Saratoga Springs Disney Review: 7 Reasons to Visit

One of the great things about Saratoga Springs is that it is a Disney deluxe hotel on-site on Disney World property (which means you get extra hours in the park, free airport shuttle, bus transportation to the parks all day, etc.) but it is not nearly as expensive as the other Disney deluxe hotels.  Why is this? Well, Saratoga Springs is a “DVC” hotel, meaning all the rooms are Disney Vacation Club units, but you don’t have to be a Disney Vacation Club member in order to stay there. You can rent a stay there through DVC resellers (here’s some more information about DVC rooms and here’s a video guide showing you the steps to book your room).  You can rent Saratoga Springs for less money than the other DVC hotels. For example, if you book your stay through David’s Vacation Club Rentals, you could book a standard studio villa for as low as $176 a night! You also save money by staying here if you drive because when you rent DVC rooms from DVC resellers, you don’t have to pay for parking. Additionally, because Saratoga Springs is such a large hotel, you’re much more likely to find availability here than other hotels.

Saratoga Springs has a wonderful theming that is more unique than other Disney hotels.  It is themed after Saratoga Springs, New York and it has a horse racing theme. There are nice touches throughout the resort, that you can both see (such as horse statues, pictures up of jockeys & horses, etc.) and hear (like the trumpets for the start of the race).  The High Rock Spring Pool & the artistic theming to the food court also fit the area of Saratoga Springs, New York. I also love beautiful pastel colors throughout the resort, it was very peaceful and calming, qualities that are often appreciated during a Disney World trip that at times can get hectic!

The rooms are beautiful and perfectly themed to the hotel.  You can get absolutely gorgeous views from some of the rooms. You can get beautiful landscaping views and some rooms even have views of Disney Springs; I was able to see the world’s largest tethered helium balloon that’s found in Disney Springs from my hotel room.  I got a pizza at Via Napoli at EPCOT one day and brought back leftovers and warmed it up for lunch another (which I could do because all Disney Vacation Club rooms have a kitchen!) and ate it on the balcony while enjoying the view, which was great!

Now, let me preface this by saying that I love Disney, and I enjoy when hotels are themed to Disney characters, but at the same time I know not everyone likes that.  If this is you, then you will definitely enjoy a vacation here more than sayArt of Animation, another on-site Disney hotel. There are small Disney touches and hidden Mickeys throughout the resort, but they are subtle so at the end of a day at the parks you want to get away from Disney and have a nice retreat, Saratoga Springs definitely serves as this while still being on-site so you can take advantage of all the advantages Disney hotels have (close to the parks, transportation to the parks, extra magic hours, free airport shuttle, etc.).  And if you or someone in your party does want the Disney reminders, again, there are small Disney features throughout the park that are fun to point out.

Along with being less “Disney” than other Disney hotels, this hotel is more adult friendly than other Disney hotels.  For one thing, it is one of the only Disney hotels with a spa, which is wonderful. And the theming of the hotels and rooms and decor is one that you could definitely see in a hotel that is catered more to adults than families, though at the same time this does not mean it’s a hotel kids will hate.  Quite the contrary; the hotel still has fun features kids (aside from being so close to Disney World) will love, such as the pool, the Win, Place or Show Arcade and other children’s activities, such as the campfire followed by Movies Under the Stars where you can relax and watch a Disney movie.

Not all deluxe hotels have an indoor, sit-down food court with affordable (for Disney, anyway) prices (for example, you can’t get that at Yacht Club, Old Key West, Boardwalk, etc.).  I really like Saratoga Springs’ food court, the Artist’s Palette, for this reason, plus the theming I mentioned before. I really like having quick service in the morning that is affordable and is quick so I don’t arrive at the parks too late because the earlier you get to the parks, the shorter the lines typically are.  And I really like that it’s indoors, because it can get incredibly hot in the summer, even early in the morning and in January it can get too cold to eat outside (That was the case for me this past year when I went in January, though it was not the case the year before in January). But if you also like more of a sit-down restaurant, Saratoga Spring has that too; The Turf Club Bar & Grill is a great choice for this.

One of my favorite features of this hotel, which I left for last, is how you can walk from your hotel to Disney Springs.  Now how long it takes to walk can vary depending on where you stay because, as I mentioned before, Saratoga Springs Resort is a very large resort and if you want to be guaranteed a shorter walk to Disney Springs, then you should opt for paying more for a preferred room.  But I stayed at a room that was far away and, despite my navigational shortcomings that made me accidentally take a wrong turn, the walk to Disney Springs was very doable. If you haven’t been to Disney Springs before, it’s really great. It has a lot of shopping & dining options, my favorite being T-Rex Restaurant which not only has delicious foods but also has animatronic dinosaurs throughout the restaurant, making it almost more of an attraction than a restaurant!  If you want to visit Disney Springs but you don’t want to walk, you can also take a boat from Saratoga Springs to Disney Springs which is nice, too.