Coronado Springs Resort - New Unofficial FAQ Thread - November 2011

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We got back last week. Here's our take on things:

The pros: It's a beautiful resort and the kids loved the Dig Site. We only had good interactions with the cast members, especially the day my youngest got very sick and threw up in the lobby. They were very nice, told us we didn't have to apologize, they would get someone right out to clean it so I didn't have to and they just wanted her to feel better, could they call someone for us, etc.

The cons: We were in 9A, room 9108 which is right next to the "quiet" pool which we discovered was anything but quiet. Most of the time there were people in the pool, some of them were quite loud even as late as 11:00 PM. I really tried to be objective but I will say I am POFQ's biggest fan and was heartbroken to hear it was booked solid as was POR. I found CSR to be too big for us. The walk to the bus stop was a lot further than anything we've had at POFQ, the Dig Site and El Centro was definitely a longer walk. It may seem crazy to complain about but none of the places to refill mugs had tea! What about people who don't drink soda? I missed having a table and two chairs, the desk and ottomans were harder for the kids to eat at. Housekeeping was good except that DH only drinks decaff coffee so even after leaving multiple notes, we kept getting regular coffee. Because the walk to El Centro was so far, Disney missed some easy money because we never walked by the shop HA! Buses ranged from typical to very bad. Some days we had very little wait times, there were several 30 minutes wait. Once we waited 40 minutes for an MK bus about 90 minutes before it opened only to see a full bus pass our stop

Would we stay here again? Only if POR was booked (now that DD2 has turned 3 we've outgrown POFQ ) and we couldn't change our dates. It wasn't Disney-ish enough for us, it was too big and didn't seem to fit our vacation style.

Thanks for your review! A couple of thoughts and questions:

The "quiet" pools are actually called "leisure pools" by Disney. There is not requirement or expectation to be quiet - they are just not themed like the feature pools. I think "quiet pool" is somewhat of a DIS misnomer. But I wouldn't be happy either if people were noisy at 11 pm.

We have stayed in cabana 9A and found it to be less than 5 minutes to El Centro and just a bit more to the Dig Site. We have never stayed at POFQ, so I am not sure how short the walks are there, but we thought 9A was a great location if we wanted to go to El Centro and the Dig Site. We spend more time at the Dig Site, so we actually prefer cabana 8A.

Does POFQ have tea? I find tea hard to find in general at WDW, and most of it is terrible. Refillable mugs are generally only a good deal if you are a soda drinker.

Sorry to hear you had trouble with the buses. Did you typically use the El Centro stop (bus stop #1) or the cabanas stop (bus stop #4)? We used the cabanas stop last summer and never had a full bus, but I expect they would be full (or close) by the time they got to stop #1, especially in the morning. We did always stop at the El Centro stop last summer - I don't remember ever passing by the stop. Sounds like they needed another bus running for early morning. We try to catch a bus about an hour before opening - some of your waiting might have been due to the buses not running yet. If you had an early character breakfast, I have heard that they run a breakfast bus and you should ask at the front desk. We usually drive if we want to be there an hour before opening, so I have never used a breakfast bus.

 

[Pixiedust34]

POFQ does have a tea machine with 4 flavors of tea. It is right next to the soda fountains. I was hoping that CSR would have the tea choices, too. I'm sorry to hear it wasn't an option.

I agree that 2 chairs and a table are nicer than a desk and one chair when traveling with a family instead of for business. At CSR, I also missed having hooks on the walls. Otherwise, I did like the CSR rooms very much.

Regardless of resort, I'm leery to stay near any pool because of the noise factor. I always hope that if we ever get a magical upgrade that it would be a NATURAL water view and not POOL water view. I wish people would be more considerate after 10 PM and before 9 AM with noise, both in the pool if the pool faces rooms, and on sidewalks and corridors.

I'm sorry to hear your youngest was sick, but am glad that the staff was professional at the moment.

Thanks for the review.

 

[undertheseas]

Thanks for your review! A couple of thoughts and questions:

The "quiet" pools are actually called "leisure pools" by Disney. There is not requirement or expectation to be quiet - they are just not themed like the feature pools. I think "quiet pool" is somewhat of a DIS misnomer. But I wouldn't be happy either if people were noisy at 11 pm.

We have stayed in cabana 9A and found it to be less than 5 minutes to El Centro and just a bit more to the Dig Site. We have never stayed at POFQ, so I am not sure how short the walks are there, but we thought 9A was a great location if we wanted to go to El Centro and the Dig Site. We spend more time at the Dig Site, so we actually prefer cabana 8A.

