June 13, 2023

Disney World Hotel Tour: Coronado Springs Resort

Disney World Hotel Tour: Coronado Springs Resort

Disney World Hotel Tour: Coronado Springs
This week, we invite you to join us on a captivating tour of Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, a remarkable Moderate level resort located within the enchanting Walt Disney World Resort. We'll be showcasing al...

The player is loading ...
Disney World and Beyond

Disney World Hotel Tour: Coronado Springs

This week, we invite you to join us on a captivating tour of Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, a remarkable Moderate level resort located within the enchanting Walt Disney World Resort. We'll be showcasing all the compelling reasons why this resort should be your top choice for your next magical stay.Check out our video tour of the resort hosted by travel host extraordinaire Cam Matthews here .

First and foremost, let's explore the captivating theme and aesthetic of Disney's Coronado Springs. This original resort draws inspiration from the alluring ambiance of Spanish colonial Mexico and the American Southwest. As we venture further, you'll discover that the guest rooms are situated in three distinct areas known as Casitas, Ranchos, and Cabanas. The Casitas offer luxurious suites, making Coronado and Gran Destino Tower the only moderate resorts at Walt Disney World with such accommodations. Throughout the common areas and guest rooms, the vibrant presence of the beloved characters from "The Three Caballeros" is skillfully woven into the decor, adding an extra touch of whimsy and charm.

Next, we'll delve into the magnificent Gran Destino Tower, which opened its doors in 2019. This stunning 15-story tower takes inspiration from the themes and visual aesthetics of the renowned Disney animation short film, "Destino." Originally a collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali, the film remained unfinished until 2003. The Gran Destino Tower pays homage to this artistic masterpiece, offering guests a truly immersive experience filled with elegance and sophistication.

As we satisfy our appetites, we'll explore the delightful dining options available at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. The main dining venue, Coronado Springs, boasts a variety of culinary experiences, including Rix Sports Bar & Grill, Maya Grill, El Mercado de Coronado, and Cafe Rix. If you're looking for a unique dining experience, we recommend checking out Three Bridges Bar & Grill, Siestas Cantina (a charming poolside bar), and Laguna Bar, a picturesque outdoor lakeside bar. Additionally, the Gran Destino area offers Toledo, an exquisite dining destination specializing in tapas, steak, and seafood. For a more relaxed atmosphere, you can unwind at Dahlia Lounge or indulge in specialty gin drinks and Spanish-inspired appetizers at Barcelona Lounge, which also serves as an espresso bar and quick-service breakfast spot in the mornings.

Of course, no trip to Disney's Coronado Springs Resort would be complete without exploring its remarkable recreational facilities. The Dig Site pool complex steals the spotlight, featuring the captivating Lost City of Cibola pool with a thrilling 123-foot waterslide—the longest on Walt Disney World property. Additionally, you'll find the largest hot tub on the property, capable of accommodating up to 22 adults, a kiddie pool, Siestas pool bar, sand volleyball court, the exciting Iguana Arcade, and the fun-filled Dig Site playground. For those seeking a more tranquil experience, the resort offers three serene quiet pools, each located in the distinct "settlement" areas of Coronado Springs.

Throughout your stay, immerse yourself in the vibrant Colors of Coronado and admire the intricate Spanish Mosaic Art experiences that add an extra layer of cultural beauty to the resort. Both sections of the resort feature fitness centers to help you maintain your active lifestyle. You'll still find an array of engaging recreational activities to enjoy, including a daily campfire, nightly movies under the stars on the Gran Destino Lawn, invigorating pool parties, thrilling games, and a refreshing jogging trail for those seeking a scenic workout.

 

As always, a huge thank you to our sponsor, Key to the World Travel. For all your travel needs, Key to the World's expert travel advisors are standing by. Make sure you tell them the Gold Key Adventurers sent you!

 

Proud to be a Feedspot Top 100 Disney Podcast! https://bit.ly/GKASFeedSpotDisney 

 

Thanks to Outer Vibe for the use of their song Hoka Hey off of the album Hoka Hey as the intro and outro of our show. For tour dates, merch, music and more, check them out at www.outervibe.com.

