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Author
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fdnynine11ems
Waiting to pass ROFR
Registered: December 2007
Location: New York
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Review Date: Thu September 25, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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Things can get better second time around.
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Cons:
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Service, buses, decor.
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Hi,
I stayed the last week in August (Fay). This was my first stay at my home resort. I LOVE AKV, but decided to try out SSR. Check-in went horribly to start. They had our reservations, but made us walk to our room IN THE POURING RAIN WITH AN INFANT AND 5 YEAR OLD and all of our carry ons!! After we got to our room SOAKED, our luggage arrived through thier bus. I was very upset.
We decided to brave the rain and head to the parks. After waiting close to an hour for a bus, since they kept passing us by, we finally got to the parks. Since this is my first stay, I didn't know there was more then one bus stop, nor was I informed during check in. So we got off the bus at the wrong stop. We called the Front desk, as it was very late and we were lost. We asked since I had a nine month old if there was a way to get a luggage cart to bring us to our room. They said no. We had to walk to the sign and read them the room numbers listed. After doing that we called back and they gave us directions to walk in the pouring rain AGAIN!
The food was pretty good there, I think they need more resturants closer to the other stops though. Walking over the bridge in the rain to get to thier resturants wasn't fun!
Then the decor inside the rooms was dull and boring. For the beauty of the land, they should really work on the rooms, so it reflects outside.
My second stay was a lot better. Look under Grand Villa for more reviews.
------------------------------
Kat
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Pumpkinboy
Two Bedroom
Registered: October 2005
Location: Newton, Mass & BWV
Posts: 941
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Review Date: Tue October 7, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? No |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 3
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Pros:
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Great service from Front Desk and Bell Services!
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Cons:
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resort layout, location, room layout, transportation
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We had reserved 4 nights in late August 2008. Once we schlepped to our first floor room (1BR) in the Springs section, we discovered that DS's wheelchair was not going to work in the room as the large furniture made for some tight passageways. We went back to the front desk, told them it was not going to work and had them get us a 1BR in another DVC resort. They bent over backwards to accommodate us, scoring us a VWL 1BR for only a few more points. Bell services know exactly where our luggage was (coming in via DME) and held on to it for us, until we were ready for our ride over to WL. Amazing service!
We dined at the Turf Club, and were really underwhelmed. It was just OK, nothing special, not a lot of flavor in anything and not very imaginative presentations. Good beer tho.
------------------------------
:Pumpkin: Born in Maine; Living in Exile
Beverly-loving, birthday-stealer :face:
:PinkflamiVero & BWV in February:sunny:
Employed again and loving it!
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mfd25wife
Waiting to pass ROFR
Registered: October 2008
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Mon October 13, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Service, room cleanliness, location
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Cons:
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storage, transportation
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We stayed at SSR-The Springs. We really enjoyed it. The room was very clean. The location was good for us as it was close to the pool and bus stop. The SPA was nice and the CM's were very helpful and friendly.
The buses that ran in the day worked well for us. The buses at night seemed to be eratic. The drivers were not as friendly and helpful as they were at CSR. A couple of buses had mechanical problems like the doors automatically opening and closing. One driver that picked up my DD and her friend at DTD after a movie skipped The Springs stop, but would not take them back around. They had to find their way back to The Springs and had never been to the resort.
The storage for luggage seemed a little short. The supplies could have been stocked a little better. I have seen on another board that usually there are several trash bags in the unit. We did not, but thought it was normal and went and bought a box. We did wish there had been a pizza pan and a pizza cutter. When we had mousekeeping day, they did not leave enough towels, but we were able to call down and get more without a problem.
We purchased our DVC at AKV so we will be at Kidani next time, but I would not have a problem recommending SSR. Actually, I would like to stay at all of them at some point.
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rnawiz
Studio
Registered: August 2007
Location: MA
Posts: 171
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Review Date: Mon October 13, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Distance to DTD, Nice walking paths, SPA!!
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Cons:
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Extremely large size of resort.
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Our trip was from Sunday, August 17th-Friday, August 22nd, 2008.
