Caribbean Beach vs. Coronado Springs Resort
Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs are hotels at Walt Disney World that have similar dining, pools, and rooms–but theme and transportation differences. As the two Moderate Resorts to receive recent reimaginings and huge expansions, vacation planners might wonder which to pick. This head-to-head comparison helps answer common questions. (Updated June 13, 2023.)
Trying to choose between Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs is common for visitors to Florida, so we recently did stays at both and have updated a couple of categories here as a result. Well, we might have also booked these resorts because they are currently offering up to 35% off nightly rates. So “for the sake of research” was our main reason, but deeper discounts was a very close second!
These two Moderate Resorts are among the largest at Walt Disney World and both have a lot of objective selling points. Despite this, each hotel caters to substantially different demographics. This is reflected in our Rankings of ALL Walt Disney World Hotels from Worst to Best, where there’s a big gap between the two.
Caribbean Beach Resort is a popular choice with families, particularly ones wanting a tropical getaway. We’ve been calling it the “Poly-Lite” or “CaribBe” and have recommended it as a Polynesian-esque experience on a tighter budget. By contrast, Coronado Springs Resort is frequently used for conventions, and has upgraded amenities for this audience. As a result, it’s something of a “Deluxe-Minus” resort. Framed that way, it comes down to whether the Poly-Lite or Deluxe-Minus is the better pick.
Note that this comparison will not include anything added by Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs or Disney’s Riviera Resort, the DVC property on the former grounds of Caribbean Beach. Both are short walks (5-10 minutes) from the outlying resort buildings, this comparison is more about the ‘legacy’ Moderate Resorts.
We have a separate comparison of Gran Destino Tower v. Disney’s Riviera Resort. We’d highly recommend reading that too, as many of the amenities at those properties can be utilized by guests of these two Moderate Resorts. In fact, those additions are among the biggest selling points for both of these properties, even for guests staying in standard rooms.
What this post will seek to address is whether you should choose Coronado Springs, or if it’s better to stick with family-favorite Caribbean Beach. With that in mind, we’ll compare theme, cost, dining, pools, and other amenities to help you determine which is right for you…
Theme: Caribbean Beach – Both of these resorts have declined thematically as a result of their recent “reimagining” and expansion projects. While the construction brought substantive gains to each, these projects were thematic steps backwards as large towers encroached upon the seclusion and intimacy of each resort.
Coronado Springs added the more visually jarring and incongruous tower. The new hotel didn’t negatively impact Caribbean Beach to as great of a degree, as Riviera Resort is partially isolated by Barefoot Bay (and the fact that it’s a standalone property). However, Caribbean Beach also had the Skyliner and its support pillars dotted throughout the resort.
Coronado Springs Resort has three different architectural influences in its various sections: Ranchos, Cabanas, and Casitas. These styles transition from urban to countryside as you wander the resort (somewhat akin to Port Orleans Riverside). They also vary in vibrance, with ranchos being pretty neutral, whereas the cabanas are vibrant, almost reminiscent of Mexican beach resorts.
With that said, both retain a lot of their thematic strengths. Caribbean Beach Resort is a beach resort by name, but could almost pass for a port city in the Caribbean. In some ways the details and architecture are not as fully-fleshed as Coronado Springs, but it does the job in conveying an island theme. It’s fun, light, and airy.
Caribbean Beach does an exceptional job of capturing the essence of vacationing in the tropics. Even post-overhaul, the grounds are still lush, there are some beautiful beaches, and it all culminates in a relaxing environment that is a ton of fun to explore. In particular, Caribbean Cay is a gem hiding in plain sight.
I love wandering Caribbean Beach Resort resort late at night or in the early morning–something I cannot say for Coronado Springs. The environment is just more pleasant and inviting at Caribbean Beach.
Rooms: It’s Complicated – We just did stays at both Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs in Summer 2023 and have updated this category from Coronado Springs being the clear-cut winner to “it’s complicated.” Let’s start by showing the most common room at Caribbean Beach currently, which is pictured above.
This redone room is why we dubbed Caribbean Beach Resort “Poly-lite” in the first place. These rooms don’t look like budget motel accommodations, and feature a lot of details. Thematically, Caribbean Beach Resort has the best rooms of any Moderate. Time flies when you’re having fun, and this room style is now 9 years old as of 2023. (We had been referring to them as “recently” redone up until last year!) They are showing their age, with a lot of wear and tear and the design just generally starting to look tired. These 9 year old rooms are easily surpassed by Coronado Springs.
