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

[starwarsclark]

Hi to you all,
A quick question about car hire please.

We are planning to hire a car for 1 week during our stay and have looked at hiring it from the Disney Car Care Centre - Now I have read that you can ask at reception for them to arrange for you to be picked up and taken to the Car Care Centre FOC.
If that is correct, does anyone have anymore info, like;
Are there certain times? Or Days? How many days in advance do you need to arrange it?

Thanks for any help you can give me (I am UK based by the way hence spelling Centre not Center)

 

[tiggerfan9984]

Is there a price list for the spa somewhere and do you need to make reservations?

 

[KatMark]

Hi to you all,
A quick question about car hire please.

We are planning to hire a car for 1 week during our stay and have looked at hiring it from the Disney Car Care Centre - Now I have read that you can ask at reception for them to arrange for you to be picked up and taken to the Car Care Centre FOC.
If that is correct, does anyone have anymore info, like;
Are there certain times? Or Days? How many days in advance do you need to arrange it?

Thanks for any help you can give me (I am UK based by the way hence spelling Centre not Center)

I can't answer this as we always rent our car from the airport...but hopefully someone else can answer. I do believe you can get a ride there, but I'm not sure how far in advance you should rent, etc.

Is there a price list for the spa somewhere and do you need to make reservations?

Here you go: http://www.relaxedyet.com/coronado_springs_resort.asp

I get a massage every trip at about the halfway point and it sure makes me feel great and up for the walking at the parks the rest of the trip. Enjoy.

 

[tiggerfan9984]

I get a massage every trip at about the halfway point and it sure makes me feel great and up for the walking at the parks the rest of the trip. Enjoy.

Thanks. I was thinking that the DGF and DD (16) would enjoy this while me and the DS have some cave time.

 

[livie1205]

I'll have to agree with that!

We're back from our first ever stay at CSR! It was a completely unplanned weekend away and this was the only thing (not deluxe) showing available for when I booked. It was standard and we were in Ranchos, 6A. I thought it was a pretty nice building. Even though the resort seems huge, we didn't find it took very long at all to walk anywhere. We do walk a lot anyway, so maybe it was just us.

Unfortunately, I wasn't all that impressed with CSR. People were smoking absolutely everywhere on the property! I saw several beer bottles thrown in the grass, too! There was someone cleaning up a lot of garbage along the water, so at least they were working on it. I was shocked to see the grounds in worse shape than the values are! The pump at the pool with the pyramid was broken yesterday morning, so the water wasn't flowing down into the pool. That was disappointing, even though it was way too cold for us to swim.

Since we're usually POP people, this room size was a nice. I also loved the separate area to get dressed when I couldn't sleep in the super duper early morning without waking the baby. The PP was on with the beds being pretty uncomfortable! We also had issues with noise, and the guests next door must've loved their television LOUD. I called about it and was immediately asked if we wanted to switch rooms. When I said we'd be checking out too soon to bother, he said someone would be stopping over to take care of it. No one ever did though. I didn't sleep much at all saturday night!

It was nice to try a different resort, but we wouldn't go back. The theme reminds me too much of everything here in St Pete! When we first drove up to the Ranchos buildings, I immediately thought of a few of the cheaper motels & apartment communities you'll find here. I didn't feel like I was still in Disney. If you're from somewhere up north, it could be nifty and different though. END QUOTE


I agree with your post....I did NOT enjoy this resort at all and will not be back.I would stay at a value before staying there again.The cm s were rude and unhelpfull and we did not like the convention feel.It just did not feel very disney to us.The t.v did not work right and we never could get anyone to fix it.The room was not very clean.It was just not our cup of tea. We also did not like the food court...the food was gross.

 

[KatMark]

I'll have to agree with that!

We're back from our first ever stay at CSR! It was a completely unplanned weekend away and this was the only thing (not deluxe) showing available for when I booked. It was standard and we were in Ranchos, 6A. I thought it was a pretty nice building. Even though the resort seems huge, we didn't find it took very long at all to walk anywhere. We do walk a lot anyway, so maybe it was just us.

