For my birthday this year, we decided to treat ourselves to a much needed vacation during Memorial Day Weekend. However being Orlando locals, this was a staycation at Walt Disney World! We are annual pass holders and visit the theme parks often, so the goal of our stay was to take full advantage of the resorts. We stayed two nights at Coronado Springs – Gran Destino Tower, and then stayed a third night at the Swan & Dolphin Resort. This post will solely focus on Coronado Springs. To read about our stay the Swan, click here.
Day 1 : Check in and Explore!
We checked in on our way to the resort via the My Disney Experience app and our room was ready when we arrived at 3 pm. We stayed in Gran Destino Tower, which is new as of 2019 and looks nothing like the rest of the resort. Coronado Springs is Mexican and Southwest American themed, however the Tower is Spanish themed and takes inspiration from Salvador Dali. The themes don’t really flow well together, but both aspects of the resort are beautiful. The view in the pictures above is from our room, which would have been even more amazing if Walt Disney World had been operating the fireworks during our stay.
After wandering around the resort we ate at Three Bridges Bar and Grill at Villa del Lago, which is on the water and has great views of the rest of Coronado Springs. We enjoyed the food here, and it was one of the better places that we ate at. We also sipped on some yummy mocktails.
We then returned to our room at watched the new Disney movie, Cruella. I personally loved the music and the fashion. My husband liked it, but didn’t like the plot. At 10 pm we went up to the Dahlia Lounge and treated ourselves to a yummy charcuterie plate. The Dahlia Lounge is the top floor of Gran Destino Tower and offers great views of Walt Disney World and beyond. It is adjacent to Toledo, the resorts signature restaurant, however Toledo was closed during our stay due to the pandemic.
Day 2
Saturday was all about relaxing by the pool! Coronado Springs has one of the more unique pools at Walt Disney World, with a 50 foot tall Aztec-inspired pyramid. There were lots of fun activities like corn hole and ping pong, and we also took advantage of the hot tub and waterslide. The snack bar by the pool had some of our favorite food and drinks. We tried both the non-alcoholic mojito and frozen strawberry daiquiri and loved them so much we ordered another round! We lounged by the pool for about five hours.
After the pool we played a round of Disney trivia against another family. My husband won and I tied for second place! As a prize we both received Mickey shaped Rice Krispie treats. We then ate dinner at Rix Sports Bar & Grill, which we wouldn’t recommend. The food was just okay and the staff made us feel rushed, giving us the check while we were still eating and within 25 minutes of our arrival. After dinner we went back to our hotel room and watched The Emperor’s New Groove, as we felt it fit the vibe of Coronado Springs.
The next morning we slept in and prepared for heading over to the next resort of our staycation, Swan & Dolphin. We really loved Coronado Springs and would stay here again. For a Moderate Disney Resort, it has high class amenities. One of the biggest complaints from others staying here is that it is far from the theme parks, but since we did not visit them we were not affected by this. Location wise I would recommend staying in the Gran Destino Tower as it is the closest to everything else in the resort. We did not see the other rooms, but I have heard that they are in the process of being renovated and probably nice as well.
What is your favorite Disney Resort? Where should we stay next?