Just returned from CSR...

[Buzz2001]

and what can I say, it was great as usual. I got some great photos but I haven't had the chance to load them yet. I gotta cut the grass first this morning.

We got all of our requests. We stayed in cabana 8a, room 8242, facing the lake. Beautiful view. Again, we did not ask for a waterview but received one. We got the adjoining rooms with 8241. We were about 50 ft from the Dig Site. The only night we notice any noise was on 05/07. I think CSR had fireworks at about 11:30pm but I forgot to ask why the next day but it was a great show watching the fireworks over the main building.

I found out that the Boardwalk direct bus is gone. It is now shared with Downtown Disney. So if you are going to the Boardwalk, it's still a direct bus but coming back you would have to travel to Downtown Disney first making it too long of a trip to be worth it to use as a return trip. It runs until 2:30am.

The path to BB is for CM's only. The told me that if you want to walk, you have to use the sidewalks on the main roadway.

It was very hot! 95 all week long. By Friday, I just wanted out of the sun.

The pool was staying open until midnight which was great but Siestas was closing at 7:00pm which didn't make much sense. The resort was sold out but you couldn't tell because there were many conventions. The buses were always empty as well as the pool area. My DD loved the slide, again.

The Pepper Market was awesome. I just love that wet burrito. It is very good. Remember, the PM is not a regular food court. The food is much better than burgers and chicken sandwiches so it is more expensive.

The CM's were great all around. They made a tent out of the curtains for my DD stuff animals and had them waiting for her to return on a few ocassions.

Any questions, let me know.


Visit Epson Photo Center (http://photo.epson.com/) to view more CSR photos. Type in dolphin01@snet.net in the VISIT ALBUMS section

[epcotitis]

As I was trying to sleep the other night I was thinking that out of all the resorts I have stayed at CSR is my least favorite. It was cold and windy the dec. we were there. Iloved the theme...it was just my least favorite.

I'll have to admit though...your mention of the wet burrito has my interest.

[Luv2Roam]

Glad you had a great time! :D Now back to reality. ;)

[jeank74]

Hey Mario,

Welcome back. I am happy to know that you have had another great time at CSR. :bounce: :bounce:

Hope to see your photos soon.:D

[jimmiej]

CSR is our favorite resort(so far) . We stayed in Cabanas 8B 2 years ago. We were also given a waterview upgrade without asking. Glad you enjoyed it!

[Buzz2001]

Hi jeank74,

I have a lot of stuff to mail to you. I'll be sending it out on Monday.

[jennymouse]

Welcome home, you were missed! Now for the questions.

Does the bus to BW/DD run all the time or does it only go to BW in the evenings? If so, what time did it start going to BW?

You said the pool was empty? I'm still worried my social butterfly DGD won't have anyone to play with at CSR.

[Buzz2001]

The BW bus and the DtD is one in the same. It runs all day long to both locations until 2:30am. We went to the BW at 5:00pm for dinner at the Beach Club and it stop there twice on our way to DtD.

I meant that the pool wasn't overly crowded. There were plenty of kids. My DD made many friends on the slide. That's all the kids want to do once they try it

[George]

I am so glad that you liked those rooms ;-) They are some of my personal favorites. That wing of the building 8A and then the 8500-8511 and 8550's in 8B.

The fireworks that you heard was a convention group that had arranged a private Fantasmic! viewing. Kinda caught everyone off guard. But they were fun.

Welcome back and we look forward to pictures.

:-)

[caitycaity]

thanks for the info. we're going in just under 2 weeks and can hardly wait!

good news about the pool staying open til midnight! :)

[poohangel]

cant wait to see pictures, as we are considering this resort for our next trip.

love, poohangel:jester:

[halfway there]

Welcome back Buzz!!
I have a few questions too. They seem to be so accomodating at CSR, do you think we can pretty much bank on our room request being fulfilled since we paid for a water view and asked specifically to be close to the Dig Site (same as you!)? Also, does the second two in the room number mean the second floor? Do you happen to have a copy of the room layout for that or other buildings that you can show us? Do the buses pick up CSR guest exclusively? Last one, how far would you say the walk is to BB along the roadway?
Thanks so much for any info you can impart!