 

Don’t forget to  subscribe to the show to make sure you don't miss a single week of adventure. While you're at it, how about leaving us a rating and review?

 

Word of mouth is the best way for us to grow our society of intrepid adventurers-if you have a friend or two who might enjoy our particular brand of adventure and silliness, send them our way.

 

The Gold Key Adventurers Society is always looking for new members! Find all our episodes, links and info at https://www.goldkeyadventurers.com. Make sure you follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldKeyAdventurersSociety, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/gkaspodcast, and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GKASPodcast

 

Show The Gold Key Adventurers some love by buying the hosts a coffee (or two or ten?) at https://bit.ly/KofiDonateToGKAS

 

Better yet, try one of Expedition Roasters’ delicious theme park and pop culture inspired flavored coffees! Using our affiliate link will help keep the Gold Key Adventurers caffeinated and making great content for you! https://bit.ly/ExpeditionRoastersGKAS 

 

Remember, life is short and the world is wide. So go have an adventure!

 

Transcript

[0:00] Music.

Introduction 

[0:32] Trips once-in-a-lifetime destinations that we'll get to someday we're here to help you make your travel dreams a reality buy the ticket take the trip.

[0:38] Music.

[1:07] Welcome back to another meeting of the Gold Key Adventurer Society.
My name is Dan Leonard.
Hi, Dan. And joining me this week in the studio is Heather Strait and Mr. Jeff Williams. Hey, that's me.
Absolutely is. And we're glad to finish there. Our show, as always, is brought to you by Key to the World Travel.
Key to the World Travel is a full service travel agency specializing in theme parks, cruising and destinations around the world.
To www.keytotheworldtravel.com for more details and a no obligation quote on the vacation of a lifetime. So when you think of a moderate resort hotel at Walt Disney World, which one pops into your head as the very best that the category has to offer?
I'm going to go to Coronado Springs. Disney's Coronado Springs.

[1:57] Wow! Yeah! Crazy! You guys have the same answer. Yes. Probably because Supreme is crap.
It's my favorite. It already was my favorite moderate. Even before the redo they went through five years ago.
Yeah, it's an awfully nice resort without even going into the grandestino tower.
I didn't realize that how many firsts it had for a moderate being the first obviously.
The one that has the convention center is also the first and a sing-only for suites.
Yeah I think that was a little bit by design when they put a convention center there they I made it a little bit plus from the other moderates.
Try to attract a lot of business travel.
And it worked.

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort


[2:42] It's a beautiful resort site. It's a great convention center.
It really is. It's a huge convention center. Maybe someday we can have our own convention center.
Someday. It's very difficult to get into that space because it's so popular.
It's such a great convention center. Because of the pricing.
Mm-hmm. The great price, beautiful resort, and so, so many amenities.
Absolutely. So this week, we're going to take you on a tour of that very same Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, share all the reasons that we think it's a perfect spot for your next day at Walt Disney World Resort. Make sure you check out the show notes for a link to a, we've got a complete resort tour on YouTube with travel host extraordinaire Cameron Matthews. That way you can see everything that we talk about in this episode and get a taste for the place. So yeah, but like I said, it's a beautiful resort. It's inspired by Spanish colonial Mexico as well as the American Southwest.
And now Spain itself, too, if you factor in the Grandes Ceno Tower, it's very Spanish.
Yeah, Spanish-themed. Yeah.
There's a whole lot going on there, but it all works.
Oh, beautiful.
I liked, I got to stay there for the very first time just a couple of months ago, and I liked the different neighborhoods that they had there that were variations, on the architecture and the theme. Right by the convention center there's those casitas.

[4:08] Some that are more like ranch houses, in fact they call them ranchos, the cabanas.

[4:14] It is a very large resort, but it's laid out really well. Strong even.

