Just back from SSR - GREAT resort & AWESOME first trip to WDW!

[disney-super-mom]

DH and I just returned from a whirlwind 4 day tour of WDW. It was an adults only trip for just DH and I, or as I like to say a "big kids" only trip. Our 2 little guys (ages 7 and 3) stayed home with their nana.

We stayed at SSR, and what can I say except it's a beautiful resort. The CMs there are wonderful. The first CM we met at checkin gave us "First Time WDW Vistor" buttons. Also, on our last morning there, we had a very early ADR (8:10am) for breakfast at AKL for Boma. We knew that we couldn't catch a bus there that early in the day, so we walked over to the bell sevice desk to ask them if they could call us a cab. All of a sudden Mark, the best CM ever, told us he would be happy to drive us over himself in the resort van. HOW COOL IS THAT?!! What an awesome guy! We tipped him $10 for being so thoughtful, and the next day when we checked out we tipped him an additional $5. I wish we could have tipped him more, but we were on a tight budget.

We requested a room in Congress Park, but they weren't able to get us a room there. Instead, we were in the Paddock building closest to Congress Park, which turned out to be a terrific location. We were right across the street from the Congress Park bus stop, and only a 5 minute walk to the Congress Park pool, Artist's Palette, and the main pool.

Our room, 6836, was spotless except for the outside glass of the patio doors. They looked like they had been splashed and streaked with dirty water...kinda like they hosed off the patios to clean them and then never wiped the dirty water off the windows. Not a big deal though.

The view from our room was not the best either, but we weren't in the room long enough for that to matter.

Here's the view looking straight out.

Here's another shot looking straight out.

Looking to the left.

Looking to the right.

Also, I know that the little designs on the corners of the decorative tiles in the bathroom are supposed to be Fleur-de-leis (spelling?), but I couldn't help but feel I was being flipped the bird.

We also made it over to the Wilderness Lodge to check it out. What a gorgeous resort! We could see ourselves staying here! We happen to notice the ducks that live in and around the pool, and they have some new little ones. SO CUTE!

Bye-bye momma and baby ducklings. It was nice to meet you.

We had a brief tour of OKW on a bus, and it looked so peaceful. The buildings are cute and the landscaping is SO LUSH! We could see ourselves staying here too!

Also, we made it over to the BC for a look-around. WOW, we now know what the big fuss is about over the pool! That pool looks AWESOME! Our kids would love it, especially the slide and playing in the sand. We can see ourselves staying here as well!

Unfortunately we only saw the Boardwalk resort by boat (we ran out of time to tour this resort), but it sure looked nice from the boat.

Anyway, we had an AWESOME time on our first trip to WDW. We made it to every park. We rode Rock-n-Roller Coaster 6 times (3 of those in a row), and we rode Expedition Everest 6 times too (4 of those in a row)! We even won dream fastpasses at AK!

Here we are on Rock-n-Roller Coaster (we're in the front).

Here we are on EE.

And here we are on Dinosaur (with our dream fastpasses).

Can't wait to go back with our kids. If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Great Report!!! I remember reading how anxious you were about your first trip, but from the looks of it, that didnt last long once you were there

Loved your photos!!

 

[jns]

Thanks for reporting back
sounds like you had a great time
and thanks for sharing your photos

 

[lisaviolet]

Thanks so much for the report. I guess I want to say something personal. Been thinking about this a lot lately. Kudos, congrats and all the rest for taking this vacation just the two of you.

I "sigh" every time I read "I want to make sure my children will like this/or that resort". I'm laughing because I can't imagine my parents would pick a resort mainly based on any of our wants. Or should. And I love children!!! Oh boy I just feel we've become a little "child focused" here in NA in some ways. Parents first...lovely life for children in the end.

My parents always took weekends and some vacations without us. (and with us too of course) and they just celebrated 50 years together. And my father was a firefighter and my mom stayed at home. So Lord knows how they did it. I don't know if that has anything to do with the fifty years or not but sadly I think it is becoming a lost art...focusing on each other at times.

I really hope that more couples will take time with just themselves over the years of their partnership/marriage.

I loved seeing your pictures. And smiled at the two of you.

Sorry for getting on a soapbox. But I loved your trip report for more than just the great pics. All the best,

Lisa

 

[dwelty]

Congrats on your first trip. We had our first trip to WDW and first trip to SSR in December. We were in the same building as you, on the same floor, with a different view. We can't wait to go back.

 

[Starr W.]

Thanks so much for the report. I guess I want to say something personal. Been thinking about this a lot lately. Kudos, congrats and all the rest for taking this vacation just the two of you.

I "sigh" every time I read "I want to make sure my children will like this/or that resort". I'm laughing because I can't imagine my parents would pick a resort mainly based on any of our wants. Or should. And I love children!!! Oh boy I just feel we've become a little "child focused" here in NA in some ways. Parents first...lovely life for children in the end.

My parents always took weekends and some vacations without us. (and with us too of course) and they just celebrated 50 years together. And my father was a firefighter and my mom stayed at home. So Lord knows how they did it. I don't know if that has anything to do with the fifty years or not but sadly I think it is becoming a lost art...focusing on each other at times.

