Disney's CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT Information & Questions

[dmband]

We always take the bus and I persoanlly don't even see how saving a few mins by driving is worth,it when paying to park

Side note one of the many reasons I hate fp+ is waiting for a bus
In the past we might want to hit km, but is HS came first we would just go there
Can't do that with fp+ unless you want to waste them

 

[dansdad]

We always take the bus and I persoanlly don't even see how saving a few mins by driving is worth,it when paying to park

Parking is free when staying on site.

 

[monaleigh70]

We still haven't decided whether to rent a car or not. I got some pretty good deals yesterday fooling around on priceline for a car rental. I have no issues with taking the transportation offered at WDW it's just sometimes I like to have a little more control over my travel plans especially when relying on buses etc for getting me back to the resort to decompress, shower etc before arriving for our ADR's.

We always stay on property so paying for parking is a non issue. The time limits provided by resorts where we dine is ample time for a leisurely dinner. After living in large urban areas and experiencing the sheer volume of humanity trying to get somewhere when large events finish is enough to make me want that compact car in the Minnie section of the parking lot.

 

[georgina]

I have always questioned people who say having a car is quicker. We have never rented a car at WDW so I can't speak from experience. However, with the excellent bus service we have experienced at CSR I have hard time believing a car is consistently quicker by more than a couple mins and 1-2 mins wouldn't be worth the hassle of driving yourself.

For example: DHS is very close to CSR. On average we wait about 8 mins for a bus at CSR, last trip we used stop 1 so the bus left the resort imediately after that stop, and the drive to DHS is only 5 mins in light traffic and about 7 mins in heavy traffic. So thats 13-15 mins and you're dropped off at the front gate. There is no way you can drive from your parking space at CSR to DHS, find a spot to park and walk to the gate in much less than 13-15 mins. Same thing for Epcot and AK. MK and DTD take longer, but you tend to park alot farther out as well. Sure the times can vary a little, but I have a hard time believing the car would be worth the hassle overall.

I'm not picking on you, I'm more looking for your thoughts and experience compared to what I've speculated?

One of the best things about having a car is going home at the end of the day. My one trip using buses I barely made it on the bus because it was so full a couple of times and did have to stand once. And these times were not at the peak of leaving crowds. There were folks who did not make it and had to wait for another bus. We have NEVER had trouble finding our car in the parking lot at the end of the day, and find driving to be good for park hopping also. We always drove to the MK too. There is a large measure of personal preference involved and some like having control by driving. I got off the bus in a major rainstorm in May and there was no shelter around (rain was blowing sideways). If I had a car, I could have stayed in it and not soaked my shoes. I'm not sure it is faster, but it is not generally any slower. We don't think it is a hassle to drive. It is the expense that gets me!

 

[dmband]

Parking is free when staying on site.

Oh learned something new, never drove except when doing day trips

 

[archdandy]

I can't wait for pictures to start coming out of the refurbed rooms

 

[rdesisto]

We made all our dining reservations for our trip (or at least the main ones we wanted!). Our first night there we will be going to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue, which I'm pretty excited about. I also booked a Christmas Horse Drawn Carriage ride for beforehand. I'm just so worried how we are going to get from CSR to Fort Wilderness Lodge! It's too early to be this stressed about the trip!

 

[jcemom]

We made all our dining reservations for our trip (or at least the main ones we wanted!). Our first night there we will be going to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue, which I'm pretty excited about. I also booked a Christmas Horse Drawn Carriage ride for beforehand. I'm just so worried how we are going to get from CSR to Fort Wilderness Lodge! It's too early to be this stressed about the trip!

CSR to Fort Wilderness...bus to MK, boat to the Fort. (Wilderness Lodge is also on the same boat route.)

 

[GigiDisneyfreak]

I read on the first page here that the order of the stops for the buses going to the parks are 4,3,2,&1, and that bus stop 4 is the Casitas. I have also seen maps with bus stop 4 being at the Cabanas. I also read a few posts back that the person waited at bus stop 4 and the buses were always full so she walked to bus stop 2. So after all that I guess I am asking do the buses still go 4,3,2,1 and which stops are at which areas?

 

[JennandJaryd]

I read on the first page here that the order of the stops for the buses going to the parks are 4,3,2,&1, and that bus stop 4 is the Casitas. I have also seen maps with bus stop 4 being at the Cabanas. I also read a few posts back that the person waited at bus stop 4 and the buses were always full so she walked to bus stop 2. So after all that I guess I am asking do the buses still go 4,3,2,1 and which stops are at which areas?

Bus stop 4 is by Cabanas, never crowded. 1st drop off.

 

[vikster1]

This is the order for pick up and drop off to/from the parks.

