Coronado Springs.... What To Expect.

[al5957]

So I like everyone out there took advantage of the free dining in September. When we went to go and book the room they had no value resorts left the the only moderate was Coronado Springs, so we booked it. Here is my question, what difference are we going to see in the room itself???

I have looked at many pictures down there and the exterior looks nice and its got one of the coolest pools I've seen. Are the rooms bigger? Do they have anything that you wouldn't find in a value resort?

I have also noticed that most of the buildings seem to have balconies, but that's in the limited views that I have seen. Do all of the rooms that are not on the ground floor have a balcony?

Thanks Everyone!

 

[DisneyJoe]

None of the rooms have balconies - what you are seeing is an outside hallway on the second floor.

Moderate rooms are bigger than value rooms, 260 sq ft for a value, about 320-340 sq ft for a moderate.

 

[DDuckFan130]

The rooms don't have balconies

We've been there a couple of times, most recently this past September. The balcony may just have been the walkway you were looking at.

I am going to be very honest and say CSR is not my favorite moderate resort. In fact, it's my least favorite :lol: Of course, others will disagree with me, but I believe the reason we don't care for it is because of the food court. The food court is not "Disney" per se, in that it's not run by them. The mugs, for example, are the same standard CSR mugs that have been around for many years. The people are rude, and the whole layout of the food court is a pain. Now again, people will disagree and say that this is a highlight of the hotel because it's a different experience. Well, good for them :lookaroun

The resort itself is gorgeous. The grounds are beautiful and the pool is amazing. It's a nice place to stay at once just so you can experience it, but after staying at CBR or POR, we don't care for Coronado as much anymore. The rooms are bigger than the values, but smaller than the other moderates I believe (unless you get a suite). One sink in these bathrooms as opposed to the two you get at CBR and POR. The busses were great also btw, with not much of a wait.

Not really sure what other information you were looking for, but I'll be glad to answer any questions and post some pics I have of the place.

 

[dave2822]

Coronado Springs is well themed, well landscaped, and has a very nice pool ... but depending on where you are situated you make have quite the hike to the pool or food court (or both) ... and as far as the rooms are concerned there really isn't a genuinely noticeable difference. I don't care what the statistical increase is, you will really only notice a slight difference in room size.

But that said it is a nice hotel and you should have a great time.

 

[disneygirl1]

I do not think you will be disappointed at all with Coronado Springs... Be prepared though, this is a huge resort! You may want to request a preferred room location if you don't want a long walk to the pool and main building that houses the food court.

We have stayed here several time and loved it. The rooms are bigger then the values and have a double sink/vanity area outside the bathroom.

The Pool is by far out of the coolest on Disney property!

There is also a larger selection of food at the Pepper Mart (food court) then at the food courts at the value resorts. I think the food is a little more pricey here since it is ran by an outside company.

All in all, I think you will be very happy with this resort. Have a magical trip!

 

[DDuckFan130]

Here are some of my pics from September...

 

[DDuckFan130]

I do not think you will be disappointed at all with Coronado Springs... Be prepared though, this is a huge resort! You may want to request a preferred room location if you don't want a long walk to the pool and main building that houses the food court.

We have stayed here several time and loved it. The rooms are bigger then the values and have a double sink/vanity area outside the bathroom.

The Pool is by far out of the coolest on Disney property!

There is also a larger selection of food at the Pepper Mart (food court) then at the food courts at the value resorts. I think the food is a little more pricey here since it is ran by an outside company.

All in all, I think you will be very happy with this resort. Have a magical trip!

Unfortunately, there is only a single sink at this particular resort. I think it's the only one, but I've never stayed at POFQ so I am not sure.

And I agree about the resort being very big. We were very lucky to get a room right by the main building and main bus stop (thanks Elizabeth! )

 

[MKCP 1985]

The rooms don't have balconies

We've been there a couple of times, most recently this past September. The balcony may just have been the walkway you were looking at.

I am going to be very honest and say CSR is not my favorite moderate resort. In fact, it's my least favorite :lol: Of course, others will disagree with me, but I believe the reason we don't care for it is because of the food court. The food court is not "Disney" per se, in that it's not run by them. The mugs, for example, are the same standard CSR mugs that have been around for many years. The people are rude, and the whole layout of the food court is a pain. Now again, people will disagree and say that this is a highlight of the hotel because it's a different experience. Well, good for them :lookaroun.

