Coronado vs. Caribbean: NEED HELP!

sistertrip

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 25, 2003
Messages
758
Planning a trip for 2 families with children 5, 9, 11, and 13.

Considering either Coronado or Caribbean. Convince us for which one you think would be best.

Thanks!
 
I made reservations at CSR today, I just found out that none of their restaurants are on the food court. I also need help deciding on another resort.
 
CBR is a beautiful resort. You truly feel like you have escaped the world when you stay at CBR. It is fun for the entire family with the boat and bike rentals. You can stroll around the beautifully landscaped island and enjoy the secluded tables and hammocks. One of the best things to do at CBR is to lay in a hammock on Martinique Beach and watch the high fireworks from Illuminations at Epcot. CBR is great for families since the Main pool is next to the Food court.

You might want to take a look at the CBR FAQ thread listed below. I have lots more pictures of CBR on my website listed below.

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I have to make this same decision right now.

We've stayed at the Coronado Springs before and LOVED it. Well mainly the pool. And they have a playground. I haven't seen if Caribbean does. (ok I just looked it up and they do)

And I do believe that there are bikes and boats available at the Coronado as well.

I'm leaning towards the Caribbean as we've never stayed there.

Good luck with your decision.

Michelle

oh and this is my FIRST post. :)

eta: that I didn't like the Pepper Market at the Coronado.
 
wewantmore said:
I have to make this same decision right now.

We've stayed at the Coronado Springs before and LOVED it. Well mainly the pool. And they have a playground. I haven't seen if Caribbean does. (ok I just looked it up and they do)

And I do believe that there are bikes and boats available at the Coronado as well.

I'm leaning towards the Caribbean as we've never stayed there.

Good luck with your decision.

Michelle

oh and this is my FIRST post. :)

Hi! :wave2:
Welcome to the DIS!!

I say "choose CBR". You will love it!
We're going thru the opposite problem right now. For our next trip, I'd love to return to CBR because we LOVED it...but I really want to try another resort & DD12 wants to try CSR while DS8 wants to return to CBR. I just hate to mess up with a new place when I know that CBR is so great.

I'm thinking of doing a split stay.

Go for CBR!
 
wewantmore said:
I have to make this same decision right now.

We've stayed at the Coronado Springs before and LOVED it. Well mainly the pool. And they have a playground. I haven't seen if Caribbean does. (ok I just looked it up and they do)

And I do believe that there are bikes and boats available at the Coronado as well.

I'm leaning towards the Caribbean as we've never stayed there.

Good luck with your decision.

Michelle

oh and this is my FIRST post. :)

eta: that I didn't like the Pepper Market at the Coronado.

Welcome to DIS!

Seeing the ages of the children listed in the first post I would lean towards CBR over top Coronado in a heartbeat. I have yet to stay at CBR, but have walked to grounds, soaked up the atmosphere and checked things out with my children in tow. We all loved the atmosphere of CBR much more so than Coronado. Plus, Coronado hosts alot of conventioners and I don't care for Pepper Market as well as the food court at CBR. Yep, they have playgrounds for children at CBR, a really neat pirate themed pool, quiet pools at each island, boat and bike rentals, hammocks, a great food court, shopping and arcade.
 
wewantmore - Welcome to the DISboards!! :welcome:

sistertrip - DD13 and I are doing a girls only 4-night trip in late November and we'll be staying at CBR for the first time (she doesn't know it, she thinks we're staying at POP again). We stayed a couple of nights at CSR last year and it's a beautiful, quiet resort IMO and I know there are many CSR fans on the DISboards and even though I don't think you can go wrong at either resort personally with kids your age I would choose CBR. We've done nothing more than walk through CBR so I don't really have any first-hand experience but I'm really looking forward to our stay there. I love the theming at CBR and it seems to have a less laid back atmosphere than CSR which I think will be fun for DD and I (DH is getting Disney'd out so he's staying home!!). Of course, there's always the option of a split stay. We did that last year and it was a nice way to experience two resorts in the same trip.
 
I stayed at CBR in April 2005 with DS14 and DS11, and friends 13 and 12 -- All four kids LOVED CBR!! In fact, my kids say that's where we HAVE to go back to!

They loved the beaches and hammocks, all the quiet pools, the food court where it was easy for them to find lots of stuff they loved, the boat rentals on the resort's own 45-acre lake, the bike rentals, the video game arcade.... it just was great!

We had great bus service, all the CM's were really friendly and quick to help -- just loved the whole place -- a vacation within our vacation!!

Have fun at CBR!!
 
CSR is a large resort that doesn't share services with other resorts and offers some deluxe amenities because it's a convention resort.

CSR offers a salon, spa, workout facility, full menu room service, a courtesy coach to assist in getting to and from the main building, and is the only moderate to offer suites. Many of these amenities are available because CSR is a convention resort.

