Tips for staying at Coronado Springs?

[Chernabog]

We have a Grand Gatherings trip coming up in December and we are staying at Coronado Springs. There will be four children, ages 6 and under, and a grandparent who does not do well with steps. While we will be at the parks, etc., most of the time, any helpful tips for making our stay at this resort an enjoyable one, would be appreciated.

The adults plan to go out one or two nights in one of the bars at the resort (since PI will be closed, unbelievable) and plan to hit the main pool at least once.

Thanks in advance!

[kcarts]

I've never stayed there but have looked into staying there. The thing that turned me off to CS was the size of it. It's simliar to Caribbean Beach. Several bus stops. You may wait a while for a bus to the parks. That's about all I can offer. And if the adults want to head to a bar or two, try the Boardwalk. It's got a couple of different places (dueling piano bar, sports bar, dance hall).

[HSolo29]

...and a grandparent who does not do well with steps.

I don't know if this has any relation, but the resort is spread out and depending on what area you are staying at, you could be looking at a decent walk(up to 20 min) to get to the main building for food and the gift shop. If that becomes an issue, it may be a good idea to request a room closer to the lobby to cut back on the amount of walking. I'm not sure if they still do this, but another option is to hitch a ride with a CM on one of the golf carts when they come around. When we were there last time, a few of them came by and asked if we needed a lift. We never really took them up on it, but that could come in handy for families with small children or the elderly.

This isn't really a tip, but it goes along with the idea of the resort being so spread out. At night, the grounds are beautiful. It's very quiet and you have a heightened sense of privacy. This is one of the things that we really enjoy about this resort and it has us coming back year after year.

[Esmeralda]

Has anyone stayed at Coronado Springs during the Christmas season? Reports on decorations would be much appreciated!

Also, any favorites between the Casitas, Ranchos and Cabanas?

[Jacca5660]

Has anyone stayed at Coronado Springs during the Christmas season? Reports on decorations would be much appreciated!

Also, any favorites between the Casitas, Ranchos and Cabanas?

Never have been there during Christmas.

I never been in one of the Ranchos. The Cabanas are wonderful, the Casitas where a good walk from the food court. Also the main pool is a 24 hour pool. The food court is really GREAT!! We had our boys there when they were 10 and 11 and the food court really made a difference with them!

[Pluto23]

Do you have a car?? We did, and I always drove back to the main lobby & food areas. It can be a REAL long walk, but that is true at all of the moderates & deluxe resorts. Nice rooms, good sized, great pool. We asked for a location that was close to the parking lot - that way our longest walk was to the car.

Food court is ok, but a bit strange. You walk thru & have your food served to you, but a waiter takes your drink order. Very odd, but they did have a neat variety of food.

[Polynesian Princess]

Coronado Springs is one of our favorite resorts (can't decide between it and the Polynesian)! We've stayed in the Casitas. All the sections are really nice, but I think our favorite was the Ranchos. For your mother, I would explain that she has a hard time getting around and request a room on the ground floor, close to a bus stop. Typically this would mean a standard room rather than a water view room.

While the resort is big, they have the buses set up so that you can use them to get around the resort. When the parks are open, you can ride any park bus to get from your room to the front of the hotel. The DTD buses ride in the opposite direction, so you can ride a DTD bus to get from the front of the hotel back to your room. The buses here are the best we've had anywhere. Coronado Springs is basically in the middle of the parks, so it's not a long ride to anywhere - most hotels are close to one and long ride to at least one park.

[joeyflds]

use the internal transportation....resort is very big.

[boilerbabe]

Coronado is our fav. moderate resort. I've stayed there twice with the last stay in '05 when we ran the 1/2 marathon. The Christmas decorations were still up and they were beautiful. You can always request to stay near the main lobby so you don't have such a long walk to the food court area. We loved Coronado's food court! We found it to be better than the other moderate resorts, everything is not fast food. We remember the food being very good. We would stay here again, the resort grounds are beautiful!

[secondstar]

It is a huge resort, but it is a wonderful moderate resort. We've stayed at both the Ranchos and Casitas. The Ranchos were very far away from the main building. Lago Dorigo, the huge lake, is wonderful. You can take watercraft out for a spin. The Pepper Market is my favorite morning food court of all the resorts where we've stayed. It has a convention center, which can be a turn off if you don't want "business workers" interfering with your Disney-induced enjoyment.

1.) I would recommend staying at the Casitas, preferably close to the main lobby. (I think it's called el Centro.)
2.) I would make priority seating arrangements for the Maya Grill for one dinner.
3.) Definitely spend some time at the Dig Site, their fabulous pool complex.
4.) Learn the bus stops. (I think there are four.) Make sure you get off as close to your room as possible.

[sherabby]

We paid for a preferred room or technically I should say waterview room. If we want our room to be close to the main pool what section should we put a room request in for? I know you don't always get those requests but it is worth a try! We've stayed at CBR three time in 2 years and wanted to try something new this year. We've also done POFQ. Is the water slide at CSR comparable in depth to the one at CBR?
My son could handle the one at POFQ but couldn't do CBR since the water was deeper.

[Jacca5660]

Try the Cabanas.

[Esmeralda]

Wow, so many tips. Thanks all!

Has anyone been recently? I've heard rumors that the room decor has changed. Are each of the villages still different? Pictures would be especially nice!

[Chernabog]

We loved it & the decor was great for Christmas. We stayed kinda far from the main bldg, I forget which section, but we had a car so it was not an issue. The food court had very good food, better than usual. We ate b-fast there most days. Very friendly staff too, even for WDW. We did not have the time for the Maya Grill or the dig site, unfortunately! It is a very good location too, it is very near three of the parks & DD, and not far from MK. We would go back anytime.

[rdeacon]

I've stayed there a few times. Its not my fav but its not the worst either . My recommendation is for any moderate at they are general large and spread out. I find it annoying to take bus to the food court, I always stay at near the main building. This keeps your walk for food and the buses short.

Here is a PDF Map of Coronado_Springs

I would ask for buildings: Cabanas 9E or 9D or Casitas Building 1

Rich