Boo! I never experienced any rude food court employees. Luck of the draw, maybe?

CRS is my very favorite! Yay CRS!

But to answer the original question, the biggest difference is that you get one sink in the room instead of two as compared to some other moderates.

The second sink is no big deal when you consider the things you get at CSR that aren't available at other moderates - the outstanding bar which is brand spanking new, for one.

 

[DDuckFan130]

Boo! I never experienced any rude food court employees. Luck of the draw, maybe?

CRS is my very favorite! Yay CRS!

But to answer the original question, the biggest difference is that you get one sink in the room instead of two as compared to some other moderates.

The second sink is no big deal when you consider the things you get at CSR that aren't available at other moderates - the outstanding bar which is brand spanking new, for one.

I knew you'd chime in :lookaroun

And nope, I've stayed there twice, and both times I wasn't fond of the food court employees' behavior

And you're a lush :lookaroun

 

[MKCP 1985]

I knew you'd chime in :lookaroun

And nope, I've stayed there twice, and both times I wasn't fond of the food court employees' behavior

And you're a lush :lookaroun

Well, no.

After a long day of tromping the parks and getting back to one's resort, it is nice to be able to go enjoy a nice drink, be it beer, wine or liquor, in a nice setting as opposed to buying an overpriced beer at the grocery and taking it back to the room you share with 3 other people or sitting outside in wet chairs from the afternoon rains, which is currently one's option at Caribbean Beach.

Port Orleans Riverside was just not as visually appealing to me as Coronado Springs, although it also has a nice bar - a piano bar even.

and I've yet to stay at POFQ, since I live an hour away from the real French Quarter so booking that resort on vacation is not much of an escape for me. :lol:

Since the behavior of the food court waitstaff is a recurring issue for you, they were probably irritated at you re-using your refillable mugs from past vacations.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

So far everyone has answered yor questions. I have stayed at CSR once and it was 10 years ago. Nice resort, beautiful colors, nice layout...but it is not my favorite. My favorite is POR and POFQ. This is just from what I remember about the place and my opinions... The rooms are larger than the values..not by much but they are, POR and POFQ have double sinks - CS doesn't (no big deal, but 2 sinks are nice), I remember our room there having a small fridge so that was nice. We did not care for the foodcourt at all, and it was not very disney-like at all..we love going to the foodcourts at the other values and mods but not at CSR. They do have boat rentals and spritz boats and all kinds of things like that so that is something to consider when you are there.

 

[DDuckFan130]

Well, no.

After a long day of tromping the parks and getting back to one's resort, it is nice to be able to go enjoy a nice drink, be it beer, wine or liquor, in a nice setting as opposed to buying an overpriced beer at the grocery and taking it back to the room you share with 3 other people or sitting outside in wet chairs from the afternoon rains, which is currently one's option at Caribbean Beach.

Port Orleans Riverside was just not as visually appealing to me as Coronado Springs, although it also has a nice bar - a piano bar even.

and I've yet to stay at POFQ, since I live an hour away from the real French Quarter so booking that resort on vacation is not much of an escape for me. :lol:

Since the behavior of the food court waitstaff is a recurring issue for you, they were probably irritated at you re-using your refillable mugs from past vacations.

I can't believe you took it there!

The first trip, we just bought those mugs, so no...can't be it.

Second trip.....maybe :lookaroun

Ok, it's not a horrible resort...but I prefer POR and CBR

 

[disneygirl1]

Unfortunately, there is only a single sink at this particular resort. I think it's the only one, but I've never stayed at POFQ so I am not sure.

And I agree about the resort being very big. We were very lucky to get a room right by the main building and main bus stop (thanks Elizabeth! )

Your right, there is only I sinlge sink, I was thinking of CB Resort

We have always stayed in the Ranchos. Close to the main pool and there is a bus stop right there which is great. Little bit of a walk to the main building though.

 

[Texas84]

Never stayed there, but it looks convenient for us Western Way travelers.

 

[SchultzFamily]

We love CSR. We are staying for the 7th time in September and are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary (and my DH offered me the Poly and I said no--I wanted CSR because it is my "home away from home").

Yes, the food court (Pepper Market) can be confusing and the servers are not the friendliest you will ever see. However, if you know ahead of time how to work the Pepper Market, you will not be disappointed. Where else can you get a rib eye as a counter service meal? The portions are huge and are easily shared.

