"LIVE" from SSR - My first trip home

[vandy]

We are currently at SSR and have been for the past 5 days. Prior to that, we spent 6 days at OKW. Granted, we have never gone to the parks for the early magic hours or opening time, but in out 11 days here we have only had one instance where our wait time for a bus was longer than 15 minutes. In fact, I commented that the voices of those disatisfied SSR bus riders here on the DISboard must have been heard. The only thing I have noticed is that the busses for the same park seem to be coming one right after the other. I wished it were more spaced out. We had seen 3 Magic Kingdom busses within 3 minutes of each other here at SSR.

 

[hakepb]

We check in August 4, staying until the 11th. Maybe we'll see you there!



This is the same situation we have. It had been awhile since I read anything about folks waiting 45 minutes for a bus, but maybe that is still happening!

I just got back from a short trip at SSR and on Saturday, I had a 45 minute or so wait for the MK bus. (saw 2 EPCOT busses, and a large group got off from DHS and immediately got on to a DTD bus, while I was still waiting for MK ;( ) I do also remember one somewhat longer wait going back from MK (saw 3 POP busses go by) and when the SSR bus showed up there was a loud, long applause from the people in front of me in line, so they must of had a long wait. Other than that one experinece, we had superb bus service with short waits, including Sunday going to MK.
(Not that it really matters, but I was pleased to realize that Disney finally figured out how to use the speakers that always existed in the busses to announce arrival and departure as well as play some appropriate background music)

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I am pretty hard core about being at the parks before they open. DH would say "Pretty hard core" is putting it mildly. But I also do not want to rent a car. So I guess we'll take our chances with the buses, be prepared to wait, and do a happy dance if we get on a bus in under 45 minutes!

It does sound like the situation is getting better than it was for awhile!

 

[Ronald Duck]

I had requested Grandstand Studio, and it was ready #8436. Here is our view:

We were two doors down, in 8432 (also a Studio), just a week and a half ago! It was our first trip "home", too.

In this pic, our studio was the second balcony from the left on the 4th floor, and your studio was at the far right, just before the stairwell (hidden behind the tree):

Here's the view from our room:

We loved the location in every way!

 

[Ronald Duck]

BTW, at the last minute we rented a car because of concerns about the bus service. Although I can't speak to the busses, we were extremely happy we had a car...partly for getting in and out of the parks efficiently, and partly for resort-hopping (which we did a LOT of).

 

[dvc at last !]

I am enjoying reading your TR - nice view from your room, too !

Have fun and dodge those rain drops !

 

[hakepb]

After that first bus wait, I started to think I should make a new game, bus roulette! Just go on the first park bus and you'll never wait too long!
Then you could only have a few dinner ADR's (switch parks mid-day if needed), but might be fun and unpredictiable.

 

[Ronald Duck]

After that first bus wait, I started to think I should make a new game, bus roulette! Just go on the first park bus and you'll never wait too long!
Then you could only have a few dinner ADR's (switch parks mid-day if needed), but might be fun and unpredictiable.

Funny...before we opted for a car, we had seriously decided to do the "bus roulette" thing, too!

We went without any dinner ADRs, but by eating on the early side at resort restaurants (e.g., Turf Club, Kona Cafe, Captain's Grille) we were able to manage just fine without them.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Do you mind me asking if you paid for all the friend's expenses? I've considered allowing mine to bring a friend, but worried it would really add up.

Yes we do. The only expense they are responsible for is spending money.

When we came in Jan./Feb., we allowed each of the kids to bring a friend. DD9 brought a different friend, and even those we intended to pay for everything for him, his parents insisted on paying for the plane ticket, the park ticket and his spending $. She also gave me $ to help cover his food. My DS13's friend (the brother to the boy on this trip), just brought his spending $ and that was fine with us.

The food is actually pretty reasonable this trip since both kids are still 9 so they still are only the child's price on the DDP. I think it is $10.99/day/child. It has been a real steal.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Ah looks like the water splash area at Grandstand pool is still under refurbishment. (It's not new but has been there for over a year.)

