Coronado Springs Newbie...Tell Me Everything I Need to Know

[Little E]

Hi Disfriends!

I'm a WDW vet, year old DVC owner, and brand new AP holder. I purchased an AP when it became available to DVC folks earlier this year, and I am looking to do a quick three day solo trip at the end of August.

I have a DVC trip booked with DH for the fall where we used the remainder of our 2023 points, which is why I didn't book a DVC resort. I felt like the AP cash rates were pretty good, so I booked a standard room at CS. It might be a little weird, but I booked at CS becauseI've never stayed there before and I wanted to try something new-to-me. I have sort of a silly goal to stay at every WDW resort at some point in the future and staying at CS rounds out the mods for me.

I have done a little research and I've looked at some YouTube videos to get a sense of what a standard room is like and I've searched Disboard threads a little. However, I figured it might just be easier to ask folks who have CS experience...what do I need to know? I know CS is a large resort with multiple internal bus stops and I know it's a convention center. What's the good, the bad, and ugly about this resort? What are things you love about it? What are its drawbacks? To be clear, I'm not second guessing booking here. I'm excited and I want to know what to expect.

To give you a little background: it's just me for a quick trip. I want to hit the parks and rest by the pool, whenever the spirit moves me. DH and I will have just dropped DS #1 at college for his senior year and DS #2 at college for his freshman year. DH and I have a wedding in Chicago that we are flying to for the weekend of August 25-27. DH will fly home at the end of the weekend, and I'll fly from Chicago to MCO for a quick trip. Can you tell I'm anxious to activate my AP and I'm not quite ready to process the beginning of our empty nest situation?

Any info folks want to share would be fantastic! Thank you!

 

[HarlleeSarah]

Hi Disfriends!

I'm a WDW vet, year old DVC owner, and brand new AP holder. I purchased an AP when it became available to DVC folks earlier this year, and I am looking to do a quick three day solo trip at the end of August.

I have a DVC trip booked with DH for the fall where we used the remainder of our 2023 points, which is why I didn't book a DVC resort. I felt like the AP cash rates were pretty good, so I booked a standard room at CS. It might be a little weird, but I booked at CS becauseI've never stayed there before and I wanted to try something new-to-me. I have sort of a silly goal to stay at every WDW resort at some point in the future and staying at CS rounds out the mods for me.

I have done a little research and I've looked at some YouTube videos to get a sense of what a standard room is like and I've searched Disboard threads a little. However, I figured it might just be easier to ask folks who have CS experience...what do I need to know? I know CS is a large resort with multiple internal bus stops and I know it's a convention center. What's the good, the bad, and ugly about this resort? What are things you love about it? What are its drawbacks? To be clear, I'm not second guessing booking here. I'm excited and I want to know what to expect.

To give you a little background: it's just me for a quick trip. I want to hit the parks and rest by the pool, whenever the spirit moves me. DH and I will have just dropped DS #1 at college for his senior year and DS #2 at college for his freshman year. DH and I have a wedding in Chicago that we are flying to for the weekend of August 25-27. DH will fly home at the end of the weekend, and I'll fly from Chicago to MCO for a quick trip. Can you tell I'm anxious to activate my AP and I'm not quite ready to process the beginning of our empty nest situation?

Any info folks want to share would be fantastic! Thank you!

You're going to wish CSR is DVC by the end of your stay. We loved the room, it is updated and nice. Three bridges bar in the middle of the pond is AMAZING! Just go early, grab a drink, and relax. Main tower is absolutely gorgeous. We didn't love Toledo on the top, but would give it another try.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[DisArmyWife215]

Deleted

 

[BCarruthers]

I had a short stay at CSR last year and it was super chill. I purposely planned the 4 day stay there knowing we only had 1 park day (Animal Kingdom). On our down days we hopped over to AKL and ate at Sanaa. We made our way to Three Bridges one night but it seemed more of an adult environment so we passed since we had our kid. Honestly though, my favorite part of staying in that resort was getting up early every day, walking down to get a coffee and just walking the resort. I would chill in the hammocks and one day even followed a turtle from a few yards back and watched him dive into the lake. The room was really nice and much cheaper than other Disney resorts. Loved the gift shop too.

