Coronado Springs

[graphite1326]

Has anyone stayed here recently? I just booked for October and looking for all the info I can get. One thing I am interested in is Restaurants. In the mornings I like to grab a quick bite to eat and head to the parks. From what I have read, I don't see that available. Also, I don't see where I can grab some milk for my room. Looks like these places are not open right now. Anyone have more information?

 

[Buzz2001]

Panchitos is open and offer grocery items including milk.

Cafe Rix is open 7-12:30pm and offers pastries, yogurts, fruits and salads, along with sweets like dessert cakes, gelatos and sorbets. Specialty coffees and smoothies are also available.

El Mercado is open from 7am-11pm. They offer Grab & Go fare for breakfast.

Barcelona Lounge is open from 6:30-12pm. They offer espresso drinks, pastries and light fare for breakfast

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I only stayed once and it was 10 years ago at this point.

Liked the rooms, liked the quiet pool. That's about it.
Hated the bus service and food options.

I'd give it another shot only if I stayed in Gran Destino Tower and I'd consider Uber/Lyft.

Its above all else a conference resort other than the main pool. And it shows. The staff seem a bit standoffish as well.
The resort is just much better catered to the businessmen vs families visiting Disney.

 

[Disney4family]

We stayed in the Gran Destino Tower February 2020. We loved the tower and thought the resort grounds were beautiful. We enjoyed all of the food locations listed above. Although we saw some corporate people around, we never felt that the resort had a "conference" feel about it. There were plenty of families and children around enjoying their stay.

 

[CLBMN]

I only stayed once and it was 10 years ago at this point.

Liked the rooms, liked the quiet pool. That's about it.
Hated the bus service and food options.

I'd give it another shot only if I stayed in Gran Destino Tower and I'd consider Uber/Lyft.

Its above all else a conference resort other than the main pool. And it shows. The staff seem a bit standoffish as well.
The resort is just much better catered to the businessmen vs families visiting Disney.

No disrespect meant here but CSR is no where near the same as 10 years ago.
I stayed there about 10 years and ago and have stayed there recently in the last couple of years.

There are more food options, which are good and the bus service has been good (not great but it never is at any Disney resort really).
The CM have been great and very helpful with kindness.
The refurbished rooms are beautiful and yes there are Disney decorations in the rooms.

Some of the other moderates do not have any more 'Disney' decorations or presence; they are usually decorated with their own themes, just like CSR.

The conference factor is not noticeable , IMHO, unless you hang out at the conference center. It is a roomy enough resort to accommodate regular guests and conference guests; I have been both. There are quite a few families that were there when I was.
It is a beautiful resort.
Some of the complaints are things I do not consider bad, i.e. it is a large resort, no Disney presence.
There is Disney presence, it is more subtle but definitely there. It is not as overt as Pop Century for example; it depends on your taste.
For example, the Gran Destino Tower has great Disney presence and the decorations are beautifully and artfully done and the others rooms do also.

This is just a bit of an input.
There is lots of information here on these boards and other places so read up and see what you think.
JMHO.

Keep magic and kindness in your life everyone.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

No disrespect meant here but CSR is no where near the same as 10 years ago.
I stayed there about 10 years and ago and have stayed there recently in the last couple of years.

There are more food options, which are good and the bus service has been good (not great but it never is at any Disney resort really).
The CM have been great and very helpful with kindness.
The refurbished rooms are beautiful and yes there are Disney decorations in the rooms.

Some of the other moderates do not have any more 'Disney' decorations or presence; they are usually decorated with their own themes, just like CSR.

The conference factor is not noticeable , IMHO, unless you hang out at the conference center. It is a roomy enough resort to accommodate regular guests and conference guests; I have been both. There are quite a few families that were there when I was.
It is a beautiful resort.
Some of the complaints are things I do not consider bad, i.e. it is a large resort, no Disney presence.
There is Disney presence, it is more subtle but definitely there. It is not as overt as Pop Century for example; it depends on your taste.
For example, the Gran Destino Tower has great Disney presence and the decorations are beautifully and artfully done and the others rooms do also.

This is just a bit of an input.
There is lots of information here on these boards and other places so read up and see what you think.
JMHO.

Keep magic and kindness in your life everyone.

No offense taken we all have opinions.
Like I said I'd consider staying again if it were at Gran Destino Tower. (The name itself has Disney history).
I just really did not care for the main building at CSR. The restaurants there were terrible IMO. Did not enjoy the food or the service.