Getting Around the Resort and Personal Experience


[4:18] It is sprawling. There is an internal bus system, but now that they have those bridges built across that main lake, it's easier to get back. The very first time I stayed at Coronado Springs, I was in the building the furthest from the main check-in main area, and they didn't have those bridges across that lake. So you had to go, if you wanted to walk, you had to go all the way around and they do have a golf cart service there.
Were you in the building back in the corner with the quiet pool? Yes.
And the little spa? Yeah. That's the building I was in.
It was after a cruise and it was about 9,000 degrees and I was staying there with my sister Hannah and she wanted to walk with our luggage.
They had offered us a golf cart because when you check in, it is so big if you're in one of those outer buildings, they will take you and your luggage in a golf cart.
She really wanted to walk because she wanted to see it. And I'm like, all right, let's go.
And so we're hauling our luggage and it was the longest, hottest, farthest walk. It was miserable.
Like, oh, I hate this place. I'm never staying here again. Yeah.
I was thinking, even with the bridge in place, that's a haul from the casitas, which are the closest to the lobby over to the pool.
I was trying to imagine doing that walk with children and not losing at least one of them. Yeah.

[5:43] Yeah, I do Find because it's a convention hotel. They do run around in those golf carts a lot and you can often catch a ride and.

 Coronado Springs Resort Layout and Guest Rooms


[5:56] Or walk with a limp Pick you up and feel bad for you in the golf cart So I do a lot of that, The park buses stop at all of the various stops around it So you can grab a bus if you're way far out you could grab a bus over to the tower, Not too terrible, Lately, I just try to book in that tower if I can help it, it's a little price difference, it's worth it to me.
It's beautiful. And that's where the lobby for the whole place is.
Yes. And it's a deluxe feeling at more of a moderate price. It's a little bit higher than the outer buildings, but still a really reasonable per night price for what you're getting with that tower.
The rooms in the outer buildings and the tower are, I don't know if they are, but they feel with the way they're designed, they feel like some of the biggest of the moderate.

[6:46] They definitely are the outer ones. The outer building rooms are a little bit bigger than the tower rooms, but still with the same decor. And they're very, they're really spacious actually.
And it's the only moderate that has suites. You can get suites in both the tower and in the outer building, which is nice for families if you wanted a little bit more space. Yeah, those suites are in the Acidas area right behind the convention center. And I was impressed. That's the area I stayed in, I had a single king bedroom and it felt huge. It really did. Even with like, a full desk work area and all of the storage furniture that they have, it was a really big room.
They're pretty spacious and the finishings in all of the rooms are a little bit higher end than the other moderates. You're talking marble and wood and if you're familiar with it.
Nice heavy wood door. Yeah, you're familiar with a Disney moderate concept.
There is the bathroom sink area is open to the rest of the room, but they all have a curtain.
At Coronado, it's a wooden barn door, really pretty, beautifully carved wooden barn door.
Just makes it just a little bit higher up.
There are no horses or cows in there. No, not at all.
Although, depending on who you're staying with, it might smell like it.
It certainly does if I'm in there.

[8:12] I also really enjoyed that, especially the guestrooms, but then peppered around the resort.
There is a lot of the Three Caballeros.
I loved that. I'm a big fan of those three silly birds.

[8:23] Same. I like the birds. And that's the greatest ride in all of Walt Disney World property is the Three Caballeros ride in the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot. After I road tripped living with the land, I book it straight to that ride.
That's right. What a day. You know it. Yeah.

Gran Destino Tower and Dining Options at Coronado Springs


[8:41] Yeah. But then they went ahead and in 2019 took the whole resort up several notches with the Gran Destino Tower.
Yeah. And they knocked down a few, was it a few casitas building or was it a whole other neighborhood?
I can't remember now.
Yeah. You It was at least two buildings that used to be that those were they call them like a business class, Section over there where they had a little small concierge lounge and it was, part of the bus stop was over there too, and they tore all that out to build the, grand destino tower And it's gorgeous. It's a 15 story, beautiful really deluxe feel To that tower. Yeah, and it's now the check-in for the whole resort, So you had dual check-in if you were staying at that. Yeah, Tower they had check-in for that there and the old check-in for the other part was still there now They moved everything over there. I like it and the old check-in area is now a huge beautiful, Kind of just a loungy area. They've got tables.

