June 18, 2025 • 49 mins
Step into a world where Disney magic meets Spanish elegance at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. In our latest episode, we're unpacking everything you need to know about our weeklong stay at the Grand Destino Tower—a magnificent addition that's transforming how we think about moderate resorts at Walt Disney World.
From the moment you enter the dramatic lobby with its Moorish-inspired hanging lanterns and intricate bronze screens, you realize this isn't your typical Disney moderate. We explore how this unique resort—Disney's first designed specifically for conventions and business travelers—creates an experience that feels decidedly more upscale without the deluxe price tag. The subtle Disney touches are there if you look for them, hidden Mickeys woven into luxurious surroundings that draw inspiration from the fascinating collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali.
The Grand Destino Tower offers surprising amenities, from the destination dispatch elevator system (which takes some getting used to!) to rooftop dining and lounges with breathtaking views of Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. We dive into the extensive dining options that might just surprise you—including our personal experience watching Fantasmic while sipping a smoky Oaxacan Old Fashioned at Dahlia Lounge. Though transportation relies solely on Disney's bus system, we discovered the resort is much better positioned than it appears on maps, with surprisingly quick access to most parks.
Is this moderate resort right for your family's next Disney vacation? We share our honest thoughts about who would love this resort and who might want to look elsewhere. If you're planning a Walt Disney World trip and wondering whether the Grand Destino Tower delivers the perfect balance of Disney magic and sophisticated relaxation, this episode is your essential guide. Subscribe now and discover whether this Spanish-inspired oasis deserves a spot on your Disney bucket list!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Hello and welcome to Circle of Parks podcast episode
number 210.
Today we are talking about ourrecent seven night stay at the
Grand Destino Tower at Disney'sCoronado Springs Resort.
There is far too much to seeand do.
We are here to help guide youthrough, but before we do that
(00:43):
we must talk Disney merch.
So this week, disneystorecom,there is a new Lego set.
It is Ideas Disney, pixar, luxoJr, and we actually saw this in
person at the Lego store inDisney Springs.
So if you are familiar withPixar and like the lamp and the
(01:08):
ball, this is what that Lego setis.
And so, again, it's Luxo Jr.
It's 613 pieces.
I think it is a great lookingset.
It is $69.99.
I think if you are a disneypixar lover, like this would be
great to add to your legocollection and possibly to a
(01:31):
desk or a bookshelf.
Um, and again, for the price, Ithought it, I thought this was
a great deal.
So go check that out again.
Disneystorecom.
We again also saw it in personat the lego store when we were
in Disney Springs.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, it wasn't that big.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
It wasn't so.
That's why I'm like it would begood for, like a desk or, you
know, bookshelf.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Maybe we can move all this junk over here on the desk
and put it there.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, maybe.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
All right, thank you everybody.
Episode number 210.
We're going to talk about ourrecent stay at Coronado Springs,
at the Grand Destino Tower.
If you're new here, we have alot of new listeners.
I'm Zach.
I'm Brittany and thank you somuch for joining us.
We do this show every singleweek and we have two goals One,
just to help you get through theweek.
Talk some Disney, take you to.
(02:16):
Walt Disney World Helps us, weknow it helps you.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
And our other goal.
Well, we hope it helps you we.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
And our other goal.
We've been told by a lot oflisteners that it does help get
them through the week, so weappreciate that it helps us get
through the week as well.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And then we hope to help you have a better Walt
Disney World vacation.
We do these reviews every timewe go on a trip and we hope it
helps you make a decision basedon our opinions.
Again, these are just ouropinions.
You may have a differentexperience than us, but this is
what we think of the resorts andrestaurants we go to and maybe
(02:50):
you can help sway you either wayto go to wherever.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah, whether it's oh , okay, maybe that's not the
place we need to stay, or hey, Idon't know if we should try
that restaurant after all kindof thing.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yeah, so what does Disney say about Disney's
Coronado Springs Resort?
Yeah, so what does Disney sayabout Disney's Coronado Springs?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Resort.
So Disney says.
Celebrate the unique blend ofSpanish, mexican and Southwest
cultures at Disney's CoronadoSprings Resort.
This beautiful lakeside oasisoffers classic influences,
disney touches and moderncomforts to energize and inspire
Romance and relaxation.
From the moment you arrive atDisney's Coronado Springs Resort
(03:25):
, you'll be swept away to aromantic paradise like no other
Before you even reach the.
