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

[DaniB]

Hey Kathy,

I would like to talk my husband into going back 2012 or 2013 with 2 friends for our kids. Making it 6 in our party.

I feel that I read somewhere that discounts (room, free dining) do not apply to the Junior Suites at CSR. Is this correct? And if so, do you happen to know why?

We really enjoyed CSR and I would love to take the kids back there. We all enjoyed Pepper Market, the hammocks, little lizards, and they would have such a blast at Dig Site!

But at $360 for late August... that just isn't going to happen. We would have to get a Value suite, or even cheaper - 2 rooms at a value.

I'm crossing my fingers that I am not remembering correctly!

 

[LDCruiser]

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Most all questions answered at present.

Looking forward each morning for further updates.

I'm sure the closer we get and the more excited we become the more question will pop up. Knowing we have the great diser's available for the questions is a great comfort.

Again, thanks all for the welcome.

Lee

 

[Susiesnowflake]

Quick little note on our recent 3 night stay. Have stayed at CSR 2-3 times before but only for a night or 2 before heading south to visit my folks. The Polynesian is where we most often spend our WDW vacations. Checked in late afternoon Jan 31 and walked right up to the desk. Had great customer service from Jennifer and Stephanie. Had requested Cabanas but were assigned to Ranchos. Stephanie checked availability in the Cabanas and was able to move us. Room was ready. Room was neat and as pretty as I remember. Requested pool towels and an extra luggage rack as soon as we moved in, and both were promptly delivered by a very kind CM. As nicely decorated as the rooms are, I do miss having a table and chairs. We make do with the desk but it isn't as convenient or roomy. Also had to put the coffee maker on the desk because wall outlets seemed to be limited. Grounds are very nice, and we especially love taking walks at night when everything is lit up. I do find that you need to beware of the CMs cruising around... they fly on those cart things!! I remember that from last time too. Spent time at the Cabana quiet pool which I read was going to be closed for renovations. It was not, and I enjoyed my time there each afternoon... with the Chilean miners and their families! It was usually just them and me. Alot of convention people would drift out around 5:00 and hang out by the marina bar near El Centro. At night, I noticed there was some partying overflow outside rooms in the Casitas. It was a bit loud.. just noisy buzz from talking, but I would not have wanted to be in that Casita building. All CM that we encountered were very, very nice. CSR is so nicely themed, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend people stay there. My heart just belongs to the Polynesian. Booked my bounceback reservation for return in Nov! We will be sure to visit CSR while there to walk around, eat and shop. It's such a lovely resort!

 

[Sobriquet]

Hi all -

Thanks for all the info and help before my trip. I'm finally getting around to posting my thoughts on our trip to Coronado. We were there in mid-December (when it was unseasonably cold), but a great visit otherwise.


We arrived at Coronado and entered the lobby that was beautifully decorated for the holidays in typical Disney style. There wasn't much of a wait to check-in, maybe a couple minutes. We got a gentleman who was very nice, but didn't seem to know much about the resort. I had noted our reservation and faxed a request for Casitas 2/3 or Cabanas 9, hoping to be close to El Centro. He said we had a room with a king bed in Casitas 4, I thought it was close enough, so I didn't mention anything. We then asked if our room was a water view room. He looked and told us that water view rooms would cost extra. We tried to get him to tell us what kind of a view we had, he had no clue – he pulled out some maps and tried to figure it out (he ended up being wrong). We asked if there were any other options, he clicked around for a minute then called up someone. He said he didn't have anything for tonight, but could move us tomorrow if we wanted. We said we'd try out the room we got. As I said, he was very kind and willing to try, I just wished he knew more and had more confidence.