[9:47] There's games in their sofas and tables for working and power It's a nice place to hang out, especially if it's your check out day, you could, it's a great place to hang out because there's plenty of space, you're dragging your luggage with you and they have stuff like checkers and chess and it's just really pretty and beautiful open area.
And then the tower also has the club level, which is, we've talked about this before, it is the best club lounge on Walt Disney World property.
It's the best club lounge of any club lounge I've seen on any hotel, honestly. So so nice.
It's huge. It's beautiful. And they have great food service they do in there.
You could get away with not eating anywhere else. It's good.
And when they added all of those rooms, they added two beautiful bars.
The Barcelona lounge.

[10:43] Is that the one upstairs or downstairs? Downstairs is Barcelona.
Bartholone Lounge downstairs is a beautiful lobby bar. And then upstairs is Dahlia.
Dahlia. Dahlia. And that one, I just love the vibe up there.
It has a balcony looking out over the parks.
You can see into Hollywood Studios from there, see into Star Wars Town USA from up there.
And then across the hall from that is Toledo.
Toledo.
Toledo. And man, is that restaurant good. Yummo.
Yeah, I've got to say that those are some of my new favorite spots after visiting there last fall. Toledo's food is phenomenal. Even without the beef candle.
I know. We'd say, have not brought back.
Of all the things to cut, buy the beef candle.

[11:35] Be a fair guest, there's no more. Dahlia Lounge specializing in a lot of gin drinks, especially gin and tonics.
Downstairs at Barcelona is a gin bar too.
Even wider selection. Yes.
Yeah, they do have a similar menu of kind of their specialty cocktails.
The nice thing about Barcelona too, and Heather gave me this pro tip when I was there, is that's the place to go for coffee out of both of the resorts.
Yes, in the morning. The coffee shop at the Rick's Cafe at the original Coronado Springs is a little bit lacking.
Yeah, what you get in that marketplace, but they have a fancy, beautiful, expensive espresso machine down at Barcelona Lounge, and it turns into a coffee lounge in the morning, and then like three, four o'clock in the afternoon, turns back into the gin bar.
I love that spot. The coffee drinks are great in the morning.
And then my favorite in the evenings there is they have a build your own gin and tonic.
So they have a wide variety of tonics and so, so many gins serving in a beautiful fancy goblets with peppercorn garnish.

[12:45] I did not know until that place opened and we were talking to the extremely knowledgeable bartenders there.
That was the national drink in Spain. Who knew?
I had no idea but specifically gin and tonic They've got over a hundred kinds of gin at this bar the one downstairs the one upstairs has a nice selection, too But particularly that downstairs bar has crazy amounts of gin Mm-hmm. I like I prefer Barcelona downstairs for a weird reason and it's that they have a wider selection of tonics, Downstairs there's for some reason they don't stock the same tonics upstairs. It's a much smaller physical bar They don't have the space to store all the bar downstairs at Barcelona lounges physically like.

[13:32] 100 plus feet long. I guess a long, huge bar. Beautiful sort of surrealist glass mural behind it that has one of the coolest hidden Mickeys on property and it took me a really long time to find it. As a slight hint, it's a much grander scale hidden Mickey than anywhere else.
And it's, yeah, it's a hidden Mickey hat. It's so pretty. Yes, that's true. So, so pretty.
The tower has a lot of the Salvador Dali elements to it from when he was friends with Walt Disney and they hung out.
Which isn't that a weird pair? Who's that? These two are different. Very weird.
It's because Walt was trying to get all artsy after Fantasia when he made friends with the conductor Leopold Stokowski and he decided to move on to the visual art world and glom Let's drop acid and look at art together.
Can you imagine that? Pickle cigarettes. Yeah.
While we're on the topic of dining, while we're on the topic of bars, we can talk a little more about dining. That's right.
This hotel has, like, the most and the best dining options. So much.
Yeah. Yeah, it's great. We mentioned Toledo. It's delicious.

