Coronado Springs Resort - New Unofficial FAQ Thread - November 2011

[Minnesota!]

here now. It has been less than magical. Room #1 was gross...bathroom was full of mold - the smell was awful! It was dark, dank, and musty. When we got back from Epcot last night we were getting ready for bed and there was an invasion of bugs...beetles, spiders, assorted flying and running things. We killed what we could and hunkered down. Went to the front desk this morning and asked to be moved to Pop. No availability.

The bus service has been AWFUL!!! Absolutely the worst of any stay I have had on property...13 times. We were in Cabanas 9B for the first room...right by Bus Stop #1 and we HATED that stop. Minimum 40 min wait for any bus b/c it would get filled at stops 2, 3, 4 and then skip #1!! So we were trekking over to #2 each time we needed a bus. And still waiting at least 20 minutes. So so so so so many people that we have talked to at the stops have had the same complaint. Crazy.

So anyway, I (nicely, I might add) asked about moving to Pop, no availability, and the great front desk manager moved us to a junior suite near bus stop #2. We are much happier here. The room is perfectly clean, no smells, great view, nice and close to #2. Doesnt; make the busses come any quicker, but it is what it is.

We won't be back to CSR again, though. It's just overall...too disappointing to spend as much $$ as we did and get better service, amenities, and vibe at a value.

We really really really miss Pop this trip...

 

[KatMark]

here now. It has been less than magical. Room #1 was gross...bathroom was full of mold - the smell was awful! It was dark, dank, and musty. When we got back from Epcot last night we were getting ready for bed and there was an invasion of bugs...beetles, spiders, assorted flying and running things. We killed what we could and hunkered down. Went to the front desk this morning and asked to be moved to Pop. No availability.

The bus service has been AWFUL!!! Absolutely the worst of any stay I have had on property...13 times. We were in Cabanas 9B for the first room...right by Bus Stop #1 and we HATED that stop. Minimum 40 min wait for any bus b/c it would get filled at stops 2, 3, 4 and then skip #1!! So we were trekking over to #2 each time we needed a bus. And still waiting at least 20 minutes. So so so so so many people that we have talked to at the stops have had the same complaint. Crazy.

So anyway, I (nicely, I might add) asked about moving to Pop, no availability, and the great front desk manager moved us to a junior suite near bus stop #2. We are much happier here. The room is perfectly clean, no smells, great view, nice and close to #2. Doesnt; make the busses come any quicker, but it is what it is.

We won't be back to CSR again, though. It's just overall...too disappointing to spend as much $$ as we did and get better service, amenities, and vibe at a value.

We really really really miss Pop this trip...

I am sorry to hear you had a disappointing start to your trip, but glad the manager did right by you and moved you and to a suite.

Unfortunately, bus service can be bad at any resort at any given time (our personal worse was at the Contemporary and the All Stars where we would NEVER return for other reasons).

I hope the rest of your stay goes better.

 

[DJT]

here now. It has been less than magical. Room #1 was gross...bathroom was full of mold - the smell was awful! It was dark, dank, and musty. When we got back from Epcot last night we were getting ready for bed and there was an invasion of bugs...beetles, spiders, assorted flying and running things. We killed what we could and hunkered down. Went to the front desk this morning and asked to be moved to Pop. No availability.

The bus service has been AWFUL!!! Absolutely the worst of any stay I have had on property...13 times. We were in Cabanas 9B for the first room...right by Bus Stop #1 and we HATED that stop. Minimum 40 min wait for any bus b/c it would get filled at stops 2, 3, 4 and then skip #1!! So we were trekking over to #2 each time we needed a bus. And still waiting at least 20 minutes. So so so so so many people that we have talked to at the stops have had the same complaint. Crazy.

So anyway, I (nicely, I might add) asked about moving to Pop, no availability, and the great front desk manager moved us to a junior suite near bus stop #2. We are much happier here. The room is perfectly clean, no smells, great view, nice and close to #2. Doesnt; make the busses come any quicker, but it is what it is.

