Just back from CSR

[Eeyore1928]

Sorry ahead of time to those of you who love this resort. I did not. I know it was a moderate and I knew how big it was....but geez. We were in Casita 5 second floor. We had a king bed which was nice. The walk to El Centro was forever and a day. Our food was always cold by the time we made it back to our room with it from the stupid Pepper Market. Which gave my husband food poisoning on Christmas day from the Beef tacos. We were up all night with him throwing up and so forth. It was so bad it ruined the rest of our trip, he was too sick and weak to walk for very long. The walls were so thin I could hear the neighbors screaming at their children at all hours of the day and night. That was hard to take being a first time Mom and having our little 3 month old with us. I felt very sorry for the children next door. It was very funny to see the same item at 3 different places for 3 different prices...for example- Powerade. In the machines it was 2.00$, in the shop it was 2.12$ in the La Tienda it was 2.89$...very strange.
The bus service was terrible....I heard many guests say that they must have cut busses because they never waited this long on their previous trips. It seems that we were always waiting for a CSR bus. I didn't realize how far they wouldbe from the buildings either. I think they should have them closer to the buildings instead of having to walk throught the parking lot to get to them. I was wishing for a rental car after being there for 30 minutes. I was begging for one after 3 days.

I do think the themeing is nice and the rooms was an okay size, but I will have to stick to the convenience of the Deluxes.

 

[Misti]

Thanks for the review. Sorry to hear about your trip. I can admit, it is tough to sometimes go from a Deluxe down to a Moderate or Value resort. I noticed the noise factor during our trip to the POFQ, especially with the turbo flush. That being said, I noticed the most noise in a room we had in the main building at the GF. It was a connecting room and we could literally hear every word from next door.

As for the food poisoning, I think it could have been from just about anyhwere. I've heard it can take anywhere from 12 to 24 hours to hit you. I don't mean to discount your point about Pepper Market but it could very well have been somewhere else, too.

Welcome home and thanks again for the review.

 

[Rneighh]

A five minute walk from the Pepper Market to your room DID NOT cause food poisioning.

I will never understand how people can complain about everything --- YOU WERE IN DISNEY.

Renee

 

[Eeyore1928]

I did not say the walk caused food poisoning...the beef taco did. It was more like a 10 minute walk ...which is quite a hike with a 3 month old and a bag of food. I did not complain about everything...just the stupid resort! Trust me I know how wonderful Disney is we go every 6 months. I will just know better than to stay at CSR again.

 

[Always Grumpy]

Was the walk and bus transportation your biggest complaint? I think the bus service is alot better at CSR then at the other mods. Misti is correct, sometimes it is hard to go from a castle to a moderate. Why didn't you eat in the food court? Did paying a gratuity scare you? Be very careful to blame food poisioning on one place, it could of happened before plus there was and is a virus going around.
Thanks for your report.

Always Grumpy

 

[Eeyore1928]

We usually only got food at the Pepper Market late at night and one of us would go when the baby was sleeping or if she was needing to go to sleep ( the stroller knocked her out) It was always crowded in the seating areas and not much room for a stroller. Trying to hold our baby and eat is very difficult!

Yes the buses and the walk, along with the thin walls are my biggest complaint about CSR.

 

[christianweecare]

Eeyore--As a daycare center director, I completely understand your difficulties that you encountered with a three month old on vacation. CS seems to be one of those places that you either love or hate. I am sorry that your husband was sick whether it was from food poisoning or virus. What a bummer! We stayed at CS a year ago. While we thought that the resort was lovely, it was not our cup of tea either. I guess that is why Disney has so many differently themed resorts of varying prices to appeal to so many visitors' tastes. Hope your next trip will be better. It sounds like you love Disney as much as most of us do.

 

[DisOrBust]

We had the exact same complaints. The resort is well themed but wayyyy to spread out for us. The PM we found to overcrowded, poor quality and overpriced. To each his own.......

 

[Micca]

I stayed at CSR on a business trip after only staying at deluxe resorts. It is a nice place, but it's a let down after the GF, WL, etc.
Sorry your experience turned out that way.