Unfortunately, I wasn't all that impressed with CSR. People were smoking absolutely everywhere on the property! I saw several beer bottles thrown in the grass, too! There was someone cleaning up a lot of garbage along the water, so at least they were working on it. I was shocked to see the grounds in worse shape than the values are! The pump at the pool with the pyramid was broken yesterday morning, so the water wasn't flowing down into the pool. That was disappointing, even though it was way too cold for us to swim.

Since we're usually POP people, this room size was a nice. I also loved the separate area to get dressed when I couldn't sleep in the super duper early morning without waking the baby. The PP was on with the beds being pretty uncomfortable! We also had issues with noise, and the guests next door must've loved their television LOUD. I called about it and was immediately asked if we wanted to switch rooms. When I said we'd be checking out too soon to bother, he said someone would be stopping over to take care of it. No one ever did though. I didn't sleep much at all saturday night!

It was nice to try a different resort, but we wouldn't go back. The theme reminds me too much of everything here in St Pete! When we first drove up to the Ranchos buildings, I immediately thought of a few of the cheaper motels & apartment communities you'll find here. I didn't feel like I was still in Disney. If you're from somewhere up north, it could be nifty and different though. END QUOTE


I agree with your post....I did NOT enjoy this resort at all and will not be back.I would stay at a value before staying there again.The cm s were rude and unhelpfull and we did not like the convention feel.It just did not feel very disney to us.The t.v did not work right and we never could get anyone to fix it.The room was not very clean.It was just not our cup of tea. We also did not like the food court...the food was gross.

Sorry you did not enjoy your stay at the CSR. Unfortunately "unclean rooms" has become something of a habit at all of Disney resorts--from value to deluxe. I am sorry you ran into rude CM's. Did you report it to a manager?

Again, sorry you didn't enjoy your stay, but glad you gave it a try. The great thing about Disney is there is a resort for everyone (personally you couldn't pay us to stay at a value--we give up our trips before we'll stay at one).

Hope the rest of your trip was pleasant.

 

[vicb]

Sorry you did not enjoy your stay at the CSR. Unfortunately "unclean rooms" has become something of a habit at all of Disney resorts--from value to deluxe. I am sorry you ran into rude CM's. Did you report it to a manager?

Again, sorry you didn't enjoy your stay, but glad you gave it a try. The great thing about Disney is there is a resort for everyone (personally you couldn't pay us to stay at a value--we give up our trips before we'll stay at one).

Hope the rest of your trip was pleasant.

Just to back up what KatMark said, I just ran across this disturbing thread... http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2389991 I hope these are more isolated incidents and not a trend. We have always had good luck at the three different resorts we have stayed at and are looking forward to our stay in 10 days at CSR (first time!)

 

[livie1205]

Just to back up what KatMark said, I just ran across this disturbing thread... http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2389991 I hope these are more isolated incidents and not a trend. We have always had good luck at the three different resorts we have stayed at and are looking forward to our stay in 10 days at CSR (first time!)

It was not so much as a dirty room (i can deal with that) I just did not like the feel of it...did not feel very disney.We love AKL and stay there most of the time and we sometimes do the values but I wish I had just changed resorts when we got there instead of spending the week there.We did CBR and we liked it alot, we got the pirate room.I think CSR is the only wdw resort we did not think to much of.I guess some people dont mind the convention feel...but maybe it was because we were in the building where they put most of the convention people.oh well at least we tried it.I would rather be there then a offsite resort any day!

 

[KatMark]

It was not so much as a dirty room (i can deal with that) I just did not like the feel of it...did not feel very disney.We love AKL and stay there most of the time and we sometimes do the values but I wish I had just changed resorts when we got there instead of spending the week there.We did CBR and we liked it alot, we got the pirate room.I think CSR is the only wdw resort we did not think to much of.I guess some people dont mind the convention feel...but maybe it was because we were in the building where they put most of the convention people.oh well at least we tried it.I would rather be there then a offsite resort any day!

Totally agree...especially since I don't think we'll be going this year (although I still wouldn't stay at a value). I guess the "Disney feel" is different for everyone. We've been at CSR eight times with convention people and never felt that it was too "businessy" (I doubt that is a word), yet we felt the "businessy" aspect when we stayed at the CR (another convention resort at Disney). It probably helps that we don't have really young kids anymore either (our boys were 8 and 10 when they first stayed at CSR and loved it and hated All Star Sports).

