Coronado Springs Resort -- New Unofficial FAQ Thread -- October 2010

[DaniB]

I called today to request Cabana 8A and we told the Cabana section was considered "concierge" and Casitas was preferred. I asked what then was closest to the main pool ans she said Rancho 7B. We are going June25-July 4 and there are no preferred rooms available. Does anyone have any thoughts?

My understanding is Cabanas 9B is considered concierge and usually only business/convention people get put in there.

Rancho 7B is close to the pool, but I think Cabana 8A is slighly closer. In the Casitas section, Casitas 5 is the closest to the pool.

Personally I prefer the look of the Cabana area over Rancho but everyone has different opinions.

There should be a map of CSR somewhere in the first few posts of this thread. I believe there's pictures showing the different looks for Ranchos, Cabanas and Casitas. That might help you with a decision. It did for me!

 

[labsrus1]

Hello to Kat Mark and all. We are returing to CSR after a year a POP. We went to POP due to finances (we did not want to shorten the trip). We are so glad that we are able to go back to CSR. We had issues at POP that burnt us on Values. We loved CSR and cant wait until Sept 12.


http://www.**************/id/1315638069.jpg

 

[labsrus1]

My understanding is Cabanas 9B is considered concierge and usually only business/convention people get put in there.

Rancho 7B is close to the pool, but I think Cabana 8A is slighly closer. In the Casitas section, Casitas 5 is the closest to the pool.

Personally I prefer the look of the Cabana area over Rancho but everyone has different opinions.

There should be a map of CSR somewhere in the first few posts of this thread. I believe there's pictures showing the different looks for Ranchos, Cabanas and Casitas. That might help you with a decision. It did for me!

Maybe we will see you there. We are there 12-22

 

[danicolie]

I called today and requested Cabanas 8b. No one ever mentioned anything about concierge. You should try calling back and talking to another cm.

I called yesterday too. We booked the new "preferred" room category last August back when nobody knew what "preferred" was going to be. We really want to be in the Cabanas section to be close to the Dig and Main Buildings.

Since then, I've been attentively following the posts on here about "preferred" and read that it was decided that only the Casitas section would be "preferred"...
So yesterday when I called to make the final payment, I asked about this. ie. Since we want to be in the Cabanas section, should we switch to a different room category since being booked in "preferred" seems to limit us to Casitas? Lo and behold, they told me that Cabanas were also "preferred"! And that they could see my building requests on my reservation and that there shouldn't be any problems getting the Cabanas building????

Huh??!?!!?!?!

That's great news for me!!! BUT....am I the only one that is really confused and more than slightly annoyed by this new room category?

Personally, it sounds like a big' ol scam! It would seem that if you WANT Casitas... then that's the "preferred" section! However, if you WANT Cabanas, then that's the "preferred" section TOO! ?????

Just seems like a way for them to charge a "premium" for what you want regardless of what room section that is.

Sure, it sounds like I will be getting the section that I want, which is the important part... but am I paying for "preferred" for nothing?

 

[lovethattink]

Hi everyone quick question!

We were unable to get CSR for our June dates but Dan and I really want to go over there and have lunch one day and just walk around and enjoy the resort (haven't stayed there since 2006). Can you still get the steak at lunch? I have heard conflicting things, my friend who stayed there recently said it was off the lunch menu but I think I read on here it was back on? I'd really prefer to go for lunch so we have plenty of daylight to enjoy the resort and hang out at the Laguna Bar but if dh doesn't get his steak he'll be bummed!

Thanks so much.

I leave Friday. Won't have internet there, but I will post when I return home if they have steak for lunch.

 

[lovethattink]

I called today to request Cabana 8A and we told the Cabana section was considered "concierge" and Casitas was preferred. I asked what then was closest to the main pool ans she said Rancho 7B. We are going June25-July 4 and there are no preferred rooms available. Does anyone have any thoughts?

I called the other day and requested Cabana 8a or b or Casitas 4 or 5. Nobody mentioned anything to me. Did you call Disney Reservations or the resort itself?

 

[SweetMommy]

I called yesterday too. We booked the new "preferred" room category last August back when nobody knew what "preferred" was going to be. We really want to be in the Cabanas section to be close to the Dig and Main Buildings.

Since then, I've been attentively following the posts on here about "preferred" and read that it was decided that only the Casitas section would be "preferred"...
So yesterday when I called to make the final payment, I asked about this. ie. Since we want to be in the Cabanas section, should we switch to a different room category since being booked in "preferred" seems to limit us to Casitas? Lo and behold, they told me that Cabanas were also "preferred"! And that they could see my building requests on my reservation and that there shouldn't be any problems getting the Cabanas building????

