Short trip....short report

[tjkraz]

Got back from SSR (and SWW) last night.

Saratoga Springs was great! Requested The Springs, but nothing was available. No big deal. Ended up with a DTD view in Congress Park (second choice). Ironically the room was about 6 doors down from the SSR room we stayed in 2 years ago.

The room was in perfect condition and the resort itself is really looking great. The vegetation is really filling out. As much as people like to pick the place apart for obvious things like those horrible exterior corridors, I noticed a lot of nice details for the first times. Next time you're there, check out some of the details. Some of the features I found most memorable were the elevator interiors (yes, the elevators), the kids playgrounds and the BBQ pavilions.

The resort also has a LOT of internal phones for guest use. Since the resort opened, I remember at least a couple of complaints about room keys not working and guests having to walk all the way back to the front desk to get the situation resolved. Well, there are telephones just outside of each building's elevator with a full list of all reachable extensions within the resort. I believe I also saw a similar phone at the BBQ pavilion.

After 3 recent stays at the BoardWalk, there was a noticable improvement in my own well-being during the stay. Last BWV stay I was icing my knees by Day 3, and largely attributed it to the 15-20 minute walks to and from the parks 4x per day. This trip we stuck to the car / tram combination and felt a lot better as the stay progressed.

That said, we did valet park at the BW one night and had dinner at the ESPN club. Walked to Epcot afterward for the fireworks. That gave us a nice little taste of that part of the World.

Ride wait times were all over the place. Our first stop was AK. Went to get a FP for Everest only to find the standby posted at 10 minutes. That was around noon on Tuesday. After lunch we headed back to the safari and used FastPass due to the 40 min posted Standby.

Went to Epcot one evening and, as expected, the Soarin FPs were gone and Standby was at 60 min. Instead we walked over to Test Track and the posted 20 min wait time was actually 10 min. The next morning we returned to Epcot. Got a FP for Soarin around 10am (10:30 return time) and then got in the 30 minute Standby line. Figured we could use our FPs by the time we got off the ride the first time. Turned out we were off Soarin by 10:15. Go figure.

Worst experience was MK on a Spectro night. Buzz FPs were gone before 6pm (10pm close) and the line was over 30 minutes. We wisely returned closer to parade time and waited maybe 10 minutes to ride.

Spent a couple hours at DisneyQuest for the first time in 3 years. DS tried all three of the Star Wars arcade games. :) We also did the PotC virtual cruise thing twice. That was REALLY fun. I captained the ship both times and let the others shoot. Second time we blew up the ghost ship thing at the end, and got the second-to-highest ranking. :P

The Jungle Cruise river raft thing I could have lived without. Blech!

Star Wars Weekends was...pretty good. The parade was a lot of fun. DS initially didn't want to do any photos, but later warmed up to it. My one big gripe was with the photo lines. I can't complain about characters needing to get "off-stage"--it was in the mid-90s and I'm guessing many of those suits are at least as bad as the furry characters. Nevertheless, there was a schedule in place, but the CMs weren't exactly cooperating.

After waiting 10 min in one line, we just missed (2nd or 3rd from the front) getting our photo. It was 1pm and we were told another character would be out by 1:05pm. However, it was 1:20pm before another character appeared. We waited in that one line for 30 minutes, with DS constantly asking "how much longer?"

Had a virtual repeat in our next line.

And it wasn't just us. Each station had a PhotoPass photographer. While waiting in the first line, the photog told us similar things had been happening all day long--she would be scheduled to arrive at a location at a certain time, and the character would be 15-20 minutes behind. Later in the day another CM mentioned that some schedules had been shifted around to accommodate publicity needs "off-stage". She made a point of mentioning that it was the first day of SWW and that the characters were constantly being grabbed for photo and video shoots. Sounds like pretty poor planning to me.

