Hello, travelers!
I recently went on a trip to Walt Disney World and stayed at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort for the very first time. I was quite excited due to the amount of videos I watched and other Disney-focused blogs I read that gave this resort five stars and glowing reviews. Something I heard time and time again was how shocked everyone was at its “moderate” status since it felt like a deluxe resort. I wanted to test that theory: if you aren’t staying in the Gran Destino tower (the main hotel building that people associate with Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort) and are in a budget-friendly standard room, does it feel as deluxe as everyone says it is? Keep reading to find out.
CHECK IN
The check in process at Coronado was much like many other Disney resorts. When you first walk into the Gran Destino tower, you are met with a clean, vibrant, floral scent, cast members wanting to assist and fabulous architecture. From the stained glass, to the towering columns, to the breathtaking exterior and spraying fountain, the details truly do make it feel like a deluxe resort.
Unfortunately, I am not a huge fan of some of the new check in processes that Disney resorts are implementing. Instead of approaching a desk, cast members greet you with a tablet in hand and are able to assist with your check in as soon as you walk in. I don’t necessarily miss the welcome desk aspect of the check in, but it did feel impersonal as the cast member was trying to finish our check in as quickly as possible to move on to the next guest. The friend I was traveling with was coming to Disney for the first time and didn’t even receive a “1st visit” pin because the cast member didn’t ask us about our plans! Because of this, even though check in was efficient and professional, it was clinical and lacking the emotional warmth I often receive at Disney resort check ins.
LOCATION
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is a massive piece of Disney World property. Aside from the Gran Destino tower, there are separate hotel room buildings surrounding a lake, a few pools, restaurants, and walking paths. What we didn’t know by booking a standard room at Coronado was that our hotel room would be in the Ranchos location at the back of the resort property. Here is a screenshot of the map of the resort from the My Disney app with arrows added by me for reference:
We had to cross a bridge over the lake to get there, and as we were passing a family, the mother jokingly said to us, “good luck finding it!” She wasn’t kidding: finding the building our room was in was one task, but then finding our actual room was its own challenge. Now, trust me: I can walk for days and have no trouble doing so at the parks. But when I’m at my resort, I don’t feel like taking a trek to my hotel room. After our tiring day of travel, the last thing we wanted to do was find our way to the back of the resort. It was hard not to feel a clear separation between those who paid for rooms in the tower and those who didn’t, especially when there’s a literal body of water separating the hotel rooms. So if you want to stay at Coronado but want a standard room, just know you’ll have a bit of a journey getting there. If you want the convenience and deluxe style of the tower, you’ll have to pay the extra to stay there.
THE ROOM
Once we got to our room, we were pleased to see that it was like many other standard rooms on Disney property: clean, air conditioned, and comfortable. We had two queen beds, an armchair, a coffee maker and mini fridge, television, and plenty of drawers and storage space. The light switches, outlets, and USB ports sat on the wall in between the beds, and the theming within the room were silhouette pictures of The Three Caballeros.
Across from the door you enter are two sliding doors that lead to a vanity with double sinks, more shelving and storage space, and a closet with extra towels, hangers, an extra pillow and blanket, an ironing board, and a luggage rack. Tucked to the side past the vanity is a separate water closet with a sliding door. The toilet and tub were there, the tub having sliding glass doors and showerhead.
Since we weren’t planning on spending a lot of time in our room, we were pleased and had no complaints. And even though it wasn’t close to breakfast or dining, there was a bus stop right behind our building so we were able to hop on to transportation easily.
FOOD AND DINING
If there’s anything I loved the most about Disney’s Coronado Springs, it was the meals. There are many options to eat or enjoy a beverage around the resort property, including El Mercado de Coronado, Cafe Rix, Rix Lounge, Maya Grill, Siestas Cantina, Toledo — Tapas, Steak & Seafood, Laguna Bar, and Three Bridges Bar & Grill at Villa del Lago. There are also two lounges: the Dahlia Lounge and Barcelona Lounge. My friend and I enjoyed our breakfast every morning at El Mercado de Coronado (we had to get those Mickey waffles), and the Cookie Butter Latte at Cafe Rix was an absolute standout and perfect drink to start the day.
One of the nights of our vacation, we ate dinner at Maya Grill. We were both absolutely blown away by how delicious our food was and loved the atmosphere. If you want to read a review on our dinner there, you can read that here.
TRANSPORTATION
There are several bus stops around the resort property, including, like I mentioned, one directly behind our hotel room building. But, if you start your day having breakfast in El Mercado or grabbing a coffee and pastry from Cafe Rix, the main bus stop for all Disney World park buses is right outside sliding doors nearby. The gift store, Panchito’s Gifts and Sundries, is at the front of where all the restaurants are, and the doors leading to where you walk to the bus stop are right next to it. Finding transportation to the parks around the resorts was quite easy, and we have no issues getting to and from the parks.
Quick note: at one point, we didn’t want to wait for a bus to pick us up and ordered a Lyft to get us to the fireworks faster. If you book from a rideshare app, those cars pick you up in front of the Gran Destino Tower just outside the main lobby.
VERDICT
Although the rooms were nice and the food was fabulous, I am not racing to stay at Disney’s Coronado Springs again. Now, maybe I’ll change my mind if I stay in the Gran Destino Tower . . . who knows? But for a standard room, I’ve had plenty of other comparable experiences in other resorts, and would rather stay in some of my other favorites (Port Orleans Riverside, you still have my heart). I will say, I would definitely return to Maya Grill for dinner again, and I look forward to trying some of the other dining locations on Coronado Springs property!
Hopefully this review was helpful in determining whether you’d want to stay at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Want to read more Disney World travel content? Check out Walt Disney World under our “Disney” tab. If you’re new here, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on our socials to stay updated on all our latest travel content!
Happy travels,