Caribbean Beach or Coronado for quick last min summer trip?

[firstwdw]

just 3 full days.....2 park days-no hopping (HS and MK) and one water park day....2 adults, 1 teenager. Leaning towards CSR as we have never stayed here before and pool and slide look great.....I know both CBR and CSR are huge. thoughts?!

This is a quick Disney "Fix" before school starts because we have been NOWHERE and had to cancel so many trips.....to hold us over to spring break!

Edited to add: we decided CBR might be better because of the Skyliner and being able to go over to Boardwalk at night or Fantasia mini-golf etc. But with all this love for CSR I might need to rethink CBR!

 

[DWillowBay]

You won't regret a minute of CSR. It is a beautiful resort. Beautiful grounds. Very accommodating CMs. Great food at 3 Bridges and Maya Grill (and Toledo, if it opens). Magnificent tower, whether you stay in the tower or not. Terrific pool. I stay there more than anywhere else. Just love CSR.

 

[kylenne]

just 3 full days.....2 park days-no hopping (HS and MK) and one water park day....2 adults, 1 teenager. Leaning towards CSR as we have never stayed here before and pool and slide look great.....I know both CBR and CSR are huge. thoughts?!

This is a quick Disney "Fix" before school starts because we have been NOWHERE and had to cancel so many trips.....to hold us over to spring break!

I chose Gran Destino for a quick fix trip of my own, just this weekend for fireworks, and absolutely do not regret it. So much so that I kind of wish I had chosen it for my May/June split stay instead of YC. Have not been to the pool yet but might do so after my nap. I can’t get over how nice it is here. Transportation has been great also.

 

[Leigh L]

Never have stayed at CBR, except getting lost there once after getting off the Skyliner from DHS and trying to find a bus to MK for about an hour . The grounds seem nice. It would have been easier going back to DHS and catching a bus there, lol. That place looks massive!!

Can't go wrong with CSR though. Beautiful resort! Has always been immaculate. CMs are wonderful.

The only section we haven't stayed at is Cabanas which is very close to the tower and the main pool. We've loved all of the rooms but absolutely love the Tower. Even if you're staying in a building far away, the bridges make it easier to get to where you want to be (or take a theme park bus to GDT since it stops there before heading out to the parks, easy peasy).

One of my favorite things to do is to take a daily walk around the water (esp at night!) and just take it all in, the grounds are so pretty. Last week after our parks trip, we moved to GDT for two days for the resort. Our group enjoyed the giant chess board, cornhole, and table tennis (the latter two are at the pool) since this stuff is all back out now.

(Along with Shades of Green, CSR is pretty much our "go to" resort.)

 

[ColonelHathi]

We just returned from a stay at CSR with my DD’s Dance group. It is amazing! We previously stayed there 8 years ago as well and I was very impressed with the updates, the Gran Destino tower, Three Bridges… yet so much hasn’t changed (in a good way). The Dig Site pool area is great, staff was friendly. We were in Rancheros 7B right near the pool and Cabanas bus stop - great location. We were originally slated for CBR in 2020 before COVID cancelled that event, and I have to say it felt like an upgrade to get switched to CSR. It rained/stormed a lot last week, which meant that the skyliner was often paused - so that is a perk you really can’t rely on in the summer with afternoon storms. That would be the only true advantage of CBR in my opinion. Busses other than back from Disney Springs were great all week. We’ve had similar Disney Springs bus issues when staying at the Poly though.

 

[ColonelHathi]

We just returned from a stay at CSR with my DD’s Dan e group. It is amazing! We stayed there 8 years ago as well and I was very impressed with the updates, the Gran Destino tower, Three Bridges… yet so much hasn’t changed (in a good way). The Dig Site pool area is great, staff was friendly. We were in Rancheros 7B right near the pool and Cabanas bus stop - great location. We were originally slated for CBR in 2020 before COVID cancelled that event, and I have to say it felt like an upgrade to get switched to CSR. It rained/stormed a lot last week, which meant that the skyliner was often paused - so that is a perk you really can’t rely on in the summer with afternoon storms. But that would be the only true advantage of CSR. Busses other than back from Disney Springs were great all week. We’ve had similar Disney Springs bus issues when staying at the Poly though.

 

[notatallmagic]

We are out of state Annual Passholders, and have stayed at both in 2021 - Carribean Beach for a non-park long weekend in February; and Coronado as the last 5 days of a June (parks everyday) split stay. I have 2 teenagers, and these were rescheduled Covid trips.

There are advantages and disadvanges of both. Focusing on the positive by resort -

For Caribbean Beach - We LOVE the Skyliner. It's a fun ride by itself, plus you also have access to Riviera (we like their quick service, and it's fun to explore) plus the whole Boardwalk area to walk around - you can even walk to the mini-golf, which we enjoyed. You would still need to bus to Magic. The pool area is a solid B; you have hammocks and pretty views, and the restaurants on site were fine with good service. But the resort is BIG and there is lots of walking.

For Coronado - you will need to bus everywhere, but the rides are short. We had read nightmare stories about the buses, so you may wish to research a little. We did walk to the first stop, and never had a problem. The resort is SO pretty, and the walking paths make it easier to get everywhere. The on-site Rix was great - we ate there twice - and the pool area was very fun. The hot tub was closed all but one day for us, so it should be open for you . I would say Coronado was my kid's favorite - the rooms were very pretty and seemed newer and fresher; the showers were AMAZING, and you get the little lotions and mouthwash bottles!

