Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

Keeping Up with easy Guide–and Disney World–Changes

by Dave

The 2015 edition of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit launched as the most up-to-date Disney World guidebook ever, with the right stuff on new dining options, ride closures and openings, and hotel changes.

But things at Disney World always change–and we also are unfortunately human and do make mistakes.

So as things change or we find mistakes, here’s how to keep up: [Read more →]

December 3, 2014 No Comments

Caribbean Beach Now Booking Five People

by Dave

In case you missed it, you can now book a family of five into Caribbean Beach rooms.

Some refurbed rooms at Caribbean Beach have had two queen beds and a fifth 30″ by 64″ Murphy Bed since the summer, but were not bookable for five until late November.

I did three test bookings for 2014 and 2015 arrival dates, and five person rooms are now on offer!

For more on Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and its refurbed rooms, see this.

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December 3, 2014 2 Comments

The easy Guide on Kindle

by Dave

THE EASY GUIDE IS AVAILABLE ON KINDLE

The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015 is available both as a paperback and as a Kindle book.

(You don’t by the way, need a Kindle to buy and read Kindle books–you can get Kindle readers for phones, tablets, and laptops.)

Kindles are wonderful objects for traveling readers, and having a Kindle app on your phone means you can do a quick reference to The easy Guide without having to, for example, tear out the cheat sheets and stick them in your pocket. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. [Read more →]

December 2, 2014 2 Comments

Theming and the Casitas, Ranchos, and Cabanas at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

by Dave

(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, see this.)

Note 8/4/2019: I am in the middle of updating this review to incorporate the changes at Coronado Springs that opened in July 2019. An overview of these changes is here, and a photo tour of a new room in the new Gran Destino tower is here.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is one of 5 moderate resorts at Walt Disney World:

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, the first Disney World hotel to be designated a moderate, which opened in 1988
Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort (opened in 1991 as Disney’s Port Orleans Resort)
Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort (opened in 1992 as Disney’s Dixie Landing Resort)
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (opened 1997) and
The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, officially classed as moderate in 2008, but opened (as the Wilderness Homes) in 1986. (Fort Wilderness Campground opened much earlier, but precursors to the Cabins did not arrive until 1986.)

The moderates have much more room than the value resorts, more amenities, and (except for Fort Wilderness) much better landscaping. See this for what you get by Disney World price class.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is officially “an American Southwest-themed…hotel set on Lago Dorado—a glimmering 22-acre lake—that invokes the spirit and romance of Spanish-colonial Mexico.”

Rooms here typically have two queens or one king, and suites–uniquely among the moderates–are available as well. More “business class” rooms will come with the new Gran Destino tower, opening in July 2019.

The resort is divided into El Centro, with most amenities, and three differently themed lodging areas:

The Casitas, resembling a graceful cityscape
The Ranchos, based on Southwestern desert habitats and architecture; and
The Cabanas, intended to give the sense of “a quaint beachfront retreat complete with cozy hammocks.”

The Cabanas are best for families, and the Casitas for adults. See the map for their locations.

I suspect that the tower under construction in the Cabanas area will, once it opens, be part of the El Centro area, keeping the resort at four basic areas, each with its own bus stop. However, the Casitas, Ranchos and Cabanas will remain the only areas with their own dedicated pools. There’s more on the pools at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort here.

THE CASITAS AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

The Casitas, closest to the main building and Convention Center, have the loveliest architecture among these.

Until the tower opens, The Casitas also have the highest appeal to conventioneers, being both closest to the convention center, and the location of most of the Coronado Springs suites.

Most suites are in Casitas 1, and there are many lovely courtyards and fountains between Casitas 1 and Casitas 2.

(Yes, Coronado Springs is the only moderate with suites; these are required to compete for convention business, as they are often given away or heavily discounted to meeting planners in return for reserving a block of rooms, and are also required as sales and meeting settings by some exhibitors.)

Because until the tower opens they are the closest accommodations buildings to El Centro, Casitas 1, 2 and 3 are “preferred” buildings, where even standard rooms come at an extra cost. Note that some rooms in 2 and 3 are still a hike from El Centro.

