Again, some of my responses are to older posts as I've been out of the loop for a couple weeks.... but I'm glad you had a great time!
Oh, yes, and I can now answer people's questions about the Disney transportation system, as it relates to staying at CSR and also dispel some other "myths" about the resort.
We had a beautiful, lake-view room in Casitas 4, which I thought was a nice location. Not too far from El Centro and not too far from the pool. And a short walk after my massage at the fitness center, which was good, because that led directly into a four hour nap!
We stayed in Casitas 5 in 2007 and enjoyed the location very much, as well. My brother went to the spa one morning and said it was a short walk back to the room afterwards.
We were closest to Bus Stop 2, which was awesome because we were the first on and, even more important to me, the first off the bus coming home. I don't think we ever waited for more the ten minutes for a bus and the rides were short. The rides to Epcot and DHS were especially quick.
OMG yes! Getting home at night was the best! I remember one day, for whatever reason, the bus was picked up AND dropped off in a completely different order. It started with El Centro instead of Casitas....not a HUGE difference, just weird
As far as it being a convention hotel, I think that's actually kind of nice. There were far fewer people on the CSR busses than those of the other resorts and the pool was never super crowded (granted it never hit 70 while we there, but still...). The couple of convention guests I spoke to were super nice.
We stayed during a convention as well and our buses were 1/2 full most of the time. A lot of the people at the resort are there strictly for the convention...they don't go to the parks, they don't use the pool, and they are up and done eating breakfast while I'm still in dreamland!
In the week we were there, I literally saw ONE conventioneer and she was checking out.
Everything was very clean and we didn't use mousekeeping most days, but when we did, it was fine. Bedding was all spotless and I LOVED the duvet covers, as the old-style comforters many hotels still have are so icky.
Our room was also very clean (as far as I was concerned anyway). We don't have mousekeeping come in every day either...maybe only twice a week. The only thing we had to call the front desk about was the shower head...it was making this crazy loud screeching noise when the water was on. I called the front desk and maintenance came and fixed it the next day while we were at the park.
I wanted to check out POFQ one afternoon, so my DH and I took the bus from there to Epcot and I have to say that the ride took forever, since the busses are shared with Riverside, which seemed HUGE.
We stayed at POFQ in 2008 (the year after we stayed at CSR) and to be honest I had a really hard time choosing between the two for this trip. Although I read somewhere on the DIS that they don't share a bus anymore...hmmm.... Anyway, Riverside was pretty big compared to FQ. FQ only has the one bus stop and Riverside had at least 4 that I recall. And it was DARK. I remember being on the bus one night after being at Epcot for the day and the parking lot was just so dark at the bus stops it was kinda freaky.
The Dig Site is great, particuarly the slide and the giant hot tub. Wish we could have used it more, but the temps just weren't there...we pushed it anyway, but it was COLD!
We used the Digsite pool and the hot tub once on our 2007 and had a blast. Of course, it was 90 degrees....
Has anyone been to this resort in early Oct? I have a conference scheduled and wonder what the weather will be like. Will it be warm enough to get in the pools?
We went for 8 days the first week of October 2007 and it was HOT. In the upper 80's - low 90's every day and still in the 70s at night. NO RAIN!!! It was GORGEOUS.
i have been going back and forth trying to decide whether to book CSR or POFQ. and i've finally decided to stick with CSr
my 45 days is in 2 days. decided to remove the dining plan as i cant decide whether to go the regular or deluxe plan. i can still add the dining plan later right? and will i have to pay a fee to add it?
I had a hard time debating between the 2 as well. We were originally planning to go with the DxDP and I chose CSR because it has the Maya Grill which is a TS restaurant and I wanted to get the most of out the plan. However...I never got the PIN code for
free dining that I was told I was getting. However, we decided today to skip the Dining Plan all together and just use the Discover Card to pay for meals again. We get a 5% cashback bonus on restaurants so of course, I debated again for a while about switching back to POFQ. But my ressie was made today for CSR and that's what I'm sticking with! And yes, you can call in and add the dining plan later for no additional "fees" - just pay for the plan
Kat - soo happy to hear that your brother is getting back on his feet! My prayers are still with you all, in the hopes for a speedy, and full, recovery.
And!!! (drumroll) I now have a ticker and will be back at CSR in 231 days! My ADR day is 4/22!
I'm so happy for you and your brother. Glad to hear he's on the mend.
So excited! Paid off my trip today!
