DisLove E34 Gran Destino Tower and Coronado Springs Room Reviews

Hear all about the Gran Destino Tower rooms at Coronado Springs and how they compare to a regular room at the resort. Kris and Vanessa did back to back stays to give you an insight to help you decide where you might want to stay on your next Walt Disney World vacation.

• Inside look at Gran Destino Tower from D23
• Coronado Springs Resort 

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

Welcome to the Dislove podcast with Vanessa and Kris. I'm Vanessa and I'm Kris Johns. I'd like to welcome you to show number 34 and for any listeners joining us for the first time, our show typically features things that we love at Disney. And in each episode we have a guest who creates Disney magic for our listeners at home or on their Disney vacations from vacation planners to product producers. Our guests bring Disney magic into your life and for did taste special episode. We are going to be talking about our recent trip to Walt Disney world and we did a little bit experiment and where we stayed at a resort but just in two different types of rooms. And where would we stay, Kris? We did say at core Nado. And so we're going to talk about um, what we saw in those different rooms. We stayed in one of the Gran Destino tower rooms and then we stayed in a standard room at Coronado Springs. So we're going to tell you a little bit about, of our experiences at each of those and share with you what our tips might be for that. And as before we get into the show, we as a reminder to our listeners, we appreciate if you take time to leave a review for us on Apple podcasts or Google play, whatever platform you may listen on that helps other people get connected with us and hear the show as well. So again, we're super excited to do, we'd like to bring these special episodes to you periodically and we're going to go step by step of what our experience was. So when we, the first night that we were at Disney we stayed at Gran Destino tower and for those of you who have not heard of it before, it is the new tower building that was built attached to Coronado springs. So it's right next to the conference center in front of where the regular buildings are. We decided to stay there because we had heard great things about it, but we also wanted to experience and see what the tower was like so we could maybe go there for future trips. And at this tower, the rooms are all brand new. What did you think about like when we first walked in the lobby? It was really nice. You could tell those renovated it. They really put some style into it visually it was very appealing. I think in reference to other places we've been to, I mean it does benefit from being brand new, but in terms of styling, I think it definitely sets itself apart from the other resorts and it has a lot of white stone when you come in. It has metal backdrops where they project lighting. We were there closer to Christmas time, so there is red and green. I would assume that that lighting changes throughout the year. Now this tower, if you're not familiar, and I guess Kris probably wouldn't be familiar with this either. The tower was inspired by the Disney short Destino and this was a collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali in the 1940s so it has a mix of Spanish and Mexican kind of Southwest feel. So when you go to check in, first off we did the online check-in, didn't have to worry about it. It was on our phone. It seemed pretty easy to me. Yeah, we got to go right to the room. We got a text message, use my phone to unlock it, and then our magic bands were activated. So super easy and nice and our tower room was beautiful. I mean I really thought it was a nice room. He had all your standard amenities, there was a refrigerator, coffee, all of that, but it just had a nice crisp, clean feel. It had a great setup. The way the bathroom was set up, there was a toilet in a separate room and then the shower and the two double sinks. But what were your overall impressions about the room, Kris? Oh, I thought it was really nice. That bathroom was very unique community. I think overall I'm going to be a little more simple when it comes to Disney lodging because you're not there to spend the night, but if you had the ability and interest, I think it would be definitely a nice place to stay. But the new building was very sharp and one of the things that I found was nice is that there was, it seemed like the layout was a little bit more functional. We did have a King bedroom and it was just nice layout in terms of where the sofa bed was and some of those sorts of things. Now there's not a lot of Disney touches in the room. I did find a couple hidden Mickeys but most of the room is just kind of your standard really looks like you could have picked it out of like a Hilton or something like that. Correct. I mean it's an upscale room. I yes. You know, pass the Mickey print on the wallpaper. There really was nothing that said Walt Disney world. Right. So you can tell that they're trying to go for that corporate clientele, but really they have a nice elevator system. We had no problems getting into the room. I think the only downside, there was a couple of downsides. I saw number one, the shower is great, but the shower is attached to the area with the two sinks and if you had a family, it's a clear glass shower. I don't know. We maybe have more privacy in my family, but you couldn't have somebody taking a shower and getting ready unless you were comfortable with that person because it's a glass shower. And I think the only other downside I found is that in the morning we didn't get up super early but you could hear quite a bit of hallway noise. You didn't hear people from the other rooms. But I did notice some hallway noise and I don't know if it's a flooring or what, but those were kind of the only two downsides