We won't be back to CSR again, though. It's just overall...too disappointing to spend as much $$ as we did and get better service, amenities, and vibe at a value.

We really really really miss Pop this trip...

I really don't like to hear your experience. Bus service doesn't bother us, as we prefer to drive, but the room experience is another thing. We have never stayed here and it sounded great so now I may rethink it and check on POFQ and POR again, hoping they have had a cancellation.

 

[KatMark]

I really don't like to hear your experience. Bus service doesn't bother us, as we prefer to drive, but the room experience is another thing. We have never stayed here and it sounded great so now I may rethink it and check on POFQ and POR again, hoping they have had a cancellation.

You can have a dirty room anywhere (just read of an awful room at Beach Club....a deluxe). We've stayed at CSR nine times and have never had a dirty room

 

[Minnesota!]

I agree that a dirty room can happen anywhere...as can bad bus service. Unfortunately, the only 2 times I have had bad bus service and a less than stellar room...I was here at CSR. We have 5 days left and I am hoping that things get better.

The resort is beautiful...no doubt! The kids love the water slide, as well. And, I agree, the front desk manager did awesome by us. We really just wanted to be moved to Pop...we feel "at home" there. No go, though. I told her that if she could just move us to near #2, that would be wonderful. And now here we sit in a jr suite. Super awesome. the kids love stretching out.

But between the (2/3) dirty rooms we have had, the very hit or miss bus service, and the surly staff at Rix Cafe and the Concierge desk, plus the lack luster housekeeping we had yesterday...we won't be back. Which saves more room for all of you

FWIW - we stayed at AKL for the first part of this trip and we won't go back there. either. We are Pop junkies and I am sad that I betrayed Pop this trip .

 

[KatMark]

FWIW - we stayed at AKL for the first part of this trip and we won't go back there. either. We are Pop junkies and I am sad that I betrayed Pop this trip .

Wow...two of my favorite resorts (OKW being the other one). I haven't been back to CSR since 2010 and hope we don't have these problems when there. We were at AKL last year and loved everything about it. We've not done POP...but we've done All Stars and I won't stay at a value ever again.

Seriously, I hope the rest of the trip goes more smoothly for you.

 

[maxiesmom]

here now. It has been less than magical. Room #1 was gross...bathroom was full of mold - the smell was awful! It was dark, dank, and musty. When we got back from Epcot last night we were getting ready for bed and there was an invasion of bugs...beetles, spiders, assorted flying and running things. We killed what we could and hunkered down. Went to the front desk this morning and asked to be moved to Pop. No availability.

The bus service has been AWFUL!!! Absolutely the worst of any stay I have had on property...13 times. We were in Cabanas 9B for the first room...right by Bus Stop #1 and we HATED that stop. Minimum 40 min wait for any bus b/c it would get filled at stops 2, 3, 4 and then skip #1!! So we were trekking over to #2 each time we needed a bus. And still waiting at least 20 minutes. So so so so so many people that we have talked to at the stops have had the same complaint. Crazy.

Just as an FYI the bus stop by Casitas is the first bus stop. Not the one by the main buildings. That is actually the last stop. Oh and a wait of 20 minutes is in the acceptable wait range given by WDW for buses. But if most of your waits were over that, that would get old very fast!

I'm sorry you had such a rotten stay at CSR. The bug invasion would have had me finding a room at any other resort! We had such a great stay at CSR this past March that I may book it again for a trip next year. But our stay was the total opposite of yours--great bus service, free room upgrade, and no invading buggies!

 

[Mave110]

i am a little bit scared reading this things... it is our second WDW trip in three weeks and I also made a request for cabana 9b if i´ll get such a room, i will cry the whole night...

last year we stayed at pop and it was very nice. we thought making a good deal, while make a upgrade to the CSR this year...

