This is not going to be a formal report or long or fancy like some I have seen, but hopefully will helpl some folks out as I have learned so much from others on this site.
This was a trip for my Lovey (significant other) and myself, no children. We have both visited in the past with our children. We are in our late 40's, early 60's.
We stayed at Coronado Springs from September 26 to October 5th. 9 nights. We used Disney Magical Express and it went off without a hitch. Upon arrival, (approximately 10am)they wanted to give us a room in the Ranchos and I requested the Casitas. They were able to make the change for us. We ended up in Room 4110. No view, 1st floor. The view was of the stairwell. I was disappointed at first as I had wanted a room on an upper floor. It turned out to be a perfect location. Right next to the Casita pool, didn't matter at all that we didn't have a view as if you want privacy, you need to keep your curtain closed all the time, we were not in our room often (and the curtain was closed when we were) we used the pool area as a "hang out" area, better than a balcony as it was right next to our room and being on the first floor was a blessing as it was so convenient when we were tired after a long day in the park to not have to climb steps or wait for an elevator.
We slept in and never made rope drop once. Crowds were manageable most days (Epcot got crowded on a weekend day due to the Food and Wine fest). Fast passes worked out great for the most part but I would say, grab them ahead of time, even if youre not sure where you are going. The days that they didn't work out for us were the days we waited until the day we were visiting the park to pick them.
We were on the free dining plan. It worked out well as we didn't use it for breakfast too often. Best counter service was at Wolfgang Puck Express and France. There were some great choices for snacks during food and wine. This was our first Food and Wine fest and we loved it, other than the crowd.
We were lucky to get a reservation for BOG. It was delightful. Noisy, but still very romantic in the room with the snow falling. Food was excellent. If you can get in, take it. One of our favorite experiences. We ate at several signature restaurants, California Grill, Le Celier, Brown Derby and Jiko. Our favorite, by far, by a mile, was Jiko. It was not spicy as in "hot". The food was so good, presentation was beautiful and service was excellent. Le Celier was rushed, Brown Derby food was good, but not great and California Grill really thinks their special, but I was not overly impressed. Jiko had them all beat by a mile. We ate at Cape May Cafe. I have eaten there several times in the past and it has gone way down hill. Ok for 1 point, but not real good. I will skip it next time. O'Hana was good and the bread pudding was super.
Coranado Springs was a very pretty property. We did have a large convention, 2400 people, but did not impact us too much other than one morning, two people and their water aerobics instructor decided to start by the quiet pool at the Casitas at 8am with dance music blasting. And I mean blasting. I sat straight up in bed, scared the heck out of me. After about 10 minutes of this, I gathered my wits and went out there and let them have it. I called the front desk who had already received many complaints and security showed up and we didn't have that issue another morning. No idea what those crazies were thinking. For two people, the entire building was woken up. The Pepper Market was crowded at certain times with convention people, but they were mostly provided breakfast somewhere so as to not clog the system. Weekends with locals seemed crowded at the resort. Mousekeeping was very good, use your do not disturb sign or expect to be woken up with knocking by 9am (we didn't have little ones so we were sleeping in).
Transportation was ok, My Lovey was satisfied with it. I tend to be more impatient so I was not as pleased. A few really long rides and mess ups on both our part and Disneys. Mis marked buses, wrong info by bus drivers given and some long waits. Getting between resorts is especially long, like 1 hour and 20 minutes in a couple of cases for us. Which seems nuts for a 5 mile trip. Getting to the parks was relatively quick and easy in both directions. I will warn you that the buses are freezing, especially at night. About half way though the trip, I realized the back row is over the engine and much warmer back there.
Be sure to bring ponchos and a decent size umbrella or a couple of smaller ones. Also, do yourself a favor and ship water. It is $2.50 a bottle. We would hoard it from our counter service meals, but couldn't keep up with our demand. The sink water in the room is awful and its too long of a walk to run to get drinks in the Pepper Market.
Park Hopper, water park and extra days can be added. I made the mistake of purchasing the park hopper ahead of time because I have always used it in the past, but that was with kids. We didn't use it at all, waste of money, but live and learn.
