Back from Coronado Springs

[SillyOleBear]

Hi all! My family just returned from a grand gathering in Disney World where we stayed at Coronado Springs. Despite the chilly/rainy weather the first few days, we had a fantastic trip! I wish the resort had a little more Disney theming - there weren't any Mickey/Disney references which I was surprised by. I also have to say that this is the first time ever that I have complaints about the resort that we stayed at. Perhaps it was because it was so busy, but we ran into the following problems:

1. Housekeeping - absolutely awful! They took the soap at our sink and bathtub, but never replaced it. Took the empty box of tissues, but never replaced those either. Mirrors weren't cleaned and neither were the bathroom floors. I was very disappointed.

2. Front Desk - my group (4 rooms) went in person to the front desk and asked for a late check-out at 1 PM. The guest services member said he would do late check-out for two rooms, but not the other two rooms (defeats the purpose). I went back to my room and called the front desk from the room phone and they were more than happy to setup late check-out for ALL rooms.

3. Buses - ridiculous! I had called when making our reservation to ask which bus stop is picked up first and dropped off first and I was told bus stop 1. Needless to say, bus stop 1 was picked up LAST and dropped off LAST which meant the buses were always full. Arrived at bus stop at 7:15 a.m. to go to Magic Kingdom for an 8:10 a.m. princess breakfast reservation. 3 Epcot buses and 3 MGM buses arrived over the course of 50 minutes, but not a single Magic Kingdom bus came. We finally complained to one of the Epcot bus drivers and he said he'd radio in to have a bus come. Turns out, the Magic Kingom buses were filling up at stops 2, 3, and 4 and simply skipped over stop 1. Thankfully, the folks at the princess breakfast were nice enough to hold our reservation. Left at 7:00 p.m. one night to head over to Downtown Disney. The bus arrived fairly quickly, but our driver NEVER went over 20 mph for the entire trip - we didn't arrive to Downtown Disney until 8:15 p.m.!!!!

4. Pepper Market - the food was excellent and I loved the theming. We ran into trouble when it came to leaving - the lines to pay were always incredibly long and slow (usually only 1 cashier even though it was a peak time). When we came for drink refills, we were still asked to wait in the line to leave.

Of course, we didn't let these few negatives ruin our trip. We had a wonderful Disney experience, but I don't think I'd pick Coronado Springs again.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I'm sorry you didn't have such a good experience there. We went for our honeymoon in Feb. and loved it. We have even gone so far as to say we may not try any other resort.

Still, so sorry.

 

[Renysmom]

I am sorry you had such a bad experience. I've never been to WDW but the one thing I have learned is that if something is not to your liking complain to the resort manager when it is happening and usually the problem is fixed right away.

I actually am glad to hear you say that CS has no disney related theming. Only my DH and I are going on this trip and I think "getting away from Disney" a little bit each day will be a good thing, change of atmosphere while still there..

I hope the rest of your trip was wonderful.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

It's a conference-centered hotel, you know, a setting where businesses can meet and such, so it's not really a kid-friendly resort. So in my child-free opinion, it's a wonderful place to stay! VERY quiet and peaceful. The decor is not loud. It's a very laid back place and I would gladly live there if I could

 

[Renysmom]

Lindsay - Sounds perfect since this is just a me and DH trip.. My stepson is thinking about coming with a friend but they would get their own place and since they are both 22 it should work for them as well.

Kelly

 

[Leota]

Sorry you had such a bad experience with CSR. Ours was completely opposite. CSR far exceeded our expectations.
Most of the WDW resorts don't have overt Disney themeing - All-Stars, yes & a few touches at Contemporary & GF. I think CSR does a marvelous job of SouthWest Themeing.

 

[dizkidz2]

We just returned the end on Nov. from our 6th stay at CSR and always have had a great time. We have taken our kids and others of all ages to this resort and never felt it not to be kid-friendly. We have been at the CSR when there has been small conventions to very large ones and the only place it seems to matter is sometimes at breakfast or at Franciscos in the evening.
We were there the weekend before Thanksgiving, when there were literally 2,000 teenagers staying from various church groups and the resort was extremely quiet in the morning and at night.
The bus transportations has been one of the reasons we also stay at the CSR. Not all buses pick-up @ stop #2 first. I can't remember the route but some of the buses start pick-up and drop off @ #1, and others start pick-up & drop off at #2.
And Sillyolebear if you had problems with mousekeeping you should have called. They have always gone out of their way to rectify the situation.

 

[disneybride96]

complain to the resort manager

I am a manager (not with Disney or even in Hospitality), but I find that people who bring an opportunity to my attention in a civil manner are going to get a lot more from me than those who "complain". Most managers want to make things right, and will go above an beyond for people that give them the opportunity. Sorry! Just venting after a tough day at work!

 

[LuvN~Travel]

HOW MANY kids were there before Thanksgiving? Wow, we didn't notice anything odd. I think my youngest was the noisiest kid around that I heard.
Sorry, you had so many problems. We were really fortunate when we went. Of course since we ate at the Pepper Mkt for breakfast most days, we used the number 1 bus stop every morning. It did help to catch the buses somewhere else, though.
Kim