[14:52] It's tapas, steak, seafood. Yes, and such a pretty location.
Up there at the top and it's got this big tree in the middle. It's just beautiful.
I'm a sucker for any place where they, where you're inside, but they try to make you feel like you're outside at night. So I automatically fell in love with it when I went inside it.
That's what they had going on. Yeah.

[15:16] Yeah. Yeah. The vibe up there is gorgeous. Barcelona is mostly just beverages. They do have small little like bar snacks type things.
Yeah, they've got some charcuterie, a couple of small bites, and in the morning when they're at the coffee bar, they also have some breakfast food to go.
Yeah, hot sandwich and a hot grab and go. Yeah.
So that's nice. Then over in the old building, they have a whole bunch of stuff going on.
There's the Ricks has a sports bar and grill. I love that place. Heather and I have eaten there a bunch of times. When you go check in and your room's not ready, you can throw your luggage and we'll go sit in there and eat. It's classic bar food, wings and different stuff, but they have a pretty interesting menu there and it's really good food and a great bar.
Something called Wachos, waffle fry nachos. Waffle fry nachos. I don't hate that at all. They also have tachos. Yes.

Coronado Springs Resort and its restaurants


[16:14] Any kind of show you throw at me I'm gonna yeah. Yeah, I'm a chauffeur It's great that it all of the old section is connected to the tower by a walkway So you don't actually have to go outside if you want to it's a pretty little area along the waterfront and there's a little margarita stand but you can stay inside in the A.C. the whole way.
Mm-hmm. Yeah, Ricks is great. I've eaten there a bunch of times.
They're a quick service. The Mercado is also really nice. It's gone through... it used to be sort of like they had all these different stations and they've made it into a little bit more of a traditional quick service now, but it's there's a ton of seating and it looks like a little outside outdoor sort of Spanish.
Yeah, it's quality. It's a little higher than the like the pop century or the value any of the value resorts quick service, but good.

[17:14] Yep. They also have Maya Grill is their table service restaurant there.
I really haven't tried it either, but I've seen really good reviews of it.
When I stay there and I want to eat sit-down, I tend to go upstairs now.
I don't even remember seeing where it was.
The side of of the quick-service marketplace or a little bit around a corner Yeah, if you kept walking where you would turn left to go into the quick service you continue down that hallway It curves around to my grill. It's very pretty I've gone in and taken a look but I haven't eaten there yet. I have to put it on the list.

[17:51] Looks like they have family style Mexican meals. You can also get fajitas Yeah, the Maya Grill tends more towards the Mexican and Toledo is on the Spanish tapas side.
Yeah, absolutely. Also, new as of when they put in the Grand Estino Tower and shared by both, you could say is the Three Bridges Bar and Grill.
Yes, this place is great. So good.
It's a beautiful spot right out in the middle of, it's literally in the middle of the lake by three bridges and even though it is outdoor it's covered and shaded and somehow it's never all that hot out there I don't know how they do it I love that place really good menu I graduated from there yes Sangria Academy out there did you hang up your diploma yeah yeah Yeah, my diploma is hanging up.
I still have my stained cap and gown that I wore.
Didn't you actually go back for your master's degree?

[18:59] Out there. Oh, what did I do? What? Didn't you go back for your master's degree for continuing education?
Yeah.
I've done it twice now. I think I'm a doctorate.
Yeah. Doctor of Sangria Arts. Then my residency will be upcoming.
The Fellowship, I don't do it all.
They have a great selection of sangrias, I did do the Sangria University there, but you can get a picture of sangrias, they have all your normal stuff too.
My favorite is the sangria flight.

[19:32] Yeah. So you get one of each of the different main types of sangria.
Comes on a cool, spirally stand.
They have great food out there, and that's another place. Everywhere at this place has really knowledgeable, really fun, cool bartenders.
That must be a good gig, because they always have really good bartenders at all the bars at Coronado.