And I've heard from many how the bus situation is still not great unless you are going to AK.
There are some Disney resorts where the bus service is quite efficient and you have to look to the value resorts for that.
In fact I'm choosing to stay at ASMo in November as its a short trip that needs efficiency and the values have never let me down in that regard.

 

[graphite1326]

Panchitos is open and offer grocery items including milk.

Cafe Rix is open 7-12:30pm and offers pastries, yogurts, fruits and salads, along with sweets like dessert cakes, gelatos and sorbets. Specialty coffees and smoothies are also available.

El Mercado is open from 7am-11pm. They offer Grab & Go fare for breakfast.

Barcelona Lounge is open from 6:30-12pm. They offer espresso drinks, pastries and light fare for breakfast

Thanks this helps

 

[castlecake2.0]

I really wish Disney would take over food ops from the third party at the quick service

 

[Dreaming of Disney World]

We stayed there in 2018. We loved the main pool and beautiful grounds, but we thought the food was lacking. There were fewer options in the food court than in the value resort food courts. We liked all stars and pop better for food. We never tried the sit down restaurant though.

 

[James J]

We stayed there in 2018. We loved the main pool and beautiful grounds, but we thought the food was lacking. There were fewer options in the food court than in the value resort food courts. We liked all stars and pop better for food. We never tried the sit down restaurant though.

Tend to agree with this. We stayed there at CSR our Honeymoon in 2019, and loved everything about the resort apart from the main food court. Three Bridges Bar and Grill is fantastic though.

Our room was in one of the Casitas buildings (as requested) which meant we were right next to the first bus stop for pick-up and drop-off. We never waited long for a bus to the parks either.

 

[Daily Magic]

I’ve stayed in the Casistas and the tower and I loved both of the rooms. The dining options were great and the main pool has a fun theme to it. It isn’t a “Disney” resort with over the top theming which was a benefit to me. I like my resorts to have more of a professional feel than an elaborate theme. Overall it has deluxe resort amenities with moderate resort pricing.

What I didn’t like about it was the transportation. With no extra transport options other than bus or car it took awhile to get to and from resort most days. It always got me that I could see Hollywood Studios from my room but it would take me 40 minutes to get there by bus some days. I didn’t think much of this until I stayed at other resorts that were walking distance from certain parks or had special transport like the skyliner or even boats.

I would stay here again in the future but only if I couldn’t find a room for one of my preferred resorts or if the price was far too good to pass up. Just be aware of the extra travel time and enjoy the resort and spacious rooms.

 

[James J]

What I didn’t like about it was the transportation. With no extra transport options other than bus or car it took awhile to get to and from resort most days. It always got me that I could see Hollywood Studios from my room but it would take me 40 minutes to get there by bus some days. I didn’t think much of this until I stayed at other resorts that were walking distance from certain parks or had special transport like the skyliner or even boats.

I would stay here again in the future but only if I couldn’t find a room for one of my preferred resorts or if the price was far too good to pass up. Just be aware of the extra travel time and enjoy the resort and spacious rooms.

I'm interested to hear you say that as we found it very much the opposite. Our experience was very much in line with the times from @Buzz2001's very own website, which say:

Hollywood Studios - 5 min ride once leaving resort
AK - 6 min ride once leaving resort
MK - 10 min ride once leaving resort
Epcot - 7 min ride once leaving resort

Our trip was in October 2019, if that has any bearing on your experience.

 

[Tom P.]

I know that Coronado Springs is known as Disney's "convention" resort that attracts business travelers as well as "regular" guests. Of course, I also know that Covid has disrupted much of that but that it's gradually coming back. For those of you who have stayed there, how do you find CSR to be for families with children? I understand it doesn't have over-the-top Disney theming like the value resorts, but are there still lots of kids there? Do you think kids will have fun there? Or is a family going to feel like they're staying in a hotel full of business people and are out of place?

 

[James J]

I know that Coronado Springs is known as Disney's "convention" resort that attracts business travelers as well as "regular" guests. Of course, I also know that Covid has disrupted much of that but that it's gradually coming back. For those of you who have stayed there, how do you find CSR to be for families with children? I understand it doesn't have over-the-top Disney theming like the value resorts, but are there still lots of kids there? Do you think kids will have fun there? Or is a family going to feel like they're staying in a hotel full of business people and are out of place?

It definitely didn't feel like we were staying in a hotel full of business people - the only time we saw those kind of people were when we were walking through the old lobby between Destino Tower and the food court/store etc.

