Sue's Saratoga July4th Trip

Sounds like another nice trip. Interested to see what you think of Summerhouse.

Looking forward to the report!

Love reading your reports. Looking forward to the rest of your trip.

In terms of SSR - I like it but don't love it. I don't like the ugly hallways and the fact that it's more motel style vs hotel style. However, once inside the room is very nice. They did a great job with the refurb, and the current rooms are much nicer than the original. Having recently stayed in newly refurbished villas at Beach Club, Boardwalk & Vero Beach (and Hilton Head), Saratoga Springs was less impressive than it was before I had those stays. It seems they took a few extra steps in the more recent refurbs - not that Saratoga is bad, just that it's now not AS nice as it seemed before I saw the others. If I was planning to visit the parks I would never stay here - 5 bus stops is way too many and it takes forever to get anywhere. For a resort stay it's a great choice, due to proximity to Disney Springs for all the dining options. Main pool is too small/crowded in my opinion, but I'm happy with my quiet pool.

DAY 2 – Thursday 7/4/24
Who: Sue (65), DVC Member
SB (66), my husband

Plan: Pool, Wolfgang Puck lunch, drone show?

Actual: Around 8:40 last night I said we’d head out in 10 minutes for the drone show. Not surprisingly, SB had a million excuses as to why he’d see it “tomorrow”. I mentioned the possibility of rain could cancel it, and why don’t we just get it out of the way today (logic). He’s got a phD in putting things off, so when it was time to go, I just left him behind. It’s aggravating, but it won’t keep me from doing anything I want to do.

I got outside around 5 minutes before 9 and there were people out there, but it wasn’t terribly crowded. Everyone had an unobstructed view, with plenty of room for more people. Immediately I noticed the drones flying in from beyond Cirque du Soleil, so the show started earlier than 9. From this location I could hear the music, although it was difficult to make out the words in the narrative. That didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the show at all. As others have said it only lasts about 10 minutes and the final scene is spelling out the name of the show, which appears backwards when viewing from Saratoga Springs. Everything else was perfectly fine. Once that was shown, the drones became dimmer and flew back beyond Cirque to be ready for the next show. It was all finished by 9:05. People coming outside at that time were disappointed they’d missed it but hello people – it’s a 10-minute show and you come out 5 minutes late? You’re going to miss at least half of it by not getting out there on time.

I went back up to the villa and SB was sound asleep. I turned HGTV on quietly and did some online stuff before calling it a night. It’s nice we don’t have to be anywhere early tomorrow, so no need for any alarm! We were both up shortly after 5:30, having slept well. I made my cappuccino and brought it back to bed, and we both did online stuff.

The local weather is saying today the heat index will be 103-110 and tomorrow will be hotter! I can’t imagine attempting the parks – it will be bad enough at the pool and later making the quick walk from the bus to the restaurant. Around 7:30 I made breakfast – couple eggs and a Lumberjack sausage for him, single egg and slice of bacon for me. It’s nice having the full kitchen! Since it will be so hot I filled up both of our insulated water bottles with cold water (from the fridge).

We changed into swimsuits and headed down to the quiet pool in Congress Park around 8. It was broiling hot already, with humidity that fogged up our sunglasses for quite some time. We weren’t the first to arrive at the pool and set our towels down on a couple sunny chaise lounges. SB immediately went into the pool, and I joined him by sitting on the edge for quite a while. When the conversation took a turn, I wasn’t interested in dealing with I got up and want to my chaise lounge. It was somewhat political, and I am not interested in discussing anything related to that since you’re not going to change the other person’s opinion and it’s just not worth the effort. Let’s just agree to disagree and change the subject, otherwise I’m “outa there”.

The chaise lounge was really hot, and it wasn’t even 9am yet! SB tried the hot tub for a little while but said the jets weren’t really forceful, so he ended up back in the pool. The pool has a frog statue/fountain on each corner and water is pumped up from the pool and then back into the pool via the frog’s mouth. He liked the force on that and stood for a while letting it hit his upper back. The pool felt like bath water – it wasn’t cool at all. I’m not sure when they last had rain, so there’s been nothing to temporarily cool it down.

I joined SB in the pool this time, since it was so hot on the chaise lounge. We stayed until around 10 or so, then returned to the villa. The resort is doing a golf cart parade at 11:30, where different departments decorate their cart. I’ve never seen it and although I knew it would be unbearably hot figured might as well give it a try. I took my shower first, then he followed, and we left the villa just after 11 to walk over towards the Springs.

