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

[KatMark]

Hi everyone, we just returned on 8/22 from our trip, which was a 2 night stay at YC and a 7 night stay at CSR. We also stayed at CSR for an eight night trip back in March. That was our first ever stay at CSR, and we fell in love with it.

Most everything went very smoothly. We stayed in Casitas 5, which was one of my requests. I requested either Casitas 3,4, or 5. Last trip we stayed in Bldg. 3. One major thing was that I wanted to be at bus stop 2, since it is the first to be picked up and dropped off.

Our room was on the 3rd floor and we had a partial water view and a view of a court yard with a pretty fountain. We paid for a standard room. So, I was very pleased with the partial water view! Mousekeeping was fine. We came back swimming in the afternoon for quite a few of the days. So, we had a nice relaxing time at the Dig Site Pool. We also enjoyed the Casitas Quiet Pool one of the days.

Bus service was also good. No big complaints at all with the buses.

The Pepper Market was good, and we enjoyed nightly The Rix Lounge on two of the nights after we returned from the parks for a drink.

The only issue we had was that there was painting going on for Bldg. 5. There were large cranes they used for the exterior parts of the building that they were painting. There was also numerous workers around the hallways that they were painting. They also had several of the walkways blocked off while they were painting. We noticed a strong paint smell when we were walking to the room, but luckily not in the room itself. This went on during our entire stay. I did ask to speak to a manager, just because I wanted to let her know that we should have at least been advised of this when we checked in. She did offer to move us, but since we were already settled in and unpacked we decided to stay in our room, since we did not smell the paint in the room. We also were not in the mood to pack everything up again to move, especially since we did that from our split stay at the YC two days before this.

The manager was very nice and did agree that we should have been told this upon check in. She actually did a few nice things for us, which I did not expect. I was very happy with how she handled the situation, especially since I was not looking for anything in return, just to let them know we should have been advised at check in.

CSR is still my favorite moderate! I will hopefully post some pics soon.

Thanks for the review. I heard they were painting all of the exteriors of the CSR (and also working on elevators in each of the buildings). I knew they were starting with the Casitas and working their way around, but I hadn't realized they had started already.

I'm so glad that you had another great stay at the CSR, and am looking forward to your pictures.

 

[jess20k]

Thanks for the review. I heard they were painting all of the exteriors of the CSR (and also working on elevators in each of the buildings). I knew they were starting with the Casitas and working their way around, but I hadn't realized they had started already.

I'm so glad that you had another great stay at the CSR, and am looking forward to your pictures.

Hi Kathy, yes..there were many cranes working at Bldg 5 and the hallways were being painted. That was the only building that I noticed being worked on at the time, so like you said, they must be doing them in phases. It still was a wonderful stay though!!! Have a wonderful time on your upcoming trip!

 

[blsdmamaof3]

Thanks for the review. I heard they were painting all of the exteriors of the CSR (and also working on elevators in each of the buildings). I knew they were starting with the Casitas and working their way around, but I hadn't realized they had started already.

I'm so glad that you had another great stay at the CSR, and am looking forward to your pictures.

Kathy,
When you're there, do you mind finding out when the painting is planned to be complete and when they'll paint where? I don't want to deal with painting stuff (with a 4yo who touches EVERYTHING!) when we're there. I'll be happy to request another room, if needed. We're going in October. Thanks!

 

[Simba22]

We just stayed in Ranchos 7B pool view room second floor. It was a quick 5 min walk to the dig site pool. We never walked to the main building though and never had time to walk around the resort! I wish we took time though because it is a beautiful resort. We loved our location and had no issues. We will definately stay again some day!

Thank you for posting! I'm requesting Ranchos 7B for our upcoming trip and I'm glad you liked the location!

Thanks! I like being the 1st ME stop! I guess it could change, maybe adding Pop to the mix, but either way we'll get there OK.

When we stayed at CSR in 2007 we stopped at OKW and POP on the way to CSR.

 

[andychris14]

So, I was just getting ready to place my order for breakfast items the few times we will be eating in the room with Garden Grocer and it wouldn't let me b/c the SUBTOTAL has to be $40. There's no way we need that much food for 3 breakfasts!

