We've decided to give CSR a try for a Christmas trip this year. thanks to whoever put together "Page 1" with all the wonderful information.
I made our reservations this past Monday, and have been very stressed about the possibility of staying in the Rancho's section (sorry, just not my cup of tea). Well I decided to head over to page one about an hour ago, and see that they offer a Preffered section in Casita's, which is exactly where I would want to stay!!!! I called up Disney, and switched our reservation to this section..................I am so much more relieved now.
I do hope to enjoy the resort, our dates are 12/21 - 12/27................is it decorated nice for Christmas??
How is the Maya Grill?? and is the Pepper Market as confusing to eat at as I have read?
KatMark is the one that keeps this thread updated and did all the work on page 1. She's fantastic. CSR really should give her and her husband free trips down there. It's due to her that I gave CSR another chance, after a not so great first trip. Now, I've fallen in love with the resort and prefer it over the Deluxes.
There's no telling, how many other people KatMark has influenced to try CSR, due to her love and enthusiasm for the resort.
I too am not a fan of the Ranchos and thus far have managed not to be placed there. My favorite location is the Cabanas. (I'm hoping to be placed there during both my upcoming Sept and Nov/Dec trips.) I wouldn't mind paying the preferred rates, except the preferred rooms are all in Casitas 1, 2, and 3, so wouldn't help me get my preferred Cabanas location. One thing to remember is that Casitas 2 is the only building that doesn't have an elevator. Of course, you could always use the elevator in Casitas 3 and then walk across the walkway. The only problem with that is if you happened to be placed on the back side of Casitas 2 way down toward the end. That's a long walk from the Casitas 3 elevator. When I was there I was on the top floor and because it was closer to the bus stop, just cut through by the pool and used those stairs. (The outside stairs only go up to the third floor and I was on the fourth floor). I was really surprised they made those parking lot facing rooms preferred.
I've been there several times during Christmas and like the way they decorate. The covererd area out front always has alot of white/pink poinsetta baskets and garlands hanging down. Sometimes the check in area has one tree in between the windows and sometimes it has two side by side (one in front of each window). The fountain in the entry is always filled with poinsettas and twice the fountain was replaced by a large Christmas tree. The last couple of years that tree hasn't been there though. Going down the hallway toward the restaurants they have little shelves with small Chistmas trees on them and garlands going across. There's also a small gingerbread house down between the Pepper Market and Maya Grill. That's all I can remember off the top of my head.
Maya Grill is pretty good if you like that type of food (which we do). They do not have the traditional Tex Mex though. It's more like the food they serve in the southern part of Mexico. We like the Pepper Market and always make at least one trip over there, even if we are not staying there. (We don't care for CS at DS or AK, so usually go over to the Pepper Market for lunch at least one or two of those days). They have huge chicken nachos, good burritos made to order (we always get extra guacamole
). When we were there for lunch this past May (stayed over at POFQ), they only had the Mexican steak on the menu. When I was there in Dec they had two steaks for lunch (traditional with fries and grilled veggies at the grilled station and the Mexican steak with black beans, rice, guacamole, and jalapeno peppers at the Mexican station). They also have a pretty good roasted chicken that comes with grilled veggies and fries. My husband liked the pork loin with mango sauce also. We also like their homemade desserts (strawberry cake, oreo cake, flan, blueberry cheesecake, etc). They can be a little expensive if you pay OOP, but are a great deal on the DDP.
I don't know why some people say the Pepper Market is confusing. You walk up, a hostess seats you, a waiter comes and takes your drink order and gives you the card that shows where the different stations are. You walk around, order what you want from each station, give the card to the CM who writes down what you ordered, and go back to your table where your drink and silverware are waiting on you. You eat, then take your cards to the cashier who checks you out. As far as the mandatory tip, supposedly it is no longer covered under the DDP. We just always leave ours on the table for the waiter. The cashier will not ask you for it, so if you don't leave it, the waiter will get stiffed. If you want to avoid the gratuity, just ask for your food to go when you order it at each station and they will put it in styrofoam boxes and bag it for you and there is a place off to the left as you walk out that has plastic cutlery and napkins. You can take it outside to eat at the tables overlooking the lake or back to your room.
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