Having just taken our 1st trip, if I could only give you 2 pieces of advise, I would say:
1. Take the Trolly. It's about an hour long ride. It's narrated by a Villager. It was the best way to learn quite a bit in a very short period of time. It also allows you to look around while someone else is driving.
2. Stay somewhere you can rent a golf cart. One of our favorite things we did was just drive around in our golf cart exploring. (Get a map for $5, not the free one….you will get lost
). We literally didn't use our car once while we were there.
I know you'll love it. For the record we stayed a Town Suites by Marriott in SS.