Which Disney Resort Should We Stay At?
The drill is always pretty much the same: I see some tidbit of news that gives me an excuse to start thinking about a Walt Disney World getaway, so I head to DVCMember.com to check availability. As I expand each resort to reveal my results in the “no availability,” “partial,” and “all dates” sweepstakes, there are always two resorts I leave for last because I’m pretty certain they will be available.
If you’re a long-time Disney Vacation Club member, you probably know the resorts to which I’m referring before I even share their names: Saratoga Springs Resort and Old Key West Resort. (Frequently, Animal Kingdom Lodge joins them, too, but I suspect that’ll end soon as Rivers of Light and Pandora make staying close to Animal Kingdom more appealing.)
It’s been a while since we’ve stayed at either resort. Sarah doesn’t care for Old Key West (which I think is underrated, but not to the point that I’ll try to override her veto) and I don’t care for Saratoga Springs Resort (which Sarah likes, but not to the point that she’ll advocate for it over other alternatives). For us, these have been the easiest to book of any Walt Disney World resorts, and yet we have spent less time at them in the last 5 years than any other Walt Disney World resort, and that includes every single All Star Resort. (Yes, really.)
This isn’t because we think the All Star Resorts are better than Old Key West and Saratoga Springs Resort (although I dunno, that Mighty Ducks mask and oversized AOL-era laptop are pretty legit!), but because we don’t want to “waste” our DVC points on these hotels, so we end up paying out of pocket for Value Resorts when our favorite DVC resorts are fully booked. Despite taking multiple trips to Walt Disney World, we actually ended up banking all but 11 of our DVC points last year.
This post is going to be unlike others in that there is absolutely nothing here that’s useful to you. We aren’t trying to help you; this is more a ‘thinking out loud’ post at the end of which, we solicit you to help us choose between the two resort options. (You owe us.)
For both resorts, I think we are long overdue for a visit. It should come as no surprise that I’m jockeying for Old Key West. (Any logical person knows it’s far superior. 😉 ) I love wandering around the resort, and I love photographing that lighthouse.
I also don’t mind the rooms, which Sarah thinks are dated and the worst of any DVC resort. It’s tough to argue that these are like visiting your grandma’s Floridian vacation house, but who doesn’t love their grandma?! (Basically, a vote against Old Key West is a vote against your grandma.) Most importantly, the rooms are spacious.
More important to me than the rooms are the amenities and potential for exploration. I love getting up early wherever we’re staying, and just wandering around the lush jogging trails until I make my way up to the Hospitality House.
There’s a lot we’ve never tried here, too, from Olivia’s (I’d love to do their breakfast) to Gurgling Suitcase to the nightly campfire to Electric Eel Game Room (okay, not that last one), we haven’t done all there is to do at Old Key West.
I’m also feeling a bit nostalgic for it. I stumbled upon DVCInfo.com’s 1993 promotional video highlighting it (back when it was “The Disney Vacation Club Resort”), and feel there’s no better way to pay tribute to Disney Vacation Club’s 25th Anniversary than by staying at the original DVC resort. Maybe it’s just me, but I think an argument could be made that there’s no better year for a stay at Old Key West.
On the other hand, Sarah is Team Saratoga (or #TeamSarahtoga GET IT?!? 😉 ). On the topic of nostalgia, Saratoga Springs Resort holds a lot of nostalgia for us. It was our stay here in 2007, during which we got a free room upgrade, pigged out on the Disney Dining Plan, attended the Pirate & Princess Party, and even met Figzilla(!!!) that really got us hooked on visiting Walt Disney World regularly.
That trip, we stumbled home from the Adventurers Club on several late nights/early mornings, and Saratoga Springs was incredibly convenient for that. Just look at us at California Grill. Ah, young Sarah and Tom, if only we could warn you about the rabbit hole you were about to dive down…
Speaking of which, that’s probably one of the most compelling arguments for Saratoga Springs: its proximity to Disney Springs and the pleasant little walking path from Congress Park to the Marketplace. For several years after the closure of Pleasure Island, Downtown Disney was dead to us. That all changed last year as the Disney Springs project started to emerge from behind construction walls, and with rave reviews coming in from the Town Center, I really wouldn’t mind some late nights sitting on rocking chairs overlooking the placid springs’ water.
Actually, the proximity to Disney Springs is probably our biggest selling point for both resorts. While it’s a bigger deal for Saratoga Springs with that walking path, both also have boat service. If park hours stay short during our trip, we’ll probably end up making 3-4 trips to Disney Springs. As a burger enthusiast, it’s my patriotic duty to try D-Luxe Burger. We also “need” to eat at B.B. Wolf’s Sausage Co., Paddlefish, and The Edison. I wouldn’t mind revisiting Morimoto Asia, too.