We went to our room in Casitas 4, it was on the top floor (got us to exercise a little more and also we didn't have anyone making noise above us) and ended up facing the quite pool – nice! The room was pretty much what you see in the pictures posted. The bed was nice and comfortable. Everything seemed clean and in order. I liked the renovated room and the way it looked. I will comment that the room with the toilet/shower seemed to have been neglected in the renovation. The color scheme seems to be the same as the original room. Also, the grout on the tiles was colored by fading, which made it seem bad from a few feet away. The shower head was decent, better than I've had in many hotels. We never got any towel animals during our stay, but mousekeeping visited daily to tidy up. The safe in the room has a key that goes with it and is too small to store a laptop or anything like that. Our one issue was on the day we left. I got up and looked in the bathtub and saw a black layer of what I thought might have been dirt on the bottom. I turned on the shower to rinse if off, but it didn't move. I soon realized that it was probably a layer of mold. I was able to easily remove it with the wash cloth. I guess it's a good thing this occurred on our last day! Another comment on the building is that the we occasionally found the stairways to be slippery. We would always take the stairs from the top floor and sometimes, I think maybe because of the morning dew(?), they would be a little slippery, and there was nothing on them for traction. I just made sure to hold on to the handrails to ensure I didn’t slip.

I think we lucked out on the location! Even though we rented a car, we decided to use the Disney Bus - it makes the most sense and gets you closer to the park. We were very close to the 2nd stop, which is the first location for pickup and drop off. This ensured that we always got a seat on the bus in the morning, and then on our return, we'd be one of the first ones off the bus. We didn't wait more than 5 minutes for a bus to the parks (although a few times we had to run not to miss one). On the way back, sometimes we had to wait up to 10-15minutes, other times it was just a short wait. I was surprised by the number of people in Hoveround mobility scooters trying to board the bus and that the whole process wasn't a little more streamlined and efficient. Each bus can only carry two such scooters so we would sometimes leave people waiting at stop #1 because the bus' scooter capacity was full.

We ate at the Pepper Mill Café – if you've ever been to a Marche Movenpick restaurant, it's basically the same concept. You get a sheet of paper, go around and decide what you want. Order it, they make it for you on the spot and stamp your paper. Drinks are ordered from your server and sometimes they have drink specials – I had ordered some beer but then she mentioned that they had $5 Mojitos that night, so I quickly changed my mind! The food was good, and there was a lot to choose from. I will say that I was sick the next day, but my other half wasn’t. I don’t know if this was directly related, but I definitely didn’t enjoy the Animal Kingdom as much as I would have liked. We had originally thought to buy a refillable mug, but since it was cold when we were there and getting to El Centro was out of the way for us, we decided not to. On a side note about drinks – the vending machines and the soda in the gift shop are rather expensive. If you rent a car or are taking a taxi, stop somewhere along the way and pick up a few six packs of soda or something. There's a fridge in the room and it'll save you money.

 

[msushaner]

Great trip with my wife and 5 year old. Dont have any major gripes besides not getting to either any cabanas or casitas room that i asked for and also the long waits for buses like 15-20mins for most rides. It was a great trip like my last trip here which made CSR awesome but coming up heres where it ends.

We get back from DTD at 10 and were tired and wanting to go to bed. My wife goes to the bathroom and she sees a cockroach. I go in there and try to kill it. But it escapes into a small crack where it shouldnt be cracked. I try to figure out how it even squeezed in there and the pipe came out of the wall, its not caulked or sealed properly.

I call the front desk and asked to be transferred. They said pack your stuff up and someone will be there quickly to help bring you to a new room. So were happy with that. 15 mins someone comes but its the cleaning lady who said the room needed to be sprayed down. And another 15 mins goes by and were both mad the cleaning lady and us because she wants to get her job done and we want to go to bed. Its 1030 i call and they said they got the new room its right around the corner. Im not really happy with that because it sucks knowing theres cockroaches in these walls. I could be sleeping and they could be crawling on me. But its a new room but i wish they could just have someone open the room up because we could transport everything ourselves its just right around the corner.

Its 1100 no call from front desk no nothing. And my wife is mad and she calls and wants to talk to a manager. Were told theyre busy they would get to us. How hard is it to get someone to get some cards made up or even just open the darn room up so we can go to bed and slip the new keycards under the door while were sleeping. Nope that couldnt get done. 20 mins later my wife calls again and says were gonna bring our stuff to the front desk and make a scene about cockroaches but as shes saying that to the CM theres a guy here with keycards ready to transport our stuff.