 

[R&RsMom]

long post: We’ve stayed at Coronado 5 times, with another stay this coming October.
I book standard, non tower, because the lower building have a great resort feel. I will say, the bridges they added made a huge difference in reducing walk times. Everything is very walkable, and I’m definitely a senior. The main themed pool is often cited as one of the best at WDW. In addition to the main themed pool, there is a quiet pool in each village. Last trip, we didn’t even go to the themed Because the quiet pool was always just us and one other family every day, so it was like having a private pool. That said, we have no little kids; if we did, the slide would have been higher priority. In terms of food, we enjoyed lunch from Rix Sports bar and dinner at Three Bridges. We do not eat a lot of meals at the resort, because of touring style. I have not experienced this, but others have said El Mercado food court quality is reduced. Over the years, I have found CSR busses to be excellent, especially in the morning. I think perhaps because convention guests don’t go to the park early. This last trip, we were in the furthest Ranchos building, but the bus was literally 1 minute walk from the building. We did have long waits for busses twice: once coming back from Epcot midafternoon; CSR bus was missing in action for close to an hour. Then, my sons-in-law and grandson needed to get from the resort to HS to build light sabers, and they ended up Ubering because no bus came for 40ish minutes. CSR refunded them the cost of the Uber. I don’t have any more ugly….

 

[Little E]

Thank you, all, for your feedback. This is incredibly helpful!

 

[EpcotPhoenician]

If you have the cash, and it’s not too much more, definitely go with the tower.

I have stayed in the tower a half dozen times, most recently during Hurricane Ian (I am a local and needed to get out of the flood zone), and the experience has been nothing short of incredible.

 

[Leigh L]

Hi Disfriends!

I'm a WDW vet, year old DVC owner, and brand new AP holder. I purchased an AP when it became available to DVC folks earlier this year, and I am looking to do a quick three day solo trip at the end of August.

I have a DVC trip booked with DH for the fall where we used the remainder of our 2023 points, which is why I didn't book a DVC resort. I felt like the AP cash rates were pretty good, so I booked a standard room at CS. It might be a little weird, but I booked at CS becauseI've never stayed there before and I wanted to try something new-to-me. I have sort of a silly goal to stay at every WDW resort at some point in the future and staying at CS rounds out the mods for me.

I have done a little research and I've looked at some YouTube videos to get a sense of what a standard room is like and I've searched Disboard threads a little. However, I figured it might just be easier to ask folks who have CS experience...what do I need to know? I know CS is a large resort with multiple internal bus stops and I know it's a convention center. What's the good, the bad, and ugly about this resort? What are things you love about it? What are its drawbacks? To be clear, I'm not second guessing booking here. I'm excited and I want to know what to expect.

To give you a little background: it's just me for a quick trip. I want to hit the parks and rest by the pool, whenever the spirit moves me. DH and I will have just dropped DS #1 at college for his senior year and DS #2 at college for his freshman year. DH and I have a wedding in Chicago that we are flying to for the weekend of August 25-27. DH will fly home at the end of the weekend, and I'll fly from Chicago to MCO for a quick trip. Can you tell I'm anxious to activate my AP and I'm not quite ready to process the beginning of our empty nest situation?

Any info folks want to share would be fantastic! Thank you!

We are big fans of CSR! I'm going on a partial solo trip in September and just moved to CSR from ASMu. I think it's a great resort to try as a solo if you're a first-timer for CSR.

The CMs there are awesome, so friendly and kind. Had several stays at the resort during the pandemic (a great resort to work and attend virtual school). Also, during the height of Covid, the CMs were CONSTANTLY cleaning common areas. I was beyond impressed at the pristine shape of both rooms and common areas.

Since you're not in the tower, buses should be fine. The only place I experienced issues is at the Tower stop first thing in the morning since it's the last one and it seems that's a hit-or-miss issue. Other bus stops have been fine. Only a problem if you want to rope drop and are at the tower. Night time returns you might be at the bus stop for a while, I seem to remember long waits at MK a few times.

The vibe is super chill and my favorite thing to do at Coronado (not really a pool person) is simply walk around the grounds, sit at the tables outside (usually with a mobile order) the food has been pretty good, mostly. We stayed for the first time in 2019 so don't know what it was like at CSR before, but the bridges are a major upgrade it seems!

For my upcoming trip, it was supposed to be super budget (and ASMu was $99 a night!) but DD can't go for the full trip and will be joining me a couple of days later. I didn't want to be at ASMu by myself, esp since I'd never stayed there before and felt better booking at a resort I'm familiar with. ASMo (where I have stayed before) had no availability for the lower prices and CSR was only a little more than a preferred at ASMo. No brainer for me!

