Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort Review – All the Details

When people think of Disney World Resorts, they don’t usually think of horses, horse racing or Saratoga Springs, New York and yet, here we are. On our last stay at Disney World, we headed to Disney’s Saratoga Springs resort to test out the grounds, rooms, pools, transportation and food. Not our typical resort stay we were pleasantly surprised by how Disney adult friendly, and close to the parks, this underrated Disney Resort was. Here are all the details to know before you go.

Saratoga Springs Resort Details

Featuring the charming architecture of Saratoga Springs New York, this Disney Deluxe resort feels like a spa town. With water features throughout, and winding trails, the whole place feels calm and easy. By far one of the most relaxing resorts we’ve stayed at at Walt Disney World. For an inside look at the Resort and everything it has to offer, be sure to check out our Saratoga Springs Resort Video Review.

• Address: 1960 Broadway, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
• Check In Time: 11:00 AM
• Check Out Time: 4:00 PM
• Transportation: Complimentary Disney Bus service to all four parks, water parks and Disney Springs. Disney Boat Transportation to Disney Springs.
• Cost: $365- $1100/ night. Check out the Walt Disney World Resort Tiers Levels and Pricing Guide for all the Disney Resort Levels. 
• Room Types: Deluxe Studio, 1-Bedroom Villa, 2-Bedroom Villa, 3-Bedroom Grand Villa, Treehouse Villa
• Pool Hours: 10 AM to 11 PM

Saratoga Springs Resort Atmosphere

This Disney Deluxe Resort is an equestrian themed resort, filled with Victorian style buildings. You can find all the best Disney horses as murals in the lobby, and a feeling of elegance even as baby Pegasus bounces across the walls. Saratoga Springs is separated into six building areas, and as a DVC resort, has specific room types available in each. Saratoga Springs is also home to the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course, which sits on the property. As such, if you’re staying in The Grandstand area, you will have a front row view of the links, and easy access to the Club House.

Saratoga Springs Resort Grounds

Important to know about Saratoga Springs is that each group of buildings has it’s own bus stop, and a specific type of room availability. As a DVC resort, some rooms are specific to that reservation designation. Note that the buildings are not as clearly marked as one may expect with little more than a main sign on the tower of the main building.

The Springs – Closest to Main Building

Located close to the Carriage House, which is the centrally located main building, The Springs building features preferred room locations. And very easy access to the resorts main restaurants, gifts shops and the main pool.

Congress Park – Quiet Pool and Playground

Located along the water, Congress Park is the Saratoga Springs building closest to Disney Springs. Also a preferred room location, this area of the resort is has views of Disney Springs and is an easy walk, about 15 minutes, to the shopping center.

The Paddock – The Paddock Grill and Pool with Waterslide and Splash Pad

Rooms in The Paddock buildings are considered Standard Rooms, and feature an area quick service location, pool with waterslide and splash pad. Staying at The Paddock on our trip, we were able to easily grab food, refill our resort mugs, take pool time, and grab the bus stop right outside our building.

The Grandstand – Backstretch Pool Bar and Pool with Splash Pad

Featuring Standard Rooms, the Grandstand area of Saratoga Springs includes a horse race starting gate theme, a quick service restaurant, drink refill station, pool and splash pad. And yes, the Cheeseburger Spring Rolls at Saratoga Springs are located here, freshly made.

The Carousel – Play Area

Located at the farthest end Saratoga Springs, this area is the quietest, featuring Standard Rooms and a small play area.

Treehouse Villas

The largest room option at Saratoga Springs are the Treehouse Villas, featuring 3-bedroom villas that can sleep up to 9 guests. The treehouse area of the resort is separate from the main buildings and features a woodland atmosphere.

Saratoga Springs Resort Map

You can grab the Saratoga Springs Resort Map PDF to get a closer look at all the areas across this resort. A few things to keep in mind. When we first arrived here, it felt confusing, because the buildings aren’t really marked from the outside and they are not color coded like they are at Caribbean Beach. As such, it’s tough to tell when you’ve gone from one section to the next.

As a new guest you’ll be looking for the large sign at the top of the building tower that tells you what section you’re in. From there, you should be able to find the signs that have the room numbers outside of each building. We’ll be honest here, it took us a while to find our room. Later we learned it was right next to the bus stop. That said, look up and find your building sign first. Read the map and go from there.

Saratoga Springs Resort Rooms

At Saratoga Springs there are several room options that sleep between 4-12 people. Options include Deluxe Studios, 1-Bedroom Villas, 2-Bedroom Villas, 3-Bedroom Grand Villas, and Treehouse Villas.

On our stay at Saratoga Springs we stayed in a Deluxe Studio which featured a vanity area and bathroom, along with a queen sized bed, and a pull down murphy bed. We also had a small kitchen area that included a mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker, toaster, and a little sink. Plus, you also get basics like plates, cups, cutlery and an ice bucket. Our room also had a balcony.

Things we loved about this room, are the same things we love about most Disney rooms. There was a cute horse themed background on the Murphy Bed, the TV had Mickey cartoons, and there were plenty of USB outlets to charge all or things. Overall, this resort is quiet, which makes it great for deep sleeps, and late mornings.

Saratoga Springs Resort Pools

Saratoga Springs Resort includes a main pool with Donald Duck Splash Pad, a slightly smaller pool with a waterslide and 5 leisure pools. Here’s where you can find the pools at Saratoga Springs.

• High Rock Springs Pool. Main Pool at The Springs. Features a zero entry pool, 128 foot water slide and 2 whirlpool spas. Plus a Donald Duck splash pad.
• The Paddock Pool. This feature pool is located in the Paddock area, with a water tower feature and 146 foot waterslide. This area also includes a horseshoe shaped spa. and 2 tiny waterslides at the splash pad.
• Leisure Pools. These can be found at the Treehouse Villas, Congress Park, and The Grandstand.