The important thing is you had a good vacation, even if you didn't care for the resort.

 

[ozziewags]

Is there a price list for the spa somewhere and do you need to make reservations?

When you go to that site for the spa hours be sure to print out the coupons for $$ off! It is a link in the top right hand corner.

 

[Simba22]

OK I've only made it to page 40 but I decided to stop here.

First, thank you SO MUCH, Kat, for putting all of this together!

We're in the planning stages of a return trip to WDW this October and are planning to go to CSR. It will be our second time at CSR (my 9th trip total) and I'm leaning towards the Ranchos section. We have no children (just us "big kids!" ). Not sure yet if it will be just me and my DBF, or if my brother and my cousin will join us (which I'm really hoping for), but either way, the men in my party don't give a hoot which section we stay in. My priorities are bus stop and laundry room!

I know some of these are really old but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents anyway!

I thought I should try POR or PORFQ just for something differrent. It never dawned on me to look into CSR, but wow, now that I have I am leaning toward CSR---those renovated rooms look wonderful and the resort looks so picturesque--if you've stayed at both, I'd love to hear your pros and cons and favorite of the two....

I stayed at CSR in 2007 (before the room refurbs) and then at POFQ in 2008. I'm in love with BOTH. I had a really hard time deciding which one to go back to this year (we went back to a value this past October and stayed at POP and I HATED IT! After staying at the mods, I'm pretty sure I'm just spoiled and it has nothing to do with POP, itself). At the time we stayed at POFQ, it shared a bus with POR. I learned recently that it now has it's own bus.

POFQ is much smaller than CSR, which I liked...but what ultimately drove me to choose CSR was the DxDP. We have used the regular DP in the past and I hated that I had to pay OOP for one of our meals. The DxDP allows 3 meals a day and I want to take full advantage of it. Having a TS restaurant at our resort is what ultimately made my decision.

Hello,
we have a ressie at O'Hana's for Breakfast at 7:30. What is the best way to get there? It is an EMH morning for MK, so I think that the buses will start running at 6:00am. (2 hours before opening) If this is true, we will take a bus to MK and then the monorail to Poly. We do not have our own car. Does this sound about right? We've never done a breakfast reservation before.
Thanks for any help.

We do breakfast ressies at other resorts all the time. The hardest one for us to get to is Boma because you have to take a bus to a park then another bus back to AKL. Anything on the monorail is a breeze! Ohana and Kona are the two we have done (both at the Poly), but it's so easy!

I keep reading on other threads that CSR doesn't feel "as Disney." After looking at all the pictures I could find and seeing the topiary, fountains, beautiful landscaping, dig site, pool, and rooms with Mickey on the bedspreads, pillow, and mirror, and the various Three Caballeros paintings...how is CSR not "Disney?" Just wondering what others find less Disney?

Thoughts?

I have NEVER understood this. I tend to thinkn it is because people see it as a Convention Reosrt. However, you don't hear this about the Contemporary, or the GF or other "convention" resorts. Personally, after a day at the parks, I don't need "huge icons" or "nemo rooms". I want to relax and unwind so I can start again the next day. There are plenty of "subtle touches" of Disney at the CSR--just enough to make me happy.

I never understood this either. We've stayed at All Star Movies and Pop. I liked the Movies way better than Pop, but I still prefer CSR. I don't need to walk under an 80 foot Dalmation to feel like I'm in WDW.

1) Can you hook a DVD player in to the TV's at CSR to watch your own movies? We just stayed at a Hampton Inn in AL and they had this feature blocked for "security" (i.e. so we'd would pay for their PPV movies)

We hooked one up to our room at ASMovies. Although I haven't tried it at CSR since we had a laptop with a DVD player at the time of our last visit.

2) We're going Apr 30-May 8 . . . anyone know what this crowd level will be like compared to late Sept. Our last trip was Sept '08 & we didn't wait more than 5 minutes to ride ANYTHING (we did rope drop every day & followed the Tour Guide Mike plans) so hoping for the same experience.