The parade runs along Broadway, past the buildings outside the main pool (bike rentals, Community Hall, Guest Laundry, etc). We got there around 15-20 minutes early so went into the pool area to the On the Rocks Pool Bar. There were no seats, but SB ordered a margarita. The pool area also didn’t have a single chair available – what a mess! We crossed into a courtyard area and then went into the air-conditioned Community Hall to wait. A few minutes before 11:30 we could see the crowds gathering (mostly people coming out from the main pool) so we went outside. SB sat on the curb, and I put my bag next to him.

Cast members were giving away red, white and blue beads, star ears, flags, and other trinkets. I got a flag for SB and beads & bracelets for us both, then returned to wait with him. It wasn’t crowded like a Magic Kingdom parade – basically just a single row of people along the curb. The housekeepers were all gathered across the street, so they were able to take time off to watch the parade as well. It did not start on time, and they had both ends of the street blocked off, so all bus transportation was suspended. Once it got started it was cute. The theme seemed to be sports and most of the carts represented a specific sport. Cast members were handing out non-chocolate candy. I wasn’t interested but SB got a small amount. Cast participating seemed to be having fun, as were the guests melting along the curb watching.

It ended by 11:45 and we walked across to the Springs bus stop to catch a bus to Disney Springs. Initially it was due to arrive at 11:59 but later changed to 12:12 and then 12:13. The other buses also kept getting pushed back. In the meantime, more people were arriving, including a couple of scooters. When the first bus finally arrived, we were happy to see it was ours, and we were the only people who boarded! The bus was empty, too. Of course, we stopped at all the other stops before leaving via the front entrance to ride past Old Key West and around to Disney Springs. This is a ridiculously long transportation time to get basically across the lake! It took us a good hour, including the time waiting at the bus stop.

We entered Disney Springs and turned left to walk to Wolfgang Puck’s Café. We were early for our 1:30 reservation but it was not busy, and we were able to be seated without a problem. We were right by the walls of glass windows, across from the giant pizza oven. It was nice for people watching! We ordered drinks – Mich Ultra for him, house sauvignon blanc for me. The lunch menu is fairly small and did not include spaghetti even though it was on the kids’ menu. We asked our waiter if SB could get an adult portion, with meatballs, and it was no problem. It was $29, which seems high for spaghetti & meatballs, but he enjoyed it. There were no appetizers and nothing that would be small, so I ordered the basil pesto goat cheese pizza. When it came it was huge! However, it was very good. I managed to eat two pieces and SB ate one, so we took the remaining three pieces back to the resort. We got the DVC/passholder discount on the food and once again were quite stuffed when we got out of there.

We walked out to the bus stops, and ours was empty. SB went to sit on a bench, but I prefer to just stand and wait IN the bus stop area so they’re sure to know somebody is waiting to get to Saratoga Springs. The bus came in about 10 minutes, so it was no big deal. This began the long trip back to the resort. Coming back the bus enters via the gate by Congress Park by bypasses that area to begin the loop at the Springs. So frustrating! I told SB I was getting off at the Springs and walking back, as I was tired of spending my life on a damn bus. He stayed onboard, since he’s not one to walk unless under duress <g>.

I was back in the villa at 2:25, and he showed up at 2:34. So even with walking, I still beat him by 9 minutes. Had it been cool weather I would have just walked to and from Disney Springs! He turned Wimbledon on the tv, and we both did some online stuff. By 5 we were hearing thunder, seeing a little lightning and the trees were moving. I went out to check the sky in other directions and it looked better, so the storm was coming from our balcony side of the building. Thunderstorms are supposed to start at 5:15 and end by 8. They actually started a bit earlier, with rain pouring down. Sure would suck being in a crowded theme park if they’re getting 3 hours of this. At least if it ends according to the current schedule those people willing to stay in the parks should be able to enjoy fireworks later.

SB had mentioned going to Turf Club Lounge earlier today, but I just humored him because I knew when the time came, he’d be unwilling to get up. Sure enough, he’s curled up in a blanket and sleeping off and on, with no desire to move. That’s fine by me as I have wine here and there’s plenty of leftover food in the fridge if he gets hungry.

Around 7 I had a slice of the leftover pizza and SB finished his turkey club sandwich. I then had a piece of my cookie. SB’s is almost gone, but he’s got a small piece left for later. It was still raining but down to just showers, which are still expected to end right before the drone show.

