Coronado Springs Resort -- New Unofficial FAQ Thread -- November 2009

[kschafer]

Just back yesterday and dont have time to start my TR yet but thought I would pop over here and share a mini review of CSR first...

Room requests: I arrived about 4:00 on Saturday afternoon. I had requested a room in Casitas 4 or 5 or Cabanas 8. I was assigned a room in 6B. I asked if there was any other rooms available and was told there was not but that a lot of people attending a conference would be checking out the following day and to check back in the morning. The next day I went and was given a room in Casitas 4 and despite having paid for a standard room, I was directly above the casitas quiet pool in a great location! I was also guaranteed I would be able to stay in that room when I switched from a pacakage ressie to a room-only which was comforting.

Customer Service: I had read some recent complaints about front desk CM's and thought I was doomed with the first one I encountered (gave me no useful info and even forgot to give me the gift card that was a part of my package) but every other time I needed anything, they were all friendly and very helpful!

Buses: almost every time, buses were plentiful and fast. We waited about 20 minutes one morning for an Epcot bus and missed getting there for EMH rope drop which wasn't really a huge issue, I overheard one woman at the last stop say the previous bus had filled and she waited 40 minutes for that one to arrive. There was only 1 night when I had to wait a bit and stand on the ride back because it was full (ironically, also at Epcot)

Size and noise: CSR is a big resort but I really had no issues with it. If I was planning on using my refill mugs a lot, I might have been upset. It was incredibly quiet even with a room near the pool (a couple afternoon naps were no issue). We were right around the corner from the elevators and only heard noise 1 evening with people coming/going.

Mousekeeping: the first room I was in was spotless! I wondered if anyone had ever been in there! The second room left some to be desired. There were 2 things left behind from previous visitors, 1 which would have been easy to miss but the other should have been found witha decent cleaning! The carpet didn't look to have been well vacuumed and many of the surfaces, especially the desk, were covered with fingerprints and smudges which was really quite gross. I called and asked them to leave a note to do a better job. The person I talked to asked if I would mind if a supervisor stopped by to look and I said yes but I had to leave after 20 minutes of waiting and they never did clean it. The bathroom however was very clean and the beds neatly made.

Food: I didn't eat much at the resort. Grab and go had lots of options and was pretty convenient. My SIL got a quesadilla at Pepper market one day and it was large and quite good. We ate one evening at Maya grill and despite a drunk and obnoxious dining neighbor, everything was nice. No complaints.

Coffee: I am a coffee snob and wished I had brought my own! There is no flavored creamer to be found so I acutally went without during the trip but in my opinion, bad coffee is worse than no coffee.

Pools: we spent a very short time one day at the quiet pool and it was fine. Lots of people seemed to enjoy it and it was rarely crowded. We also went to the dig site once and it was nice and not too crowded but was packed the day I arrived! The slide is great!!

Internet: I had a lot of trouble trying to connect from my room. I called the tech support number and they walked me through some checks and finally determined I had a bad cord in my room. I called housekeeping and asked for another but it took awhile so I didn't try to connect again that night (wanted to talk to my kids at home on skype but it was past bedtime by then). The next night I tried and had the same problem. Once again I called tech support and they thought I might have a bad port in the room but we tried a couple other things and he got me connected. They even gave me a complimentary day of connection for the trouble which was not necessary but very appreciated!

Thanks Kathy for this thread and everyone else for your useful info as I planned my trip. If anyone has any other questions, feel free to ask!

 

[KatMark]

Thank you, thank you for the welcome!

Sorry in advance, this is kinda long

So based upon all I have read on recommendations made to people finding the best location on the resort for them personally, (I did this all before I stumbled upon this site and its helpful tips!) I feel reassured that I did okay in requesting Cabanas 9A, 9B, 8A, 8B or Casitas 3 to fit our needs best regarding our dance convention being held onsite, but I had also listed Casitas 1 as an option on my request list, too. I don't think I have seen yet where you have recommended that building...is there a reason for that? I picked Casitas 1 and 3 based on my request also for a water view, and also that we would want to be close to El Centro where the convention will be going on...making it easy to go back and forth to our room when we have a break in between performing routines. We will be at the resort quite a bit because of this event. Do you think I did okay?

