Staying at Coranado Springs For First Time

[Donald Duck]

I just booked 7 nights at Coranado Springs in December.

We've been to DIsney over 20 times but we've never stayed at Corando Springs.

We've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and Carribean Beach before. But the main reason we picked CS is because it has 2 Queen beds instead of 2 Double beds.

Our family consists of myself, my wife and 2 daughters (19 and 13). It would be too tight with 2 double beds.

I know they have a restaurant and a food court. How are the both of these ?

Also, how is the pool ?

Any comments pro or con would be appreciated.

If anyone has stayed there before and has any recommendations on a particular building or room that would be great too !

Thanks you.

Donald Duck

[forever a child]

We will be there for the first time ever in Dec too! See ya there!

[forever a child]

Just sent you a PM!

[kathiep]

We love CSR! We've stayed at all of the moderates and it's by far, our favorite.

With the Pepper Market (CS food court) it seems you either get people who love it or hate it. There doesn't seem to be a log of inbetween. We really like it. You are shown to your seat and servers provide your drinks. There are multiple stations with a nice variety of food. We've found there are more choices than the food courts at other moderates and think the quality is better as well. One of the things we really like is that you pay after eating your meal. It eliminates juggling your tray, trying to watch and control your kids and pay for your meal all at the same time. Much less stressful for this mom!

We ate at the sit down restaurant once. It was convenient to have a meal in our resort. The food was good; don't know if I'd eat there is I weren't staying at the resort. Definately better than the TS at CBR. We've never eaten the TS at POR so I can't compare.

The dig site is fantastic. My kids have always loved it. The pool never seems crowded.

The grounds are gorgeous. Be sure to take walks around the lake, especially at night.

Building recommendations would really depend on what you prefer to be close to - the main building, food court etc or the main pool area. It's not like POR or CBR where the main pool is very close to the food court area. There are 3 areas, each with their own theming. Really depends on what you prefer. We love Ranchos but a lot of people feel that section is too far from the food court area.

[MMFreak]

We love CSR have a great time! I don't think you will be disappointed.

[Donald Duck]

We love CSR! We've stayed at all of the moderates and it's by far, our favorite.

With the Pepper Market (CS food court) it seems you either get people who love it or hate it. There doesn't seem to be a log of inbetween. We really like it. You are shown to your seat and servers provide your drinks. There are multiple stations with a nice variety of food. We've found there are more choices than the food courts at other moderates and think the quality is better as well. One of the things we really like is that you pay after eating your meal. It eliminates juggling your tray, trying to watch and control your kids and pay for your meal all at the same time. Much less stressful for this mom!

We ate at the sit down restaurant once. It was convenient to have a meal in our resort. The food was good; don't know if I'd eat there is I weren't staying at the resort. Definately better than the TS at CBR. We've never eaten the TS at POR so I can't compare.

The dig site is fantastic. My kids have always loved it. The pool never seems crowded.

The grounds are gorgeous. Be sure to take walks around the lake, especially at night.

Building recommendations would really depend on what you prefer to be close to - the main building, food court etc or the main pool area. It's not like POR or CBR where the main pool is very close to the food court area. There are 3 areas, each with their own theming. Really depends on what you prefer. We love Ranchos but a lot of people feel that section is too far from the food court area.

Thanks kathiep.

I was just looking at the map of CS.
We definately want to avoid the conventioners but would like to stay near
food court.

I was thinking of Cabanas 9B.
It looks like it's near pool and not too far from dinning.
What do you think ?

Could you tell me about the different themes for each section ?

Thank you

[Disney Doll]

CSR is my favorite moderate by far!

1. The pool is gorgeous! Have you seen pictures online? Mayan pyramid theme. Usually not at all crowded.

2. Food options. Pepper Market gets mixed reviews, but I like it. There is a lot of variety and my experience was good. Another person in our party ordered an Asian noodle dish that they didn't care for, but if you stick to the basics you should be fine. My philosophy- don't order an Asian noodle dish unless you are at an Asian restaurant. Every restaurant can't be good at everything. Since you have servers you need to tip which I think is part of the reason some people don't like it. You can always order to go and avoid the tipping. I actually recommend that because they have a wonderful patio right off the lake and dining outside was very enjoyable. They also have a grab and go area separate from Pepper Market which served fruit, pastries, sandwiches, pizza, salads, and snacks. It was great for a quick bite. We never did eat at the TS restaurant.

3. There are 3 themed sections.
Racheros which is my least favorite is desert themed. I love usually lush WDW landscaping so a desert theme seemed like a waste.

Casitas is where we stayed. It has 3 and 4 story plazas that look out to little courtyards with fountains around every corner. It was really a beautiful theme and was conveniently located.

The Cabanas are more beachy. Many have lake views and they are surrounded by a sandy beach with hammocks. Also very pretty.

In my opinion you don't need to avoid the conventioners. There was a convention when we stayed and we hardly noticed them. They are polite professional adults so I'd rather be surrounded by conventioners than misbehaving kids. Also, conventioners are there to work. We never saw them at the pool or obviously not at the playground. In my opinion having the conventioners there means many of the amenities are not getting used like they would at a non-convention resort.

[honeybear]

Hello there! I have never stayed at CSR, but I have seen the new upgraded look of the rooms and I LOVE them.

I am not sure if they still do this, but back in the day you paid for your food after you ate, and the gratuity was automatically added to your bill. That did not sit well with us so we have never been back to eat at their food court!

[wdwnutz]

CSR is our favorite moderate resort. The pool area is one of the nicest we've been to and one of the largest. We enjoyed the Pepper Market, especially the pasta platters.

