We just got back this evening. I must say, I was skeptical at first about staying at CSR. We have always been in a monorail resort and this would be our first experience of using only busses. We had a wonderful trip! As for CSR, there are pros and cons...but you will still LOVE it!
The walk is the worst part of the resort, but I lost 2 lbs on our trip!!! (so technically, that should be a pro!) We were in Casitas 3, which is one of the closer building to El Centro. (but about as far away from the Dig Site pool as you can possibly get.) The first couple of days, the distance bothered me. (not because I can't walk but because of the time it took to get anywhere) After that, the walk didn't bother me so much.
My kids LOVED the Dig site pool and dh enjoyed time in the quiet pool. I LOVED the hot tub!! (Yes, even in the heat, I was in the hot tub!) I figured out a great way to get a wonderful relaxing massage while in the hot tub, so after a long day at the parks, I'd relax there.
We bought the refillable mugs and it was a good purchase for all 6 of us. At $2.19 for each soda, coffee, lemonade or tea, it only takes 5 refills for it to be a good deal. I would conservatively say that I filled my mug 15 - 20 times during the week. (coffee on the way to the parks, Iced tea before heading back to our room)
Another thing we figured out was that at Peppers Mkt, we could feed 2, 3 or sometimes 4 people on ONE or TWO entrees. I would often go get a couple entrees, a baked potato ($3.99) for my little one (7), and maybe an order of fries. I'd divide it up back in our room on plates that I had brought. My 16, 14, and 11 yr old and I would eat til we were pretty well satisfied. If someone was still hungry, we had snacks to supplement the meal. Dh would usually find something in our room to eat. (PB &J) Since we ALWAYS got a TO GO ticket, we never paid the 10% service charge. (well, one night the mgr charged us because he was in a hurry and his fingers got moving too fast on the register, but he refunded it the next night.)
I saw that someone said CRS is rarely crowded, perhaps because of the convention crowd. Well, we had a major gov't convention there this past week. (which is why we were there) We'd see people around with the lanyards on and such but it wasn't crowded by any means. THEN, this weekend the Gospel singers convention moved in!!! A bunch of great people but I do mean a bunch!!! I went to Peppers Mkt last night and as I walked by the host I mentioned that I needed to get my LAST refill. He looked at me and said, "We have nothing left!" I knew he was joking because he had been kidding around with me all week. He repeated, "we have NOTHING left!" He pointed to the bins where they keep the rolled napkins and silverware, which usually is full. There were about 10 napkin rolls left. He said they had 4,000 people there that night!!! (I don't know if that meant they fed 4,000 or if 4,000 checked in) DH and dd had told me that line at Peppers Mkt was incredibly long...but I hadn't seen it. Even with all those people, it didn't seem that crowded.
As for courtesy carts...they were a big disappointment for me. Any time I really felt I couldn't walk another step, there was none to be found. Other times when we did see them, they were full or going the opposite direction. We were NEVER offered a ride on one. I'm still not sure how you get them to stop. They didn't seem willing. I guess if I had a resort of that size, I'd have many more of those carts running...and in both directions. With your 5 yr old, you will certainly want to have a stroller!!! (not that I think you'd go to WDW without one)
MOUSEKEEIPING!!! I took printed Mousekeeping envelopes to leave a tip each day in each of our rooms. The first day I left the envelopes on the bathroom counters. (it was Monday morning) They were still there when we got back in the afternoon. Minimal housekeeping chores had been accomplished. The next day, I put the envelopes resting against the pillows on the beds. When we returned, we had two cute little towel animals. (one in each room) I would post pix, but I can't remember how to do it. We got two new creatures each day except Friday. (and personal Thank you notes from the housekeeper) We saved all of them! We had quite a little zoo by this morning. (and one was a dress shirt and tie, for dh, who she had seen in his work clothes when he'd go back to the room to make a PB&J for lunch) It was SO cool! (I think on the off days, it was not the regular housekeeper because on the days when we got animals, the room looked much nicer than on days we didn't) BTW, coffee is restocked every day!
I think you will be very happy being in CSR!! It's a beautiful place! Just be prepared to WALK. We really enjoyed our week there! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Vacation!!!
Familyof6
