Thoughts on Saratoga Spings??

Yano

Yano

Member
Original Poster
I rarely hear people talk about Saratoga Springs! I was wondering what your thoughts are on it.
-Is it good?
-Is it worth it?
-How long to parks if I take their busses?
-What are your experiences?
-If I stay there what do you advise for special requests? For example Room location to busses or lobby is better.
In general what are your thoughts?
Thank you 😃
 
mousehockey37

mousehockey37

Well-Known Member
SSR isn't bad. They're nice rooms. The easiest way I can describe the ride to the parks is... You're basically at Disney Springs, and if you're in Congress Park, we were in one of the closest rooms to DS, it's one of the lengthiest rides to the parks.

Again, Congress Park was where we were and it was loud. Not super loud, but the atmosphere of the Springs was definitely audible at night. Each of the sections of SSR has it's own bus stop, but the bus makes a loop through the resort. So if everyone gets on at stop 1, it's very possible you could have a full bus at the end of the loop on the way out.

Remember SSR covers the most area of any of the DVC's.
 
Rob562

Rob562

Well-Known Member
Poke around the Disney Vacation Club sub-forum here on WDWMagic. Since SSR is a DVC resort, most of the discussions about it tend to end up there.

-Rob
 
Brittney Waldheim

Brittney Waldheim

New Member
Our DVC home is Saratoga Springs, and over the past few years, it has become our favorite place to stay. The close relation to Disney Springs makes it convenient for meals if you don't want to eat at the poppin' Artist's Pallete already at the Saratoga Springs resort. One thing that isn't our favorite is hat the resort is really spread out and that the bus system within the resort to get to the parks or to DisneySprings takes a long while just to pick up everyone in Saratoga, but the wait is worth it. If you're looking for a perfect place to enjoy your family and WDW, Saratoga is the perfect place.
 
CaptainAmerica

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
Unless you really like Disney Springs, I don't see any reason to stay at Saratoga Springs over Old Key West. The Old Key West rooms are brighter and much larger, and I much prefer the casual atmosphere of Olivia's over the stuffy (yet delicious) Turf Club. They're almost always exactly the same price, so I highly recommend OKW.
 
slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
CaptainAmerica said:
Unless you really like Disney Springs, I don't see any reason to stay at Saratoga Springs over Old Key West. The Old Key West rooms are brighter and much larger, and I much prefer the casual atmosphere of Olivia's over the stuffy (yet delicious) Turf Club. They're almost always exactly the same price, so I highly recommend OKW.
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Whatever vibe they might hope to give off at Turf Club, I never found it stuffy. In fact, because it's often so sparsely visited (though delicious) we were always treated fine there even casually dressed and with our kids. Other servers would come over and just see how we were doing, ask our kids if they were enjoying the trip, joke around, etc. Yes, it's decorated like the Omega Theta Pi frat in Animal House, but they're pretty laid back.

I often joke that SSR and OKW are the red-headed stepchildren of WDW. For all their positives, their sizes and locations make them undesirable for many families who want to be park commandos and thus want to be as close to the action as possible. But I will say that SSR is great if you have anyone in your family who couldn't care less about going to the parks. Lovely amenities and great pools there, the spa for being pampered, and an easy trip to Disney Springs for shopping and movies or bowling or dining, but which also gives you easy access to the buses to the other hotels. It's our home resort and while we haven't stayed there for a while outside of a one nighter here or there when we get to Orlando a day before out reservation, we always enjoyed the stays we did have there. Also, to be fair, we always have a car and rarely use the buses except for MK days, and even then sometimes we drive.
 
Yano

Yano

Member
Original Poster
Thank you all,
I guess I’m kinda stuck in SS since when I asked my travel agent to get me the lowest price with a two bedroom suite that was the best offer she could find.. I’m not upset or anything I’ll just request a room close to a bus stop, wake those kiddos up early so we can take advantage of the EMH
 
Epcotfan21

Epcotfan21

Well-Known Member
Yano said:
Thank you all,
I guess I’m kinda stuck in SS since when I asked my travel agent to get me the lowest price with a two bedroom suite that was the best offer she could find.. I’m not upset or anything I’ll just request a room close to a bus stop, wake those kiddos up early so we can take advantage of the EMH
Click to expand...
You'll be fine. It's a very nice resort and the 2 bedroom villas are great. Just be prepared for several bus stops when being dropped off or waiting to be picked up.

And the proximity to Disney Springs can't be beat! From our 2 bedroom villa in Congress Park that we stayed in last fall, we had a 5 minute walk from our room.
 
slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
Yano said:
Thank you all,
I guess I’m kinda stuck in SS since when I asked my travel agent to get me the lowest price with a two bedroom suite that was the best offer she could find.. I’m not upset or anything I’ll just request a room close to a bus stop, wake those kiddos up early so we can take advantage of the EMH
Click to expand...
Have you checked out David's DVC Rentals?