However, two newcomes have also appeared on the islands as of 2023. First is the “Under the Sea” rooms inspired by The Little Mermaid, which replace the infamous pirate rooms and can only be found in Trinidad. These Under the Sea rooms are great for families who want more space while they’re not sleeping, as the pull-down beds make the main living area far less cramped during the day. These are fantastic–far better than the standard rooms at Coronado Springs.
Finally, there are recently redone rooms that refresh the 9 year old style. These are a soft goods refurbishment that removes the carpet, installs platform beds for luggage storage, replaces some fixtures and furnishings, and brings a fresh coat of cooler paint to replace the warm colors. All of that might sound good, but it’s better on paper than in person. These rooms are bland, boring, and sterile to a fault, with not nearly enough theme and way too much white. They’re definitely fresher, but are devoid of personality, which is really a shame.
All of the standard rooms at Coronado Springs were redone about 4-5 years ago, have aged better, and do a decent job of balancing theme with functionality. These are the highest quality rooms of any Moderate, with upgraded bedding, a nicer desk for getting work done, and subtle details that just make it seem nice. These are feature-filled rooms on par with many Deluxe Resorts, undoubtedly done to make it more appealing to business travelers.
We’d describe Coronado Springs rooms as tasteful and high quality, with enough thematic touches to give them personality. They are also brighter and have a certain freshness to them that’s difficult to articulate. They are better than both the older and newer rooms at Caribbean Beach, minus the aforementioned “Under the Sea” rooms.
Dining: Coronado Springs – Coronado Springs has far and away the most dining of any Moderate Resort, which is the main (but not only) way it’s a Deluxe-Minus resort on the amenities front. The highlight is Three Bridges Bar & Grill, the new over-the-water table service restaurant. This is among the most underrated restaurants at Walt Disney World. Beyond that, there’s the El Mercado de Coronado food court, Rix Sports Bar & Grill, Siestas Cantina, Maya Grill, and more.
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort has its own duo of underrated dining options in Sebastian’s Bistro and Spyglass Grill. While the latter still hasn’t a scaled back menu that isn’t quite as good as before, the former has a new family-style meal that is the best dinner deal in all of Walt Disney World. (For the sake of important research, I tested this again in Summer 2023–it’s still fantastic!)
Caribbean Beach also has Banana Cabana and Centertown Market, two other solid options. Still, these restaurants don’t measure up to the many at Coronado Springs Resort–and that’s not counting Gran Destino!
Pools: Caribbean Beach – On our list of the Top 10 Pools at Walt Disney World, Fuentes del Morro Pool (aka the “Pirate Fortress Pool”) at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort ranked #3 and The Lost City of Cibola Pool ranked #9. The Pirate Fortress Pool scores serious points for its Spanish colonial fortress style, fortresses, cannons, and general pirate appeal. It’s an awesome place to pretend you’re a pirate, and who among us doesn’t want to do that?!
Even though these rankings make it seem decisive, the Dig Site pool and recreation area at Coronado Springs has a lot of range that might make it appeal more to you. For kids, there’s the 123-foot water slide, Mayan temple ruins, arcade, play area, and 50-foot tall pyramid. For adults, there’s the large Siesta’s bar, volleyball court, and largest hot tub at Walt Disney World. Dig Site is a very solid, well-rounded pool area.
Transportation: Caribbean Beach – It lost a lot of its lush charm and secluded quality to gain the edge here, but the Skyliner is a huge win for Caribbean Beach in terms of transportation. Thanks to its two Skyliner stations, getting to and from Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios is now a breeze. This instantly moved Caribbean Beach from the worst to the best Moderate Resort transportation-wise.
With that said, bus transportation remains the achilles heel of both of these resorts. Since these are both sprawling resort complexes, each have multiple bus stops within the resort. This means a shorter walk to your bus stop than at some other resorts, but the downside is that it takes longer to get to the parks.
On average, both have among the longest room-door to park-entrance time of any resorts at Walt Disney World. As we’ve said before, there’s nothing magical about riding a bus (even one that says “Disney” on the outside), and this can get old over the course of a trip.
Thankfully, bus transportation is only necessary for Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs if you’re staying at Caribbean Beach. It’s necessary for all parks if you’re staying at Coronado Springs, meaning you should either have a rental car or be prepared to pay extra for Uber or Lyft there.
