Coronado Springs Resort -- New Unofficial FAQ Thread -- October 2010

[maxiesmom]

It's pretty good. It is the H2O+ Aquatics line - not quite as nice as the Spa line that the Disney Cruise Line and Grand Floridian have, but much nicer than typical hotel shampoo. I usually don't pack shampoo when staying at CSR, and I'm kind of picky. I actually pack the Disney shampoo and conditioner when I go other places.

My only gripe - the conditioner is super thick, so it is hard to get out of the bottle. I have to bang the bottle on my hand several times to get it moving. It works great for untangling both DDs hair and for keeping my hair manageable.

Sounds good, thanks!

 

[lovethattink]

I have a question: Are the seperate shampoo and conditioner good enough to use for a week or so? I can't use the stuff they have at the Value resorts, my hair ends up feeling like straw. But I'm all for using what they have at CSR, if you think it does a good job. Two less things to pack, and more room for Disney souvineers!

They are good enough to use every day. I actually bought product at the Poly when we were there, they were 30% off. I am using it mostly every day at home. I alternate with the Bed Head products I love. I have found with the conditioner I either need to use a wide tooth comb or comb it through really good with my finger tips. I love the smell of it too!

I cannot use the combo products at all, especially if I am swimming. But it works great on my 7 year olds hair. Makes his hair very managable and soft.

There is a post somewhere on the DIS about the products. I think it was SueMN who said she buys it at Penney's or Sears Salons. If I find the thread, I'll add it to this post.

 

[KatMark]

Back last night from our first stay at CSR. We were 2 adults only on the Deluxe Dining plan( 3 SIT down meals a day and 2 snack credits, per person, per day)

*MY THOUGHTS*

The resort is HUGE! we were First put into one of the black hole 2400XX rooms and as soon as she wrote that, i asked for a change. We ended up on the third floor/ casitas 3 and LOVED IT! Perfect location overlooking the lake and right near the main bldg. we never made it farther than that( never walked around, didnt see the dig site etc)

Hated the 4 bus stops..omg took forever for drop offs, picked up- we had a rental car THANK GOD and usd that 75% off the time...wont use the buses again.


Personally wouldnt stay there again/ pay the $...this hotel to me didnt offer anything extra or special that the All Star Music didnt and we would have saved $$$$

To me, def the rooms, grounds dont feel Disney, but again, my thoughts.

Deluxe dining: WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too much food- never again! what a waste of $

Front desk checkin was rushed and not very helpful, no Magic at all upon checkin.


Thats it for now....we wont be back to Disney for a while ( done vacationing for a bit as we just didnt have that MAGICAL VACATION experience this time-

but if we do go back, it will be with the kids to a Value at all stars/ suites.

Sorry that the CSR did not live up to your expectations, but I am glad you gave it a try. I understand the CSR is big, but after staying at the AKL in September, I would say it is just as big -- it took us 12 minutes to walk to the lobby and 15 minutes to the pool from our room (anything at CSR has never been more than 10 minutes).

The CSR does not have the "Disney" feel of the values, nor do the deluxes, as none of them have the icons.

This is what is so great about Disney...there is something for everyone (I'll skip a trip before I'll stay at a value ever again). But at least you gave it a try.

I hope your next vacation is more magical.

 

[weswife]

I can't wait!!!!! We are going this month, ahhhhhh that sounds great!

This will be our 1st visit to this resort.

 

[WantToGoNow]

We got back yesterday from our 10/21-10/31 trip. Our first 9 nights were at CSR with our final room-only night at POP. We arrived at MCO at 9:15 am and the Magical Express lines were empty - walked straight through the que and onto a bus. The bus ended up about 1/2 full before it pulled out. When we arrived at CSR, my dd27 walked straight up to the desk to check us in. By the time me and dd7 came out of the bathroom, she was checked in and at another desk buying our MNSSHP tickets (more on that later). We had requested 9B or 9A and was given a 2nd floor room in 9A which was ready. At first I thought the room was a really bad location but soon found out that it was great. It was right at the top of the stairs. We could walk down the stairs and across a parking lot to Bus Stop 4 or right down the steps to the quiet pool. The kids loved the quiet pool. We only went to the main pool one afternoon but the kids did enjoy the games/activities they were doing. My kids must have been too old for the playground because they took one look and moved on. My ds10 did enjoy the arcade for a while one evening and dd27 loved the hammocks.