On top of that they messed up the disney magical express stuff so i had to get on the phone because i never got our bus time from them. Were never going back to coronado. They blew it big time. We didnt get an apology or anything at any time. Coronado is basically a value hotel to us now. We stayed at movies and were never going back. Same thing with CSR. Well just pay for contemporary or Polynesian from now on and go to disney every other year instead of every year.

 

[Simba22]

Great trip with my wife and 5 year old. Dont have any major gripes besides not getting to either any cabanas or casitas room that i asked for and also the long waits for buses like 15-20mins for most rides. It was a great trip like my last trip here which made CSR awesome but coming up heres where it ends.

We get back from DTD at 10 and were tired and wanting to go to bed. My wife goes to the bathroom and she sees a cockroach. I go in there and try to kill it. But it escapes into a small crack where it shouldnt be cracked. I try to figure out how it even squeezed in there and the pipe came out of the wall, its not caulked or sealed properly.

I call the front desk and asked to be transferred. They said pack your stuff up and someone will be there quickly to help bring you to a new room. So were happy with that. 15 mins someone comes but its the cleaning lady who said the room needed to be sprayed down. And another 15 mins goes by and were both mad the cleaning lady and us because she wants to get her job done and we want to go to bed. Its 1030 i call and they said they got the new room its right around the corner. Im not really happy with that because it sucks knowing theres cockroaches in these walls. I could be sleeping and they could be crawling on me. But its a new room but i wish they could just have someone open the room up because we could transport everything ourselves its just right around the corner.

Its 1100 no call from front desk no nothing. And my wife is mad and she calls and wants to talk to a manager. Were told theyre busy they would get to us. How hard is it to get someone to get some cards made up or even just open the darn room up so we can go to bed and slip the new keycards under the door while were sleeping. Nope that couldnt get done. 20 mins later my wife calls again and says were gonna bring our stuff to the front desk and make a scene about cockroaches but as shes saying that to the CM theres a guy here with keycards ready to transport our stuff.

On top of that they messed up the disney magical express stuff so i had to get on the phone because i never got our bus time from them. Were never going back to coronado. They blew it big time. We didnt get an apology or anything at any time. Coronado is basically a value hotel to us now. We stayed at movies and were never going back. Same thing with CSR. Well just pay for contemporary or Polynesian from now on and go to disney every other year instead of every year.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I think the thing most people need to realize is that anywhere there is food and dark places to hide, there will be bugs and other pests. Of course, finding one in my room would gross me out but would moving to even another building make it any better? If they're in one building, they're in them all and that's true for any restaurant or hotel. Just because you don't ever see them, doesn't mean they aren't there. While I agree that it could have been handled better by the staff, it seems that "fast service" seems to be the complaint among many travelers both to Disney and otherwise. I blame it on job cuts caused by the recession...people weren't traveling as much so there wasn't a need for so many associates and employees...the problem arises when you have 5 people that need assistance and only one person to handle it all.

Sorry again that you had such a bad experience

 

[msushaner]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I think the thing most people need to realize is that anywhere there is food and dark places to hide, there will be bugs and other pests. Of course, finding one in my room would gross me out but would moving to even another building make it any better? If they're in one building, they're in them all and that's true for any restaurant or hotel. Just because you don't ever see them, doesn't mean they aren't there. While I agree that it could have been handled better by the staff, it seems that "fast service" seems to be the complaint among many travelers both to Disney and otherwise. I blame it on job cuts caused by the recession...people weren't traveling as much so there wasn't a need for so many associates and employees...the problem arises when you have 5 people that need assistance and only one person to handle it all.

Sorry again that you had such a bad experience

Yeah i know that the cockroaches would probably be in another building but my mentality at that time was that, this room is just opposite my old room. And knowing theres cockroaches just didnt help get a good night of rest. We love disney and well be back but just not at CSR. CSR was magical on our honeymoon, and pretty great until the cockroach happened. Another reason too it was 1000 at night when this all started so there wasnt as many people there. I guess i would think there would be a protocol for this stuff because im sure they know they have cockroaches because they instantly said well get you a new room.

