We found Coronado Springs easily, and parked outside El Centro at around 10:30.
The check in area was mostly empty, so we were helped right away. The CM welcomed us and gave the kids crayons and coloring pages. (For those used to the kid areas in the Deluxes with a TV playing Disney cartoons, I didn’t see anything like that). Check in was efficient but businesslike. They had my DD’s upcoming b-day on the reservation, but the CM didn’t say anything about a card or ask for favorite characters, so I asked for some princesses. She said that they were probably not available, and the only other option was Mickey and Minnie. She did get the Mickey/Minnie card and 3 balloons on her birthday and was happy with them, but by then she had already gotten a card form the princesses at her lunch at Akershaus, and a wake up call from Goofy that DW arranged after reading about it.
We didn’t request a particular building since it was more important to us to have something ready when we arrived. We were given Ranchos 7A, and when I told the CM we drove, she told me to leave our luggage in the car and gave me directions where to drive. No offer of help for the bags. Not sure if I wanted help, but I would have liked being asked.
Our room was on the first floor, facing the parking lot right near bus stop 3. I usually don’t care about views at Disney resorts since I’m not in the room enough to worry about it, and it was convenient for loading/unloading. (That's our room on the ground floor on the corner just to the right of the cactus in the picture).
After leaving our things, we went back to El Centro. When we left just before 11, Pepper Market was empty, so we figured we’d try if for lunch. Forty minutes later when we returned, it was packed with conventioneers. So we went to the McDonalds down the street instead, then off to Animal Kingdom.
The next morning the kids were up early so we spent some time at the playground, which they loved. (DS loved it so much he went back a second day.) That night we went to Pepper Market for a late dinner. It was not crowded and we were seated right away. DS was asleep so I took DD around to see what they had. She was not interested in any of the kids meal choices, so I got her the fettuccini alfredo and myself some peel & eat shrimp from the salad station (a nightly special). I got some chicken fajitas for DW. She ate some one-handed, holding DS while I ate, the we switched. By then DD as done, after eating half of her pasta. Even though she doesn’t eat shrimp, she wanted to help so she peeled the rest of my shrimp while I held DS. My shrimp were a little watery but OK and I had some of her pasta, which was bland and the sauce was thin. The fajitas were better, with lots of fresh veggies and about two breasts worth of fresh chicken. Since no one felt like dessert, we chose 3 bakery items for the next morning as desserts and took them with us for breakfast the next day.
The next afternoon, I took the kids to the pool. Even though we were on the parking lot side of Ranchos 7A, the walk was not bad. We saw a couple of carts running around, but all seemed full with people or luggage, so we walked the whole way. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised to see the jaguar slide open – it was supposed to be under rehab. So off the kids went. Unfortunately for DS, the pool is at least 3.5 feet deep in most places , and he had just gotten to the point where he could stand on his own in 3 feet of water. Luckily, I brought his water wings, but even so, I parked at the bottom of the slide to catch him coming down. We played near the slide for a good hour (with DD taking a break for the cannonball contest) then they wanted to check out the kids pool. It was really just a rectangular baby pool with about 6 water jets shooting straight up from the middle. Maybe we’re just spoiled by where we live, but we’re used to better water play areas for free in the public parks. Even though he enjoyed it, I’d have to say that the Dig Site is not as friendly to preschoolers like DS as some other resorts.
Even though the resort looked very empty during our stay, we also had some noise issues. On the first night we were awoken by loud groups returning around midnight and someone in the room above clacking around in heels at 2:30 am. There was a similar noise around 2 the next morning. The way the parking lots are situated, it may be worth it to pay for a better view to avoid the noise.
Mousekeeping was nothing special. In fact one morning, DW and DD left quickly after eating breakfast. When we returned later that afternoon, the room was “cleaned” but the table was exactly as it had been left – including muffin crumbs and one empty and one half-full glass of milk on the table. No towel animals, either.
We did Pepper Market again the morning we left. The breakfast skillets were a good deal. DD had a fruit bowl and DS had cereal, which together used only 1 breakfast credit on the DDP. I could see how someone could get frustrated, though, by having to wait for a CM to get a bun when it is crowded. We had a bunch of snack credits left, so we got a couple of good-sized rice crispie treats at checkout. When we ate them, it turned out they had some banana in them – yum.
In summary, we thought Coronado was nice, but didn’t have the same level of Disney magic as other resorts. Pepper Market was a good deal if you’re on the DDP, but I don’t know if we would pay cash customer prices. The 10% tip doesn’t bother me, since that’s what I pay at casino buffets anyway.