Cost: Coronado Springs – On average, room rates are about $10 to $20 higher at Caribbean Beach for almost every rate season of the year for standard rooms. Prices are a bit less predictable once you get into the higher tiers of rooms, but Caribbean Beach is higher across the board.
This can be directly attributed to the Skyliner. Previously, these two resorts were almost identically priced. We’d contend that the Skyliner is easily worth $20 or more per night, but that’s why Caribbean Beach has the edge in the transportation category above. Fortunately, discounts are consistently good between the Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and Caribbean Beach.
Verdict: Caribbean Beach – We are declaring Caribbean Beach the winner here, but at the same time add the significant caveat that there are a lot of Deluxe-caliber amenities at Coronado Springs superior to Caribbean Beach. However, we think that if you have the time at the resort to enjoy all of those amenities, you also have it to explore the resort, which is a more satisfying experience at Caribbean Beach.
There’s also a growing gap between the guest rooms at each. We first became big fans of Caribbean Beach when the “new” rooms debuted, but that was now almost 8 years ago. The rooms at Coronado Springs have been redone more recently, and their balance of form and function is superior. They also have aged better.
However, the Skyliner is a total game-changer for us. Transportation used to be frustrating at both of these resorts for all parks, and now that’s only true at Coronado Springs. This is the kind of transformational, functional addition that by itself outweighs literally everything else. And it helps that Caribbean Beach has not one, but two gondola stations.
The Skyliner makes getting from Caribbean Beach to Epcot or DHS a total breeze, and we often start at one of those parks and hop from there to Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom as a result (or just use Uber/Lyft). We’re huge fans of the Skyliner, and Caribbean Beach is the best Skyliner resort.
On a personal note, we’re entrenched in the Caribbean Beach Resort camp. Coronado Springs scores some well-earned points, but ultimately, it’s not a resort that we find ourselves eager to revisit for fun. There have been times when Coronado Springs is the only Moderate Resort that has availability with a good discount, but instead of booking it, we’ll look at rates for Pop Century. (This is especially true when wanting to take advantage of Early Entry–it’s tough to give up the Skyliner once you’ve gotten used to it!)
Our issue with Coronado Springs is probably that it’s just a bit blah. So many neutral colors and common design elements just make it not stand out in our memories. To be sure, there are splashes of vibrance, an awesome pool area, and we really like Three Bridges Bar & Grill, but we’d still choose Caribbean Beach Resort every single time when the two are comparably-priced.
That’s just us, though and your mileage may vary. When you analyze Coronado Springs ‘checklist style’ it really does have a lot going for it, so maybe we have some misplaced bias against it. However, we’re guessing that a lot of you agree with us, albeit maybe for different reasons. Unlike virtually every other resort at Walt Disney World, Coronado Springs doesn’t seem to have a strong and passionate fanbase.
In fact, aside from the All-Stars, Coronado Springs is the Walt Disney World resort we hear the absolute least about from Walt Disney World fans. We suspect that one part of this is it lacking the distinct character or charm of the other resorts. Another part could be simply because the resort targets business travelers, who aren’t as like to form attachments to Walt Disney World hotels as us Disney geeks. 😉 In any case, we’d really love to hear your rationale for your pick in the comments.
Our goal is for this post to be helpful in offering a head-to-head comparison of the most crucial elements of each Walt Disney World resort experience, but we suggest supplementing this with our full review of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (if you haven’t seen the new rooms, it’s definitely worth checking out just for that) and our Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Review. With that said, what do you think…did we choose the correct hotel here?
If you’re still having trouble choosing between the two, determining which resort or room type is right for you, or if any other aspect of Walt Disney World vacation planning is simply too overwhelming and you need one-on-one help, we recommend contacting a no fee “Authorized Disney Vacation Planner” or travel agent to get a quote and to help you plan. They get their commission from Disney, so none of the authorized (key word) planners will charge you for booking their trip and helping. Here’s one such Authorized Disney Vacation Planner that we recommend!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you agree or disagree with our verdict in this Caribbean Beach vs. Coronado Springs head-to-head? What about our conclusions in each category? Is there something we missed or got wrong? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I stayed at CSR for the first time in January and had a great stay. Great CMs – well, except for the one creepy one at check in who gave me his personal number to call him and go out for dinner while on my trip… very insistently . That was odd and awkward. BUT beyond that I had some standout CM experiences at CSR, including housekeeping who were just amazing -I had a pretty exceptional towel animal collection by the end of my stay.
