So my wife and I just returned from 6 days in WDW at CSR.
In a word, it was fantastic.
This was my wife's first trip to WDW and the first time I had ever stayed at CSR for more than just an overnight. CSR was originally the last on my list of moderates to stay at, but I couldn't have been more pleased with how the stay there turned out.
From the moment we stepped into CSR things were just excellent. Our CM at registration was friendly and helpful and the whole process was quite quick. She even gave us incredibly specific directions to the exact corner of the particularly large building we stayed in.
We ended up in Rancho 7A, not what I specifically requested, but we were right across from the bus stop and had the brand new queen mattresses, so I was pleased with our placement.
The room itself was very nice. Comfortable and clean and pleasantly decorated. We loved the new mattresses and slept wonderfully each night.
Housekeeping did a wonderful job. We began to notice tiny little things she had kept clean for us and while we're not messy people, we can get slightly cluttered and our housekeeper did a great job helping us keep out space organized.
The buses were as good as I could have hoped. The buses always showed up at both the resort and park stops in 20 minutes or less and we almost always had a seat, except for whenever we left MK. That one was always packed, no matter what time we decided to leave. We lucked out being at bus stop 3, which is usually the second stop. By the time we reached the El Centro stop, the bus usually got packed and those people were frequently either standing or waiting for the next bus early in the mornings.
Funny little note, I almost always stayed at OKW with my parents growing up. I love that resort and my only complaint was the bus service, especially in regards to being picked up from the parks. OKW's stop is next to CSR's at every park and let me tell you, every time we walked up to the CSR stop an OKW bus was just pulling up, taunting me. One time two even came in ten minutes before the CSR bus pulled up after about a 15 minute wait. The transit times to and from the parks were also much better than expected. I always pictured CSR as being way out on its own in the middle of nowhere. I was pleased to see it's actually quite centrally located. It took 5-10 minutes to get to HS, Epcot, and AK, and maybe 15 to get to MK. Much better than what I was used to at OKW.
The pool is absolutely fantastic. We only got to spend one afternoon there, but we loved it. The theming was spectacular. It was elaborate and fanciful without being cartoony or over the top. I also thoroughly enjoyed the slide... what can I say, I'm a kid at heart.
We had some time to explore. The grounds are beautiful. Vibrant and elaborate but, once again, not over the top. The Ranchos really evoked a desert feel and I loved the beachfront at the Cabanas. We took a ton of pictures of shots of the resort from various points across the lake.
Our last day we ate at Pepper Market and really enjoyed it. I found the whole process fairly simple and the beef quesadilla I had was far better than what you could find at any other counter service site. I would definitely eat there again.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with how our resort stay turned out. Apparently, inspired by my trip my parents bought a ton of pre-owned DVC points with the intent to pass some on to my wife and I in a few years, so it seems like we may be looking at staying at villa resorts more often than CSR, but if a trip ever calls for a return to a moderate, it will be at the top of our list.
Our original plan was to stay at Pop. When we heard about free dining, crunched the numbers and realized it'd be cheaper to stay at a moderate during free dining than at Pop paying for dining, we decided to do a moderate. My first two choices at the POs were booked for free dining and my third choice CBR was supposedly undergoing a pool refurbishment while we were going to be there (it finished ahead of schedule shortly before we arrived) so we settled on CSR. After our six days staying there, my last choice was clearly the best choice.
I'll post some pictures in the next post.
! Had this happened at Disney, folks would have been up in arms vowing never to come back again, but then again we are fairly experienced travelers. I think I already love CSR, even though we haven't visited yet 
and can't wait to be able to post my own trip report.
They are beautiful!
! I was just thinking about maybe, maybe switching to a Value for our upcoming trip because the new NYB code makes a Value resort cost less than half of what we're paying for CSR, but after seeing these pics, I don't think there's any way I can possibly do it!
looooove 
CSR. We'd rather stay there than a deluxe.