With regard to Saratoga Springs, specifically, the rooms have been refreshed since our last visit, we have never dined at Turf Club, and we still haven’t gone swimming in the (now not so new) Paddock feature pool. It’s also been ages since I got up early and wandered around Saratoga Springs; it was already 104 degrees with 98% humidity at 7 a.m. (estimates) during our last visit in July. (My last early morning photos of the resort are point and shoot photos from 2007s in the scrapbook layout above.)
So…give us your best pitch. Are you #TeamGrandma or #TeamSarahtoga? Why? Is there a must-have dessert at Olivia’s? A shockingly delicious sandwich at Backstretch Pool Bar? To die-for conch fritters at Gurgling Suitcase? (Are you sensing a trend here?) Or maybe the overstuffed couches in Papa’s Den are the best napping location at Walt Disney World. Perhaps I need to better explore the details that inform the upstate New York theme at Saratoga.
You control our destiny, so make your comments count. Should we give one of these another try, or stick to our less-than-ideal plan of splitting between Villas at Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas? We’re staying where you convince us to stay. That is, unless our Villas at Grand Floridian Resort waitlist comes through…in which case, all bets are off!
May 29, 2016 Update: Thanks for all of the feedback, everyone! By my count, #TeamSarahtoga won (but in analyzing some of the comments, I suspect there might have been foul play and perhaps voter fraud… dun dun dun). However, we decided to do a split stay because there were some compelling arguments for Old Key West, including the photography, breakfast at Olivia’s, and the nature trail to Disney Springs (thanks for the heads up on that!).
There’s another reason we decided to do a split stay, and it’s interestingly the one thing that commenters seemed to overlook. That’s the difference in points needed for a SSR v. OKW stay (we also overlooked this, initially). For the duration of our 5-night stay, Saratoga would cost 20 more points. At a value of $15/point (value if we were to rent DVC points), this works out to be a $300 difference, which is pretty significant. This, too, played a part in impacting our decision.
With that said, we have put in a couple of waitlists for the Villas at Grand Floridian, and remain hopeful those will come through. Our waitlist luck is nothing short of awful (I think we’re 1 for maybe 10?), so we aren’t holding our breath (although we are trying a different “strategy” this time). Even though the added cost is effectively $100 more per night (in points) to stay at the Grand Floridian over OKW, this is one point difference we can more easily justify. Especially around Christmas.
Anyway, thanks for all the feedback. Much appreciated!
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Your Thoughts
Where do you think we should stay? Old Key West, Saratoga Springs Resort, or none of the above? Share your take–and not just the 3 word name of the resort–this isn’t some majority wins vote!
#TeamSarahtoga (and you have to use that hashtag if you stay there)
From a business sense, you can be closer to Disney Springs to eat and see the room renovations. And you can take a boat from Disney Springs to Old Key West to check out the restaurants and grounds.
TeamSarahtoga. New rooms, close to Disney springs, happy Sarah, new photo opportunities for you.
That’s an easy one for my family. Saratoga Springs. This next comment will probably ruffle a few feathers but considering the amount of time we spent at Disney Springs our last trip (early May), I can’t imagine staying anywhere else, including any of the other resorts! We visited DS five of the six days we spent in Disney. We dined at T-Rex, Paradiso 37, Wolgang Puck, Earl of Sandwich and of course Ghiradeli. Spent half of a rain day shopping. People watched. Enjoyed various musicians, dance shows. Not once were we bored or had to look hard to find something to experience. I think we would really miss Disney Springs and all it has to offer if we stayed somewhere else.
I never comment, but I am genuinely stunned you haven’t eaten at Olivia’s! I am partial to OKW, I think it’s just got more charm. But I do see both sides here.
#TeamSarahtoga
I would like to more about where to stay at SSR to make the most of its proximity to Disney Springs.
#TeamSarahtoga! Walk to Disney Springs. Refreshed rooms. ‘Nuff said.
#teamsarahtoga! I lived near Saratoga Springs for a couple of years, so that style is happily nostalgic for me.
We just returned from our first visit to Saratoga Springs and we were pleasantly surprised by it. I loved our stay. We were in Congress Park and we walked to Disney Springs four times that week, enjoying all of the new additions. We were able to have several “date nights” at Disney Springs and our daughter and her friend (both 20yrs old) loved being in walking distance to it as well. The girls also liked going to the pool and watching Star Wars the Force Awakens while swimming at the SS main pool. I didn’t think I would love this resort as much as I did. We expected it to become a resort we wouldn’t want to return to, but we look forward to staying there again next year when we take my sister and her family with us for a family vacation. We had intended to do AKL with her but we found SS to be so much fun that we changed our minds!
This is a tough one. OKW for anniversary/nostalgia…SS for the location….