Does POFQ have tea? I find tea hard to find in general at WDW, and most of it is terrible. Refillable mugs are generally only a good deal if you are a soda drinker.

Sorry to hear you had trouble with the buses. Did you typically use the El Centro stop (bus stop #1) or the cabanas stop (bus stop #4)? We used the cabanas stop last summer and never had a full bus, but I expect they would be full (or close) by the time they got to stop #1, especially in the morning. We did always stop at the El Centro stop last summer - I don't remember ever passing by the stop. Sounds like they needed another bus running for early morning. We try to catch a bus about an hour before opening - some of your waiting might have been due to the buses not running yet. If you had an early character breakfast, I have heard that they run a breakfast bus and you should ask at the front desk. We usually drive if we want to be there an hour before opening, so I have never used a breakfast bus.

I knew the pool wouldn't always be quiet, especially in the afternoons when DD2 was trying to nap but that late at night I would have expected parents to try to keep their kids quieter because there are small kids trying to sleep.

POFQ is tiny compared to CSR so we are probably a bit spoiled because the walk to El Centro is probably how long it takes to walk the full distance of POFQ!

We always used bus stop #4 because we might have a better shot at getting a seat. We have always tried to get to the bus stop about 75-90 minutes before a park opens so we can get there in plenty of time for the rope drop in case we do have a problem with the buses. Most of the time it isn't a problem, I'm not sure what happened that day. A second MK bus came along within 3 minutes or so, maybe the full bus had to take on a couple of scooters? I don't know. I did see people with a clipboard at bus stop #1 frequently, I'm not sure if they were recording bus times?

I can see why a lot of people are partial to CSR. It is gorgeous, the kids loved the pool and it has a lot to offer, I just don't think it fits with our vacation style. It may be that because we tend to spend more time in the parks that we don't want to do a lot of walking at the resort.

 

[saskdw]

We have stayed in cabana 9A and found it to be less than 5 minutes to El Centro and just a bit more to the Dig Site. We have never stayed at POFQ, so I am not sure how short the walks are there, but we thought 9A was a great location if we wanted to go to El Centro and the Dig Site. .

We haven't stayed at POFQ either, but I was just looking at it on google earth. Although it is the smallest Mod resort the farther out rooms certainly look farther from everything than Cabanas 9A. I certainly never expected someone in Cabanas to say the walk was to far to anything. I'd love that room by the leisure pool!! All about perspective I guess. They have always lucked out and got one of the closer Rooms at POFQ I guess.

 

[undertheseas]

POFQ does have a tea machine with 4 flavors of tea. It is right next to the soda fountains. I was hoping that CSR would have the tea choices, too. I'm sorry to hear it wasn't an option.

I agree that 2 chairs and a table are nicer than a desk and one chair when traveling with a family instead of for business. At CSR, I also missed having hooks on the walls. Otherwise, I did like the CSR rooms very much.

Regardless of resort, I'm leery to stay near any pool because of the noise factor. I always hope that if we ever get a magical upgrade that it would be a NATURAL water view and not POOL water view. I wish people would be more considerate after 10 PM and before 9 AM with noise, both in the pool if the pool faces rooms, and on sidewalks and corridors.

I'm sorry to hear your youngest was sick, but am glad that the staff was professional at the moment.

Thanks for the review.

Yes I forgot to mention the hooks, we missed having those too.

The staff really was wonderful, I was torn between wanting to comfort my daughter and try to clean up the mess but they were so sympathetic and professional, it was a big relief.

I hope no one else runs into the same problems but if you do, there is an urgent care that will pick you up at the lobby and take you to the doctor's office. They had car seats already in the van and the office was able to give us an antibiotic for her ear infection so we didn't have to make two stops. Previously we've used First Aid in the parks and they are great as well, they have given us tylenol, cough medicine and band-aids.

 

[Pixiedust34]

We haven't stayed at POFQ either, but I was just looking at it on google earth. Although it is the smallest Mod resort the farther out rooms certainly look farther from everything than Cabanas 9A. I certainly never expected someone in Cabanas to say the walk was to far to anything. I'd love that room by the leisure pool!! All about perspective I guess. They have always lucked out and got one of the closer Rooms at POFQ I guess.

POFQ is a lot smaller than CSR. It has a more intimate feel to it. Building 7 is the furthest flung building at POFQ, and it's really not that far of a walk to the main building from there. That said, Cabanas isn't too a far walk to El Centro, either. One psychological difference in distance is the layout of the resorts. I think Cabanas might seem far away because of the central lake. At POFQ, you're walking a straight shot down a tree-lined 'street' rather than meandering a little to get to your destination.