Also, because the convention special rate was heavily discounted for us with the dance competition, and I had some budget concerns, I opted to do a room only ressie and buy our park hoppers separately also at the convention rate offered us (really good deal!), rather than a package. Of course this means we can't do the dining plan thought, but I WAS feeling okay with that decision because I thought we could do it cheaper out of pocket and supplementing purchased meals with our own food brought in, such as for breakfast and snacks. We have no idea what the schedule will be yet for the dancers to be performing, just know it could be spread throughout July 3-6. So I don't feel like I can make any ADR's due to not having a clue when we would actually be able to make a table service meal, and don't feel we can be tied to a dining schedule and still get in time for all we want to do park-wise outside of dance. I have never gone without the dining plan, though, so it's making me kind of nervous...especially after reading of CSR's food options being on the pricer side for the most part...plus the gratuity situation. But your very helpful tips of ordering at the PM to go is definitely the way we will go most of the time!
Do you think I am doing okay by going the ala carte route with our particular needs in mind?

Thanks in advance (and for putting up with my lengthy posts!)

Disney Dancin'

I think you did great! I never recommend Casitas 1 because it is the only Casitas building I've never stayed in and because it is very close to the convention center. As for the food, the food at the Pepper Market is more expensive. However, some of the portions are huge and can very easily be split between two people. Also, the food at the pool bar, Siesta's, is not bad (just avoid the hot dog) and the food at Cafe Rix is pretty good too.

 

[Disney Dancin']

We're heading to CSR for a convention this summer. It wasn't listed. Actually it's not really a convention it's a Dance Competition. July 2-7 Dance America.

Ahhh! My 3 DD's and I will be at CSR for Dance America as well! We are coming from Iowa...will be arriving June 29 - July 10...we added some extra days to be sure to have plenty of time to do all we want in addition to DD17 competing/taking classes. We adore WDW and were so excited to do a Nationals on Disney property! We have not stayed at CSR before, and because of this thread, we are really looking forward to EVERYTHING dance and non-dance alike on our trip.

I am getting to be so anxious to see what the actual day to day competition schedule for groups and solos will be...so hard to begin any further planning other than what's already done (like our room ressie, flights and park hoppers) until we know what kind of time we will be free to do parks/dining/shows etc without that critical piece of the puzzle.

Will you have a dancer(s) doing the Dancer of the Year (DOTY) production dance and competition? Mine is doing it, competing her lyrical solo for that. Excited that the DOTY production dance then gets to perform at Disney Hollywood studios, too...very cool opportunity to dance for Mickey ! Then she has 4 group dances to compete with her team, too We will be a small segment representing our studio, my DD's team was the only one of our 3 teams to all vote to go to Nationals. Our dancers love meeting fellow competitors and making new friends...they are quite the social little group, lots of fun and very entertaining

Fill me in on your trip! Can't wait to hear about your plans...and who knows, perhaps we will cross paths

Disney Dancin'

 

[KatMark]

Just back yesterday and dont have time to start my TR yet but thought I would pop over here and share a mini review of CSR first...

Room requests: I arrived about 4:00 on Saturday afternoon. I had requested a room in Casitas 4 or 5 or Cabanas 8. I was assigned a room in 6B. I asked if there was any other rooms available and was told there was not but that a lot of people attending a conference would be checking out the following day and to check back in the morning. The next day I went and was given a room in Casitas 4 and despite having paid for a standard room, I was directly above the casitas quiet pool in a great location! I was also guaranteed I would be able to stay in that room when I switched from a pacakage ressie to a room-only which was comforting.

Customer Service: I had read some recent complaints about front desk CM's and thought I was doomed with the first one I encountered (gave me no useful info and even forgot to give me the gift card that was a part of my package) but every other time I needed anything, they were all friendly and very helpful!

Buses: almost every time, buses were plentiful and fast. We waited about 20 minutes one morning for an Epcot bus and missed getting there for EMH rope drop which wasn't really a huge issue, I overheard one woman at the last stop say the previous bus had filled and she waited 40 minutes for that one to arrive. There was only 1 night when I had to wait a bit and stand on the ride back because it was full (ironically, also at Epcot)

Size and noise: CSR is a big resort but I really had no issues with it. If I was planning on using my refill mugs a lot, I might have been upset. It was incredibly quiet even with a room near the pool (a couple afternoon naps were no issue). We were right around the corner from the elevators and only heard noise 1 evening with people coming/going.