If you get a chance, ask the Activities staff when it's scheduled to open. Tell 'em Grandpa Mohawk and his daughter said hi.

Thanks for the info, I saw the fence around it and thought it was new.

We are sleeping in tomorrow and going to BB later, so I am sure we will be over at Community Hall and I'll ask. The kids are old enough that they aren't worried about that anyway.

Love your report so far! Sounds like you have good kids with you.
What do you think of SSR? We are going in October and I can't wait!

It's our first visit and I really like it. It is hard to get used to a studio when you are used to 1 and 2 bedrooms. I can honestly say my only complaint is with the bus service.

Sounds like a great trip.

Boy this kid is living the life.....I'm sure your sleeping with DD so he gets the bed to himself

My DD is an only child.....so I'm sure I will be bringing friends later as well.....also curious about how much money the friend brought.
Enjoy
Kerri

He does have the sleeper sofa to himself since we are in a studio, and sleeping with DD9 is no vacation!

He was bringing $200 with him, but his mom forgot to give it to me. I assumed he had it. She called as we were driving to hotel for night before flight, so I had to stop at ATM and get him his $. She's going to return it to my DH when she sees him this week. However, my DD9, who obviously comes more frequently, only brought $72 and I think she has spent 3 of it so far with 3 days in the parks.

Thank you for taking the time to do a live TR. I will be staying there in a studio room in Sept. Can you please take some pics of the room? How close in terms of walking is Grandstand to Community Hall?

I did take some pictures of the room because DS13 wanted lots of pics since we had not stayed here as a family yet.

Here they are right after we arrived (thus, everything was dumped on the table)

We're leaving next week, and part of our trip will be in a studio at SSR. I have also requested Grandstand.

It sounds like the buses are still spotty. On the other hnad, it sounds like you were still able to do a fair amount at MK that morning. I am big on getting to the parks EARLY, so the bus thing is stressing me out. We don't want to rent a car.

The bus situation is stressing me out also. We left our room at 7:50 this a.m. and it is less than a 2 minute walk (including waiting for elevator) to the bus stop. It was still 8:58 by the time we got off the bus at AK.

Is that the area with the horse "stalls" and the shooting guns? In May, that area was all opened up. Near the grills and picnic tables?

Yes, it is right next to the grill/picnic area.

Thanks for sharing your trip and for the pic's! I'm headed there in October for my annual "mommy only" trip and was considering the Grandstand or Springs. Usually DH and I love Congress Park, but since I'll be alone I wanted something closer to the pool/pools and restaurants.

How far are you from the Carriage House???

Have a wonderful time and thanks again!!!

It is about a 5 minute walk to the Carriage House, and that includes the trip down from the 4th floor!

could you elaborate on "the busses didn't cooperate"? I'm guessing MK had a 9AM opening time, and you said you left your room at 8. Did you miss the first bus and have to wait, or did the first SSR bus get you there that late? I am debating a car for our trip and I like to be there in plenty of time for rope drop. I've requested grandstand to be the first bus pickup, but it won't help if the busses don't come in a timely manner.
Robin M.

We were told we had missed the MK bus by 8 minutes (this was at 8:02) and the next bus wouldn't be there for another 18 minutes at least. I honestly think these purple pants standing at the bus stop are there to make us think something is happening. They can't give us any more accurate information than we could make up ourselves. It also takes quite a bit of time to make the other 4 stops within SSR. I wanted Grandstand to make sure we were able to get on the bus in the a.m., so now I must take the bad with the good and wait while we circle around.

Yes it is. Disneyeveryyear: looks like we are neighbors for one more day. We are down the hall from you in 8411. Glad you are having a good time, especially with dodging the last few storms we have had.

That storm on Wednesday night was a little scary and make it tough to get to our ADR. I hope you are having a good time here.

We were two doors down, in 8432 (also a Studio), just a week and a half ago! It was our first trip "home", too.

In this pic, our studio was the second balcony from the left on the 4th floor, and your studio was at the far right, just before the stairwell (hidden behind the tree):

Here's the view from our room:

We loved the location in every way!

Yep, that's us!