 

[JohnO]

The thing folks need to keep in mind is that bad experiences can happen. Especially for families who keep on heading to WDW for vacation. Its inevitable probability that something bad will happen. We've stayed at numerous resorts. We've had bad things happen at resorts we've enjoyed staying at.

We stayed at Pop and overall the stay was good. The food court and buses however were absolute bedlam. I mean out of control frustrating. So many people and so busy you could not even walk around the food court without being bumped into several times, and that was during the off season.

We've had terrible bus waits at All Stat Music. A filthy room at All Star Movies.

On our recent trip we stayed at POR and loved it. We went to eat at FQ for the beignets and I was appalled at how disgustingly dirty the food court was at FQ. It was absolutely shocking.

After staying at all of the values I must say that if I have a choice I will never stay at a value again. The bus lines are too long. The food courts too busy. I always hated looking at how short the bus waits and lines were for the moderates and deluxes when leaving the parks at closing.

We've stayed at POR and CSR and both had great busing and food courts. The rooms were clean and the grounds beautiful.

What I'm tryin to say is; don't let someone else's bad experience ruin yours. Bad experiences in WDW are not the norm, but they do happen. The great thing about it is, there are so many resorts and experiences to be had.

 

[party-of-five]

I agree... dirty rooms, long bus waits, etc can happen anywhere. We had a very dirty room at the Contemporary a few years back. We complained and asked for it to be cleaned better, but werent too happy. But our last stay at CSR we had three rooms for our group and they were all in great shape. We had good bus service, and mouse keeping was wonderful. I'm hoping for more of the same in Dec. The bad review does make me worry a little, especially about the bugs , but I was very encouraged to hear that management did the right thing and helped them find a more acceptable room. We are very excited to return to CSR.

 

[Julie521]

Sorry to re-post, but I was just wondering if anyone had any info on these two conventions:
Sept 3 - 5, Celebration Ministries - Youth Leaders Conference
Sept 6 - 9, TH Fitness Weekend

We will be at CSR the 2nd through the 8th

 

[ben1993]

Just booked our first stay at CSR, May 9th - 16th with the DDP. With the current UK discounts I could have booked OKW for only about $100 more but CSR appeals to me so much more! I love the look of the rooms, the pool, the grounds, the themeing

 

[HANDYMOM]

Sorry to re-post, but I was just wondering if anyone had any info on these two conventions:
Sept 3 - 5, Celebration Ministries - Youth Leaders Conference
Sept 6 - 9, TH Fitness Weekend

We will be at CSR the 2nd through the 8th

I don't know anything about the Youth Leaders Conference but the TH Fitness Weekend is the creator of P90X's conference. From what I understand, the events tied to the conference are being held elsewhere and they have a pretty robust schedule so you won't see a ton of attendees at CSR much! It's also SUPER expensive, but I have no clue whether that will affect attendance.

I hope that helps! we are checking in with another family on the 7th for 5 nights. If you see a group with 4 boys (2 aged 13 an 11 and a 10) Please say HI!

Handymom (Jenn)

 

[westgrove]

I booked 12 nights at CSR for Sep/Oct 13

My first wdw trip was May this year, we stayed at CSR and love it!
We have taken a UK offer which gives free QSDP and upgraded it to DDP. Theres also a UK offer that means SSR would have been only around $80 more for the whole trip inc dining but I looked at the report pics etc and it didnt seem as nice around the pools and the theming so we stuck with CSR. I LOVE the look of WL but couldnt afford that prices hike so roll on CSR!

 

[Julie521]

I don't know anything about the Youth Leaders Conference but the TH Fitness Weekend is the creator of P90X's conference. From what I understand, the events tied to the conference are being held elsewhere and they have a pretty robust schedule so you won't see a ton of attendees at CSR much! It's also SUPER expensive, but I have no clue whether that will affect attendance.

I hope that helps! we are checking in with another family on the 7th for 5 nights. If you see a group with 4 boys (2 aged 13 an 11 and a 10) Please say HI!

