Saratoga Springs Advice and Recomendations

[officialtom]

SSR is our home resort, and we have stayed there many times. We always request the Grandstand section. It is the first bus stop to/from the parks, so you'll pretty much be guaranteed a seat in the morning. It has a quiet pool with a kids play area, and a pool bar that is open during the day. The washer & dryer area is next to the pool. The main building is only a short walk (less than 5 minutes). We like both Artist Palette and the Turf Club restaurant. Turf Club is a hidden gem in our opinion. Usually not hard to get a last minute ADR, and food is excellent to outstanding every time.

Please let us know if you have any other questions. Researching is the best thing to do before going to any Disney resort.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but we're staying at SSR in early December and it's our first time. You mentioned requesting the Grandstand section. How far is the walk to Disney Springs? We loooove DS.

 

[JTT]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but we're staying at SSR in early December and it's our first time. You mentioned requesting the Grandstand section. How far is the walk to Disney Springs? We loooove DS.

Too far to walk. It's a mile maybe. You should drive or take bus to the Congress Park Section. Then it's a quick walk to DS.

 

[Beacon Joe]

Too far to walk. It's a mile maybe. You should drive or take bus to the Congress Park Section. Then it's a quick walk to DS.

That kind of depends on what somebody considers a long walk. IMO, walking 1 mile through a pleasant resort is trivial and a whole lot nicer than waiting and taking a bus. From the farthest Grandstand building, working your way through the main area of Saratoga Springs and crossing the bridge, walking 1 mile will put you right in front of the carousel. If you take the nature path bridge before the boat dock (I don't know if the path still connects - that big parking lot looked blocked off earlier this year), walking 1 mile will put you right in front of Blaze Pizza.

If 1 mile is too far to walk, the boat dock is less than 0.5 mile from the farthest Grandstand building, and taking the boat across to Disney Springs is a pretty ride.

 

[LAKid53]

We've stayed twice at SSR - the Springs and Paddock. Congress Park is probably the most popular area, due to its proximity to Disney Springs.

The bus service is terrible. We've waited for over 40 minutes for a bus, no matter where we've stayed.

Both the spa and gym are the largest and best on property. The food court is okay. We picked up just snacks and sandwiches, since we usually have a 1 bedroom with a full kitchen so we can cook in our room.

If you're staying on points, there is no daily housekeeping. On the 4th day, you get trash pickup and fresh towels. On the 8th day, they fully service your room.

SSR wouldn't be my first choice for a stay.

 

[Beacon Joe]

The bus service is terrible. We've waited for over 40 minutes for a bus, no matter where we've stayed.

That was our experience as well. We actually enjoyed our stay much more than we expected. And our kids were enamored of the pools, the food court, and the community hall amenities. It was a lot different from our usual digs at the Floridian, but we'll probably go to Saratoga Springs again, but only if we have our car with us. A lot of time was burned waiting for buses to and from the resort. A lot. Animal Kingdom to Saratoga Springs was especially long.

 

[Rob562]

That kind of depends on what somebody considers a long walk. IMO, walking 1 mile through a pleasant resort is trivial and a whole lot nicer than waiting and taking a bus. From the farthest Grandstand building, working your way through the main area of Saratoga Springs and crossing the bridge, walking 1 mile will put you right in front of the carousel. If you take the nature path bridge before the boat dock (I don't know if the path still connects - that big parking lot looked blocked off earlier this year), walking 1 mile will put you right in front of Blaze Pizza.

If 1 mile is too far to walk, the boat dock is less than 0.5 mile from the farthest Grandstand building, and taking the boat across to Disney Springs is a pretty ride.

We've stayed at SSR twice and both times in Grandstand. I suggest either of the 8000-numbered buildings.

One thing not as many people realize is that you can directly walk to the West Side of Disney Springs without going to the Marketplace. As you're walking from Grandstand to the main lobby, bear to the right of the building as if you're going to go down to the boat dock. Before you get there, cross the golf cart bridge over the water and then bear left. You'll find yourself at the northern tip of the West Side parking lot (you can actually see this lot from the Saratoga boat dock), and there's a walkway along the water to La Nouba and House of Blues.

And if you need to get to the other parts of Disney Springs, there's the water taxi from the dock by HoB.