 

[DisOrBust]

We had the exact same complaints. The resort is well themed but wayyyy to spread out for us. The PM we found to overcrowded, poor quality and overpriced. To each his own.......

 

[mom23guys2]

I also agree with your assessment of CSR. It is lovely. We stayed in the Castas too, but we didn't have a connecting room. The PM was interesting but I prefer the food court at POR or All-Star Mo. It's not the gratuity that bothers me, it's just the way it's set up. It really isn't designed for that quick pick up meal.
The resort seems more set up for adults and conventions. For the price I prefer the Swan/Dolphin. But everyone has their personal preferences. I'm also not that found of the BWI either and many people love it. Oh well, it's always interesting to experience new resorts. Our fav is AKL, another resort people love or hate.

 

[RNMOM]

I agree with you about CSR. DH and I did not like it much at all. PM is not very well planned.

We just returned from CBR. We spent 7 nights there. I did not have difficulty with noise at all. We had 3 teen boys next door (ours) with connecting door that we closed at night. I could occassionally hear a soft laugh when they were really kicking up a storm in there. Pillow fights and all. The resort is spread out but has an internal bus system. Busses to other places were running pretty well. I think 10 min wait or so. It was really very comfortable and much less irritating than CSR. I too am a deluxe person at heart but when you need two rooms, mods come in handy.

 

[Pig Pen]

Whoops.

WE LOVED CSR! We were in Casita 5 (free upgrade to a waterview room - watching the moon rise over the lake was worth the extra walk)!

The pool and spa were terrific. I loved the jogging trail around the resort - it was cool, quiet, and relaxing at 6:00 am. We never heard a peep out of anyone and never waited for a bus ANYWHERE...including MK after Spectro and fireworks on a Sat night (the AS buses were mobbed - DH said this alone made CSR worth the extra 30$ per night).

I guess it just depends on the time of the year and your general outlook. Of course, the only deluxe I have stayed at, so far, is the Dolphin - which IMHO only beats CSR in location. We didn't try Pepper Market because we splurged on Boma, O'Hana, and some EPCOT restaurants so we had to eat out of our cooler when we were at the room.

AND I never went to WDW with a 3 month old! You are a brave girl.

 

[wilderness01]

You are entitled to your opinions. Sorry your trip was not what you expected. There are 2 different kinds of food poisoning. One will hit you 12 to 24 hours later and one will hit you on the way home from the restaurant. Either way they are both miserable. Hope your next trip is better.

 

[The_Disney_God]

I can't believe the dislike of CSR. Probably my favorite moderate resort, and everyone hates it and has a terrible time. God I love that place.

 

[epcotfan]

I liked it too Disney_God. I was quite prepared to hate it after reading some things here however I was overwhelmingly and pleasantly surprised on my first visit. I liked the Pepper Market because my food was made to order and there was always an attendant to help if we needed more drinks etc...I found the walks no worse than at any other moderate and the Lake area was much smaller than anticipated. I had quite a lengthy trek to the main building when I stayed at the former Dixie Landings. I've stayed in Barbados at CBR and that too was a bit of a hike to OPR.

I never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus and we never had to stand. It was never full. I guess the bus situation depends entirely on the time of year one visits.

Eeyore your husband may not have had food poisoning. Norwalk virus hits very suddenly as well and it has been spreading like wildfire at WDW over the last few weeks.

 

[n2mm]

I'm sorry to hear anyone had a bad time in WDW. I've had my good and bad times too, but still keep going. I was surprised that so many here have the same opinion of the CSR that I do. Stayed there once for 12 nights in the Spring of the year they openned. While the resort was lovely, it's not one I have ever wanted to go back to. Hated the Pepper market also (the setup/seating, gratuity, service....). Since my DH is a CM we get our rooms for 50% off, and still this is no incentive for us to stay there (I guess if it was the only inn available). We too love the food courts at Dixie and AS/Mo. It's nice that WDW has so many different types of lodging available so that hopefully everyone can find one that meets their budget and taste. We choose our resorts mostly on the time of year we're going....i.e. in the summer--no values, in the winter--hot tub a must, spring--the All Stars. Since we go 5-6 times a year we have more opportunities to taste all of the resorts. Like most of the resorts, I find people either love them or hate them. We bounce from value to delux often.

