Disney's CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT Information & Questions

[MiraclesTakeTime]

Can we do a carryout order and eat at the tables around the lake? Or should I make reservations?

 

[Jedimike]

Hi DIS friends,

My family of four are planning to make a return to WDW this June (we were there in 2020 from March 7 to 14 last year, right before they closed down), and looking for some advice on where to stay, since half of the resorts are still closed. We currently have a week scheduled in the middle of June in a standard room in the Gran Destino Tower w/ the Passholder discount. The rooms, resort and especially the tower look spectacular!!! The last time we stayed there was about 5 years ago before the renovation, in one of the "business, club level -light" rooms, so it's been a while. We are driving from Texas, and plan to drive to Disney Springs, Animal Kington and Disney Hollywood studios, and probably take a mini-van or bus to Magic Kingdom and Epcot (because I want to drink around the world and not be responsible for driving back to the resort).

We are seasoned pros, and usually like to stay at BC or YC, because we just absolutely love strolling in and out of Epcot, especially during the winter months (and more recently, walking to DHS for all the expanded content). During the current environment, with limited hours, limited restaurants, and limited attractions, I'm wondering what your advice might be on keeping our room in the Gran Destino Tower, vs paying about 25% more to stay in the Swan or Dolphin, and be within walking range of Epcot and the Boardwalk? Is it true what they say about the Tower rooms, are they really nice?

Also, for any prognosticators in the group, when do you think Toledo will open up? Based on the current Covid trends and the current vaccination rates, I'm really starting to get my hopes up that things are significantly different in June, than they are now!!!

 

[Leigh L]

Can we do a carryout order and eat at the tables around the lake? Or should I make reservations?

You can absolutely do this! On our last stay at CSR, we did a lunch takeout at Rix and brought it outside to eat at the tables just outside the restaurant overlooking the lake.

 

[MiraclesTakeTime]

You can absolutely do this! On our last stay at CSR, we did a lunch takeout at Rix and brought it outside to eat at the tables just outside the restaurant overlooking the lake.

Fantastic! Thank you so much!

 

[sara_s]

Here now - got an upgrade to the tower. I had booked standard king about 2 weeks ago. We like the tower. Wish people would respect the elevator space a bit more but what are ya gonna do?

Seems busier than it was even in November. Maybe due to moving people away from Casitas? Haven’t had a proper walk around since we got in yesterday. Will report back with anything interesting.

 

[MiraclesTakeTime]

Here now - got an upgrade to the tower. I had booked standard king about 2 weeks ago. We like the tower. Wish people would respect the elevator space a bit more but what are ya gonna do?

Seems busier than it was even in November. Maybe due to moving people away from Casitas? Haven’t had a proper walk around since we got in yesterday. Will report back with anything interesting.

Wow! That's fantastic!

 

[bizeemom4]

Hi DIS friends,

My family of four are planning to make a return to WDW this June (we were there in 2020 from March 7 to 14 last year, right before they closed down), and looking for some advice on where to stay, since half of the resorts are still closed. We currently have a week scheduled in the middle of June in a standard room in the Gran Destino Tower w/ the Passholder discount. The rooms, resort and especially the tower look spectacular!!! The last time we stayed there was about 5 years ago before the renovation, in one of the "business, club level -light" rooms, so it's been a while. We are driving from Texas, and plan to drive to Disney Springs, Animal Kington and Disney Hollywood studios, and probably take a mini-van or bus to Magic Kingdom and Epcot (because I want to drink around the world and not be responsible for driving back to the resort).

We are seasoned pros, and usually like to stay at BC or YC, because we just absolutely love strolling in and out of Epcot, especially during the winter months (and more recently, walking to DHS for all the expanded content). During the current environment, with limited hours, limited restaurants, and limited attractions, I'm wondering what your advice might be on keeping our room in the Gran Destino Tower, vs paying about 25% more to stay in the Swan or Dolphin, and be within walking range of Epcot and the Boardwalk? Is it true what they say about the Tower rooms, are they really nice?

Also, for any prognosticators in the group, when do you think Toledo will open up? Based on the current Covid trends and the current vaccination rates, I'm really starting to get my hopes up that things are significantly different in June, than they are now!!!

