Disney's CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT Information & Questions

[GADisneyDad14]

I understand. We did look at the posted King rates for our dates and it would be at minimum $500+ extra (6 nights), which just isn't in budget. I just thought perhaps if they had unbooked extras when we arrive in January, they might offer an upgrade for a lower amount. Definitely wouldn't expect anything though!

Gotcha. Unfortunately unlike many hotels, “pay a little more for an upgrade at check in” is not something Disney really does. They’d generally rather let a room go empty than give you any last minute deal. Technically moving you to a new room category will often reprice the whole thing and they’d want you to pay rack rate, or if lucky they’d apply whatever general public discount available at the time.

BUT all of that being said, it never hurts to ask. With your honeymoon, occupancies being so low, etc, you just never know. Of course they may do nothing, but maybe you get lucky with a little pixie dust.

Hope it all works out for you!

 

[dachsie]

I understand. We did look at the posted King rates for our dates and it would be at minimum $500+ extra (6 nights), which just isn't in budget. I just thought perhaps if they had unbooked extras when we arrive in January, they might offer an upgrade for a lower amount. Definitely wouldn't expect anything though!

Have you priced it with the new discounts they released? Anyway, congrats on the wedding and hope your trip is magical

 

[SugarSweetLee]

Have you priced it with the new discounts they released? Anyway, congrats on the wedding and hope your trip is magical

Yep, that is with the new discounts! We have the first night at full rack ate unfortunately because it was not included in the discount period, so that blew the budget a little. Just happy to be going though.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

Gotcha. Unfortunately unlike many hotels, “pay a little more for an upgrade at check in” is not something Disney really does. They’d generally rather let a room go empty than give you any last minute deal. Technically moving you to a new room category will often reprice the whole thing and they’d want you to pay rack rate, or if lucky they’d apply whatever general public discount available at the time.

BUT all of that being said, it never hurts to ask. With your honeymoon, occupancies being so low, etc, you just never know. Of course they may do nothing, but maybe you get lucky with a little pixie dust.

Hope it all works out for you!

Thanks for the input!

 

[fbb]

Thanks for these times, they are super helpful! Would love to know what/if you experience with doing buses for RD at HS.

Hollywood Studios on Sunday.

Arrived at Casitas bus stop at 8:15am

MK bus arrived 8:20am 4 parties of 4 boarded
AK bus 8:24am, left empty
AK bus 8:26am, left empty
MK bus 8:31am, one party of 4 boarded
AK bus 8:33am, left empty
MK bus 8:44am, 2 parties boarded
3 DHS busses 8:45am, 8:46am, 8:46am. Five parties boarded the first bus. Did not stop at stops 3 and 4. Full when we left GDT
9:01 DHS
9:04 temp screen
9:06 bag check
9:10 in line for MMRR

 

[Farro]

Hollywood Studios on Sunday.

Arrived at Casitas bus stop at 8:15am

MK bus arrived 8:20am 4 parties of 4 boarded
AK bus 8:24am, left empty
AK bus 8:26am, left empty
MK bus 8:31am, one party of 4 boarded
AK bus 8:33am, left empty
MK bus 8:44am, 2 parties boarded
3 DHS busses 8:45am, 8:46am, 8:46am. Five parties boarded the first bus. Did not stop at stops 3 and 4. Full when we left GDT
9:01 DHS
9:04 temp screen
9:06 bag check
9:10 in line for MMRR

If they saw people waiting for the DHS bus and they knew one wouldn't be arriving for a while (they know), why don't they change of the three AK buses leaving empty to DHS???

 

[SugarSweetLee]

Hollywood Studios on Sunday.

Arrived at Casitas bus stop at 8:15am

MK bus arrived 8:20am 4 parties of 4 boarded
AK bus 8:24am, left empty
AK bus 8:26am, left empty
MK bus 8:31am, one party of 4 boarded
AK bus 8:33am, left empty
MK bus 8:44am, 2 parties boarded
3 DHS busses 8:45am, 8:46am, 8:46am. Five parties boarded the first bus. Did not stop at stops 3 and 4. Full when we left GDT
9:01 DHS
9:04 temp screen
9:06 bag check
9:10 in line for MMRR

Thank you!!

