WDW: Coronado Springs, August 2026

Sneaking in a staycation on the Disney property is typically an every-other-year thing, but with Simon hurtling toward adulthood, and difficult work schedules, this was the easiest thing for us. With Florida rates available at Coronado Springs, I booked about a week out, for a Monday to Thursday, three-night run.

I was working Monday, so the idea was to run over to the hotel and do afternoon meetings once they pinged us with a room number. We booked the tower this time, because we've never done that before. Simon ran off to Blizzard Beach, and I ran to the front desk. The room we got was quite literally behind the roof over the front door area, and the windows was half frosted. The view was kind of the point of the tower, so this wasn't going to do. Fortunately, the nice lady at the front desk didn't even question it, and she got me hooked up to a room on the 7th floor. Whew.

After my meetings, and with Diana working until 9, I headed down to Three Bridges, the outdoor venue sitting in the middle of the lake. I sat at the bar with sangria and a little dinner. It was very chill, if a little lonely. From there, I did some walking around, and went up to Dahlia Lounge for a drink. It was very quiet, since Toledo is not open Monday. Met a nice retired couple from Tampa, and talked a bit about cruising. I went back to my room for a bit, and eventually met Diana at Barcelona, the lobby bar. There we met Lindsay, a bartender we've encountered before. There were no other people there most of the time. It felt like being on a cruise.

The next day, our agenda was fairly fluid, though my absolute intent was to ride the rebuilt Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Before that, we had a reservation at Beak & Barrel, the pirate bar at Magic Kingdom. The atmosphere is neat, and the drinks really are near perfect, but it wasn't the most hospitable place. First, they sat us with another family, despite every table but one on that side of the room being empty. Then, before so much as an "argh" from the server, he indicated that there was a two-drink limit and you had to be out in 45 minutes. The bar is obviously predicated on premium drinks and volume, but that just felt icky.

After that, BTMR. The new trains feel a little softer, and I think the geometry changed enough to get that lower height requirement. The first lift is still loud, but whoa, the ride is so much smoother. They seemed to fit better transitions into the same space. There's a big moment on the third lift, which was partially ruined by a brief stop on the lift. No matter, it's still a much better ride, start to finish. There's even a hint of airtime on a couple of the humps. It does seem to come into the pre-lift brakes a little hotter than before.

Diana and I headed to Disney Springs for lunch, while Simon continued to do his thing. We ate at Chef Art Smith's Homecomin', which is a whole lot of heavy fried food. It's delicious, but also emblematic of American portion control, or lack thereof. After lunch, we confirmed the chatter about needing to be a guest to get on a resort bus from Springs. I have a hard time believing that this is being heavily abused, especially if it's a means to avoid paying for parking. That would add a minimum of 30 minutes each way.

Our evening consisted of stops at Three Bridges and Barcelona, and some leisurely walking around. We have to contend with a lot of rain this time of year, so you kind of sneak stuff in when possible.

Wednesday had me and Simon headed to Epcot, which felt oddly busy (Diana went "off campus" to meet family for lunch). We first jumped on The Land, which had a 20-minute wait. There's certainly some nostalgia with this ride, but the front half desperately needs a refresh. After that, we had lunch at Connections, where they have sadly stopped using real plates and silverware, meaning it all gets thrown away. The people attending to guests to help clean up area also gone. The food seems the same, but eating out of cardboard boats feels cheap.

Guardians was our focus, and we eventually got a lap there. Even better, we got "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" as our song, and it's been like a year and a half for me and that song on the ride. This is still my favorite ride at all of WDW. It rides different in different seats, and you feel some solid forces in a way that your body responds to without it being too much. Some might argue that this sort of middling is catering to the widest possible audience, and that's likely true, but it is damn near perfect.

Simon and I got on Skyliner to Hollywood Studios. He was going to ride stuff there, but I was just going to take the bus back to Coronado (closest park to the hotel). I love the Skyliner, especially if you can get a non-wrapped cabin. It's quiet and peaceful, as you literally rise above the noise of the resort. It's an attraction itself, even if the intent is to get you around.

Diana and I had a dinner reservation at Toledo, atop the Gran Destino tower at Coronado. This is probably our favorite dinner spot on the property. The menu is not large, but it's Michelin "recognized" and fantastic. I love the chicken, but it's the oddly the rice that I like the most. So good. These Coronado spots all share the same sangria recipes, and I'm into the white.

The biggest thing that I come back to when coming back to Coronado is that it's one of the few places I can easily visit that give me the great design vibes. I love and appreciate great design. It's one of the things that draw me to the ships. But this hotel, especially in the tower and its venues, carries a consistent look and feel throughout. The lobby has a grand feel, but it carries through to the restaurant and bar on 16. The wallpaper in the rooms nod to the design as well. You look around and can see the care in design everywhere. Every little detail was a decision that someone made. That's very satisfying to me.

So it's not the rope-dropping theme park experience that people often do, but that's kind of the point. Disney's strength is hospitality, and if you're not trying to optimize every minute of your time, you will absolutely be able to relax in that hospitality.

Great TR. For no particular reason, I've probably stayed at Coronado Springs more than any other resort at WDW in all my visits.

It's one of my favorites. You are right...there is just such a cool feel and vibe all throughout the resort and you really notice it walking around the property. Love the pool area as well.

I haven't stayed there since the new tower was built so it's been a while. I'll have to get it on my list again at some point.

Before Covid and before WDW went to "I hate poor people" pricing, I was able to regularly snag a room there for in the low/mid $200/night range, which was a good deal for a moderate resort. Today, the value proposition is a lot harder to justify for me when there's so many decent off property options at much lower price points.

It kills me to have to spend $300/$400+ a night for a moderate room at WDW nowadays.

You can still get mid-$200 from time to time. Heck, one of my nights in the tower was $270, which is always more.

The CSR Tower has been on my list for a while--I had it booked as a bounceback but ended up bagging thanks to some home repair that is depeting the reserves a little faster than I'd hoped. We had planned on visiting for a dinner at Toledo durign the passholder discount window, but ended up canceling because we needed a more chill evening. So, this renews both of those plans. I'm normally in one of the DVC resorts, so I will probably try to tack on a night at the front or back end of some other stay just to check it out.

Re the Springs parking thing. You can save money or you can save time, you can't save both. The budget board people on DIS were pretty furious about it, so that's a good sign that it was being used more often than maybe Disney would hope. I think at least some of the motivation was also from the Port Orleans folks, whose boats were overloaded with TikTok'ers who needed to get clips with the beignets there.

Agreed on New Thunder and the Skyliner. We've got our first extended stay coming up at Riviera for spring break next year, and I'm really looking forward to it as my home base. If you haven't tried it yet, Topolino's does a pretty good dinner as well.