We were travelling with my brother and his family, 6 of them and 3 of us. They stayed in a 2 bedroom, just down the hall from our one bedroom. We have found if we register for a grand gathering number, we wind up with close rooms. We arrived at the resort in the late morning, so our room wasn't ready, but my brother's was.
We dropped all the carry-on luggage in his room, and spent the afternoon at DTD while we waited for our room to be ready. At 4pm, we were told it was ready.
There were no issues with the room- it was well cleaned, and everything was in working order. The finish on the living room coffee table was worn in two spots, but it just looked like normal wear.
The balcony (also clean and in good shape!) overlooked a grassy area, with pathways, and to the right was the parking lot.
One last thing- we were in the paddock section, which I was unhappy with at first because of the distance, but it turned out to be a great location. Our building was next to the bus stop, and the quiet pool. We walked around the water in the mornings, and saw two kinds of turtles, lots of birds, and huge fish that followed us along the bridge.
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Chris
   
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disneylover27
One Bedroom
Registered: April 2008
Location: Western suburb of Chicago
Posts: 401
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Review Date: Sun October 19, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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New, Nice, Clean,
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Cons:
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Artist's Palette & Buses
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10/11-10/13/08
Although the room is nice, new, clean, the tv channels stink!! The layout is nice and spacious. I'd have to say that this was a nice room location, although you still had to walk somewhat, room 3203 the Springs.
The buses stink, you were the last stop and it took forever to get there. We did have good luck because we didn't wait long at all for a bus every time. The boat to DTD was located nicely, and a quick ride.
What's with the Artist's Palette's ordering system? Order, Pay, get your food sounds easy, but if your not quick enough they call your name 20 times and when it's busy in there, you get stuck! They need to revise the system.
Over all, nice resort, pretty and clean.
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[FONT="Book Antiqua"]Nicole[/FONT]
SSR & AKV
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jennifersaxe
Waiting to pass ROFR
Registered: April 2008
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Mon October 27, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Beautiful setting, GREAT pool, quiet
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Cons:
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Bus Service, Distance from room to ameneties
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We just returned from a 6 day visit to SSR. It was our first visit as owners and we chose a 1 bedroom. We requested a room in Congress Park when we made our reservation but ended up in the Paddock. When I asked the CM who checked us in to see if there were any rooms open in CP she seemed very annoyed. This made me quite uncomfortable since I'm not used to being treated like a burden when I'm at Disney. When she gave us the map to our room, the room number she wrote on the map didn't match any of the room numbers in the building she circled. We didn't feel like walking all the way back to the Carriage House so we figured out ourselves, (she wasn't even close) and it was pretty annoying.
We used ME for the first time and figured our luggage would be delivered before we went to bed since we arrived around 6pm and they told us it would only take UP TO 3 hours to get. After many phone calls to Bell Services and much confusion on their part, it finally arrived at 4 o'clock IN THE MORNING - 8 HOURS after we'd arrived. So between not getting the room we wanted, getting directed to the wrong building, and the lost luggage, we were NOT off to a good start!
On a more positive note, our room was GREAT! My children DD(6) and DS (8) LOVED the jacuzzi tub and I must say that after long days in the parks, it was the perfect way to unwind and relax those sore muscles! After our first day in the parks (AK), we went to the pool at around 7PM. The weather was PERFECT and the pool was not at all crowded. They showed a movie poolside that the children watched while they swam and my DH and I relaxed poolside on the lounge chairs. It was really nice.
We did have to wait FOREVER for busses both leaving and coming home from the parks. There were times when we were leaving the parks and would see 4 or 5 busses for the other resorts before we would even see 1 bus for SSR. For the size of the resort and the number of stops within the resort itself, they need to have A LOT more busses to keep things running smoothly. There were always people complaining about the busses to and from SSR wherever we went.
All in all, we'll stay there again, but next time, we'll claim our own luggage and put it on the ME bus with us and we'll know to allow more time to and from parks to allow for the slow busses.