I wouldn't say we saw as many kids around as when we've stayed at POR but there were definitely plenty in the pools having a good time.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I'm interested to hear you say that as we found it very much the opposite. Our experience was very much in line with the times from @Buzz2001's very own website, which say:

Hollywood Studios - 5 min ride once leaving resort
AK - 6 min ride once leaving resort
MK - 10 min ride once leaving resort
Epcot - 7 min ride once leaving resort

Our trip was in October 2019, if that has any bearing on your experience.

Sure TRAVEL times are not long but waiting for the correct bus to come is what takes entirely too long.
The time my family stayed we headed to the first bus stop at 7:45am for a 9am EPCOT opening. At 8:20am we saw the FIFTH bus for AK so we asked that bus driver to see if they could locate an EPCOT bus. One finally got there around 8:40am. This did not give us enough time to arrive at EPCOT and get through security prior to RD.

 

[Daily Magic]

Sure TRAVEL times are not long but waiting for the correct bus to come is what takes entirely too long.
The time my family stayed we headed to the first bus stop at 7:45am for a 9am EPCOT opening. At 8:20am we saw the FIFTH bus for AK so we asked that bus driver to see if they could locate an EPCOT bus. One finally got there around 8:40am. This did not give us enough time to arrive at EPCOT and get through security prior to RD.

This was my experience as well. It isn’t the bus travel time but the total time from leaving my room to getting to the park.

The worst return trips were from Epcot for me. Several times me and my wife had to wait over 45 minutes for a bus to come to pick us up and return us to Coronado. One time we were standing in line next to a cast member who 30 minutes into the wait informed us he was our bus driver and was waiting for the bus to come so he could switch out drivers. He eventually wandered off when no one came and made a call for a bus to come bc even for him it was outrageous waiting that long.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

No offense taken we all have opinions.
Like I said I'd consider staying again if it were at Gran Destino Tower. (The name itself has Disney history).
I just really did not care for the main building at CSR. The restaurants there were terrible IMO. Did not enjoy the food or the service.

And I've heard from many how the bus situation is still not great unless you are going to AK.
There are some Disney resorts where the bus service is quite efficient and you have to look to the value resorts for that.
In fact I'm choosing to stay at ASMo in November as its a short trip that needs efficiency and the values have never let me down in that regard.

We stayed at CSR a long time ago, then around 2016, and again in 2019. Long ago, the food court was great, then it was truly terrible for a time. Had a short visit to Gran Destino in 2019, and it was fabulous, but the only CSR dining location we ate at was the club lounge. None of the menus in the tower eateries appealed much to us, but they were quite new at the time and still in flux. I can't comment on buses though, because we had a car, and it was a only a short stay, I think maybe 2 nights. I can say, to our surprise, we didn't have any trouble finding a decent parking spot.

I must add, the staff was superb! Our housekeeper was absolutely the best housekeeper I have ever had at any hotel anywhere! She even, I'm not sure how to say, but instead of the ordinary toilet paper folded corners, (the roll on the spindle) she made the end of the toilet paper into a beautiful rose! We had a moment to thank her in-person, and she was just super sweet to boot!

We've stayed at most of the WDW hotels over the years. We sorta have trended to either the values or the deluxe hotels, but I'd absolutely return to Gran Destino.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

I've stayed at CSR numerous times over the years either for a convention or with family. I was last there for the preview of Galaxy's edge in 2019 in the tower and I am there this October for the 50th. I've never had an issue with transportation and I've eaten in all the restaurants/quick service there and never had a bad meal. My favorite is Three Bridges though. Toledo has wonderful views and good food but I like the atmosphere at Three Bridges better. This is definitely one of my families favorite resorts. We love the theming and walking around the lake at night is a beautiful site with the resort lit up

Pam

 

[Courtney6682]

We are staying here in 2 weeks for the first time as adults. I stayed there the year it opened as a teenager, so I remember nothing. FQ is our fave resort, but we got got such an incredible deal here so CS it is. Whats the best area to request that’s close to a bus stop and hot tub( my husband has 2 herniated discs, so he relaxes while my daughter and I do the parks and stuff)? Close to food would be great too, but idk if that’s asking too much. Thanks in advance!

 

[Buzz2001]

We are staying here in 2 weeks for the first time as adults. I stayed there the year it opened as a teenager, so I remember nothing. FQ is our fave resort, but we got got such an incredible deal here so CS it is. Whats the best area to request that’s close to a bus stop and hot tub( my husband has 2 herniated discs, so he relaxes while my daughter and I do the parks and stuff)? Close to food would be great too, but idk if that’s asking too much. Thanks in advance!

Cabanas would meet your needs. 8A is steps from the main pool and bus stop #4