Review: Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

I have a lot of Disney bucket list items—getting into Club 33, seeing the inside of the Cinderella Castle Suite, waiting less than 20 minutes to ride Peter Pan—but one of my more attainable goals is to stay at every hotel on Walt Disney World property. I got one step closer to that goal this summer, when we stayed at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

I will admit, I have a bit of a prejudice against moderate price resorts. I HATE how sprawling they are (Port Orleans-French Quarter being the main exception) and I don’t feel that the quality often is that much better than a value resort (again, with the exception being Port Orleans-French Quarter). I would much rather stay at Art of Animation that Caribbean Beach and have to make endless stops within the resort before leaving for the parks. So it was with a bit of trepidation that we booked Coronado Springs for a quick weekend trip.

Due to some horrific flight delays, we didn’t arrive to the hotel until after midnight. Upon arriving I was ecstatic to find out that we wouldn’t be staying at one of the outer buildings, but instead had gotten a room in the Gran Destino Tower (despite not specifically booking one there). The lobby of this building is truly stunning, with artwork and design meant to celebrate Spanish, Mexican, and Southwest cultures. Our poor tired bodies didn’t have to walk much more than to the elevator, where we were greeted with a standard sized guest bedroom. The interior of the room wasn’t anything special, but the bathroom was spacious and the beds were soft. In terms of theme, I would say there wasn’t much difference between this room and a room at a nice Marriott. Truly the only way we knew we were at Walt Disney World was the Mickey-shaped towels on the bed, the tinkling of DIsney music emanating from the TV’s welcome screen, and the distinct shape of the Tower of Terror outside our window.

One of the benefits of staying at the Gran Destino tower was that we had our own separate bus pickup area near the entrance. We simply had to walk down a few stairs and there we were. We were also the last pickup for the resort before leaving the hotel, as well as the first drop off spot upon returning. This made for much less time on the bus and more Magic Kingdom fun.

In terms of dining, we didn’t truly take too much advantage of the restaurants at Coronado Springs. Because we were only there for two days, we ate most of our meals in the parks. However before catching our flight home, we did make a quick pit stop at the Laguna Bar, located just outside the main building. We each got a margarita and some chips with salsa, guacamole, and queso. Everything was just okay, especially after coming from a full day of eating and drinking the offerings over at EPCOT. However there was live music playing as we ate, making for a relaxing atmosphere before we had to leave for the airport.

Overall, I would definitely consider staying at Coronado Springs again if I knew I would be staying at the Gran Destino Tower. It would be a great option for someone who didn’t want to have a ton of Disney in their faces, but maybe not the best choice for someone traveling with kids who truly wants an immersive experience. However it was the perfect place of us for a quick weekend away to the most magical place on earth!