Mousekeeping: the first room I was in was spotless! I wondered if anyone had ever been in there! The second room left some to be desired. There were 2 things left behind from previous visitors, 1 which would have been easy to miss but the other should have been found witha decent cleaning! The carpet didn't look to have been well vacuumed and many of the surfaces, especially the desk, were covered with fingerprints and smudges which was really quite gross. I called and asked them to leave a note to do a better job. The person I talked to asked if I would mind if a supervisor stopped by to look and I said yes but I had to leave after 20 minutes of waiting and they never did clean it. The bathroom however was very clean and the beds neatly made.

Food: I didn't eat much at the resort. Grab and go had lots of options and was pretty convenient. My SIL got a quesadilla at Pepper market one day and it was large and quite good. We ate one evening at Maya grill and despite a drunk and obnoxious dining neighbor, everything was nice. No complaints.

Coffee: I am a coffee snob and wished I had brought my own! There is no flavored creamer to be found so I acutally went without during the trip but in my opinion, bad coffee is worse than no coffee.

Pools: we spent a very short time one day at the quiet pool and it was fine. Lots of people seemed to enjoy it and it was rarely crowded. We also went to the dig site once and it was nice and not too crowded but was packed the day I arrived! The slide is great!!

Internet: I had a lot of trouble trying to connect from my room. I called the tech support number and they walked me through some checks and finally determined I had a bad cord in my room. I called housekeeping and asked for another but it took awhile so I didn't try to connect again that night (wanted to talk to my kids at home on skype but it was past bedtime by then). The next night I tried and had the same problem. Once again I called tech support and they thought I might have a bad port in the room but we tried a couple other things and he got me connected. They even gave me a complimentary day of connection for the trouble which was not necessary but very appreciated!

Thanks Kathy for this thread and everyone else for your useful info as I planned my trip. If anyone has any other questions, feel free to ask!

Katie, thanks for the detailed review. I can't wait to read all about it on your trip report and see some pictures.

 

[SnoopyB]

kschafer, yours is the second review in a day that I've read about the Casitas rooms especially building 4&5 being not cleaned well. I'm starting to really rethink my room request and ask for something in the Cabanas section, though I really like the look of the Casitas.

 

[KatMark]

kschafer, yours is the second review in a day that I've read about the Casitas rooms especially building 4&5 being not cleaned well. I'm starting to really rethink my room request and ask for something in the Cabanas section, though I really like the look of the Casitas.

We've stayed in the Casitas seven of our eight stays and never had a cleaning problem. If you are in the Casitas and have a problem, press the Mousekeeping button. If that does not work, go to the front desk and ask for a manager and be sure that it is taken care of.

 

[JanetMom]

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has posted information and reviews.

I am headed to CSR next week for a conference. Sadly this trip is all business with little time to play. I'll have a few hours the first night and hopefully an afternoon on my last day. With such little time for play I will not be going to the parks, so all the information on this thread will help me enjoy the bit of play time that I have to spend at CSR.

On my first day I will arrive at the resort around 4:00 pm. I plan to walk around and check out the resort (taking plenty of pictures), maybe stop by the lake to find Glen's relative, and then I will head to the Laguna bar to enjoy some supper overlooking the water.

It is so nice to be able to picture everything, thanks to everyone on this thread.

 

[KatMark]

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has posted information and reviews.

I am headed to CSR next week for a conference. Sadly this trip is all business with little time to play. I'll have a few hours the first night and hopefully an afternoon on my last day. With such little time for play I will not be going to the parks, so all the information on this thread will help me enjoy the bit of play time that I have to spend at CSR.

On my first day I will arrive at the resort around 4:00 pm. I plan to walk around and check out the resort (taking plenty of pictures), maybe stop by the lake to find Glen's relative, and then I will head to the Laguna bar to enjoy some supper overlooking the water.

It is so nice to be able to picture everything, thanks to everyone on this thread.

Welcome; sorry you won't have a lot of time to play, but I hope you will enjoy the beauty that we have found at the Coronado. If you get a chance, at least try to relax in the hot tub or lay on a hammock with a specialty drink.

 

[JanetMom]

Welcome; sorry you won't have a lot of time to play, but I hope you will enjoy the beauty that we have found at the Coronado. If you get a chance, at least try to relax in the hot tub or lay on a hammock with a specialty drink.

Ooh, the hot tub is a fantastic idea, and since my work is paying for this trip there will definitely be a specialty drink (or two )!

 

[KatMark]

Ooh, the hot tub is a fantastic idea, and since my work is paying for this trip there will definitely be a specialty drink (or two )!