We did have a little issue with mousekeeping on the first day. The room was so dusty I thought maybe no one had been in it for a while. Then while doing my bedbug check, I found a used personal item (yuck) between the bed and the wall and cotton balls between the nightstand and the bed. They were left untouched and dd27 went to the front desk the following morning and the room was spotless when we returned. We had no more issues.

We had bought tickets for the 10/27 MNSSHP when we checked in. When I pulled them out the morning of 10/27 I noticed they had been issued for 10/21 - the day we checked in. I went up to guest services and the nasty CM I got basically told me I was out of luck. I asked for a manager and she went to get one and behold it was the lady that sold the tickets to us. She fixed it immediately with an apology while the other CM stood there rolling her eyes.

Really, the only negative I had at the resort was CM related. I came across several that you could tell did not want to be there and were just plain rude. Our housekeeper however was great. The kids couldn't wait to get back to see what neat things she did with their stuffed animals and toys.

We spent the last night at POP and had no issues whatsoever. I have stayed at values before and never realized how small the rooms were until you went straight from the mod to the value.

Will I stay at CSR again? Probably not, the theming just didn't scream Disney to me - which is something I actually like and the attitudes of the rude CM's is enough to make me want to go somewhere else. My ds10 loved POP and asked that we stay there next time.

 

[Susan595]

Bus advice, I don't know how people can gripe about this at all, but maybe its the bus stop they are at, we were at #2 and it was maybe the first picked up and the first dropped off, it was nothing short of amazing. I waited NOT ONCE for a bus either coming or going, it was heavenly. We did go to bus stop 1 after breaky a few times and I did notice the amount of people and the wait but really who can't spend 5-10 minutes waiting for a bus appreciated the beauty that surrounds you. When we were there we'd grab a piece of chalk outline a hop-scotch and play that while we waited, one morning we coudn't find a rock so used a piece of her goofy bag candy, a dog bone I think it was, some little guy probably about 4 kept coming up and stealing it thinking it was actual chalk and attempt to draw with it, dd and I found this halarious. I will agree the CM's seemed rushed and not that into it when we were there too, but I didn't let it ruin anything for us, never really saw any of them again so didn't care.

 

[KatMark]

So I have just returned from my first stay at CSR, first trip for me and DH as adults (haven't been in almost 20 years) and first trip for DD3. We had an amazing time. LOVED CSR!!!!

W checked in on Sat. and prior to our trip I had requested Casista's 4 (we paid for a standard room). The CM at the front desk gave DD her first visit button, some stickers and a balloon. Then she was on the phone doing her best to get us Casista's, which she couldn't and apologized but said she gave us a great location she thought we would enjoy, and she was right. 8B, we viewed the quiet pool and the lake, we were really right in the middle of the main pool and el centro and right across from us was a laundry room and right behind us was bus stop 4. This was the PERFECT location for us and boy was I glad she couldn't get us casista's. Mousekeeping was really nice, left us a towel animal and arranged DD toys in the window, very cute. Room was always cleaned early, lots of towels. Temp in the room was always cold and perfect. The main pool was so great and DD3 went down the slide and LOVED swimming. We ate at Rix the first day, a burger for DH, a hot dog for DD and chicken fingers for me and it was good, typical fast food but just fine, no complaints. We had lunch at pepper market another day, DH had the quasadia and I had the nacho's, both were really good. The servers were really friendly and the food was fresh. We also had breakfast there one day. DH and I had the breakfast platter, eggs, hashbrown and bacon, DD had a bagel. It was nothing special, just typical breakfast food but good and all made fresh. We used the bus service and either used bus stop 4 or 1 and never waited more that 10 mins for a bus and most of the time it was no more than 5. Buses seemed to come very often even when returning to the hotel. Getting to the parks was pretty quick and the rides never took too long. We always got a seat going and only had to stand once on the way back and some nice woman put her son on her lap so DD could sit but for the most part we always had a seat.

We have no complaints. It is a beautiful resort, centrally located, good food, good mousekeeping, good transportation. We would surely stay there again and I would surely request 8B again!!!

Thanks to you all for the wonderful insight and reviews which helped us choose CSR. Great resort!!!

