Our recent Coronado Stay

[TravelBugJill]

Beautiful resort. We were in Ranchos 7B, near the quiet pool and laundry. Loved the Pepper Market, we were on the DDP and got the Rib Eye Steak counter service meal a couple of times during our stay.
That was the pros about staying at the CSR.

FYI- Mousekeeping was adequate, not exceptional. Room not cleaned yet when we returned at 5:00 pm after 1st day at park. Had to call them each morning asking them to clean it.

The Cons all related to ground transportation. Buses to the themes parks averaged 15-30 minutes. We never saw, or was offered a ride around the resort on any internal shuttle. Saw a few, and they just buzzed on by. Expect to walk a long way, and wait a long time for buses. We felt we were on buses 2-3 hours per day.

CSR misplaced one of our checked bags and 2 carryons that we stored with them. Didn't see it for several hours after returning to resort on the first day.

Also, we mailed a package of breakfast items down ahead of time. That was misplaced and took several hours to find. It was put in the convention area.

Disney Magical express, was 30 minutes late, picking us up on our return trip to the airport. That was very concerning.

I would not stay here again, because of buses, and lack of internal shuttles to anywhere you want to go at the resort.

I would also recommend renting a car, and not relying on Disney Transportation. All the headaches we experienced on this vacation
related to Disney Transportation.

We never had such headaches when we stayed years ago at CBR. Not sure if it was CSR, or Disney Staff cuts. We did notice golf carts sitting around in the parking lot unused, and Disney Buses parked not being used.

 

[LoraJ]

Sorry about your less than stellar stay at CSR. We had a very similar experience with the buses when we stayed there. I had talked my DH into using the buses one day since everyone on the DIS said how wonderful and fantastic it they were at CSR. We wasted 90 minutes in wait time alone that day. After that, it was back to the rental car and we haven't been on a Disney bus since.

The golf cart internal shuttle was working when we were there. We only used it when we checked in. Otherwise we hated it because the drivers drove recklessly and we had to run off the sidewalk several times. We also saw two little girls nearly get hit by one. Very dangerous. They are the reason why DH never wants to stay at CSR again.

I hope the rest of your trip was fabulous!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Sorry that the transportation was up to par on your vacation. Hope you had a good time otherwise!

 

[redc]

We were there 8/11-18 and we were very disappointed in CSR.

Too big for our purposes, meals were mediocre, transport was unreliable and the Dig Site pool was 1/2 mile walk with no golf carts in sight.

Despite the accommodations, the parks were wonderful.

 

[wendyinaustin]

The Cons all related to ground transportation. Buses to the themes parks averaged 15-30 minutes. We never saw, or was offered a ride around the resort on any internal shuttle. Saw a few, and they just buzzed on by. Expect to walk a long way, and wait a long time for buses. We felt we were on buses 2-3 hours per day.

Disney Magical express, was 30 minutes late, picking us up on our return trip to the airport. That was very concerning.

I would not stay here again, because of buses, and lack of internal shuttles to anywhere you want to go at the resort.

I would also recommend renting a car, and not relying on Disney Transportation. All the headaches we experienced on this vacation
related to Disney Transportation.

.

I'm sorry you did not enjoy your stay at CSR. I have never stayed there - we are going this October. I hear you about WDW transportation!!Unfortunately, your trouble with transportation is not limited to CSR. We have waited for buses for long periods of time from all parks and at other resorts. It can be quite frustrating and during peak times such as now, it can be horrible.
We too stayed at CBR years ago, before they offered preferred location rooms and we walked a lot and had long waits for buses. I don't think we factored in the size of CBR and the walking we would have to do when we decided to stay there. We are going to CSR more prepared, I hope.

As far as ME goes, we took it back to the airport from FW cabins and were on the bus 2 1/2 hours picking up what seemed to be everyone else staying on property before we got to the airport. Our 3 hour early arrival time to the airport we had planned on turned into RUNNING to the gate to catch our plane 10 minutes before it took off! Needless to say, we are a little nervous about using ME in October...

Anyway, I'm sorry your stay at CSR wasn't what you expected. I would be bummed too. I hope we don't have similar problems in October. I just thought I would share some negative experiences I too have had regarding WDW transportation at other resorts. My family always comments that our vacations at WDW are great but our one wish is for WDW to improve their transportation.
I hope your vacation was great even though you had to deal with these issues.

 

[redc]

I'm sorry you did not enjoy your stay at CSR. I have never stayed there - we are going this October. I hear you about WDW transportation!!Unfortunately, your trouble with transportation is not limited to CSR. We have waited for buses for long periods of time from all parks and at other resorts. It can be quite frustrating and during peak times such as now, it can be horrible.
We too stayed at CBR years ago, before they offered preferred location rooms and we walked a lot and had long waits for buses. I don't think we factored in the size of CBR and the walking we would have to do when we decided to stay there. We are going to CSR more prepared, I hope.