I’m sorry, I gotta go #TeamSarahtoga. 1. That hashtag is amazing. and 2. the location. Omg do all the reviews coming out of the Town Center look amazing. I am so tempted to fly down just to sit in Disney Springs. And, with earlier park hours, walking is SO much better than waiting in line for boats and for a long, slow boat ride.
Though honestly I would be more tempted by the Wilderness Lodge/AKL split…those resorts are so much more…Disney to me, it would be hard to pass them up. But, you only have limited time. Let us know who won! 🙂 🙂 This was a cute way to decide. I’m sure you will have a similar post when you decide how to name your first child….:P
#TeamSarahtoga
If you are traveling this year, you can still stay in the entire resort without having to use extra points for the “premium” locations. Then you can use that as a basis for a future article on the merits of spending the extra points for the preferred location or not.
You have a lot of catching up to do at Disney Springs. Early morning walks over there before it comes alive will generate some great photos without people, as would late late late nights when bus and boat services are no longer working.
Or do a split stay with a night at OKW just so you can celebrate the 25th year
I gotta vote for Saratoga Springs. The grounds are beautiful & they have rocking chairs/benches near the water… the walk to Disney Springs is pleasant… and let’s not forget you can hop a boat down to French Quarter and finally try the greens.
We stayed on OKW for the 1st and last time in Nov. 2014. Check-in was extremely slow and provided little information about the property- bad news for 1st timers at this resort. The room was not very clean overall. Mattresses were totally worn out- stained, saggy, and creaky. I actually cringe as I remember it. Our room was a long walk away from an elevator and again- a long wait to use it. Lucky for us, we had only booked one night here or I would have insisted that Disney move us someplace different. i vote for the combo WLV and AKV!
You’re right, we do owe you! Thank you for all of the helpful articles and beautiful photography. For nostalgic reasons of 25th anniversary of DVC, I love the Sassagoula boat rides to DS and just a relaxing and peaceful resort atmosphere, I’d go Old Key West. And also, I love my grandma and she loved Disney, so #teamgrandma all the way!
I would.vote OKW. Its all about atmosphere. Flowers, Caribbean music, nice long relaxing boat ride to DTD. We totally disliked SSR to the.point where we would rather pay for a CBR or POFQ room than stay at SSR. Too too big, buses ALWAYS crowded, and the food court was awful. Just no magic at SSR. Good luck with your trip planning. We are waiting for SWA fares to be published for late November. Somehow $500 one way each person from RI to MCO is ridiculous.
As hard as it is to vote against Grandma, I’d go Saratoga. The Disney Springs walking path would break the tie for me.
Truth: Happy wife, happy life. This is an easy vote for ‘Springs (“Sarah”toga and Disney). The siren song of Stomach is calling YOU with all the menu options so it’s an easy decision, especially if your stomach is doing all the talking… which could be awkward… but when it comes to eating one must make sacrifices.
Those DVC points aren’t using themselves up you know, so get to booking!
Regardless of where you stay, you should do breakfast at Olivia’s. It is delicious, it’s a great way to enjoy the Grandma’s House theme without having to live in it for a few days, and the pictures of Disney families from the 90’s on the walls are fun to peruse.
We’ve stayed at both, most recently at SSR. While I agree that the two resorts are not my go-to choices, I would advocate for SSR over OKW. We stayed in Congress Park last time and enjoyed a 5 minute walk to Disney Springs. With the new boat docks, we could jump on a boat from there and start our trip near Bongos and stroll back. With everything opening up recently at the Springs, it is nice to have the luxury of walking (or boating) back to Saratoga.
I guess I’m team #splitstay or #teamhappywifehappylife. I think this would be the perfect opportunity to say “we can stay at Saratoga Springs if I can get that tie dyed shirt”
There was one time that Sarah said, “I’m happy if you’re happy.” I’m going to go ahead and assume she was talking about this, and the natural extension of that is Old West West equals happy husband equals happy wife equals happy wife.
So, I guess that means we should book OKW and I should get the tie-dyed shirt…right?
I can’t argue with that logic! Now you just need a tie dyed OKW shirt!
OKW-I love the look and the walking trail around the lake. Never been here in person, but enjoyed this resort when my walking group did a virtual 100 mile walk around WDW. But you CAN’T pick this, because it’s going against Sarah, which will make you feel like you have to convince her it was a good choice the whole trip. No Bueno.
Saratoga Springs-thematically, this resort does nothing for me. Proximity to DS is a major selling point, considering that is big on your itinerary this trip. Also, you can photograph the room updates.
Split Stay in the deluxes. How long is the trip? I’m guessing this might feel like “same old same old” for you two.
In the end, I vote for #TeamSarahtoga.