Coronado Springs Resort review

[Meeska Mooska]

Hi everyone! Well, we're back, and here's a review of the CSR, as promised

Details:
March 4-8, 2011 (after staying at ASSp for 6 nights)
Myself and DS's (ages 11, 8, and 4)

I reserved a Water View so that I could increase my chances of getting a room in the Cabanas section. I also had a note added to my reservation requesting 9B. Well, I got it! I don't know if it was just luck, because the resort was practically empty (a major convention had practically the entire resort booked until that day), or if I got it because I had requested it. We were given a room on the second floor (I think I read somewhere that these are normally concierge rooms?), however it was on the back side of the building, which was just fine. There is a little lake behind the building, hence the "water view".

9B really is as convenient to everything as I had read. We were at the foot of the bridge that goes to the dig site, a 1 minute walk to a bus stop, and a hop skip and jump to Cafe Rix where we could refill our mugs. It was nice to get off the bus after a long day at the parks, and be in the room a minute later. I could settle the kids in front of the flat screen TV, run to refill our mugs, and be back in less than 5 minutes.

I think my second choice would have been 8A, to be right next to the dig site, and I could have had my mugs refilled at the dig site (as long as it was before midnight).

Check-in: I was the only person checking in at around 1pm, and walked right up to a waiting CM. I have to add that I wasn't getting off the Magical Express though...I expected to have to wait until 3pm to get our room, but the room was ready right away.

The room: Pretty standard, exact same layout as, but nicer decor than, the ASSp. The rooms are supposed to be bigger than at the values, but I'd say that any extra square footage was in the vanity area. The bathroom toiletries are a slight upgrade from those at the values.

The beds were very comfortable queens, and the linens were nice and soft, with a duvet and lots of pillows. We slept like logs!

Pool area: The dig site was fun and the kids had a blast on the water slides. The pool was heated, plus there was a large hot tub. Right in the pool area, there's a nicely themed kids playground with outdoor foosball and ping pong tables. There's a little food service counter (think pretzels with cheese sauce, and awesome nachos) so you can have a snack while hanging around the pool. There were lots of chairs for everyone too.

The only con was that the pool was a little deeper than the one at the ASSp, and my youngest couldn't touch the bottom here.

Pepper Market: Pros: The wait staff were extremely friendly and helpful, and the food was fresh. The first day, my 8 yr old felt like eating pancakes, but they don't serve pancakes (?). One of the chefs overheard him, and went to the back and prepared a big plate with 3 choc chip pancakes just for him. Another morning, this same 8 yr old misplaced his refillable mug while getting his food, and the waitress just gave him a new one!

Cons: EXPENSIVE! For example, at the ASSp, you can get a big Mickey Waffle for $4.69. At Pepper market, they make round waffles instead, and then charge $9.99 for it (nothing else on the plate). I had clearly explained to my 11 yr old that this wasn't a buffet, and that each thing he chose would be charged; he got a waffle ($9.99), and a plate with some scrambled eggs and hashbrowns (another $9.99). We were much more careful after this! Also, I'm not really picky about coffee, and actually really like the Nescafe stuff that they serve at the refill stations. But I also know a really good coffee when I have one (I'm married to a Frenchman and live in Montreal); the coffee at the restaurant was undrinkable.

We only ate breakfast at the Pepper Market, so I can't comment on the other dishes.

Transportation: I don't think we waited more than 5 minutes to take a bus to go anywhere from the hotel. transportation from the parks was quick as well, except for after Fantasmik! What a mess! We were still at the ASSp on Fantasmik! night and had over a 45 minute wait. There was nobody at the CSR stop...

Overall: For an extra $80-100 per night, you get a few extra feet in front of the bathroom sink (but not in the actual bathroom), a more comfortable bed (but I slept just fine at the value), a more resort-like pool, and a more expensive restaurant than at a value. We also escaped the cheerleaders who were running all over the value resort. But we also lucked out, and didn't get the convention people either. I think a hotel full of conventioners would be just as bad as the cheerleaders

I think perhaps next time I'd rather get 2 rooms or a family suite at a value, and would only go moderate if I was planning on spending a lot of time at the hotel so that I could fully enjoy the pool area. In the end, a room is a room.

[vicki_c]

Thanks for the review - I don't know anything at all about CSR, so now I do!

[Brandie]

I've heard that Pepper Market is a great deal on the meal plan, which would translate to not a good deal paying out of pocket. Thanks for verifying!

[jhalpin76]

I can't wait for our trip now!

I am torn between requesting 8A and 9B. I want to be close to the bus stop and dig site, but not too far from food either.