Well, if the company is paying for it, maybe you can sneak in a massage as well?

 

[matthew_hull]

 

[aubriee]

I need to get caught up on this thread. I just returned late Sunday night (May 9th) from a split stay at AKL and CSR. I had a great room at both resorts (first floor pool view room, just two doors down from the health club, and maybe a minute from the hot tub and pool at AKL and first floor Cabanas 9B facing the lake at CSR). I had paid for a standard view so got some wonderful pixie dust with a great upgrade at CSR. I shared the room with a friend here on the DIS and surprisingly we both preferred CSR over AKL. I have always said CSR has the best bus transportation of any resort at WDW. The bus transportation this trip was no where near as good as previous trips though. We had to stand several times, which I have never had to do at CSR before. However the bus service was still much better than the bus service at AKL, which was really bad.

The beds at CSR were much more comfortable than the ones at AKL and the rooms much more brighter and cheerful. I know the AKL rooms are supposed to be just a tad bigger, but I could tell no difference at all in the size of the rooms. Both pools were equally nice. AKL has two hot tubs, but the one at CSR is bigger.

Housekeeping at both resorts was fine. Funny thing happened though: It seemed like housekeepers only took their tips every other day. The envelopes were preprinted with "Thanks Mousekeeping" printed on them and I placed them in the exact same place on the vanity every day.

CMs were very friendly at both resorts.

I did the Wanyana Sunset safari at AKL and highly recommend it. It was worth every penny and Jiko was wonderful. Didn't eat at either Boma or Mara this trip though. I ate breakfast at the Pepper Market my last day at CSR and was not impressed. My french toast was very dry and almost burnt and the fruit that was listed as coming with it was just two small strawberries. Something odd I noticed was that the people on either side of me had their refillable mugs and the CM's told them that since they did so, that they got to fill them, but did not get another drink, even though they were on the DDP.

Both resorts were lovely and I loved the theming at both. We got to see Glen's cousin one morning hanging around in the lake outside the Pepper Market.

We did online check in for both resorts. Our room at AKL was ready at check in, but we had to wait for the one at CSR. The wait was worth it though, due to the great location we got. We had a hammock right outside our room, was facing the lake, and was less than five minutes from the main pool and the main building.

Even though our rooms at both resorts were on the first floor and along the main throughfare, both were very quiet. We never heard a single person walking past our rooms.

One thing we did notice was that several nights our bus stop was right next to the CBR bus stop. The CBR bus stop always had many more people waiting than the other bus stops. My Oct trip is currently scheduled at CBR, but I am thinking about switching it to CSR, just for the better bus service. My only hesitation is a fear of being stuck out in the Ranchos. I love AKL, but for the price difference can't see staying there again. I'd rather stay at a moderate and make more frequent trips.

 

[mamamary]

Hi everyone. I am new to this CSR thread. We just booked a VERY unexpected trip to Disney and we are staying at CSR. We go next week The opportunity came up and we are grabbing it. Needless to say I am in total disarray because I am a super planner. Good thing I am always on the dis and reading up on stuff so I'm not totally in the dark. I do have a few ques. for all you nice people if you don't mind.

- We check in late - prob. after 11 pm. Will there be any food options?
- Pool Hours? Can we swim late?
- Do you have the hours for the gift shop? I know my kids want autograph books and I thought I could get them when we check in if its open?
- We are flying Southwest. My travel agent said 24 hrs. before we head home we need to do online check in. Is this something I can do at CSR? She said to not wait until we get to the airport.

I know there were a few other ques. but now I am drawing a blank

Katmark - thanks for all of your input on this thread. I read thru it very quickly yesterday and tried to soak it all up. I told the travel agent I was glad to have queen beds and she said no CSR has double But I told my DH she was wrong.

Well since I'm still drawing a blank I'll pop in back later. Thanks so much everyone. I am so looking forward to staying at CSR.

 

[mamamary]

We just came back from a wonderful stay at Coronado Springs Resort. These are my random thoughts and impressions of the resort.

The check-in process was flawless. We did the new online check-in, and it allowed us to enter a slightly shorter line at check-in. They honored our room request at the Casitas, and in fact we got an exceptionally gorgeous room looking out on the water with the sunrise visible from the window (from the bed, even). We also did the new Airport-Bag-check with Southwest Airlines at the tail end of our stay, and that went flawlessly as well.