We stayed at Cabanas at CSR and in Building 6 (next to Building 7) at POFQ. I found neither one to be far from the main building. Now, if we're talking Ranchos and some areas of POR, there are indeed FAR flung locations in those sections. CBR appears to be very spread out too, but I never stayed there.

I like it that CSR does the bus stops in the same order so you can hop on any park bus to get to El Centro. I wish POR would do that. The bus stops are random over there.

 

[Pixiedust34]

Yes I forgot to mention the hooks, we missed having those too.

The staff really was wonderful, I was torn between wanting to comfort my daughter and try to clean up the mess but they were so sympathetic and professional, it was a big relief.

I hope no one else runs into the same problems but if you do, there is an urgent care that will pick you up at the lobby and take you to the doctor's office. They had car seats already in the van and the office was able to give us an antibiotic for her ear infection so we didn't have to make two stops. Previously we've used First Aid in the parks and they are great as well, they have given us tylenol, cough medicine and band-aids.

Glad to hear you had good first aid help. It's comforting to know that if someone does get sick at WDW that there is quick access to nurses and doctors if needed.

 

[saskdw]

POFQ is a lot smaller than CSR. It has a more intimate feel to it. Building 7 is the furthest flung building at POFQ, and it's really not that far of a walk to the main building from there. That said, Cabanas isn't too a far walk to El Centro, either. One psychological difference in distance is the layout of the resorts. I think Cabanas might seem far away because of the central lake. At POFQ, you're walking a straight shot down a tree-lined 'street' rather than meandering a little to get to your destination.

We stayed at Cabanas at CSR and in Building 6 (next to Building 7) at POFQ. I found neither one to be far from the main building. Now, if we're talking Ranchos and some areas of POR, there are indeed FAR flung locations in those sections. CBR appears to be very spread out too, but I never stayed there.

I like it that CSR does the bus stops in the same order so you can hop on any park bus to get to El Centro. I wish POR would do that. The bus stops are random over there.

That makes sense. I'm just looking at building 7 on google earth and thinking there is no way it's closer than Cabanas 9. Ranchos is a different story, I could understand the complaining there. As far as CBR, we love it, but we would pay for the preferred room there every time.

 

[undertheseas]

POFQ is a lot smaller than CSR. It has a more intimate feel to it. Building 7 is the furthest flung building at POFQ, and it's really not that far of a walk to the main building from there. That said, Cabanas isn't too a far walk to El Centro, either. One psychological difference in distance is the layout of the resorts. I think Cabanas might seem far away because of the central lake. At POFQ, you're walking a straight shot down a tree-lined 'street' rather than meandering a little to get to your destination.

That is perfectly said, that's exactly how I feel but couldn't say it nearly as well. We have been spoiled at POFQ, we had buildings 4 and 5 where if you cut through the building and to the back of the bus stop it was maybe a two minute walk, it usually takes me longer than that to manuver the stroller out of the room

 

[saskdw]

That is perfectly said, that's exactly how I feel but couldn't say it nearly as well. We have been spoiled at POFQ, we had buildings 4 and 5 where if you cut through the building and to the back of the bus stop it was maybe a two minute walk, it usually takes me longer than that to manuver the stroller out of the room

Yeah, that building 5 looks like it would be great to stay in. Is that pay for location or just luck of the draw?

 

[mamamary]

Yeah, that building 5 looks like it would be great to stay in. Is that pay for location or just luck of the draw?

We just stayed in Building 5 at POFQ last week. It was a two minute walk to the food area. We didn't realize there was a short cut to the bus stop until our next to last day - duh. Could be at the bus stop in about two minutes also.

 

[lindap1]

OMG! I'm so undecided now! Last year we stayed at CBR and totally loved it, decided that we would stay at CSR on our next trip (2013), BUT now that AOA has opened....I don't know what to do.....lol

 

[undertheseas]

Yeah, that building 5 looks like it would be great to stay in. Is that pay for location or just luck of the draw?

We asked for building 4 on the ground floor (non-preferred) but when we checked in there were no openings so the nice cast member looked to see what the next closest was and it was second from the corner of building 5.

 

[Tbonekel]

It may seem crazy to complain about but none of the places to refill mugs had tea! What about people who don't drink soda?

I will agree with you on this for sure. We don't come to Disney often and it was our first time at a Mod resort and using the refillable mugs. We had lunch one day at Contemporary and noticed they had tea. What?!?! It really would have been nice to have had tea at CSR. We were there 7 days and I really like Diet Coke, but I really wanted to get my monies worth on those mugs. I got tired of Diet Coke after about 4 days. It would have been really nice to have had another non-soda option. And while on the subject, we returned from the parks often late at night. We like to end the day with a nice mug of hot chocolate. More often than not, it was out, along with the creamer so that was a bummer.

