Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

Annual Disney World guidebooks—like ours, The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015 —are only rarely rewritten from scratch.

Rather, stuff that’s still valid is left as is, and changes occur around it.

• Minor changes like updated prices are added to sections that remain largely the same, and other areas see material deleted and added to reflect the ebb and flow of changes in the parks and hotels.
• Moreover, there’s always errors and typos to correct—no matter how hard we try to be perfect the first time.
• Plus, too many of the images in the 2014 edition were hard to read (and did that lead us on a journey)
• And it’s also always easy to see places where we can add helpful info, and hard to restrain ourselves.

We purposely designed The easy Guide to be both the least lengthy and largest point-size major Disney World guidebook.

Even so, we saw enough critical material to add to increase the length of the heart of the 2015 edition (that is, excluding “About the Authors” and other stuff that no one cares about) from the 2014 edition’s 269 pages to 281 pages (this process, spread over the years, is how some guidebooks get to be 800 pages long…we promise to not do that).

So with that as background, here’s some of what’s new in The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit for 2015. [Read more →]

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

AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

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 includes an area where you check in, buy tickets, and find shops, dining, bars, etc., called El Centro. The Convention Center and business services space also is accessed here. Almost all amenities except for the pools and health club are in this central area.

EL CENTRO AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

The main entry illustrates the graceful architecture you’ll find in most of the resort.

The check-in lobby has a Mexican-influenced look.

You check in here, buy tickets, make dining reservations, and such.

The far wall of the lobby has one of my favorite Hidden Mickeys, in the interacting shapes of three lights, much more visible to the camera than your eyes.

You’ll also find some charming toy displays in the lobby.

Nearby are shops, dining, and the Convention Center.

The gift shop Panchito’s is large, and while it has mostly standard Disney hotel gift shop stuff, there’s a bit of a Mexican selection similar to what you can find in Epcot’s Mexico Pavilion.

Coronado Springs is a convention resort, with a medium-sized convention center in El Centro, a circumstance which has led to much fussing, most of it silly.

All the deluxe resorts except the Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, and Animal Kingdom Lodge are also convention resorts, and these get little fuss.

Conventions yield fewer people overall because there are fewer people per room, and most of the time they are spending their time in meetings, in catered meals, and on the exhibit floor, rather than clotting the buses or food courts.

Demands for business services means that Coronado Springs also has more amenities than any other moderate–real room service, a real pool grill, a health club–none of which you’ll find at the other moderates.

But when a thousand people leave a meeting and head to the pool, you’ll notice.

There’s a bus stop outside of El Centro, and three more scattered around the accommodations areas.

There’s only a few amenities that aren’t in El Centro.  One is the pools, to which I’ll return later. The other is the health club, spa and salon, which you’ll find near the Casitas quiet pool.

DINING AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

This review continues here!

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

• Overview and summary review of Coronado Springs
• The theming and accommodations areas of Coronado Springs
• A photo tour of a standard room at Coronado Springs
• A photo tour of a Gran Destino Tower room at Coronado Springs
• Amenities at Coronado Springs
• Dining at Coronado Springs
• The pools at Coronado Springs

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 150+ stays in them

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Update: This sales goes through 12/1!!!

As co-author Josh notes here, Amazon has a site-wide 30% off sale on any printed book through Sunday.  Just input the discount code HOLIDAY30 in the spot indicated by the red circle:

So it’s the perfect time to get your copy of the brand-new The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015!

The easy Guide 2015 is based on the amazing start of the 2014 edition–the best reviewed Disney World Guidebook in history.  For more on The easy Guide, see this!

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: NOVEMBER 29 TO DECEMBER 7, 2014

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic. For more on December 2014 at Walt Disney World, click here.