I really hope that more couples will take time with just themselves over the years of their partnership/marriage.

I loved seeing your pictures. And smiled at the two of you.

Sorry for getting on a soapbox. But I loved your trip report for more than just the great pics. All the best,

Lisa

I know where you're coming from Lisa. I sure didn't ask my 2 boys where they wanted to stay and I know my parents didn't when I was there age, you should just be glad your parents took you somewhere(at least that was the line we got).


I have to laugh at some of the threads over at the Family board. "5yr old refuses to go to WDW, What should I do?" I have to refrain from posting "give him a good kick in the pants".

Unfortunately my DM passed away(she's was the only one I would leave the boys with on an extended trip), my MIL is not doing so good right now and my sister, I would probably get as far as the airport before my phone rang with kids and sister begging me to come back. So we have to make do with "date nights" and trust me I'll be using the Kids centers so DH & I can have a nice meal without the boys.

 

[Sammie]

I thought the paintings on the tiles were tulips. Thanks for sharing and have to agree with others about time away for Mom and Dad. I have a friend who is a pediatrician and said the best thing you can do for your kids is spend some time away from them. That parents who never do this, even for a night out, do their kids no favor.

The guy behind you on EE, looks like he is having a fun time.

 

[ACDSNY]

I'm glad to hear you had a magical trip, just shows you did a great job planning. We've had some wonderful DL & WDW trips without our kids too.

 

[snowbunny]

You two sure looked like you were having a great time

 

[paults]

 

[bobbiwoz]

I enjoyed your TR and the pictures, especially of the WL pool and ducklings.

Bobbi

 

[LisaS]

I enjoyed your TR and the pictures, especially of the WL pool and ducklings.

Bobbi

I second that -- love the duck photos! On our trip in December we stopped by WL one very chilly day. The pool was empty except for a mother duck and two ducklings, and two lifeguards watching over them. I said to one of the lifeguards that I thought it was so nice that they don't chase the ducks out of the pool. He smiled and said "Well, this is Wilderness Lodge."

Glad you enjoyed your trip disney-super-mom!

 

[disney-super-mom]

Thanks for all the great comments everyone. We really had a great time. We loved the parks and we loved all the resorts we saw.

Of course my DH loves golfing, so SSR and OKW seemed to be calling his name during our entire trip. He said to me, "I can't play golf all winter long in Spokane, you take me all the way to Florida, and I CAN'T PLAY ANY GOLF HERE EITHER?! You're torturing me woman!" Well, that's what I'm here for.

If you want, you can check out my full trip report on the trip report board. It's much more detailed (kinda long), but hopefully a fun read. I'm all done with days 1-3, and I only have day 4 left to write. I also included some pictures, so those may be fun to check out too.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1338109

Anyway, this trip has truely sold us on DVC. What a wonderful way to vacation!

 

[cobbler]

Sounds like you had a fun trip

 

[mamaprincess]

There's no place like home! Adults only is a dream of mine. So glad your trip was wonderful. Your pictures are so nice.

 

[disney-super-mom]

Oh, I also wanted to comment on DVC resort location.

DH and I certainly see the convenience of staying at BCV or BWV because they're so close to 2 parks. But on the other hand, the bus transportation is pretty convenient too, and they seemed fairly timely, so staying at the DVC resorts further out, like the new AK villas, doesn't seem like that big of a deal (unless you literally spend all of your time at Epcot and/or MGM). We'd happily stay at any of the WDW DVC resorts regardless of location.

I'm so glad we had the opportunity to visit most of the other on-site DVC resorts. There's always those questions like, "Will we like the BCV?" or "Is the VWL so much like home that we won't feel like we're on vacation?" Those questions seem so silly to me now. Now we KNOW we'll like the BCV, and we KNOW that it's ridiculous to think that we won't feel like we're on vacation if we stay at the VWL (we loved it of course!). We KNOW that SSR and OKW are not too spread out if you don't have a car, and if it is for some, there's always a bus to take you where you need to go.

Anyway, just wanted to share that with all of you.

 

[disney-super-mom]

I just wanted to let you all know that I finished my full trip report, with pictures, in case any of you are interested in reading it.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1338109

 

[byoung]

Nice report and pictures, thanks.

 

[disneymom8589]

It was fun reading your TR! I know how excited you were to go to DW and now we hope to see you on board as a new DVC owner!!

 

[disney-super-mom]

It was fun reading your TR! I know how excited you were to go to DW and now we hope to see you on board as a new DVC owner!!

I'm glad you enjoyed our report. It was actually fun to write!

I'm very hopeful that you WILL see us as new DVC owners soon! We're actually considering selling our travel trailer (it's practically brand new, it's a 2006 model), and then buying a smaller SSR resale contract, about 100 points, just to get our foot in the door. 100 points isn't much of course, but it's enough to get us a week in a studio at OKW during most of the year. Then "WHEN" (wishful thinking here) they announce a DL DVC and start selling points for it, we'll have the first opportunity to buy in before the points are released for purchase to non-DVC members. I hope that makes sense.

DH and I LOVED WDW, but we still would like to have points at a DL DVC because it's so much closer to where we live. In other words, I could see us having one longer vacation a year at WDW, and then one or two shorter trips per year at DL.