Feel free to ask any questions. We fly out tomorrow, so not sure I will see any responses for a few days
This was a trip for my Lovey (significant other) and myself, no children. We have both visited in the past with our children. We are in our late 40's, early 60's.
We stayed at Coronado Springs from September 26 to October 5th. 9 nights. We used Disney Magical Express and it went off without a hitch. Upon arrival, (approximately 10am)they wanted to give us a room in the Ranchos and I requested the Casitas. They were able to make the change for us. We ended up in Room 4110. No view, 1st floor. The view was of the stairwell. I was disappointed at first as I had wanted a room on an upper floor. It turned out to be a perfect location. Right next to the Casita pool, didn't matter at all that we didn't have a view as if you want privacy, you need to keep your curtain closed all the time, we were not in our room often (and the curtain was closed when we were) we used the pool area as a "hang out" area, better than a balcony as it was right next to our room and being on the first floor was a blessing as it was so convenient when we were tired after a long day in the park to not have to climb steps or wait for an elevator.
We slept in and never made rope drop once. Crowds were manageable most days (Epcot got crowded on a weekend day due to the Food and Wine fest). Fast passes worked out great for the most part but I would say, grab them ahead of time, even if youre not sure where you are going. The days that they didn't work out for us were the days we waited until the day we were visiting the park to pick them.
We were on the free dining plan. It worked out well as we didn't use it for breakfast too often. Best counter service was at Wolfgang Puck Express and France. There were some great choices for snacks during food and wine. This was our first Food and Wine fest and we loved it, other than the crowd.
We were lucky to get a reservation for BOG. It was delightful. Noisy, but still very romantic in the room with the snow falling. Food was excellent. If you can get in, take it. One of our favorite experiences. We ate at several signature restaurants, California Grill, Le Celier, Brown Derby and Jiko. Our favorite, by far, by a mile, was Jiko. It was not spicy as in "hot". The food was so good, presentation was beautiful and service was excellent. Le Celier was rushed, Brown Derby food was good, but not great and California Grill really thinks their special, but I was not overly impressed. Jiko had them all beat by a mile. We ate at Cape May Cafe. I have eaten there several times in the past and it has gone way down hill. Ok for 1 point, but not real good. I will skip it next time. O'Hana was good and the bread pudding was super.
Coranado Springs was a very pretty property. We did have a large convention, 2400 people, but did not impact us too much other than one morning, two people and their water aerobics instructor decided to start by the quiet pool at the Casitas at 8am with dance music blasting. And I mean blasting. I sat straight up in bed, scared the heck out of me. After about 10 minutes of this, I gathered my wits and went out there and let them have it. I called the front desk who had already received many complaints and security showed up and we didn't have that issue another morning. No idea what those crazies were thinking. For two people, the entire building was woken up. The Pepper Market was crowded at certain times with convention people, but they were mostly provided breakfast somewhere so as to not clog the system. Weekends with locals seemed crowded at the resort. Mousekeeping was very good, use your do not disturb sign or expect to be woken up with knocking by 9am (we didn't have little ones so we were sleeping in).
Transportation was ok, My Lovey was satisfied with it. I tend to be more impatient so I was not as pleased. A few really long rides and mess ups on both our part and Disneys. Mis marked buses, wrong info by bus drivers given and some long waits. Getting between resorts is especially long, like 1 hour and 20 minutes in a couple of cases for us. Which seems nuts for a 5 mile trip. Getting to the parks was relatively quick and easy in both directions. I will warn you that the buses are freezing, especially at night. About half way though the trip, I realized the back row is over the engine and much warmer back there.
Be sure to bring ponchos and a decent size umbrella or a couple of smaller ones. Also, do yourself a favor and ship water. It is $2.50 a bottle. We would hoard it from our counter service meals, but couldn't keep up with our demand. The sink water in the room is awful and its too long of a walk to run to get drinks in the Pepper Market.
Park Hopper, water park and extra days can be added. I made the mistake of purchasing the park hopper ahead of time because I have always used it in the past, but that was with kids. We didn't use it at all, waste of money, but live and learn.
Feel free to ask any questions. We fly out tomorrow, so not sure I will see any responses for a few days