Hi all, just recently back from a wonderful 5 night stay at CRS. This was our first time staying here and I must say that my family and I were extremely impressed. We arrived at around 11:30 a.m. and our room was ready and waiting for us, Cabanas 8B. The only request I made was to be close to the transportation and though we always request a top floor, our ground floor was so quiet. We had a lovely view of the sandy beach and gorgeous lake. I took so many photos…most looking like postcards with the buildings reflecting in the glass-like lake.

Mousekeeping was great and the food at the Pepper Market was also. I liked the way it was set up and our servers were most helpful in making sure that we got the most from our dining plan. The Market nachos were great…we had them twice. The pineapple margarita was soooo good. The walk to El Centro was only around 5 or 6 minutes and the bus service was always fast. We were at stop #4 and never had to stand once on the bus to the parks, being dropped off 2nd almost every night.

Unfortunately, I injured my leg on our first day at Down Town Disney and ended up in a wheelchair. CSR gave me a complimentary wheelchair to use during the length of our stay which I decided to return and hobble around on my own on the third day. We admired the Dig Site at night but I was unable to go in the water. Maybe next time.

This is a beautiful resort and despite a busy conference center it seemed quiet and not overly crowded. I would definitely stay here again. Thanks so much for all the info and reviews. I just knew that I would return with nothing but positive thoughts. Oh and don’t worry about the Disney magic…it’s there.

Trip Report Oct 15-22
This was our first stay at CSR well actually our first anything in Florida let alone Disney I think I started planning and researching it to death around March, so it was a long time coming!

Flight from Detroit was great, the lineup for the ME was kinda long but that was to be expected once it got going we were in and on very quickly. Had tears in my eyes when the little video came on welcoming us from Mickey and the gang we got there the line ups weren't that long by any means, the online checkin line was longer just an fyi lol. Got up there and it was pretty rushed I must say, but ya they were busy, I think it was around 4pm this time, she talked very quickly and kept kinda skipping over the part of exactly WHERE we were located. She did finally tell me and I was disappointed I didn't get my request, she said they had nothing down about me requesting 8A or 8B, just that I requested NOT Rancho's, but she thought where we were would be fine and I would be happy. I walked away kinda grumbling to dh and he laughed at me. We got to it and we were RIGHT outside the quiet pool our balcony overlooked it Casitas 4, it was room 4227 I believe. Nice room very clean.

My only complaint would be that we got no cute towel characters not one time, and I did take the time for the mousekeeping envelopes etc, so I was very disappointed in that, because dd kept asking where they were, lol. I explained maybe the person cleaning the room didn't know, then we'd walk down the hall and people would have them in their little window on display and she'd be like hmmmmmmmm. I myself make a mean chicken out of a facecloth so I did one up one morning and put the mousekeeping envelope in its legs thinking I was funny, still nothing, c'est la vie I guess

Buses were amazing we were 2 minutes to stop 2, and I don't know if I had a horse shoe up my butt but we would walk up and the bus we wanted was always pulling up right that moment, we never waited for a bus one single time it was amazing and I was so happy with that, not that a wait would have mattered to me at all, but was nice.

We only ate at Pepper Market, and I found it just fine, the same ole got old to me but that's my own fault for being picky. I always had bbq chicken and fries, dd always had spaghetti no meat balls, one night we got a pizza to go, dh had a variety of things, the omlettes in the morning were yummy too. Great service everytime in there, no complaints.

The quiet pool outside our room was so so nice, we would start there and then go to the main pool for the music partys, then head back to our quiet one before dinner, dd loved the waterslide as did dh and myself.

As for Disney itself, eh..... it wasn't very magical to me it was super busy, not at all what the trip thingy claimed, the Monday it said either a 2 or 4 and I would honestly hate to see it on a day where they claim 8 or 9 because I"ve never seen people like that in my life, maybe its being from the country and sheltered lol. It was like salmon swimming downstream, ha ha. I am glad we went and dd got to experience it, but I don't know if we'd go again to be honest, financially its not something I'd spend money on if had to save again, however if I came into some money I would ! Anyone know any banks I can go rob ? We did HS the Sunday it was ok, she was a hair too short for the Rockin Coaster and didn't want to attempt the Terror one which she would have been a hair too short anyways for, the best part of that place was those guys that sat out on the sidewalk on main road and did their comedy routine, I got almost the whole thing on video and it still cracked me up watching it over again. Hopefully someones seen them and knows what I'm talking about, we didn't do alot at HS though, more shows than anything else.