How do you say it?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Portico Share.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Thank you.
You'll be welcomed withmagnificent views of this resort
hotel, which is particularlycaptivating at night thanks to
its dramatic lighting.
Thanks to its dramatic lighting, Disney's Coronado Springs
Resort features a grand entrancewith three elongated archways
and a signature ribbon-patterneddesign that lends to a striking
architectural expression.
(03:53):
Upon arrival, step through anentryway featuring intricate
wooden screens and in a grandtwo-story lobby adorned with
rows of moorish hanging lanterns, all beautifully enhanced by
subtle lighting.
The rear wall of the lobbyfeatures a full height
decorative bronze screeninspired by Spanish tile
patterns.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
So when you go to check into a moderate resort,
this is not what you think.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
No, because this is it is beautiful.
It's everything it just said.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
It is like you're walking into a deluxe resort.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Yes, it's very grand.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
It is.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yes, centralized amenities, so a hub of activity.
Villa del Lago, the Lake Villa,is a mirage, a bygone age whose
passion for life is celebratedin the rich legends, lore, art
(04:51):
and cuisine represented here.
Located at the intersection ofthe three new bridges that span
the lake and link to the hotel,villa del Lago represents a
bustling crossroads for those insearch of recreation and
relaxation.
A bustling crossroads for thosein search of recreation and
relaxation.
This scenic setting is alsohome to Three Bridges.
Bar and Grill, a lakefrontrestaurant serving up tasty
cuisine.
Behind the central bar is astone hearth where you can relax
(05:14):
by a glowing fire pit in theevening as you sip in on
refreshing beverages.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
So I will say this about this resort and we're
going to get into our opinionsand everything a little bit
later, but they nailed thetheming here and the inclusion
of where you are.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Right, like you, when you're on property, you, you
are immersed in this theming.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Right.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
This is not like and I've criticized this is my
criticism for Caribbean beach.
You don't feel immersed in thecaribbean landscape because
there's, you can see roads, theroads, you can see the skyline,
you can see the riviera likeit's all there, right, not here.
You are fully immersed in thisculture, in this theme.
(05:59):
Here, when you're walkingaround the grounds at grant at
uh, coronado Springs, I thoughtyeah, yeah, no, I would agree.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I mean, you know, you can't really see, you can't I
mean often the distance andstuff you can see what you're
seeing in the tower in the toweryou yeah, you can see like
Animal Kingdom and stuff we hada great view of the backside of
Exhibition Everston yes, um, butlike when you're, yeah, but
when you're walking aroundproperty and everything, just
looking around, I mean you,you're just seeing the resort
(06:28):
itself and hearing the music andbeautiful and the way it's set
up and where you go for most ofthe restaurants and the shop and
everything like it looks likethat's.
That would be like a like a mallarea kind of thing, but in
within the city so to speak?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah, so when we review resorts, my main thing is
do I feel like I am immersed inwhat they are describing?
And here 100%.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Right, and when I say within the city, like the
resort, not like Orlando oranything, but yeah, they did an
amazing job.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Yeah, I'm really impressed with it.
All right, so let's talk abouta little history.
This is one of the newerresorts.
It opened on august 1st 1997and it is disney's first
moderate resort designed forconventions and business.
Yes, it is the only moderateresort with suites because of
the convention and businessareas that are there.
(07:24):
The moderate resort is locatedin the animal kingdom area of
walt disney world with 1915rooms.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
That's a lot yeah, but it never felt overcrowded
wherever we were at well,because we were in the tower
well, but even like when we wereat the pool and stuff, like
yeah, it was crowded andeverything but it wasn't
overwhelming.
No, I agree with that uh this.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
It is themed to colonial and ancient Mexico and
is owned and operated by DisneyParks Experiences and Products.
It underwent a major renovationstarting in 2017, when they
built the Grand Casino Tower,and it was part of the major
renovation and the Grand CasinoTower opened on July 9, 2019.
So we stayed here in October of2019, and this was brand
(08:06):
spanking new.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, and some things have changed a lot.
From what I remember, thatparticular trip was a little bit
of a blur and we did not stayin the tower, but we did check
in there.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
But even then they were still kind of completing
certain halls like the lowerlevel stuff.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
There was still some construction stuff going on,
yeah the theme and name of thenew tower drew inspiration from
the collaboration between waltdisney and salvador dali to
create the short named destino.