The check in area was mostly empty, so we were helped right away. The CM welcomed us and gave the kids crayons and coloring pages. (For those used to the kid areas in the Deluxes with a TV playing Disney cartoons, I didn’t see anything like that). Check in was efficient but businesslike. They had my DD’s upcoming b-day on the reservation, but the CM didn’t say anything about a card or ask for favorite characters, so I asked for some princesses. She said that they were probably not available, and the only other option was Mickey and Minnie. She did get the Mickey/Minnie card and 3 balloons on her birthday and was happy with them, but by then she had already gotten a card form the princesses at her lunch at Akershaus, and a wake up call from Goofy that DW arranged after reading about it.
We didn’t request a particular building since it was more important to us to have something ready when we arrived. We were given Ranchos 7A, and when I told the CM we drove, she told me to leave our luggage in the car and gave me directions where to drive. No offer of help for the bags. Not sure if I wanted help, but I would have liked being asked.
Our room was on the first floor, facing the parking lot right near bus stop 3. I usually don’t care about views at Disney resorts since I’m not in the room enough to worry about it, and it was convenient for loading/unloading. (That's our room on the ground floor on the corner just to the right of the cactus in the picture).
After leaving our things, we went back to El Centro. When we left just before 11, Pepper Market was empty, so we figured we’d try if for lunch. Forty minutes later when we returned, it was packed with conventioneers. So we went to the McDonalds down the street instead, then off to Animal Kingdom.
The next morning the kids were up early so we spent some time at the playground, which they loved. (DS loved it so much he went back a second day.) That night we went to Pepper Market for a late dinner. It was not crowded and we were seated right away. DS was asleep so I took DD around to see what they had. She was not interested in any of the kids meal choices, so I got her the fettuccini alfredo and myself some peel & eat shrimp from the salad station (a nightly special). I got some chicken fajitas for DW. She ate some one-handed, holding DS while I ate, the we switched. By then DD as done, after eating half of her pasta. Even though she doesn’t eat shrimp, she wanted to help so she peeled the rest of my shrimp while I held DS. My shrimp were a little watery but OK and I had some of her pasta, which was bland and the sauce was thin. The fajitas were better, with lots of fresh veggies and about two breasts worth of fresh chicken. Since no one felt like dessert, we chose 3 bakery items for the next morning as desserts and took them with us for breakfast the next day.
The next afternoon, I took the kids to the pool. Even though we were on the parking lot side of Ranchos 7A, the walk was not bad. We saw a couple of carts running around, but all seemed full with people or luggage, so we walked the whole way. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised to see the jaguar slide open – it was supposed to be under rehab. So off the kids went. Unfortunately for DS, the pool is at least 3.5 feet deep in most places , and he had just gotten to the point where he could stand on his own in 3 feet of water. Luckily, I brought his water wings, but even so, I parked at the bottom of the slide to catch him coming down. We played near the slide for a good hour (with DD taking a break for the cannonball contest) then they wanted to check out the kids pool. It was really just a rectangular baby pool with about 6 water jets shooting straight up from the middle. Maybe we’re just spoiled by where we live, but we’re used to better water play areas for free in the public parks. Even though he enjoyed it, I’d have to say that the Dig Site is not as friendly to preschoolers like DS as some other resorts.
Even though the resort looked very empty during our stay, we also had some noise issues. On the first night we were awoken by loud groups returning around midnight and someone in the room above clacking around in heels at 2:30 am. There was a similar noise around 2 the next morning. The way the parking lots are situated, it may be worth it to pay for a better view to avoid the noise.
Mousekeeping was nothing special. In fact one morning, DW and DD left quickly after eating breakfast. When we returned later that afternoon, the room was “cleaned” but the table was exactly as it had been left – including muffin crumbs and one empty and one half-full glass of milk on the table. No towel animals, either.
We did Pepper Market again the morning we left. The breakfast skillets were a good deal. DD had a fruit bowl and DS had cereal, which together used only 1 breakfast credit on the DDP. I could see how someone could get frustrated, though, by having to wait for a CM to get a bun when it is crowded. We had a bunch of snack credits left, so we got a couple of good-sized rice crispie treats at checkout. When we ate them, it turned out they had some banana in them – yum.
In summary, we thought Coronado was nice, but didn’t have the same level of Disney magic as other resorts. Pepper Market was a good deal if you’re on the DDP, but I don’t know if we would pay cash customer prices. The 10% tip doesn’t bother me, since that’s what I pay at casino buffets anyway.