BTW, at the last minute we rented a car because of concerns about the bus service. Although I can't speak to the busses, we were extremely happy we had a car...partly for getting in and out of the parks efficiently, and partly for resort-hopping (which we did a LOT of).

That's one of my problems. I have made too many ADRs at other resorts and it takes forever to get there. I have started contemplating taking a taxi to get there and just worrying about transportation for the way home. It would give us some extra time before we leave.

I am enjoying reading your TR - nice view from your room, too !

Have fun and dodge those rain drops !

Thanks! We're the ones in the ponchos!

After that first bus wait, I started to think I should make a new game, bus roulette! Just go on the first park bus and you'll never wait too long!
Then you could only have a few dinner ADR's (switch parks mid-day if needed), but might be fun and unpredictiable.

I wish I could live that dangerously, but I am a dedicated Tour Guide Mike girl and I must go to the park he suggests! I can't imagine how busy the other parks must be.

Funny...before we opted for a car, we had seriously decided to do the "bus roulette" thing, too!

We went without any dinner ADRs, but by eating on the early side at resort restaurants (e.g., Turf Club, Kona Cafe, Captain's Grille) we were able to manage just fine without them.

I talked to my husband tonight about how much we had enjoyed dinner at the Grand Floridian Cafe and O'Hana, and I thought he and DS13 would enjoy them in January, but if we are doing that, we will have to rent a car.

I will now make a new post with Day 3

 

[disneyeveryyear]

This a.m. started the same with me struggling to wake 2 tired 9 year olds (thank goodness we are sleeping in tomorrow). We were out of the room by 7:50 to try and make it to AK by rope drop. The greatest plans of mice and men can be completely derailed by the purple pants.

We waited quite a while for a bus, and then it went to BB first, so we got off the bus at AK at 8:58. I am guessing we will have to be at the bus stop by 7:30 if we want to make rope drop this week. I spoke with a driver yesterday while waiting to get on at the MK, and he said they are having a ton of problems with the new system. Sometimes it just shuts down, or the GPS indicates the bus is in a differnt location.

So anyway, we made it a few minutes after rope drop and headed back to EE to grab FPs and get in the stand by line. I dropped the kids in line and to the FP machines. I swear every one of them had a Brazilian tour group guide in line with a stack of at least 50 tickets. Luckily a very nice man (who was in front of his Brazilian tour guide) took my tickets and ran them with his! Random acts of kindness are a wonderful thing! So I jumped in line with the kids we off we went to tackle the Yeti! Since we were feeling so victorious, we went back in time on Primevil Whirl (10 minute posted time), and decided to bring a Dinosaur back to the present with us at Dinosaur. We did see two teenage girls try to cut the FP line at Dinosaur (which is no longer in use). The attendant called them back and sent them to the back of the line. I very graciously thanked her and had some less than complimentary things to say about the tour groups and their "pretending not to speak English." It had a 20 minute posted wait time, but by the time we waiting in line, did the pre-show and the ride, it was more like 45 minutes, which really screwed up my schedule. We ran over to Africa to get FPs for KS, and saw Divine along the way

. After grabbing our FPs, we had lunch at Pizzafari and hopped on over to Kali to pick up our last set of FPs for the day. We tend to grab our FPs in the a.m. and use them all up after lunch as our final hurrah!

So, it was EE with FPs, KS with our fast passes where we got to see the new baby giraffe.

Sorry about the quality of the pic. Trying to take it from a moving truck doesn't help my photographic ability. I do have one thing to say about our driver, he was very good and a lot of fun, but got really irritated when a small child kept standing in the seat. He told her nicely once to sit down and I guess she did (behind us). He then had to tell her again, and she obviously didn't sit down because he followed up with "Princess, you need to sit down. Sit down Princess." Finally he jerked hard on the brakes (I assume this made her sit down), and informed everyone if he had to keep telling her to sit down he wouldn't be able to tell us about the animals. I guess she stayed down after that.

It was at this point on the Safari when the heat really picked up. It had actually been a fairly temperate morning, but got very hot all of a sudden. (I think AK is the hottest park anyway). So BF9 rode Kali and we headed "home."