We did MK on the Monday, probably busiest day of the week IMO, we were there at 915 and stayed for the fireworks and parade so put in a full 12+ hrs, and dh was great ! Those fireworks, wow there are NO words for them babies, just wow. We were there a long time so got through most of the things we wanted except Thunder Mountain which was the first thing I knew we'd tackle on the Thursday when we went back !

We did Epcot on Tuesday, I found this park really hard to manuveur through even with the map, we did Daisy and Stitch immediately upon arrival. Grabbed a FP for Test Track on our way to attempt to find Akershus, was a good breaky and dd loved it of course, went back did TT it was fun, we all loved it. By this time dh wanted to enjoy a beer in Germany so I sent him on his way after we did Nemo, we wanted to watch the Crush show he didn't so said cyaaaaaaaaaaa, the Crush show was probably one of the highlights of Epcot for us, it was SO funny ! Toured the aquarium after, then grabbed her Kim Impossible mission low and behold it was in Italy right beside Germany lol. Grabbed our secret mission cell phone, it took us to China I think if I remember right, it was a blast and I'd highly recommend doing this with your kids if they are into that sort of thing, all 3 of us got a kick out of it. That day was overcast and so we just skipped Soarin even and headed back to resort.

Wednesday was a stay at the resort and chill day, my feet needed this ! We hung at the pool and just relaxed, got ready and headed over to DTD we had a ressie at Raglon Road, and although I didn't love my steak it was a nice change from buffet food. The Irish dancers were amazing my dd really enjoyed that part, and I got my nephew's xmas present at the gift shop there too, they are Irish and he will love the sweater !

Thursday was our second day at MK, we had ressie at BBB for 1pm, did that ( an absolute amazing experience, totally worth the TON of money it costs lol ) did a few rides and then headed over to GF for dinner at 1900 Park Fare, that Lady Germaine is SO funny, she loved our autograph book how personalized it was but wondered why Lucifer wasn't in there and started yelling for him it was classic. Headed back to the MK for the Halloween party, this is the one night I needed dh to be cooperative and in a good mood, wasn't the case, he didn't even want to stay for the parade, and we never did do any trick or treating just once, about the only thing we did do was Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain for about the third time, met some more characters and left, wasn't worth the argument, sigh.

Friday was AK, I was pretty excited about this one, I love animals, we had ressie at TH and the first thing I did was grab a FP for the Safari, I WAS getting the hang of things near the end of the trip, too bad I didn't figure it out for that scary Monday haha. Rode the Rapids and the Yeti, went to the Bugs Life show, only character we got autograph for there though was Meeko, whom was so cute. Again dh was in a mood and not very patient we left after the 330 parade that day, didn't get to see even half the animals likely, didn't get over to the Dinoland either. If we ever go back will be without daddy trust me lol.

Next day was departure day, so did nothing except rush to airport and get on plane home

So dinners were did were Chef Mickeys for dinner ( loved ) Crystal Palace for breaky ( ok food dd didn't like the characters though ) Akershus for breaky ( good food ) Raglan Road for dinner ( ok food amazing atmosphere ) 1900 Park Fare for dinner ( ok food really sick of buffets at this point though ) and TH for breaky ( probably best breaky characters REALLY rushed through and didn't like that for dd at all, especially Daisy )

If you got through all that, congrats I would 100 % for sure stay at CSR again and would highly recommend it !

Thank you all for your reviews. I am so glad to read that overall your experiences at CSR were good ones and that you would go back. I missed not being there in September, so I am enjoying reading about your adventures at my home away from home.

We check in on Thursday...CANNOT WAIT!!!!

Now, if only I could get packing!

Have a safe journey, a wonderful stay at the CSR and a magical trip.

We're going "home" to Coronado in January, for the fourth time; we're doing the Allegedly Free Dining Plan for the first time.

My question is, do they still have microwaves available for the room? And should we put this on the reservation as a special request, or will asking at check-in be enough?

Glad to hear that you are going "home."