Have you checked the Swolphin AP rates? They are cheaper than Coronado's AP rates. I'm staying there next month for $169 plus the resort fee and tax. Mid-June rates (6/13-19 just to grab dates) WITH RESORT FEE AND TAX at Dolphin is $1,559 all in and CSR tower standard view with tax is $1566. If you need magical express, the dolphin would be about $150 more with taxi or uber charges.

 

[Jedimike]

Have you checked the Swolphin AP rates? They are cheaper than Coronado's AP rates. I'm staying there next month for $169 plus the resort fee and tax. Mid-June rates (6/13-19 just to grab dates) WITH RESORT FEE AND TAX at Dolphin is $1,559 all in and CSR tower standard view with tax is $1566. If you need magical express, the dolphin would be about $150 more with taxi or uber charges.

Crazy, I did this last night and it was $500 more expensive at Swan....and you're right, now it is $6.00 cheaper at Swan -- I'm driving, so no MDE needed.... Swan is a better deal, right? The location for sure, but the rooms are better than CSR tower rooms?

 

[bizeemom4]

The room that I had in the tower was beautiful (brand new when I stayed) but very loud. King water view. It was a connecting room and they are not really soundproofed as well as the connecting rooms elsewhere. I could hear everything the neighbors were doing. They had little kids zooming around the room and were not quiet. I prefer the standard rooms out in the Ranchos but that's just me. The tower is quite lovely though - the rooftop restaurant and lounge and the 3 Bridges restaurant outside on the water is charming at night.

 

[Jedimike]

The room that I had in the tower was beautiful (brand new when I stayed) but very loud. King water view. It was a connecting room and they are not really soundproofed as well as the connecting rooms elsewhere. I could hear everything the neighbors were doing. They had little kids zooming around the room and were not quiet. I prefer the standard rooms out in the Ranchos but that's just me. The tower is quite lovely though - the rooftop restaurant and lounge and the 3 Bridges restaurant outside on the water is charming at night.

Thanks for the information on this (although you didn't make my decision any easier !!! j/k)... now that the prices are equivalent, this is a whole new ballgame, going to chat with the family tonight to see what everyone prefers. We were all looking forward to a new experience (the Tower), but I think the advantage of being able to stroll to the Boardwalk and Epcot may win out.

 

[SarahC97]

Thanks for the information on this (although you didn't make my decision any easier !!! j/k)... now that the prices are equivalent, this is a whole new ballgame, going to chat with the family tonight to see what everyone prefers. We were all looking forward to a new experience (the Tower), but I think the advantage of being able to stroll to the Boardwalk and Epcot may win out.

The location of the Swan is definitely nice (though if you're driving, CSR is very centrally located and convenient to almost everything on the property). Also, very good restaurants at the Swan/Dolphin, which right now beats CSR, IMO. But, the places at Swan that I find lacking are the atmosphere (the rooms are nothing special, you could be in a hotel anywhere in the world and the ceilings feel low, which makes the room feel smaller, IMO), the service, and the pools. We didn't really enjoy the pools at the Swan/Dolphin if you're looking to use them and they don't have a 24-hour quiet pool as CSR does. We also don't find interactions with the staff there nearly as enjoyable. Also, this may or may not matter to you, but you can't charge with a magic band to your room at the Swan.

We've stayed at the Swan a couple of times, but I'm not sure unless we got a really good deal if we would again. Personally, we find there is something magical about the Disney resorts that is lacking at the Swan. It just doesn't do it for us, though on paper it seems like it should. I guess everyone needs to stay at least once to judge for themselves!

 

[kengquist]

I'd like to stay in Cabanas in May. How do you guys do room requests these days? Fax?

I’ve only done a room request once. We got the exact room I wanted. I used touringplans.com
They’re another planning source I use for Disney trips. A lot of useful tools. You can look up pretty much any room in any resort. You can exactly where it is in the resort and the view you’ll have.

 

[Jedimike]

The location of the Swan is definitely nice (though if you're driving, CSR is very centrally located and convenient to almost everything on the property). Also, very good restaurants at the Swan/Dolphin, which right now beats CSR, IMO. But, the places at Swan that I find lacking are the atmosphere (the rooms are nothing special, you could be in a hotel anywhere in the world and the ceilings feel low, which makes the room feel smaller, IMO), the service, and the pools. We didn't really enjoy the pools at the Swan/Dolphin if you're looking to use them and they don't have a 24-hour quiet pool as CSR does. We also don't find interactions with the staff there nearly as enjoyable. Also, this may or may not matter to you, but you can't charge with a magic band to your room at the Swan.