So I switched to CSR. Tower two nights (couldn't pass up the 35% discount on that for our dates since the tower is amazing!), then moving to a standard room since the price moves to a lesser discount after that and I didn't want to double the cost of my original stay lol.

Enjoy! I think you'll love it . The only area we haven't stayed yet in is Cabanas. Ranchos is super quiet and, as posted above, easy to get to bus stop.

 

[AspenLL]

The tower is the way to go. We are DVC owners too and this is our go-to for quick trips.

 

[EpcotPhoenician]

The tower is the way to go. We are DVC owners too and this is our go-to for quick trips.

Couldn’t agree with this more. The regular rooms at CSR are nice, but the tower adds that Deluxe feel.

 

[Selket]

Hi Disfriends!

I'm a WDW vet, year old DVC owner, and brand new AP holder. I purchased an AP when it became available to DVC folks earlier this year, and I am looking to do a quick three day solo trip at the end of August.

I have a DVC trip booked with DH for the fall where we used the remainder of our 2023 points, which is why I didn't book a DVC resort. I felt like the AP cash rates were pretty good, so I booked a standard room at CS. It might be a little weird, but I booked at CS becauseI've never stayed there before and I wanted to try something new-to-me. I have sort of a silly goal to stay at every WDW resort at some point in the future and staying at CS rounds out the mods for me.

I have done a little research and I've looked at some YouTube videos to get a sense of what a standard room is like and I've searched Disboard threads a little. However, I figured it might just be easier to ask folks who have CS experience...what do I need to know? I know CS is a large resort with multiple internal bus stops and I know it's a convention center. What's the good, the bad, and ugly about this resort? What are things you love about it? What are its drawbacks? To be clear, I'm not second guessing booking here. I'm excited and I want to know what to expect.

To give you a little background: it's just me for a quick trip. I want to hit the parks and rest by the pool, whenever the spirit moves me. DH and I will have just dropped DS #1 at college for his senior year and DS #2 at college for his freshman year. DH and I have a wedding in Chicago that we are flying to for the weekend of August 25-27. DH will fly home at the end of the weekend, and I'll fly from Chicago to MCO for a quick trip. Can you tell I'm anxious to activate my AP and I'm not quite ready to process the beginning of our empty nest situation?

Any info folks want to share would be fantastic! Thank you!

My son started his Disney internship program a few weeks ago and we stayed in CSR before he moved in to his apartment. We had a Casitas room - loved it! Bus stop #2 near Casitas 4 is the first stop generally for park buses if that will matter to you. 3 Bridges was great - we ate there one night and mobile ordered and ate near the food court other nights. The tower looks beautiful but I still love the regular rooms since the grounds are amazing to go through and you miss that staying in the tower.

The only things I'd change to make it feel more like a deluxe is a better gift shop or more gift shop choices. That's really a minor thing tho lol! Conventions are sometimes kids and sometimes all adults so that is kind of hit and miss. I've never had an issue but it can sometimes make the QS place busy if they all break at once for lunch, etc. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[VickiVM]

We checked into CSR last night and so far LOVE the resort. Started out rocky at first, but not their fault. Our flight arrived at around 10pm. After picking up our luggage, we realized my husband left his duffel bag on the airplane…just forgot all about it. It had all his clothes, his meds and our MB’s. At that point all we could do was leave his name and number so SW could call if they found it. Took Mears shuttle to CSR and it was close to 11:30pm before we arrived. We didn't receive our room assignment until almost 8pm and were assigned to the Ranchos (standard view), not ideal. So when we arrived at the resort I went to the front desk and asked if there was a room closer. I was willing to pay for an upgrade if necessary. The CM was super helpful, very patient and upgraded us to the Cabanas at a very reasonable price, directly adjacent to the tower. Corner room with the pool literally outside our door. I am totally in love with this resort!! Room is spacious with lots of space for storage. AC working well, and the ceiling fan is a bonus. We had an early lunch at Rix’s Sports Bar and Grill. It was delicious. Then later this evening we had drinks and shared a charcuterie snack at Barcelona Lounge. My husband had dinner at Three Bridges and loved it. (I wasn’t hungry and opted to stay back in the room.) Now that our kids are adults and it’s just me and my husband, this resort is totally our vibe. It feels like a deluxe and I would choose it again for future vacations.