Hi all! I just wanted to drop in and give you all my impressions on CSR. We were there May 19-26 and we loved it!
For starters service from MCO via ME was super fast! By the time we were off our plane it was around 1:25 pm. We proceeded from our gate to the ME area of MCO. One hint make sure you have your voucher booklet with you and easily accessible when you get there. They scanned our booklet both when we arrived at the ME kiosk and just before we got on the bus. The waiting area for the ME consists of a bunch of queues bunched according to your resorts. Im guessing that CSR guests are used as filler for the rest of the buses since its so centrally located. We only waited in our line for about 1 minute until they asked us how many were in our party and ushered us to our almost full bus. I was in the check-in line at CSR at 2:35 pm!
They had put us in room 6147 Ranchos 6A. I had wanted Cabanas but decided to just roll with whatever room assignment we were given. The room was actually really nice first floor and a corner unit next to a hallway. The CM on check-in did make a big deal that it *was* close to the bus stop and the Dig Site. Im an admitted Coke Zero addict and most mornings walked to El Centro to get my fix. The walk took me about 20 minutes total but was so pretty that I didnt mind it. The first morning we were there I was able to spot three hot air balloons off in the distance over the Casitas buildings.
Bus service was pretty good. It did seem like we always just missed the bus because most of our waits were around the 15 minute mark. The worst, by far, was when we waited for 45 minutes to get a bus back to MK for dinner ADRs at Crystal Palace but I think that in part was because there were two scooters on the bus which take a little bit to load and unload. It seemed like the buses to and from MK were always full. We made a late start to HS one afternoon, though, and had the bus to ourselves!
I saw a couple of people mention before that the park buses pick up at stops 2, 3, 4 and then 1. Bus stop 1 is El Centro and was almost always the busiest. (Bus stop 3 was the closest to our room maybe a 1 minute walk.) Both MK mornings when we were trying to get to rope drop the bus had to skip bus stop 1 because the bus was already at capacity. So my suggestion, especially to those going during busy times, would be to NOT use the bus stop at El Centro. (Unless you want a DTD bus they pick up in numerical order.) That way you have a much better chance of getting on the bus.
I lost the safe key the first night we were there at DTD. When we told them at the front desk they made sure to send someone to the room quickly since we had ADRs we needed to make. I was charged $35 for losing it, though.
We loved the Dig Site! Ill agree with other posters that you need to guard your food. I went to get DD a life vest while DH was in the pool with DS and left our just purchased nachos on the table. By the time I got back there was a crow on the table and it was eating the nachos! My only complaint about the life vests was that there were a ton for younger kids but my 5 year old (who is over 50 lbs) needed one to go down the slide and had to wait for one. So if you have a child that isnt a strong swimmer you may want to bring something for them to use. That brings me to the slide it is FANTASTIC! DH and DD started out on it and my DS, who turns 3 in a month and a half, started crying that he wanted to go on it too. (He had on his puddle jumper life vest.) He was allowed to go and had a blast! I didnt want to miss out on the fun so I put on my goggles and did it too. We had a blast and some of our favorite memories are of all four of us going down the slide. Just a note the lifeguards left at 9 pm and the slide closes when they leave.
We ate at Pepper Market for all 3 meals. Service was hit or miss. We ate breakfast there twice our first server was so-so but the second was fabulous. Our lunch server was not that great drinks frequently went without refills and service was VERY slow. We were trying to make our ME bus to the airport and DH had to hunt her down so we could pay our bill. Our service for dinner, though, was also fantastic. I think we had the same man whose name starts with an A that a PP mentioned and he was fantastic. VERY attentive and when he saw my and DHs birthday buttons he brought out two slices of cake for us and made sure to tell us that we also could get dessert to take back to the room since we were on the dining plan. Overall, though, we were pleased with it and, if we have the DP next time, well go back.
Panchitos is a great gift shop. They had a ton of things and I honestly think DH and I could have avoided shopping for gifts at the parks and just bought everything there. I also like that they had a little table and chairs for the kids with the castle playset and a train for them to play with. I'm guessing they keep a wide variety of things in there since it's a convention resort so that resort attendees can get Disney things without hitting the parks.
Despite what my ticker says DH and I arent doing a cruise next year. Weve decided to go back to WDW and most likely will stay at CSR. Im thinking a preferred room in Casitas. We really did love it its such a beautiful resort and really seems convenient to the parks.