Thought I'd share my thoughts as this thread was very helpful to me. We checked in last Saturday around noon for a week. Did not do online check in. The line at registration was looong. There was concern at that point about Hurricane Issac so some people may have been trying to change their dates, etc. We paid for a preferred room, and were given a room in Casitas Bldg 2, 1st Fl. This sounded ok to me, but once we finally found it, I was dissapointed. It was as far out to the parking lot as you could be (#2175 I think). A hike to El Centro and the Dig Site. We hit the pool anyway and the kids loved it. We ordered nachos at Siestas and they were not very good...the original frozen margarita was though

. Over the weekend we were busy with the parks, but Monday morning I decided to see if another room might be available. Kevin at the registration desk was happy to help and he got us a room in bldg 3, lagoon view. He was so helpful and I felt much better having paid the extra $$ for preferred. Kevin explained that "preferred" is really about being close to the convention center. The folks from bell service helped us move and were great.
We did the Pepper Market buffet once for lunch while waiting for a thunderstorm to pass. The food was good, but the set up is confusing, ex: for tacos, you could set them up yourself at the buffet with the tortilla and beef, but you have to go to another area, which was not marked, to ask for the toppings (cheese, lettuce, sour cream etc) and can only get them if the "chef" happens to be there, and he often wasn't. I was more impressed with the PM when we were at CSR a few years ago. The dessert/bakery items were forgettable. Cafe Rix was a zoo every morning but the bakery items were better there and I felt they had a good selection of quick foods. The coffee is typical Disney coffee (terrible), such a shame (on Disney, not CRS).
We had a really hot week, especially at the end, so all the walking required to get anywhere at CSR was a bummer (it didn;t bother us as much last time we were there in April, so I think the heat had a lot to do with it, and we are fairly fit). CRS is beautiful, and we encountered many nice CMs throughout our stay. The Dig site is great for kids, ours loved it - some days preferred it to the parks! Panchitos is a great resort store. It was our 2nd stay there and I think we are ready to try something new, but CSR will always have a special place in our hearts.