We got back yesterday from our 10/21-10/31 trip. Our first 9 nights were at CSR with our final room-only night at POP. We arrived at MCO at 9:15 am and the Magical Express lines were empty - walked straight through the que and onto a bus. The bus ended up about 1/2 full before it pulled out. When we arrived at CSR, my dd27 walked straight up to the desk to check us in. By the time me and dd7 came out of the bathroom, she was checked in and at another desk buying our MNSSHP tickets (more on that later). We had requested 9B or 9A and was given a 2nd floor room in 9A which was ready. At first I thought the room was a really bad location but soon found out that it was great. It was right at the top of the stairs. We could walk down the stairs and across a parking lot to Bus Stop 4 or right down the steps to the quiet pool. The kids loved the quiet pool. We only went to the main pool one afternoon but the kids did enjoy the games/activities they were doing. My kids must have been too old for the playground because they took one look and moved on. My ds10 did enjoy the arcade for a while one evening and dd27 loved the hammocks.

We did have a little issue with mousekeeping on the first day. The room was so dusty I thought maybe no one had been in it for a while. Then while doing my bedbug check, I found a used personal item (yuck) between the bed and the wall and cotton balls between the nightstand and the bed. They were left untouched and dd27 went to the front desk the following morning and the room was spotless when we returned. We had no more issues.

We had bought tickets for the 10/27 MNSSHP when we checked in. When I pulled them out the morning of 10/27 I noticed they had been issued for 10/21 - the day we checked in. I went up to guest services and the nasty CM I got basically told me I was out of luck. I asked for a manager and she went to get one and behold it was the lady that sold the tickets to us. She fixed it immediately with an apology while the other CM stood there rolling her eyes.

Really, the only negative I had at the resort was CM related. I came across several that you could tell did not want to be there and were just plain rude. Our housekeeper however was great. The kids couldn't wait to get back to see what neat things she did with their stuffed animals and toys.

We spent the last night at POP and had no issues whatsoever. I have stayed at values before and never realized how small the rooms were until you went straight from the mod to the value.

Will I stay at CSR again? Probably not, the theming just didn't scream Disney to me - which is something I actually like and the attitudes of the rude CM's is enough to make me want to go somewhere else. My ds10 loved POP and asked that we stay there next time.

Thanks for your review. It sounds that overall you had a good stay at CSR (despite the one CM). Yes, the CSR definitely does NOT scream Disney and that is why we prefer it and the deluxes over the values because we like a more "subdued" resort. But that what is so great about Disney -- something for everyone. But I'm glad the kids enjoyed the pool and your daughter enjoyed "my" hammock.

 

[magictam2]

It's a balmy 8 degrees here in wonderful Wyoming. This is the first time we will be staying at a Disney Resort. We are taking our first (and only so far) grandson (17 months). We've been to Disney World but the last one was about 15 years ago. It feels like it's the first time for all of us (DH, 2 DDs & DGS).

We have regular reservations and when I made them I requested a room close to the dig site so littel bit can run some engery off. Do I/shoul I call and make sure this request in on my reservation (I'm not seeing it on the online info). I dont' plan on checking in on line so I'm hopefully if my request isn't there that I can request it when I check in.

I'm devoring all the information I can find. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Tammie

 

[cassiopia419]

I'm planning a trip for March 8-15th, 2012. It's our first trip every to WDW and it will be myself, husband and 9-year-old son. We're still having the onsite/offsite discussion and change our minds daily (ok, hourly).

If we stay onsite, we would do the CSR because we want queen beds (we have a king at home, so queen is already small, double is just not doable as we're spoiled now).

We'll have a rental car and probably won't use the bus system. In that case, where would we want to ask for a room out of the 3 areas? We'd probably go to the Dig Site a few times, but honestly being closer to parking is a bigger priority

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This stuff is all so confusing!

 

[KatMark]

It's a balmy 8 degrees here in wonderful Wyoming. This is the first time we will be staying at a Disney Resort. We are taking our first (and only so far) grandson (17 months). We've been to Disney World but the last one was about 15 years ago. It feels like it's the first time for all of us (DH, 2 DDs & DGS).

We have regular reservations and when I made them I requested a room close to the dig site so littel bit can run some engery off. Do I/shoul I call and make sure this request in on my reservation (I'm not seeing it on the online info). I dont' plan on checking in on line so I'm hopefully if my request isn't there that I can request it when I check in.

I'm devoring all the information I can find. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Tammie

I would call and have it put on your reservation as rooms are assigned about five days out (although things can happen at check in when they will need to move you elsewhere).