What was the posted wait for the MMRR line when you arrived?

 

[fbb]

Thank you!!

What was the posted wait for the MMRR line when you arrived?

35 minutes. Exited MMRR at 9:45am. RnRC was posted 15 but was nearly a walk-on. Exited RnRC at 9:58am. Got boarding group. RnRC was posted 20 at 10am. Exited at 10:21am. ToT posted 50 minutes at 10:22am.

 

[Disneylover99]

If they saw people waiting for the DHS bus and they knew one wouldn't be arriving for a while (they know), why don't they change of the three AK buses leaving empty to DHS???

I don’t know what their specific rules are, but I’ve never seen them switch to a different park upon arrival at any resort.

It can be very frustrating when you see bus after bus arrive for one park with literally nobody waiting to go to that park, while crowds balloon for the park you want to go to and you wait for a half an hour or more for one bus that can’t take everyone who wants to go.

 

[Farro]

I don’t know what their specific rules are, but I’ve never seen them switch to a different park upon arrival at any resort.

It can be very frustrating when you see bus after bus arrive for one park with literally nobody waiting to go to that park, while crowds balloon for the park you want to go to and you wait for a half an hour or more for one bus that can’t take everyone who wants to go.

It would just make sense! Obviously they are only going from CSR to park and back again - no other hotel stops. They really should be allocating buses where needed. If they see a crowd for DHS and no one waiting for AK, yet send 3 AK buses that leave empty and have the DHS crowd waiting for half an hour or more...I would be upset too.

I guess there is a reason behind it, but it just seems so simple to me!

 

[Disneylover99]

It would just make sense! Obviously they are only going from CSR to park and back again - no other hotel stops. They really should be allocating buses where needed. If they see a crowd for DHS and no one waiting for AK, yet send 3 AK buses that leave empty and have the DHS crowd waiting for half an hour or more...I would be upset too.

I guess there is a reason behind it, but it just seems so simple to me!

And I think the problem is amplified now with the limited number of people allowed on the buses. In the past, I didn’t mind squishing into a bus, but I guess those days are over. I’m sure most people feel differently, but I’ll miss the days of feeling like a sardine.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

35 minutes. Exited MMRR at 9:45am. RnRC was posted 15 but was nearly a walk-on. Exited RnRC at 9:58am. Got boarding group. RnRC was posted 20 at 10am. Exited at 10:21am. ToT posted 50 minutes at 10:22am.

Awesome, congrats on the boarding group! This makes me feel a little better about being a little more chill about transport and planning to take the bus in January instead of trying to figure out some complicated rideshare situation.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Wait, are y’all trying to bring logic and reason to a Disney bus transportation discussion????

Through a series of poor decision making DS and I found ourselves at a CBR internal bus station over Labor Day trying to get to DAK, along with a small army of others in the bus stop at the time. MK bus after MK bus after MK bus came and went empty, but none for DAK. I’m always one to just sit, smile, and make the most of it, but after the 3rd or 4th MK bus came the leader of the largest family waiting decided to impart some strong ‘opinions’ to the bus driver.

I pulled the rip cord at that point and ordered a Lyft.

 

[BK2014]

I can see how the limited dining is turn off for people.

I was kind of put off too at first, but then was gently reminded that we rarely ever eat counter-service at the resort. We eat b-fast in the room (bagels, fruit, etc.), snack around parks and then do a sit down at night in parks (mostly Epcot). We go to Disney Springs a few nights each trip too. Or counter service in the parks.

So for us having the option of a sit down breakfast at Rix if we are in the mood, and dinner at Rix or Three Bridges if we stay at resort for dinner will be just fine.

Honestly, all I wanted was there to be evening cocktail options and we've got them!

But I do hope the quick service returns soon for everyone.

