Disney Coronado Springs Resort Tips for Families

May 6, 2018February 17, 2021 Margalit Sturm Francus

The 1921 rooms Disney Coronado Springs Resort boasts a large convention center so it comes as no surprise it is a favorite with many conference participants. Furthermore, between its budget-friendly prices and unique resort amenities the property can be a good fit for most families.

Disclosure: I was invited to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Land and Sea Celebration. I received a discounted rate for my trip, but my opinions are my own.

Located in Orlando’s Lake Buena Vista area the Coronado Springs Resort is in a prime location between the Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the Epcot and Hollywood Studios area. Like all Disney Resorts, this one too has a theme. Inspired by Spanish and Mayan architecture the property showcases Mexico and its culture. From its terra cotta painted buildings to the Saltillo tiled courtyards and marble fountains, you may find the sprawling resort relaxing to stroll around.

What we liked about the Coronado Springs

Outstanding pool area with unique slide and fun play area for the younger kids
The renovated rooms have hypoallergenic laminate floors
The bathroom area has doors separating it from the sleeping area perfect for those wishing to get ready in the morning without waking up other family members.

What we liked less

Because of the resort’s enormous size walking is inevitable! Depending on your room location you can expect to walk 8-15 minutes to the lobby and restaurant area.
Standard rooms only sleep four people so. Larger families need to book adjoining rooms.
This hotel relies on bus transportation that comes every 20 minutes which can a difficult wait for special needs and young guests.
If you are an avid web surfer or need to work you should know that the strongest Wi-Fi signal is around the Convention Center and El Centro. The further you get from these spots the signal gets weaker.

The resort

The resort is divided into several different areas. Public areas include El Centro which houses the lobby, restaurants and gift shops, the convention center and the Big Dig outdoor pools area.

The property’s rooms are distributed across its Casitas, Ranchos, and Cabanas buildings. The hotel has a 24-hour front desk, concierge services, bell service, and luggage storage options.

Tip: The grounds are exceptionally beautiful to walk around and photograph at sundown or sunrise.

Transportation to the theme parks

Like other Disney resorts, this hotel relies on the Disney bus systems to shuttle guests to and from the theme parks.
Buses run every 20 minutes and can be accessed from the 4 stops located along the perimeter of the resort.

Tip: For those who prefer more personalized service, Disney has an Uber-like service called Minnie vans that cost around 25$ a ride.

Special requests

Due to my son’s autism and allergies, I contacted the front desk ahead of time to ask them for a remodeled hypoallergenic room away from noisy public areas.

Tip: If you need a specific type of room make sure to mention it three times- at booking, a pre-arrival phone call and at check-in.

Our arrival

We arrived at the resort at 11 AM to store our luggage and activate our Magicbands.
Tip: Download the Disney app (very user-friendly) that notifies guests via text when the room is ready.

Décor

The lobby area is designed to look like a Mexican hacienda with arches and colorful murals. The Mexican colonial theme is successfully continued throughout the resort with manicured bushes, domed roofs, and ornate railings.

Our room

Our room was on the ground floor of Casita eight away from the lobby bustle and ongoing construction. We liked that it was close to the Big Dig area and Stop 4 on the Disney Bus.

Decorated in southwestern hues of tans, browns, and oranges our remodeled room looked bright and inviting. The dark wood laminate flooring contrasted nicely with the pale lime painted walls and light wood furniture.

Tip: Want to unpack in peace? Have your kids search the room for ‘hidden Mickeys’

Room furnishings

Like most Disney resort rooms, the rooms at this resort are on the large side. As we entered the room we saw our two queen beds with their wood and leatherette headboards separated by a nightstand with a medium sized safe. I don’t usually rave about beds but these ones outfitted with duvet covers and soft linens were very comfortable.

Other features we found useful were the space under the beds to stow luggage and the separate flip-up reading lights that enabled us to read at night without disturbing others.

Facing the beds was a long wood table with a speckled granite top alongside a low cabinet housing a mini fridge. Completing the room furnishing was a small grey upholstered armchair providing a spot to relax by the window.

Room storage was plentiful and convenient. The large chest with deep drawers under the large screen TV stored the folded clothes while the hanging area next to the bathroom sink kept my dresses wrinkle free.

Noteworthy room amenities

The room had multiple electrical and USB outlets to juice up electronics. We found the Keurig machine with Joffrey K-cups very handy when we had to get up at 5 am for our Pandora visit.

The room overhead fan was a lifesaver. For those like me that sneeze excessively when the A/C is on, circulating the air with a fan was perfect.

