Coronado Springs or Pop Century

[DrankTheKool-Aid]

We have a preferred pool view room booked at Pop in April. This weekend we started second guessing our choice and are considering switching to a moderate for a little more space and a few more amenities. How does Coronado compare to Pop? We are primarily concerned with room size and noise/chaos at Pop and the bus service and size of the resort at Coronado. I know a lot of it comes down to personal preference but if anyone has any insights it would be much appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Mickey92]

There are pros and cons to both. Coronado is a beautiful resort and has nicer amenities. The rooms are a bit bigger and nicer than pop. It is a very large resort and there are 4 bus stops spread out across the resort. Depending on where your room is, you could be a long walk from the main building or main pool.
(They are on opposite sides of the resort). It is, however ,much calmer that Pop. Which as you mentioned can be chaotic.

I was at CS last May and had no issues with bus service to the parks, but did have several long waits getting back from the parks.

I have stayed at both and would probably pick Coronado.

A couple other things to consider, they are currently doing construction at CS, and that could cause some minor inconveniences (ex. Noise, different walking paths, etc). Also, find a map and see where you think you want to be located (near big pool or lobby) and then request that building. I like building 3 Casistas.

That’s a lot of information, hopefully it helps.

 

[DrankTheKool-Aid]

There are pros and cons to both. Coronado is a beautiful resort and has nicer amenities. The rooms are a bit bigger and nicer than pop. It is a very large resort and there are 4 bus stops spread out across the resort. Depending on where your room is, you could be a long walk from the main building or main pool.
(They are on opposite sides of the resort). It is, however ,much calmer that Pop. Which as you mentioned can be chaotic.

I was at CS last May and had no issues with bus service to the parks, but did have several long waits getting back from the parks.

I have stayed at both and would probably pick Coronado.

A couple other things to consider, they are currently doing construction at CS, and that could cause some minor inconveniences (ex. Noise, different walking paths, etc). Also, find a map and see where you think you want to be located (near big pool or lobby) and then request that building. I like building 3 Casistas.

That’s a lot of information, hopefully it helps.

That helps a ton, thank you for all the information! I think we are leaning toward Coronado. We don’t mind background noise but would like a little reprieve from the chaotic environment that can sometimes be found in the parks and are a bit worried we will not find that at Pop.

During our visit to POFQ the only time we visited the main building was to fill our beverage cups. We were primarily at the parks, at the pool or in our room. Is my understanding correct that we can have our mugs filled at the main pool? If that is the case I would be much less concerned with the resort size since we could be close to a bus stop, pool and beverages without needing to be near the lobby. Thanks again, I really appreciate your help!

 

[Micca]

CSR was our go-to moderate until we joined DVC. We thought the room size was good, and the resort itself is beautiful. We always had a car so I can't help with the transportation.

 

[Mickey92]

I have never stayed on the pool side but it is my understanding, as well, that you can fill them up on that side.

This link might be helpful. Has tons of info on Coronado.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/resort-information.3451828/#post-54509014

You are very welcome! Hope you have an awesome trip!!

 

[dminnie]

I would go for Coronado Springs. Try to get building 4 or 5. They are standard rooms, so no added cost. There's quiet pool, the health club and spa right by you, as well as a bus stop(at least when we stayed there is was the 1st stop, so we never had to stand). It's about half way between the main pool and the main building. I thought the only downside was that the pool isn't by the main building, but they do have some food at the pool. It is so pretty there, especially at night. There's a walking path all around the lake, so it's kind of relaxing if you do need to walk from place to place in the park. Also, you can always just hop on any bus to get to the main building.

 

[Mickey92]

We were in building 4 our last trip. The bus stop is just outside building 4, and yes it is the first stop.

 

[BLLB]

I have stayed in both, no transportation issues at either. But if I wanted a moderate I would pick POFQ. If choosing between POP and CS, I would pick POP. We have DVC at BWV, but just stayed at POP last week for a basketball tournament at WWOS. I was pleasantly surprised. I just thought CS was just too spread out.

 

[diana13]

I would say it depends on the crowds. I just went in December and actually did split stay in Pop and CS. I started in Pop, my 2nd stay in their newly renovated room in the past 6 months. For the value and cost, I loved it. There never seemed to be too crowded and no issues with transportation. Then this trip, when I went to CS, I was very concerned as upon arrival as the bus situation was a mess with huge crowds and bus even passing up the first stop. This alone, made the resort little less appealing. I don't like making the rounds to every stop.

I did have a very nice new renovated room at CS in building 1 and really like their rooms. As others posted, the resort is very spread out and can be confusing to figure out way around, esp with many walk pathways closed for construction. I was a far walk from dig site pool, but that didn't bother me, the bus situation was the hassle. I would say if you are paying more than double at CS, it is not worth double from Pop. I think it is worth paying for deluxe, as I appreciate the difference having an inside corridor and not an exterior door. Also, now that Pop has queen beds, that helps too in competition to moderates.. It is all personal choice, but I will say I never thought I would be comfortable at a value, since really like the deluxes. I started going as a kid to what was the only hotels, deluxes, then taking my own kids and choosing various deluxes over past 22 years, but now with the rates so high, we are now more inclined to choose resort, not level, esp since we fly in and stays can be about 10 days. I do love split stays too!
Good luck in your decision.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

I would choose Pop. I had a bad experience at CSR a couple years ago and I don't think I'll ever go back. Plus the resort is HUGE!!! We typically stay at POR and that seemed tiny compared to CSR.
I like that Pop only has one bus stop and a queue. I like the food at Pop and I love the overall theming. I stayed in a renovated room this summer and it was amazing! It did not feel like a value resort at all.
The only thing I liked about CSR was the buses, they were surprisingly fast and plentiful. We never waited more than 15 minutes (even at park closing) and always got on the first bus that showed up. But I haven't had bad experiences at Pop with buses, just not as good as I did at CSR.

 

[Disneylover99]

I liked CSR okay, but it was just too big for me. Lakeside at Pop has always been relaxing and quiet at Pop.

 

[LetsDoDisney!]

We like both but prefer CSR. I love that it's spread out, it's so peaceful walking around the lake at night with the lights. The bridge across the lake is beautiful too, although I know they are doing construction right now. We were there in May and the construction didn't bother us at all. I also like that there is a hot tub there and queen size beds in all the rooms. I know Pop is adding them also but I don't think they are in all the rooms yet. The hammocks at the edge of the lake is one of my favorite places to be on checkout day, I love to lay and look at the lake for a 1/2 hour or so before leaving.....we prefer Building 8 for this reason.