If you're on the dining plan, you won't find a better CS spot than the Pepper Market. Huge portions, great choices and tasty food. The PM can be crowded on occasion because CSR is a convention resort, especially during the lunch hour. Lunch/Dinner Menu

CSR is situated around a 15 acre lake. For comparison, CBR is situated around a 45 acre lake. Great place for a romantic walk romantic walk around the Lago Dorado, across the lighted bridge to the hammocks on the white sandy beach. This is best experienced at night. See pics on my website.

CSR has terrific transportation. It doesn't share with any other resort (like POR / POFQ) and it only has 4 bus stops within the resort (vs 7 at CBR). And since CSR is centrally located, you'll have a quick ride to all the parks. And being a convention resort, the buses seem less crowded because convention guests are busy with their convention activities.

CSR is the most central to the 3 parks. See the map below.

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Photo by Ducky4Disney

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CSR has the best pool of the mods and is right up there among the best on WDW property.

Best mod pool. It offers a great slide (123 ft long), an arcade, a sand volleyball court, and a playground at the main pool area. And being a convention resort, the pool seems less crowded because convention guests are busy with their convention activities.

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Review from mousesavers.com!!

Coronado Springs is my Best Value choice in the Moderate category. It has several advantages compared with the other Moderate resorts. It is newer, so there has been less wear-and-tear on everything. Also, Coronado Springs is a convention hotel, so it has a few extra amenities not offered at the other Moderates, including a salon, a health club and a more upscale food court.

The theming is radically different in the three areas of Coronado Springs. You can request a specific area when booking but there is no guarantee you'll get your request.

  • The Spanish-style Casitas at Coronado Springs are very peaceful, with courtyards featuring tiled fountains. Casitas Buildings 1, 3 and 2 (in that order) are the closest to the restaurants and services. Casitas Building 4 contains the salon and health club, if those are important to you.
  • The Cabanas at Coronado Springs have a beachy Caribbean feeling. Cabanas Building 8A is very close to the feature pool, which may be a blessing (convenience) or a curse (noise, light). Cabanas Building 9B is closest to the marina and relatively convenient to the restaurants and services.
  • The Ranchos at Coronado Springs feel quiet and secluded -- some would say isolated -- and feature desert landscaping and pueblo-style architecture. They look closest to the main pool on a map, but in actuality they are separated from the rest of the property by a swamp, so it can be a fairly long walk from these buildings to the pool, and a very long walk to the restaurants.

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With kids that age, CSR hands down. They will love the pool area. CSR has a much better slide (new style) made of fiberglass. CBR has an old style cement slide.

There is an arcade poolside along with a playground and sand volleyball court.

CSR is a smaller too. It surrounds a 15 acre lake versus CBR surrounding a 45 acre lake.
 
Thank you for the welcome.


Buzz2001 - Thanks for the info. Do you happen to know the length of the CBR waterslide? That's the one thing that makes me want to stay at the CSR is that waterslide.

But the CBR has a great view of EP fireworks. hmmm
 
My family of 4 recently enjoyed our stay at CBR (Caribbean Beach Resort) in June. We loved the fact that CBR is not a convention hotel and did not have to worry about the possibility of having large groups of conventioners hanging out in the common areas in front of 1st floor rooms. We wanted to feel like we were on a tropical getaway from the hustle and bustle (sp?) of business life (afterall, that's the main reason we go on vacation). It was nice meeting and talking with other families on vacation at CBR. The atmosphere at CBR is very laid back and relaxing very much in keeping with the Caribbean way of life.

If you are on the dining plan, CBR is definitely on the 2007 Dining Plan and has a great food court with a large variety of foods to choose from. It was never crowded and we always found a place to sit every single time we ate there. It was also very convenient since it was right next to the main pool.

We found the transportation at CBR very reliable and convenient. Since CBR is a large resort, there are 7 bus stops, so where ever you are, there is a bus stop nearby! The bus stops were also less crowded which made for a more efficient loading and unloading of passengers. The buses came by pretty frequently and reliably (never had to wait more than 15 minutes).

Where ever you decide to stay, I hope you have a magical trip!
 
CSR would be the only choice for us. My kids even love it over our deluxe stays.

The CBR slide is extremely short and blah ! Remember this was the first moderate resort built and the pool is as it was then. You sit, go a few feet, turn right and it is a straight short drop into the pool. Here is a photo. http://www.yourmagicaljourneys.com/images/CBR/cbr_mainpool3.jpg

If the slide is important you will be disappointed. My children were 4 and 9, and bored with it. The theme pool is also too small for a resort this large.

The entire Dig Site at CSR is a treat ! :thumbsup2
 
I posted pictures of the pool and slide at CBR on the first page of this thread. CBR also has a volleyball court next to the main pool. The walk around the lake at CBR is beautiful. It's great for taking a boat for a cruise around the lake.
 
Thanks for all of the great responses. Last night I was in the middle of helping two families plan their first trip to the world, and they were having a hard time deciding between CSR and CBR. CSR would be my own personal choice, but they decided that the kids would probably like CBR better.
 












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