Coronado Springs Review 6-05

[karenbtx]

We just returned from our annual vacation at WDW. This year we chose Coronado Springs. We wanted to try a different moderate resort. Last year we stayed at POR. I'm going to give CSR a "C". This is my OP.

Room - Casitas 5. Decent size with a good view of the fountain and lake. We were on the 3rd floor courtyard. The distance from El Centro was about a quarter mile. The distance from the bus stop was about an eighth of a mile. This was a negative for me. I walk everday in my normal walk but with all of the park walking this was a bit too far. Mousekeeping was ok. We did not get towel animals but our neighbors did.

Pools - My DS's (7) prefered the quiet pool. The dig sit pool was just too big to have much fun. The line to the slide was too long. After BB and TL it was a little tame.

Food Court - Pepper Mill is horrible. The food is awful. The service is awful. The whole setup is awful. Maya Grill is ok. The breakfast buffet was tasty and had a good selection.

Bell Service - Probably the best service the resort has to offer. If you need any information ask these guys. The conceirge is fairly useless.

Bus Service - 4 stops in all. Buses usually ran every 10 minutes. The only problem we had was at night. We waited 30 minutes for the bus at EPCOT on EMH night.

Overall the resort was too large for us. If that's what you like then it is great. For us it took away from the advantage of staying on Disney property.
Next time we will probably go back to POR.

 

[speedyf]

It's funny how people have different experiences and tastes....I feel the same way about POR having visited it last week.

The food in the food court was horrible. We got cold pizza and very burnt hamburgers while eating there. The prices at Boatright's were too high....$18 for Jambalaya...geez.

We stayed in Magnolia Terrace facing the parking lot. The walk through the building....across the bridge....around the entire swimming pool....then across another bridge was too long for us.

We were, however, close to the East Depot. Of course, the East Depot is the last drop off/pick up for the buses. The buses were always either standing room only or full by the time they arrived at our East Depot.

The main pool was too crowded on the days we went and I didn't like the fact that the slide and the waterfalls closed at 8pm. We usually swim after returning from the parks at 9pm or 10pm....so, the main pool was the equivalent of a quiet pool since the slide and the waterfalls were off by this time.

Mousekeeping was ok. They only changed our sheets once in 8 days....forgot to replace our used glasses several days....and finally replaced our coffee cups on the 4th day after we had used them on the 1st day. Not really a big deal....but, not top notch either.

We stayed at Pop Century last year....we were much closer to the main building...the food court was better, in my opinion, with frozen coke and other options not available at POR. The food itself was prepared better...no cold food or burnt food. The buses were very efficient...no sharing a bus with another resort and only one stop.

POFQ would be the only moderate I would ever consider in the future because it's small and it's first on the bus pick up/drop off route....but, we will stay at Pop from now on.

Maybe Alligator Bayou #14 or #15 would be better since it's close to the main bus stop...

Just my opinion....

Speed

 

[karenbtx]

I did notice that the buses to POR were really backed up at parks. Maybe I won't go back to POR. Your description of the pizza and burgers is exactly the same at CSR. yuck

 

[HANDYMOM]

I think we all sometimes expect too much from a food court, but Disney does charge a little too much for what we get....

I would encourage everyone to not make a decision on whether or not to return to a resort based solely on bus service. Last May when we went we ended up in Bldg 27 in Alligator Bayou at POR. We were in between the main bus stop at the main bldg and the West Depot. Either way, it was a bit of a walk. We got used to it and grew to really enjoy it. We found the buses pretty prompt and only overcrowded at night. The later you leave, the more crowded. Again, the ride to POR was never horribly long and we were back before we knew it, even if we stood. Visiting Disneyworld pretty much guarantees you a certain level of exhaustion guaranteed doesn't it?

Another poster who was there at the exact same time as I was thought the bus service was horrible. He/She had detailed very long waits at the resort and the parks. My point is just this. If you add up all the time you were either waiting on a bus, walking to a bus stop or being uncomfortable in a bus, it's likely that that amt of time is miniscule to your overall vacation, unless you are only there for a short time....That's a whole different ballgame.
Also, if you adjust your expectation or timing just a little, what might ordinarily make you mad or disappointed, might seem a little less of a problem.

 

[gopack]

Is CSR bigger than POR?

 

[karenbtx]

CSR is probably twice the size of POR.

 

[speedyf]

I really don't expect much of a food court. I'm a burger and chicken fingers kind of guy. I could eat burgers every day for a month and never get sick of them.

I was just not impressed with the level of quality and service at the POR food court compared to the what is supposed to be a lesser food court at Pop Century last year. Pop Century had more options for the refillable mug....the layout seemed to be better...and the food was much better.

I don't mind paying $7 for a personal size pizza loaded with tomato sauce (heartburn city)....just give it to me HOT...not cold. I don't mind eating a pre-packaged hamburger....just cook it right....don't burn it and ruin it.

Again...everyone has their preferences. I prefer not to have to walk 5 to 10 minutes to and from a bus stop....especially after walking all day. So, I was originally happy with our location at Magnolia Terrace facing the parking lot. It was a 2 minute walk....down the stairs, across the parking lot, right there to the East Depot bus stop.