By 8:30 the rain had stopped so we headed out around 8:45. Since it started early last night I figured we might as well get out there a little early. Somewhere off to our right I saw some fireworks last night but I’m not sure where that would have been. Outside it wasn’t very crowded but the humidity was worse than I’ve ever experienced – it was truly unbelievable!

The show started on time tonight, right at 9pm. The music started across the lake and the drones came flying in. At times it was hard to hear the music but only because SB wanted to move further down, and we ended up having noisy little kids nearby. When they’d talk, we heard them rather than the music. It was still a nice show, and SB was impressed. It ended right at 9:10 on the dot, and I was ready to get back into some air conditioning! He was surprised it was over, but I’d told him it was only a 10-minute show. Once again, the fireworks were going off to our right the entire time. Some were low, so maybe it’s Epcot.

We headed back up to the villa and settled in for the night. He’s watching a baseball game on one of his laptops and I’m wrapping up the report while watching Funniest Home Videos. Today was another nice day, other than the weather. I’m sounding like a broken record, but it’s absolutely awful this time of year. I don’t remember it being this bad 25-30 years ago when I was bringing Chris here during the summer months.

The golf cart parade was cute, and lunch at Puck’s was very good. Of the two, I think we both give the edge to Splitsville though. It was nice just relaxing in the villa a good chunk of the day, but had it been bearable outside I would have gone out to walk around or walk over to Disney Springs.

Tomorrow is our last full day and we’ll head back to the pool, planning to stay longer than we did today. We may bite the bullet and walk over to Disney Springs. I’d like to visit a few stores at the Marketplace end and then we have a lunch reservation at Paddlefish. If it’s this humid tomorrow night I’ll probably skip the drone show!

The boats are running - we just chose not to use them. The bus stop is right outside our building. The boat dock is a distance away.

DAY 3 – Friday 7/5/24
Who: Sue (65), DVC Member
SB (66), my husband

Plan: Pool, Paddlefish lunch

Actual: We slept well again – love sleeping in DVC resorts! I was up just after 5 and brought my cappuccino back to bed. SB didn’t wake up until almost 6:30. He always says he sleeps better here too. Browsing facebook this morning I was happy to see the pier at the marina in our little community has been rebuilt and neighbors were able to watch fireworks from Ft Myers Beach and downtown Ft Myers from the pier last night! The pier was destroyed in hurricane Ian, so I’m very happy it’s back.

Around 7 I got up and made breakfast, planning to repeat yesterday’s menu. It’s going to be another hot day, so we might as well get out to the pool early. SB decided he didn’t want breakfast today, saying his stomach was bothering him a bit. After my breakfast I got ready for the pool and SB decided there was a Wimbledon match starting at 8:30 that he wanted to watch, so he’ll join me when that’s done.

I was out at the pool by 8 again, setting up in the same area. It felt slightly better than yesterday, but still incredibly hot. A long-time reader named Joe came over to say hi. We both go back to the old AOL travel boards, which was around 30 years ago! I stayed on my chaise lounge reading and waiting for SB. Eventually I called him, and the tennis match was running longer than he’d mentioned earlier. When we hung up, I went in the pool to cool off – no point waiting. For the most part people came and went – it never got really busy.

SB showed up at some point, so I joined him at the side of the pool (he was in the pool). He hadn’t had breakfast, hadn’t eaten any of the leftover pizza, and now was wanting lunch earlier than our 1:30 reservation. I’d been texting with Amanda, who was in Epcot with Ari for a day trip. They planned to leave mid afternoon and I offered to get her the special lemon poppyseed cookie from Gideon’s if the line wasn’t too long. She loves lemon! We agreed to stay in touch to see how the day progressed. SB wanting to eat earlier worked in Amanda’s favor, as we were now much more likely to be back with the cookies around the time they would be heading out.

SB & I stayed at the pool just a little bit longer then returned to the villa. I showered, dressed, threw the dirty clothes in the washing machine before I got in the shower, then started them in the dryer. We were out the door around 11:15 or so. I was trying to find the place on the app where I could see the bus arrival times to know whether to risk taking the bus. I didn’t find it until we were already on the bus, riding towards the exit <g>. As we walked up to the bus stop the bus was sitting there – how fortunate! Congress Park is the last stop going to Disney Springs, so we went straight to the exit and drove around to Disney Springs. This was so much easier than yesterday when we boarded at the Springs, but I knew the return trip would be horrendously long so planned to walk back.

