Coronado Springs Resort -- New Unofficial FAQ Thread -- November 2009

[KatMark]

Before things get too hectic tomorrow and Friday and I don't get to "Dis", I want to wish all my CSR friends a very Merry Christmas! I hope you all enjoy this time with your family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SkcMom]

Same to you and yours Kathy! Thanks for all you do!!

 

[tinacaplan]

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! Especially you, Kathy...without you I wouldn't be only two months and twenty some days away from my dream vacation! God only knows where I might have made my reservations.

 

[kschafer]

thanks for this wonderful thread KatMark!!!

I directed my friend here when we were debating resorts. Now that we are booked, I can here and get excited over and over

 

[aubriee]

Before things get too hectic tomorrow and Friday and I don't get to "Dis", I want to wish all my CSR friends a very Merry Christmas! I hope you all enjoy this time with your family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Same to you guys!

We just got back late Sunday night. Had a great time and loved CSR. We had a great room on the first floor, back side of Cabanas 9B facing the smaller lake/pond. We were just a couple of minutes from bus stop 1 and the main building and a couple of minutes from the main pool. It was an absolutely perfect location. We loved it. We had booked a standard room, so were really surprised and excited to get the upgrade to a water view room in 9B. Buses were more crowded than when I was there in Sept/Oct, but the parks were also more crowded, so I wasn't surprised. Overall though the trip couldn't have been better. My mom and husband both fell in love with the resort.

I took advantage of the bounceback offer and booked three trips to WDW for 2010 (May at PORS, Oct at CBR, and Dec back at CSR). May and Dec will probably be solo trips. My husband is saying I should change all three reservations to CSR. I am considering it and probably would, if there was someway I could guarantee I wouldn't be assigned a room out in the Ranchos. I love the Cabanas and Casitas, but really dislike the Ranchos.

 

[Up_Is_Down]

I did the Disney College Program in 2008 and I worked the Front Desk at Coronado Springs
I absolutely love that resort!!


Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

 

[tinacaplan]

...and I just made my FINAL payment for my February trip to CSR!

 

[KatMark]

Same to you and yours Kathy! Thanks for all you do!!

You are welcome.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! Especially you, Kathy...without you I wouldn't be only two months and twenty some days away from my dream vacation! God only knows where I might have made my reservations.

Thanks...you are very sweet.

thanks for this wonderful thread KatMark!!!

I directed my friend here when we were debating resorts. Now that we are booked, I can here and get excited over and over

Thank you...glad you like it and I'm thrilled you and your friend are staying at the CSR.

Same to you guys!

We just got back late Sunday night. Had a great time and loved CSR. We had a great room on the first floor, back side of Cabanas 9B facing the smaller lake/pond. We were just a couple of minutes from bus stop 1 and the main building and a couple of minutes from the main pool. It was an absolutely perfect location. We loved it. We had booked a standard room, so were really surprised and excited to get the upgrade to a water view room in 9B. Buses were more crowded than when I was there in Sept/Oct, but the parks were also more crowded, so I wasn't surprised. Overall though the trip couldn't have been better. My mom and husband both fell in love with the resort.

I took advantage of the bounceback offer and booked three trips to WDW for 2010 (May at PORS, Oct at CBR, and Dec back at CSR). May and Dec will probably be solo trips. My husband is saying I should change all three reservations to CSR. I am considering it and probably would, if there was someway I could guarantee I wouldn't be assigned a room out in the Ranchos. I love the Cabanas and Casitas, but really dislike the Ranchos.

Aubriee, I am thrilled that you had a second great visit in a row to the CSR and that you booked a bounceback. I'm glad your mom and husband fell in love with CSR too. I had a feeling that you'd end up liking it.

I did the Disney College Program in 2008 and I worked the Front Desk at Coronado Springs
I absolutely love that resort!!


Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

Thanks for stopping in. How cool that you worked at CSR. Merry Christmas to you too.

...and I just made my FINAL payment for my February trip to CSR!

 

[IandGsmom]

We were there 12/16-12/23 and it was great!! Anyone who has any reservations about this resort need not worry. It was peaceful and made our evenings/nights very enjoyable. We were in the Cabanas and close to bus stop 4, the laundry, the quiet pool and the main pool which my kids swam in despite the cool weather. The Pepper Marker is hands down the best counter service ever. You do not need to have the 10% added to the bill if you have the dining plan but the service was usually so good we left a very good tip. My only complaint was the housekeeping. they were showing up in the EARLY AM despite my repeated request to have a later visit. They eventually got it but they were not that good anyway (left garbage and other issues) .A minor irritation for such a great resort. I am sure we will return.