I saw. Did you notice anything that was a little bit on the downside for you? I think just the rooms. The walls are relatively thin. I think you could hear people just being active in it. There was a family with maybe a small child who was having an issue or a louder TV. You would definitely hear it. Yes, for sure. But you know, again, I use our paradigm is we go like the night we were there, you know, usually active very late and so we get in probably no earlier than 1130 midnight in bed by one. At that point, unless it's an extremely loud noise, you're going to go to bed. But overall I thought it was a very nice room and I think too, you could just tell like the bed was really comfortable, towels were nice, all of that sort of thing. So some nice things that you don't necessarily see at a moderate. I felt like you'd see there. And we did have dinner at Toledo's, at the Tapas steak and seafood bar or restaurant and bar upstairs, and I thought the food was good, but what did you think? I think there was kind of one major downside to the food. Just the portions were very, yeah, yes. It was not a place. I mean it's good for an anniversary. Yes, but if you have been walking in the park and you want a meal, it's not the place to go. If you're there on a business meeting or just a casual event at Disney, it's not bad, but there was no, let me see this for the price you pay and what shows up in your plate are two different things. Yeah, that's true. Because we had quite a hefty bill. We weren't on the dining plan, this trip. And you notice the actual dollar for dollar costs on the different food items. And although I would say like Kris mentioned for a special anniversary, something is beautiful and walk right out. We saw parts of Hollywood studios, we could see spaceship earth off of the patio from the bar area. So it's very nice ambiance. We weren't super full from it. Um, but that's some things that to keep in mind when you leave the tower and go over to the other side, that's where you have some of the other food options. You have the sports bar grill, you have just the overall fruit court, the Mercada. Um, there's lots of Mercado, there's a lots of different options on the other side of the resort. Now here's the downside. We checked into Coronado Springs, just a regular room the next day and I personally found it a little confusing. Kris had left to do some errands and I went to the building that is a normal Coronado building and there's just lines of empty computers. Supposedly Disney is going to be doing something with that lobby area, but as of right now the guests for the regular Coronado buildings, which can be quite a hike, have to go to the tower Gran Destino tower to check in. I found that people you could tell were confused by it. I had been there already cause we had been at the tower and the, I didn't realize the check-in was the same so keep that in mind. If you are going to be traveling and you're checking into a regular Coronado Springs room, go to the tower first so you be prepared. If you have a lot of luggage with you, you're going to have quite a hike to your room because we were in one of the Casita's and it was, I should have had my step counter on, but I walked quite a bit a distance. Now with a regular Coronado room, you're seeing all of those rooms are revamped and completely remodeled, so that's really nice. I wouldn't put them on par with some of the rooms that you see. In terms of the actual storage. It was very similar to pop century and what they're doing and some of the new rooms. So lots of good storage. The price difference though, what you're going to see here is the pricing is about$50 more, give or take depending on what day of the week season, et cetera, to stay in the tower versus one of the other buildings. The other buildings though, if you're going to be eating a lot of quick service or want to be closer to the pools, you definitely want a standard Coronado. Um, in terms of getting to the food court, all of that stuff, much easier access than when you're in the tower. The tower, you're going to go to the restaurant or the bar lounge that's on the first floor. You're not really going to have those food options that you have at the other side. Now these buildings have outdoor entrances, unlike the tower of course, has indoor entrances. And what was your overall impression of the room at Coronado? There's just a regular coronado over here. Basically. My mother stayed at pop century last year and the setup was almost the same. I mean in regards to just the way the rooms are set up, the flooring, if, if you're going to stay in that room, you might as well to stay at pop century. I just don't see a big chain, you know, to spend a hundred plus more dollars a night for Coronado versus pop century. There's, in my opinion, virtually no difference. And again, going back to what we've led with this was you're not going there to spend the night at Coronado or the Gran Destino. So I think the big thing is the, the room itself. Um, are you closer to the parks? I don't know. But for me the room was very basic. I mean it was, the bed was comfortable, but in regards to the Grand scheme of things, you could close your eyes and not know what really, what resort your enemy because there's really no landscaping is there's no, I mean the theme is relatively tame. It's a light Brown and a desert Brown pass that unlike, you know, Port Orleans where it's like there's a real ambiance to it. This is a pretty basic hotel. Now I could see where there are talks where they're going to maybe eventually bring the Skyliner there. That might add an advantage. But if somebody was like, Oh, are you going to stay at Coronado again a regular room? I would, my answer would probably be no. What do you thinking? Correct. I just between the both rooms, you know we're not necessarily in it for the real fancy room. So