Sell me on Saratoga Springs!

[KJ1081]

We were just presented with the option to rent DVC points for our mid-September trip. All that’s available for our dates, according to the friend we’re renting from, is a 1 bedroom in the preferred section of Saratoga Springs. We’re a family of 3- my husband and I with out 2 1/2 year old daughter. We’re currently booked at POR, because we like how you can grab a bus “home” to either POR or POFQ. Transportation is a big deal to us! We rely on busses, so we need a place with good transportation. In the past we’ve stayed at POR, POFQ, Coronado, and the Contemporary. I don’t know anything about this resort so I need opinions and info! Is it worth the extra $500 to switch to SS?

 

[Chrisp3344]

Unfortunately, I would say no! We were moved there last summer because of the construction at CBR. Pools are nice, you can walk to Disney Springs and the atmosphere is ok. The food court closes at 11:00. The buses are hit or miss. The last would be the other guests not your typical Disney guest you say hi on the way to breakfast they put there head down and don’t say hi. It was the most uncomfortable I have ever been in Disney. Would stay at POFQ in a heartbeat. Good luck with your choice.

 

[Chi84]

In your circumstances, I would stick with one of the Port Orleans resorts. Saratoga Springs is our home resort, and we love it because we can walk to Disney Springs. But our family is made up of all adults now, and we always have a car. WDW tends to close down fairly early, so walking to Disney Springs for a drink or some late shopping is a major draw for us. If it weren't for that one advantage, I would choose POR for every stay (when we're not using DVC points).

 

[Grumpy06]

You did,not say how long you were staying but SSR is our home resort. And we have been going with or four children for years now all grown and we take our grandkids.a 1 bedroom is very nice you get a full kitchen and a washer and dryer,I’m sure you going to bring a stroller and if you request Congress Park it’s a short 5 minute walk or less to the Springs and there is a nice quiet pool there,also a 5 minute walk to the main pool and restaurants. Your the 4th stop on the bus and have never had a major problem with the buses
We love staying there if we can’t stay on the monorail loop

 

[KJ1081]

We’re only staying 4 nights, but taking the first flight of the day in and the last of the evening back home so our travel days are also park days. I appreciate everyone’s opinion. I love the idea of staying in a villa it doesn’t sound like this is the resort for us.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Your avatar has you (?) on horseback. SS is horseracing themed.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Saratoga is fine...but it doesn’t sound like it’s worth extra money in this case.

It’s great for downtown access...awful for park access

 

[Grumpy06]

We have never stayed at PortOrleans but have visited a couple times by boat
I’m curious to know what makes bus transportation from there better than SSR

 

[jonabyte]

SS is our families home resort. I haven't actually stayed there in a while but it feels more like a place to stay if you want to go to WDW without being overwhelmed.
The pools are all great and you can walk to DS as others have pointed out.
We only stayed once and took the buses which felt like a long ride each time.
My relatives, that own the dvc, go twice a year but rarely go to the parks and they just enjoy the atmosphere of SS with DS.

 

[Chi84]

We have never stayed at PortOrleans but have visited a couple times by boat
I’m curious to know what makes bus transportation from there better than SSR

I don't know from personal experience, but it's been reported that people who are not staying at Disney resorts will park in the free parking garages at Disney Springs, then walk over to Saratoga and take the buses to the parks to avoid the parking charge. If that's happening, it would put a strain on the buses at SSR. With two garages and a third one being built, there will be a lot of parking spaces at Disney Springs.

 

[Mrhappyplace]

My wife and I had a short stay at SS back in Dec. Neither of us were very impressed with the resort itself and while we would stay there again under the right circumstances it was not a resort we look forward to returning to. Basically if you said you were saving $500 switching from POR to SS I'd say go for it but if the theme of POR appeals to you I'd only suggest switching if you were looking to spend a good bit of time at Disney Springs.

 

[Plowboy]

We stayed at SS last December and while we had a good time, I wouldn't say we were over the moon about the resort. One of the highlights for us; however, was dining at the Turf Club. It was a hidden gem. I'd save the $500 and stay with POR.

 

[slappy magoo]

I'll be the contrarian and tell you at least consider it. For the extra $500 you'll get the extra space, a whirlpool tub, a full kitchen - even if you don't ever prepare food, to have a fridge big enough to keep plenty of cold drinks handy, bring leftovers home (that you can reheat in the microwave), have Mickey bars ready whenever you want one without schlepping to the main buildings. And if you plan any super early mornings, to be able to toast muffins/bagels or even cook some eggs so you can get back some of that $500 by having fewer expensive Disney breakfasts...or cold cuts for lunches...
You'll also get laundry. You can pack less! If you're flying, that might also save you some money by having to bring/check fewer bags. It's so convenient to be able to just throw the dirty stuff in the washer, the wet stuff in the dryer and the clean stuff back in the bags each time you're back in the room...and if it's a longer stay, it's great to not have to plan an afternoon in the laundromat.

And if the preferred section of SSR in which you're staying is Congress Park, that's about as close as you can get to Disney Springs, easy walking distance for grownups with a kid in the stroller. Nice quiet pool right outside your door, but only a brief walk to the large pool by the main building.

The one thing I wish Saratoga did was have Turf Club open for all meals, but I guess there's not much call for it. But at least you have tons of dining options on the other side of the lake.

Some of the mods might be more whimsically themed, but IMHO Saratoga is a really nice place to stay. I don't know if I'd say it's worth $500 more for just a studio, but for a 1BR? I'd say it's worth it.