Huh??!?!!?!?!

That's great news for me!!! BUT....am I the only one that is really confused and more than slightly annoyed by this new room category?

Personally, it sounds like a big' ol scam! It would seem that if you WANT Casitas... then that's the "preferred" section! However, if you WANT Cabanas, then that's the "preferred" section TOO! ?????

Just seems like a way for them to charge a "premium" for what you want regardless of what room section that is.

Sure, it sounds like I will be getting the section that I want, which is the important part... but am I paying for "preferred" for nothing?

I originally booked preferred as well. Then talking it over w/ my family we want to be closer to the pool than the Casitas are. So what I did was change my reservation from preferred to a water view and requested Cabanas 8b. From my understanding only the Casitas are considered preferred but water view and preferred cost the same. So that may be what the cast member meant.

 

[millerpjm]

Hi everyone!

I am SOOOO excited for our stay at CSR in August!

I haven't made it all the way through the thread yet, so I hope these questions haven't been asked and answered a million times!

1. Do the rooms have an iPod docking station? We play music for DS to go to sleep to at night, and this would be nice....

2. Can someone tell me if they sell full-size boxes of cereal at the resort? And if so, approximate prices for that and say, 1/2 gallon of milk? We have the Basic Dining Plan, so I am trying to decide if we should arrange a towncar at the airport with a grocery store stop to get to WDW, or just use DME and pay the higher prices for groceries at the resort.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[tinacaplan]

Hi everyone!

I am SOOOO excited for our stay at CSR in August!

I haven't made it all the way through the thread yet, so I hope these questions haven't been asked and answered a million times!

1. Do the rooms have an iPod docking station? We play music for DS to go to sleep to at night, and this would be nice....

2. Can someone tell me if they sell full-size boxes of cereal at the resort? And if so, approximate prices for that and say, 1/2 gallon of milk? We have the Basic Dining Plan, so I am trying to decide if we should arrange a towncar at the airport with a grocery store stop to get to WDW, or just use DME and pay the higher prices for groceries at the resort.

Thanks a bunch!

Hi! You are going to love CSR! We do! The rooms have an alarm clock radio with an iPod connecting wire. So, it won't recharge your iPod, but you can play it!

I don't recall seeing cereal at the resort. But they have milk. I would try to either pack the cereal and buy the milk, because DME is free and very nice and towncars can get pricey. But that's just me.

 

[SnowWhite33]

Hi! You are going to love CSR! We do! The rooms have an alarm clock radio with an iPod connecting wire. So, it won't recharge your iPod, but you can play it!

I don't recall seeing cereal at the resort. But they have milk. I would try to either pack the cereal and buy the milk, because DME is free and very nice and towncars can get pricey. But that's just me.

Thank you for the answer about the iPod clock radio. DS has and iPod and I have and iPhone and I was thinking that we could use the radio as a charger. Our stuff would have been DEAD

 

[KEPE]

thanks for asking the Ipod question. I read a few pages back about it and misunderstood it to be a docking station too.

Have to say I've been addicted to this site all weekend. What a huge amount of helpful info. Especially this page. I was able to show my DH all the pick (he's only ever stayed at CBR and was insisting we do it again) until I showed him the picks!!

I think I have my vacation narrowed down and will book this week . As of last week when I was still playing they were only offering flights on Continental. This morning there was Jet Blue, Delta and AA AND my Airfare is $400 cheaper WOOO HOOO. All the info on here convinced me to do the DDP (which I hadn't even heard of before last week). I am so excited and can't wait to do our ADR's. Counting down the days.......

Q - do they have milk/Juice boxes? Not in cups? Was thinking of bringing my own but don't want them to break in the luggage and not sure I can take them in a carry on. Don't want to travel w/ a ton of sippy cups.

TIA

KEPE

 

[KEPE]

Sorry had to make another post. Someone sent me info in a PM but I can only reply if I have posted 10 x??? Odd but..... I had to post again to meet the 10

 

[kellzkidz]

Hi everyone

We are staying at the CSR May 4th-12th, but I see there is an animal expo May 4th-7th. Anyone familiar with staying during conventions that can offer any tips?

I read the not-so-great happenings during another convention and started to wonder how it will effect our trip. Good thing is I have a "resort" day planned for the 8th for us to hang at the pool all day and the convention will be over by then!

