The *NEW* Coronado Springs FAQ Thread

[TinkerBelle_325]

After posing the question as to why there aren't any moderate FAQ threads on the resorts boards, I decided to start one up

Welcome to the Coronado Springs FAQ Thread!!

I have an absolute passion for this resort and want to give everyone on the boards all the info I've acquired over my many stays there

Also, anyone who has any info they would like to share on the thread please feel free to. I will update the thread as often as I can and would ask that the background info be left for me to post. If you would like to post tips or reviews or any comments please do so

So now I happily present to you.....

The *NEW* Coronado Springs FAQ Thread

Let's begin with Background

The Coronado Springs Resort opened in 1997 and is situated in the Animal Kingdom Resort Area. As you pull up to the resort you are greeted with beautiful south-western atmosphere.

A Picture of the Coronado Springs Entrance

Just to the left of the entrance is El Centro, within this building you will find check-in, bell services, a gift shop, the food court, restaurant, lounge and access to the convention centre (all of which I will go into in greater detail in future posts).

Check-In Desks at El Centro

The resort has 1967 guest rooms which are divided into three sections, the Casitas, Cabanas and Ranchos. (all of which I will describe in greater detail later)

View of the Casitas from the Dig Site

Coronado Springs Resort
Address: 1000 West Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Phone #: 407-939-1000
Fax #: 407-939-1001
Check In: 3pm
Check Out: 11pm

Number of Rooms: 1967

Room Breakdown
1181 non-smoking rooms
60 king bed rooms
99 disabled accessible rooms
30 parlour suites (1 accessible for the disabled)
10 VIP suites
5 Executive Suites



NEXT POST WILL BE ON.... Guest Rooms!!!

Pictures from http://disdad.com/disney_resorts/coronado_springs/pictures.htm

 

[adisneynut]

There are a few people with pictures and info and their own webpages about CSR but DIS doesn't have any.

We stayed there last month over the MLK weekend adn we loved it. Some like it and other don't but I think that it has the most to offer in an Moderate resort.

I wish you the best.

 

[DisneyFan79]

I am so excited about this thread. Now I know I will make up mind on staying here this May. I think this is a beautiful resort from all the GREAT websites out there.

I have a few questions now:

I am really interested in staying in the Ranchos section for their theme. My question is, is it really a hike to the El Centro and do you feel very isolated? I have almost decided to ask for a room in the Cabanas just b/c of the distance, but I really like the Ranchos ambience. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Also, do they charge you the extra 10% for the Pepper Market even if you are getting this to go?

Thanks for the thread!! I look forward to posting here frequently.

 

[katypop]

thanks TinkerBelle_325,
we stayed at csr last trip and fell in love with it too. i am looking forward to a return trip the end of april. it is a spread out resort but very scenic and we enjoyed the walk from cabanas to El Centro. the bus service was great too.

katypop

 

[Buzz2001]

FINALLY!!! A thread dedicated to a GREAT resort.

I love it!

Nice job Tinkerbelle_325!!



My website below has great info as well.

 

[mm6mm6]

Sure sounds like a great idea to me! We're staying there for four days in August 2003 and we can't wait! Then we can compare it to the CBR which we really liked too!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Wow I'm so happy to see everyone enjoying the thread

To answer your questions DisneyFan79.....

The Ranchos are very nice as far as atmosphere goes and some of them would be quite the hike to the food court. I would recommend staying in Rancho 7B (though I've never stayed in that section myself) it is the closest to the pool and also the closest to El Centro.

I have on the other hand stayed in the Cabanas. They have a more tropical feel to them, and if you were to stay there 9B would be your best choice. It is situated right at the bridge to the dig site and the other bridge that leads to El Centro

As for your question about the Pepper Market food court, no they do not charge the gratuity of 10% on take out items. I love this food court for the HUGE variety and take out would be what I would suggest doing if you can

If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Ok everyone, because there are so many people enjoying the thread I've decided to post my next section on......

Guest Rooms

There are many divisions within guest rooms

Firstly there are 2 kinds of rooms offered at Coronado Springs

Standard with 2 Double Beds

And Standard with 1 King Bed

There are also suites available.

Each guest room has either 2 double beds or 1 king bed, a table and chairs, ceiling fan, armoire with TV, vanity area with one sink (this is the main difference between the rooms at CSR and other moderates) and a bathroom. Other ammenities include in-room wall safe, voicemail, coffee maker (with free coffee), hair dryer and iron (with ironing board)

A view of the armoire with TV and the table and chairs

One of the 2 double beds

The vanity with one sink


Yet another division between the rooms is the view. At Coronado Springs there are 2 types of views Standard View and Water View. Standard View can have views of either landscaping or parking lots whereas Water View will have views of pools, lakes, fountains etc...

The Last factor in deciding upon a room at Coronado Springs is what section you desire to be in. Each section has a unique atmosphere and different advantages.

First off the Casitas Section.

This section is my personal favourite as I feel it is the best themed and most breathtaking. The Casitas or "little houses" are located beside El Centro and are closest to the Pepper Market and convention Center. There are 1024 guest rooms (981 standard rooms & 43 suites). The buildings are 3 and 4 stories high and have many courtyards and fountains between them. I would recommend staying in Casitas 3 as it is quite close to the Pepper Market and about an 8 minute walk from the Dig Site. If you would like to be close to the bus stop ask for Casitas 4 or 5. The only negative aspect to the Casitas is that they are the furthest from the Dig Site Area.