I mean yes gran destino is maybe a nice one night. I am your stay at the beginning or the end. And then the other one that we had in Coronado Springs I would pass, I mean between seeing it Port Orleans or or pop century Port orleans has just much more ambiance. Anything else? Kind of Saratoga tours, Saratoga Springs, you know, you're somewhere right in the last week. Just budget conscious pop century and then do a lift from there to the park. That makes all the difference. And one thing I do agree with Kris on it, the room is so standard. There was more Disney touches in hidden Mickeys in Gran Destino tower. There was two Disney pictures on the wall. That was really all I saw at the standard coronado room. I even looked, they had similar doors that would close off the bathroom and the dressing area and at the one in Gran Destino tower there was a hidden Mickey, nothing on the one at Coronado Springs cause I even went out of my way to check that there is a$50 difference as I said, give or take depending on the time of year. But if given the choice like Kris mentioned, I would not go back to Coronado. I would. However I thought the tower was nice. You got it. Had some nice special features that you don't see typically see in a moderate. It felt a little bit more upscaled to me than some of the other moderates that we've stayed at. And like Kris mentioned for a special trip, I think adults more than kids, the lobby area is beautiful. They do have some nice things. So I would lean towards that. Gran Destino tower if I was going to stay at one of those. And I think the other side too is like, you know, having spent a night in pop century, the Disney has kind of brought up the budget, just the styling and just the interior where the TV's are large, the bed is comfortable, the lighting in the bathroom. So I think they're making it harder on the moderates because when you, if you stay at a budget and then in a moderate there's definitely a price difference. But in terms of a styling and an amenities difference, it's very, it's a hard struggle. And again, I'll go back to it. You don't go to Disney to sit in a hotel room. It's one of those things where you know, you're out in the park now. Again to me, if it was up to me, I'll go say it again. Going to a budget, putting my seven, eight$9 into a Lyft on the way back. Or even, you know, figuring that in. But I think you'd come out ahead with a budget just because they've made the budget so nice. Yes. And the, so looking at the value versus the moderate, this moderate with Coronado I would take off your list if you're looking at it, but the tower is fun, especially if you had an adult's only trip. I think adults would enjoy that if you were going for a special event or something. So it was a good comparison to stay back to back to those cause it really opened your eyes. In terms of standard amenities though, bed refrigerator, all of those types of things. It's pretty much the same. There are a little bit more Mickey touches in the tower and just the lobby area in that, I mean I know it technically shares the lobby with Coronado, but you're not going to be spending a lot of time if you're in one of the buildings quite far back at Cornetto. So I would suggest take advantage of staying at the tower if you had that opportunity. And I'll share pictures with all of you from the different parts of the resort. So you can see and as Kris mentioned, the sound is probably the only downside I saw at the tower. So if you are a light sleeper and you like to get up and sleep in a little bit, you might have some problems there. We were closer to the elevator, which could have attributed to that. But overall I would say Coronado did not win us over as a new resort, but I would give Gran destino tower a shot again, is my overall thought. I agree. And so those are, we have some other special episodes that we'll be bringing to you about some things that we've encountered on our trip. We're actually recording this while we're on the Disney cruise line, so we're excited to share some new things coming up with you. We'll have our normal Wisdom from Walt and our Disney trivia coming up here in just a minute. So Kris, what sort of trivia do you have for us today? Well, it's related to pirates. Okay. And because we recently went to both the pirates of the Caribbean ride at Walt Disney world, and then we're also on a Disney cruise when in a previous night the theme was pirates. So what kind of animal is on captain verbosa? His ring. Wow. I didn't even know there was some significance with his ring. Um, let me take a guess. I will say, and I'll give you a couple of guesses cause this is tough. Oh, whale. No, this animals on land. Oh. Um, and it's ferocious. A lion one more. You're in the neighborhood. A tiger. No, you've run a chance. Is he bear a bear? Wow. Our friends in the internet said that captain Barbossa has an emblem of a writ Bear on his ring. Hmm. Very interesting. Who knew? I guess I don't pay attention enough to those little details. So all of those little details that we talked about with Gran Destino tower and some of the things that the resort really reminded me of some of the just unique things that Walt would have that really could help you be motivated and to do some great things. And this week's quote is when you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way implicitly and unquestionably. So I think that's a great quote based on just looking at all the immersive things that Disney does, not only at some of the resorts that we were looking at, but just across the parks and across the resort areas and around the globe. So thank you so much for joining us with this episode of the dissolve podcast with Vanessa and Kris. I'm Vanessa and I'm Kris

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Speaker 1: 16:39

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