However for my upcoming trip Nov 27- Dec 6th I booked CBR, assuming that the work on Centertown would be complete… but now I’m starting to worry. I suppose it will be what it will be, but I’m crossing my fingers that it will be complete. Though I have been debating a switch to Port Orleans or Riverside…
As a local living in Tampa, I have never stayed on-property (I’m cheap!) However, as my daughter and I are doing opening day for Toy Story Land, I wanted to avoid the 80-90 minute drive super early in the morning on 6/30. I checked My Disney for pricing and found CBR for $167 (plus tax) a night, which wasn’t too bad for the Friday and Saturday nights around TSL opening. I checked Priceline and filtered by 3-star and WDW Bonnet Creek location. When looking there, you could book CBR for a few bucks LESS than the price for the current Passholder deal on the WDW site, of which I was a little disappointed. But the point of this comment is, there was also an option for an Express Deal for $116/night, in which the amenities all lined up with CBR (Express Deals do not name the hotel.) I went ahead an booked via Priceline and the reservation is indeed for CBR, at a total price after taxes of $269.38 (I had a coupon code for 5% off as well.)
Moral of the story, there are deals out there, if you know how to search and decipher various things on the deals sites. So now we only have to deal with a short drive to HS on the morning of June 30th instead of the 76 miles from my house in Tampa! 🙂
Great detail and very informative, thank you! Following up a year later, in light of the current construction, would you still recommend Caribbean Beach? There are some YouTube videos out there that paint a bleak picture. Or has anyone visited recently? Thanks!
We stayed at CBR in Martinique late May/early June. The food tent was kind of a disappointment. I didn’t try the food. I thought by the way the servers were kind of standing around that the food would be dry and not very palatable. That said, the grounds were beautiful and we’d stayed at All Stars Music the week before and wanted to check CBR out for the Free Delicious offer (going on now)! I waited too long to book my room and there are only Pirate Rooms available, which aren’t too appealing to me. But I heard no construction and did see it going on and we were close to it. The pool was open and I heard from another guest that the room service meals were awesome.
I like both however I prefer Coronado . Stayed at Coronado 4 times and the 2 times at Caribbean beach however I loved the Coronado best. However their old food court was much better than the latest visit in DEC. 2016. they replaced the islands with less choices and I don’t believe the food was as good. they originally had a bakery and had the best cookies and deserts anywhere. One of the old island had a Lunch of Mexican food you would be hard pressed to find any better tasting anywhere. the old islands had great breakfast of biscuits and gravy and waffles, fruit island you could not ask for a better layout. Now to get even close you have to go to Breakfast at the contemporary resort. planing to be there again in 2019. Hopefully everything will be back to normal. WDW is still a great place there is no place like it. I been coming there since 1981 and have been back on each of the openings of the new parks. Cast members are just plain great. Never a sad face and away’s there to help. I can’t count the times of special assistance they provided. Many thanks to all and looking forward to 2019. At 80 years old I’m not moving fast but I just might have to rent a rent a electric cart but I will enjoy every minute. O say I have stayed at the contemporary, all star, and the french quarter.
Stayed at Coronado last Nov., satisfied with the room accommodations, but found Pepper Market was a little lacking in upkeep. Smudges on the windows in the seating area, and overall lacking in cleanliness, and this was an early morning breakfast! Hope WDW gets a grip on this.
Our favorite is Coronado. I don’t even have a good reason why. We just really like it over the other moderates and have been there more times than I can keep track of. We stayed at Caribbean last fall since we hadn’t been in over 10 years. Sure, the rooms were a little different. But, overall the resort (or at least the are we were in) felt like a cheap hotel. Maybe it’s the way the buildings are designed? I don’t know. We just didn’t like the vibe, I guess.
I have seen pics of room upgrades at Coronado that look nice, and I’m eager to see them (if possible) the next time we visit. I’ve also seen mention that the Cabanas 9B building is being demolished but I don’t know why. Isn’t the new building going on an unused plot of land? Either way, it makes me a bit sad. We sprung for the business class room the last 2 times we were there to try them out. One trip doesn’t really count – we added a day to the trip and picked that room. It wasn’t much, but I liked the lounge for some morning/evening snacks. Oh well, at least I got to try it! 🙂
But, yeah. Coronado wins, hands down for me.