 

[KatMark]

We were there 12/16-12/23 and it was great!! Anyone who has any reservations about this resort need not worry. It was peaceful and made our evenings/nights very enjoyable. We were in the Cabanas and close to bus stop 4, the laundry, the quiet pool and the main pool which my kids swam in despite the cool weather. The Pepper Marker is hands down the best counter service ever. You do not need to have the 10% added to the bill if you have the dining plan but the service was usually so good we left a very good tip. My only complaint was the housekeeping. they were showing up in the EARLY AM despite my repeated request to have a later visit. They eventually got it but they were not that good anyway (left garbage and other issues) .A minor irritation for such a great resort. I am sure we will return.

Glad you enjoyed your stay at the CSR! Unfortunately, the mousekeeping issue seems to be at most resorts lately, and not just CSR. I'm glad your kids enjoyed the Dig Site...despite the cold weather.

 

[supersuperwendy]

Thanks for the new FAQ thread KatMark!

I had no idea that the rooms were refurbed! I think the new decor is fantastic! Thanks for posting the pics!!

 

[KatMark]

Thanks for the new FAQ thread KatMark!

I had no idea that the rooms were refurbed! I think the new decor is fantastic! Thanks for posting the pics!!

You are welcome. We love the new rooms; we liked the old rooms, but the new rooms are beautiful!

 

[pixleyyy]

We just returned from our trip and were surprised by ending up at CSR. We had a waterview room booked at POR but they oversold so moved us to CSR waterview instead.

We were in Casitas 4 , rooms 4461 & 4462, (2nd & 3rd rooms from the left on the top floor in the pic above) and found the rooms to be comfortable and plush, the beds were soft and everything was clean and beautiful. It was a walk to the main building but we made do with that. It was pretty close to the bus stop, which we loved, and we could see the top of Illuminations fireworks every night at 9:30pm.
The bus stop early our first morning, on the way to MK EMH:

We tried the pool just once and it was spacious, though not that exciting for the kids. They like the water slide but I thought it was pretty boring. I did get some awesome pictures of them on the pyramid though.
Snapped on the way to the pool:

At the pool:

Having done no research on the resort (since we were supposed to be at POR) I was surprised with the 10% gratuity required at Pepper Market and especially unhappy because our server was nowhere to be found so we didn't get needed drink refills. The kids had pizzas and they were nice, hot and yummy. I had a cheeseburger and I watched the chef rewarm an already cooked one. The fries were old too. Needless to say it was not very good. I should have complained about both but it was our arrival day and we were starved and tired and just grumpy so let it go.

The desk staff was very friendly and nice. We only had maid service every other day (at our request) and they did a thorough job of cleaning and replacing towels and shampoos.

All in all, I loved the entire stay there!!! We'd love to stay there again, but probably won't since we are a family of 5 and couldn't have afforded 2 rooms. So I'm thankful POR oversold so we had a chance to experience CSR.

 

[KatMark]

We just returned from our trip and were surprised by ending up at CSR. We had a waterview room booked at POR but they oversold so moved us to CSR waterview instead.

We were in Casitas 4 , rooms 4461 & 4462, (2nd & 3rd rooms from the left on the top floor in the pic above) and found the rooms to be comfortable and plush, the beds were soft and everything was clean and beautiful. It was a walk to the main building but we made do with that. It was pretty close to the bus stop, which we loved, and we could see the top of Illuminations fireworks every night at 9:30pm.
The bus stop early our first morning, on the way to MK EMH:

We tried the pool just once and it was spacious, though not that exciting for the kids. They like the water slide but I thought it was pretty boring. I did get some awesome pictures of them on the pyramid though.
Snapped on the way to the pool:

At the pool:

Having done no research on the resort (since we were supposed to be at POR) I was surprised with the 10% gratuity required at Pepper Market and especially unhappy because our server was nowhere to be found so we didn't get needed drink refills. The kids had pizzas and they were nice, hot and yummy. I had a cheeseburger and I watched the chef rewarm an already cooked one. The fries were old too. Needless to say it was not very good. I should have complained about both but it was our arrival day and we were starved and tired and just grumpy so let it go.

The desk staff was very friendly and nice. We only had maid service every other day (at our request) and they did a thorough job of cleaning and replacing towels and shampoos.

All in all, I loved the entire stay there!!! We'd love to stay there again, but probably won't since we are a family of 5 and couldn't have afforded 2 rooms. So I'm thankful POR oversold so we had a chance to experience CSR.

Sorry you could not stay at the reosrt you chose, but so glad that staying at CSR worked out for you. Thanks for letting us know how it turned out.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

Just came back from CSR yesterday - I miss it already!!

loved the large rooms, with REAL queen sized beds. we brought an air mattress for kids to switch off, but they were able to share a queen, no problem.