In 6 hours (10am to 4pm) at SWW, we rode Star Tours (FP), saw Indiana Jones, ate lunch (Mama Melrose's), viewed the parade and got 5 character photos. I figure we must have spent 2 to 2 1/2 hours waiting in those 5 photo lines. That's a lotta standing.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c328/tjkraz/Disney_0506/IMG_0159_edited.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c328/tjkraz/Disney_0506/IMG_0157_edited.jpg

[Colorado Belle]

That is a lot of standing and waiting, BUT those are pretty cool pictures!!!!!
I suspect that as DS grows up, the memory of those photos will be 'cool' and he'll forget about the waiting.

While I don't plan on staying at SSR (nor at WLV, nor BCV), it is interesting to read about the little 'details' that caught your fancy.

Glad you had a great trip!

[Rozzie]

you are so right Tim! That is all we did on Friday, stand in line. DH stood 2.5 hours in the collectible line. We are headed back this am to get some of our must do's in.

Thanks for the report, especially the SSR part. I agree, I love the details!! The pics are great, your son is just adorable!:yes:

[mssparrrow]

Hi,

What great pics!! Thanks for sharing!

[RweTHEREyet]

Tim thanks for the report. Sounds like it was a fun trip for "the guys". Your son is a cutie, but I bet you already knew that.

I agree with you about SSR. We love it there. We also love OKW and BCV and the others, too. :clappingh

Last time we were at SSR was in July, so I will be interested to see how much mor eof the construction is done.

[tjkraz]

Last time we were at SSR was in July, so I will be interested to see how much mor eof the construction is done.

The first two new buildings inside the main gate look like they could open around the first of next year. Exterior work on the buildings is largely complete. The siding is in place and painted to blend in with the rest of the resort. They were doing some masonry work (chimneys and such) and I'm sure most of the interior work yet remains.

The other 4 buildings are just steel frames at this point. They are much closer to the check-in building than I had realized looking at a map. Probably shorter walking distance to the pool than from Congress Park. I would have liked to get some photos, but never got a chance to venture out that direction. My camera doesn't have a great zoom, so I doubt many details would have been discernable. I know many folks are curious about what sort of pool might be offered there, but I really couldn't tell from a distance.

I did walk over to the Turf Club one afternoon. I was hoping to be able to see what was going on with the restaurant expansion. Sadly I have nothing new to share. The Turf Club room itself looks just as I remembered it from 2 years ago. I even walked around the back near the boat dock and golf clubhouse. I could find no evidence of construction going on in that area. At that point I didn't feel like walking back inside to ask a CM if he/she knew anything, so it will remain a mystery for the time being.

[jiggerj]

Hey Tim- Great report with Fantastic photos- (more...more!) DS is adorable! Great to hear that your trip went well even with the long waits for pics- Looks well worth it though! :) DS is having me brush up on Star Wars- Who is that in the first pic? She looks incredible! Who were the other characters that you were able to see during SWW? Did you get over to the Jedi Training?

I really enjoy your reports- you give a great 'inside" look at whats happening around the parks and resorts in details-

[tjkraz]

is having me brush up on Star Wars- Who is that in the first pic? She looks incredible!

I believe her name is Aurra Sing. I think she's part of the so-called "expanded universe," appearing in a novel, comic book or anything other than one of the main films.

Who were the other characters that you were able to see during SWW?

There were a ton of characters out. They had a group of Jedis in one location all day long. When we first arrived they had Anakin (from Ep3), Mace Windu and two others. As the day went on, the swapped in and out usually having fewer than the full 4 characters at once.

They also had Ewoks outside of Star Tours near the speeder bike all day long.

Other characters we saw posing for photos included Boba Fett, the Naboo Queen, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and R2D2 (together), Luke Skywalker, Jawas (the little robed guys with glowing eyes), the Emperor and Darth Maul. That's all I can think of but I'm sure there were many more.

We got photos with Luke, Aurra Sing (above), the Queen, Ewok and Jedi Mickey. The stormtrooper was just a chance encounter on Mickey Ave. They walked by in groups from time-to-time, and we also saw a couple other walkaround (minor) characters.

Did you get over to the Jedi Training?