The next section is the Ranchos Section. It is characterized by a more rustic and desert-like feel. This section contains 624 Standard Guest Rooms in 2 and 3 storey buildings. The Ranchos are the closest to the Dig Site Area but the furthest away from the food court. I personally have not stayed in this section. From what I can tell Ranchos 7B is the closest to the Dig Site, and the shared Ranchos/Cabanas bus stop. It is also the closest of the Ranchos to the Pepper Market, probably an 8 minute walk or so.

The last section of rooms is the Cabanas and as far as location goes, these are THE BEST rooms. I feel the theming on this section is considerably less than the other 2 sections but the Cabanas still have a nice tropical feel to them. These buildings contain 319 Standard Guest Rooms in 2 storey buildings. I have stayed in this section many times and feel that Cabanas 9B and 9A have by far the best locations in the whole resort. 9B is situated right at the 2 key bridges, one leading to the Dig Site and the other leading to El Centro. 9A is in a nearly identical location.

Room Rates and Seasons

The 2003 seasons for Coronado Springs are as follows:

VALUE: January 1 to February 12, August 24 to October 1, and November 2 to December 19

REGULAR: April 27 to August 23, and October 2 to November 1

PEAK: February 13 to April 26

HOLIDAY: December 20-31

The room rates are as follows:

2003 Room Rates
(tax not included)

Value = V, Regular = R, Peak = P, Holiday = H

Standard View,Standard Room
$133 V
$144 R
$169 P
$184 H
Water View, Standard Room
$148 V
$159 R
$194 P
$209 H
King Bed Room
$148 V
$159 R
$194 P
$209 H
Double - Jr. Suite
$275 V
$315 R
$370 P
$410 H
King - Jr. Suite
$300 V
$350 R
$410 P
$440 H
Double - 1 Bedroom Suite
$560 V
$615 R
$685 P
$750 H
King - 1 Bedroom Suite
$560 V
$615 R
$685 P
$750 H
Executive - 2 Bedroom Suite
$835 V
$910 R
$980 P
$1105 H

Pictures are from http://www.ourlaughingplace.com and http://www.wdwmemories.com/csr

 

[epcotfan]

Thanks for starting this FAQ.

 

[The Sybah Shelstah]

We will probably stay here one day. The only experience I have of this resort is just passing through one day of my last trip and trying out Pepper Market.
I liked the way it looked, didn't seem like a lot of "convention go-ers" like I have heard people worried about before, and Pepper Market is the BOMB. If I stayed there, I wouldn't eat anywhere else atleast the majority of the time I was there (meaning if I was anywhere where I could get back to the resort at a reasonable time or was there already- I would eat at the Pepper Market! For sure! It's also the best value I've seen so far for the vouchers- even including Beaches and Cream since that's only a great value if you want hamburgers and such and really can eat the huge desserts it comes with. LOL)

Beautiful... inside and out.

The only complaint I might have about that resort is that it seemed to take longer to use Disney transportation to/from there. Mostly from... because of all the stops it makes at all the bus stops ON that same resort property before heading out to wherever you are going. Might be also because I was going to DTD to hop a bus back to my resort at the time- ASMu- and maybe that's the longest "ride" from CS? Not sure. The bus was quick to get there- but the ride was long because of all the stops and perhaps because of where I was going.

Not a huge complaint though... that's one of the resorts where I wouldn't MIND not being in a hurry to get somewhere else... if you know what I mean.

 

[The Sybah Shelstah]

We will probably stay here one day.

That should read SOME day... as in -in the future. LOL not just "one" day. LOL

 

[kevind65]

great thread. we love CSR. we stayed in Cabanas 8A; which I believe is the absolute closest to the dig site. we found the bus transportation to be excellent to and from CSR. one of the best pools in all of disney.

 

[DisneyFan79]

Anyone know if the "quiet" pools are open 24 hours or do they close when the Dig Site does. I was thinking a nice relaxing swim late at night when we get back from the parks would be nice especially if there were not a lot of kids around splashing and playing. Thanks for the info!!

PS. I wanted to bump this thread closer to the front too!!!

 

[Trekker]

TinkerBelle_325

Thank you for starting this - it will be invaluable to many posters -

You have taken on a huge task maintaining a FAQ thread, and we all appreciate it!

 

[Cthia]

Thank You TinkerBell_325 for posting about CSR.

I was getting disappointed in not seeing many posts about this resort. We stayed there the first week of December and we loved the atmosphere and the resort. We are in the planning stages for the same week this year and I am planning on going to CSR again. I look forward to your posts about the resort. We stayed in Cabanas 3, it had a nice view of the water and a fountain in the courtyard. Bus stops were not bad considering there ar four of them. We never had to wait more than ten minutes at Bus Stop #1. We did not encounter a big convention as I was fearing but I guess it depends on when you go.

Hooray for CSR.

Thanks again TinkerBelle_325. Look forward to your post!

Cindy

 

[epcotfan]

The quiet pools are open from 8am to 10pm. The Dig Site hours vary. At the time I visited (Aug 2002) the Digsite was open from 8am until Midnight.

http://www.wdwmemories.com/csr/2002_0818_113627AA.jpg

 

[sm4987]

I was wondering, how often does CS participate in the discounts. I wanted to try there this summer, but I heard they don't participate, how true is this?

 

[epcotfan]

They do participate in discounts. I was able to get an Amex special rate of $94.00 last year. Discounts are based on availability.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Thank you to everybody who is visiting and enjoying the thread

I'm gonna try to get another update in tonight, probably covering
Pools and Recreation

Thanks for helping out with the questions epcotfan

 

[Blue Skies]

I just changed my reservation from POFQ to CS! We will be there April 29th to May 6th. All the pictures I have seen of CS helped us to change our minds about which resort to stay at.

TinkerBelle_325, please post more about this resort!

Melissa