[danacara]

So what exactly is a "wet burrito?" :)

[Buzz2001]

danacara - a wet burrito is a large burrito that you can get in chicken or beef. It is filled with rice, beans, lettuce and tomato. Gucamoli on the side if you like it. It is very large and very good if you are a fan of mexican food. It is a little spicy.

halfway there - They seem to be so accomodating at CSR, do you think we can pretty much bank on our room request being fulfilled since we paid for a water view and asked specifically to be close to the Dig Site (same as you!)? I have always gotten my request from CSR. I don't know if its luck but the resort was soldout during our last trip.

Also, does the second two in the room number mean the second floor? yes

Do you happen to have a copy of the room layout for that or other buildings that you can show us? yes, I got a new layout from CSR during this visit and will be scanning it to place on the site. E-mail me your address and I can send you a copy.

Do the buses pick up CSR guest exclusively? yes

Last one, how far would you say the walk is to BB along the roadway? BB is probably a 2 to 3 mile walk. I wasn't about to try it with the 95º heat we had last week.

george - thanks for the info

[SandraC]

WELCOME HOME MARIO! Are you planning your next trip? I am looking forward to your PIX too! We took a beautiful pix of Cabanas!

I had planned to walk the sidewalk to BB from CSR ~ but as athletic as I am IT LOOKED LIKE A LOOOOOOOOONG WALK considering I was on VACATION!

The EXTRA fireworks sound fun!

I liked Cabanas 8A too! We were in 8157, corner lower level right at the Dig Site too! We found it to be very quiet!

THANKS for your info on CSR! Especially recommending Cabanas, we liked the location very much! Sandra

[Piglet203]

Buzz,
Thank you so much for sharing! You have been so helpful in planning our trip (Mickey76 and I) We love your site and can't wait to see the new pictures!!!! I sure hope we have the luck you do and are able to get a water view room in the cabanas :) It's also great to hear that the pool was open until 12 am!!! Thanks again.........:D

12 days and counting!!!

[Buzz2001]

I started to load the new CSR photos on my site for those that are interested in seeing them. 23 out of 136. It will take me some time to load all of them.

[The_Disney_God]

Love the look, love the food court, love the presence.

My second favorite hotel. ITS GO GREAT!!!!!

[halfway there]

Thanks Buzz for all your hard work. You have a great site! We will try to be patient (*sitting at the computer biting nails and tapping foot*).:D
Thanks for all your answers to my questions too! I will check out your site regularly for new info!!

[TimNDansMom]

I really enjoyed looking at your website, Mario, and all your latest pictures of CSR. We stayed there last summer and thought it was a very pretty resort. DH and I especially enjoyed going to the coffee bar beside the Pepper Market in the evenings and then going for a walk around the lake. It brought back a lot of memories browsing through all your pictures and I look forward to the rest! :)

[BoyLovesBuzz]

We were in 8147 from 5/4 - 5/10. I'm glad you confirmed those fireworks, DW thought and still thinks I was banannas.

I agree with everything you've said. PM was great, albeit a little pricey. The first night the DW had a problem with the guy at the WOK station, so to to avoid the a repeat, went Mexican the second night and there he was a again. It was pretty funny.

Dig Site was great. My DS 4 had no problems with the slide, once we got him the life jacket. The DD 2, even took a couple of cracks at it.

The proximity of Cabanas to bus stop 4 was awesome, especially with our two little ones who refused the stroller.

Mousekeeping was awesome as well. We were actually able to get our kids out of the park by pulling the ol' "Lets go see what the ladies did with your toys today."

The only issue we had, that we complained about was bell services zipping around the resort in those little cars. Twice we had to jerk our kids out of the way. That is a tragedy waiting to happen.

We probably won't stay there again simply because we made a pact last week to stay in every resort before we die. But I would not hesitate to recommend it ti anyone.

