Disney's Coronado Springs Resort Stay: Princess Half Marathon Weekend 2022

For Princess Half Marathon Weekend, we stayed at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. In this blog post, I wanted to share some details about the resort and our experience while staying there for a race weekend. This was our first time staying at this resort and my opinions reflect my experience.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort falls under the moderate category of resorts and is closest to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It is one of the largest resorts with regards to room quantity on property. Guests can stay in Casitas, Ranchos, Cabanas, and the new Gran Destino Tower. The Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs opened in 2019 and the rooms in the other sections of Coronado Springs were recently renovated. The resort is well-known for its aquatic complex, the Dig Site, that features the Lost City of Cibola Pool, Siesta’s Cantina, a volleyball court, the Iguana Arcade, a kiddie pool, hot tub, and a playground for guests to enjoy. The Lost City of Cibola Pool is home to the signature 50-ft Mayan pyramid and a 123-foot Jaguar water slide!

There are plenty of dining options at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. The quick-service food court is El Mercado de Coronado that offers both Mexican and American cuisine. They even offered grab and go options including wraps, sandwiches, and salads. There are several sit down restaurants available including Rix Sports Bar and Grill, Toledo, Three Bridges Bar and Grill at Villa del Lago, and Maya. There are also several lounges: Barcelona Lounge (only open for brunch), Laguna Bar, and the Dahlia Lounge. If you are looking for a souvenir for that special someone, check out Panchito’s Gifts and SundriesI There were also plenty of recreational activities along the resort property such as playing outdoor games outside of Gran Destino Tower, you can sleep the day away in a hammock, or by participating in the pool side games at the Dig Site. There truly is something to do for everyone!

Similar to other moderate resorts, there are several bus stops that are along the property that are closest to your resort region. The bus stops are as follows: 1. Gran Destino Tower 2. Casitas 3. Ranchos and 4. Cabanas. Based on the traffic pattern, most of the buses would actually stop at Casitas first followed by Ranchos, Cabanas, and then Gran Destino Tower. This made guests who were staying at Gran Destino very frustrated because by the time the bus would reach their stop, there would not be enough room on the bus for these guests (or the bus would not even stop there). This would make bus waits significantly longer and this is important to consider when catching buses are vital to get to the start for a runDisney race (and since they are paying significantly more for those rooms). Some buses did start out by stopping at Gran Destino first so I am not sure if this was unique to this weekend by starting out of route (I will find out and report back). We stayed at Ranchos and did not have any issues catching transportation at our location. There was a television at our bus stop that provided up to date information on bus waits (and was also available in the My Disney Experience app). Transportation was quick to other theme parks and we did not have a significant wait while waiting for a bus at the theme parks.

For this trip, we actually did an Amazon order to the resort for snacks, water, gatorade, and other items to prepare for the races. This was SO EASY and I highly recommend this for other runDisney runners! We picked up our order at Bell Services, but you can have Bell Services deliver to your room for a small fee. So honestly, we did not have the opportunity to experience the restaurants at our resort. We did eat several times at El Mercado de Coronado. They had some options that were typical for a quick service food court at Disney, but they did have some unique options that we really enjoyed. I liked that they had grab and go options, this was great to have before we left to come home and for those attending a conference there. They also offered quick service ordering at Rix Sports Bar and Grill for lunch.

The Dig Site was a popular spot to be during race weekend. I can assume this would be true during a non-race weekend, but it was difficult to find a chair on the pool deck during the peak hours. Adam and I didn’t mind sharing a chair, but you if enjoy spending time at the pool, I would get there early! The pool was enjoyable to be in and the slide was fun to go down if you are under the age of 29 (haha Adam got stuck going down the slide). The hot tub was a great decision to relax in after a long day of running to help loosen up the muscles and reduce soreness.

We thought the resort was STUNNING, especially Gran Destino Tower. Definitely take some time out of your trip to explore the grounds. It’s crazy to walk through and vision where the old concierge used to be, now it is just space to sit and relax. We loved the theming of each region, everything is centered on the blend of southwestern American, Mexican, and Spanish cultures. As I stated previously, we stayed in Ranchos and there were a lot of cacti, desert flora, and rock formations that you would see in those regions. The room we were in comfortably slept 4 adults and featured 2 queen size beds, a mini-fridge, a security safe, a tub shower combination with sliding door, and two sinks. There was a nice desk area for those who may have to work while on vacation. The bathroom was separated from the sleeping quarters by a sliding farm door.

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay at Disney’s Coronado Springs for Princess Half Marathon weekend. Adam and I both agree that we wished we took advantage of the dining options there, but there’s always a reason to go back :) . The bus rides to the theme parks and Disney Springs were short and we did not have to wait long for buses, even on a busy weekend. It seemed like a popular choice among runners for race weekend and it is often eligible for annual passholder discounts and room specials. This is a great resort to start with if you haven’t stayed at a moderate resort, without breaking the budget. I think it is also great to have the option to upgrade to Gran Destino tower if you prefer more quality-style rooms; this was something we contemplated with and we look forward to staying in the tower someday to compare the room types. This may be a great resort if you enjoy a variety of dining options, but this resort lacks in transportation options in comparison to other moderate resorts. I would definitely stay here again and would recommend this resort for a future stay for your Walt Disney World vacation.