[19:54] They have great food and great vibe out there. Braised pork tacos.
That sounds delicious.
That sounds delicious. And I didn't realize they have a takeout menu. You can order takeout from there. And you can join the walk-up list to get seating in there. It's really, I've never had trouble getting a table. Never. I like to sit at the bar too. That's a tip. If it looks full, you can usually just sit at the bar. It's a pretty big restaurant. They have a lot of seating.
And they have these cool, they look like fireplaces, but it's not fire. It's like a water mist that they shoot light onto.
Yeah, I was like, who in their right mind would want to sit by a fire out here in Orlando?
But it's, yeah, it's not hot, it's cool. Yeah, he says that and then the server went, no, look, and stuck his hand in it.
I'm like, ah, no, oh.
Don't sit me by this fire. It's not fire. Yeah, it's actually cool.
It's his magical cold fire. Yes, cold fire. Yeah.
I started trying to do an accident, then I bailed halfway through.
That was probably best.
He's getting a little Antonio embarrassment. Well, yeah. Most.
Yeah. That's my go-to when I'm trying to do the voice from that.
There are two outside bars. Heather, real quick, mentioned the Laguna Bar. It's more than just, margaritas. It's a full-service outside bar that they have. It's right beside the lake.

[21:19] One of those right outside the lobby area type of bars. Nice little place to sit by the water.
And then there's also at the pool that we'll talk about in a minute, they have.

Lost City of Cibola Pool Complex


[21:31] Oh, what's that big bar called?
That's the siestas cantina bar, of course. That's right, the siestas cantina bar out there at the pool.
I suppose we can hop right over to that. It's a very impressive pool area. The site.
Yeah, it's... Why is it siestas cantina? Isn't that sleep...
Sleep's canteen? Sleep's restaurant? Well, a siesta, you don't have to sleep.
You can just relax, put your feet up, take the mood off, have a siesta.
Oh, yeah, I guess it's just a rest canteen.
Yes. until you take a siesta. So it's the rest restaurant. Yeah, my favorite kind. They referred to that pool area, they call it a complex. There's a lot going on over there.
They have a pool, which is the Lost City of Cibola pool. It's got a gigantic Mayan.

[22:23] Pyramid as the center feature piece, similar to the volcano at the Pali. And that has a, great big water slide in it. Apparently in the morning they do some sort of, ceremony for the opening of the pool where they open the floodgates to allow the water to cascade down the pyramid. Oh, that's a whole thing that they do apparently.
That is a great pool over there. Yeah, it's really nice, it's really cool. They have the biggest hot tub on Walt Disney World property. Mm-hmm. It usually just Which looks like child soup.
Yeah, often.
You can fit 22 adults in there. There's a kiddie pool. My favorite part of it actually is the dig site playground, which looks like an archaeological, excavation site.
It's a really cool playground. It's probably the best themed playground that I can remember seeing in a Disney World hotel.
Climb up and you can slide, slide ghosts through the ruins and stuff.

[23:22] Yeah, I super love that whole pool and complex over there.
Yeah. Yeah. They also have some of the kind of like outdoor pool type stuff. There's the outdoor, ping pong. I believe I saw some shuffleboard action going on. There's a sand volleyball court.
They do s'mores and stuff out there, activities, night. That stuff seems to be back to all the things like they ended during the COVID times.
Yep.
The arcade is also located on that pool.
So that's pretty cool. I'm trying to find it now.
There was something that they, let me look at the official Disney's website for this.
Is there something that they mentioned that they do at the pool?

[24:10] Not under amenities, recreation. It's probably not important and once I find it, it'll be boring and you'll make fun of, me.
It's okay. Oh, sure. What else is new?
You can use some of your... Oh, oh, oh!
There's an activity and there's no description of what this is on Disney's website, but each, day they have a swimming of the bowls.
A swimming of the bowls?
Yeah. I want to know what the swimming of the pools is. Wow.
I don't know. I might need to do some Google investigating of that.
Yeah. I suppose I could have done that yesterday when I read it and so taken by it that I almost remembered what it was called.
I was so curious. I didn't Google it or remember what it was.
Swimming of the pools. Oh, I got it here. Let's see.
Now I have to have found a site that said they had it it's not showing up, On the old YouTube. I would like to think that they release a bunch of angry bulls into the, full children have to get away. I would go to that every time I could.

