This trip will be my step sons first trip to Disney World he is 9 and my first time to stay at SSR. I was wondering if any one had any advice on transportation and what not for this resort. I have only visited it once and to me it was BIG!! But it was the only resort open on short notice. We leave next Friday!!
Lucky you! My saddest walk was Monday when I had to walk back to my car and leave. It was like saying goodbye to a first love. Funny how the resort grows on you.
Let me see what tips I can dig up for you. If your stepson is a pool nut he'll be hard to drag out of High Rock Springs pool. It's the main pool, is zero entry and has two slides (one for small kids and another big whoosh for everyone). The slides are open from 10am to 8pm when lifegaurds are on duty. They also do a number of games in the pool area around afternoon: bingo, trivia, Marco Polo, etc.
There's a big arcade in the common area by the pool. It's a pay as you go with a top up card you can add money to. But the Community Hall also has a number of PS2 game consoles setup with games he can borrow. And there's a widescreen TV in there for parties.
They do a number of activities throughout the week. (All the pool games, scavenger hunts, pool parties and craft activities.) You'll get a schedule upon check-in in your Welcome Home folder. It's called "Horsin' Around". Read it and see what you're interested in.
There are water play areas in the main pool and Grandstand pool. (Grandstand has water cannons you can shoot at each other. I enjoyed watching the kids go after their dads in games of tag.)
Movies are currently being shown Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 8pm in the Grandstand pool. They erect an inflatable screen so if it's real windy or stormy it may be cancelled for the night. The movie schedule is on the Horsin' Around handout.
Horsin' Around rentals has bikes (both the single rider you can rent for a day and multi-rider Surrey bikes that rent for 30-60 minutes).
As for getting around the resort, it depends what you're after. I found just about everything relatively close to something. Grandstand is great for the busses because being the first stop the bus is always empty. And if you miss it, you can just walk over to the Springs and catch the same bus 5 minutes later. People sometimes use the bus for an inter-resort hopper. Great if you're in the Carousel or Paddocks, perhaps even Congress Park, but kinda senseless in Grandstand and Springs. (Unless you want to shave some distance off your Congress Park/DTD walk that is.)
Get those refillable mugs, but buy them at Port Orleans or one of the resorts that's selling the newer cupholder-friendly blue/white mugs. They're good everywhere, cost the same and are easier to lug around. Take them to the pool or whenever you go out for a walk.
Plan some days at DTD for ice cream, shopping in the "Under $10 store", playing at LegoLand, lunch or an afternoon/evening at DisneyQuest (included as one of the plus options on your Magi Your Way ticket).
Lastly, in the morning walk over to Artist Palette and buy two children's breakfasts (for yourself and stepson). Get one with eggs & sausage and another with bacon & Mickey waffles. Then split the contents between you. You'll get a free drink with your meal (OJ, apple juice, milk, chocolate milk) and it will cost you just about $8 ($3.99 + tax per meal). If you have the DDE card, you'll save an additional 20%.