We've stayed at the Swan a couple of times, but I'm not sure unless we got a really good deal if we would again. Personally, we find there is something magical about the Disney resorts that is lacking at the Swan. It just doesn't do it for us, though on paper it seems like it should. I guess everyone needs to stay at least once to judge for themselves!

Thanks Sarah for the inputs -- really helpful. I agree about the atmosphere in Disney resorts vs. a pseudo-Disney resort in the Swan and Dolphin. I stayed at the Dolphin once (2015ish) for a conference, and while I thought the hotel was very nice, and Schula's had great steak and bourbon, it was a very typical high-end conference type hotel that didn't have the Disney feel. We also have a trip planned for Thanksgiving week this year, and right now I'm sitting on two reservations -- Yacht Club at $5600 and Swan at $2900. For a week like Thanksgiving, when (hopefully) there are more things opened back up and the weather is more bearable, I think I'll go Swan for the price since we'll plan to spend much more time outside of the Resort. For June, even though they're the same price, because I think we'll be spending more time at the Resort, especially in the middle of the day, I think I'm going to stick with the CSR Tower room. Thanks again for the inputs!

 

[SarahC97]

Thanks Sarah for the inputs -- really helpful. I agree about the atmosphere in Disney resorts vs. a pseudo-Disney resort in the Swan and Dolphin. I stayed at the Dolphin once (2015ish) for a conference, and while I thought the hotel was very nice, and Schula's had great steak and bourbon, it was a very typical high-end conference type hotel that didn't have the Disney feel. We also have a trip planned for Thanksgiving week this year, and right now I'm sitting on two reservations -- Yacht Club at $5600 and Swan at $2900. For a week like Thanksgiving, when (hopefully) there are more things opened back up and the weather is more bearable, I think I'll go Swan for the price since we'll plan to spend much more time outside of the Resort. For June, even though they're the same price, because I think we'll be spending more time at the Resort, especially in the middle of the day, I think I'm going to stick with the CSR Tower room. Thanks again for the inputs!

It really is hard to pay the price for YC/BC over Swolphin when the differences in prices are so large! Have fun on your trip -- I hope you enjoy the tower. It really is beautiful!

 

[Orion Nebula]

Does the Coronado have a section of soda / beer etc in the gift shop area? I am doing grocery delivery but have had bad luck in the past of certain beers being out of stock. I think I remember seeing it at RS years ago, albeit it was like 19.00 for a six pack. But that still is way cheaper than the resort itself.

 

[bjscheel]

I’ve only done a room request once. We got the exact room I wanted. I used touringplans.com
They’re another planning source I use for Disney trips. A lot of useful tools. You can look up pretty much any room in any resort. You can exactly where it is in the resort and the view you’ll have.

Did you send the room request via touringplans or just pick a room on their site and request it some other way? I'm not a subscriber, so when I looked at it I could search through the rooms but not do anything else. Didn't know if it's just for looking or if they have a method for sending the request.

 

[SarahC97]

Did you send the room request via touringplans or just pick a room on their site and request it some other way? I'm not a subscriber, so when I looked at it I could search through the rooms but not do anything else. Didn't know if it's just for looking or if they have a method for sending the request.

They have a method. An email is sent 30 days prior to your check-in date through TP. If you have a specific area you'd like to be in, then you can just call and have it added to your reservation. Of course, it's just a request, but I usually get pretty close to what I request when I do -- at least in the general area.

 

[sara_s]

Man they need to get their dining options together here. I don’t understand why 3 Bridges can’t be open for at least grab and go during lunch. Or the Dahlia Lounge for that matter. We’re going to try grabbing something from Rix’s and take it outside to eat.

 

[SarahC97]

Man they need to get their dining options together here. I don’t understand why 3 Bridges can’t be open for at least grab and go during lunch. Or the Dahlia Lounge for that matter. We’re going to try grabbing something from Rix’s and take it outside to eat.

The dining options there are tragic for sure. I usually love CSR, but after our stay over Thanksgiving, I'm not as excited to stay there again next trip because of the lack of food options we encountered.

 

[hes122]

CSR hasn't started offering the refillable mugs again yet, correct? Split stay coming up and if we can't use them at CSR I'm not sure I want to get one at our first resort.