-Rob

 

[Shane7694]

We stayed for the first time in July. We were in the carousel section. The grounds and the resort are beautiful but our room was nasty. The rooms need to be updated in a major way.

 

[wdwfamilynh]

We stayed for the first time in July. We were in the carousel section. The grounds and the resort are beautiful but our room was nasty. The rooms need to be updated in a major way.

Have to disagree here. Rooms needing a update doesn't qualify for the rooms being "nasty." Stayed at SSR for the first time in 2015 and will be staying again later this year. Had no bus issues whatsoever, but any bus issues likely tie into the crowd calendar.

 

[slappy magoo]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but we're staying at SSR in early December and it's our first time. You mentioned requesting the Grandstand section. How far is the walk to Disney Springs? We loooove DS.

If you think you'll be going to DS often, might be better to request Congress Park. 5-10 minute to DS depending on which building and your pace. We prefer going to or getting takeout/bringing meals back to room from Wolfgang Puck Express versus going to Artist's Palette when we're doing a QS meal.

 

[Rob562]

If you think you'll be going to DS often, might be better to request Congress Park. 5-10 minute to DS depending on which building and your pace. We prefer going to or getting takeout/bringing meals back to room from Wolfgang Puck Express versus going to Artist's Palette when we're doing a QS meal.

FYI, Congress Park is now a "Preferred" location and must be booked as such. (Springs buildings are also Preferred)

The closest non-Preferred building to the Marketplace is Paddock 6500.

I'm not sure what category you're put in if you book a cash stay directly with Disney.

-Rob

 

[Paul Tremelling]

Just come back from a two week stay in the Springs buildings and absolutely loved it.

We did find that the buses could be a bit of a wait, but for the two weeks there, we were able to get on a bus, about half the time standing, but hey, it was only for 10-15 minutes. One thing that would be useful to know at the bus stops would be whether the boats are running to Disney Springs when the weather became indifferent.

The Springs is not the closest to Disney Springs but taking either walk route, it only took about 20 minutes. We did this every other day as with the best intentions, I didn't get to the gym to work off the extra food I was eating!

The QS food in the Artistes Palette we thought provided a good range of choice - my fave was the lobster sandwich, closely followed by the spicy beef sandwich. Didn't get time to eat at the Turf Club. Good selection of restaurants at Disney Springs - suggest saving up your TS credits to go to the Boathouse and STK Orlando. DS has developed a taste for lobster!

And the conclusion - when we go back (not if), we will look to stay at SSR again. Lots of days to count down before then though.
From a very happy Brit who loves the US of A!

 

[EOD K9]

A one mile walk for some, as others have stated, isn't terrible. To each his own. Until they changed categories, I stayed in the Springs. It was (still is) a quick walk to the main pool, gym, laundry, and dining facility. Usually, there are a lot of vacancies at the 11 month mark for DVC members, so I'll book there and change at 7 months later if I can get a different resort. It is still a pleasant place to stay and I don't feel disappointed if I cant find accommodations elsewhere.

 

[slappy magoo]

FYI, Congress Park is now a "Preferred" location and must be booked as such. (Springs buildings are also Preferred)

The closest non-Preferred building to the Marketplace is Paddock 6500.

I'm not sure what category you're put in if you book a cash stay directly with Disney.

-Rob

That's true. I don't know if @officialtom is a DVC member/renting/otherwise using DVC points. I also don't know if, when it comes to guests paying to stay at SSR, if there's a difference in price between what is considered Standard vs Preferred for DVC points (they probably do; I just don't know for sure). But if someone wants to be close to DS, they might decide the difference in points or price is worth it

 

[Spectro]

We are in a 2 bed villa in the paddock - top floor excellent location next to pool and snack bar and bus stop. We have a car but are also using buses which have been very impressive so far. Love the resort it's gorgeous and beds very comfortable. Love having the extra room with our grown up kids.

 

[Spectro]

We can also get to springs area with 4 min scenic walk over bridge - awesome

 

[dizfan917]

I liked that walk over the bridge as well! I took a bus to Artist's Palette once and then opted to walk the rest of my stay! I love Saratoga Springs. Very calm, very peaceful. Very unlike the chaos I've always experienced visiting the Monorail Resorts.