Busses and odds of getting requested section of CSR in May?

[frannn]

We've had great luck over the years with getting requested sections at the value resorts. Will prob be requesting Casitas building 4 if we stay at CSR (standard) in May. Really don't want to end up in Rancheros cause of the distance to bus. Have you usually gotten your first request at CSR? Also, what kind of experience have you had with the busses there? Are they usually packed and/or infrequent? Trying to decide to upgrade from POP and want to make sure it won't be a huge mistake without the skyliner. Is CSR closer to some of the parks than POP?

 

[kylenne]

I can’t speak to the buildings or more recent bus situations (I stayed in the tower in summer 2021) but I can say that CSR is much more centrally located on property than the “AK resort area” designation would suggest. I actually timed it one morning and it was a 10 min bus ride to MK. No park felt super far away.

 

[Dug720]

I stayed at CSR in July 2021 and had requested Cabanas but was given Casitas 4 (not sure if that was what I actually had been assigned or if the CM who was at the desk when I asked for my birthday button just looked to see what was available). At first I was like "Meh" because my other stay at CSR years before had been in Casitas and was not great (starting with assigning me to a room and telling me it was ready only to discover that someone was still in there - and I think may have been in the bathroom when I walked in (ALWAYS put those extra locks on!!) - and it didn't get much better) - but I ended up loving it.

Given that other than going to Disney Springs the busses to the parks start at the Casitas stop, it was never an issue. I don't remember them ever being full getting on the first or second bus - and as @kylenne said, none of the rides to the parks are that far. Frequency is - as always at any resort - going to depend on when you're going. At opening and closing there will be more frequent busses while at the less busy mid-day times they may be every 20 minutes.

One thing to remember is that the Skyliner DOES go down for weather or other reasons and then you're waiting on busses getting redeployed and/or being slowly pulled into a station to disembark. That (and having experienced the stoppage while staying at Pop and at least at that point they combined AoA and Pop on busses from the various Skyliner stations, so it was a HOT MESS to get everyone off at AoA because most of us from Pop had to get off to let them off, then get back on) and the fact that parties are sharing them again puts Skyliner resorts at the bottom of my list personally.

 

[kwdw]

I love the Ranceros section because it’s so quiet. Regardless of where you end up, the bus does circle the resort so it’s never far to a bus stop.

 

[snikki]

We were there in November for 9 nights and requested Casitas 4. We got Ranchos. I wasn't happy about it because of what I had read on the boards. I even went to the front desk but they had nothing else available.

We ended up loving it. We were a 2 minute walk to the bus stop. A 3 minute walk to the pool. With the bridges we weren't a far walk from Three Bridges, the tower, El Mercado, etc.

I also didn't realize how centrally located the resort is to the parks. The rides to the parks and back were so quick.

The busses ran great also. We only had 2 bus stops after us when leaving to the parks. And we were the second stop coming back from the parks. There were 2 times that we skipped the tower stop when we were heading to the parks since the bus was at capacity and at least 1-2 times that everyone at the tower couldn't get on our bus.

It really was a great spot at the resort and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

 

[SL6827]

Ranchos is beautiful!

 

[loves to dive]

The buses are the buses are the buses at WDW. The service is the same at all the resorts, can be slow can be fast depending on the traffic, number of people waiting, etc. Casitas is stop #2 but is the first stop picking up and dropping off. All the sections have bus stops so no matter what section you are in, you are not going to be far from a bus stop. If you are in Cabanas or the Tower there is a chance the bus is going to be full when it reaches you, more so the Tower than Cabanas. I've stayed at all the sections except the Tower and loved them all. I know it looks like Ranchos is far away but with the bridges now, it's not really that far to the main building. I wouldn't be specific about building #4, building #5 in the Casitas is just walk across the parking lot to the bus stop. I've actually been booked in the Ranchos and when I checked in (I always go to the front desk because I usually arrive around 1 or 2 and a room isn't ready) I was moved to Casitas because I was a single female and they had assigned me a first floor room and the person at the desk wanted me to have a higher floor. It really didn't matter to me one way or another.

 

[Terryj529]

. We always request Rancheros since its centrally located, thanks to the new bridges and it always a short walk to the bus stop, and the main areas. The ride to the parks are short, except for the Magic Kingdom and even that is not too bad of a time. The only long bus trip is to Disney Springs, seems like it takes forever. I think CSR is a hidden gem