I have been going to WDW since before Epcot opened and have stayed at lots of resorts, from Fort Wilderness to Port Orleans. I am a Disney geek. I have stayed at Coronado Springs MANY times. It offers quiet pools, few children, lovely walks to the outdoor bar, excellent service, convenient transport which is usually uncrowded. It also offers good rooms that allow a good nights’ sleep – because the rooms are quiet. Excellent views of some fireworks, but most of all – very friendly people who aren’t stressed out because they’ve tried to pack everything in to three days with three children. I’ll be visiting again in September. Oh, and by the way, if you visit at Christmas and the transport is busy, you’ll find that everyone knows the words to the Christmas carols that often start up on the bus “home”… Carribean beach is good but just not the same. I hope this is helpful wherever you go,have fun!
My family has been staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort every 1 to 2 years since 1995. However, after consideration, and frustration, with all the changes, on-going construction and price hikes across Disney World that impacted our November 2016 vacation there we plan not to go back for 3 to 4 years.
My concern is with the upgrade of the resort, and possible additions such as the gondola system, prices will be increased to the point that the Caribbean Beach Resort becomes a Deluxe-Moderate hybrid with a nightly rate halfway between current Moderate and Deluxe room rates. For disclosure, I’m retired military and take significant advantage of Disney’s discounts.
On a side note, I have been very frustrated with the constant price hikes at Disney and over the last few years spend less and less time there and more time at Universial Resorts. I have not doubt that if room prices rise to the level I expect them to, I’ll be staying at Universial instead of Disney.
In researching which moderate resort to stay at in December 2017, I noticed many reviews on trip advisor where people complain of the rooms at Coronodo being run down and in serious need of refurbishment. Has anyone here had that experience? Thank you.
Yes, we felt the bathrooms were needing an uplift.
After reading some of the comments, I realize that personal experiences, such as proposal, honeymoon or first stay at a particular hotel, makes a big impression, no matter how good the restaurants or how nice the rooms are, or even how lousy transportation is. It all comes down to emotions. We continue to book our favorite hotels because we have become attached, whether to our memories or our habits.
I have stayed at almost every hotel several times, and my favorite hands down is PO Riverside (with the occasional stay at FQ).
But this article is about comparing Coronado Springs and CBR. They’re actually so similar, it’s difficult for me to pick one over the other. Food wise, Coronado Springs would get the nod, room wise, CBR. I guess my suggestion would be, if you can do it, try both. You’ll soon find out which you prefer.
Both of these resorts are o.k…but neither compares to POR! I’ve been (not so) patiently waiting for many weeks now to see how my favorite stacks up in your opinion, and yet nada. I realize this thought is folly, but I wonder if you’ve simply concluded that no other (non-deluxe) resort stands a chance against it? LOL
Does anyone have experience or thoughts using Uber at the Caribbean Resort? Long/crowded bus rides just put such a damper on everything and budgeting for a rental car sort of defeats the potential savings from the gift card offer. Still trying to decide if this resort is a good fit (from POFQ) for us. I appreciate any feedback…
I’m pretty sure one of our Uber posts specifically uses a CBR stay as an example, so if you want a more in-depth answer, it’s there.
Suffice to say, Uber worked really well during our stay at CBR. I’d highly recommend it at any of the resorts (including Coronado) with these internal loops.
I reread that post and discovered a more recent one as well, many Thanks!
Is it true that Disney resort guests can park free at the parks? I have been to Disney 3 times in my life, this will be the first visit with my children. I have never stayed on the Disney property, but in the hotels in downtown or within a walk to the downtown area. I want a good experience for my kids and decided with the construction benefit at Caribbean Beach to give it a go (75 back per night was a nice perk, especially if the free dining misses our dates). I am hoping we can drive to the parks where I hear the bus ride can be crowded; my oldest likely will have a difficult time due to his needs. Thanks in advance for any info.
We used Uber ALOT when we stayed at CBR last year during Halloween. It absolutely was better then those long bus rides added to by the many stops within CBR. The common problem we seemed to have was that the Uber drivers had a hard time finding a spot to pick us up within the hotel. Most got lost within the hotel drives. We stayed in Martinique and they always seemed to drive by it. It wasn’t all of the drivers but it was a good amount of them but in the end it still wasn’t even close to the wait of taking the buses to the parks. As long as you give yourself a few extra minutes for the drivers to locate you it will always be the faster option.
Jamie,
Good to know. Thank You!