We watched parts of it several times but DS wasn't particularly pumped to participate. They've been doing it 6-8 times daily since March and I hear it may be a permanent fixture. The first time we saw it was on a Wednesday. Crowds weren't too bad then, but obviously it was mobbed by the weekend. On Friday, some parents seemed to be tossing their children in the air trying to get noticed. :(

It was very well staged and the CMs were great. They get a group of kids and walk them through a specific lightsaber routine over and over again. They're just trying to get the kids to do that one sequence. Then Vader appears and each of the kids get a chance to duel against him. The idea is to get the kids to go through the same sequence against Vader. The older kids tended to do better than the younger ones, but I'm sure they all had a blast.

[Ginger]

Great report. Thanks for sharing.

[DarthGoofy]

DS is having me brush up on Star Wars- Who is that in the first pic? She looks incredible!

Her name is indeed Aurra Sing. She was seen very briefly overlooking the pod-race in Episode I.

[mushu]

Thanks for the report.

[lllovell]

Hey there Tim! I am glad you went and glad to hear that you and your son had a good time. I was surprised at the crowds on Friday (and Sunday too) but I thought the parade was fantastic and there were many more "free roaming" characters this year again which made it more fun!!!

We didn't wait in line to get any pictures with the characters this year because I couldn't believe how long they were!!! I have experienced what you mentioned SEVERAL times in ALL of the character lines lately. We have been the next person before and told it will be "just a few minutes folks" only to be told 20 minutes later that the character isn't coming back. For us, it tends not to matter as the boys are not big character fans. We did the Star Wars Weekend character pictures before, they they were ok not waiting in those lines that looked 30 people deep this year.

I could not believe how long Rozzie said the lines were for the collectable merchandise! We walked into the store on Sunday and were able to go right in. We weren't getting anything that would be considered collectable except for a couple of Darth Goofys, so maybe the other stuff was sold out already. Not sure.

I have to agree with you about SSR. We stayed at POP this past weekend and it is amazing how quickly you can become spoiled by the atmosphere of the DVC resorts as well as the rooms/resorts themselves. SSR will appeal to so many more people when you don't see construction on the way in. They are working so fast on those buildings, so I bet it won't be long.

Thanks for sharing!

Laura

[tjkraz]

We didn't wait in line to get any pictures with the characters this year because I couldn't believe how long they were!!! I have experienced what you mentioned SEVERAL times in ALL of the character lines lately. We have been the next person before and told it will be "just a few minutes folks" only to be told 20 minutes later that the character isn't coming back. For us, it tends not to matter as the boys are not big character fans.

I've resigned myself to scheduling a character meal or two to get the photos we really want. I agree--waiting in lines is for the birds. Honestly I think I could count on one hand the number of times we waited in those impromptu lines that form in areas like the courtyard just inside the MK and around the hat at MGM.

I think DD may be a little more obsessive about collecting autographs once she's a little older--seems like something that would fit her personality. For now we're content to steer clear of the lines whenever possible.

I could not believe how long Rozzie said the lines were for the collectable merchandise! We walked into the store on Sunday and were able to go right in. We weren't getting anything that would be considered collectable except for a couple of Darth Goofys, so maybe the other stuff was sold out already. Not sure.

I'm not sure either. I got everything that I wanted (poster, t-shirt for DS, wristbands) at the shop outside Sounds Dangerous. There was zero wait at 4pm. Forgot about the Darth Goofys, but the kids already have soooooooo many stuffed characters & animals.

The only thing I regret not seeing is the X-Wing mock-up which I believe was back in the temporary merchandise location. As many times as I saw the signs throughout the park telling where the merchandise was located, I never read the part about the X-Wing they had on display. It wasn't until I saw the photos today on MousePlanet that I was even aware of it. DS would have liked that.

I have to agree with you about SSR. We stayed at POP this past weekend and it is amazing how quickly you can become spoiled by the atmosphere of the DVC resorts as well as the rooms/resorts themselves. SSR will appeal to so many more people when you don't see construction on the way in. They are working so fast on those buildings, so I bet it won't be long.

Yup, I agree. My only regret is that it's still cheaper to stay at OKW. They really should have had identical point charts for those two resorts.