 

[KatMark]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I think the thing most people need to realize is that anywhere there is food and dark places to hide, there will be bugs and other pests. Of course, finding one in my room would gross me out but would moving to even another building make it any better? If they're in one building, they're in them all and that's true for any restaurant or hotel. Just because you don't ever see them, doesn't mean they aren't there. While I agree that it could have been handled better by the staff, it seems that "fast service" seems to be the complaint among many travelers both to Disney and otherwise. I blame it on job cuts caused by the recession...people weren't traveling as much so there wasn't a need for so many associates and employees...the problem arises when you have 5 people that need assistance and only one person to handle it all.

Sorry again that you had such a bad experience

And calling the front desk, the guest is NOT actually reaching the front desk. They are getting the call center (you never see the CM's at the front desk on the phone) and they answer CSR as they see that the call is going to the CSR. This is why I ALWAYS stress to people that they NOT call, but walk to the front desk.

To the OP, I am sorry your stay did not live up to your expectations, but do hope that the rest of your trip was wonderful.

 

[msushaner]

And calling the front desk, the guest is NOT actually reaching the front desk. They are getting the call center (you never see the CM's at the front desk on the phone) and they answer CSR as they see that the call is going to the CSR. This is why I ALWAYS stress to people that they NOT call, but walk to the front desk.

To the OP, I am sorry your stay did not live up to your expectations, but do hope that the rest of your trip was wonderful.

Gosh i wish i wouldve let me wife march the front desk that wouldve been alot better. But after a few days of replies my post, i will miss this thread looking at it, as it always got me excited for disney.

 

[saskdw]

On top of that they messed up the disney magical express stuff so i had to get on the phone because i never got our bus time from them. Were never going back to coronado. They blew it big time. We didnt get an apology or anything at any time. Coronado is basically a value hotel to us now. We stayed at movies and were never going back. Same thing with CSR. Well just pay for contemporary or Polynesian from now on and go to disney every other year instead of every year.

You realise of course Disney owns all the hotels and they get your money no matter which one you stay at? As long as you're going back they haven't blowen anything.

I can't help but wonder if the expectations were a little high on how quickly this room change would happen. This is a 2000 plus room resort and at that time of night they probably have only a 1/2 dozen bell services staff on duty. I'm not sure a bug in the room would be a 5 star alarm on their list of priorities. My thinking is that if they got you into a new room in 1.5 hrs at that time of night that was pretty good service.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Well just pay for contemporary or Polynesian from now on and go to disney every other year instead of every year.

I'm sorry about the roaches and the way it was handled. My story will not help, I fear. We've stayed at most resorts multiple times since our first visit in 1981 - the only time we saw roaches (other than in the parks) was at the Polynesian. Three roaches crawling up the wall next to the bed. With the resort full, we changed rooms the next day...walking to the room we soon realized the new room was directly above the previous room. Did not feel great about that, did call the front desk (this was back in the days when calls from the room went to the front desk) and a manager called us right back. He offered to change the room again, but we stayed where we were b/c we had 2 ngts left of a 3 ngt stay and had a lost a day b/c we had no luggage or room all day. Did not see anymore roaches, but truly, it can happen at any resort. We had 2 huge Palmetto bugs (look like a giant roach) in our 10th floor CR room. The things fly, so easy to get in. My then 13 yr old took care of the Palmetto's for us - I hate bugs!

The Poly manager was terrific (I was laughing on the phone as we talked about the chance of getting a room directly above the room we moved from) - when we returned from the MK later that evening, there was a very nice goodie basket from Mickey with his apology and wishes for a great rest of our stay. I don't think they send those like they did years ago though.

Glad the rest of your trip was enjoyable!!

 

[KatMark]

Hey Kathy,

I would like to talk my husband into going back 2012 or 2013 with 2 friends for our kids. Making it 6 in our party.

I feel that I read somewhere that discounts (room, free dining) do not apply to the Junior Suites at CSR. Is this correct? And if so, do you happen to know why?

We really enjoyed CSR and I would love to take the kids back there. We all enjoyed Pepper Market, the hammocks, little lizards, and they would have such a blast at Dig Site!

But at $360 for late August... that just isn't going to happen. We would have to get a Value suite, or even cheaper - 2 rooms at a value.

I'm crossing my fingers that I am not remembering correctly!