Does anyone know about how much a box of cereal, a half gallon of orange juice, and a little milk chug or two at the gift shop costs? I was thinking about just buying coffee, instant creamer (We LOVE our French Vanilla coffee creamer and I highly doubt they sell that in the gift shop so we'll have to do the powdered stuff for the week), some granola bars, disposable coffee mugs and some plastic bowls/spoons here at home and pack them. I would then pick up a few bananas from Cafe Rix. (They do have fresh fruit for sale, right?)

Any help you could give would be appreciated!

I also think that I am going to bring the individual drink mixes to mix into water when we're at the parks. Do they give free water with ice at the CS places? I really don't want to lug around 2 bottles of water all day but if I have to in order to save $$ by not buying drinks all day long, I'll do it! Thanks!

We used garden grocer on the 17th and it was terrific. We ordered:cereal bars,lots of water,green bananas turning,ripe bananas and apples. If you are going to buy fruit you can buy the fruit at garden grocer. I would recommend buying water. Yes the counter service restaurants will give you a cup of water but many times it is a very small cup and to wait on a long line is not worth it. We did pack 2 large water bottles for each of us everyday and got more when we stopped for lunch.

 

[andychris14]

Our stay was less than magical -- but it wasn't CSR's fault! We were given a parking lot view room and I should have insisted on a different location, but am not one to rock the boat. Anyway, our problem was a car parked in the front row whose alarm went off day and night, round the clock! We would just start to fall asleep and the obnoxious alarm would sound and the lights would flash...it was horrible.

And the real kicker was we couldn't change rooms because on day two I either got food poisioning or was exposed to a stomach virus and was trapped in the room for a couple of days. I kept having to call security but there wasn't a lot they could do because the owners of the vehicle would not respond. The vehicle finally disappeared on day 5 and I honestly don't know if the people checked out or it was towed away.

Also, for the first time the August heat really affected my family during this visit. I think it's because our summer in the pacific northwest had been milder than usual and the high temps and humidity hit us like a brick.

As far as the resort, I thought it was just beautiful and we experienced great bus service. I'm anxious to give it another try under better circumstances.

Sorry you did not have the best time. We were in casitas 5 as well and heard that car alarm go off many times. We weren't as close as you were since our room faced the fountains. How annoying!!
Sorry you were sick also. That must not of been very fun.

 

[andychris14]

Hi everyone, we just returned on 8/22 from our trip, which was a 2 night stay at YC and a 7 night stay at CSR. We also stayed at CSR for an eight night trip back in March. That was our first ever stay at CSR, and we fell in love with it.

Most everything went very smoothly. We stayed in Casitas 5, which was one of my requests. I requested either Casitas 3,4, or 5. Last trip we stayed in Bldg. 3. One major thing was that I wanted to be at bus stop 2, since it is the first to be picked up and dropped off.

Our room was on the 3rd floor and we had a partial water view and a view of a court yard with a pretty fountain. We paid for a standard room. So, I was very pleased with the partial water view! Mousekeeping was fine. We came back swimming in the afternoon for quite a few of the days. So, we had a nice relaxing time at the Dig Site Pool. We also enjoyed the Casitas Quiet Pool one of the days.

Bus service was also good. No big complaints at all with the buses.

The Pepper Market was good, and we enjoyed nightly The Rix Lounge on two of the nights after we returned from the parks for a drink.

The only issue we had was that there was painting going on for Bldg. 5. There were large cranes they used for the exterior parts of the building that they were painting. There was also numerous workers around the hallways that they were painting. They also had several of the walkways blocked off while they were painting. We noticed a strong paint smell when we were walking to the room, but luckily not in the room itself. This went on during our entire stay. I did ask to speak to a manager, just because I wanted to let her know that we should have at least been advised of this when we checked in. She did offer to move us, but since we were already settled in and unpacked we decided to stay in our room, since we did not smell the paint in the room. We also were not in the mood to pack everything up again to move, especially since we did that from our split stay at the YC two days before this.

The manager was very nice and did agree that we should have been told this upon check in. She actually did a few nice things for us, which I did not expect. I was very happy with how she handled the situation, especially since I was not looking for anything in return, just to let them know we should have been advised at check in.

CSR is still my favorite moderate! I will hopefully post some pics soon.

We checked in on the 17th and were also on the 3rd floor(room 5355). The painting was going on from the minute we checked in until the 27th when we left. A few of the kids even got pain on their shirts becaused they leaned on the wall. I guess since this is a slower time of year they start to do some maintanence. Glad the manager did something for you. I guess I should of said something about the pain on the kids shirts just so they are aware and can put some more signs up. There were signs but they were on the floor near the railings.