Our son was elated to find the collector Disney pins on the bed. Turns out the property gives them out to the guests as a Thank You for staying during the construction of the new hotel tower slated to open this summer.

Yes to bathroom doors

No doubt one of the best features of the room was the fact it had sliding barn type doors separating the main room from the bathroom. This is convenient for privacy. It enabled me to get ready without waking up my son and husband.
Tip: To sweeten the deal there was even a second door separating the vanity area from the shower area for additional privacy.And both lock!

The bathroom

The wooden vanity with a grey granite countertop was the first thing we saw as we entered. The vanity housed two square white sinks and offered plenty of storage space.
The bathroom second area (separated by a locking door!) had the tub /shower combo and commode. We liked that the shower had a combination rain shower head/handheld. Moreover, the H2O toiletries were a wonderful addition. Between the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, mouthwash and sunburn gel we felt totally pampered.

Worth mentioning

The built-in automatic night light by the sink helped us see in the dark when we needed to use the bathroom at night.

We found the loud motion sensor fan in the shower to be a bit of a nuisance since our son with autism is quite noise sensitive. Whenever one of us would walk in it would automatically turn on. But we quickly learned to solve the issue by closing the door to minimize the noise.

Coronado Springs resort amenities

Since the Coronado Springs resort is also a convention property it boasts extra amenities not normally found at other Disney moderately priced resorts.

Its gym equipped with cardiovascular equipment, free weights, and yoga balls is open 24 hours a day, which is unusual in most hotels.

For patrons seeking some R&R the spa and beauty salon offer massages, hair and facial treatments as well as those super cute Disney stickers mani-pedis.

But the highlight is resort’s Big Dig area with its pools and hot tub. The Lost City of Cibola with its five stories Mayan pyramid and a whopping 123ft long slide will become your family’s favorite. In addition, the Dig has a children’s playground, volleyball court, running trails and an arcade room. As a parent, I love the fact that Disney is really big on safety offering free life jackets in all sizes along with actual lifeguards on the premises.

But it hardly stops there.
For the adults, there are three quiet pools, a hot tub, plenty of lounge chairs and hammocks overlooking the Marina.

Resort activities

Though coming to Walt Disney World is all about the theme parks it is nice to know that its resorts offer fun free activities too.

On the week we visited there they had family-friendly arts and crafts and roasting marshmallows by the pool. Moreover, the gift store offered ‘paint your own South American wood carving characters ‘ on Wednesday and Friday evenings.

Coronado Springs resort dining

The hotel has several venues to dine in. For quick meals, the resort’s ‘Pepper Market ‘is by far the best value. It is basically a mini food court that is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

For a sit-down breakfast, there’s Las Ventanas. The restaurant has an extensive menu with plenty of delicious choices though (much to our son’s disappointment) the popular Disney “bounty platter” breakfast isn’t one of them.

Next, there’s the Maya Grill serving higher-end Tex-Mex and Latin cuisine. We enjoyed a great dinner there one night with a margarita flight along with the wonderful music. If you want to try it make sure you book reservations in advance since they get busy. Also, remember this is a dine-in only restaurant so they don’t do take out.

For drinks and appetizers, the Rix Lounge and the outdoor Laguna Bar overlooking the lake are a great choice. And of course, the resort has room service available for those too tired to venture outside of the room.
Tip: Go after 2 PM if you want to avoid the lunch lines at Pepper Grill since it gets crowded with conference folks between 12-2PM.

Cost

Depending on the season this hotel can be a budget-friendly option to upgrade your Disney vacation from a ‘value resort’ to a ‘moderate’ one. Room rates can be as low as $175 a night and come with complimentary parking and Wi-Fi.

Service

We stayed at the hotel as part of the Disney Social Media Mom Conference and had a great time. Everyone from the front desk to the bellman and housekeeping staff was incredibly professional and literally went out of their way to help us.

Tip: You can opt out of housekeeping services in exchange for a gift certificate to make sure to ask for it when you check in.

Autism Travel Tips

The resort is in the process of revamping its rooms so not all rooms look like ours. If your kid suffers from asthma or allergies ask for a remodeled room with no carpeting at booking.
As mentioned before this is a huge resort so walking is part of the deal. So, if that is an issue for your kid ask for a room closer to the lobby to minimize the walking.
The current construction near the lobby didn’t bother us since we were relatively far from it. If your kid is noise sensitive you can for a room away from it but the trade off is you’ll have to walk longer to get to the lobby.
Those who love watching fireworks will love that there multiple spots in the resort from which you can watch the nightly Epcot fireworks.