We were at Coronado springs last night for a one-night stay. Yesterday was a resort day, followed by EPCOT today. We didn't think the dining situation would affect us much, because we had done our research. Yesterday we scheduled a breakfast at the wave, and lunch at the RIX. We were not sure what time we would be hungry for dinner but we knew that we could go to the RIX or grab take out from there take back to our room. We also foolishly thought that the pool bar was going to be open until 10:00 because that's what the sign says and the app says. Though I do remember somebody saying the kitchen closes early. The app also seemed to indicate that private in-room dining was also opened because it wasn't marked as temporarily unavailable as were other closed options.

So when we finally got hungry around 7:00 p.m. last night, we decided to do take out from RIX. My wife went down to make the order and was on a waiting list for at least 30 to 45 minutes just to place a to-go order, not to mention waiting on the food. So not knowing how long the wait was going to be we decided to try in room dining. Which means that we canceled our spot in the to go order line. Of course when we called in room dining it was closed or unavailable. So we walk over to siesta's the pool bar to get food only to find out the kitchen had closed at 10:00. By this time there were no more ADRs at RIX and the to-go order line had only increased. Finally we ended up leaving the resort and getting McDonald's at about 8:45 p.m.

As we were trying to find food and wandering the resort, we found multiple other people who were doing the same thing and we're frustrated at the lack of options and the fact that they did not realize that they had to plan all of their meals out in advance in order to have reservations.

So the problem with the lack of options currently at Coronado springs is not that there is not food to be had, as much as it is the lack of flexibility and the seeming inability of those options that are available to handle all of the guests. Obviously sit down restaurants have limited ADRs and the rest of the people are left to try and wait for takeout orders because that's the only option that they have. This is especially a problem when the parks are closing early and some of the resort food options are closing at the same time.

 

[Farro]

We were at Coronado springs last night for a one-night stay. Yesterday was a resort day, followed by EPCOT today. We didn't think the dining situation would affect us much, because we had done our research. Yesterday we scheduled a breakfast at the wave, and lunch at the RIX. We were not sure what time we would be hungry for dinner but we knew that we could go to the RIX or grab take out from there take back to our room. We also foolishly thought that the pool bar was going to be open until 10:00 because that's what the sign says and the app says. Though I do remember somebody saying the kitchen closes early. The app also seemed to indicate that private in-room dining was also opened because it wasn't marked as temporarily unavailable as were other closed options.

So when we finally got hungry around 7:00 p.m. last night, we decided to do take out from RIX. My wife went down to make the order and was on a waiting list for at least 30 to 45 minutes just to place a to-go order, not to mention waiting on the food. So not knowing how long the wait was going to be we decided to try in room dining. Which means that we canceled our spot in the to go order line. Of course when we called in room dining it was closed or unavailable. So we walk over to siesta's the pool bar to get food only to find out the kitchen had closed at 10:00. By this time there were no more ADRs at RIX and the to-go order line had only increased. Finally we ended up leaving the resort and getting McDonald's at about 8:45 p.m.

As we were trying to find food and wandering the resort, we found multiple other people who were doing the same thing and we're frustrated at the lack of options and the fact that they did not realize that they had to plan all of their meals out in advance in order to have reservations.

So the problem with the lack of options currently at Coronado springs is not that there is not food to be had, as much as it is the lack of flexibility and the seeming inability of those options that are available to handle all of the guests. Obviously sit down restaurants have limited ADRs and the rest of the people are left to try and wait for takeout orders because that's the only option that they have. This is especially a problem when the parks are closing early and some of the resort food options are closing at the same time.

That sounds awful!

 

[SugarSweetLee]

We were at Coronado springs last night for a one-night stay. Yesterday was a resort day, followed by EPCOT today. We didn't think the dining situation would affect us much, because we had done our research. Yesterday we scheduled a breakfast at the wave, and lunch at the RIX. We were not sure what time we would be hungry for dinner but we knew that we could go to the RIX or grab take out from there take back to our room. We also foolishly thought that the pool bar was going to be open until 10:00 because that's what the sign says and the app says. Though I do remember somebody saying the kitchen closes early. The app also seemed to indicate that private in-room dining was also opened because it wasn't marked as temporarily unavailable as were other closed options.

