Disney's CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT Information & Questions

[saskdw]

Here's the hours from our last visit to CSR which was Sept 2012. They post this board at the pool.

IMGP0497 by Ilivetogo toFL, on Flickr

.

It changed last fall. WDW rules now resort wide are for lifeguards on duty until 11pm. Also no one allowed to use the main pools after that now, with many of the resorts having the pools fenced in.

 

[saskdw]

Joining in the fun - Dec 16-23 will be our first stay at CSR. Continuing my bucket list of staying at all the WDW resorts. I've read most all of the threads on CSR. If you could pick just ONE not to miss thing at the resort what would it be?

I would have to say a pool day. CSR has one of the nicest pools and surrounding area's at WDW. Nicer than some of the Deluxe pools. Also largest hot tub on WDW property.

 

[scrappinmom]

Sitting at the Laguna Bar talking to the bartenders and watching for baby gators in the Lake. I can't remember their names, but everytime we have some good conversations with them and others that come by. It's a nice relaxing evening after a crazy day in the parks.

Do you know me? lol sounds like my kind of night!

I would have to say a pool day. CSR has one of the nicest pools and surrounding area's at WDW. Nicer than some of the Deluxe pools. Also largest hot tub on WDW property.

I see that...I think this will have to depend on the weather...we all know florida can be dicey in december.

 

[saskdw]

I see that...I think this will have to depend on the weather...we all know florida can be dicey in december.

Very true!

However this year will be our 6th trip in 7 yrs at that time (we'll be there Dec 12th-26th) and other than the cold snap of 2010 we've had tremendous luck with the weather. As a matter of fact even in 2010 which saw record lows of 26 F, there was one day the temp shot up to 85 F and we went to Blizzard Beach!

It helps that we go for a full 2 weeks, so always some warm days.

 

[Twin Princess Mama]

Hi,

This is our first trip with our twins (4 years old) to Disney. I grew up in FL and went all the time. Now we live in NY. I had a question for all you veterans of CSR, especially those of you who have visited over christmas. I am deciding between requesting casitas 4/5 or doing business class 9B, here are my considerations/pros-cons of each:

Casitas 4/5:
Pros:
-Close to bus stop 1. This is the main pro bc we will be theme parking every day especially in the early AM. we expect buses will be packed christmas season. getting on first and off first seems like a big bonus
-location is OK to dig site and OK to el centro (not wonderful but OK)
-$360 cheaper
Cons:
- a little far
- no business lounge

9B Business:
Pros:
Business lounge. we don't care as much about food provided, although we will probably use breakfast half the time and snacks late in evening. My husband still needs to work while we are there at night. Since we only have one room. I thought this would be a good place for him to get some work done when we get back from dinner/parks while I put kids to bed with me. then when lounge closes at 10pm we should be asleep and he can transition to desk in the room (this is the main consideration as my husband will freak out if he can't get any work done).
cons:
I am most worried about the buses. since this is the last stop for theme parks and we are traveling the week of christmas, will the buses already be full by the time the bus gets to us and we will have to keep waiting? it is very important to me to be on the first buses to the park.

any advice is welcomed. especially if someone has been there for christmas and can comment on how full early morning buses are that would be appreciated.

thanks in advance!

 

[shyjade]

Hi,

This is our first trip with our twins (4 years old) to Disney. I grew up in FL and went all the time. Now we live in NY. I had a question for all you veterans of CSR, especially those of you who have visited over christmas. I am deciding between requesting casitas 4/5 or doing business class 9B, here are my considerations/pros-cons of each:

Casitas 4/5:
Pros:
-Close to bus stop 1. This is the main pro bc we will be theme parking every day especially in the early AM. we expect buses will be packed christmas season. getting on first and off first seems like a big bonus
-location is OK to dig site and OK to el centro (not wonderful but OK)
-$360 cheaper
Cons:
- a little far
- no business lounge

9B Business:
Pros:
Business lounge. we don't care as much about food provided, although we will probably use breakfast half the time and snacks late in evening. My husband still needs to work while we are there at night. Since we only have one room. I thought this would be a good place for him to get some work done when we get back from dinner/parks while I put kids to bed with me. then when lounge closes at 10pm we should be asleep and he can transition to desk in the room (this is the main consideration as my husband will freak out if he can't get any work done).
cons:
I am most worried about the buses. since this is the last stop for theme parks and we are traveling the week of christmas, will the buses already be full by the time the bus gets to us and we will have to keep waiting? it is very important to me to be on the first buses to the park.

any advice is welcomed. especially if someone has been there for christmas and can comment on how full early morning buses are that would be appreciated.

thanks in advance!