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jrbdad
Add-on Aficionado
Registered: October 2008
Location: North Louisiana
Posts: 8284
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Review Date: Sat November 29, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Lots of rooms; nice pool; excellent Community Hall, good restaurants
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Cons:
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Rooms are a litte small; many bus stops
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We've stayed here twice -- using Developer Points -- first time in a 2BR -- it was GREAT! A little far from the pool, etc. - but not too bad. We were in Congress Park. This Thanksgiving we were in a 1BR -- that is all that was available + it gave us an extra night. This was a little cramped for our family. We were in the Springs -- very close to everything. Rooms are very clean. Service is excellent. Food at both restaurants is very good and a good value. Kids loved the pool and the Community Hall gets high marks with the video games, big screen TV, ping pong table, movie selection, and many activiites.
Bus service was a little lacking this last trip. Lots of stops -- so on our way out -- no big deal, coming back in -- stopped at each and every stop. Had one day with limited buses to Magic Kingdom -- but just that one day.
We would stay here again. The only other places we've stayed -- wife & I stayed at Poly 14 yrs ago and the family stayed at Beach Club -- the hotel part this past summer before becoming DVC Members. Again, we really liked SSR. Feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions about it.
------------------------------
John
 
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palmdelicious@aol.com
Waiting to pass ROFR
Registered: May 2008
Location: Central PA
Posts: 68
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Review Date: Fri February 6, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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beautiful,clean
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Cons:
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bus stops far from front desk
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We loved the resort.Clean,beautiful,large.
I didn't like at night getting something from the store and waiting for a DTD bus to get to my room
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kelly4me
Studio
Registered: February 2009
Location: Northern Va
Posts: 174
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Review Date: Fri March 13, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Beautiful Resort, 1 BR very spacious
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Cons:
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dryer didn't work well, noisy vent
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I was a bit apprehensive about our stay at SSR because of some of the reviews here. We had a wonderful time at SSR. We had a great location for our room - in the Springs section, very close to the bus stop. We were very close to the main pool and a short walk from the main registration area.
The room was clean and we liked the decor. The patio overlooked one of the ponds with a fountain. We had everything that we needed in the kitchen. It was a bit of a hike to the ice machine/trash area. Bell services was helpful and accomodating. The front desk helped us out with supplies when my DH came down with the flu during our visit. The extra space of the bedroom helped to quarantine him some from the rest of us.
Mary at the concierge desk was very helpful with making breakfast dining reservations. She was cheerful and helped us by suggesting a server at the restaurant that we were going to.
The store on-site is small but carries a decent selection of necessities and merchandise. The food at Artist's palette was decent - I had an asian salad for dinner one night, and we split a breakfast flatbread (huge and yummy). We didn't eat at Turf Club.
The pool closed for refurb during our visit. It looked beautiful and fun the first day, but we didn't get the chance to use it.
We had rented a car, so I can't fully evaluate the transportation. DH rode the bus one day and had no problems with it.
The luggage and airline checkin service at the resort was a nice bonus. We were able to call and pay for our bags in advance. They were weighed and checked in at the resort and they transported them to the airport for us. It was nice to not have to haul them around with us for the day.
We did not bring a computer with us, it would have been helpful because we extended our stay and we didn't have access to the Internet to make some adjustments. There is no business center in this resort. There is access in the rooms but only if you bring your own computer.
The in-room dryer did not work very well. It took 2 hours to dry one load of clothes and it was very noisy. There was a vent in the bathroom area over the garden tub that never turned off. The other vents seem to be on sensors of some sort - they turned on when you walked into the room, but the one didn't have that feature and ran all day/night and was a bit noisy.
Overall we were very pleased with our stay at SSR. We would happily stay there again.
------------------------------
Kelly, DH, DS (6)
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Bork Bork
Two Bedroom
Registered: August 2008
Location: The Enchanted Mitten
Posts: 629
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Review Date: Mon May 4, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Beautiful decor, grounds, and villas.
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Cons:
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I can't think of any.
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We stayed from 4/5-10, 2009 for our first trip home on developer's points. Everything went smoothly, from DME, to check-in, luggage and grocery delivery, and WDW bus service. We even got our request granted which was in Congress Park with Downtown Disney view.
The villa itself (1103) was immaculate and beautiful. We cooked breakfast each morning in the villa and ate out the other meals. I'll be anxious to compare resorts as we come back each year. We own at Animal Kingdom Villas, but SSR will always have to be a consideration.