I have never heard that you could not get free dining for the junior suites (I'm not sure about the room discounts, but I don't see why you wouldn't...you are still paying a hefty sum for those rooms). Let me try to contact a friend about it and see if he knows. It may take a day or two as my brother is having major surgery tomorrow and I won't be on as I'll be at the hospital.

 

[DaniB]

I have never heard that you could not get free dining for the junior suites (I'm not sure about the room discounts, but I don't see why you wouldn't...you are still paying a hefty sum for those rooms). Let me try to contact a friend about it and see if he knows. It may take a day or two as my brother is having major surgery tomorrow and I won't be on as I'll be at the hospital.

Thanks, much appreciated.

I hope all goes well with your brother surgery tomorrow!

 

[KatMark]

Quick little note on our recent 3 night stay. Have stayed at CSR 2-3 times before but only for a night or 2 before heading south to visit my folks. The Polynesian is where we most often spend our WDW vacations. Checked in late afternoon Jan 31 and walked right up to the desk. Had great customer service from Jennifer and Stephanie. Had requested Cabanas but were assigned to Ranchos. Stephanie checked availability in the Cabanas and was able to move us. Room was ready. Room was neat and as pretty as I remember. Requested pool towels and an extra luggage rack as soon as we moved in, and both were promptly delivered by a very kind CM. As nicely decorated as the rooms are, I do miss having a table and chairs. We make do with the desk but it isn't as convenient or roomy. Also had to put the coffee maker on the desk because wall outlets seemed to be limited. Grounds are very nice, and we especially love taking walks at night when everything is lit up. I do find that you need to beware of the CMs cruising around... they fly on those cart things!! I remember that from last time too. Spent time at the Cabana quiet pool which I read was going to be closed for renovations. It was not, and I enjoyed my time there each afternoon... with the Chilean miners and their families! It was usually just them and me. Alot of convention people would drift out around 5:00 and hang out by the marina bar near El Centro. At night, I noticed there was some partying overflow outside rooms in the Casitas. It was a bit loud.. just noisy buzz from talking, but I would not have wanted to be in that Casita building. All CM that we encountered were very, very nice. CSR is so nicely themed, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend people stay there. My heart just belongs to the Polynesian. Booked my bounceback reservation for return in Nov! We will be sure to visit CSR while there to walk around, eat and shop. It's such a lovely resort!

Thanks for your review. I am glad you enjoyed your stay at the CSR and that you will be visiting again in November. We too love the Poly and hope you have a wonderful stay.

Hi all -

Thanks for all the info and help before my trip. I'm finally getting around to posting my thoughts on our trip to Coronado. We were there in mid-December (when it was unseasonably cold), but a great visit otherwise.


We arrived at Coronado and entered the lobby that was beautifully decorated for the holidays in typical Disney style. There wasn't much of a wait to check-in, maybe a couple minutes. We got a gentleman who was very nice, but didn't seem to know much about the resort. I had noted our reservation and faxed a request for Casitas 2/3 or Cabanas 9, hoping to be close to El Centro. He said we had a room with a king bed in Casitas 4, I thought it was close enough, so I didn't mention anything. We then asked if our room was a water view room. He looked and told us that water view rooms would cost extra. We tried to get him to tell us what kind of a view we had, he had no clue – he pulled out some maps and tried to figure it out (he ended up being wrong). We asked if there were any other options, he clicked around for a minute then called up someone. He said he didn't have anything for tonight, but could move us tomorrow if we wanted. We said we'd try out the room we got. As I said, he was very kind and willing to try, I just wished he knew more and had more confidence.