The grounds were up to the impeccable Disney reputation, very neat and well groomed. CSR is extraordinarily pretty in the early morning and evening. The pool was fabulous, neat and clean, warm, not crowded, well supervised, with several beach balls floating about for people to have fun with. We didn't have any problems with walking to the main building the few times that we needed to; it wasn't as far as some would have you believe. We had a rental car, so I cannot comment upon the busses. I can comment upon how nice Security was when we discovered a dead battery one morning. Within five minutes a car pulled up and a guy got out and jump-started the vehicle back to health. Very pleasant and accomodating. I'm ashamed to confess that it never occurred to me that the Hotel Security would help us with our dead battery problem, but the guy at the giftshop suggested them when we volunteered that our morning was not starting out well, and I am so glad that he did.

There were plenty of convention-goers while we were there, but other than being dressed more formally than us tourists it was nothing to remark upon. We only saw them at noon (lunch-time) when they would flood the food stands and bars.

The marina was closed, so we didn't get to experience that. We managed to claim one of the coveted hammocks a few times, and that was nice, but we didn't stay more than a few minutes. Plenty of nice folk offered to take our picture when they saw us with the point-and-shoot. I think we only had to ask someone once; people volunteered.

The king-bed room was nice, nothing special, but nice. We asked for a microwave oven during check-in, and it was delivered an hour or so later. We used it alot, too, to reheat leftovers from some of the fabulous restaurant meals that we had. Plus Starbucks VIA instant coffee. The room had a small coffee maker and a small fridge. We could hear the people from the next room, especially in the still hours of the deep night. The guy was snoring up a storm. It wasn't loud enough to be bothersome, though. The room was clean, but we did have one issue with Mousekeeping: they didn't change the sheets, and even when I tore the sheets off of the bed and left them in a heap on the floor, they just re-used them. That prompted a phone call to Housekeeping, where their response was excellent -- a manager type came out to our room to investigate our complaint, and the room was meticulously maintained from then on for the rest of our stay. The sheets were replaced (I eat in bed, and I'm not particularly neat about it, because hey, I'm on vacation), the coffee station cleaned up, the bathroom drinking glasses replaced, the towels replaced, and they even neatened up a bit. I was quite satisfied by their listening to and addressing our initial displeasure with the room cleaning.

We ate once at the Pepper Market (bleh!) and were not impressed. Never made it to the Maya Grill. We had several terrific meals at the WDW restaurants, but at CSR specifically we just ate at the Pepper Market and the Dig Pool, and both experiences were mediocre at best. The marina bar was good, and we illegally fed the fish, which was fun. The drinks were strong. The giftshop was just OK. It didn't have some of the common bathroom supplies that I would have expected, and we had to drive down to a local Walgreens to get them.

We used the Laundry room once, at Casitas, and it was clean and working fine. No issues, no complaints. We also took an afternoon off and enjoyed the Spa. Whereas the ambiance isn't nice like the Poly/Grand's Spa is, it was not horrific, either. We both had a 50-minute massage, and we used the $50 off coupon without difficulty. The massage was nice, albeit way too short ;-) The atmosphere was business-like; perhaps to be expected at a conference hotel. We never used the exercise room (thank God).


That's all that comes to mind. If anyone has any specific questions, I will try to answer them.

Hi. Quick question for you. We just booked a trip yest. and going next week. We are flying Southwest for the first time. Can you tell me what "Airport Bag check with Southwest" means? I'm really not sure how that all works. Thanks so much.

 

[bahecasmart]

We did online check in for both resorts. Our room at AKL was ready at check in, but we had to wait for the one at CSR. The wait was worth it though, due to the great location we got. We had a hammock right outside our room, was facing the lake, and was less than five minutes from the main pool and the main building.

Even though our rooms at both resorts were on the first floor and along the main throughfare, both were very quiet. We never heard a single person walking past our rooms.

.

Do you mind me asking which room number? I'd love to request it

 

[aubriee]

do you mind me asking which room number? I'd love to request it

9502 was the room number, but you might be better off just requesting the area you want to be in. My request for the last several trips have been first floor Cabanas 9B or 8A and I've had three great rooms.. This past Oct I was in a great corner room on the back side of 8A facing the back of Ranchos 7B. I was only a minute or so from the main pool and bus stop 4. In Dec we were on the back side of Cabanas 9B facing the smaller part of the lake and was only a couple of minutes from the main building and bus stop 1. This last trip I got a great upgrade facing the front of the lake, again in 9B. I think I'd be happy in any of the Cabana buildings. The DISer I shared a room with this trip was also at CSR last Dec and had a great room in Cabanas 8B. She was facing the parking lot, but could see bus stop 4 from her room and was only a minute or so from it and just a couple of minutes from the quiet pool.