As far as ME goes, we took it back to the airport from FW cabins and were on the bus 2 1/2 hours picking up what seemed to be everyone else staying on property before we got to the airport. Our 3 hour early arrival time to the airport we had planned on turned into RUNNING to the gate to catch our plane 10 minutes before it took off! Needless to say, we are a little nervous about using ME in October...

Anyway, I'm sorry your stay at CSR wasn't what you expected. I would be bummed too. I hope we don't have similar problems in October. I just thought I would share some negative experiences I too have had regarding WDW transportation at other resorts. My family always comments that our vacations at WDW are great but our one wish is for WDW to improve their transportation.
I hope your vacation was great even though you had to deal with these issues.

I would change my ressie with CSR if I were you and stay some place nice...it's not too late.

 

[wendyinaustin]

I would change my ressie with CSR if I were you and stay some place nice...it's not too late.

Thanks for the advice but I'm going to try CSR. I've read so many threads about bed bugs, doors left open all day, loud cheerleaders, people in suits, long waits for buses, etc from Deluxe to Value that I've come to the conclusion that these types of problems can happen anywhere and at any pricepoint! We are prepared! I'm not afraid to take care of business if some serious issues arise, but I go in hoping for the best.
I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[G's mommy]

We have stayed at CSR several times and have never experienced any problems with the bus transportation. Yes, the resort is large, all the mods are with the exception of POFQ, so that is a given going in. We stayed in Ranchos 7B also and found that to be a good location, close to the Dig Site and not a bad walk to El Centro. Go and try it for yourself, you will find complaints about every resort on property if you read these boards enough.

 

[Buzz2001]

I would change my ressie with CSR if I were you and stay some place nice...it's not too late.

okay may l

Any pics of your room? Did you have a queen bed?

 

[Buzz2001]

We have stayed at CSR several times and have never experienced any problems with the bus transportation. Yes, the resort is large, all the mods are with the exception of POFQ, so that is a given going in. We stayed in Ranchos 7B also and found that to be a good location, close to the Dig Site and not a bad walk to El Centro. Go and try it for yourself, you will find complaints about every resort on property if you read these boards enough.

Sorry you had a bad experience with the transportation. I believe these things can happen at any resort. That's why some guest rent a car regardless of the resort. My experiences have been more on line with G's mommy. 10 trips and a perfect record. I guess that's why I love it so!!

 

[kaysmommie]

Thanks for the advice but I'm going to try CSR. I've read so many threads about bed bugs, doors left open all day, loud cheerleaders, people in suits, long waits for buses, etc from Deluxe to Value that I've come to the conclusion that these types of problems can happen anywhere and at any pricepoint! We are prepared! I'm not afraid to take care of business if some serious issues arise, but I go in hoping for the best.
I'll let you know how it goes!

Good for you! Yes i agree it can happen at any resort. We got not one but two not so clean rooms at Poly last october. We did complain and it didn't really help, they just moved us to a less dirty room. I would still try it again though just would hope to get a better housekeeper. Hope you have a great stay.

 

[Cottager]

Does anyone know the proper protocol when using the internal shuttle (golf carts) at CSR or CBR for that matter?

1. Can you call the front desk and order one to take you from your room to the pool, main pavilion or the bus stop?
   
2. As mentioned by the OP, what if one is driving by you. Can you flag it down and hitch a ride or are they en route to a scheduled pick-up?

 

[Buzz2001]

Does anyone know the proper protocol when using the internal shuttle (golf carts) at CSR or CBR for that matter?

1. Can you call the front desk and order one to take you from your room to the pool, main pavilion or the bus stop?
   
2. As mentioned by the OP, what if one is driving by you. Can you flag it down and hitch a ride or are they en route to a scheduled pick-up?

Firs of all, there are three types of carts at CSR; bell services, housekeeping/maintenance and shuttles. The first two will not stop to pick up guests. The shuttles are the ones used for this purpose but according to a friend, they are experimenting with the shuttles to decide whether or not to continue them.

CSR is experimenting with the shuttles geared to the leisure guests; but have not been able to satisfy many guest’s expectations. Since they are getting complaints about the inadequacy of the shuttle service (no matter how many are running), CSR decided that less transport service (or none) was strangely being better accepted by our guests than what they could realistically offer as a service. They are currently experimenting with different frequencies of shuttle runs and service times, including none at all, to see what generates the best feedback. Right now, they cannot say for certain that there will be any intra-resort transport, with the exception of the regular park buses running between resort areas on the perimeter of the resort (Coronado circle). No other WDW resort has even attempted to provide guest transportation (via shuttles) within any resort, other than CSR.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I would change my ressie with CSR if I were you and stay some place nice...it's not too late.