We are on the dining plan, so the pepper market should work well for us, although we only plan to have 3 or 4 meals there.

[DisneyMom]

For what it's worth - we've been in 9A and 8A and found both equally convenient.
When we were in 9A, we were on the back of the building. I liked it because we were really close to the quiet pool and the laundry. The kids were just as happy swimming at the quiet pool as they were at the big one. We were close to the main building too. We used bus stop 4 since bus stop 1, the busses were more full when it got there.
In 8A we had a water view and were just a few steps from the big pool. I thought it would be convenient to get CS food at the pool, but whenever we went to do that it was closed. It seemed to close fairly early (this was in January). The extra distance to the main building was really negligible - it wasn't that much farther. And we were closer to Bus stop 4 than when we were in 9A.
I would be happy in any of the Cabana buildings now...

[sjreilly]

Nice review! We are staying for the 4th time here this August. We love it here and the kids refuse to move. We have stayed in CBR, AKL and BC as well. We actually stay in the Ranchos and I just dont find the walk hard. Farther for sure to the pepper market (I agree the prices are $$$ OPP!) - but honestly, we dont much care for the food there and always just filled our mugs at the Dig Site. We have tried to get into the Cabanas several times with no luck. I know it is more than a value - but it is nice and quiet in the Ranchos - we always get the third floor in back, and that makes a vacation for me! I am a light sleeper so sleeping in a double bed means I dont sleep! All my kids are wrestlers at night and I need more bed acreage! Also the pool is crucial for us. We spend a few hours everyday at the pool so the value pools wont work. We are staying at POP for 2 nights and the kids are excited to try it. I love the idea of the family suites, and I would love to stay in a cabin as well. I tried to move to POFQ for this trip wanting something new, but people told me the pool wasnt great (slide mostly!)

Now if I had lots of money - BC would have my vote!!! SAB is an awesome way to spend the day! But for now - we love CSR!

[jhalpin76]

I just realized that I never reported back! I loved CSR!!! I would recommend this resort without hesitation. We had booked water view and requested Cabanas section, 1st floor and near my parents who were arriving a few days after us. When we arrived, we were assigned to Casitas 5, 1st floor, with a view of the pool. My parents were going to be in the room next to us. I was disappointed for a second, but they asured me it was an excellent location and they were right! I would want the same exact location if we stayed here again. It was steps to the Casitas quiet pool and not a long walk to the Dig Site or Pepper Market. Bus stop 2 was so close - and its the first stop to pick up and the first to drop off, so you always have a seat on the bus and you are the first to get dropped off after a long day at the park. I underestimated the advantages of being at that bus stop. We spent time exploring the resort and I stopped at Cabanas and the pool was under heavy construction so I was very happy we weren't in that section. I thought I would like the beach theme of Cabanas over the spanish courtyard theme of the Casitas, but in person I liked the Casitas section better. It was much more pretty in person than the pictures. The courtyard and fountains were beautiful.

The pepper market food was average. I can't comment on price because we were on the dining plan. I liked the waitor service for drinks. The only complaint is that some of the food stations took so long with three kids waiting we would get there food, bring it back and then get ours so we ended up eating almost in shifts. The kids meals could have used some more fruits or veg's. I was underwhelmed with those, but the adult meals that I tried were good. Generally, we would get the fruit plate for the kids to split in addition to their meals. Twice they charged us for a snack and twice we were charged for CS meal (I think it was supposed to be a CS meal).

The Dig Site pool was very nice. The slide was great - both older kids loved it. We went to the opening ceremony and it was cute, but not something I would plan my day around - if you are there, great, if not, don't worry. The playground was okay, nothing too exciting, but it was fine.

We were very happy with the proximity of CSR to all the parks. It was much more centrally located than we anticipated. We never had problems with transportation - the longest waits were due to scooters.

[jhalpin76]

I hit enter too soon...

Our room location was so close to the quiet pool that we had my parents bring the baby monitor and the baby could sleep while we relaxed at the pool. It was literally steps away!

Like I said, I would hesitate the resort without reservation. I am very sad that we won't be able to stay as a family of 5, unless we get two rooms or a suite. I would recommend either Casitas or Cabanas. The ranchos section didn't appeal to me and it just seems so far from everything, I would not want to stay there.

There weren't any conventions while we were there (10 days), but one was coming the day we left and we did notice a few more business casual patrons, but nothing that made a difference in our opinion. I did speak to a family on the bus who came with their parents and they were put in complete seperate sections of the resort and the resort was full so they couldn't be moved. It was their first day and our last day so it sounded like things were going to get crowded after we left. I would guess it wasn't full for our stay, but if it was, it never felt crowded.