[Patio]

WOW, your new pictures are AWESOME!!
I'm so glad that you had such a great time. Thanks for sharing!:)

[Mickey76]

:)

Buzz, welcome back!!!!! Glad to hear you had a great time. I looked at some of the new pictures and they're awesome. I can't wait to be there next week with Piglet203. Like she said, we have you (and others) to thank for making our planning alot easier. We can't wait to see more pictures before we go and I hope we have just as much fun as you did. I can't believe it's almost time to go. I can't wait!!!!!

Mickey76:)

[jewelray]

Hi Buzz, glad you had a wonderful time. Boy it sure goes quick doesn't it. All this planning and poof it's over in a blink lol! So I was wondering which bus stop picks up at the Cabanas 8A since that's where I requested. I'm glad that you said the buses were empty though, hopefully it stays that way in June.

:jester:

[Buzz2001]

BoylovesBuzz - I can't believe you were right in the same building as us. That's too funny! I haven't experience the cart thing like you. They have usually pulled over or beeped. I know they had some new folks working because the guy who took us to our room said he was only there 2 weeks. I gave him the tour as we drove around.

Piglet203 & Mickey76 - I'll be adding more tonight. I have 200+ but I have to resize them all and lower the resolution. That's the time consuming part. I hope you have a great trip and that CSR meets your expectations since you have been working yourself up for a few months now.

thanks everyone for the feedback!

[SandraC]

Just a little ASIDE about the PM...I got the SALAD SAMPLER for $3.99 ~ you get to pick 3 of 6 different salads. It was VERY big ~ I meal salad! Thought it was a good deal! Sandra

[cruisnfamily]

Buzz,

Do you have more pictures of the Dig site and water play areas? Also, is there a children's playground (non water) there?

I would love to show my kids some pictures of the pool.

Hey, the one picture you have which looks like a very small pool is actually a VERY large jacuzzi isn't it? Is it located by the dig site too? We have requested Cabanas 8a and hope that the dig and the jacuzzi will be convenient to our room.

Thanks for your informative website. The only thing I would like to see there is captions for the pictures so I know what I am looking at. But I guess after my visit, it will become clear to me.

[cruisnfamily]

Have you eaten at the sit down restaurant at CSR? Mayan Grill I think is the name. Is it good? Details please!

[SandraC]

I can help you with the pool questions. We just returned from CSR two weeks ago.

There is a good size jacuzzi.

The large WARM pool where the water slide is.

Very small kiddy pool (no pretty fish a couple weeks ago), it's a cool pool, I guess they empty it ALOT.

The playground is FAR OUT COOL! ds loved it!

There is a vollyball area.

Snack bar.

Arcade in the Dig Site.

We were in Cabanas 8A 8157, very quiet, very close to Dig Site!

Sandra

[Buzz2001]

Visit Epson Photo Center (http://photo.epson.com/) to view more CSR photos. Type in dolphin01@snet.net in the VISIT ALBUMS section

[nwdisgal]

Buzz - great site and pics. How were the rooms? Are they still in good condition, beds comfortable, etc. ? Someone was complaining on these boards about the carpet being worn in their room on a recent stay. I stayed at the refurbished CBR recently so have high standards to hold this resort to ;) I'm looking forward to our July trip there. The resort looks beautiful.

[Buzz2001]

nwdisgal - the rooms were in excellent condition. We had adjoining rooms so I was able to see 2 of them. Everything seemed in excellent shape but everyone has different expectations.


Visit Epson Photo Center (http://photo.epson.com/) to view more CSR photos. Type in dolphin01@snet.net in the VISIT ALBUMS section

[elemusing]

WELCOME BACK BUZZ! WE leave in 7 days to stay at CSR and your website has been invaluable to me!

Glad to read everything was great. We are eating at the Maya Grill on May 25, what do you recommend from there?

