW because I have always wanted to try it. She was hesitant to change because she loved SSR that much. After the first stay at OKW, she won't stay any place else. The rooms are more spacious. You can really move around. I love the atmosphere of OKW so much more. Yes, it was the first DVC but the rooms have been completely renovated and you can't tell that it was the first. The food at Olivia's is so much better than at the Turf Club at SSR

 

[journ116]

I'm soooo glad I found this thread! My family and I are DVC members and are debating on where to stay for our upcoming Nov. 2012 trip. SSR Treeehouse Villas, OKW and AKV all have enough rooms during our stay; but to save on points, we're leaning toward OKW.

We've stayed at SSR and at first we loathed the place due to the location of our building for the first 3 nights. We don't mind a nice walk, but when we went in Feb. 2009, FL had a terrible cold snap, which made the 10-15 min. walk that much more unbearable. Then we switched rooms and were moved to a building closer to the Carriage House, which was so much nicer!

This is what I've learned about our stay at SSR:
1. It's massive with lots of bus stops. The Carriage House stop is the most crowded. However, this resort is not the only one with many bus stops. In all honesty, my favorite resort, AKL and Villas, have the worst bus transportation. (But decor and atmosphere make up for that.)
2. Rooms are spacious and nicely decorated. However, I've read that OKW have the largest rooms on property.
3. Request a room or rooms close to the Carriage House. Location, location, location! (I'm driving myself nuts trying to figure out what building/view to request at OKW.)
4. For my little family, this resort is a once-and-done-er. But for many others, SSR is their absolute favorite. I just feel little kids and SSR don't mesh as well as other resorts (which is why I'm nervous for our stay at OKW).
5. SSR requires more points than OKW: hence SSR is more expensive.

Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip!:wave:

 

[dreamfinder]

As PP's have said, there are limited treehouses. And even fewer that are wheelchair accessible. You may be able to book one, but don't count on it. As far as "neat" villas go, outside of the treehouses, they are pretty much all the same layout/design. OKWs units are a bit larger than SSR.

Both SSR and OKW are fairly large resorts. You may have a haul to get to/from the bus.

Both have similar scenery of golf course and other units. SSR is closer to DTD so you can actually just walk over if you want. The spa at SSR is bigger, as are the dining options. And the CS at SSR is indoors. Those were the main differences that I recall from when we stayed at both.

 

[slappy magoo]

Another thing regarding the treehouses - they do make the most with the space they have, 3 smallish bedrooms, 2 BR, full eat in kitchen and living space, but they don't have a lot of room to move around once inside of them. I'd assume the one member of your party with limited mobility won't be using the wheelchair INSIDE the villa, and it's possible that the wheelchair accessible treehouses are laid out slightly more different. And heck, smaller quarter may be better for this person as he or she can move from area to area with a hand on different pieces of furniture; I'm not sure just how limited he or she is.

As someone else has pointed out, the bus stop at the Villas is only a "shuttle" that goes to SSR, and from there, you need to take another bus to the parks. If you're relying on Disney transportation, with someone using a wheelchair, that's getting on and off 2 buses each way, which will take a good chunk of time. You may want to consider renting a wheelchair-accessible van for the length of the trip if you wind up getting a treehouse, but honestly, in your situation you may be better off either staying in the regular section of SSR or any of the other DVC resorts.

And FWIW, my experience with transportation at Animal Kingdom Lodge (which, granted, was before they converted any of it to DVC), was the best I ever had on-property. But maybe we caught them on a good period.

 

[chipndale09]

thanks all for the great advice :sohappy: But now I an more confused (in a good way, too much good info :lol: )

Grandma is the one witht he limited mobility, she can walk, but after a while the hips just can't do it anymore. Several years she came with us, and after a few days she just had to stop every 10 min or so. But was too proud to get a chair (i do understand, not fun too get old ) But this time around she has accepted to get a chair, maybe not full time but we will see).

It is starting to sound like OKW would be more convient. (i think). Can you walk to downtown for OKW? By google maps, there appears to be a trail where you end up by Cirque du Soleil via the golf course.

Does anyone know how the golf works?? If you stay at OKW or SSR , is it included . Or is part of the packages ala disney premium package. Can you pay as you play?

It is still a year away but i am getting already excited

 

[dreamfinder]

thanks all for the great advice :sohappy: But now I an more confused (in a good way, too much good info :lol: )

Grandma is the one witht he limited mobility, she can walk, but after a while the hips just can't do it anymore. Several years she came with us, and after a few days she just had to stop every 10 min or so. But was too proud to get a chair (i do understand, not fun too get old ) But this time around she has accepted to get a chair, maybe not full time but we will see).

It is starting to sound like OKW would be more convient. (i think). Can you walk to downtown for OKW? By google maps, there appears to be a trail where you end up by Cirque du Soleil via the golf course.

Does anyone know how the golf works?? If you stay at OKW or SSR , is it included . Or is part of the packages ala disney premium package. Can you pay as you play?

It is still a year away but i am getting already excited

I think you can walk over, but it the far end of DTD, so its then still a bit to get to the busy areas.

For more on Golf, check out the official page here -> http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/golf/ I believe you can still do a 9 hole walking course for one of the WP&M options, or you can pay per round. But no free play just for staying there.

 

[chipndale09]

I think you can walk over, but it the far end of DTD, so its then still a bit to get to the busy areas.

For more on Golf, check out the official page here -> http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/golf/ I believe you can still do a 9 hole walking course for one of the WP&M options, or you can pay per round. But no free play just for staying there.

thanks..we did the wp&m option this year..was well worth it . As far as the golf goes, you are only allowed to play unlimited on the family 9 hole course not the rest. I was hoping to find a Disney Golf package, the only one I see for unlimited golf is you have to take the magic your way premium package (not worth it for us....cirque tickets , parasailing, etc). Having resorts on several courses, would be nice to have a golf packages instead of paying by the round...oh well :shrug:

 

[SMZ MD]

I have stayed at both and found the bus service at SSR to be much worse, longer waits and more crowded. I also did not like the decor as well as at OKW. For smaller kids OKW has more to do.My kids liked the movie, marshmallow roasts and activities at night. Rooms at both are great. There is a boat from both to DTD which was nice and pretty efficient. Food was better at OKW. Only isse at OKW and I do not know about SSR as we were on the 1st floor. No elevators to upper floor rooms. Only stairs which can be hard on the older knees and hips.

 

[slappy magoo]

If you are in OKW and get a room at the farthest tip of the resort, the walk to OKW is not too bad. But the walk from SSR is much more manageable, from many more locations in the resort. Even if Grandma's riding the scooter, if walking to/from DtD is something you plan on doing, I'd suggest SSR.

And FWIW, I also never had too many problems with bus service to/from SSR, but your mileage may vary. Literally.

 

[SMZ MD]

To be fair we were at SSR in mid march and OKW late August. Everything was much more crowded in March so that may have been it. I still like the OKW theme better though -- Jimmy Buffett et al.