Hi there...we just returned very late on Tuesday night from a split stay at CSR and AKL. We were at CSR 2/24-3/3 before moving over to AKL from 3/3-3/6. The travelers were me (33), DH (36), and DD (2.5).
Overall, we were impressed with CSR. DH and I stayed at POR on our first trip to WDW together in 2002 and were not impressed, so we haven't been in a hurry to return to a moderate. However, after four happy stays at Pop, we were ready for a change (me more so than DH) so we decided to give CSR a try.
The resort is quite beautiful. It reminds me of resorts in Mexico or the Caribbean. We requested and received a room in Cabana 9B. We were at the far end of 9B very close to the elevator which was convenient with the stroller. We mostly used bus stop #1, although we jumped out at bus stop #4 on a couple of occassions. It was a bit of a hike to the main pool with a 2.5 year old who was a bit of a wimp on this trip about walking.
Our room was fine. Not super clean, but good. It seemed quite spacious compared to Pop and AKL. We never heard our neighbors. The beds were pretty comfy.
We ate at Pepper Market twice. Once for lunch and once for dinner (we were on the dining plan). We (DH especially) thought that it was quite good, although I might be frustrated with the prices if I weren't on the dining plan. I really liked the atmosphere of PM. I didn't feel like I was eating in a food court. My only complaint is that they seemed a little cavalier about food allergy issues. It seems like all of the other restaurants at WDW bend over backwards to help you with food allergies, but when I asked about the ingredients in one item the response was annoyance rather than being helpful. The bar area looked really cute, but we never hit that since we had the 2.5 yo and because I'm pregnant.
The biggest plus about CSR for us was the bus service. All I can say is WOW! We never waited more than a couple of minutes for a bus and on several occassions we were the only family on the bus. We closed MK and MGM and were shocked that there were seats available on the bus. We have become so used to the crammed Pop buses so it was amazing to see this. I really felt centrally located as well. It generally took between 5-10 minutes to get to AK, Epcot, and MGM and 10-15 minutes to get to MK. From the time our bus left MGM one night to the time we were back in our room was about 10 minutes (this bus stopped at bus stop #1 first).
I guess my last observation about CSR was how quiet and peaceful it was. There were very few little kids that we ran across. My thoughts regarding this is a little weird. It was almost too quiet for us. If this was just a trip with DH and myself, I think this would have been the perfect resort. However, I almost felt a little out of place with a 2.5 yo. The resort was absolutely wonderful, but I sort of think that it was not the right fit for our family. It felt like a classic "it's not you, it's me" relationship.
All in all, I would highly recommend CSR, especially for the bus service, but I'm not sure if we'll be staying there again in the near future.
Overall, we were impressed with CSR. DH and I stayed at POR on our first trip to WDW together in 2002 and were not impressed, so we haven't been in a hurry to return to a moderate. However, after four happy stays at Pop, we were ready for a change (me more so than DH) so we decided to give CSR a try.
The resort is quite beautiful. It reminds me of resorts in Mexico or the Caribbean. We requested and received a room in Cabana 9B. We were at the far end of 9B very close to the elevator which was convenient with the stroller. We mostly used bus stop #1, although we jumped out at bus stop #4 on a couple of occassions. It was a bit of a hike to the main pool with a 2.5 year old who was a bit of a wimp on this trip about walking.
Our room was fine. Not super clean, but good. It seemed quite spacious compared to Pop and AKL. We never heard our neighbors. The beds were pretty comfy.
We ate at Pepper Market twice. Once for lunch and once for dinner (we were on the dining plan). We (DH especially) thought that it was quite good, although I might be frustrated with the prices if I weren't on the dining plan. I really liked the atmosphere of PM. I didn't feel like I was eating in a food court. My only complaint is that they seemed a little cavalier about food allergy issues. It seems like all of the other restaurants at WDW bend over backwards to help you with food allergies, but when I asked about the ingredients in one item the response was annoyance rather than being helpful. The bar area looked really cute, but we never hit that since we had the 2.5 yo and because I'm pregnant.
The biggest plus about CSR for us was the bus service. All I can say is WOW! We never waited more than a couple of minutes for a bus and on several occassions we were the only family on the bus. We closed MK and MGM and were shocked that there were seats available on the bus. We have become so used to the crammed Pop buses so it was amazing to see this. I really felt centrally located as well. It generally took between 5-10 minutes to get to AK, Epcot, and MGM and 10-15 minutes to get to MK. From the time our bus left MGM one night to the time we were back in our room was about 10 minutes (this bus stopped at bus stop #1 first).
I guess my last observation about CSR was how quiet and peaceful it was. There were very few little kids that we ran across. My thoughts regarding this is a little weird. It was almost too quiet for us. If this was just a trip with DH and myself, I think this would have been the perfect resort. However, I almost felt a little out of place with a 2.5 yo. The resort was absolutely wonderful, but I sort of think that it was not the right fit for our family. It felt like a classic "it's not you, it's me" relationship.
All in all, I would highly recommend CSR, especially for the bus service, but I'm not sure if we'll be staying there again in the near future.
(Thanks Buzz for all your info)