While I've never been to CSR, I struggled with these same issues and ended up finally booking BC today. Remember, getting Casitas 4/5 is a REQUEST, and you could end up stuck in the boonies in Ranchos. With BC, it's a paid category, so it's guaranteed. That was the tipping factor for me. Now I KNOW where we will be, not where we WANT to be.

As for being the last bus stop, I had the same concerns. However, I've only read one negative complaint about that and I've been lurking over a lot of reviews (and that was during a busy time). In fact, more than not I read that transportation for BC is a plus.

 

[monorailmom]

We have stayed at CSR twice now...and our college-age daughters are there right now! (and having a great time!) We stayed in Casitas the first time, and business class just this last October.

I am also a mom of twins (those are the college students now!)


I think staying business class makes perfect sense for you. It was always nice and quiet in there, plenty of space for everyone, and we enjoyed the refreshments provided. Keep in mind that it does close at ten, thought I'm thinking your little ones would be in bed by then.

As far as bus stops go, I'm guessing you'll have a stroller? I would just walk over to the Casitas bus stop in the morning and get on there. (they have the first stop). It's probably a 5 or 10min or so extra walk from the Business Class building. Then when you return, get off close to your own building. We have never stayed at Christmastime, but even in the Fall during Food and Wine and the Halloween parties, we never had a problem with busses. Honestly, never even had to stand!

Good luck! Have a magical trip!

 

[Twin Princess Mama]

We have stayed at CSR twice now...and our college-age daughters are there right now! (and having a great time!) We stayed in Casitas the first time, and business class just this last October.

I am also a mom of twins (those are the college students now!)


I think staying business class makes perfect sense for you. It was always nice and quiet in there, plenty of space for everyone, and we enjoyed the refreshments provided. Keep in mind that it does close at ten, thought I'm thinking your little ones would be in bed by then.

As far as bus stops go, I'm guessing you'll have a stroller? I would just walk over to the Casitas bus stop in the morning and get on there. (they have the first stop). It's probably a 5 or 10min or so extra walk from the Business Class building. Then when you return, get off close to your own building. We have never stayed at Christmastime, but even in the Fall during Food and Wine and the Halloween parties, we never had a problem with busses. Honestly, never even had to stand!

Good luck! Have a magical trip!

we will not have a stroller. we havent used a stroller since the girls were 2. i was thinking of bringing an old one but i think they are too large for that. one of mine is really tall and wears 6year old clothing size so i dont think our old double maclaren would work and i dont think making the walk in the morning is practical with the two of them. with that considered, which would you recommend?

(thanks so much for the advice!)

 

[shyjade]

Silly question...I've read the business class rooms have DVD players, but I've also read they have Blue Ray players. Which is correct? Thinking about bringing a few movies along for when we're in the room and there is nothing on TV, but we don't own Blue Ray discs.

 

[dansdad]

Silly question...I've read the business class rooms have DVD players, but I've also read they have Blue Ray players. Which is correct? Thinking about bringing a few movies along for when we're in the room and there is nothing on TV, but we don't own Blue Ray discs.

I don't know which one the business class rooms have, but Blu Ray players can play regular DVDs.

 

[shyjade]

I don't know which one the business class rooms have, but Blu Ray players can play regular DVDs.

Thanks, I had no idea. I'm obviously Blue Ray ignorant. We don't usually buy DVD's. But hey, at least I just learned something new today!

 

[lylone]

Here's some pics from early Dec 2014. And people were in the pools in the evening as the pools are heated. We actually laid out in the sun one day and it was quite pleasant. The drink you see is/was called a "Pina Calava" and they were gooooood..

The quiet pool and pictures of the buildings were in the Cabanas section
We asked for Cabanas section and got 8B. Short walk through the parking lot to the bus stop and even with two conventions and the cheerleaders staying there for the Christmas Parade taping, we never had full busses.

and taken with a Nokia Lumia 920 Smartphone. Best camera ever!

 

[lylone]

While I've never been to CSR, I struggled with these same issues and ended up finally booking BC today. Remember, getting Casitas 4/5 is a REQUEST, and you could end up stuck in the boonies in Ranchos. With BC, it's a paid category, so it's guaranteed. That was the tipping factor for me. Now I KNOW where we will be, not where we WANT to be.