 

[MikeyK72]

I'll be the contrarian and tell you at least consider it. For the extra $500 you'll get the extra space, a whirlpool tub, a full kitchen - even if you don't ever prepare food, to have a fridge big enough to keep plenty of cold drinks handy, bring leftovers home (that you can reheat in the microwave), have Mickey bars ready whenever you want one without schlepping to the main buildings. And if you plan any super early mornings, to be able to toast muffins/bagels or even cook some eggs so you can get back some of that $500 by having fewer expensive Disney breakfasts...or cold cuts for lunches...
You'll also get laundry. You can pack less! If you're flying, that might also save you some money by having to bring/check fewer bags. It's so convenient to be able to just throw the dirty stuff in the washer, the wet stuff in the dryer and the clean stuff back in the bags each time you're back in the room...and if it's a longer stay, it's great to not have to plan an afternoon in the laundromat.

And if the preferred section of SSR in which you're staying is Congress Park, that's about as close as you can get to Disney Springs, easy walking distance for grownups with a kid in the stroller. Nice quiet pool right outside your door, but only a brief walk to the large pool by the main building.

The one thing I wish Saratoga did was have Turf Club open for all meals, but I guess there's not much call for it. But at least you have tons of dining options on the other side of the lake.

Some of the mods might be more whimsically themed, but IMHO Saratoga is a really nice place to stay. I don't know if I'd say it's worth $500 more for just a studio, but for a 1BR? I'd say it's worth it.

Totally agree with everything above...including Turf Club, great place. The full-size refrigerator is great and having a washer/dryer in the room is super convenient.

Editing to mention that DW and I find SSR a very relaxing resort at which to stay. The grounds are beautiful and include a few holes from the LBV Golf course that wind through the resort. There is also a Senses spa at SSR (I think the only other one is at GF).

 

[slappy magoo]

Editing to mention that DW and I find SSR a very relaxing resort at which to stay. The grounds are beautiful and include a few holes from the LBV Golf course that wind through the resort. There is also a Senses spa at SSR (I think the only other one is at GF).

Yep totally forgot to mention Senses. For a couple with a 2.5 year old, you know there will be naps. One parent stays with the kid, the other goes for a treatment. Do a "kid switch" another day if the other parent wants one too.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I’m not sure you’re getting the best pricing on those DVC points (?) $500 extra sounds like a lot. Typically, when you rent DVC, it brings the price of a deluxe pretty close to the price of a moderate. I could be mistaken.

We rented a 1BR DVC at SSR and thoroughly enjoyed it. Two adults, no kids, briefly had company one evening. We could see the DS drone show from our room.

I agree it was the most quiet, relaxing, “away from it all” resort. It was the only visit where we actually went out by the pool.

Theming is subtle and horse-related. My Dad used to love horses, so there was a little special meaning there.

Turf club was very good for the price. We took the boat over to DS, our room was very close to the pick up spot. It was far from the drop off spot.

With all that being said, and your emphasis on transportation (we had a car) I don’t think I’d pay the extra $500. I’d stay at POR, or I’d offer less money to the DVC owner.

 

[MikeyK72]

With all that being said, and your emphasis on transportation (we had a car) I don’t think I’d pay the extra $500. I’d stay at POR, or I’d offer less money to the DVC owner.

SSR is our "home resort" and DW and I have stayed there at least 5 weeks so far and we've never complained about the busses. We never rent a car and rely on busses so we take them often when staying at that resort. One nice thing about SSR is that they have dedicated bus routes to that resort from the parks and DS...you don't share a bus with any other resorts (except for the DME bus). Now, it's true that you have 5 bus stops within the resort because it's so large and that boarding a park bus at Grandstand may take you 10 minutes just to exist SSR and get on your way. However, SSR is pretty close to DHS and Epcot so probably about a 12 minute ride once you exit SSR. Honestly, MK and AK aren't that much longer of a ride...maybe another 5 or so minutes.

I've never stayed at POR so can't speak to travel times but we've never complained about SSR busses.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Less bubble, more trouble!

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I’m not sure you’re getting the best pricing on those DVC points (?) $500 extra sounds like a lot. Typically, when you rent DVC, it brings the price of a deluxe pretty close to the price of a moderate. I could be mistaken.

We rented a 1BR DVC at SSR and thoroughly enjoyed it. Two adults, no kids, briefly had company one evening. We could see the DS drone show from our room.

I agree it was the most quiet, relaxing, “away from it all” resort. It was the only visit where we actually went out by the pool.

Theming is subtle and horse-related. My Dad used to love horses, so there was a little special meaning there.

Turf club was very good for the price. We took the boat over to DS, our room was very close to the pick up spot. It was far from the drop off spot.

With all that being said, and your emphasis on transportation (we had a car) I don’t think I’d pay the extra $500. I’d stay at POR, or I’d offer less money to the DVC owner.

I think with SSR, the upcharge for preferred is what drives that gap. If it was a standard room ,it probably wouldn't be such a gap.

To the OP, we adored SSR personally. Is it my favorite? no. But we enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere and the proximity to disney springs. We would absolutely stay their again and probably over Riverside.

Now if you can switch to FQ, hands down FQ!

 

[sheriffwoody]

I've stayed at both, and I'd stick with POR if I were you. It's still a big-ish resort, but Saratoga is flipping HUGE. The only thing that saved SSR for us was being able to walk over to Disney Springs for dinner almost every night (we happened to have a great location for that).

However, if your daughter would benefit from having the extra room for naps...maybe do the 1 bedroom. It's hard to decide stuff like this! Sometimes I just flip a coin.