Buildings 1, 2 and 3 are closest to the services at El Centro and to the Convention Center. They are also interconnected by covered walkways, very handy in the rain or summer sun. Buildings 4 and 5 are balanced between El Centro and the main pool at The Dig Site. Buildings 2 and 4 are closest to the bus stop.

THE CABANAS AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

The Cabanas, the opposite direction from the Casitas, have undistinguished, dull architecture, meant to recollect casual beach houses, hence the perhaps overly subtle patching on the roofs…

…but look lovely from across the lake. These rooms have the best location for families, being in between the El Centro services and the main pool.

Alone among the three room areas of Coronado Springs, the Cabanas are fronted by beaches.

Another view of the beaches…

…and the beaches in the morning.

The kid appeal of these beaches and overall convenience to both El Centro and the main pool makes the Cabanas the best area for families, and is why I rate Coronado Springs as the second-best moderate for first-time family visitors.

While the former path between Building 9a and El Centro is closed for construction (9b was demolished), 8a is the Cabanas building most convenient to both El Centro and the main pool, and is the best choice for family travelers. Building 8b is also a fine choice–a little further from El Centro, but closer to the pool and bus stop.

THE RANCHOS AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

The third area, the Ranchos, has a wilder cactus-y Southwestern theme, which may be a little too realistically arid and barren for some kids to enjoy.

Theming includes dry washes…

…hitching posts…

…and animal tracks.

The buildings are meant to reflect the main buildings of old ranches. This works better in the tall buildings, not so well in the two-story buildings.

Note the stonework on the columns and the (fake) chimneys.

The Ranchos are also a hike from the resort central services and convention center, though some of these rooms are near the main pool. Building 7a is next to the bus stop but is otherwise the most inconvenient building at Coronado Springs. If you are here as part of a team attending a convention, your colleagues are in building 1, and you are assigned by your boss to 7a–well, update your resume.

PHOTO TOUR OF A REFURBED ROOM AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

This review continues here!

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

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December 2, 2014 14 Comments

Jim Korkis Joins The easy Guide Team

by Dave

As noted here in the overall introduction to the 2015 edition of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit, Jim Korkis, the dean of Disney historians, has joined The easy Guide team, along with me and Josh as authors, and editor/publisher Bob McLain of Theme Park Press.

Jim Korkis is best known as an author (my favorite among his works is the The Vault of Walt) and MousePlanet.com columnist (see a list of his columns here). His focus is lesser-known Disney history. Before his writing career he was a cast member whose jobs included teaching animation and researching and teaching Disney history to cast members and others. [Read more →]

December 1, 2014 3 Comments

Review: The Pools at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

by Dave

(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, see this.)

THE POOLS AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort has four pools. The main pool, full of amenities, is the Lost City of Cibola pool at the central Dig Site.

Each of the current three accommodations areas at Coronado Springs–the Casitas, the Ranchos, and the Cabanas–has a pool as well, each much smaller than the main pool and with no material amenities.

The new tower being built at Coronado Springs will add hundreds of rooms but not an additional pool.

THE DIG SITE AND LOST CITY OF CIBOLA POOL AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

The Lost City of Cibola Pool is the main pool at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Themed to represent a lost Mayan ruin including a decaying pyramid handy for sun-bathing, it’s the second best family pool among the moderates, bested only by the more kid-appealing pool at Caribbean Beach. It’s by far the best pool for adults among the moderates.

For kids, the appeal is the exotic theming, the playground, and the 123 foot water slide. For adults, the appeal is the expanse of pool chairs, biggest hot tub at Disney World, and hot food at the pool bar.

The pool is centrally located in an area of Coronado Springs called in total “The Dig Site.” See the map below. The Dig Site area and pool is just above the words “Lago Dorado.”

This area is convenient to the Ranchos and Cabanas, and some of the Casitas. Other Casitas rooms are a hike. Each of these three areas also has a smaller pool, and this smaller pool is particularly convenient if you are in buildings 1-3 at the Casitas and you don’t need the amenities and fun of the Dig Site.