I'm planning a trip for March 8-15th, 2012. It's our first trip every to WDW and it will be myself, husband and 9-year-old son. We're still having the onsite/offsite discussion and change our minds daily (ok, hourly).

If we stay onsite, we would do the CSR because we want queen beds (we have a king at home, so queen is already small, double is just not doable as we're spoiled now).

We'll have a rental car and probably won't use the bus system. In that case, where would we want to ask for a room out of the 3 areas? We'd probably go to the Dig Site a few times, but honestly being closer to parking is a bigger priority

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This stuff is all so confusing!

Parking surrounds the entire resort...so you are never far from a parking spot. For your particular situation, I would request Cabanas 8A or Ranchos 7B -- both close to the Dig Site pool (which is where the playground is located) and, if you get the Ranchos and you find it too far of a walk to the main building (food, etc.), you can drive and park your car there.

 

[*love*2*shop]

Nope...hubby used his Phone timer- we waited 26 Minutes for the busses

Took us 1 hr 10 mins to get to the MK from CSR from the time we sat down to wait until we were dropped off.....

Bus advice, I don't know how people can gripe about this at all, but maybe its the bus stop they are at, we were at #2 and it was maybe the first picked up and the first dropped off, it was nothing short of amazing. I waited NOT ONCE for a bus either coming or going, it was heavenly. We did go to bus stop 1 after breaky a few times and I did notice the amount of people and the wait but really who can't spend 5-10 minutes waiting for a bus appreciated the beauty that surrounds you. When we were there we'd grab a piece of chalk outline a hop-scotch and play that while we waited, one morning we coudn't find a rock so used a piece of her goofy bag candy, a dog bone I think it was, some little guy probably about 4 kept coming up and stealing it thinking it was actual chalk and attempt to draw with it, dd and I found this halarious. I will agree the CM's seemed rushed and not that into it when we were there too, but I didn't let it ruin anything for us, never really saw any of them again so didn't care.

 

[richkorn]

Nope...hubby used his Phone timer- we waited 26 Minutes for the busses

Took us 1 hr 10 mins to get to the MK from CSR from the time we sat down to wait until we were dropped off.....

Just that one time or every time?

 

[WantToGoNow]

I thought the bus service was great from CSR. The longest we waited for a bus was probably 5 minutes. I only stood twice during the entire trip and my kids always had a seat. One trip from the MK at closing, me, my 3 kids and 2 other people were all on the bus - I was so amazed I took a picture of it. The trips to all of the parks includiing BB seemed very short. Last trip I was at POR and those were some long bus trips. On the last day, I took the bus from MK to POP to check in for our room only night and that was a long trip as well.

 

[cheerbaybee]

Bus services is so inconsistent....but that happens at every resort. It cant just be labled as the Coronado Springs problem. I once waited 35 min at the Contemporary to go to Hollywood studios. 4 Animal Kingdom busses passed by. I just figured on of the drivers forgot to change to the right sign.

 

[maxiesmom]

Nope...hubby used his Phone timer- we waited 26 Minutes for the busses

Took us 1 hr 10 mins to get to the MK from CSR from the time we sat down to wait until we were dropped off.....

Disney aims to have a bus come every 20 minutes, so an extra 6 minute wait, while not fun, is not that horrible. Even adding that in, there is no way it would take you that long to get from CSR to the Magic Kingdom, unless the bus driver got lost or took the scenic route. Which we have had happen before, at the Beach Club.

 

[Disney Bunny]

Had a wonderful stay at CSR. Arrived at MCO after a very bumpy flight. This was the day that the sub tropical not named storm was hovering over the Orlando area dumping lots of water. We had arranged for a town car to pick us up.....we were celebrating our 30th anniversary and this was our treat to ourselves....and our driver was waiting for us in the terminal upon arrival. Our luggage showed up very quickly and off we went.

Arrived at CSR at about 10:20 and were immediately greeted by a smiling CM who escorted us to the check in area. Walked right up to be greeted by Vicky....who was wearing a tag that said "earning my ears". My first thought was great.....we have a newbie.....this is not going to be a good experience. However, she turned out to be great. She did have another nice CM watching to make sure that she hit all the points and assisted her in a couple of instances. We were given our packet and she explained several points to us....we had the DxDDP......and she gave us "Happy Anniversary" buttons as it was noted on our reservation that we were celebrating our 30th anniversary. I had not made any room requests, but the great news was that we had been assigned to Casitas 4 and our room was already available for us to use. Yay!

