A significant benefit of staying at a DVC resort is the extras that are available. N and I often make our strong recommendation that those staying at a Disney resort save at least one day if not more as a resort day with no park plans. This allows you to explore the resort and all it has to offer.

At Saratoga Springs, this includes a large pool area, a fire for s’mores, exercise options and a lovely arts and crafts area, where A and my mother-in-law had a lot of fun coloring, as well as a large community center, a relaxing area with a Disney movie playing, lots of games and every Disney movie available to rent.

Another of these extras at Saratoga Springs is the ability to rent a surrey and ride around the resort. There is a specially marked path that takes you around the resort in a scenic path directly across from Downtown Disney.

This provided a delightful morning activity for us on our resort day. We had a beautiful ride, stopped for a bit at a lovely playground where A enjoyed running around for a bit, and got to enjoy the peace and beauty of the resort and the lovely weather and fresh air.

With so much to do in the Disney parks, often people get overwhelmed or frantic trying to do it all. Having a day to relax and enjoy is really important, especially with kids. If you don’t want to spend an extra day doing that, consider making the day you arrive and/or the day you leave a resort day. These days are inadvisable as park days as you can’t use the full day in the park on a travel day anyway. But relaxing at the resort saves a park ticket for a full park day, and allows you to enjoy being in Disney in a way that leaves you rejuvenated and excited for the next day in the park, or the trip home.