 Saratoga Springs Review
Just back from 7-1/2 days at the World! I'm not one to write in-depth trip
reports, but I thought I'd make a few posts giving my brief experiences with
some things. Here's the first one -- my thoughts about Saratoga Springs.
In a word -- peaceful. The resort was not very crowded yet, but that could
change as the new buildings come up. The rooms were surprisingly
well-soundproofed. Our room faced Pleasure Island/DD *and* a swimming pool
was right outside our patio, and no noise came through. There was even
music playing at the pool, and we couldn't hear it or any noise from the
swimmers. We're talking just steps away. There were fireworks at midnight
at Pleasure Island, which we could hear (and see), but we're not talking
loud, jarring noises. In fact, most nights we slept straight through. I
was extremely pleased with the soundproofing.
Food leaves a lot to be desired. The Artist's Palette has a very, very
limited selection. Most of what they offered didn't really look all that
appetizing, either. There is a nightly Chef's Special, which adds interest
to the menu, but I can't really say they've got the best chefs. For
example, one night was Chicken Alfredo with Penne Pasta. The quality of the
chicken/pasta/sauce were all great, but it was bland. Another night was
lasagna -- again, bland. These would be fantastic meals, at a value price,
if the chef learned to use some herbs and seasonings. Breakfast was
great -- you got a lot for your money, and they have a good variety of
breakfast meals to choose from.
The spa was gorgeous, but extremely overpriced for the treatments. The
Wyndham Spa is just a short walk away, and has better pricing.
Transportation TO the parks was very efficient. You never had to wait long
at all for any bus. However, for some odd reason, transportation coming
back is the pits. We waited over 30 minutes one night at the Studios, and
almost that long one day at Epcot. I noticed several times that a Saratoga
bus would drop us off at one park or another, and then change their
destination sign to some other park/resort. I believe this is screwing up
the return schedule. When it's 90-some degrees outside and you're standing
on the Epcot asphalt for a half-hour, you can get very PO'd about it. :) I
really would have liked to complain about this to someone, but had no idea
who to complain to.
Two walkways to Downtown Disney are open -- one goes to the East side, the
other to the West side. It's a bit of a hike, but not overwhelming by any
means. There is also boat transportation to Downtown Disney, but it only
runs once every hour during the day. The bus is still your best bet if your
feet are tired from walking. Buses run about every 15 minutes.
Oh, one more thought on the food subject. Our idea when we booked was that
we would eat most of our meals at Downtown Disney, and not mess with the
Artist's Palette. Well, let me tell you, that's easier said than done! We
were so exhausted after a day in the parks, that we just wanted something
close. We did go to Downtown Disney a couple of nights, but there were
MAJOR crowds. It's almost impossible to even walk around during the dinner
hours, let alone find someplace to eat. One night we even ended up eating
at McDonald's (yuk, gross!) because the crowds were just so bad and we
couldn't get in anywhere -- even the lines at places like Earl of Sandwich
and the other "quickie" places were h-u-g-e.
Okay, that's about it. If anyone has any specific questions, I'll be happy
to answer them if I can.
| 