What I was not happy with and did not know at the time is that East Depot is always the last pick up / drop off. I also did not know that POR shares a bus with POFQ. This is not off season either....we are talking beginning of June while the MK is having 2 Spectro's every night and staying open until 11pm or Midnight every night of our stay.

Needless to say...the bus was always either full or standing room only by the time it made it's 5th and final stop at the East Depot to pick us up.

So....if you do decide to stay a POR...I suggest somewhere close to the main building if you want to be able to sit on a bus instead of standing. If you enjoy standing on the bus, then be sure to request Magnolia Terrace facing the parking lot and use the East Depot.

I guess my expectations of what a Moderate could offer over a value must have been too high. I will stay Value from now on because I don't think the moderates offer that much more for the 50% more in price that you pay to stay there.

My bus experience was much better with Pop Century last year than POR this year. Of course...this is just my opinion....except for the part about always having to stand if you take the bus at the East Depot.

Speed

 

[gopack]

karenbtx-I am sorry you didn't like CSR. I just have a couple more questions if you don't mind! Did you request a certain room location? Did you try the food at the pool bar? Did you make use of the internal shuttle service? I hope you and your family had a nice vacation even though you did not enjoy the resort.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

That is why its so great to have choices of where to stay in WDW-because we all have different opinions.
We absolutely LOVE CSR and had the complete opposite experience on our last 2 visits.
Our room in Casitas was perfect-view and distance from pool, bus, food court etc. Just as a side note, each section has a bus stop, and all the rooms cant be close to the stop. Requesting to be as close to a bus stop as possible might help-we always do. Also we have found that CSR has the best bus service we have seen with frequent buses and little wait times.
We love the food court at CSR, The Pepper Market-it isnt like a foods court at all. The food is great, much fresher than food courts usually are, and the service has always been good when we have eaten there.
Sorry to hear you didnt care for CSR...maybe another moderate will be more to your liking. We enjoyed our stay at CBR as well. POR and POFQ are not for us, the theming is not appealing and borders on unattractive.
Different strokes for different folks right?

 

[SqueakyMouse]

That is why its so great to have choices of where to stay in WDW-because we all have different opinions.
We absolutely LOVE CSR and had the complete opposite experience on our last 2 visits.
Our room in Casitas was perfect-view and distance from pool, bus, food court etc. Just as a side note, each section has a bus stop, and all the rooms cant be close to the stop. Requesting to be as close to a bus stop as possible might help-we always do. Also we have found that CSR has the best bus service we have seen with frequent buses and little wait times.
We love the food court at CSR, The Pepper Market-it isnt like a foods court at all. The food is great, much fresher than food courts usually are, and the service has always been good when we have eaten there.
Sorry to hear you didnt care for CSR...maybe another moderate will be more to your liking. We enjoyed our stay at CBR as well. POR and POFQ are not for us, the theming is not appealing and borders on unattractive.
Different strokes for different folks right?

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your stay, but I have to agree with the above poster. I guess we all have our likes and dislikes. My family really enjoyed CSR -- even after 8 previous days at AKL. I thought the food at the Pepper Market (not "Mill") was every bit as good as TS at WDW. The crowd at the main pool was far smaller than at AKL, and our walk to the parking lot or buses was far shorter.

BTW, CSR has 1.965 guest rooms; while POR (not including POFQ) has 2,048.

 

[JoshMom5]

I have to insert some positive comments on the CSR. We stayed there the 2nd week of June last year in Ranchos 7B. We were a short walk from the Dig Site, which we loved and spent at least an hour at every afternoon to catch our breath before heading back to the parks. The kids liked going into the arcade and there were really great cheese fries at the pool bar.

The Ranchos sections was beautiful and we liked how quiet it was after spending hectic days at the parks.

We usually took the shuttle to the El Centro when we wanted to go there and then walked back to our room when finished. It was about a 10 minute walk. We ate at the Pepper Market once and really enjoyed the choices. We were 3 adults and 5 kids (ages 6-15) and we all found something to enjoy there. The bus service was excellent to all parks during our stay.

 

[karenbtx]

karenbtx-I am sorry you didn't like CSR. I just have a couple more questions if you don't mind! Did you request a certain room location? Did you try the food at the pool bar? Did you make use of the internal shuttle service? I hope you and your family had a nice vacation even though you did not enjoy the resort.

We did not request a specific room location. We did not have any food at the pool bar. We did use the internal shuttles a few times but it was
hitchhiking. If the shuttle wasn't full we stuck our thumbs out and they stopped and gave us a ride.

We did have a great vacation. There were many many more positive things that happened during our 7 day vacations. For example 1 night we timed the monorail ride at MK exactly at 10:00 and the driver stopped so we could watch wishes. 1 day we made it to EPCOT for opening and were first to get pictures with Mickey.

CSR was not so bad that it spoiled our vacation or even came close. We would just not stay there again unless we get a great deal.

 

[gopack]

Thanks for the information! I bet it was great watching wishes from the monorail!