As for being the last bus stop, I had the same concerns. However, I've only read one negative complaint about that and I've been lurking over a lot of reviews (and that was during a busy time). In fact, more than not I read that transportation for BC is a plus.

We stayed at BC twice and the busses home were packed and usually shared with BW, Swan, Dolphin and YC. Also we ended up in a room on the farthest end away from the bus stop. We booked a regular room and it was a nightmare! Never again!

 

[Koh1977]

We stayed at BC twice and the busses home were packed and usually shared with BW, Swan, Dolphin and YC. Also we ended up in a room on the farthest end away from the bus stop. We booked a regular room and it was a nightmare! Never again!

The pp is talking about Business Class not Beach Club...

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[silverhaze269]

I can't tell you how excited I am to be going back "home" to the Coronado Springs in September!!! The last time I was there was in May of 2011, and I seem to recall reading somewhere that The Pepper Market somehow changed since then...would someone be able to send me a link to that "new" information? I might have bypassed it in my excitement

 

[riversend22]

I can't tell you how excited I am to be going back "home" to the Coronado Springs in September!!! The last time I was there was in May of 2011, and I seem to recall reading somewhere that The Pepper Market somehow changed since then...would someone be able to send me a link to that "new" information? I might have bypassed it in my excitement

From my research (I can't link yet but maybe someone else can), Pepper Market no longer has servers that get your drinks. That is now self service. In addition, the gratuity has been done away with and is no longer required. I also believe that for breakfast, they have done away with the "buffet" style of food that they used to have. From what I've seen it's back to stations and you just get your card stamped and bring it up to the CMS to cash out when you are finished. I could be wrong about this last part though...

Not sure if that's the info you were looking for, but hopefully some of it is helpful!

 

[silverhaze269]

From my research (I can't link yet but maybe someone else can), Pepper Market no longer has servers that get your drinks. That is now self service. In addition, the gratuity has been done away with and is no longer required. I also believe that for breakfast, they have done away with the "buffet" style of food that they used to have. From what I've seen it's back to stations and you just get your card stamped and bring it up to the CMS to cash out when you are finished. I could be wrong about this last part though...

Not sure if that's the info you were looking for, but hopefully some of it is helpful!

Thanks for the info!

I think what I had read was the part about it switching to a buffet...when I was there in 2011, it was set up in stations and you had a card you had to get stamped from whatever station you went to. If you wanted to "eat in", someone sat you at a table and got your drinks, and you had an automatic gratuity added to your bill...we always took our food "to go" though. Wasn't overly huge on that set-up, so I was kind of hoping they had changed it

 

[jessibelle]

Sitting at the Laguna Bar talking to the bartenders and watching for baby gators in the Lake. I can't remember their names, but everytime we have some good conversations with them and others that come by. It's a nice relaxing evening after a crazy day in the parks.

I agree!

 

[saskdw]

While I've never been to CSR, I struggled with these same issues and ended up finally booking BC today. Remember, getting Casitas 4/5 is a REQUEST, and you could end up stuck in the boonies in Ranchos. With BC, it's a paid category, so it's guaranteed. That was the tipping factor for me. Now I KNOW where we will be, not where we WANT to be.

As for being the last bus stop, I had the same concerns. However, I've only read one negative complaint about that and I've been lurking over a lot of reviews (and that was during a busy time). In fact, more than not I read that transportation for BC is a plus.

I agree!

I have 36 nights at CSR under my belt. Casitas 4 and Cabanas 9B are my two favorite locations. The problem with Casitas 4 is you can only request it and Christmas week the resort will be full which makes it harder to honor requests.

We were there Dec 12th-24th last year in Business Class and will be this year Dec 12th-26th. The peace of mind of knowing we will have a good room location makes it an easy decision for me. IF I could guarantee Casitas 4 the choice would be harder. From the 12th-21st the buses were great and always got a seat. From the 22nd forward they were defiantly full, I did stand a couple times, but we never had a bus skip us because it was full. Most health adults would give up their seat so the little ones could sit.

The other option is to walk over to stop 4. It seems silly when stop 1 is steps away, but honestly the walk to stop 4 isn't any farther than walking from Casitas 5 to stop 2.

Hope this helps! We' ll be there riding the same buses!

 

[saskdw]

Silly question...I've read the business class rooms have DVD players, but I've also read they have Blue Ray players. Which is correct? Thinking about bringing a few movies along for when we're in the room and there is nothing on TV, but we don't own Blue Ray discs.

The website says DVD players. Our room last trip had a BluRay player.