I don't know if your travel agent only arranged for your room or if this is a package that includes everything else you might need like travel and tickets and dining. But if it was just the room, you might maybe perhaps kinda save some money at David's or another DVC rental site.
.
I did a random search for a week in October. For a standard 2BR at Saratoga, the difference in price based on rack rates, it's like $1600 off. And a 2BR Lake View at Bay Lake Tower? David's prices are 5 grand less than Disney's. Granted a: peple rarely pay rack rates and b: David's can not guarantee they can book the room you want. But it might be worth trying.
 
Last edited:
Yano

Yano

Member
Original Poster
slappy magoo said:
Have you checked out David's DVC Rentals?

I don't know if your travel agent only arranged for your room or if this is a package that includes everything else you might need like travel and tickets and dining. But if it was just the room, you might maybe perhaps kinda save some money at David's or another DVC rental site.
Click to expand...

I am not a DVC member.
And the travel agents fixes everything from room to tickets and all that, so I’m guessing it’s a package offer or something like that .
 
Yano

Yano

Member
Original Poster
Epcotfan21 said:
You'll be fine. It's a very nice resort and the 2 bedroom villas are great. Just be prepared for several bus stops when being dropped off or waiting to be picked up.

And the proximity to Disney Springs can't be beat! From our 2 bedroom villa in Congress Park that we stayed in last fall, we had a 5 minute walk from our room.
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This makes me feel much better, thank you
 
slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
Yano said:
I am not a DVC member.
And the travel agents fixes everything from room to tickets and all that, so I’m guessing it’s a package offer or something like that .
Click to expand...
I figured as much, no big deal, just maybe food for thought if you ever plan another trip. You don't have to be a DVC member to use David's DVC Rentals. In fact it's the opposite, it's where members who can't use their membership in any given year go to rent out the use of their membership to non-members (or DVC members who need more points at any given time). As a result their prices are often significantly better than the prices of those same rooms if Disney rents them out, with the exception of 1BR villas. Studios, 2BR Villas and Grand Villas, the prices are often ridiculously better.
 
correcaminos

correcaminos

Well-Known Member
Yano said:
Thank you all,
I guess I’m kinda stuck in SS since when I asked my travel agent to get me the lowest price with a two bedroom suite that was the best offer she could find.. I’m not upset or anything I’ll just request a room close to a bus stop, wake those kiddos up early so we can take advantage of the EMH
Click to expand...

While the theme of SSR is not my favorite, I don't get why people complain about it so much. I find it better than any of the values I've been to by far. It's not any worse than BC or BW for bus service (remember they often share so it can take a while) - in fact I had better service there than my last two BC stays (it was a nightmare getting to MK).

Don't feel like you have settled. It's really quite awesome.
 
Yano

Yano

Member
Original Poster
slappy magoo said:
I figured as much, no big deal, just maybe food for thought if you ever plan another trip. You don't have to be a DVC member to use David's DVC Rentals. In fact it's the opposite, it's where members who can't use their membership in any given year go to rent out the use of their membership to non-members (or DVC members who need more points at any given time). As a result their prices are often significantly better than the prices of those same rooms if Disney rents them out, with the exception of 1BR villas. Studios, 2BR Villas and Grand Villas, the prices are often ridiculously better.
Click to expand...
Wow i didn’t know that. that’s a good idea!
I’ll sure keep that in mind for future trips.
Thank you
 
BuzzLIghtYear2010

BuzzLIghtYear2010

Member
We have stayed many times, the last at the Paddock near the pools, which contains great slides, a quick service restaurant, and a bus stop. The restaurant (OK, it's a food counter with outdoor seating) takes the Disney dining plans. The table service restaurant (Turf Club) usually needs no reservations.
 
Yano

Yano

Member
Original Poster
C

crawale

Well-Known Member
Yano said:
I rarely hear people talk about Saratoga Springs! I was wondering what your thoughts are on it.
-Is it good?
-Is it worth it?
-How long to parks if I take their busses?
-What are your experiences?
-If I stay there what do you advise for special requests? For example Room location to busses or lobby is better.
In general what are your thoughts?
Thank you 😃
Click to expand...
Worst hotel I have stayed in over 35 years at Disney. Rooms are not themed. Staff were extremely unhelpful - not like Disney at all. It is more like a moderate value hotel than a deluxe. Very hard to get around if you don't have a car - different buildings so you will get wet if it rains. Will never stay there again.
 
Grumpy06

Grumpy06

Member
Yano said:
I rarely hear people talk about Saratoga Springs! I was wondering what your thoughts are on it.
-Is it good?
-Is it worth it?
-How long to parks if I take their busses?
-What are your experiences?
-If I stay there what do you advise for special requests? For example Room location to busses or lobby is better.
In general what are your thoughts?
Thank you 😃
Click to expand...
 

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