[c&d]

I love CSR below are some reasons why:

1. Pepper Market, the choices make it really easy. Not everyone in our family likes the same foods so having all the choices is great.
2. The pools are really nice and we found never crowded. It also has a real lap pool if you want to swim laps.
3. It has a health club and spa, no other moderate has that.
4. The grounds are beautiful, especially at night.
5. The buses don't share with any other resort and when we stayed there it had some of the best bus stops at the park. Close to the entrance and during the day, they were never crowded.

We've stayed in the Casitas section and it was really nice.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We stayed there in 2005 and really liked it.

We ate breakfast at Maya Grill and thought it was overpriced and not very good. We loved Pepper Market, especially the grill station. However, I have heard the quality has gone down since then.

We pretty much stick to eating at the parks and Deluxe resorts.

[buzz2001]

I know they have a restaurant and a food court. How are the both of these? The Maya Grill is very good, a hidden gem. The Pepper Market is a love it or hate it spot because of the way it is operated. The food is a bit higher scale than normal food court food. You can get shrimp cocktail and steak

Also, how is the pool ? The main pool area is one of the best for the mods. It has the longest slide of the mods, an arcade, a great pool bar and snack bar and a sand volleyball court.

Any comments pro or con would be appreciated. It has some of the best Christmas decorations of the mods as well.

[Donald Duck]

I know they have a restaurant and a food court. How are the both of these? The Maya Grill is very good, a hidden gem. The Pepper Market is a love it or hate it spot because of the way it is operated. The food is a bit higher scale than normal food court food. You can get shrimp cocktail and steak

Also, how is the pool ? The main pool area is one of the best for the mods. It has the longest slide of the mods, an arcade, a great pool bar and snack bar and a sand volleyball court.

Any comments pro or con would be appreciated. It has some of the best Christmas decorations of the mods as well.

Thanks Buzz2001.

We like the Casitas buildings the best.
Do you know of a good building number and room to try to request ?

[buzz2001]

Casita 1 is very close to the main building and a 5/7 min walk to the main pool.

Casita 2 & 3 have great views of the lion fountain. Its awesome at night! 3 has great lake view rooms.

Casita 4 has the fitness center and quiet pool. Close to bus stop #2 which is actually the first to be picked up for the parks. You can also get nice lake views and on the higher floors, you can see fireworks from DHS and Epcot.

Casita 5 is close to bus stop #2 also. This building also offers lake and fountain views and on the higher floors, you can see fireworks from DHS and Epcot.

[michellerose1579]

I've only been to Disney once and I stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort. I LOVED it! I had a room in Cabana 9B and it was lovely. We were steps away from the quiet pool and the bus stop. The main building was only a few steps away too. The rooms were lovely and quiet. I thought the Pepper Market was excellent. There was something for everyone. We ate there quite often. We also ate at the Maya Grill. The food was good and the setting was nice. The Dig Site pool was amazing. Its beautiful! The grounds have pretty flowers and landscaping too. We spent quite a long time just exploring the resort and looking at all of the fountains, topiaries and architecture. While we were there, there was a convention going on and it didnt bother us at all. In fact, I liked it better while the convention was going on because the golf carts were moving more frequently around the grounds for rides to the pool and such. I hope you have a wonderful time! Im going back in September, but trying out the Wilderness Lodge this time!

[jrkcr]

We love CSR! It is so pretty!
Love the Pepper Market, sipping margaritas by the water, the great pool and huge hottub, and staying in the cabanas. The ranchos were just OK, I had to laugh cause they look like our grocery store back in Nevada. Never stayed in the casitas(yet!).
We love the conventioneers. They are busy in meetings and therefore the busses are not crowded!
Hope you have a great trip!!

[wdwnutz]

Which building would be closest to main building without paying for a preferred room? Or is there a building that is also close to the main pool?

[Gaz10]

Have stayed 3 times and just booked our 4th stay for 2011. The pool is great, we have stayed at PO twice also and main pool is better than the one at PO.We stay in the Cabanas by the small pool, the ranchos are OK, but the Casitas....nice to look at, but we got put there on our last stay and we asked for a move after 1 night,not for us.
The pepper market offers a good choice of food.I agree that you either love it or hate it,We actually like it.We have 2 younger kids so have not been to the Maya Grill so can't comment, but you should be OK to give it a go.
It really is a nice resort and I am sure you will like it.

[wilshade]

One of the cool things about Coronado are some of the conventions that may be happening whem you are there. My last stay at Coronado was right around the first week of December. I saw this guy walking toward me in a Navy Blue Angels jumpsuit. He happened to be participating in a convention of all of the military demonstration teams (Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, Black Knight, et al). Had a lot of interesting conversatons that week.

[Fastpasssteve]

I really reccommend the Cabanas (Bldgs 8 and 9)...and I believe they were renovated recently...plus they are close to the Pepper Market. Choosing a room location depends on your priorities: Will you be eating at the Pepper Market a lot? If so, you will want to be as close to that as possible.

If you're not eating at Pepper Market too often, I would ask for something that is close to one of the bus stops. Getting a quick start in the morning and close to the room when carrying tired (or sleeping) children at the end of the day.

The Cabanas are equally convenient to the Main Building AND the Dig Site (the big pool).

Two trips ago, I also discovered the glory of having a 'quiet pool' close to my building. It was good to soak my tired self (not to mention FEET) in the pool...maybe even the jacuzzi!

One can view maps of the Coronado Resort online. Take a look and study a little. Remember, you are going to be making a polite request...it is only that...a request...they will do their best to fulfill your Disney dreams, but they may not be able to give you exactly what you want. Remember to be flexible. Enjoy your trip.