Our first encounter with the bus system was a little confusing, but once we figured that out we were good to go for the rest of the trip. Our room turned out to be directly across the parking lot from Bus Stop 2. Another yay!

Upon getting to our room, called our DD who was driving down from Charleston to find out when they expected to arrive so we could hook up with them for a few minutes to give them the t-shirts I had made for our granddaughter (they were staying off site). Then it was time to don the ponchos I brought from home.....those things were lifesavers on Saturday and Sunday let me tell you.....and head for Magic Kingdom.

Mousekeeping was great for our entire stay. Kept us VERY well supplied with soap, shampoo, conditioner and towels and our room was always very neat and clean. We did have a Mickey Head towel creation in our room when we arrived and some kind of little bird.

Buses were excellent for the most part going to and coming from the parks. The longest we ever waited for a bus going to the parks was 15 to 20 minutes with the average wait of about 5 minutes or so. Coming back from the parks we lucked out so many times by finding a CSR bus sitting at the loading stand or pulling up right when we got there. Our worst experience with the buses was the night we had a dinner reservation at AKL. Walked out about 9pm and the first bus to pull up was for Epcot. I knew that we could take that bus over to Epcot and get back to CSR as Illuminations was just starting and they would be running buses back and forth for awhile. Well, the driver got lost.....true story. Then he looks at us....we are the only 2 people on the bus and asks us where we are going. Excuse me? We're going where you are and that's supposed to be Epcot. Anyway, stood in a long line for a CSR bus and were among the last to board. Unfortunately some child had a little too much excitement and threw up the entire way back to the resort. So glad we were getting off at the first stop.

Had a great family vacation. Our 3 year old DGD had a great time and didn't have any more meltdowns than the adults did. She was so precious meeting the Princesses. Just melted my heart.

One of the highlights of our trip was our lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table. I love my DH dearly, but he is just not the overly demonstrative romantic type. But boy.....did he surprise me this trip. He had seen the special things you could arrange for special occasions and he had arranged for the "Crown Her A Princess" package to be delivered to me by one of the "royal footmen" during our lunch in the castle. I still have tears in my eyes thinking about it. A gold platter with greenery and roses....the roses were actually a corsage and boutinerre that we wore to dinner that night at Citricos in the Grand Floridian.....and sitting in the middle of the plate was a silk pillow with streamers and seed pearls with a beautiful rhinestone tiara resting on top. Melt....... I wore my tiara to dinner too....LOL.....and then again on the plane home. Didn't want it to get broken.

We never made it over to the Dig Site, but we did use the quiet pool and it was great......and VERY quiet as we were the only ones there. Guess we hit it just right.

I think we have definitely found our home for any future trips to Disney that don't involve taking our camper and staying at Fort Wilderness. The grounds were beautiful, the CMs great (at the resort and all the parks....we received SOOO many "Happy Anniversaries from the CMs everywhere) and the food at the food court was mostly pretty good. All in all a very magical trip.

 

[KatMark]

Had a wonderful stay at CSR. Arrived at MCO after a very bumpy flight. This was the day that the sub tropical not named storm was hovering over the Orlando area dumping lots of water. We had arranged for a town car to pick us up.....we were celebrating our 30th anniversary and this was our treat to ourselves....and our driver was waiting for us in the terminal upon arrival. Our luggage showed up very quickly and off we went.

Arrived at CSR at about 10:20 and were immediately greeted by a smiling CM who escorted us to the check in area. Walked right up to be greeted by Vicky....who was wearing a tag that said "earning my ears". My first thought was great.....we have a newbie.....this is not going to be a good experience. However, she turned out to be great. She did have another nice CM watching to make sure that she hit all the points and assisted her in a couple of instances. We were given our packet and she explained several points to us....we had the DxDDP......and she gave us "Happy Anniversary" buttons as it was noted on our reservation that we were celebrating our 30th anniversary. I had not made any room requests, but the great news was that we had been assigned to Casitas 4 and our room was already available for us to use. Yay!

Our first encounter with the bus system was a little confusing, but once we figured that out we were good to go for the rest of the trip. Our room turned out to be directly across the parking lot from Bus Stop 2. Another yay!