Casistas bus stop 2
Rancheros 3
Cabanas 4
El Centro 1

 

[jezebel73]

I've not stayed at CSR (so excited for November!!), but I have stayed at Pop, ASMo, ASMu, POR, and CBR - all with varying levels of bus service. We don't go back to the resort during the day. We do a lot of resort ADRs for meals and also hit DTD at least once per week of a trip. We tend to go open to close at the parks, give or take an hour or so at each end, so definitely traveling at peak-ish times. We do not park hop.

Certainly every resort has its tricks and tips on how to maximize it and these boards are a huge help with that. I have never had an issue making a ressie on time, though I do leave about 90 minutes for travel, and have often been rewarded by getting exploration time at a new resort. Personally, I LOVE not driving again from when I park my car at the airport to when I get home. I come with the mindset that travel time is a necessity, and I feel anything less than 30 minutes start to finish is really good no matter where you're staying or going or from. Maybe that's because I grew up in the country or maybe I just like people driving me places!!

I would say that my biggest lessons or complaints are:
1. if you leave a park near closing time, the line for a bus is going to be long. This is the same phenomenon for leaving anything when it ends. Expect that you will have waits. Same thing for going for rope drop to anything about 2 hours after. If you can't or don't want to tolerate them, arrange for alternate travel.
2. Early ADRs at parks or resorts and also late ADRs at resorts can pose a problem. Since you have to route through a park with open or early hours to hub to your ressie, you don't always have a choice of what park is open and sometimes that choice is not the best for your travel plan. You again should consider your options for alternate travel.
3. Leaving and returning to a park takes much longer than you might first think. If you are planning on leaving each day for a nap or pool time, etc., make sure you budget an appropriate amount of time.


So my recommendation is this, given you have an average tolerance for bus wait times as a trade off for people driving you around all week -- if you review your schedule and find that you will often feel that you'll be calling a cab, add up those cab fares and compare that to a rental vehicle price for the length of your stay. My experience has been that I end up with 1-3 cabs per trip at most, which is about $50 total vs. a car for $300/week. It's definitely dependent on your travel style and plans!

 

[Disney before Sally]

Does anyone have the August Recreation Flyer for this resort?

 

[Trip planner]

This is the order for pick up and drop off to/from the parks.

Casistas bus stop 2
Rancheros 3
Cabanas 4
El Centro 1

Last year we stayed in a preferred room (stop 2) and I recall the bus not stopping at the last stops a few times when it was full. I can't recall if it only skipped stop 1 or it shipped both 4 and 1. This year we are booked BC and I am wondering if this will be an issue at stop 4. Is it worth walking over to an earlier stop?

 

[Momoftwins+1]

Last year we stayed in a preferred room (stop 2) and I recall the bus not stopping at the last stops a few times when it was full. I can't recall if it only skipped stop 1 or it shipped both 4 and 1. This year we are booked BC and I am wondering if this will be an issue at stop 4. Is it worth walking over to an earlier stop?

We were in BC and many buses didn't stop at 4 or 1 for MK. We chose to walk over to Casitas Stop 2 instead for MK trips. It isn't a long walk at all.

 

[saskdw]

Last year we stayed in a preferred room (stop 2) and I recall the bus not stopping at the last stops a few times when it was full. I can't recall if it only skipped stop 1 or it shipped both 4 and 1. This year we are booked BC and I am wondering if this will be an issue at stop 4. Is it worth walking over to an earlier stop?

We stayed BC last year Dec. 12th-24th. We used stop 1 exclusively the entire trip. We never had a single bus pass us by. The 12th-20th is a low crowd time so this definitely helps. We also don't do rope drop anymore either. So during the day I wouldn't worry about which stop you use. For rope drop at MK you may want to consider walking to a different stop.

 

[tbone00]

Our plane lands at 1:35p. I just booked a 5:15 ressie for spirit of aloha. Is that going to give us enough time? Or am I crazy for cutting it that close? We are taking the magical express.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Does anyone have the August Recreation Flyer for this resort?

Are they available early? I've only ever seen them for the current month. I do know that kennythepirate.com has July's available on his site.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Our plane lands at 1:35p. I just booked a 5:15 ressie for spirit of aloha. Is that going to give us enough time? Or am I crazy for cutting it that close? We are taking the magical express.

JMO, but I wouldn't do it. I've had too many flight delays over the years. Flights can be delayed in all seasons because of the weather and it doesn't have be the weather in your area. It can be the weather in the area your plane is coming from. (ie. I was delayed once due to lightning in FL, even though the weather was picture perfect where I was.)

 

[DisMom829]

I'm going to call in my room request this afternoon. We have ADR's at other resorts/theme parks for most breakfasts/dinners (DDP). We drive our own car and are planning on midday breaks by the resort pool/bar.
1). Can I request Cabanas 8A, closest to parking lot, top floor room. Stairs are fine with us, we're athletic. We're fine with walking to PM & fitness center.
2) is there a fee for the fitness center & if so, costs?