Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is a moderate resort, and our second resort of our trip. I want to start this review off by saying we originally booked a standard room, but were upgraded to the tower. Coronado Springs has many free standing buildings across their sprawling grounds, but just recently built an incredible 15 floor tower known as the Gran Destino Tower. The lobby for the entirety of the resort is located in the tower, along with a coffee shop, fitness center, and top floor restaurant. The tower does NOT house the food court, shops, or it’s own pool. This resort is very large and often used for conventions. The massive convention center is located right in the center of the resort. Now, let’s get down to the details!

The room:

We have stayed in the standard rooms in the past, and they are recently renovated, and spacious. The tower rooms are similar to the standard rooms, however they are a bit more upscale and luxurious. Our room truly felt like a deluxe resort, and honestly the rooms in the tower and standard rooms are nicer/more updated than the rooms at some deluxe resorts! The room was cozy, especially when we checked in during a crazy storm. The accent wall in the room added to the aesthetic and the bathroom was absolutely stunning. The bathroom had a bit of a different set up than most Disney rooms. The toilet was in a separate area than the sinks and shower. Two sinks made it super easy for both of us to get ready at the same time. The shower was super sleek, but did NOT have a tub! There was ample desk space and a couple of chairs in the room. The room had a keurig, coffee pods, cream and sugar, and cups! We would stay in this room over and over again. The floor to ceiling window made the already large room feel even larger, and our view happened to overlook the Tree of Life and floating mountains of Pandora (visible only after the sheets of rain stopped LOL!). The price of the tower rooms is more expensive than the standard rooms, and while the tower rooms are a bit newer andnicer, they may not be totally necessary if the additional cost could be used for another experience while on property!  

Transportation:

The only transportation that Coronado Springs offers is bussing. Since the resort is so large, there are multiple bus stops throughout. While we did not use the bus system this trip, in the past we have found that sometimes busses are full by the time they reach the last stop of the loop. We imagine this issue has amplified since Covid-19 distancing measurements have been put in place. We drove my car which was super helpful in getting around, however please remember that they do charge $20 per night for parking! We still recommend renting a car if staying at this resort since the busses seem to be a bit unreliable.

Food:

There are multiple restaurants and quick service locations throughout the resort. We stopped for coffee at Barcelona Lounge – the coffee shop in the lobby of the tower. The coffee was strong and tasty and the chocolate croissant was delicious. They have both Spanish and Classic coffees available! We took our coffees and croissant out to the lake to enjoy. It was the perfect little break.

We then took a stroll over to the quick service ‘food court’ El Mercado de Coronado located in the large central building (where the old lobby used to be). There is a covered walkway between the tower and this building, making it easy to head over even in the rain. They have Grab & Go options available right now and the process was simple and efficient. They have multiple heat lamps set up with electronic menus above stating what is in each section. They offered breakfast bowls, pancakes, waffles, egg sandwiches. This is in addition to pastries, cereal, and standard snacks. We grabbed an egg and cheese sandwich, which came with hash browns! It was about $9.00 before tax. We split the sandwich and each grabbed a hashbrown. The bread on the sandwich was a little hard, but the sandwich was definitely fresh. The hashbrowns were SO GOOD. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It was a great little breakfast and I would say reasonably priced considering typical Disney pricing. The quick service location has been recently renovated and was super cute with plenty of seating available. There are two sit down dining locations, and four QS locations available currently at the resort. Definitely easy to find something for everyone! We unfortunately did not stay to grab lunch or dinner, but can’t wait to try more when we return!

Pools:

There are four (!) pools total throughout the resort. The main pool, Lost City of Cibola pool, has a Mayan theme with a 50 ft temple as the centerpiece. There is a large slide, and children’s activities available! The three other pools are considered ‘leisure’ pools. They are quieter, typically without any extra activities, music, hot tub or splash pads. We unfortunately did not visit the pool this trip, but in the past we went and it was quite busy! We believe capacity is now limited, so make sure to get there early! The multiple pools allow for each party to decide what kind of pool day they want to have.

Overall:

We LOVE Disney’s Coronado Springs, and especially the tower. It gave us deluxe vibes for moderate pricing. The food was delicious, and the grounds are amazingly themed. This is a great resort for couples, convention goers, or single travelers. We do find it geared more towards adults rather than children. We highly recommend adult travelers consider this for their next trip! I will be suggesting to my boss that we have our annual work conference here next year LOL kidding, but not really.

This resort loses pretty major points for the transportation aspect. We love that when we go to Disney World we enter the ‘Disney bubble.’ The free transportation cannot be beat, and have never had any major issues with Disney transportation. Maybe we have been too spoiled with the Skyliner, or staying at deluxe resorts within walking distance of the parks, but the bus only option here leaves a lot to be desired. It requires us to take our car and therefore popping that ‘Disney bubble’ for us. We recommended earlier in the article to rent a car if staying here, which unfortunately also adds to the trip cost. Anything that takes away from churro funds is a negative in our book. With that said, if they built a Skyliner directly into Animal Kingdom, this resort would LEVEL UP and solidify itself as our second favorite Disney resort. Disney World hear me out!!!

Room –

• One king size bed option. Two queen size bed option. Multiple views available

Transportation-

• Busses to all parks and Disney Springs

Dining –

• Sit Down Dining (currently available)
  • Three Bridges Bar and Grill at Villa del Lago – Open for dinner daily 430pm – midnight
  • Rix Sports Bar and Grill – Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily
• Quick Service (currently available)
  • El Mercado Coronado – Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner daily
  • Café Rix – coffee, pastries, smoothies, yogurt, fruits, and salad. Open 7am to 12:30pm daily
  • Barcelona Lounge – coffee, pastries. Open 7am to 11am daily
  • Siestas Cantina – lunch and drinks by the pool. Open 11am-6pm daily

Pools –

• Four pools total
  • The Lost City of Cibola Pool – Dig Site
  • Three leisure pools located in each settlement – Casitas, Ranchos, and Cabanas

Shopping –

• Panchito’s Gifts and Sundries