Let it go already! We know - you hated CSR. You hate motels. You hated everything about CSR. Not everyone is like you. Not everyone wants to be crammed into one building with a thousand other people. Some of us like CSR and should be able to say so without your snide comments.

You said in a previous thread that you liked WL far better than CSR. Well, as for transportation issues, my family ate lunch at WL last year and decided to go to DTD to do some shopping afterwards. We waited more than 40 minutes for a bus to go to DTD, and then the bus went all the way to the GF for another pick up (no one got on), then went right back by the WL on the way to DTD. Once we were on the bus, it took another 40 minutes to get to our destination. Ridiculous! Every single resort on Disney property has its shortcomings, be they transportation issues (Poly, GF and CR all share buses to AK and DHS), crowding, loudness, conventions, food, pool, whatever. If your choice of resort is THAT important to you, you need to stay off-site at the Hyatt or somewhere that is like a "real" hotel with hotel-type services, and leave the Disney properties for those of us who are just happy to be vacationing in OUR favorite place.

Please stop implying that CSR is an inferior resort and beneath you. It's insulting to the rest of us.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Does anyone know the proper protocol when using the internal shuttle (golf carts) at CSR or CBR for that matter?

1. Can you call the front desk and order one to take you from your room to the pool, main pavilion or the bus stop?
   
2. As mentioned by the OP, what if one is driving by you. Can you flag it down and hitch a ride or are they en route to a scheduled pick-up?

At CBR the internal shuttle is the standard, WDW bus. It runs regularly around the perimeter, going to each bus stop continuously and taking guests to the Old Port Royal main area. Its a dedicated internal bus, that makes the loop all day and much of the night. At CBR you can also book a preferred location room and be close to the main pool and restaurants. Its the only mod that has that preferred location available.

But Buzz is right, CSR is the only one that has attempted to have some sort of shuttle type thing that services the interior part of the resort on the walking paths that connect the areas. It was hit or miss getting a golf cart for us when we stayed there but we enjoy walking and it wasn't a problem. For my mil who had a hip injury it was a bit less convenient, but she was only there for a few nights so it was fine and she did luck out and get a golf cart a few times. The other times, she just took it slow and rested on a bench if need be.

I also want to add that this sort of issue is part of all levels of WDW resorts. OKW and SSR, are huge. The Poly and GF are also spread out with mulitple buildings. Even one building resorts like CR and BW can entail walking down hallways, through lobbies and then out to bus stops, and their busses are shared with other resors which is a whole other issue. And self parking at resorts like the GF can be a nightmare vs. the setup of CSR (as well as SSR, OKW, POR, CBR and the values) where you can park very close to your building.

One way or the other you will walk at WDW. I am not discounting at all that some people have had issues at CSR or any other resort. WE had friends that had a horrible stay at CSR (and too bad for me, I was the one that encouraged them to book there based on my wonderful stay). It happens. But just be aware that very few resorts offer much in the way of little walking. And at some, even renting a car doesn't buy you less steps since the lot you park in may very well a long ways from your room. To me it will be six of one and half a dozen of the other. You may walk further to the pool but be able to park ten feet from your door. Or your room may be inside a main building but your car is across the street a half mile away from your room.

OP: Thank you for posting your review. I think people will find it helpful, you listed the good and the bad which is an honest review in my book! I think your review just makes my point, that all resorts at times will have their transporation issues. I am bummed for you that for you, it was during your stay! Thanks again for posting.

 

[ls1222]

Wow, you people get vicious on these boards lately. I for one appreciate your comments regarding this resort. We too just got back from POR but hopped over to CSR for lunch and a look around. I was very unimpressed by the resort (huge, and I hated the way they do the food court). I really hesitate to post anymore, because no matter if you say positive or negative, people get so angry. Why take something so personal.

 

[dburg30]

Beautiful resort. We were in Ranchos 7B, near the quiet pool and laundry. Loved the Pepper Market, we were on the DDP and got the Rib Eye Steak counter service meal a couple of times during our stay.
That was the pros about staying at the CSR.

FYI- Mousekeeping was adequate, not exceptional. Room not cleaned yet when we returned at 5:00 pm after 1st day at park. Had to call them each morning asking them to clean it. That should never be an issue, that's not a good thing.