The kids had about 50 minutes to play at the main pool, and I had to call the IT dept because I couldn't get online. So after a very quick shower I went to get them (didn't want another episode of DD9 getting lost like she did yesterday) and got them changed for dinner.

We got to the bus stop at 4:00 and caught the MK bus before it could leave. After swapping monorails at the MK, we made it to the Poly at 4:55 for our 5:10 reservation at O'Hana. It was a great dinner and we had a wonderful table window-side with a view of the castle.

We were going to the MK after dinner to see the parade and fireworks and whatever else we could fit it. We did Laugh Floor twice (who knew the filter would prevent M*I*L*F ), Buzz once, HM once and by then it was time to find a spot for the parade. We had great spot in Liberty Square with the parade coming straight at us, but by the time we had waited almost 40 minutes (8:40 to 9:20)in the oppressive heat with a crush of bodies around us, DD9 told me she had a headache and her stomach hurt. Oh well, we packed up and walked the long way through Fantasyland and Tomorrowland to get back to Main Street and head "home."

FYI, we waited less than 5 minutes for an SSR bus to bring us home. On the ride, I gave the kids the option of getting up a little later but still being on bus to BB tomorrow by 8:30 a.m., or sleeping in and heading there about 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. and staying until close. They chose the latter, so we are going to sleep until we can't sleep anymore. I assume lunch will be at Artist's Palette (first time), playing around the resort and pool and then heading to BB late. I do still need to call and cancel by ADR at Cape May Cafe dinner and hope I can get a late table at the Turf Club.

Well, thanks so much to all of you who are reading, and I'll check in again tomorrow.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Thank you so much for your reports!! It sounds like you guys are having a good time, even with the crowds!

I think we will definitely plan to take taxis to dinner. In my infinite wisdom I booked DxDDP for our nights at SSR, so we have a signature dinner booked almost every night. It is also good to know the AK bus has a water park stop first. I requested Grandstand for the same reason - to be first on the bus. I kind of forgot there are other stops internally. We have stayed at WL, AKL, and Pop where there is only one bus stop.

I guess I shouldn't be too hasty in cancelling our rental car ressies.

 

[Alysa]

The bus situation is stressing me out also. We left our room at 7:50 this a.m. and it is less than a 2 minute walk (including waiting for elevator) to the bus stop. It was still 8:58 by the time we got off the bus at AK.

Gulp!

We can't rent a car - we are a party of 13!!

 

[photobob]

Just read Day 2 and Day 3. Your MK touring sounds very similar to how we usually do it. We usually have one of us get FP for Space while everyone else heads to the other mountains and then work our way back to Space and then hit the exits not long after lunch.

AK is definately the hottest park to me. I think the main reason is that there are very few places to escape the heat.

Sounds like the sleep in day is warranted. Look forward to reading more.

 

[KELLY]

Glad to see your having a great time. That is a great room.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I missed last night due to the unusual "off" day.

I let the kids sleep in on Friday until I finally gave up and woke them at a little after 11:00 a.m. I was afraid if they slept any longer, they wouldn't sleep at night. I told them we were going to the quiet pool because I had to do laundry. They were fine with that and off we went.

I was a little surprised to find that they only had 2 washers, and I had 4 loads, so I had to wait for the people who had just started their loads, but it was only 20 minutes, so not too bad. It took me nearly that long to sort and stain stick everything. Fast forward to the laundry being finished at about 2:30 p.m. when we went to Artist's Palette for a quick lunch. Back to grab some water bottles and a neck safe and off we went to Blizzard Beach. We were lucky enough that a bus was right there and we jumped on and made it to BB by 4:00 p.m. I found a nice shady spot and stayed there until 7:30 p.m. with only one ride of the family raft ride. The kids checked in periodically and I had a nice long chat with my mom on the phone. We only waited about 5 -10 minutes for a bus back and it started raining while we were on our way back to SSR.

