Coronado vs Caribbean

[aggiedog]

Dd and I are spending 3 days at WDW. As a family, we usually stay in a villa at the Beach Club or AKL. We especially like the Beach Club, as we prefer to eat in the back of Epcot every night, trying different cuisines. Trying to make this a cheaper mini vacation, I'm looking at the Coronado vs the Caribbean. Does anyone have any obvious pros or cons for this? Any chance the Caribbean has a direct transportation to the back of Epcot, or would it just be easier to Uber from either if we don't feel like walking from the front of Epcot.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Well you can see Epcot from CB, so it’s a really short bus ride to Epcot, but CS isn’t far either. I’d choose CB over CS for better dining options and no conference feel. But both resorts have their fans though.

Any thoughts about finding a similarly priced room at the Swan or Dolphin?

 

[Babsy]

Are you planning to go anytime soon? If not until late next year or 2020, then perhaps the gondola will be running from CBR to the IG at Epcot, which would be great.

I am looking at a trip to stay CBR as I am liking the look of the renovation at the resort and it has been a long time now since we have stayed there. We like to do split stays between a MK resort and an Epcot resort or AKL. I am thinking of a split stay in Jan 2020 to check it out! (I have to stay in a MK resort for the first half stay. It's an addiction. LOL!)

If you are going soon, then it is a toss up for me. I would go with whichever is less expensive or appeals to me the most. Better yet, I would stay in POR or POFQ until the construction is finished.

Enjoy wherever you stay!

 

[aggiedog]

We'll be going March 2019. A quick search has the Dolphin costing almost twice as much? I honestly never considered, mostly because it never comes to mind.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Both resorts are beautiful to be honest. I would maybe choose CSR over CBR thou...simply because the buses are by far the best i've seen. I never ever had to stand, even going back to your resort at park close. Really amazing. Plus, CSR has fewer bus stops at the resort than CBR. I disagree about CSR having a conference feel to it. I stayed there before the reno's were going on and didnt feel this at all.

I'd go with whichever is cheaper and whichever you like best. Both are great choices.

 

[aggiedog]

Thanks for your responses. The cost is $80 difference between them, so I'd be inclined to go with the one with better buses. I hate waiting for them - such a waste of precious vacation time. One reason why I like the Beach Club, we can just walk.

 

[SarahC97]

Both resorts are beautiful to be honest. I would maybe choose CSR over CBR thou...simply because the buses are by far the best i've seen. I never ever had to stand, even going back to your resort at park close. Really amazing. Plus, CSR has fewer bus stops at the resort than CBR. I disagree about CSR having a conference feel to it. I stayed there before the reno's were going on and didnt feel this at all.

I'd go with whichever is cheaper and whichever you like best. Both are great choices.

I agree with this. I think that's one of the benefits of staying at CSR since it's a convention resort, the convention-goers aren't going to the parks or even gumming up the works at the food court in the morning. I've never had a problem even finding a seat on a CSR bus at closing time. So, I vote CSR too. Plus, fewer bus stops than CBR - 4 vs. 7.

 

[nkereina]

Both resorts are beautiful to be honest. I would maybe choose CSR over CBR thou...simply because the buses are by far the best i've seen. I never ever had to stand, even going back to your resort at park close. Really amazing. Plus, CSR has fewer bus stops at the resort than CBR. I disagree about CSR having a conference feel to it. I stayed there before the reno's were going on and didnt feel this at all.

I'd go with whichever is cheaper and whichever you like best. Both are great choices.

Just back from CSR and we did have some times where we had to stand on the bus, but we were there in busy October. March has the propensity to be busy as well, so I would expect buses to be the same. If you do go with CSR, I would book a preferred room - bus stop 2 outside the preferred buildings is first pick up and first drop off, which helped our odds getting a seat on the bus.

Also, don't let the bus stop situation at CBR deter you - they fairly recently changed it so that not every bus services every bus stop. Buses don't cycle through all 7 stops anymore, which is a big improvement there.

I wouldn't say CSR has a conference feel to it, but conference attendees are definitely abound. This was our second stay there and have always noticed their presence. It's not problematic, but does pop the vacation bubble to some - as someone who attends conferences for my own work, seeing the laptops and lanyards just reminded me of work! Not an issue though, just is what it is. The conference attendees also made Laguna Bar and Rix Bar very crowded, along with the Disney Springs buses after 6pm or so.

All of this said, we'd still opt for CSR over CBR. Even with the construction, its a beautiful resort and we love the atmosphere. CBR wasn't our speed last time we stayed there, but the newly remodeled layout is appealing and making us want to give it another try. Both resorts are centrally located, so I wouldn't worry about commute times.

 

[aggiedog]

Well, I decided on CBR last night. The clincher being that the cheapest rate there was a Pirate room. Totally not our normal thing, which I think will make it easier for me to not be at the Beach Club, if that makes sense. Thanks for all the help!

 

[supitscarrie]

Well, I decided on CBR last night. The clincher being that the cheapest rate there was a Pirate room. Totally not our normal thing, which I think will make it easier for me to not be at the Beach Club, if that makes sense. Thanks for all the help!

The Pirate Rooms are pretty polarizing. Keep in mind that those beds aren't queens, they're full-sized!

 

[aggiedog]

Yes, I saw that. It's just dd and I. If it were any more of us, it would be a no go for sure. For some reason, the pics of the pirate rooms look kind of fun to me, but most of the over-the-top theming like the Mermaid and Cars rooms at other resorts give me hives. I can certainly separate resort amenities and location from room theming, so either way it will be interesting to try a new resort.

 

[SinCityMMAFan]

Stayed at both some years ago. I prefer CSR over CBR as I found CSR to be a little bit quieter of a resort. Can't go wrong with either to be honest.

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

I stayed 4 nights at Coronado in September and just got back today from 4 nights at Carribean and I have to say I loved Carribean so much more! Loved the food court and beach area. Stayed in Martinique and loved this location! Close to the food court, sand, a quiet pool and at the first bus stop. The pool did have construction noise during the day because you get a view of them building riviera but it's disney so beggars can't be choosers. I thought Carribean was much more quiet than Coronado.