The Cons all related to ground transportation. Buses to the themes parks averaged 15-30 minutes. We never saw, or was offered a ride around the resort on any internal shuttle. They advertise 20 minutes average, so that sounds ok Saw a few, and they just buzzed on by. Yea, I think they just like to drive around with those, not sure if you are supposed to jump in front of them or what.. Expect to walk a long way, and wait a long time for buses. We felt we were on buses 2-3 hours per day. 2-3 seems high, but I could see 90 min in a day

CSR misplaced one of our checked bags and 2 carryons that we stored with them. Didn't see it for several hours after returning to resort on the first day. That makes no sense, wonder if they put it in the cage instead of the regular place?

Also, we mailed a package of breakfast items down ahead of time. That was misplaced and took several hours to find. It was put in the convention area.
CSR packages should goto the business center. When I checked in last year, I had my ressie number, date of arrival and last name on it. When I checked in, I had a message waiting telling me my packages where there. They delivered them promptly, I was charged for they receiving it, as has been documented at convention resorts sometimes..
Disney Magical express, was 30 minutes late, picking us up on our return trip to the airport. That was very concerning.That is concerning, wonder if there was something on the highway holding them up, but I will have to point out that's not CSR's fault

I would not stay here again, because of buses, and lack of internal shuttles to anywhere you want to go at the resort. On the shuttles, you also did know that you could ride the bus around to el centro right? Then hop the DTD bus to get back? No, not the best thing, but could maybe have saved some walking..

I would also recommend renting a car, and not relying on Disney Transportation. All the headaches we experienced on this vacation
related to Disney Transportation. Thanks for the heads up, but I'll still stick with Disney. I'd have lots more headaches driving

We never had such headaches when we stayed years ago at CBR. Not sure if it was CSR, or Disney Staff cuts. We did notice golf carts sitting around in the parking lot unused, and Disney Buses parked not being used.

Who knows. I would blame CSR for the rooms and the packages, and disney in general..

 

[dburg30]

And all these 'it's huge and too spread out' comments.. Have people really looked at how big other resorts are also? CSR is almost the 'smallest' moderate it seems (other then FQ of course) POR and CBR are not small in the least.. And reading some other comments, GF and Poly can be pretty far away from stuff too.. As Pop can be, and probably the other All stars... I would guess..


So why does everyone think that CSR is that big?

 

[TravelBugJill]

9 days on vacation, waiting 30 minutes or more per stop, is a headache.
We saw people at Typhoon Lagoon screaming at drivers that they were waiting for 45 minutes, with no bus. Disney transportation is a problem, and seems to be getting worse.

We had reservations at Chef Mickey's one nights. Had to go to the Cont.
We allowed one and a half hours to get there. We were almost late,
had to go from CSR, transfered at a park, get on their bus, and finally made it to the Cont. The trip back was the same amount of time.

We had dinner at other resorts, later in the week and took taxi's to get to them.

This may not be CSR's fault. But CSR is so big, the lack of acceptable and reliable transportation, Should be noted and avoided if possible.
I would still recommend this resort, but not rely on Disney Trans.

 

[lustergirl]

Let it go already! We know - you hated CSR. You hate motels. You hated everything about CSR. Not everyone is like you. Not everyone wants to be crammed into one building with a thousand other people. Some of us like CSR and should be able to say so without your snide comments.

You said in a previous thread that you liked WL far better than CSR. Well, as for transportation issues, my family ate lunch at WL last year and decided to go to DTD to do some shopping afterwards. We waited more than 40 minutes for a bus to go to DTD, and then the bus went all the way to the GF for another pick up (no one got on), then went right back by the WL on the way to DTD. Once we were on the bus, it took another 40 minutes to get to our destination. Ridiculous! Every single resort on Disney property has its shortcomings, be they transportation issues (Poly, GF and CR all share buses to AK and DHS), crowding, loudness, conventions, food, pool, whatever. If your choice of resort is THAT important to you, you need to stay off-site at the Hyatt or somewhere that is like a "real" hotel with hotel-type services, and leave the Disney properties for those of us who are just happy to be vacationing in OUR favorite place.

Please stop implying that CSR is an inferior resort and beneath you. It's insulting to the rest of us.

My hubby and I stayed at CSR this past December. We enjoyed the resort and though the bus transportation was quite adequate. Although I thought the resort was a bid spread out it was really quite beautiful. We enjoyed a breakfast at the Maya Grill the last day that I was there. Truthfully I probably wouldn't stay there again but I didn't hate the place. I would never bash someone else's choice of a resort because whatever floats your boat. I am staying at AS Sports this coming November and people would say what a mistake because there are too many people who hate the value resorts. It is quite adequate for one person as this is my 2nd solo trip this year.