Just Back from Coronado Springs!

[tinkerbellmagic]

Hi, Nice report, thanks!
Can you tell me if there were many convention people and if so, how did that go? Did it make the Pepper Market crowded or was it loud at night?
Thanks,
tink

 

[CanadianGuy]

There were a couple of small conventions on-going while I was there. Didn't bother me in the least. They certainly weren't on the buses much from what I could tell. One was a leadership conference for students from NCAA schools.. The other one had more middle-aged guys in golf shirts than I could count! That one coulda been anything.

Pepper Market was not crowded significantly anytime I walked by it. Mind you, I didn't go by there more than 1 x a day.

Knox

 

[teamagic]

First off, welcome back! Now I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind.

What is your overall or total impression of the resort?

Would you stay there again or try a different Mod?

Did you get a chance to check out the pool and was it as cool looking as the pictures make it out to be?

Did you take the bus service to the parks and if so, how was the wait?


I'm thinking of booking a stay there or at POR for a quickie trip next spring and wondered if you can compare the two?


Welcome back again and thanks for posting.

Having stayed at both POR and CSR, I have a few answers to your questions. We stayed two times at POR before we finally decided to stay at CSR. My family loved POR. They love the theming and food court at POR. Then we stayed CSR and now everyone loves CSR. We all like the food court layout so much better. Once you understand the system, it really makes sense. We just got back from a quick trip and stayed at POP and we all talked about how we wish all the resort food courts would go to CSR system. At POP, you would stand in line for 10 minutes to pay for you food and if you want anything else, you need to stand in that line another 10 minutes. However, at CSR you can go get something, have your card stamped, eat and go back and get some more fruit, ice cream, or a cookie for the kids. You only have to stand in line to pay(and we rarly stood in line) once.

The pool at CSR is fantastic. My kids did not want to leave it to go to a water park.

Bus service at CSR is among the best. POR usually shares with french quarters and the bus lines are usually long. Keep in mind if a convention is going on at CSR, most of the convention goers will not be on the bus in the morning since they will be at meetings. And in the evenings it seems like most convention goers spend the evening relaxing at the pool or Downtown Disney. The bus lines for CSR are usually not as crowded as other resorts. For our stay at POP, the lines were LONG - wait for 2 - 3 buses in the evening. After the fireworks at the MK, we waited for 5 buses before we got a bus.

Either resort is good. But, I would pick CSR.

 

[Buzz2001]

Having stayed at both POR and CSR, I have a few answers to your questions. We stayed two times at POR before we finally decided to stay at CSR. My family loved POR. They love the theming and food court at POR. Then we stayed CSR and now everyone loves CSR. We all like the food court layout so much better. Once you understand the system, it really makes sense. We just got back from a quick trip and stayed at POP and we all talked about how we wish all the resort food courts would go to CSR system. At POP, you would stand in line for 10 minutes to pay for you food and if you want anything else, you need to stand in that line another 10 minutes. However, at CSR you can go get something, have your card stamped, eat and go back and get some more fruit, ice cream, or a cookie for the kids. You only have to stand in line to pay(and we rarly stood in line) once.

The pool at CSR is fantastic. My kids did not want to leave it to go to a water park.

Bus service at CSR is among the best. POR usually shares with french quarters and the bus lines are usually long. Keep in mind if a convention is going on at CSR, most of the convention goers will not be on the bus in the morning since they will be at meetings. And in the evenings it seems like most convention goers spend the evening relaxing at the pool or Downtown Disney. The bus lines for CSR are usually not as crowded as other resorts. For our stay at POP, the lines were LONG - wait for 2 - 3 buses in the evening. After the fireworks at the MK, we waited for 5 buses before we got a bus.

Either resort is good. But, I would pick CSR.

Another very good summary!

 

[mom22boys]

Since you did have the opportunity to walk around the whole resort, which section did you like the best and why?

