Are you a senior thinking of staying at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa? It had been many years since we saw the Christmas decorations and lights along with the holiday events at Walt Disney World, so we planned a trip for the second week of December. Our plans included Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (Magic Kingdom) and the Candlelight Processional (EPCOT) with Gary Sinise as the narrator/host.
We are a DVC family and booked this stay on a special offer that Disney had to Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members for discounted cash rooms. We share the membership with our adult daughter so not using the points for this trip was perfect.
The “preferred” areas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort are Congress Park and The Springs areas. While we would have preferred Congress Park, our room was in the Springs. It’s a quick walk (scooter) to Disney Springs from either location but you have to add in a short boat ride from the Springs on scooter friendly boats. The only downside to both areas is they are the last two stops on the bus route. It needs to be said that every bus driver we encountered with our scooters were wonderful and went above and beyond in loading and unloading our scooters.
Not All ADA Rooms at Disney Resorts Are The Same
Disney has several types of HA rooms, and this type had a “roll in shower”, not all HA rooms do. There are like 4 or 5 HA categorizations.
The official Disney title for this type is “DeLuxe Studio Preferred Room – Wheelchair Accessible with Roll-In Shower and Option for Hearing Accessibility”
A 4th Floor Unit at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Our 4th floor room at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa had a very nice view of trees and a fountain. We were able to get both scooters in the elevator at the same time. There’s plenty of car parking right outside the entrance to each building. Note: they do not keep luggage trolleys by the individual building entrances, bell services has those at the main check in building. It would have been VERY helpful if they were available to us.
When you enter the room, there is a vestibule of sorts with pegs to hang coats and a closet with the safe, vacuum, iron etc. Further in on the left is the accessible bathroom with an oversized sliding door.
On the right is the kitchenette with small sink, microwave, 12 cup drip coffee maker, and toaster. Moved the toaster up to one of the shelves for more counter space.
There is a mini fridge that had a small freezer area. We were able to freeze 2 16oz water bottles each night to take with us each park day. Nothing was below the sink – a trash can would have been nice. There are dish towels, dish soap, sponge, paper towels, paper plates, plastic utensils, and paper cups. Interesting that the paper “coffee” cups are not microwave safe.
The Bed Area at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa ADA Unit
Further into the room is the Queen size bed with the left bed side wall being open hanging space and a couple shelves. There was a tiny shelf on the left bedside to act as a nightstand, but it was about the size of a mailing envelope.
We ended up using our hard sided cooler as a nightstand since the little one would not hold anything aside from maybe a pair of glasses. Across from the queen size bed is a nice long dresser. The dresser has 6 drawers. The bed was comfortable but the mattress was showing its usage. Lots of pillows, probably 4 maybe 6.
The right side of the bed had a nice big nightstand with a lamp and beyond that was a two person couch that pulls down to a double bed. There was also a nice sized coffee table on wheels. We had a balcony accessed by a sliding glass door. There were two outside chairs on the balcony. It was too cold and breezy to spend any time out there.
I’m always cold and we were traveling in December during a cold snap so we requested additional blankets from the front desk which worked out well. The thermostat is easy to understand and adjust as needed.
Scooters & Room at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
We both use scooters. My scooter is a full size PRIDE Victory 10, and my husbands is the smaller PRIDE Go-Go Elite traveler. Both fit easily in our studio room for overnight charging. The big one was parked up in the vestibule near the door and plugged into the kitchenette outlet. We always travel with a heavy duty extension cord.
The smaller scooter was parked by the connecting door and sliding glass door. Neither scooter was in the way at any time. The accessible bathroom was roomy to accommodate a wheelchair. The shower was nice and felt safe, it also had a seat with the controls near the seat. My only complaint was there’s no storage in the bathroom aside from the sink counter.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!
As for the trip itself, the Christmas party was FREEZING (heavy coats, gloves, beanies, long warm pants, and lap blankets) We had a wonderful time anyway and saw the parade and fireworks with the castle overlays. There are accessible viewing parking areas that have cast members for access. We didn’t ride many rides, but could have. However we did collect our weight in cookies (jk)!! The parade was fun, well worth seeing. There are also accessible spots roped off and monitored by cast members for the parade. We like the one across from the Hall of Presidents. Not sure if we would do the party again, but it sure was worth it for our first MVMCP!
EPCOT’s Candleight Processional Experience
The EPCOT Candlelight Processional was beautiful. We did the dining package and dined at Rose and Crown. This was my least favorite meal of the trip. I LOVE fish and chips but theirs wasn’t great that night. Usually it is, but not this time. I will say that Disney needs a different process for getting into the show – we found this to be extremely frustrating.
We were at the American Theater a half hour before showtime and the line for our reservation stretched all the way back to France. Apparently people get in line a couple of hours early, but we didn’t think we needed to do that since we had guaranteed seats as part of the dining package (at $66 pp with R&C dinner). Either way we got in and could see the stage. The show was wonderful and I highly recommend seeing it. Gary Sinise is a true philanthropist and a wonderful speaker.
Meals Out
Over the week we had dinner at our favorite restaurant on property Narcoossees (Grand Floridian), Brunch at Summerhouse on the Lake (Disney Springs), dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern (Magic Kingdom), dinner at Rose and Crown (EPCOT), later night sandwiches at the quick serve restaurant for SSR, lunch at Chicken Guy (Disney Springs), dinner at Sebastians (Caribbean Beach resort). We wouldn’t do the brunch at Summerhouse again or lunch at Chicken Guy.
Check Out Day
Check out day from Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. We loaded the car and headed to Sanford, FL for the AutoTrain north, but first, as usual on get away day, we grabbed Cuban sandwiches at our favorite Cuban takeout place “Cubans on the Run” near Sanford in Casselberry, Fl.
All in all a wonderful memorable trip. Thanks for reading!!
Dot
Editor’s Notes:
Are YOU nterested in joining an online community of Disney luvin’ Seniors? If you haven’t done so already consider the original Disney for Seniors Facebook Group.
Interested in what a Disney cruise might be like for older adults and seniors without the kids or grand kids? Check out this article by a member of the Disney for Seniors Group titled A Disney Cruise Without The Kids – On My Yes!