So when we finally got hungry around 7:00 p.m. last night, we decided to do take out from RIX. My wife went down to make the order and was on a waiting list for at least 30 to 45 minutes just to place a to-go order, not to mention waiting on the food. So not knowing how long the wait was going to be we decided to try in room dining. Which means that we canceled our spot in the to go order line. Of course when we called in room dining it was closed or unavailable. So we walk over to siesta's the pool bar to get food only to find out the kitchen had closed at 10:00. By this time there were no more ADRs at RIX and the to-go order line had only increased. Finally we ended up leaving the resort and getting McDonald's at about 8:45 p.m.

As we were trying to find food and wandering the resort, we found multiple other people who were doing the same thing and we're frustrated at the lack of options and the fact that they did not realize that they had to plan all of their meals out in advance in order to have reservations.

So the problem with the lack of options currently at Coronado springs is not that there is not food to be had, as much as it is the lack of flexibility and the seeming inability of those options that are available to handle all of the guests. Obviously sit down restaurants have limited ADRs and the rest of the people are left to try and wait for takeout orders because that's the only option that they have. This is especially a problem when the parks are closing early and some of the resort food options are closing at the same time.

Was Three Bridges not an option? Or does that require ADR?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Just got back from a 6 night stay at Gran Destino Tower, so I thought I’d give my impressions.
As you can tell from photos, the building is gorgeous! Our room (standard view) was nice and clean and very spacious. I loved the wardrobe. There’s a huge empty space to the right of it that is perfect for storing a stroller. We had a room right around the corner from the elevator, so that was nice. We arrived on Sunday and the resort was pretty empty, but it filled as the week went on. I had a lot of opportunity to stroll the grounds and they are beautiful as well. It was my first time at CSR.

The bus situation was fine. Disney usually had employees there. The buses usually weren’t full, but it was hard to tell sometimes who got there first when the waiting groups got bigger. I wish they would implement those snake lines to better serve the people who got there first. But it wasn’t really an issue since there were so few people waiting. Our worse experience was Monday waiting for the bus to to HS. We got there around 8:45 for a bus only to find out that the first bus doesn’t run until 9:30! It was a long wait and lots more people filled up the space in those 45 minutes, but we did make it to HS and we’re in the park when it opened. We didn’t get the SW spaces in the virtual queue, so it didn’t really matter. All in all, no problems with buses but it is a negative to this resort that buses are the onot option. I can see this being a problem as the resort fills up.
Food situation was frustrating aspect of our stay. Not having a food court is a huge negative. It was just DH and I, so we made it work. We had two dinners at the Bridges restaurant. We really enjoyed it both times, but we only got one app, a drink for me and an entree for DH, so it didn’t really fill us up. (I don’t eat meat and my only entree option was a salad.) it was a great experience both times, but putting out $60 and leaving hungry was frustrating. We flew, so we didn’t have access to our car to make a grocery run. The food at the gift shop was slim pickings. If we had our car it wouldn’t have been so bad. I highly recommend bringing groceries like drinks and snacks if you’re staying there. The coffee machine worked great and luckily I brought some half n half for my coffee since they didn’t have it in gift shop (I brought the shelf stable kind). Disney provides Coffee Mate. We never made it to Dahlia Lounge. Both times we tried we were too early. We did the Barcelona Lounge one morning. DH got me a latte and scone. Both were excellent but service took half an hour. Wish there was an option to place a mobile order and pick up. We would have used that option a lot more. We never went to the sports bar, so I can’t comment on that. Our last night there we used the pool bar for dinner after a day on the magic kingdom. We were hungry and really missed having a food court at that moment. Halfway to the pool it started pouring, so we waited in rain to order and ate our food under an umbrella sitting on wet chairs. Plus we felt the need to tip, so a QS meal ended up costing $50.
The food options didn’t put that much of a damper on our stay, but it was an inconvenience when the hangriness set in. I would still recommend the resort for couples. If we brought our kids, we would have blown our food budget and been dealing with some non happy campers a lot of the time. We big QS people, so the lack of that option negatively affected our stay. If you’re not as into QS, you’ll be fine.
Overall it was a great stay. I’d definitely return...when the food court opens!