We have gone in mid-May a couple of times and we went in September once. The reason for the low crowds in September used to be that it was hurricane season. Now that they offer free dining and such, going in September probably won't be the same experience. On the other hand, going in May was a bit more crowded because the weather is nearly perfect but we still didn't wait long for anything. Take advantage of Fastpass, especially for Toy Story Midway Mania. The standby line was over an hour by 10am when we were there in October and the FP machines were cranking out tickets with a return time of like 2pm. It gets crazy over there!

3) We're using Wednesday as our "rest / pool day" . . . DK's are 6 & 4 . . . should we go to Boma or T-Rex for dinner? We're more in to good food than atmosphere . . . except when it comes to character meals.

I've eaten at both, however I only ate at Boma for breakfast. If you're on the DDP, go with Boma as T-Rex and Rainforest Cafe do not participate this year. If not, it's a toss up. We had GREAT food at T-Rex and HUGE portions!

I have a picture somewhere of our meals...I'll try to dig it out

 

[KatMark]

OK I've only made it to page 40 but I decided to stop here.

First, thank you SO MUCH, Kat, for putting all of this together!

We're in the planning stages of a return trip to WDW this October and are planning to go to CSR. It will be our second time at CSR (my 9th trip total) and I'm leaning towards the Ranchos section. We have no children (just us "big kids!" ). Not sure yet if it will be just me and my DBF, or if my brother and my cousin will join us (which I'm really hoping for), but either way, the men in my party don't give a hoot which section we stay in. My priorities are bus stop and laundry room!

I know some of these are really old but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents anyway!



I stayed at CSR in 2007 (before the room refurbs) and then at POFQ in 2008. I'm in love with BOTH. I had a really hard time deciding which one to go back to this year (we went back to a value this past October and stayed at POP and I HATED IT! After staying at the mods, I'm pretty sure I'm just spoiled and it has nothing to do with POP, itself). At the time we stayed at POFQ, it shared a bus with POR. I learned recently that it now has it's own bus.

POFQ is much smaller than CSR, which I liked...but what ultimately drove me to choose CSR was the DxDP. We have used the regular DP in the past and I hated that I had to pay OOP for one of our meals. The DxDP allows 3 meals a day and I want to take full advantage of it. Having a TS restaurant at our resort is what ultimately made my decision.



We do breakfast ressies at other resorts all the time. The hardest one for us to get to is Boma because you have to take a bus to a park then another bus back to AKL. Anything on the monorail is a breeze! Ohana and Kona are the two we have done (both at the Poly), but it's so easy!





I never understood this either. We've stayed at All Star Movies and Pop. I liked the Movies way better than Pop, but I still prefer CSR. I don't need to walk under an 80 foot Dalmation to feel like I'm in WDW.



We hooked one up to our room at ASMovies. Although I haven't tried it at CSR since we had a laptop with a DVD player at the time of our last visit.



We have gone in mid-May a couple of times and we went in September once. The reason for the low crowds in September used to be that it was hurricane season. Now that they offer free dining and such, going in September probably won't be the same experience. On the other hand, going in May was a bit more crowded because the weather is nearly perfect but we still didn't wait long for anything. Take advantage of Fastpass, especially for Toy Story Midway Mania. The standby line was over an hour by 10am when we were there in October and the FP machines were cranking out tickets with a return time of like 2pm. It gets crazy over there!



I've eaten at both, however I only ate at Boma for breakfast. If you're on the DDP, go with Boma as T-Rex and Rainforest Cafe do not participate this year. If not, it's a toss up. We had GREAT food at T-Rex and HUGE portions!

I have a picture somewhere of our meals...I'll try to dig it out

Hi, Simba22. Welcome back. So glad to hear that you are going back to the CSR. You are going to LOVE the queen beds. The Ranchos has a bus stop very close to it and it is very close to the Dig Site. Mark and I hope to do the Ranchos next visit as it is the only section we've NOT stayed in (seven times in the Casitas and one time in the Cabanas).

 

[tinacaplan]

Well, we're off in a few days and I can't wait to come back and tell everyone all about it. Even though I haven't been there, I feel like I was pretty informed when I made my decision, provided all the pictures are pretty accurate. Thanks again, Kathy, for spending so much time putting together a great thread that's full of so much useful information. And you are always incredibly gracious whenever someone comes back with a not so nice report!