Here is what is posted on the expo site:
Opportunity to attend over 70 educational workshops (see our Continuing Education section for more information)
Over 175 exhibition booths of the latest products and services, many offering great deals and prizes
Four meals (dinner on Wednesday, lunch and dinner on Thursday and lunch on Friday in the Exhibit Hall during Expo)
Morning coffee breaks
Conference bag with premiums from our sponsors
Complimentary drinks during the evening receptions
Friday night party with drinks and entertainment
Complimentary luggage and transportation service through Disney's Magical Express if you are staying at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Complimentary Internet Café available for all attendees

Is the resort that big for 175 booths?? I plan on being in the parks and we have dinner ressies all over, but do you think we will get jammed up at breakfast/buses?

Sorry for such a loong post, I get my best info. on these boards

 

[ilmomof2]

Do all the rooms at CSR look the same on the inside? Like, the Casitas and Cabanas? We reserved "preferred" rooms, but we'd like to be close to the dig site and the first bus stop. (#2) Can we be close to the dig site, the bus stop, and the Pepper Market?? ;-)

We stayed at AKL two years ago, and there was only one bus stop, and it didn't stop at other resorts. (well, it did stop at the AK villas, but the regular AKL was always the first pickup, so we rarely had to stand)

After booking CSR, we received a pin code (yay!) that would have allowed us to stay at AKL with FD for not much more, but we'd have to go in July and miss Star Wars weekend.

For those of you who've stayed at both resorts, I'd love to hear your comparisons of the two...

 

[cjsm&d]

Just back from our quick two night stay at CSR (5 at Swan).

We were going to let the chips fall as far as the location goes because it was only two nights. However, when we got there the room assigned was Ranchos 7A, facing the rear parking lot. This is as far as you can get from the main building. we asked if anything was available in Cabanas 8A or 8B. We were told we'd have to wait until the room was clean, but we could have 8A!

We knew we would be checking in early (noon) so had our bathing suits in our carry-on and went directly to the Dig Site for pool and lunch! Good food and drinks at the pool bar. Got a text at 2pm that we could go to our room, but hung out at the pool (DS just loves this pool, arcade, and play area) until around 4. We got a corner room in the rear, but the side window faced the walkway to the pool. Great spot! As always (for us anyway) the luggage was there, the room was neat and clean.

After doing EMH at AK, DS and I went for another swim. Only negative at CSR pool is the lifeguards go off-duty at 6pm, and the slide is shut down. With temps in the mid-80's this was disappointing (The Deluxes have lifeguards until 9pm).

Ate at Peppermarket once, and it was OK, though they changed the stations a bit and we all got our food at different times. I still like the cheese steaks with the southwest flavor twist.

Maya Grill was a bit of a disappointment. The menu has changed, and not for the better. No prime rib, replaced by a flank steak that my server (who was excellent, they always are at Maya) steered me away from. I had the pork chop and DW had the chicken. Both were just OK. DS went away from the kids tenderloin tips he loved last year and had the chicken parm? It was a bowl of pasta, with 1 chicken nugget on top and some melted cheese. Not so good.

Bus transportation was a bit slow with waits every time. I think this was more a WDW thing than a CSR thing. It seems like they have less transports in service than in the past. We had waits at both the bus stops and boat launches all week. Many others we traveled with made the same observation.

The resort itself was great as always, and it will always be our moderate resort of choice.

 

[lovethattink]

Just back from our quick two night stay at CSR (5 at Swan).

We were going to let the chips fall as far as the location goes because it was only two nights. However, when we got there the room assigned was Ranchos 7A, facing the rear parking lot. This is as far as you can get from the main building. we asked if anything was available in Cabanas 8A or 8B. We were told we'd have to wait until the room was clean, but we could have 8A!

We knew we would be checking in early (noon) so had our bathing suits in our carry-on and went directly to the Dig Site for pool and lunch! Good food and drinks at the pool bar. Got a text at 2pm that we could go to our room, but hung out at the pool (DS just loves this pool, arcade, and play area) until around 4. We got a corner room in the rear, but the side window faced the walkway to the pool. Great spot! As always (for us anyway) the luggage was there, the room was neat and clean.

After doing EMH at AK, DS and I went for another swim. Only negative at CSR pool is the lifeguards go off-duty at 6pm, and the slide is shut down. With temps in the mid-80's this was disappointing (The Deluxes have lifeguards until 9pm).