Thanks,
Angie

[elemusing]

wow! I just looked at all your pictures. The colors are so vibrant! The blues and grees were especially beautiful. I can't get over it! You must have an amazing camera or I forgotten just how gorgeous it is down in FL or BOTH! :-)

Thanks for posting the pics!
Angie

[Buzz2001]

You'll have to let me know. I have never eaten at the Maya Grill. I got some photos of it this trip. I have heard that the breakfast buffet is awesome there. Check out the menu at Deb's site.

[SandraC]

The Maya Grill looked very nice! The theme is lovely!

About the carpets. Ours was worn and old looking but it seemed clean enough. I think the colours didn't help either. It was mainly grey with a couple different colour strips thru it. There wasn't any worn traffic areas at all, no frays, no dirt ~ just grey and fuzzy looking. I paid attention to the carpet only because it didn't seem to fit the brilliant decor and lively colours of the room. I liked the TV stand. It had a large surface and a spare cupboard that we used to hide the cookies! LOL! I find the rooms are big enough for my family of 4 ~ we did 11 days without getting in each others way! S

[RuthAnne123]

Your pictures are wonderful! I can't wait to get to CSR now and the Cabanas look perfect. Those hammocks look so relaxing!

I like to go for swims at night. How many people are around when the pool is open late?

What is the latest you would feel safe swimming there?

Thanks again Buzz!


Rooth

[Buzz2001]

The latest we were ever there was 10:00pm but we were not alone. Also, I could see folks there when the fireworks woke me up at 11:30pm one night during our stay.

[nwdisgal]

Buzz - thanks for answering my questions on the rooms. Also, Sandra thanks for clarifying on the carpet wear and tear (or lack of). After I saw all of Buzz's new pics, I told DH, I don't care what the inside looks like, I'd be happy to camp out on those beautiful grounds. What a neat place and Buzz's photos definately do the resort justice.

[cruisnfamily]

I posted this on the transportation board but got no response so here's my question. We(DH,me, DD9, and DS6) are going to drive our car to the Disney Quest area and have dinner. After dinner, DH and DD are going to Disney Quest and DS and I need to find a way back to CSR. Are there buses from DQ to CSR? Where do you pick them up and how long is the ride. Is there another way to get back to CSR besides the bus?

Thanks!

[Buzz2001]

Yes, there are buses from the Westside (where DQ is located) to CSR but you have to walk back to the Pleasure Island stop because they closed the Westside bus stop. There are only 2 stops that the buses make now to Downtown Disney, the MarketPlace and Pleasure Island. You could also take a cab I suppose but I never looked into it. It is about a 15-20 minute ride.

Have fun!

[BoyLovesBuzz]

Rooth,
My 2 cents on the pool. The dig site including the pool is officially open until midnight, however the lifeguards leave at 10:00 pm, turning off the water slide, and the squirty thing. They also lock up the towel cart, and the life jackets. I'm not sure if the hot tob is turned off. The first night we were there, my kids, dd2 and ds4 would have no part of sleeping so we were in the pool from 10:20 to around 11:45. Although there were several groups consuming some adult beverages and enjoying themselves, we felt perfectly safe with two small kids.

The quiet pools close at 10:00 pm.

Have fun.

[SandraC]

I always felt safe at the Dig Site, it's the alligators in the lake I would worry about LOL~ Sandra (kidding)

[RuthAnne123]

Thanks everyone!! You anwsered my question perfectly!

We will be getting in around 8:30 at night our first day and I know we will be exhausted. Just having a late swim sounds wonderful before hitting the hay. I just didn't want to be out there late and not feel safe - I'm sure we won't be out there past 11:00 if we even make it that long!!

It's great to know the pool is open so late and is safe, a night time swim after a hot day in the parks sounds wonderful too!!

We will sleep like babes after a nice, safe at night swim!

I really can't wait now!!!

:D Rooth

[TDC Nala]

What a bummer about the Boardwalk bus. Guess I will just have to plan to visit the Adventurers Club after Illuminations so I can get out through the Boardwalk.

[disprincess02]

Just got back from CSR on Friday. And the vacation was way too short, maybe I'll plan another one for next month.