Either way, you should have a wonderful time! Happy Disneying!

 

[firstwdw]

We are out of state Annual Passholders, and have stayed at both in 2021 - Carribean Beach for a non-park long weekend in February; and Coronado as the last 5 days of a June (parks everyday) split stay. I have 2 teenagers, and these were rescheduled Covid trips.

There are advantages and disadvanges of both. Focusing on the positive by resort -

For Caribbean Beach - We LOVE the Skyliner. It's a fun ride by itself, plus you also have access to Riviera (we like their quick service, and it's fun to explore) plus the whole Boardwalk area to walk around - you can even walk to the mini-golf, which we enjoyed. You would still need to bus to Magic. The pool area is a solid B; you have hammocks and pretty views, and the restaurants on site were fine with good service. But the resort is BIG and there is lots of walking.

For Coronado - you will need to bus everywhere, but the rides are short. We had read nightmare stories about the buses, so you may wish to research a little. We did walk to the first stop, and never had a problem. The resort is SO pretty, and the walking paths make it easier to get everywhere. The on-site Rix was great - we ate there twice - and the pool area was very fun. The hot tub was closed all but one day for us, so it should be open for you . I would say Coronado was my kid's favorite - the rooms were very pretty and seemed newer and fresher; the showers were AMAZING, and you get the little lotions and mouthwash bottles!

Either way, you should have a wonderful time! Happy Disneying!

oh this is super helpful, thank you especially since you have teens too and have recently stayed at both. Maybe for a short trip busing everywhere wouldn't be too bad. Save CBR for a longer trip with park hoppers when we can truly take advantage of the skyliner on the longer trip(during a season without so many thunderstorms and closures). Although I do like the idea of getting over to boardwalk area and mini golf on our non-park night to explore since we've never done that and rarely have non-park days on our longer trips. I think the pool area with the longer slide looks more teen appealing at CSR and we will be at the pool a lot in summer. I guess we can't go wrong with either and like said, advantages and disadvantages to both

 

[firstwdw]

Never have stayed at CBR, except getting lost there once after getting off the Skyliner from DHS and trying to find a bus to MK for about an hour . The grounds seem nice. It would have been easier going back to DHS and catching a bus there, lol. That place looks massive!!

Can't go wrong with CSR though. Beautiful resort! Has always been immaculate. CMs are wonderful.

The only section we haven't stayed at is Cabanas which is very close to the tower and the main pool. We've loved all of the rooms but absolutely love the Tower. Even if you're staying in a building far away, the bridges make it easier to get to where you want to be (or take a theme park bus to GDT since it stops there before heading out to the parks, easy peasy).

One of my favorite things to do is to take a daily walk around the water (esp at night!) and just take it all in, the grounds are so pretty. Last week after our parks trip, we moved to GDT for two days for the resort. Our group enjoyed the giant chess board, cornhole, and table tennis (the latter two are at the pool) since this stuff is all back out now.

(Along with Shades of Green, CSR is pretty much our "go to" resort.)

we stay at Shades of Green often as well. It's been awhile since we stayed at a Disney resort. I love that they have table tennis and corn hole etc at CSR! Thanks for mentioning that!

 

[notatallmagic]

oh this is super helpful, thank you especially since you have teens too and have recently stayed at both. Maybe for a short trip busing everywhere wouldn't be too bad. Save CBR for a longer trip with park hoppers when we can truly take advantage of the skyliner on the longer trip(during a season without so many thunderstorms and closures). Although I do like the idea of getting over to boardwalk area and mini golf on our non-park night to explore since we've never done that and rarely have non-park days on our longer trips. I think the pool area with the longer slide looks more teen appealing at CSR and we will be at the pool a lot in summer. I guess we can't go wrong with either and like said, advantages and disadvantages to both

IMO - even with being a Star Wars family, if we get to Hollywood at open, we are done by early afternoon. Without Launch Bay being open, even with a good meal (we liked ABC's menu) and a few snacks, we were done by 3ish. You could take the Skyliner to the Epcot International Gateway station, explore the Boardwalk area and even do mini-golf, then walk back to Epcot and take a bus back to Coronado. We're walkers, but it's really doable. Have fun!

 

[Figaroo]

Stayed at CSR in mid June and loved it! It’s a beautiful resort! Bussing was good... never more than 15 minutes to wait at the Cabanas stop (that was our section) or at the parks. Also, it was very convenient to go to Blizzard Beach from CSR. There was a dedicated bus. I’m not 100% certain, but I think all other resorts have to go to Animal Kingdom and then transfer.

We have also been on the skyliner and love it, so I can see the draw to CBR. However, if it’s lightning in the area the skyliner stops running. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[DeutscherDon]

I think it depends on what you want out of the trip, we have stayed at both a love them. Pros for CBR— skyliner, eating at the Riviera, pirate pool, & closer to parks. Pros for Coronado you’ve never been, great pool, a number of new restaurants, and destino tower club level totally affordable. If you’ve never done club level this is very reasonably priced. For me it would be Coronado!

 

[malialaine]

We’ve stayed at both, CSR is better then CBR, which does not have elevators, and carrying luggage to room is a hassle, even with teenagers helping. The rooms decor is stunning at CSR and the grounds are beautiful.

 

[firstwdw]

THANK YOU everyone! I decided on Coronado!