We went to our room in Casitas 4, it was on the top floor (got us to exercise a little more and also we didn't have anyone making noise above us) and ended up facing the quite pool – nice! The room was pretty much what you see in the pictures posted. The bed was nice and comfortable. Everything seemed clean and in order. I liked the renovated room and the way it looked. I will comment that the room with the toilet/shower seemed to have been neglected in the renovation. The color scheme seems to be the same as the original room. Also, the grout on the tiles was colored by fading, which made it seem bad from a few feet away. The shower head was decent, better than I've had in many hotels. We never got any towel animals during our stay, but mousekeeping visited daily to tidy up. The safe in the room has a key that goes with it and is too small to store a laptop or anything like that. Our one issue was on the day we left. I got up and looked in the bathtub and saw a black layer of what I thought might have been dirt on the bottom. I turned on the shower to rinse if off, but it didn't move. I soon realized that it was probably a layer of mold. I was able to easily remove it with the wash cloth. I guess it's a good thing this occurred on our last day! Another comment on the building is that the we occasionally found the stairways to be slippery. We would always take the stairs from the top floor and sometimes, I think maybe because of the morning dew(?), they would be a little slippery, and there was nothing on them for traction. I just made sure to hold on to the handrails to ensure I didn’t slip.

I think we lucked out on the location! Even though we rented a car, we decided to use the Disney Bus - it makes the most sense and gets you closer to the park. We were very close to the 2nd stop, which is the first location for pickup and drop off. This ensured that we always got a seat on the bus in the morning, and then on our return, we'd be one of the first ones off the bus. We didn't wait more than 5 minutes for a bus to the parks (although a few times we had to run not to miss one). On the way back, sometimes we had to wait up to 10-15minutes, other times it was just a short wait. I was surprised by the number of people in Hoveround mobility scooters trying to board the bus and that the whole process wasn't a little more streamlined and efficient. Each bus can only carry two such scooters so we would sometimes leave people waiting at stop #1 because the bus' scooter capacity was full.

We ate at the Pepper Mill Café – if you've ever been to a Marche Movenpick restaurant, it's basically the same concept. You get a sheet of paper, go around and decide what you want. Order it, they make it for you on the spot and stamp your paper. Drinks are ordered from your server and sometimes they have drink specials – I had ordered some beer but then she mentioned that they had $5 Mojitos that night, so I quickly changed my mind! The food was good, and there was a lot to choose from. I will say that I was sick the next day, but my other half wasn’t. I don’t know if this was directly related, but I definitely didn’t enjoy the Animal Kingdom as much as I would have liked. We had originally thought to buy a refillable mug, but since it was cold when we were there and getting to El Centro was out of the way for us, we decided not to. On a side note about drinks – the vending machines and the soda in the gift shop are rather expensive. If you rent a car or are taking a taxi, stop somewhere along the way and pick up a few six packs of soda or something. There's a fridge in the room and it'll save you money.

Thanks for your detailed review. I'm glad you had a great visit (sorry about the weather though).

 

[lovethattink]

We get back from DTD at 10 and were tired and wanting to go to bed. My wife goes to the bathroom and she sees a cockroach. I go in there and try to kill it. But it escapes into a small crack where it shouldnt be cracked. I try to figure out how it even squeezed in there and the pipe came out of the wall, its not caulked or sealed properly.

I'm sorry you had a cockroach in your room. That was the biggest thing to adjust to when we moved to Florida. Florida is very buggy. You probably either encountered a scarab beetle or a palmetto bug. They can squeeze into places that would amaze you. It really has nothing to do with cleanliness here in Florida, but more to do with palm trees. The more palms at a place the more of these cockroaches.

Any time we bring a case of soda, we check the box. Once we brought in a palmetto bug into the house because it was in the case of soda. I don't care how pretty of name they give that bug, it is a giant cockroach, none the less!

The doors in resort rooms have enough of a crack that those roaches can squeeze through. They don't have to come in the room from a crack in the wall. Not to say that excuses the fact that the wall and pipe in your room wasn't sealed properly. Just to say they can enter the room from a variety of ways. I have even seen bugs and other critters crawl (a skink, anole, frog, insects) into people's beach bags at the water parks, pools, and parked strollers at the parks. Which is why my beach bag has a zipper and closes completely.

 

[lovethattink]

I have never heard that you could not get free dining for the junior suites (I'm not sure about the room discounts, but I don't see why you wouldn't...you are still paying a hefty sum for those rooms). Let me try to contact a friend about it and see if he knows. It may take a day or two as my brother is having major surgery tomorrow and I won't be on as I'll be at the hospital.

Best wishes to you and your brother for a successful surgery and quick recovery!