 

[KatMark]

Well, we're off in a few days and I can't wait to come back and tell everyone all about it. Even though I haven't been there, I feel like I was pretty informed when I made my decision, provided all the pictures are pretty accurate. Thanks again, Kathy, for spending so much time putting together a great thread that's full of so much useful information. And you are always incredibly gracious whenever someone comes back with a not so nice report!

Tina, I'm sure we'll talk again before you leave, but just in case we miss, have a magical vacation.

Thank you for the kind words. I've learned that life is too short and too full of more important things to fret over someone not liking a resort. Not everyone is going to like or even love every resort. Many people love the GF or the WL and you really pay us to stay there...they just aren't us. But that is what is so great about Disney...something for everyone!

 

[vicb]

Totally agree...especially since I don't think we'll be going this year (although I still wouldn't stay at a value). I guess the "Disney feel" is different for everyone. We've been at CSR eight times with convention people and never felt that it was too "businessy" (I doubt that is a word), yet we felt the "businessy" aspect when we stayed at the CR (another convention resort at Disney). It probably helps that we don't have really young kids anymore either (our boys were 8 and 10 when they first stayed at CSR and loved it and hated All Star Sports).

The important thing is you had a good vacation, even if you didn't care for the resort.

In terms of convention atmosphere I wanted to add that we have stayed at BWI twice and encountered many conventioneers on the BW especially at night. And we stayed at BC once and one night we couldn't hang out on the beach area because it was closed for a private convention function.

None of those spoiled our vacations so I doubt it will be an issue for us at CSR. However the week we are at the resort there is only one brief convention listed on KatMarks list... women in aviation... sounds kind of cool to me!

 

[McKelly]

There are FOUR conventions at CSR the week we are going in March. I am becoming a little worried..... For those of you who have experienced "un-Disney-like" behavior due to the large amount of conventioneers, which area did you stay? Was that the problem, the behavior, or was it because the food courts were crowded, etc? Just want to know what I am getting into..........

 

[baileygirlsmom]

We are going to stay at CSR in April for the first time after 7 trips to the Poly. The addition of queen beds and the fact that CSR is half the price of the Poly was a no brainer. I know CSR isn't deluxe, but do they have bell services to take your things to and from your room at check in and check out? Do you drive in front and drop off your luggage? Thanks, looking forward to staying there!

 

[KatMark]

There are FOUR conventions at CSR the week we are going in March. I am becoming a little worried..... For those of you who have experienced "un-Disney-like" behavior due to the large amount of conventioneers, which area did you stay? Was that the problem, the behavior, or was it because the food courts were crowded, etc? Just want to know what I am getting into..........

We've had a convention every time we've stayed there -- one of the largest ones ever and they were in all sections of the resort. We never had a single problem any of the times we've been there. Unfortunately, though, it does happen when you will have unruly guests whether it is loud and obnoxious or drunk or whatever (we couldn't believe the mother--with her children--who had more than one too many at the POR during the Piano Bob show; we had a really rude and drunk guest at the Contemporary). If you have a problem, GO TO THE FRONT DESK AND ASK FOR A MANAGER. Do not call the front desk because you really aren't getting the front desk, but a central office. Ask them to rectify the situation and if they don't, insist that you be moved to another part of the resort or another resort if it comes to that. If people don't complain, things won't be taken care of.

I hope it all works out for you as the CSR is truly a remarkable resort.

 

[KatMark]

We are going to stay at CSR in April for the first time after 7 trips to the Poly. The addition of queen beds and the fact that CSR is half the price of the Poly was a no brainer. I know CSR isn't deluxe, but do they have bell services to take your things to and from your room at check in and check out? Do you drive in front and drop off your luggage? Thanks, looking forward to staying there!

Yes, there are bell services out in front. They will drive you on a cart to your room. We don't use them as we drive our own car and just drive to our section and take our own luggage. But the service is provided.

 

[Jareds_mommy]

when we were there in Oct there were a few going on, we only really ran into any of them one night at the hot tub,
We took the kids to beaches and cream for lunch and there were way more people walking abouund in suits and cell phones and neck badges there then the CSR
we did time out meals at the pepper market not first thing in the morning, the one morning we had breakfast there we eat at 9.30 and had the place to our selves.
most mornings we had bagels and fruit in our room or we ate when we hit the park