 

[Rush702112]

I'll try to post some pics....have tons to go thru

Brian, welcome back. Thank you so much for your review. I am so HAPPY to hear that your family loved the CSR.

From the four resorts we've stayed at (All Star Sports, Contemporary, Poly and the CSR), the CSR has by far had the friendliest and most helpful of CM's.

Will you be posting any pictures?

 

[Rush702112]

I was alson in Casista 5 room 5255 and yes the painting did get annoying but we didnt say anything either as the smell did not go into the room.

Glad they were nice and did some extra stuff for you.

We checked in on the 17th and were also on the 3rd floor(room 5355). The painting was going on from the minute we checked in until the 27th when we left. A few of the kids even got pain on their shirts becaused they leaned on the wall. I guess since this is a slower time of year they start to do some maintanence. Glad the manager did something for you. I guess I should of said something about the pain on the kids shirts just so they are aware and can put some more signs up. There were signs but they were on the floor near the railings.

 

[kyl]

How far in advance did you order from the garden grocer? We are leaving Australia in 18 days do you think it is to early to make an order?

 

[Toole Time in Disney]

The time has finally come and we are going to CSR TODAY!!! Our flight doesn't leave until 6p and we wont be checking in till about 9p tonight but I'v over joyed with excitment!!!! Thanks to everyone on these boards you all give so much great info I feel like I already know what to do at when I get there! ONly thing I'm kicking myself about is I forgot to send out a fax for a room request. I had it noted in my rez but I was going to fax something and I forgot when I was at the office yesterday. So I'm hoping it wont be a problem if they don't put me in the location I'm requesting and we could change. Either way I'm on VACATION so I need to just ENJOY!!!!!

 

[1tufgt]

The time has finally come and we are going to CSR TODAY!!! Our flight doesn't leave until 6p and we wont be checking in till about 9p tonight but I'v over joyed with excitment!!!! Thanks to everyone on these boards you all give so much great info I feel like I already know what to do at when I get there! ONly thing I'm kicking myself about is I forgot to send out a fax for a room request. I had it noted in my rez but I was going to fax something and I forgot when I was at the office yesterday. So I'm hoping it wont be a problem if they don't put me in the location I'm requesting and we could change. Either way I'm on VACATION so I need to just ENJOY!!!!!

Enjoy your trip. We have 19 days. Till our trip.

 

[Toole Time in Disney]

Enjoy your trip. We have 19 days. Till our trip.

Thanks and enjoy yours!!!! I see you are in Louisville KY. We are just across the bridge! Flights out of Louisville were so expensvie we are driving up to Indy for a flight out at 6p. They were 300 cheaper which was worth it to me...plus we are stopping at the outlet malls in Seymore!

 

[1tufgt]

Thanks and enjoy yours!!!! I see you are in Louisville KY. We are just across the bridge! Flights out of Louisville were so expensvie we are driving up to Indy for a flight out at 6p. They were 300 cheaper which was worth it to me...plus we are stopping at the outlet malls in Seymore!

It's a small world.

Yeah, we were lucky and got a good rate through southwest for $165 round trip per person.

Was able to use that $25 coupon to save more when I rebooked which I did a couple of times. LOL

 

[DJFan88]

We checked in on the 17th and were also on the 3rd floor(room 5355). The painting was going on from the minute we checked in until the 27th when we left. A few of the kids even got pain on their shirts becaused they leaned on the wall. I guess since this is a slower time of year they start to do some maintanence. Glad the manager did something for you. I guess I should of said something about the pain on the kids shirts just so they are aware and can put some more signs up. There were signs but they were on the floor near the railings.

We also had the painting going on in the closest Cabana building to El Centro. I failed to mention this in my past review. To me, it was a non issue, but I can see how it could bother some. No one mentioned it to us ahead of time. In fact, we were quite possibly one of only like 3 rooms booked at one time in that building. This explains how we got such a preferred room and water view but paid for standard. Also, probably why our housekeeper didn't arrive till 2 pm every day. When they did the rooms next to ours, it was only like a day or a day and 1/2 that it was taped off because it appeared they were doing the doors. However, my DH had been curious about the room(s) next to us because it had no room number and then the one before us was the room number before ours. So, he really wanted to know what that room was. We speculated all week. Finally when they painted, it was all open and we went inside ---- it was a 2 room suite! A separate bedroom!!!! I didn't even know they had that! Did anyone? I believe it's room number 9656.

