Love-love-love SSR! And here are some things I wish I'd known my first time there (back in 2006!):
1. Nothing is as far away as it seems...there are all sorts of paths that go crosswise as well as around the resort...so the "very far" Carousel section is in fact only an 8-10-minute stroll (not fast walking at all!) to the Carriage House/restaurants/store/pool if you just cross the road to the Paddock bus stop, go to the opposite side of the pool (which is right behind the bus stop) and then cross the bridge into Springs--thru Springs and to the Carriage House...if you're an expert map reader (I'm not only not expert, I'm positively submoronic!) you'd no doubt figure this out on your own...it took me 3-4 stays and lots of wandering around before I figured it out--I'd have appreciated this tip!
2. It can be seriously confusing finding your way your first time...do spend some time w/the maps so you at least know which direction to go to get to the five main "neighborhoods" (Grand Stand, Paddock, Carousel, Congress Park & Springs)...my first time I was assigned to a wonderful villa in Congress Park and I go SO turned around and confused trying to find my way (I was walking and everything "looks the same"--I have zero sense of direction and I somehow wound up making a wrong turn my very first chance and was in the "back side" of the resort where there are building and room numbers, but no direction signs and no indication of which "neighborhood" you're in...I was almost in tears by the time I found my way!
3. The food at the Paddock bar is good and there is b'fast there, too...it's a good option if you're over on that side of the resort and don't feel like heading to the Carriage House--
4. The buses circumnavigate the resort...if you're tired or lost, just hop a bus...the route the park buses take is Grand Stand, Carousel, Paddock, Congress Park, Springs and then to the parks...the Downtown Disney bus reverses that order...
5. One of my most favorite things about SSR is the walking (strolling) it offers...you can "hike for exercise" or just take the most pleasant walks...everything is so pretty...no other resort offers such nice "take a walk" opportunity!
6. Downtown Disney--you can walk to Marketplace via the path between the Canal and Congress Park; or across the bridge (towards the golf course) to the parking lot in back of Cirque/West Side...you can also walk to Old Key West (it's just about a mile from the Carriage House to OKW, but another 1/3 of a mile or so to OKW's Hospitality House)...the prettiest walks ever!
7. Turf Club (sit-down restaurant), Artist's Pallette (quick serve restaurant) and the store are all really really nice...as is the billiards table/tv/bar set-up outside Turf Club...
We're HUGE SSR fans...love it there...only a teensy tiny bit disappointed to stay there only when it's the 3rd or 4th trip in a row w/out a change (I can and do work at Disney, so I go 4-5-6 times/year, and I'm big on last-minute trips--so sometimes I "have to" stay at SSR due to availability issues)...if I don't wind up back there every 3rd or 4th trip or so, tho, I find I miss it acutely!
Have a great time...
