Coronado - kid friendly?

[EmmMOM2]

We are going to WDW in mid August this summer for about 9 days or so.

We have never stayed at Coronado before.

We will be traveling with two children 6 and 3 years old.

We are almost 100% positive that we are booking with Coronado. But i've read a few reviews stating that it's not as kid friendly as other resorts? Yet, I cant figure out why...any help on that? Is it true?

How efficient is transportation? Are you likely to get a seat (At least for the kids) in August?

ALSO, there is currently only 1 convention during this August that I know of, is their usually more then this? (Just want to book up before they block off rooms for a big one or something)

[faline]

I didn't travel with children on the few occasions we've stayed at Coronado though I can't imagine why it wouldn't be kid friendly. Yes, there are more conventions held here so you are likely to see a number of folks walking around in business office clothes (usually with cell phones glued to their ears) but that is generally just a minor distractions.

The grounds are beautiful and the resort has a number of features that are usually reserved for the deluxe resorts. I am, however, not a fan of Pepper Market - their version of quick service.

[mom2morgan]

I think because it has more convention facilities (the only moderate with a spa, etc) it has a reputation for being more "grown up" than the other mods - but that does NOT mean it isn't kid friendly. I haven't stayed there, but have heard many positives - great pool, good food court, etc. I'm sure it will be just fine for the kids!

[buzz2001]

I've been bringing my daughter there since she was 5. She turns 17 next month. She loves it to this day.

At the pool, the lifeguards do a pool opening ceremony and during the times with lots of kids, play pool games with them as well. The main pool area also has a arcade, playground and volleyball court.

CSR is as kid friendly as any resort.

[KAT1811]

On our last trip to CS we had three children ages 10 1/2, 2 1/2, and 10 months (we have four now ). We LOVE CS. It is actually our favorite moderate of all! The resort is as kid friendly as the others, if not more. They have a fabulously large pool area with a kiddie pool, they also have a "Dig Site" for the kids to dig in the sand (which is also by the pool area). DH and his cousin (God rest his soul, we lost him this year at the age of 37 ) bought the kids water guns and they had a blast. I think the guys had more fun than the kids did .

The bus service is some of the best I have ever had at WDW. The only other resort I could say is close to it is OKW. Never a problem getting a seat and honestly I cannot remember ever having to stand.

Coronado Springs is a fabulous resort. I hope that someday we can return. Right now it's just too painful for us as that was the last vacation we took all together. We tried POR for a couple nights as an add-on to our trip this past year and didn't care for it at all. We were too spoiled by CS. But couldn't bring ourselves to return just yet.

I'm sorry about the sad mentions but CS is a wonderful resort that we have some amazing memories at and hopefully you will too.

[bkfree]

Thanks for the review, we are thinking about staying there in Sept. We have only stayed at Deluxes but wanted to try a moderate this time. Our kids are now 9 and 11 and it will be their 4th trip. Since they can now go day and night we spend less time at the resort, other than our all day resort day each trip. The pool and play area looks really fun to them.

[JPL]

I stayed there with my cousin's twin boys last June and outside of the pool area it really wasn't very kid friendly in my opinion compared to other resorts. The opening Ceremony at the pool was great but the atmospere around the resort wasn't very kid friendly. Depending on the time you visit it could be filled with lots of cenventioneers. I would definitely categorize it as a much more adult resort with all the conventions and the way the food court is set up. There were no planned kids activities like at deluxe resorts and it just seemed much more serious than say Port Orleans of Caribbean Beach.

[buzz2001]

Many resorts at WDW are convention resorts; Cont, BW, GF, Y&BC and the Swan/Dolphin. I've seen more business folks at the Y&BC beach than I've ever seen at CSR.

Also, at CSR, having a convention at the resort tends to make the pool and buses less crowded. And many that attend conventions bring their families with them to WDW.

I can live with the convention guests in order to benefit from the perks CSR offers like queen beds, 42" LG LCD tv's, the fitness center, spa and more over the other mods.

[BigRedDad]

It is definitely kid friendly. They have one of the best pools and a huge playground. The people that think it is not tend to think every resort needs to throw Mickey and all in your face at every turn. This is not the case at CSR. They have a good amount of theming, but not as much as other resorts. I kind of like it. It gives you a little break from the parks.

Pool = Lost City of Cibola: This was the complete premise of National Treasure 2. The entire pool area is Disney. People may not think so because it is not the Fab 5.

Southwest theme: Reminiscent of The Three Caballeros

Ignore the naysayers. There are conventioneers which tie up the bar outside the lobby and appear to take away from the "Disney" atmosphere. The way I look at it is that they increase the amount of atmosphere because they are not doing the Disney-thing. Means more Disney for me and my family.

[EmmMOM2]

Thanks for the opinions!

I don't think the conventioneers would take away from our visit, I'd prefer an emptier pool And buses of course!! We hate to have our 5 year old stand on the bus!!

We prefer a quieter resort, that's the reason we have always refused to go Value, we like our peace and quiet. We love walking around the resorts during our downtime and seeing the pretty scenery (like we did at POFQ)

One more question...
When we stayed at POFQ we often walked with the kids to PO-Riverside to use their food court or look around etc.
Would the distance of that walk be about the same as the one from the maing bldg in Coronado to the further rooms????

Thanks!

[buzz2001]

Its about a half mail walk from the main building to the farthest rancho building. but there are bus stops in each village which you can use to get to and from the main building to your village if you prefer not to walk. There are signs with instructions at each bus stop.

[KAT1811]

Originally Posted by buzz2001

Also, at CSR, having a convention at the resort tends to make the pool and buses less crowded. And many that attend conventions bring their families with them to WDW.

I can live with the convention guests in order to benefit from the perks CSR offers like queen beds, 42" LG LCD tv's, the fitness center, spa and more over the other mods.

I think that CS borders on a delxue. They have much more than many moderates and with the addition of the queen beds and closing doors between the bathing and sleeping areas it's a large step above the other mods IMHO.

I hear a lot of people say how large CS is but I really don't understand why. I found CB much larger and POR much harder to navigate. At CS everything is centered along Lago Dorado no winding walkways to take a wrong turn on.

We love that the conventions there tend to scare people away and leave it very quiet for the rest of us. Every time we have been we have had a pick of lounge chairs at the pool, no standing on busses or long lines to get back to the resorts at night, just a great time without the madness of some of the other resorts.

[MMFreak]

We have stayed there with our children and they LOVE this resort. The pool is great and they loved riding the bike around the path as well as riding in the boats.

[kathiep]

My kids never minded the walk at CSR. On one trip we stayed in Ranchos building 6 - probably one of the furthest buildings. They loved exploring the resort and walking over to the Pepper Market. They also adored the pool and playground area. I would definately stay here with kids again.