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Deumn Bork Bork Bork!
Eric
April 2008-Offsite
April 2009-SSR
Dec 2009-BCV/AKV Jambo
June 2010-Kidani
June 2011-Paradise Pier
January 2013-Old Key West
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]  
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ritaread
Waiting to pass ROFR
Registered: June 2009
Location: Glasgow Ky
Posts: 72
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Review Date: Tue June 2, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? No |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Beautiful room, love the floor plan, great bed, LOVE the bath tub
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Cons:
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No room service, no help with luggage
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This condo was beautiful inside-I love the floor plan where the bed had shutters that open up to view the large soaking tub(was a great help for tired feet  Kitchen was great-There were a few dissappointments compared the other resorts like the Yacht & Beach Club-the pool was nice but not as pretty as others and it was not open late at night, there was no room service, I forgot to bring a hair brush so I called down for one to be brought up-they said that was not possible, the rooms are very spread apart so by the time he got in the car and got to the giftshop and back my hair was dried in knots- There were golfcarts everywhere but no one seemed to want to ride us anywhere, no one helped with luggage, We didnt try to food at this particular resort mostly because we have favorites at others(Beaches and cream-yummy) but they didnt have anything too appealing-It is a great place to stay dont get me wrong I loved it but I would stay at other resorts next time also there is beautiful windows and a sliding glass door but wouldnt open-no balcony
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[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Our Home Resort!
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GrumpyBud
Studio
Registered: August 2009
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 103
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Review Date: Mon August 24, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Clean rooms, Had a very nice CM tour guide
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Cons:
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long waits for buses
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We stayed at SSR in Jan 09 in a one bedroom at the Grand Stand. Our room was on the back side overlooking the Golf course and we were able to see Downtown Disney(at night it was beautiful) We were on developer points and had to stay at SSR to use that years points. We had 4 of us in the room 2adults and 2 children. The space was nice and the kithchen had everything we needed(we did have the dining plan and didn't use it much)The whirpool tub was a nice way to end the day. The few draw backs we found was the size of the resort was almost to big to see all of the resort on foot. We flew down and used Magical Expess so we did not have a car. The other problem seem to be lack of buses.there were times we waited an hour for our resort bus but would see other resort buses 2 sometimes 3 before our one. and we were there at a quiet time of year. All in all it was a nice resort but it would not be our 1st or 2nd choice to stay at. Our next trip to Disney we will stay at our home resort AKV. 9 mo. till HHR.
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karenjoan
Waiting to pass ROFR
Registered: June 2009
Location: Westmont, NJ
Posts: 37
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Review Date: Tue November 16, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Awesome Cm's, pretty clean, pool was right out the patio, Good dinner at Turf Club
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Cons:
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sticky kitchen floor, empty drink bottles under couch
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10/31/10-11/5/10 SSR 1 bedroom
We had a really nice time at SSR. The cast members were wonderful. Our girls got to trick or treat at the hotel. We cooked for ourselves in our room and on our last night ate at the Turf Club. Very tastey, and the chocolate martini was great!. Our room was in the Grandstand section and the pool was right out our patio. My only negative on our room was that our kitchen floor was sticky and dirty and when we unfolded the couch for out daughters, we found empty drink bottles. I would stay here again.
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SSRoregongal
Two Bedroom
Registered: February 2011
Location: Oregon Coast
Posts: 650
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Review Date: Sat February 5, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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good for small groups
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Cons:
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storage
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I have stayed 4 times in these, mostly alone--good for entertaining local family and cast member friends! Staying in the Grandstands I get a rental car, but in CP or Springs I have fine luck with buses. There are some excellet views available in Congress Park and great staff, I had some problems with a bell boy once, forgot his keycard in a room and left me in the halls with my luggage and food, but Disney manager got me a mani/pedi at SSR spa to apologize :-)
------------------------------
~erica
Disney Podcast Network
DVC Member SSR since 2000 ~March UY
VGC '12 SSR '08 DLH '07 SSR '06 DLH '05 SSR & BWV '05
SSR '04 DLH '03 DGC '02 etc...
:beatinghe Disney!
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