I don't want to be all negative though. We really enjoyed our stay at CSR. We enjoy being at the parks so much though that we didn't take advantage of most of the amenities (Dig site, quiet pool, hammocks, etc...). I will probably stay here again, but I might check on ALL the drink options at the other resorts before I make my final decision, though. Boy, that sounds really picky!

 

[Tbonekel]

I missed having a table and two chairs, the desk and ottomans were harder for the kids to eat at.

Boy, this was a biggie! My 2 DD's had several spills and "crummy" incidents while eating and drinking on the beds. Maybe Disney will notice the increase in stains on the bedding in the rooms without tables.

 

[saskdw]

I will agree with you on this for sure. We don't come to Disney often and it was our first time at a Mod resort and using the refillable mugs. We had lunch one day at Contemporary and noticed they had tea. What?!?! It really would have been nice to have had tea at CSR. We were there 7 days and I really like Diet Coke, but I really wanted to get my monies worth on those mugs. I got tired of Diet Coke after about 4 days. It would have been really nice to have had another non-soda option. And while on the subject, we returned from the parks often late at night. We like to end the day with a nice mug of hot chocolate. More often than not, it was out, along with the creamer so that was a bummer.

I don't want to be all negative though. We really enjoyed our stay at CSR. We enjoy being at the parks so much though that we didn't take advantage of most of the amenities (Dig site, quiet pool, hammocks, etc...). I will probably stay here again, but I might check on ALL the drink options at the other resorts before I make my final decision, though. Boy, that sounds really picky!

The last couple of trips I haven't bought a mug because I don't drink very much pop. I don't drink tea either so that won't help...lol. Don't they have tea at Cafe Rix for the mugs?

I pretty much live off bottled water while we are there. We order a couple of cases from Garden Grocer.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

They were taking orders in the jacuzzi when I was there! Excellent service when they are open

Yeah, I hope they are doing that when I'm there!!!

Yes, you probably want Casitas 1 or 3. Casitas 2 would be ok if its on the ground floor. As far as I know you have to go up to the bar to get a drink at the pool. The slide at CSR I believe is the the 2nd highest rated at the WDW resorts next to the Beach Club.

Now I'm really geeked about the slide!!!

We put in a request for all 4 rooms to be in Casitas 1 with a secondary request of Casitas 3 (all 4 rooms are preferred).

Uh - oh....the tea thing has me worried...

On Allears, Rix cafe says they have iced tea at their beverage station and I hope they do. My mom LIVES off iced tea. Any iced tea drinkers out there that stay at CSR? Where do you get yours????

I didn't think about the lack of the table and chairs in the rooms. That will put a damper on eating breakfast in the room. We'll see how it works out for us.

Thanks again all for reviews and info!

 

[saskdw]

Uh - oh....the tea thing has me worried...

On Allears, Rix cafe says they have iced tea at their beverage station and I hope they do. My mom LIVES off iced tea. Any iced tea drinkers out there that stay at CSR? Where do you get yours????

I'm not a tea drinker, but I think there was unsweetened ice tea at Cafe Rix, which will be very convienent for you if you get rooms in Casitas 1. Also there was sweetened ice tea in most of the drink machines. Sweetened ice tea is hard to find in most stores at WDW, but the drink machines at CSR have it if you're interested.

My wife and son live off of sweetened ice tea. Our first trip to WDW in 2008 at CBR it was almost impossible find to sweetened ice tea anywhere, just the unsweetened stuff which they don't like. At CBR we stumbled across a drink machine 4 bulidings over that had sweetened and it saved the vacation....lol. At CSR most of the machines have it.

 

[toymom10]

I seem to have better luck in getting the Cabanas when I check in earlier, like 11am.
The last 3 trips I had stayed elsewhere on property the night before, and moved over
to CSR late morning. In May, our room wasn't ready right away, but I was happy to wait for it so we could be in the Cabanas. I also agree that booking a waterview gives
you more options for locations, and keeps you from being assigned a room out in the Ranchos.

Thanks! That's what I plan to do. Definitely willing to wait if necessary.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I LOVED the iced tea machine at POFQ. It's the same machine they have at Noodles and Company, if you're familiar with that chain. It would be great if that's the machine they have at Cafe Rix.

84 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait to relax at the Dig Site with a cold beverage in hand. A margarita would do nicely!