The grounds are simply beautiful. My DH and I love taking a walk after we've returned from the parks and the sun has gone down to look at how lovely the lake and the fountains look all lit up. We love the main pool, the quiet pools, the hot tub, the spa, the gift shop. We've always had terrific mousekeeping and the CM's in registration and elsewhere have gone beyond the call of duty on numerous occasions for us. They treated me to some wonderful surprises for my 50th birthday/successful cancer surgery trip last year.

People will complain it is too large and too spread out. It is actually smaller than the Caribbean. People will complain that it is "not Disney" enough because of the conventioneers. They will complain that the conventioneers get in the way. They are usually in meetings all day so I don't know how they can be in the way. They will say they are all drunk. Well, we've never an incident where any of them were really drunk, and certainly none of them interfered with our vacation. And if they were drunk, they were no more drunk than the PARENTS we saw drunk at the POR listening to the Piano player with their childre with them.

We find it a very quiet and peaceful resort and love coming back to it after our adventures at the parks. Please feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions and I will be happy to answer (it may take me a day or two as I've not been on very much lately because my dad is in the hospital in critical condition).

 

[Rob562]

Something that noone else has mentioned is that Coronado is the only Moderate with a fitness center. This was the big selling point for my friend, who likes to work out even while on vacation, so we're staying there in January. Originally I wasn't that interested in the theming, but I stopped in a few months ago to take some photos and now I'm looking forward to staying there.

As for the room size, people have given a few differing answers... Basically, POFQ, POR and CSR all have the same size rooms (~314 sq feet). CBR's rooms are slightly bigger (~340 sq feet). I believe the size difference comes from the CBR rooms being slightly wider side-to-side. It's the same with the Value resort rooms (~260 sq feet). I believe front-to-back the rooms have the same depth as the Moderates, but they're just narrower side-to-side than Moderate rooms.

CSR's rooms have one sink, compared to the other Moderates' two. The reasoning of the designers was that many Guests at the resort would be conventioneers who stay solo, and would prefer one sink with more counter space, rather than two sinks and less counter.

-Rob

 

[bayoumoon]

We went to CSR last year and loved it. The food at the Pepper Market was really good and it had a nice varity. We were on the DP so we didn't pay attention to prices. It's only confusing the first time after that it's real easy. We stayed in Cabana 9b which was close to the main building and bus stop 1, which was a very short walk. I called in advance and booked massages that we were able to have at the fitness center (they don't have anyone on staff but will send them from another resort with notice). It's great for adults but wouldn't recommend it to someone traveling with small children. They also have carts that drive around to pick up guests, we never used them but did see them used alot.

 

[al5957]

Wow, Thank you guys so much for all the information. I was a little worried at first that I would not be happy with the resort but from everything I have heard now I think that it is going to be amazing.

We do have the dining plan but are going to pay on site for breakfast as it is usually the cheapest meal for the day. I booked the trip through Kingdom Konsultants (which I much say if anyone is looking for a good Disney travel agent, I would highly recommend) and Pam did recommend to us about getting a preferred room because the place was HUGE.

DDuckFan- Thank you so much for those pictures. I have done the 3D walk through on Google earth but that does not give it any justice after looking at those pictures.

One thing that I have heard quite a bit is that due to its proximity to the parks that the busses tend to come by quite often but the magical express bus takes a while to get you to and from the resort. Has anyone had a similar experience.

Again thank you everyone so much for the information, I'm just about 90 days out at this point and now I'm really starting to get excited.... Thanks everyone!

 

[SchultzFamily]

There are NO preferred rooms at the Coronado. You can pay extra for a water view, but there are no preferred rooms. You can simply put in your request at time of your reservation to what building you would like to be in, etc.

 

[raven]

CSR is my favorite of all the resorts. We stayed there in September last year and chose it over Pop Century simply because of the busses.

There are 4 or 5 bus stops at CSR so you never have to walk to the main building to catch a ride to the parks. Also, since CSR is a convention resort, you will often find the busses empty because people stay on the resort grounds for their meetings. Because of this, most convention guests will be put in the buildings closest to the main building. Other WDW guests are often put in rooms across the main lake.

Something that no one mentioned yet is that CSR has free transportation around the property. Simply go to one of the sidewalks on the inner side of the buildings and wait for a golf cart to pick you up. No tipping!

You will also need to know that most of the buildings do not have elevators. Request a room on the main level is this is a problem.