Handymom (Jenn)

Thanks for the info! I tried looking them both up online but couldn't find out much about how many people are attending. I know we are in Disney and kids are going to be everywhere, but I am kind of glad it is a fitness one since I would assume a more adult crowd.

I will definitely say hello if I think it is you. Hopefully there are not too many other groups like yours and people think I am crazy! LOL

 

[ArmyVet80]

The information in this topic is amazing.. My wife and I have been to Disney World every year since we got married. Granted that was only 3 years ago but we have been to the parks every year since. This will be our first stay at CSR. We have stayed at POFQ and AS Music so far. We actually stayed at the AS Music from Christmas day 2010 till Jan 4th 2011. It was a blast except for all of the people. Haha. When we went on our honeymoon in 2009 it was June so we expected longer lines and waits for things for Christmas time.

We aren't sure what building we are staying in at CSR yet. We head down from Indianapolis, IN on Sept. 8th at 8 am and arrive in Orlando at 10:10 am then fly back to Indy on Sept. 15th at 7:45 pm. First day is going to be spent at HS with lunch at the Sci-fi diner and dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby. We get the deluxe dining plan so that that we can have the three sit down meals a day. We love Epcot for all of the different foods you can try.

I guess you could say that we are Disney fanatics. We don't have as many trips as a lot of people on here but we are trying. Our goal is to make it to Disney World at least once a year except for our 5 year wedding anniversary in which we are going to Germany. My wife has never been to Europe and Germany was her choice.

Now that I have strayed off track with my ramblings I'll get back to the CSR.

We have medium expectations for our trip. We picked the CSR because it was a new location for us to stay at. We also thought about the CBR but after a flip of a coin CSR won. We usually use the rooms just for sleeping and showering while we are there taking advantage of all the time we can in the parks. We do plan to use the hot tub and pool after some of the days we are there. The pool looks amazing and the hot tub is huge. A lot bigger than the one at POFQ. We haven't decided if we are going to eat any of the eateries at CSR. From the reviews we may have to check out breakfast a few days though. All of our lunches are booked up already and my wife made a nice spread sheet with all of the extra magic hours, fireworks times, and our reservations on it so we will know what to ride at each park before and after lunches/dinners. We like to think we are well organized. Haha

I will stop my rambling nonsense now. Thanks for reading if you made it this far. Glad to get my first post out of the way. I will try and put updates from our trip on here while we are visiting. Only 6 more working days and 10 total days until our magical vacation begins.

 

[NewfieMom]

I feel like I should already know this, considering how long Ive been planning this trip and reading this forum but can someone explain how the Pepper Market works. A `normal`buffett you walk along and pick what you choose, but PM is set up in stations. Do you go from station to station and pick what you want I thought i read something about tickets and them bringing your food to you. Told you I was confused, lol

Thanks!

 

[Mave110]

@ArmyVet80

you just left, as we arrive... i am excited about your review. it will be our first time too!

you got a mail from me...

 

[JohnO]

I feel like I should already know this, considering how long Ive been planning this trip and reading this forum but can someone explain how the Pepper Market works. A `normal`buffett you walk along and pick what you choose, but PM is set up in stations. Do you go from station to station and pick what you want I thought i read something about tickets and them bringing your food to you. Told you I was confused, lol

Thanks!

Well the last time we were there they handed us a card when we entered. We were brought to a table by our "server" and drink orders taken. Then you can walk through and decide what you want. You get your food from the station. The people at the different stations marked the card with what we had.

It's my recollection that when you walk in, the server explains how it works. It was a nice place. I just thought a 15% gratuity was a but much for someone who simply seated us and brought us drinks.

 

[Mave110]

isn´t it possible to use the mugs while eating at the pepper market?

in the pop last year we did it that way. we used the mugs during our meal and took bottles of water or coke (included in the quick service dining plan) to take away to our rooms...

this is not possible in the CSR???