[25:19] Yeah, it's all I can find about this is just that it is an activity called the swimming of the bulls and it happens during their pool party. It's probably something lame like they blow up.
Oh, yeah. Pool floaties? Yeah, probably. Pool hats on children or something.
If it was that awesome, there would be videos available of it.
Which there's not. Yeah, nothing. I can't find a thing. That's too bad.
I'll have to do some more research. We'll do an addendum to tell everyone that they really- Well, let's just enjoy family-friendly activities like swimming with the bowls.
With the bowls. Yeah.
Yeah. You're probably right. pool floaties. Let's take a dozen angry bulls and release them into the kiddie pool. And.

Leisure activities at Coronado Springs


[26:07] You never know when it might happen. No more nature. Well, next time we stay at Coronado, we've got to try and catch this and see what this activity involves. I bet it's amazing.
I bet. Probably. We've talked before about some of the art experiences you can do at different resorts, and this one has two of them. You can do the Colors of Coronado, which is a canvas painting class and they also rotate through what they're painting yeah there's, different pictures and they also have you can make a spanish mosaic tile mickey head or minnie mouse head that's cool i've seen that one and it looks really great and that's, fun what are you breaking up tiles they have the glass pieces already yeah and then you put them all together oh i like that yeah yeah it looks cute looks like fun both parts of the resort. There's two fitness centers at both Grandestino and at the old, the Coronado Springs outer buildings. There was a spa, but thanks COVID, it's still closed.
Still closed. A lot of their spas didn't come back post-COVID. There used to be one at, Yacht and Beach that's still not back. They did finally- Oh, even that one didn't come back.
Very recently, they reopened the main spas at the Grand Floridian and um...
Disney's official website. Saratoga.
Oh, they don't even mention the Saratoga one. Maybe that one didn't come back either.

[27:36] Right now, according to their website, Grand Floridian is the only place.
The only one. I understand. That's.

[27:43] Maybe they weren't as profitable as they could have been. Yeah, that's possible.
The spa at the Four Seasons came back really early in COVID, and it's a fantastic spa.
It's very expensive, but it's beautiful.
I'm going to guess that there are some contractual reasons that one had to come back to people that live there, that have that in their contract.
Yeah, that could be. I guess it makes sense.
It made sense to have that at a convention resort. That's the kind of thing that conventioneers would love to have as an amenity, but they do have the two fitness centers.
The convention facility itself is enormous.
It's a really very nice convention center. Yeah. Yeah.
The rooms are beautiful. It's a lot bigger than I expected.
They have a full show floor and then multiple ballrooms.
It's always booked. There's dance competitions and cheer competitions and huge conventions all the time at that resort.
They have some smaller meeting rooms, which I don't remember really seeing at some of the other convention centers. There's also a full-service business center that you can use with computers and stuff, that you can access free of charge.
It's all connected and in walking distance, which makes it a very nice experience.

[29:07] Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely easier to get around. We got kicked out of there. We were finally going to do it. We got kicked out for basketball. COVID, yes, when they established the NBA bubble there. It's fun. We'll talk to some of the cast members, like the bartenders who worked during that experience. They have great stories. It sounds like it was actually a really fun experience for most of them and challenging.

Detour:NBA's COVID Bubble was a weird thing that happened


[29:37] They were testing constantly and they had to almost be in quarantine to work it.
But it sounded like it was a ton of fun and they got to hang out with the players. Right.
Hang out with the players a lot and those players were partying and tipping well.
What a weird time that was. Yeah, really weird.
Remember that time when the NBA relocated to Walt Disney World?
Yeah, such a weird thing. Weird.
And they had all the games at the Wide World of Sports and, like, fake little audience cutouts up in the stands.
And not even just there, but some of the games were being played, like, in the convention center, on the, like, they laid out basketball floor on the convention carpet. How weird is that?
That's the best part, I think. Let's convert the ballrooms into basketball courts.
You.