Ate at Peppermarket once, and it was OK, though they changed the stations a bit and we all got our food at different times. I still like the cheese steaks with the southwest flavor twist.

Maya Grill was a bit of a disappointment. The menu has changed, and not for the better. No prime rib, replaced by a flank steak that my server (who was excellent, they always are at Maya) steered me away from. I had the pork chop and DW had the chicken. Both were just OK. DS went away from the kids tenderloin tips he loved last year and had the chicken parm? It was a bowl of pasta, with 1 chicken nugget on top and some melted cheese. Not so good.

Bus transportation was a bit slow with waits every time. I think this was more a WDW thing than a CSR thing. It seems like they have less transports in service than in the past. We had waits at both the bus stops and boat launches all week. Many others we traveled with made the same observation.

The resort itself was great as always, and it will always be our moderate resort of choice.

Thanks for your review! I have a few questions. Did they get the news mugs yet at CSR? How was the temp of the main pool this time of year? We went to TL last Sunday and found the wading pool to be cool and felt refreshing, but the wave pool was like a hot tub, and didn't feel refreshing at all.

I didn't realize the lifeguards left at 6pm. Thanks so much for including this information!

Good to know about the transportation. We have our own car, but usually use resort transportation to MK.

 

[cjsm&d]

Thanks for your review! I have a few questions. Did they get the news mugs yet at CSR? How was the temp of the main pool this time of year? We went to TL last Sunday and found the wading pool to be cool and felt refreshing, but the wave pool was like a hot tub, and didn't feel refreshing at all.

I didn't realize the lifeguards left at 6pm. Thanks so much for including this information!

Good to know about the transportation. We have our own car, but usually use resort transportation to MK.

Since we were only doing two days, we didn't get the mugs. However, they are not the same as the ones we got last time, though not alot different. They had the same logo and colors, but they didn't thin out at the bottom like our last ones, and they appeared to be a little larger. I hope that helps?

The pool was very refreshing. In fact DS mentioned the water was cooler than last year (though it was so cold out last year, the pool water felt really warm ). I still like the large hot tub, which never seems overcrowded.

 

[SnowWhite33]

Hi everyone

We are staying at the CSR May 4th-12th, but I see there is an animal expo May 4th-7th. Anyone familiar with staying during conventions that can offer any tips?

I read the not-so-great happenings during another convention and started to wonder how it will effect our trip. Good thing is I have a "resort" day planned for the 8th for us to hang at the pool all day and the convention will be over by then!

Here is what is posted on the expo site:
Opportunity to attend over 70 educational workshops (see our Continuing Education section for more information)
Over 175 exhibition booths of the latest products and services, many offering great deals and prizes
Four meals (dinner on Wednesday, lunch and dinner on Thursday and lunch on Friday in the Exhibit Hall during Expo)
Morning coffee breaks
Conference bag with premiums from our sponsors
Complimentary drinks during the evening receptions
Friday night party with drinks and entertainment
Complimentary luggage and transportation service through Disney's Magical Express if you are staying at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Complimentary Internet Café available for all attendees

Is the resort that big for 175 booths?? I plan on being in the parks and we have dinner ressies all over, but do you think we will get jammed up at breakfast/buses?

Sorry for such a loong post, I get my best info. on these boards

Sorry that I can't answer your question, but your question prompted me to look up the National PTA Convention that is going on while we are there in June

Join thousands of parents, teachers, students, and leaders who come to national convention each year to enhance their skills, connections, and success!

* Education—choose from 50+ workshops
* Exhibits—visit more than 200 exhibits
* Issues—raise your voice on national business and emerging issues
* Resources—gather 100s of ideas, handouts, giveaways
* Connections—interact with 1,000s of other PTA & parent engagement leaders from around the country
* Orlando—bring the entire family and enjoy all that Walt Disney World has to offer

It says Thousands...THOUSANDS????!!!



Someone tell me it isn't going to be as bad as it sounds please

 

[roxiehartseeyore]

We're going to be at CSR 2-6 May.. I knew about the pet expo but wasn't really concerned about large crowds. I didn't book a preferred room but when I called to make my final payment friday the CM I spoke with was going over ther details and it seems we got "upgraded" to preferred. I work in hotel reservations and I think they may be running out of rooms and have to bump people up or out to accommodate the group.(I have to do that everyday almost so its not uncommon.) I'm hoping there won't be mass people there but I'm too excited to worry (yet)!

 

[ilmomof2]

LOL! I'm with you! I hope not "thousands!"