It wasn’t until reading your report this stupid food situation clicked for me. With the QS closed most everyone is being forced to spend TS prices for each meal onsite. Some smart soul out smarted every other property currently open honestly. Guest satisfaction will be down but the hotel finances will look nice (depending on Palmas agreement with them. I’d be shocked if there wasn’t a level of profit sharing though.)

I was planning on Barcelona for coffee & pastries but now I’m wondering about just hitting up Starbucks in AK (only at CSR for AK day). We have a DAS user in the party so we have a lot of downtime between doing stuff...

 

[DisneyNDecember]

We were at Coronado springs last night for a one-night stay. Yesterday was a resort day, followed by EPCOT today. We didn't think the dining situation would affect us much, because we had done our research. Yesterday we scheduled a breakfast at the wave, and lunch at the RIX. We were not sure what time we would be hungry for dinner but we knew that we could go to the RIX or grab take out from there take back to our room. We also foolishly thought that the pool bar was going to be open until 10:00 because that's what the sign says and the app says. Though I do remember somebody saying the kitchen closes early. The app also seemed to indicate that private in-room dining was also opened because it wasn't marked as temporarily unavailable as were other closed options.

So when we finally got hungry around 7:00 p.m. last night, we decided to do take out from RIX. My wife went down to make the order and was on a waiting list for at least 30 to 45 minutes just to place a to-go order, not to mention waiting on the food. So not knowing how long the wait was going to be we decided to try in room dining. Which means that we canceled our spot in the to go order line. Of course when we called in room dining it was closed or unavailable. So we walk over to siesta's the pool bar to get food only to find out the kitchen had closed at 10:00. By this time there were no more ADRs at RIX and the to-go order line had only increased. Finally we ended up leaving the resort and getting McDonald's at about 8:45 p.m.

As we were trying to find food and wandering the resort, we found multiple other people who were doing the same thing and we're frustrated at the lack of options and the fact that they did not realize that they had to plan all of their meals out in advance in order to have reservations.

So the problem with the lack of options currently at Coronado springs is not that there is not food to be had, as much as it is the lack of flexibility and the seeming inability of those options that are available to handle all of the guests. Obviously sit down restaurants have limited ADRs and the rest of the people are left to try and wait for takeout orders because that's the only option that they have. This is especially a problem when the parks are closing early and some of the resort food options are closing at the same time.

Either bring back in room dining or the food court option please.
Thank you for the report. This is very informative. $300-$350 night hotel and you have to get McDonald’s because no food options? I am really rethinking this vacation.

 

[gottalovepluto]

It would just make sense! Obviously they are only going from CSR to park and back again - no other hotel stops. They really should be allocating buses where needed. If they see a crowd for DHS and no one waiting for AK, yet send 3 AK buses that leave empty and have the DHS crowd waiting for half an hour or more...I would be upset too.

I guess there is a reason behind it, but it just seems so simple to me!

I’ve never had a trip I didn’t at some point watch like three buses in rapid succession come for the park no one was waiting for It’s a fluke that happens sometimes that they’ve never been able to work out of their system I think.

 

[Dug720]

Gotcha. Unfortunately unlike many hotels, “pay a little more for an upgrade at check in” is not something Disney really does. They’d generally rather let a room go empty than give you any last minute deal. Technically moving you to a new room category will often reprice the whole thing and they’d want you to pay rack rate, or if lucky they’d apply whatever general public discount available at the time.

BUT all of that being said, it never hurts to ask. With your honeymoon, occupancies being so low, etc, you just never know. Of course they may do nothing, but maybe you get lucky with a little pixie dust.

Hope it all works out for you!

All of this.

I would be prepared for them to reprice it if you ask for the upgrade, though. The general rule is if it's pixie dusted, there's no charge. But if you ask, there likely will be.

Honestly I'd just have "Honeymoon" noted on your reservation and hope for the best. IMHO that - a simple mention on the reservation - is more likely to get magic than asking when you get there. (Plus rooms are pre-assigned about 5 days out, and any at-desk changes require a call between the desk and housekeeping/room assigners.)