Note that typos happen, and schedules change! If something seems odd, or if you want to double check, use the calendar links near the bottom to get the latest official Disney World scoop.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/29-12/7/2014

The Magic Kingdom will be open 8a-12MN 11/29, 8a-7p 11/30, 8a-12MN 12/1, 8a-7p 12/2, 8a-11p 12/3, 8a-7p 12/4 and 12/5, 8a-1a 12/6, and 8a-7p 12/7

Epcot will be open from 9a-9.30p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-10p 11/29, 9a-8p 11/30 through 12/5, 9a-9p 12/6, and 9a-8p 12/7

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-8p 11/29, 9a-7p 11/30, 9a-5p 12/1, 9a-6p 12/2 through 12/4, and 9a-7p 12/5 through 12/7

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/29-12/7/2014

Saturday 11/29 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: Magic Kingdom

Sunday 11/30 Morning: none Evening: Hollywood Studios

Monday 12/1 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 12/2 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Wednesday 12/3 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Thursday 12/4 Morning: Magic Kingdom  Evening: none

Friday 12/5 Morning: none Evening: Epcot

Saturday 12/6 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: Magic Kingdom

Sunday 12/7  Morning:  none Evening: Hollywood Studios

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/29-12/7/2014

The Magic Kingdom:

• Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p every day
• Evening Main Street Electrical Parade: 9 and 11p 11/29, 12/1, 12/3, and 12/6

FIREWORKS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/29-12/7/2014

Wishes at the Magic Kingdom: 10p 11/29, 12/1, 12/3, and 12/6

Illuminations at Epcot: 9.30p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 6.30 and 8p every night

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/29-12/7/2014

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

LONG RANGE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/29-12/7/2014

See this for forecasts.

DISCLAIMER

Everything is subject to change and typos! Check the Disney Calendars for updates and official schedules. These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

• Magic Kingdom Calendar
• Hollywood Studios Calendar
• Animal Kingdom Calendar
• Epcot Calendar

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Well, we’ve gone and created another “collector’s edition…” [Read more →]

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

PHOTO TOUR OF A NOT YET REFURBED ROOM AT DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

Room at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort are being refurbed. As of June 2018, rooms have been refurbed, or are being refurbed, in all accommodations buildings except in Rancho 7b and Cabanas 8b and 9a. A photo tour of a refurbed Coronado Springs room is here.

This page is a photo tour of one of the remaining not yet refurbed rooms. The rooms at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, while generally familiar to those who have stayed in other Disney World traditional moderate resorts, do have some real distinctions–mostly from adapting the basic layouts to the needs of convention visitors.

You’ll find two queens separated by a night table on one side of the room.

The night table has a drawer large enough for important books.

Here’s a view of beds from the bath side of the room.

The linens are elegant in a way typical of the room’s furnishings and fittings.

The area right in front of the windows is open. You’ll find here, instead of the air handler of other moderates, two ottomans. These can be used as chairs and moved around the room.

On the side of the room away from the beds, you’ll find a desk–not the table and chairs found here in the other moderates–and an integrated dresser/mini-fridge/TV unit.

Here’s the same side of the room as seen from the bath area.

The desk is fine for one person to work at, and, if you pull over an ottoman, can also serve as a table.

After the desk, the next feature of the room inspired by taking care of two convention visitors per room is the combined TV thingy/dresser/fridge, the next item along this wall.

Note the two columns of drawers. The other moderate rooms typically have several large drawers for a family; these rooms have six smaller ones, so that two conventioneers can each have a stack of drawers.

Next to these is a mini-fridge. Beyond, rather than the kids bench you’ll find in other moderates, is blank space–perfect for a luggage rack.

The bath has just one sink. (Refurbed rooms have two.)

Instead of being separated from the rest of the space by fabric curtains, rolling wooden doors isolate the bath from the sleeping area. In the other moderates, you’ll find similar doors only at Caribbean Beach.

Also in the sink area is the hanging rod, iron, and ironing board.

Finally, as usual, the tub and toilet area is in its own separate walled enclosure.

There’s a couple of these differences between Coronado Springs rooms and rooms in the other traditional moderates that I see as losses for family visitors–the lost sink, the lost table and two chairs, the lost kids bench.

Others, however, are clear positives–the extra living space in front of the window, the extra drawers, the two ottomans, and the wooden bath separator.

On balance, I think these rooms are just fine for families, but you may have to think about each little difference compared to the other traditional moderates in the context of your specific family!

The refurbed rooms will be better than most families, adding as they do a second sink, a bigger TV, an easy chair, and Disney theming–which you won’t see at all in not-yet-refurbed rooms.

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

• Overview and summary review of Coronado Springs
• The theming and accommodations areas of Coronado Springs
• A photo tour of a not yet refurbed room at Coronado Springs
• A photo tour of a refurbed room at Coronado Springs
• Amenities at Coronado Springs
• Dining at Coronado Springs
• The pools at Coronado Springs

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