Once in Disney Springs we stopped in the new DVC place, which had 3 cast members and no other people inside. They said once the second story opens up they expect to see more people – it’ll be like another member lounge. They told me about a member event this afternoon at Saratoga Springs where they’d be giving away a backpack similar to mine but with DVC on it. The cast member said it’s really cute. They checked availability and the 2pm was full but there was one spot left for 4pm (they do 2 per day). I took it, knowing SB wouldn’t be interested.

From there we continued to Gideon’s and saw the line was back to the corner of Morimoto’s. I asked how long the wait was and was told 35 minutes. SB wanted to get something in his stomach so we took a chance the line might be shorter after lunch, and if we guessed wrong then we just wouldn’t get any cookies. We continued on to Paddlefish and were able to be seated immediately.

We had a great table right next to the glass wall. The amphibius cars from the Boathouse passed by continuously, which was fun to watch. We were across from the Rainforest Café and the boat dock, so it was a great location. Our server was terrific, and everything went very smoothly. I had a glass of wine and SB got iced tea. For lunch he had a cup of the clam chowder and the burger. He ranked the clam chowder above that at Yacht & Beach Club, which had been the previous high bar. His burger was 9 ounces, perfectly prepared, with a pimento cheese spread that was outstanding. I got the caprese sandwich, which was also very good. Both came with a basket of their house chips. I finished the inside of my sandwich (the bread was really too large) and we both barely touched the ships.

Right now, FL residents get 25% off the food, so we saved almost $16 there. Then the server came back to let me know I had $25 on my loyalty card, so we applied that as well. The final check (before tip) was $23! We settled that, left a cash tip, and headed back to Gideon’s.

To my surprise the line was less than half what it had been earlier, so we joined, and I texted Amanda to let her know. Before long we were inside and got 2 lemon poppyseeds for Chris & Amanda, a cookies & cream for Ari, and 2 more orange pecan chocolate ships for us. The bag was pretty heavy with 5 cookies! From there we walked into the Marketplace and went to World of Disney. It was HOT outside! I’d seen a Mickey trivet in the kitchen section and got a couple of those. The lines to check out were long so I asked for help and figured out how to do the mobile merchandise buying. It worked really well – scanned the item, changed the quantity to 2, it automatically applied my 20% discount, and I changed the method of payment to a gift card rather than my credit card. That resulted in one of those square QR codes on the screen which the cast member was able to read with her tablet thing and I was out the door.

We stopped once more in the Co-Op but somebody had the most annoying child who would repetitively screech for no reason, without any appropriate action on the part of the parent. It was obnoxious, and we couldn’t wait to get out of there. At that point SB was more interested in just getting back to the a/c (me too) so we walked back to Saratoga Springs and our villa. From this end of Disney Springs, it’s a very short walk if you’re staying in Congress Park!

Amanda texted to say they were in the car, and I let her know we’d just gotten back into the room. I wasn’t sure if she’d have any trouble, because I’d recently read about people being denied access to resorts without being on the reservation or holding a dining reservation. People coming to pick up guests staying at the resort (to take them to the airport, for example) were being turned away. I was hoping Saratoga wasn’t doing that, since it's not one of the higher-demand nice resorts. Amanda was prepared with her ID and ready to explain, but the person at the gate just waved her in without checking anything, lol!

They knocked on the door and came in to visit for a bit. We were able to offload all the 4th of July stuff we got yesterday at the parade – Ari wanted it! We gave them their cookies and they headed out to make the trip home, hoping to get there by the time Chris got home from work. I finished the laundry and then got the report caught up. SB finished his cookie from the other day.

I’d pulled the suitcase out of the closet, so I went ahead and started packing the clean clothes. For such a short trip that didn’t take long <g>. At 3:40 I left to walk over to the DVC presentation since the card I was given had 3:45 listed as the arrival time. When I arrived, there were 3 other parties there, but most arrived closer to 4 (and one just after 4). They had little bottles of water and packages of snacks for people, but most of us passed on all of that.

At 4 they asked us to go take seats in the salon (meeting room). Not all seats were full, so I probably could have brought SB if he wanted to go. Once it got started, I was glad he decided not to come. The person talking and leading the presentation is one of the vacation club guides and frankly she was really annoying. She was over the top bubbly & excited, and it was just too much. Her jokes kind of fell flat, but she kept on trying – I’ll give her credit for that, and I won’t name her here.