We had penciled-in OKW as our resort for next year. I'd switch it to SSR in a heartbeat if not for the 20-pt difference (155 vs. 135) between the two resorts. The larger room at OKW isn't terribly important since we'll only have 6 (w/ 2 kids) in a 2B, but the larger balcony is definitely a plus.

On the other hand, one of the members of our party is a golfer and the SSR pool still gets the edge due to the kids water jet area and small slide.

Decisions, decisions.

[Rozzie]

Hey Laura & Tim! Curiousity killed the cat as they say, and we walked right in on sunday to search for the merchandise we stood (or should I say DH did!) 3 hours for. All of what we bought was sold out, except shirts, wristbands, and our darth goofy's. I have to say it made it worthwhile, then we saw what we bought on ebay last night....OMG! I can't believe what people are paying for that stuff. Our big fig is going all ready for 2x. I am really happy we got him the 1st weekend, as only 1st weekend was stamped and signed by artist. Not to say any of this will be of value----- we would be living under a bridge with all this stuff, as DH would never part with it!!!!!:p

The Xwing fighter was pretty cool, they had a "working" R2D2 in the unit also. Not worth standing in long line for. If we ever go again, I will NOT stand in that line again.....

Glad you had a great time Tim! Your DS is just so cute, and looks so happy in the pics. Some things we can't really put a $$$ on, huh? :blueflowe

[lllovell]

The X-wing was extremely cool and we decided to purchase the picture with the boys in Jedi robes in front of it. Sad to say, the picture is TERRIBLE and it is the first time I have ever written to Disney telling them that I think that a product I bought from them isn't up to snuff. (the pictures were $37 after tax - a pretty penny in my book). Sadly, we weren't shown the picture after it was printed and I didn't think to look at it as we have never received a bad print from WDW before. I don't know if it is because of the blue screen background that could be changed (we kept the hanger behind the X-wing) or if the printer was just not working well or what but the picture looks like something I could have printed off my work printer which isn't a picture printing machine. Grainy and just not a good shot. At first, I thought it was the film covering the plexi-glass frame, but even peeling that off didnt help. So disappointing. I hope to get a response from them. Not sure I deserve my money back but I would hope they will at least address the fact that I was sold a picture that cost at least double what we would normally pay for an "in park" shot that isn't very good. If they are selling such poor quality pictures to lots of people then they will most certainly find themselves selling LESS pictures in the future. We will see.

I agree with you about the point difference for SSR and OKW. I wish they were closer as I am a point conserver as well and it is difficult to give up the extra space and to spend extra points doing it. Maybe after we have owned for a few more years, it wont seem so bad, but I have yet to be able to talk myself into staying anywhere else except OKW (for the low points and great relaxed feel) and SSR (during the busy Christmas season). I love them both, but if I can get an extra vacation a year by staying at OKW, I will certainly continue to try to vacation there.

Rozzie - I figured the collector items must have been gone. I bet the lines on Friday are always the worst as there are items released each weekend.

Even with all this griping, Charlie is already requesting we go again next year! :3dglasses I love that child!

Laura

[CRSNDSNY]

Thanks for the report. My husband will enjoy reading this.

Your son is adorable!

[Stimpy]

Thanks for the report! It sounds like it was a good trip for the most part :)

Definately Aurra Sing...she's a Bounty Hunter and 1 of DH's favorite characters LOL She scares me! ;)

Laura, I agree about the X-Wing pic. We purchased one also and it came out pretty crappy. There was a guy on line ahead of us who was making them print out another copy with new printer ink....it was the fourth copy he made them print out. Don't know what happened after that.

[lllovell]

Stimpy,

I will let you know what/if any resolution I get from WDW about those pictures. Just a bad idea I think (and now that you tell me that, I am betting it has to do with the background being a blue screen - - - well a green screen :hammer: )

Laura

[PoohsPal]

Thanks for th report Tim! Those pics are great!!! Sounds like you had a great time, except for the lines! My dh would be drooling over those pics, though! ;)