Review from our recent visit (Nov 13-16).
This was our first time staying or even visiting CS. The resort was very nice. Definitely more of a Deluxe than Moderate. The GD tower entrance is very nice and was decorated up for the holidays. We prefer our holiday decorations to come after Thanksgiving so I didn't really do anything for us. In fact it kinda through us off since we weren't ready for this.
We got to the resort via Lyft around 2:00pm. Despite doing online checkin we still decided to go to the checkin desk. There was a short line of maybe 3 people. A CM came out with a tablet and checked us in as we sat on some chairs. She said that the room was currently being worked on but it should be ready soon. We decided to go get our mugs and grab a snack. While on our way to the shop and dining area we got a text saying our room was ready! We stayed in Casita 1 on the 4th floor.
Over all impressions of the resort were that it was a very nice resort and an outstanding value for what we paid. It has more of a convention hotel then a disney resort feel. Which is understandable since they have conventions there. It really doesn't have much of a Disney feel which was fine for us since it was just my wife and I. If we had kids I don't know if we would stay here unless it's for the price.
Rooms: Our room was a preferred with double beds. It was very nice and I like that it had a ton of USB ports and a big desk. I have no complaints about the room other then our TV didn't work that great. It was more of a software issue than the TV itself. When it worked it worked great. Love the user interface on it and how the background is the same as the wall. For those wondering, yes they have Disney+ on them however it's not the full Disney+.
Transportation: From where our room was you could either go to stop 2 or stop 1 at the tower. We only did stop 2 since it was the first pickup and first drop-off. In fact I think the bus only stopped at 1 maybe twice as we were going to parks. We were maybe a 3-5 min brisk walk to the stop. We never had an issue waiting for the bus. The longest we waited was maybe 10 minutes. I definitely think the Casita stop is the best. The ride to the parks didn't feel long at all. Great location.
Resort: The resort grounds were well kept and very nice. I liked the fountains they had all around. We did not really do much exploring of the other parts of the resort except for Casita's and GD tower. The pool area looked nice from afar. I liked the bridge across the water.
Dining: We only ate at the Market for 2 quick meals (breakfast). I like the openness of it. The first morning we ate there (Thurs) it was not crowded. The morning we left (Saturday) it was packed! We really like the snack stations in Rix Cafe that you can fill up a bag for $4.99. They have about 6-8 varieties of candy and snack/nut mix you can fill a big. I thought it actually was a great deal.
Other notes:
- The resort didn't feel that busy until Saturday.
- Definitely not as many kids as some other resorts. This is really a great resort to stay if you are without kids or don't want to be around a ton of kids.
- The resort is really quiet. Almost too quiet. I was wanting some more music playing in the common areas or buildings to go with the theming.
- I wish they had refill stations in each room area. We weren't that far but I can see it being a pain if you were far from the marketplace.
- The cast members we interacted with were very nice. Especially the Front Desk. I like that they came around to people in line asking how they could help. I had an issue with some gift cards I left at home that they were very attentive about and even remembered when I asked a few days earlier about it.
While not our favorite we have stayed at (Beach Club so far), We definitely would stay here again! It met and even exceeded some of our expectations especially for the price.
*Disney Transportation side note: I hope I don't ruffle any feathers and mean this with the utmost sincerity but the EVC's(scooters) are... let's just say the experience could be better for all. I'm lucky enough my wife or I don't need one. But we had to watch many people try to navigate putting their
scooter on the bus and almost every time it was a huge process. I completely understand and I'm sympathetic to those who need them but I feel watching them that they were embarrassed/frustrated trying to get them on the bus. The bus drivers for the most part were great at handling these situations. At the end of a busy day there was often a line of them waiting to get on the bus. I believe the most a bus can fit is 2. This adds another 10-20 mins. to the process of loading the busses. We probably saw 3-4 times when a scooter driver was unable to control their scooter almost crashing into poles/bus/ramps/other people.
I don't have the answers but I wonder if Disney could figure out a better way to handle these or have a better process as we see more and more of the EVC's each trip with make. Just my $.02.