Bedding and pillows - wonderful!!

the sink area was huge! the whole room seemed really big. We were in 8A in a corner room (2 windows) I wonder if that made a difference?

being near stop 4 was great. it's the last stop on the way out (bus route is 2,3,4,1) it's also nice being so close to so many parks. short bus ride.

mousekeeping was fine, no complaints. we did leave an envelope with $5 labelled "Mousekeeping" out each day for them.

we didn't eat there at all, just some snacks to finish up the dining plan on the way out.

no swimming, too chilly, but it was nice and cool and not humid, made for nice walks around the parks.

I did laundry one day, $2 for wash, $2 for dry (one time thru was enough) and $1 for soap. The change machine only takes 1s and 5s.The laundry is near the quiet pool and a short walk from 8A.

overall a great stay! thanks to this thread, we switched from Swan/Dolphin and POR (I like to change my mind a lot). The queen beds sold us, and being on property got us access to the dining plan.

happy holidays everyone!

 

[KatMark]

Just came back from CSR yesterday - I miss it already!!

loved the large rooms, with REAL queen sized beds. we brought an air mattress for kids to switch off, but they were able to share a queen, no problem.

Bedding and pillows - wonderful!!

the sink area was huge! the whole room seemed really big. We were in 8A in a corner room (2 windows) I wonder if that made a difference?

being near stop 4 was great. it's the last stop on the way out (bus route is 2,3,4,1) it's also nice being so close to so many parks. short bus ride.

mousekeeping was fine, no complaints. we did leave an envelope with $5 labelled "Mousekeeping" out each day for them.

we didn't eat there at all, just some snacks to finish up the dining plan on the way out.

no swimming, too chilly, but it was nice and cool and not humid, made for nice walks around the parks.

I did laundry one day, $2 for wash, $2 for dry (one time thru was enough) and $1 for soap. The change machine only takes 1s and 5s.The laundry is near the quiet pool and a short walk from 8A.

overall a great stay! thanks to this thread, we switched from Swan/Dolphin and POR (I like to change my mind a lot). The queen beds sold us, and being on property got us access to the dining plan.

happy holidays everyone!

another family who was recentnly at CSR and enjoyed their stay. You have no idea how happy this makes me. Thanks for the review!

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

We just returned from our trip and were surprised by ending up at CSR. We had a waterview room booked at POR but they oversold so moved us to CSR waterview instead.

How often does this happen?? It would not bother us too much as we would just go with it, but I'd like to know how often it happens to people. Did it happen because it was so busy with Christmas?

 

[pixleyyy]

How often does this happen?? It would not bother us too much as we would just go with it, but I'd like to know how often it happens to people. Did it happen because it was so busy with Christmas?

We were actually there the first week in December and it wasn't a busy time at the parks at all. But I guess the resort had oversold waterview. I think they were hoping people wouldn't care, but we did care about it and that's when we were moved over to CSR.

 

[sauerkurt]

so just got my letter that the Dig Site is closed during our entire vacation. Called up Disney and the best they could do is move us to CBR.

Seriously? That's the best you can do? You take away a key feature pool and the only compensation you're going to offer is letting me take a 15 min ride to another resort to use their pool? Yeah, my wife and daughter will be thrilled with that prospect.

It's great to be approaching my vacation already disappointed. This will be our first time staying onsite at a resort too!

CSR has the updated rooms, but is it worth staying if you cant' use the pool, playground and hot tub? Should we even be basing pool use on a January stay?

 

[bluedevils]

so just got my letter that the Dig Site is closed during our entire vacation. Called up Disney and the best they could do is move us to CBR.

Seriously? That's the best you can do? You take away a key feature pool and the only compensation you're going to offer is letting me take a 15 min ride to another resort to use their pool? Yeah, my wife and daughter will be thrilled with that prospect.

It's great to be approaching my vacation already disappointed. This will be our first time staying onsite at a resort too!

CSR has the updated rooms, but is it worth staying if you cant' use the pool, playground and hot tub? Should we even be basing pool use on a January stay?

I feel your pain, at least a little bit. We were set to book 3 nights at Coronado, and really looking forward to it in light of the renovated rooms, after discovering that the pool area at Animal Kingdom Lodge will be closed for renovations during our January stay. No pool is basically a deal-killer for us. The quiet pools being open really is not a suitable alternative, nor is taking a bus ride 15 minutes to a different hotel's pool area.

So now we aren't sure where to stay! Our kids are swimmers, and if it's 70F in Orlando we WILL be swimming. CSR and AKL were our top two choices, and now we are going back to the drawing board....any recommendations?

Our budget is not unlimited.