 

[kribit]

Yeah.. twice in one year.. That's it now for a while. Unless of course.....

Knox

Well I hope you something I don't. After all that, I had to give mine up to a work scheduling conflict. I tried everything in the book to keep it, but I just wasn't lucky this time. My travel agent said they may offer something up after the free dining promotion is over, so we shall see. It sure would be interesting around here wouldn't it?

 

[Trip2Disney]

How did you like Cabanas 8A? We will be staying at CSR in September and I was thinking of requesting this building to be near the Dig Site, but my DH is concerned that it might be too close. Did you think this building was any louder than others because of its location near the pool?

 

[CanadianGuy]

Since you did have the opportunity to walk around the whole resort, which section did you like the best and why?

It's funny. Friends of mine were staying in Casita's 5 .. so I got to see the rooms over there.. and I walked around.

I thought the Rancho's area was really pretty as well ... quieter probably. Certainly more removed from some things. But I like the southwest theme of the whole resort..

I think the key is that each area meets different needs. I liked Cabana's cause I was close to the pool area and within a 8 to 10 minute walk to the main building, Pepper Market and so on.

How did you like Cabanas 8A? We will be staying at CSR in September and I was thinking of requesting this building to be near the Dig Site, but my DH is concerned that it might be too close. Did you think this building was any louder than others because of its location near the pool?

Absolutely not any louder from inside my room.

I had a room as CLOSE to the Dig Site pool area as you can pretty much get. At the very end corner of Cabana's 8A... I didn't hear ANYTHING inside my room from the pool area... or really anywhere else.

The pool is well sheltered with some trees and bushes around the edges. Keeps it pretty quiet.

Knox

 

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

Thanks for your review! I'll be staying at CSR in November and can't wait! I have one question- How far were the casitas from the main building?

 

[CanadianGuy]

Most of the Casitas were a similar distance from the main buildings as the Cabana's in my experience... and about a 6 to 8 minute walk to the Dig Site Pool.

Hope that helps!

Knox

 

[Pig Pen]

I don't have any questions, but I do have some comments about CSR. We have stayed there numerous times and are returning in November. Initially I had booked CR instead but DH whined so much about the price for a garden view I changed it to CSR.

We love CSR. We have stayed in Casitas 3x and Cabanas once. I prefer the look and feel of Casitas...much more Mexican/Mediterranean while Cabanas is more Caribbean. The grounds are all beautiful so it really doesn't matter where you stay! This November I am paying extra for a waterview. I have been upgraded 2x for free, but I don't want to chance it this time!

I enjoy the Pepper Market and didn't realize why until I read the above posts. I find it very annoying at the values to have to stand in line with a tray of food to pay, then have to get your drink and wander around to find a place to sit. By the time you eat, everything is cold! I will gladly pay the 10% gratuity to get hot food immediately and pay as you leave.

We also enjoyed the multiple pools at CSR. If the Dig Site is too active, a quiet pool is always an option. Lucky for us we have never been at the Dig Site when it was "too crowded."

The buses have always been frequent and uncrowded at CSR. Even when leaving MK after fireworks, the lines for the CSR bus move quickly compared to the values. Perhaps conventioneers don't go to the parks? And speaking of conventioneers....

They don't bother us in the least. Of course we are empty nesters so we enjoy the adult feel of the resort. One of our favorite nighttime activities at the resort is grabbing a drink at the bar and sitting outside El Centro and observing the "party." We even saw the notorious gator in the lake one night!

Okay, I will stop gushing. I am just soooo homesick for WDW right now and these memories help salve the pain.

 

[LionKingRules84]

This thread makes me feel better about my choice of resorts for my trip in September. Only question I have is since you encountered love bugs while there, I need to ask this question which I've asked multiple times on this board and still no one has given me an answer, do the love bugs get into the resort rooms?

 

[CanadianGuy]

Sometimes you might get one or two in your room when you open or close the door. NOT a big deal.