We changed our clothes very quickly and made our 8:25 p.m. ADR at The Turf Club. We originally had an ADR at the Cape May Cafe Clambake, but that was planned with an early a.m. at BB. When we changed the schedule I was able to call early Friday a.m. and get the reservation at 8:25 p.m. It was my second dinner at TTC, and to be honest, it was my second time of being underwhelmed. The waiter suggested the Chicken breast stuffed with a sun-dried tomato pesto. It was okay, but I really felt that the sauce it was served with did nothing for the dish. The roasted garlic risotto, however, was very good. We then stopped by the concierge at 9:55 p.m. to pick up our tickets for Sunday's Hoop-de-doo Revue, and came back to go to bed.

Not a very exciting day, but we needed some down time.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Here it is Saturday afternoon and we are back in the room. The kids are vegging watching a movie (I love the free rentals), while I check e-mails and write up my scintillating trip report.

Today was EPCOT day and we actually made rope drop. We were at the bus stop by 7:45 a.m. and the first EPCOT bus came at 7:55 a.m. I guess I now know to be there before 8:00. It took us until 8:10 to make it out of SSR, and we were at EPCOT in plenty of time. We were the second group thru our turnstile and we headed to the right for Soarin. We tucked in that little path next to innoventions and had a great chat with a Dream Team member who was acting as a roaming ambassador today. We followed them to Soarin right after the countdown and grabbed our FPs. We did Soarin' in the stand-by line with a less than 10 minute wait (front row and center section - - my favorite place to ride) and then headed over to Test Track to get some FPs also. This is one of my daughter's favorite rides so we also jumped in the stand-by line and were sent right into line for a room and onto the ride very quickly. My DD's guest wanted to do Mission Space, but since DD didn't, she and I waited in the exit area playing games and sending video postcards until he was done and they then played the big video game together. We then stopped by TT to use those FPs. While we were in line they did stop the ride, but we decided to give it 5 minutes before we bailed. Four minutes and 30 seconds later, it restarted and I think they let all the FPs in first. We got the front seat this time and both kids swore that it went faster this time. By this time it was time for lunch so we headed back to the Land for lunch in the food court and to use our Soarin' FPs. We had promised our guest that we could go back to Mission Space's play area so the kids could play the big computer game there

. We grabbed one final set of FPs for after dinner. Our final stop was Mouse Gear for some quick shopping and we are back "home" for some down time. They chose a movie over the pool.

We'll be leaving by 5:30 or 5:40 for our 6:30 reservation at the Garden Grill. We'll then use our FPs for TT (me and DD) and MS (guest). I hope to be back fairly early so we can get some sleep tonight.

 

[photobob]

I wish I could sleep until 11 am! I doesn't matter what time I go to bed I can't seem to sleep past 6 am. Sounds like the three of you are having a really good time. It is nice when you go with a small group so that you basically go where you want to, when you want to. I've been enjoying your trip report, thanks for sharing..

 

[toocherie]

it does sound like you are having a great time!~ wonderful report . . . .

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Thanks all for your nice comments.

I didn't say I slept until 11:00 a.m. I actually did sleep until 8:00, but they slept until 11:00.

Tonight we had an ADR at The Garden Grille at EPCOT. It was starting to look a little dark, but it only sprinkled about 4 drops on us as we walked into the Land. We actually made it on time (6:25) and waited about 5 minutes to be seated. Dinner was fine. I am not sure why, but without asking they served the kids chix nuggets, fries and mac 'n cheese. The food was okay, and we got to see all of the characters and be out of there in less than an hour. Life was good!

We then rode Nemo (don't ask me why), tried to get into Turtle Talk with Crush (she actually looked at us as we got up to her, said "Sorry" and pulled the chain across in front of us. So we headed over to the other side to use the fast passes. Due to a full tummy, I passed on TT and let the kids ride it, and then the guest rode MS for one last time. By then it was 9:00 and I wanted out before the Illuminations Crush hit. We waited about 10 minutes and the bus was there and we were home by about 9:40. It's now off to bed.

We have another a.m. scheduled at the MK tomorrow (Fantasyland) and then the Hoop De Doo Revue for dinner at 5:00.