Upon getting to our room, called our DD who was driving down from Charleston to find out when they expected to arrive so we could hook up with them for a few minutes to give them the t-shirts I had made for our granddaughter (they were staying off site). Then it was time to don the ponchos I brought from home.....those things were lifesavers on Saturday and Sunday let me tell you.....and head for Magic Kingdom.

Mousekeeping was great for our entire stay. Kept us VERY well supplied with soap, shampoo, conditioner and towels and our room was always very neat and clean. We did have a Mickey Head towel creation in our room when we arrived and some kind of little bird.

Buses were excellent for the most part going to and coming from the parks. The longest we ever waited for a bus going to the parks was 15 to 20 minutes with the average wait of about 5 minutes or so. Coming back from the parks we lucked out so many times by finding a CSR bus sitting at the loading stand or pulling up right when we got there. Our worst experience with the buses was the night we had a dinner reservation at AKL. Walked out about 9pm and the first bus to pull up was for Epcot. I knew that we could take that bus over to Epcot and get back to CSR as Illuminations was just starting and they would be running buses back and forth for awhile. Well, the driver got lost.....true story. Then he looks at us....we are the only 2 people on the bus and asks us where we are going. Excuse me? We're going where you are and that's supposed to be Epcot. Anyway, stood in a long line for a CSR bus and were among the last to board. Unfortunately some child had a little too much excitement and threw up the entire way back to the resort. So glad we were getting off at the first stop.

Had a great family vacation. Our 3 year old DGD had a great time and didn't have any more meltdowns than the adults did. She was so precious meeting the Princesses. Just melted my heart.

One of the highlights of our trip was our lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table. I love my DH dearly, but he is just not the overly demonstrative romantic type. But boy.....did he surprise me this trip. He had seen the special things you could arrange for special occasions and he had arranged for the "Crown Her A Princess" package to be delivered to me by one of the "royal footmen" during our lunch in the castle. I still have tears in my eyes thinking about it. A gold platter with greenery and roses....the roses were actually a corsage and boutinerre that we wore to dinner that night at Citricos in the Grand Floridian.....and sitting in the middle of the plate was a silk pillow with streamers and seed pearls with a beautiful rhinestone tiara resting on top. Melt....... I wore my tiara to dinner too....LOL.....and then again on the plane home. Didn't want it to get broken.

We never made it over to the Dig Site, but we did use the quiet pool and it was great......and VERY quiet as we were the only ones there. Guess we hit it just right.

I think we have definitely found our home for any future trips to Disney that don't involve taking our camper and staying at Fort Wilderness. The grounds were beautiful, the CMs great (at the resort and all the parks....we received SOOO many "Happy Anniversaries from the CMs everywhere) and the food at the food court was mostly pretty good. All in all a very magical trip.

Now you've gone and done it...you have me in tears. What a wonderfully romantic thing for your DH to do. Tell him he gets two from me. I am so glad that you enjoyed your stay at the CSR and that you encountered friendly staff and that you got one of our favorite buildings for your stay.

 

[pandacruise32]

This is so far my favorite resort! Thanks for bringing back the memories of a Magical Weekend with my wonderful boyfriend. It was our first weekend alone and it was great! I booked through disney.com and I used a passholder discount. We got a preferred king room that was waterfront in 8B! It was quiet and close to everything. I loved walking around the lake one morning it helps clear your mind! The only thing was I wasn't really impressed with Maya Grill and the margarita I had was wayy too strong for me! After having only half of the drink I was out for the rest of the night (My boyfriend went to the first night of Nights of Joy by himself)

Will definately be going back just not sure when. I get to experience the All Star Music Resort in 20 days

Pam

 

[mom2princesses2]

We catch our plane in about 3 1/2 hrs and arrive at CSR later this morning!!!!!

WOO-HOO!!!!!

Thanks for all the great advice and can't wait to get back to everyone with my first trip report ever!

Only bad thing so far is I'm off the schedule already; I should be still sleeping but I just can't - WAY TOO EXCITED!!!!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We catch our plane in about 3 1/2 hrs and arrive at CSR later this morning!!!!!

WOO-HOO!!!!!

Thanks for all the great advice and can't wait to get back to everyone with my first trip report ever!

Only bad thing so far is I'm off the schedule already; I should be still sleeping but I just can't - WAY TOO EXCITED!!!!

Have a magical trip!