Convenient Location


[30:33] Basketball courts. So weird. So weird. So weird. Yeah, so that's Coronado Springs and Grand Testino Tower.
I highly recommend this resort. It's a really great price point. You get very much a deluxe experience for more of a moderate price. It's a hidden gem, I think.
We didn't talk a ton about the transportation. It is all bus transportation. That is your only option. I think if they were to extend, and it's close, they extended the Skyliner over there.
This is my dream that they would extend the Skyliner out there.
Yeah. Because the Skyliner does go to the Riviera, which is just across and down from there. It would not be a huge undertaking.
Yeah, it would not be a huge undertaking to take Skyliner right over to land at the front.

[31:27] Gate of the Grand Destino.
Maybe they can take that money they saved by not moving Imagineering out to Florida and expand the Skyliner.
Yeah, for sure. That would be fantastic. And it would be the most perfect resort, but as it is, it's dang near perfect now.
And it's really not a long bus ride from anywhere.
Not too far from the Magic Kingdom. Animal Kingdom is close. Epcot and Hollywood Studios are very close. Epcot and Hollywood you can see from the balconies there. See right into both parks. When you're out at Animal Kingdom Lodge the bus out to the Magic Kingdom is a bit of a hike but it's not such an issue there at Coronado. Not at all. And if you're the type that likes to drive it's fairly centrally located on property so you're right in a spot.

[32:18] That takes you out to all four parks pretty easily.
And just down the street is Disney Springs.

Recommendation to Check out the Resort


[32:23] Well, isn't that convenient? It is. Well, ain't that convenient? So pretty.
If you haven't checked out Coronado yet, you're really missing out.
Absolutely. Make sure you check out again, the show notes. We'll have a link to the YouTube video that Cameron Matthews made for us. You can check out, we have room tours of all of the rooms that are out in the casitas and in the tower. Including the Sultan's Palace. Yes, my favorite, room on Walt Disney World property. It's called the Presidential Suite. There's only two of them in the tower. And I would move in and just live there in a heartbeat.

[32:58] Music.

Description of Presidential Suite


[33:11] It would be a little expensive. But it's the most beautiful room with 12-foot ceilings and these enormous 10-foot hand-carved doors into the bedrooms. It's just, it's palatial and you forget where you are when you're in this room. Check it out, we've got a tour And unlike this show, it's just a marvel of engineering.
A marvel.
That's right. That's right. So yeah, check out that video.
And you get club access with that room, which, as we've mentioned, it's our favorite club.
Just down the hall from those two rooms.
And that's convenient. That means it's time for me to say thanks for hanging out with us again this week.
If you're excited to experience Disney's Coronado Springs and Grand Estino Tower for yourself, Key to the World Travel has a five-story-tall Mayan pyramid full of expert travel planners.
They're ready to make your vacation.

[34:00] Music.

Outro and Contact Information


[34:34] To ask a question or share your travel story, you can reach us by smoke signal, carrier pigeon or send an email to goldkeyadventures at gmail dot com.
And make sure you follow the Gold Key Adventure Society on Facebook and Instagram.
A huge thanks to our sponsor, Key to the World Travel. For all your travel planning needs, visit www.keytotheworldtravel.com for a free quote and help planning the trip of a lifetime.
Tell them the gold Key Adventurers sent you.
That's www.keytotheworldtravel.com. Key to the world travel, your key to a magical vacation.
Thanks to Outer Vibe for the use of their song Hoka Hey for the intro and outro of our show.

[35:12] Music.

[35:23] Find them on Facebook at The Outer Vibe or check out www.outervibe.com for tour dates, music, merch, and more.

[35:29] Music.

Final Words of Wisdom


[35:42] And until then, remember, life is short and the world is wide, So go have an adventure.