 

[KatMark]

We also had the painting going on in the closest Cabana building to El Centro. I failed to mention this in my past review. To me, it was a non issue, but I can see how it could bother some. No one mentioned it to us ahead of time. In fact, we were quite possibly one of only like 3 rooms booked at one time in that building. This explains how we got such a preferred room and water view but paid for standard. Also, probably why our housekeeper didn't arrive till 2 pm every day. When they did the rooms next to ours, it was only like a day or a day and 1/2 that it was taped off because it appeared they were doing the doors. However, my DH had been curious about the room(s) next to us because it had no room number and then the one before us was the room number before ours. So, he really wanted to know what that room was. We speculated all week. Finally when they painted, it was all open and we went inside ---- it was a 2 room suite! A separate bedroom!!!! I didn't even know they had that! Did anyone? I believe it's room number 9656.

Yes, the CSR has junior suites and executive suites. They are SUPER nice.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

However, my DH had been curious about the room(s) next to us because it had no room number and then the one before us was the room number before ours. So, he really wanted to know what that room was. We speculated all week. Finally when they painted, it was all open and we went inside ---- it was a 2 room suite! A separate bedroom!!!! I didn't even know they had that! Did anyone? I believe it's room number 9656.

Yes, there are two junior suites in the cabanas, and more junior suites and some larger suites in the casitas. Kathy did a great write-up on the first page of the thread (I'm not sure there are any more Murphy beds - they might all be sleeper sofas now in the living area):

Suites: CSR has 3 types of suites and they are costly. There are 30 Jr suites, 10 VIP suites and 6 executive suites. All the suites are located in the casitas with the exception of 2 jr suites located in the cabanas, one in 8b and one in 9b. The queen bed jr suite would fit six because the wall unit in the second room is a murphy bed. A Jr suite is two rooms together, the VIP is 3 regular rooms together, and the executive is 5 rooms together.

* The resort has about 30 junior suites, which are basically two connecting standard rooms. The bedroom includes either one king bed or two queen beds and the second room is set up as a living room with a sleeper sofa or Murphy (Sico) bed. There are two bathrooms. Junior suites have an occupancy of 4 or 6 people and cost more than 2 standard rooms.

* There are also 10 "VIP" one-bedroom suites. These are equivalent in space to 3 standard rooms knocked together. There is a standard bedroom with one king bed or two queen beds, plus a full bath. The living room is equivalent in size to two standard rooms and includes two seating areas, a wet bar with small refrigerator, a full bathroom and a dining table for four people. It has either a sleeper sofa or a Murphy (Sico) bed, bringing the occupancy to 4 or 6 people. The VIP suites are set up primarily for entertaining and are generally used by senior managers staying at the resort for conventions. VIP suites are priced at more than 4 times the cost of a standard room.

* Finally, there are a 6 "Executive" two-bedroom suites. These are equivalent in space to 5 standard rooms knocked together. The first bedroom has a king bed plus a full bath with whirlpool tub. The second bedroom has two double beds plus a full bath. The large living room offers two seating areas, a half-bath, a free-standing wet bar with small refrigerator and a dining table for six people. The living room includes either a sleeper sofa or a Murphy (Sico) bed, bringing the occupancy to 6 people.The Executive suites are set up primarily for entertaining and are generally used by executives staying at the resort for conventions. Executive suites are priced at more than 6 times the cost of a standard room.

Someone posted photos of their junior suite somewhere in the thread (I think it was Tinkerbell 325, maybe?). It looks awesome!

Edited: Found the photos on this page.

 

[Mickman03]

The descriptions are a little outdated. The Murphy beds are no longer used, they changed to sofa beds.

 

[KatMark]

The descriptions are a little outdated. The Murphy beds are no longer used, they changed to sofa beds.

Yes, I am aware of that. This thread closes at 250 pages. Once I return from the CSR/Marco Island, I will be redoing the entire thread and updating it. Thanks though for pointing it out for those who are unaware until I get it changed.

 

[Rush702112]

You can order it now...I think i did mine 14 days in advance...but you can go ahead and order now.

How far in advance did you order from the garden grocer? We are leaving Australia in 18 days do you think it is to early to make an order?