So...Here's a short trip update from arrival day for our current trip.
After a fairly uneventful Southwest Airlines trip we arrived at the Orlando airport about 4:30 pm. The check-in lines to get into the Magical Express bus lines were a mess...just not moving at all as so many people were showing up without any documents or magic bands. They had four lines open, and none were moving very quickly and about 20 people deep in each line. Then one of the ME check-in CM's closes her line and walks away. So now there's about 25-30 in each line and they are moving slowly. All told, it took about 40 minutes just to wait in that line and get to the part where we wait for a bus. After that, it was fairly straightforward, though they went to 4 resorts on our bus and our resort (SSR) was the last. So from the time we got off the plane until we arrived at SSR it was about 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
I haven't taken any pictures yet but I am happy with our room (thanks to DDad and Di's suggestions on room location). It is not a refurbished room, so we still have the old carpet and kitchen cabinets with a green/blue hue. We haven't stayed at SSR for several years, and I forgot about the layout of the 1BR. First of all, it seems like the smallest 1BR DVC villa that I can ever recall. The front hallway has the lock-off door, and there is no closet there. The kitchen/dining/family room seem pretty similar but just seem a little smaller than other similar 1BR living areas (BWV/VWL/BCV). And the television in the entertainment center in the family room seems positively archaic...probably a 40" screen which is plenty big enough but pales in comparison with the newer television screens they are putting in villas. And the master bedroom closet (the only place to hang clothes in the entire villa) is not a walk-in...just a pretty standard hotel sized closet. The drawers in the bedroom dresser are much smaller than other resorts.
I like the decor. The couch, the dining room bench, the chairs, drapes and the carpet all have some personality in the decorations...they remind me somewhat of the original VWL decor. And we still have overhead fans in the family room and master bedroom...which I like just to keep the air moving.
My biggest issue with SSR on Day 1 is that for some reason they refuse to put in any directional signage on the grounds. They have resort maps every 100 yards with a big "you are here" dot on it, but I found the maps extremely confusing and in some cases downright misleading. My wife and I wandered around quite a bit just trying to find the Grandstand section which is actually just across the street from the drive-up registration area...but the map was very misleading and of course Disney just can't put in any directional signs that say "Grandstand ->" or something like that. I felt like Henry Fonda wandering through the woods in "On Golden Pond"! Really, it took us quite a while to find our building. And once we found it, do you think they could post some numbers outside of it so we could see if we have the right building? Nope, not a single sign. We had to walk up to the building and look for some room numbers to help us figure out if we were in the right place. Needless to say, after a travel day and the ME experience, I wasn't really liking the lack of signs or even someone to help with directions.
We had dinner at Artist's Palette which truly is what counter service should look like at all the resorts. Good selection, and they combine the gift store (and dry goods & refrigerated food) with the counter service food to make it easy to order and pick up some items to bring back to the room.
Tomorrow, I promise not to be crabby. But just as I am making that vow, I notice that the long range forecast predicts at least a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms for 8 of the days of our 9 day trip. But hey, we're in the happiest place on Earth, right?
Tomorrow we're heading over to DHS to see the Star Wars land and have a reservation at Oga's Cantina. After that we'll be winging it for the rest of the day.
I'll try to get some pictures as I go along. I know we'll have a great trip despite the kick-off challenges. I know I'm ready to go sample a little food & wine this week!
home!! Wow! 500 points! That's awesome, and at some point with that many points, I'd be tempted to save up a couple of years and do a cabin one year. If you do that, just remember who suggested it first (in case you want visitors)! Congrats and enjoy your VWL contract and the holidays at the most beautifully decorated resort!