It’s all a matter of personal preference of course, and I find that frequent visitors tend to settle on a “Home Resort”. For us, that resort has always been Coronado Springs. I have stayed in both numerous times. The bus service, once you learn a trick or two, is much better at Coronado. The main pool is outstanding, and the “Quiet Pools”, due to the higher percentage of conventioneers, are actually quiet. Every time we have stayed at another resort, I find myself longing for Coronado. The last few years, it’s become the only place we stay!
“The main pool is outstanding, and the “Quiet Pools”, due to the higher percentage of conventioneers, are actually quiet.”
I’ve definitely found this to be true, and I think you hit the nail on the head with the (bolded) rationale.
What are the bus tricks?
I loved Shutters, but with the upcoming construction, that and the lovely quick service restaurant will be closed. It will be replaced with a makeshift buffet and food kiosks.
Sorry Tom, I thought my first comment was removed so I retyped it. Sorry if I look like I’m spamming.
No worries! (I do think that a lot of people think Shutters > Maya Grill, but in the grand scheme of dining, resort-wide at each, I think the other options give Coronado Springs an edge. IMO, at least.)
The problem is that Coronado Springs is automatic winner in the food category, because all the dining at CBR is going to be closed due to construction.
It would win irrespective of that, but you’re right (for now). The flip side is that for now, Caribbean Beach is also significantly cheaper for a lot of people by virtue of the $75 gift card.
$75 gift card- Will this still be offered? Got the ONLY room we could get with free dining for the week of 12/8-12/15 (2018). We decided rather late in the game to make the trip, and a pirate room at Caribbean Beach was the ONLY thing we could snag. Now I’m worried about the lack of food service and possibly loud construction. Don’t want to cancel our trip but am deeply concerned it will not be comfortable at the resort. Thoughts?
Caribbean beach is just so relaxing. It IS nice to just walk around.
My husband an I love Coronado Springs and consider it our home resort, having stayed there numerous times. I think Coronado has some of the best transportation on Disney property! First being that it shares Magical Express with the All-Stars. You never have to wait for a bus to fill up and get dropped off first before the bus continues on to the All Star Resorts. Also even though Coronado is considered in the Animal Kingdom area, travel times to Epcot and Hollywood Studios are not long at all. We even think that transportation to Magic Kingdom is quick as Coronado is located right off World Drive. I’ve never had to stand on a Coronado bus. This might be from the fact that business travelers don’t frequent the parks that often, and families prefer Port Orleans or Caribbean. Coronado has a prime location at the Magic Kingdom as far as bus drop off & pick up with it being at the front. One of the closest spots to the entrance. It also has a nice slot at Epcot as well. I think Coronado is the clear winner as far as transportation. So much so that when we stay at Coronado we usually opt not to rent a car. Plus that soothing Spanish guitar music on the buses puts me to sleep on the way home from Magic Kingdom every night. With great food and rooms for adults, Coronado is the clear winner for us!
While I haven’t timed them in comparison to one another, it looks like Coronado might have a ~2 minute advantage to some places. To me, that’s a negligible difference.
I agree with everything you have said. I stayed at Caribbean a couple of years ago and the busses were always packed. Last week, on one ride to Magic Kingdom (6:00PM), I was the only person on the bus! And that lake at night is stunning.
I would chose Caribbean Beach, but I actually really do like Coronado Springs. We haven’t stayed at Coronado yet, but we ate dinner at the Maya Grill once and spent some time exploring the hotel. I thought the grounds were lovely, the pool area was nice and the food options seem solid (Maya Grill was pretty good, although probably not worth revisiting unless we were staying there). The only real reason I would pick CBR over Coronado is because I am a sucker for the tropical theming. Plus, we stayed at CBR for our honeymoon and had a wonderful experience, so I will always be biased toward the resort!!!
I was at a resort in St. Croix once when I thought to myself: “This reminds me a lot of Caribbean Beach”…and then I realized where I was.
Coronado Springs will always have a soft spot in my heart as its where my wife and I stayed on our first Disney trip together. The pool at Coronado is my favorite of any of the resorts we have stayed at (all of the value and moderates, and Animal Kingdom Lodge.) That being said, this was probably the closest battle for me personally of all the match ups you have done. I love the theme of Caribbean Beach and the pool is a close second for me. If it weren’t for my sentimental feelings, this would borderline be a push for me.
I just read your comment and I have to say that I am in the exact same position as you, only in reverse. I picked CBR for sentimental reasons (first resort I stayed at with my husband), but feel like the resorts are pretty similar if you remove my bias!!