 

[luvpooh]

I have to agree - we HATED the CSR!!! We were in the Casitas building that was connected to the convention center (1?) and we still found it to be a long walk to everything. ESPECIALLY that one bus stop that's all the way across a parking lot, what a hike!!! The quiet pool was really far too. Pepper Market and main building weren't that bad, but only because we walked through the convention center. The buses were not prompt as some people have experienced, in fact this was the 2nd worst resort (behind WL) as far as bus service that we have encountered. Very long waits, and one night it took 1.5 hours from when we sat down to wait for the bus until we got to Downtown Disney!

The Pepper Market itself, ugh! One night we were waiting and waiting at the grill for our food while the one server guy decided to openly flirt with a young girl (maybe 15?) and make plans to meet up after his shift. Needless to say, he 'forgot' that our food was sitting on the counter (the guy operating the grill had plated the grill food; we were waiting for the sides and to be given the plate). Even though we said "excuse me" and the like SEVERAL times (we were ignored), when he did acknowledge us the food was cold when he handed it to us. We went to a manager, explained what had happened, and he promptly got us warm food; but it still wasn't that good...the creme brulee was really great though! Plus, the bar in the resort was ALWAYS packed, but I guess that's to be expected in a convention resort.

I will say that we had some of the best mousekeeping that we've ever encountered there, and the convention facilities were really nice, but I wasn't there for a convention, so it didn't really matter. It was also nice to have a slightly larger room service menu than other mods or the all stars. Still, we were there for 4 nights and after the 1st, I kept calling CRO to see if we could switch to another resort!

Give me the All Stars any day over CSR! (But after my recent stay at the BC, I don't know if we're going back to the All Stars anymore! ) So it really seems like a resort that you either love or hate.

 

[PamNC]

We've been staying at Deluxe resorts for 4 years now...but before that we did the All Stars the first two years we were married, then we moved up to moderates. We stayed at CBR and CSR.

We loved CSR. Like you said the theming was beautiful. Love the Maya Grille and the pool is very nice. I do agree with you on the Pepper Market - we didn't like it AT ALL. We usually drive so bus transportation isn't an issue. And, the walk from the room to the central area doesn't bother me at all. But, then again, we don't have kids. I like a nice stroll because it gives me a chance to stop and take in the beauty of the resort. Everybody has different needs and likes. And we're all entitled to that opinion. If we all liked the same resort, heck...we'd never get a room!

I will say that now that we've stayed at a deluxe, I don't think I could go back to a moderate. I guess if I had to in order to go I would. But, I hope that never happens. The convenience of the deluxes is well worth the money. And, I like entering my room from the inside (silly, I know...I can't help it).

PamNC

 

[madcoco]

Sorry about your trip.BIL and SIL stayed at CSR on Dec 19th -21st.They were to meet us at MK( MVMCP) on the 20th at 630PM. Didn't show up until after 830 . Decided to ride the bus.They waited for over 30min.The bus was full.No backup bus.Waited app 20min. Another full bus with many already irrate folks waiting.No back up bus.They didn't want to drive but ended up walking a "mile" back to their car and drove to the TTC.(Our fault. We told them the busses are usually ok from there.Don't bother driving)

Ate at the PM on the 21st.My beef stir fry looked good, but completely ice cold.Asked for noodles.The CM threw some in the pasta cooker.A minute or so later he dumps them out in the big vat of water, throws some veggies in the cooker and starts cooking those.The lady behind me says."There goes your noodles.Should have chosen the rice" We both got a chuckle.He then asks if he could help me.Asked again about the noodles.He said"It will only be a few seconds" He picks up some more noodles. Lifts the collander out of the water and notices the veggies in it.Scratches his head. Then proceeds to dump the veggies into a wok. (maybe wondering where all the floating noodles were coming from )Poor kid was definitely overworked.