Another comment on the building is that the we occasionally found the stairways to be slippery. We would always take the stairs from the top floor and sometimes, I think maybe because of the morning dew(?), they would be a little slippery, and there was nothing on them for traction. I just made sure to hold on to the handrails to ensure I didn’t slip.

Great review, thanks. I'm so glad you mentioned about the steps. Both of my kids have balance issues and slippery steps would present a challenge. I wasn't going to call Disney disability to request first floor or near elevator this trip, but I think I will. Part of my youngest son's physical therapy is learning to go down steps, I thought it would be a good opportunity to practice on our trip, but not if they are slippery.

Quick little note on our recent 3 night stay. Have stayed at CSR 2-3 times before but only for a night or 2 before heading south to visit my folks. The Polynesian is where we most often spend our WDW vacations. Checked in late afternoon Jan 31 and walked right up to the desk. Had great customer service from Jennifer and Stephanie. Had requested Cabanas but were assigned to Ranchos. Stephanie checked availability in the Cabanas and was able to move us. Room was ready. Room was neat and as pretty as I remember. Requested pool towels and an extra luggage rack as soon as we moved in, and both were promptly delivered by a very kind CM. As nicely decorated as the rooms are, I do miss having a table and chairs. We make do with the desk but it isn't as convenient or roomy. Also had to put the coffee maker on the desk because wall outlets seemed to be limited. Grounds are very nice, and we especially love taking walks at night when everything is lit up. I do find that you need to beware of the CMs cruising around... they fly on those cart things!! I remember that from last time too. Spent time at the Cabana quiet pool which I read was going to be closed for renovations. It was not, and I enjoyed my time there each afternoon... with the Chilean miners and their families! It was usually just them and me. Alot of convention people would drift out around 5:00 and hang out by the marina bar near El Centro. At night, I noticed there was some partying overflow outside rooms in the Casitas. It was a bit loud.. just noisy buzz from talking, but I would not have wanted to be in that Casita building. All CM that we encountered were very, very nice. CSR is so nicely themed, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend people stay there. My heart just belongs to the Polynesian. Booked my bounceback reservation for return in Nov! We will be sure to visit CSR while there to walk around, eat and shop. It's such a lovely resort!

Oh wow! What a special trip to share with the Chilean miners!

 

[Turk February]

Just back from a quick 2 night stay at CSR. It was our first stay there and I wanted to give everyone a quick review because reviews always help me on this board.

Overall, my wife and I really liked the resort. We reserved a preferred king room, and we were placed on the 2nd floor of Casitas 1. We waited about 5 minutes at check-in and everything went very smoothly. For this trip I did not do online check-in and I did not make any room requests. I had ordered flowers from ProFlowers.com to be delivered for Valentine's Day and the box was waiting for me in the room.

The room was very nice, I love the refurb they did here and the decor was a big selling point in choosing the resort. One thing that really surprised me was that our room did not have the double wooden sliding doors separating the room from the bathroom like I had seen in all the pictures. We had a regular door and a large closet instead. The vanity was also the length of the bathroom and had room for 2 sinks. Not complaining, just observing.

The first thing I had to do after checking in was return our rental car to Hilton near DTD. I took the bus back and it pulled up as I arrived at the bus stop. The ride took 20 minutes to get to stop #1, which was the first stop it made at the resort.

That night, we took the bus to DTD at around 7PM. We waited at bus stop #2 for 10 minutes for the bus, and it was a 25 minute ride from stop #2 to DTD. The ride back we waited for about 5 minutes and the ride was 20 minutes.

On Sunday we went to MK twice. In the morning, the crowds at stop #1 were huge. We waited 15 minutes for a MK bus, and it took us 10 minutes to get to MK from stop #1. This was the only time we had to stand, the bus was packed.

The trip back, and then the round-trip we took later that night we had minimal waits at CSR and MK. The bus service was fine aside from the morning MK bus.

We ate breakfast and lunch at the Pepper Market, which we really liked. Personally, I've always felt that Disney gives you very generous portions and my egg burrito for breakfast was huge, and my steak burrito in the afternoon was almost unwrappable. Both meals were delicious and I had no issues with Pepper Market.

All the CM's at the resort were very friendly and always had a smile on their face.

Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to visit the pool area

We stayed at POFQ for our last trip, so this resort was definitely way bigger compared to that. Personally, I like the size of FQ much better, and I'm glad I reserved a preferred room. The layout and finding our room was a tad tricky at first, but we had no problems after initially finding it.

We saw an armadillo! That was awesome.

Overall, I thought the resort was very pretty, the room was great, bed was very comfortable, and the buses were adequate. As a matter of personal preference, I would probably choose POFQ or a new resort we haven't stayed at before returning here. However, I definitely recommend it and I would have no issue staying here again.

 

[KatMark]

Just back from a quick 2 night stay at CSR. It was our first stay there and I wanted to give everyone a quick review because reviews always help me on this board.

Overall, my wife and I really liked the resort. We reserved a preferred king room, and we were placed on the 2nd floor of Casitas 1. We waited about 5 minutes at check-in and everything went very smoothly. For this trip I did not do online check-in and I did not make any room requests. I had ordered flowers from ProFlowers.com to be delivered for Valentine's Day and the box was waiting for me in the room.

The room was very nice, I love the refurb they did here and the decor was a big selling point in choosing the resort. One thing that really surprised me was that our room did not have the double wooden sliding doors separating the room from the bathroom like I had seen in all the pictures. We had a regular door and a large closet instead. The vanity was also the length of the bathroom and had room for 2 sinks. Not complaining, just observing.

The first thing I had to do after checking in was return our rental car to Hilton near DTD. I took the bus back and it pulled up as I arrived at the bus stop. The ride took 20 minutes to get to stop #1, which was the first stop it made at the resort.

That night, we took the bus to DTD at around 7PM. We waited at bus stop #2 for 10 minutes for the bus, and it was a 25 minute ride from stop #2 to DTD. The ride back we waited for about 5 minutes and the ride was 20 minutes.

On Sunday we went to MK twice. In the morning, the crowds at stop #1 were huge. We waited 15 minutes for a MK bus, and it took us 10 minutes to get to MK from stop #1. This was the only time we had to stand, the bus was packed.

The trip back, and then the round-trip we took later that night we had minimal waits at CSR and MK. The bus service was fine aside from the morning MK bus.

We ate breakfast and lunch at the Pepper Market, which we really liked. Personally, I've always felt that Disney gives you very generous portions and my egg burrito for breakfast was huge, and my steak burrito in the afternoon was almost unwrappable. Both meals were delicious and I had no issues with Pepper Market.

All the CM's at the resort were very friendly and always had a smile on their face.

Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to visit the pool area

We stayed at POFQ for our last trip, so this resort was definitely way bigger compared to that. Personally, I like the size of FQ much better, and I'm glad I reserved a preferred room. The layout and finding our room was a tad tricky at first, but we had no problems after initially finding it.

We saw an armadillo! That was awesome.

Overall, I thought the resort was very pretty, the room was great, bed was very comfortable, and the buses were adequate. As a matter of personal preference, I would probably choose POFQ or a new resort we haven't stayed at before returning here. However, I definitely recommend it and I would have no issue staying here again.

Thanks so much for the review. That is odd about your room and the sliding doors. I wonder if this is because these rooms are used more for "convention" guests. After nine stays at the CSR, Casitas 1 is the ONLY Casitas building we've not been in.

How cool that you saw an armadillo. We've seen bunnies, cats, lizards and alligators, but never an armadillo.

 

[DaniB]

How cool that you saw an armadillo. We've seen bunnies, cats, lizards and alligators, but never an armadillo.

I feel so jypped. I wanted to see an alligator and armadillo, and I even heard of a small wildcat (bobtail?) seen around CSR before our trip!

(sigh) I saw lots of turtles and fish in the lake... cute tiny lizards (what are those??) but that's it.

 

[KatMark]

I feel so jypped. I wanted to see an alligator and armadillo, and I even heard of a small wildcat (bobtail?) seen around CSR before our trip!

(sigh) I saw lots of turtles and fish in the lake... cute tiny lizards (what are those??) but that's it.

I forgot about the turtles. Aren't they just adorable? We saw them "sunning" in the creek on the bridge from Casitas to Ranchos.

Those little lizards are called chameleons I believe.