 

[bahecasmart]

9502 was the room number, but you might be better off just requesting the area you want to be in. My request for the last several trips have been first floor Cabanas 9B or 8A and I've had three great rooms.. This past Oct I was in a great corner room on the back side of 8A facing the back of Ranchos 7B. I was only a minute or so from the main pool and bus stop 4. In Dec we were on the back side of Cabanas 9B facing the smaller part of the lake and was only a couple of minutes from the main building and bus stop 1. This last trip I got a great upgrade facing the front of the lake, again in 9B. I think I'd be happy in any of the Cabana buildings. The DISer I shared a room with this trip was also at CSR last Dec and had a great room in Cabanas 8B. She was facing the parking lot, but could see bus stop 4 from her room and was only a minute or so from it and just a couple of minutes from the quiet pool.

Thanks for the tips - we upgraded to a water view room so, hopefully if i request one of those buildings we'll luck out!

 

[briabbysmom]

Hi! After several days and many sessions - I have read the whole board lol. WOW what alot of great information! We (me, dh, dds 14 & 10) have booked CSR on your good reviews for December 10-17 and can not wait!!

When we went to POFQ a few years ago, DH enjoyed spending the evening after the parks in the hot tub with a beverage under the guise of doing laundry lol. My pre-ramble is up to this question - is the Dig Site the only spot at CSR with a hot tub? It doesn't look like the quite pools have one but I don't want to assume.

We plan on renting a car for most of the trip so the other location considerations probably don't apply as much for us. Oh - another question is ME - we had originally just planned to cath it to the resort and use the rental for the return to the airport. WWYD? Is ME super realiable and will get us and our luggage to the airport without any snags? Or if you had a rental, would you keep it and drive yourself to the airport? (our flights are domestic although we are from Canada - we fly from Detroit)

We are hoping for fall free dining for our time there as we had planned to stay at POP but upgraded on the hope of free dining.

On a seperate not - do you find that the Disney trip planner in your family tends to be WAY more excited about the trip than the rest of the family? Or is it just me who has immersed herself in all things Disney while my family lives in the 'real' world of knowing we're 7 months from our trip?

Thanks for this great board and all your tips and advice!

 

[pmickus]

Will Cafe Rix fill these mugs with lattes or cappacinos? I don't drink soda and would only buy these mugs if I could get my latte fix before heading to the parks.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Hi! After several days and many sessions - I have read the whole board lol. WOW what alot of great information! We (me, dh, dds 14 & 10) have booked CSR on your good reviews for December 10-17 and can not wait!!

When we went to POFQ a few years ago, DH enjoyed spending the evening after the parks in the hot tub with a beverage under the guise of doing laundry lol. My pre-ramble is up to this question - is the Dig Site the only spot at CSR with a hot tub? It doesn't look like the quite pools have one but I don't want to assume.

I believe, at least from what I've read and the pictures that I've seen, CSR only has 1 hot tub, but it is VERY large.

We plan on renting a car for most of the trip so the other location considerations probably don't apply as much for us. Oh - another question is ME - we had originally just planned to cath it to the resort and use the rental for the return to the airport. WWYD? Is ME super realiable and will get us and our luggage to the airport without any snags? Or if you had a rental, would you keep it and drive yourself to the airport? (our flights are domestic although we are from Canada - we fly from Detroit)

The ME buses, at least in my experience, have been great. The night before you check out they place a paper under your door to tell you what time your ME bus will pick you up. It's is 3 hours before your flight leaves. We've never had a problem with the ME bus coming late. Plus, there are ME buses pulling into all of the resorts all the time b/c lots of people come and go!

We are hoping for fall free dining for our time there as we had planned to stay at POP but upgraded on the hope of free dining.

On a seperate not - do you find that the Disney trip planner in your family tends to be WAY more excited about the trip than the rest of the family? Or is it just me who has immersed herself in all things Disney while my family lives in the 'real' world of knowing we're 7 months from our trip?

Thanks for this great board and all your tips and advice!

I know that I am way more excited all the time for Disney than DH. However, DH is the type of person that will get super excited for the trip a few days before b/c finally he sees an end to work and school!