The presentation was just 30 minutes and they showed stuff primarily on Riviera and the new Fort Wilderness Cabins. In the last segment she talked about using our points to stay elsewhere, mostly the hotel exchange program which I had actually attempted for our nights in Vancouver (British Columbia) prior to the cruise to Alaska. Unfortunately, Hotel Exchange mostly deals with chain hotels and although Pan Pacific (the hotel I booked) is part of a chain there are relatively few properties and they’re in far-flung places like Jakarta, Dubai, etc. I might take a peek again, since I think some Fairmonts were included and that might be an option I’d consider to save $$$.

Once the presentation ended, we received our gift for attending – a DVC backpack. This one is made in China and probably would retail for around $8 or so <g>. It really looks cheap, but I’ve been a member long enough to remember receiving quality swag back in the day. It looks water resistant so maybe I’ll bring it to Alaska next May.

I walked back to the villa and SB started asking if there was a restaurant here. I couldn’t believe he was thinking about food again – but told him there was a restaurant, a counter service place and a bar/lounge here. He wanted to get something to eat, and I certainly didn’t want any part of eating another meal so I suggested that Artist Palate would be his best bet. He loves the chicken dinner at Beach Club Marketplace and they have one here so we walked over there.

We cut through the pool area, which was less crowded than yesterday morning! Upstairs in Artist’s Palate we ordered his chicken dinner with the Yukon gold mashed potatoes and garlic green beans as his sides. He was given a beeper, and we no sooner started looking in the shop next door when the beeper went off – the food was ready in no time! We had ordered it “to go” and walked back to the villa. Along the way he commented that it’s so nice being inside Disney and so different from the real world out there. I agreed – that’s why I have so many DVC points, lol!

His dinner was really good, and he polished it off in no time! I tried a bite of the potatoes and part of the wing and those were both very tasty. They had other good-looking menu choices here as well but unfortunately; we won’t be around long enough to try more. Maybe that should be our meal plan some trip, but I really enjoy actual restaurants where I’m waited on. That leaves me too full for another meal later though.

We’re probably in for the night at this point. We might catch the drone show again later but I told him if it’s as humid as last night I don’t want to bother (he could go solo, but he won’t). It doesn’t look likely to rain and since I haven’t hit 10,000 steps maybe I’ll head out later to walk around a bit. Right now, the “feels like” is down to 98 but I want it lower!

Today was a great day – nice time at the pool, great lunch at Paddlefish, and SB bought his first Christmas gift for me (the 2 trivets). It was an added bonus seeing Amanda & Ari! Tomorrow, we have brunch booked at Summerhouse on the Lake at 9am. I plan to drive over there and park in the Orange Garage. They won’t let us out of the garage until 9, but we’ll get to the restaurant quickly. I don’t dare rely on the buses for an early morning arrival!

Can't wait to hear about the cabins. When I told my daughter about the bunk bed in the master bedroom she said " no way". interested in what you think.

Another fun trip report on another fun trip--thanks!

Haven't been to Disney's Summerhouse, but have been to the one here (Washington, DC area)....not a fan...it's not "bad," just nothing special for quite high prices....but I hadn't tried their almond croissants (a weakness of mine) so maybe I'll give it another try next time I'm at Disney (August)....

Super impressed that both you and your DH can eat less than a full cookie, but then again I don't know what Gideon's cookies look (or taste) like--the lines have always been longer than I'm willing to wait when I've tried...

Most of my points are at SSR so I'm always happy when someone posts a TR expressing their liking for it....I love it...but then again, I love pretty much all of the WDW DVC resorts (the exception is Wilderness Lodge and that's due to a VERY bad cast member experience a number of years ago for which I still haven't "forgiven" the resort--but that's really no big deal; it's a small resort (and I have no beef w/the resort itself; it's quite nice) and so one less person competing to stay there is probably good for the many who love it)....one of my favorite "Disney sayings" is "my favorite resort is the one I'm staying at"--I like to mix it up and go to all of them (except Wilderness)....

My other favorite Disney saying is "I don't go to Disney to save money" so I normally don't "balk" at Disney prices....so if Summerhouse's prices at Disney are the same as they are here, I probably won't mind and may turn out to like it better than I'm thinking now....anyway, thanks for the fun TR...