Saratoga Springs Resort Restaurants

The restaurants at Saratoga Springs includes Artist’s Palette, Turf Club Bar and Grill, The Paddock Grill, The Turf Club Lounge, On the Rocks Pool Bar, the Backstretch Pool Bar and Chip and Dales Cafe.

Artist’s Palette

Artist’s Palette: Open 7am – 11pm, you can grab your Refillable Resort Mug, as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner here. You can also grab pastries, to-go options and groceries if you want to prepare food back at your room. Favorites at Artists Palette include the stone fired pizzas, the lemon meringue croissant, the loaded totcho bowl and French toast strata.

Turf Club Bar and Grill

The Turf Club Bar and Grill is the main table service restaurant at Saratoga Springs, but has a limited menu that is a little pricey. Unfortunately, it’s a very meat heavy menu.

The Turf Club Lounge is another option for drinks and appetizers and is located right next to the gift shop. Check out the Turf Club Lounge Menu.

Paddock Grill

The Paddock Grill is open 7:30am- 9:00pm and offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. We loved everything we ate here including the chicken bacon waffle cone, the black bean burger, bagels, fried chicken sandwich and the specialty coffees. Check out the Paddock Grill Menu.

Pool Bars

Both pool bars here have extensive menus, that pretty much just beckon you to stay in the pool all day. Check out the On the Rocks Pool Bar Menu, ( open 11am- 9:00pm) complete with thin crust pizzas, and zero proof cocktails. Or head to The Grandstand area for the Backstretch Pool Bar ( open 11am- 6:00pm) for those highly coveted cheeseburger spring rolls, and churros.

Chip and Dales Cafe

Chip and Dales Cafe is located inside the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course Club House, located on the Saratoga Springs property. Serving up things like burgers, hot dogs, and even grilled cheese, you can usually even find seasonal snacks at Chip and Dales. So, be sure stop by if you’re visiting during the holiday season.

Saratoga Springs Resort Recreation

While every Disney Resort has ample recreation opportunities, as a DVC Resort, Saratoga Springs has a Community Hall too. Which means you not only get access to the pools, the outdoor activities, bike rentals, and on property golf course, but also a variety of crafts, ping-pong, foosball, video games, DVDs, board games and more. Check out the Saratoga Springs Activities Schedule for all the details of what’s happening at the rest.

There are also Nightly Campfire and S’mores, Movie Under the Stars a few times a week, Bike and Surrey Bike Rentals, Community Hall Activities ( Open 10 am- 10 pm), Fishing, Tennis, Basketball, Running Trails , Playgrounds, a Health Club Gym and an Arcade.

Saratoga Springs Resort Transportation Options

At Disney’s Saratoga Springs you can count on traditional Complimentary Disney Transportation with Disney Bus transportation to all the parks and Disney Springs. Plus, you can also grab Disney Boat transportation to Disney Springs. One of the most surprising things about Saratoga Springs is that it is closer to the parks than you think! The bus trip from Saratoga Springs to most of the parks was between 15- 25 minutes.

Saratoga Springs Resort Cost

As Disney Vacationers we’ve stayed at almost all the Disney Resorts. But Saratoga Springs was still on our to-do list when it showed up during a Disney+ Subscriber Sale, which is absolutely one of the cheapest discounts you can get on a Disney Resort stay. That said, we got our room for about $260 a night. Generally, these rooms cost between $375- $750 a night, with rates up to $1100 during the busy holiday season.

From a price standpoint, we couldn’t have gotten a better deal. And while Saratoga Springs is clearly great as a resort for Disney Adults, we also thought that would be a great Disney Staycation Resort. There are so many amenities, recreation opportunities and reasons to be close to Disney Springs, that you really don’t need to go in to the parks to have a great vacation here. That said, at Disney Deluxe Resort prices, and definitely if we had paid more, our biggest issue would have been the limited transportation to the parks. If you’re read our blog before, you know we love the Disney Boardwalk for the ability to walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and the Disney Wilderness Resorts for

Saratoga Springs Resort Review

Overall, we really enjoyed Saratoga Springs Resort. So much more than we expected we would. Once we learned the layout it was easy to head to the Paddock Grill and Pool, or take a little walk over the bridge to the Main building. Everything you need is fairly central, even though it may not look like it on the map. The walk to Disney Springs was easy, and the Bus transportation was quick. As a Disney Adult, this was a vacation that sorta felt like vacation. And while we probably wouldn’t recommend this resort for families with small children, due to the resort sprawl and lack of Disney theming, if you’re looking for some subtle Disney vibes, Saratoga Springs works.

Would We Stay at Saratoga Springs Again?

For us Saratoga Springs was such a nice stay, if we were focusing on Disney Springs on our trip, we would definitely stay here again. Of course the price would have to be right. But our experience staying at the Paddock building made everything so easy and relaxing, that it definitely makes our list of best Disney Hotels for Adults.

Is Saratoga Springs Good For Kids?

If you’re traveling with older children, who aren’t looking for a Disney themed experience, then Saratoga Springs Resort is great. The Community Hall lineup of activities is perfect for teens and young adults, there are plenty of pools, and activities to keep kids busy. If you’re a young Disney family, know that Saratoga Springs does not feel like a Disney hotel. with the exception of Donald at the Splash Pad and the horse murals int he lobby, there is very little Disney theming here.

Hopefully this post has given you all the details you need to see if Saratoga Springs is perfect for your next Disney stay. Be sure to watch our Saratoga Springs Resort Video Review for a first hand look at our stay.