They are slow moving and very stupid. Thus, pretty easy to take care of..

I got ONE in my room the whole trip. There were a couple lingering on the outside of my door on occasion and I would just scootch them off with my room key and then open the door.

Really.. the only time the LoveBugs were any trouble for me.. was when I was trying to eat poolside and they just were too distracting for me to ignore..

Never bothered me in the parks.. or anywhere else.

Knox

 

[Buzz2001]

This thread makes me feel better about my choice of resorts for my trip in September. Only question I have is since you encountered love bugs while there, I need to ask this question which I've asked multiple times on this board and still no one has given me an answer, do the love bugs get into the resort rooms?

I thought they were more of a summer thing. You shouldn't have a problem in Sept.

 

[Quinn222]

I thought they were more of a summer thing. You shouldn't have a problem in Sept.

They come out twice a year, spring and fall. As I recall we get them more to the end of September into October than in early September.

 

[Buzz2001]

They come out twice a year, spring and fall. As I recall we get them more to the end of September into October than in early September.

Twice a year I did not know that. Thanks!

 

[Mickey23]

Thanks for posting!!

 

[karibritt01]

Hi, Nice report, thanks!
Can you tell me if there were many convention people and if so, how did that go? Did it make the Pepper Market crowded or was it loud at night?
Thanks,
tink

The conventioners seem to meet in the AM, so the Dig Site pool was never crowded then. We ate twice at Pepper Market, around noon-1PM, and never had a problem. In the evenings, it seemed most were headed to DTD and PI, so no problems there. I should add that we were there in June 2006, and there were 4 large conventions there that we knew of... but never bothered us in the least.

Bus service at CSR is among the best.

I second that! We never had to wait longer than 10 minutes, with the exception of leaving DTD. We only had a full bus twice during our 7 day vacation.

Since you did have the opportunity to walk around the whole resort, which section did you like the best and why?

We stayed in Ranchos 7A, and we loved it. It was extremly quiet. We were just a 3 minute walk from our bus stop to our door, including the elevator ride. It took us approx 10 min to walk to the Dig Site pool, and 15-20 to walk to El Centro... depending on what the kids stopped to look at along the way. We loved this section and resort so much, we have requested it for our stay this year!

 

[ToyStory]

Thanks for your review. I am glad we are staying here now once again.

 

[Stinkerbell317]

We just returned from WDW and staying at the CSR. My first impression was that the interior, decor, and landscaping was so beautiful! We checked in but did not get the bldg I requested (Cabana 8b). The CM asked me why I requested that bldg. I said it was near the restaurants and El Centro. Instead he put us in Casitas 1 (on the other side of El Centro) which I think worked out even better for us since it was imperative that I have my iced tea refill at the Pepper Market every morning before getting on the bus ( I loved my mug!). Since we would walk right past PM on the way out to the bus stop, it was right on the way. Plus we got to see the beautiful Palm Court and the huge rectangular fountain on our way out every morning.

We did see a lot of conventioneers, but I did not mind. I just felt sorry for them that they were at WDW and had to sit in conferences all day!

I did find PM a little confusing when actually ordering food, but it was my first experience there. I thought the kid's selections were limited. But my food was tasty.

I do have a couple other criticisms. One morning we waited almost 25 minutes for a bus to Epcot. I never got a reason why this happened, but by the time we got to the park (9:30am), the lines for the big rides were already very long. All other wait times besides that one were abt 5 minutes.

Also, the service at the Maya Grill was lacking. No one waited on us for 15 minutes, and I had to get up and chase down a CM to get a waitress to come over. Even after that the service was still very slow. The food was delicious, however.

AND Mousekeeping never did anything cute with my son's stuffed Disney toys! I had told him all abt how fun it is to come home at the end of the day and find the characters in the room. Didn't happen this trip at all. Maybe we were lucky in the past to have this? I thought it was a standard thing.