That was quite, if I rememberthe biographies and stories that
I've heard about this.
This was quite the endeavor toget them to work together.
(08:45):
They both wanted to worktogether but to get the short
done it took a long time, butyou can see this in the artwork
in the lobby of the GrandDestino Tower.
There's subtle nods to Walt andsubtle nods to Salvador Dali
(09:05):
and everything.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
And on one of the screens in the lobby they have
it playing as well.
They do, yes.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
The Grand Destino Tower has 545 rooms, including
50 suites.
It's the only Walt Disney Worldproperty to use a destination
dispatch elevator system.
Brittany, explain this a littlebit more.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
So once you get the hang of it, it's easy and you
love it.
But instead of pressing like upor down on the outside of the
elevator and then getting insideand pressing the floor that you
need to go to, you hit thescreen.
It's like a computer screen,like you hit the screen and if
you're on the seventh floor,it's like a computer screen.
(09:45):
You hit the screen and ifyou're on the seventh floor, you
press seven and then it tellsyou okay, go to elevator A or
elevator B or whatever, and thenthat elevator is only going to
take you to that destination.
Or if someone in those fewminutes that you're waiting for
the elevator, if someone elsepresses a button, it'll
coordinate a couple together.
But there's like six or seventotal elevators there.
(10:12):
So but you must do that aheadof time.
You can't just hop on anelevator like you're used to
doing, and once you're inside,try to go to your destination.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah, and it was fine for us, but for some older
older people, we did notice theywere having problems with it,
and so we just asked them like,hey, what, what?
Do you know what floor you'regoing to?
And then we we helped them outwith that right yeah but it can
be a little.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
If you're tired or confused, it can be a little
confusing yeah, and a lot ofthis just comes from what you're
used to.
You know, out of habit we'relike, oh, go in the elevator and
then press the floor you knowwhere.
Now you have to do it ahead oftime, but I did like it because
you weren't ever waiting superlong.
You know, it's not like just acouple elevators hitting every
floor, it's only doing like acouple at a time.
(10:51):
And you know, I don't know likeI really liked the elevator
system.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
So it wasn't like when we stayed at the Disneyland
Hotel we had to wait 30 minutesfor an elevator.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Right, yeah, exactly yes.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
So the other guest areas of Coronado Springs is the
casitas, ranchos and cabanasand those are those different
areas and they have their ownseparate bus stops which we'll
get to the bus transportationstuff in a minute.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yes, and when we had stayed here previously, did we
stay in the ranchos?
Speaker 2 (11:18):
No, we stayed in casitas.
Okay, I can't remember if itwas casitas or ranchos.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
We were able to walk pretty quickly from the lobby
area to our Because it was likeon the other side, back behind,
where the the convention sideyeah.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
The casitas are five buildings close to the
convention center.
Okay, there we go, see if youjust read a little bit further
down.
The ranchos are four Pueblostyle buildings and the cabanas
are three buildings to the rightof the ranchos.
All were renovated in 2018, andI will say they were pretty
nice.
I remember the room when westayed there in 2019.
I was impressed by it for amoderate resort.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Oh yeah, it's very nice.
It was nice and spacious, yes,very spacious.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Coronado Springs has the largest convention center in
Walt Disney World, with 220,000square feet of meeting space
Wow, that's a lot.
Yes, and the Coronado Ballroomis the largest ballroom in the
southeastern United States at60,214 square feet.
Wow, that's massive.
It is.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
And you did have some people here for conventions
when we were staying.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
There was a lot of people here for conventions, but
again.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I never felt like oh excuse me, pardon me, kind of
feeling.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
No, it wasn't crowded .
Speaker 1 (12:24):
No, yeah, like even when we went which we'll talk
about in a little bit likedifferent dining areas and stuff
I never felt like, oh my gosh,you know there's so many people?
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yeah, yeah, all right .
So let's talk abouttransportation.
You got the bus.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
You have the bus.
That's all you got, yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
So here what Okay.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
So there's four stops .
Speaker 2 (12:47):
There's four stops and the Grand Destino Tower is
the last stop.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
However, it is stop number one.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
For Disney Springs?
Yeah, which is weird.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, it's weird though, because it's called stop
one.
So you would think-.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
It would be stop one.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Everywhere, but when you're going to the parks, it's
the last stop.
Yeah stop one everywhere.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
But when you're going to the parks, it's the last
stop, yeah.
So if you're so, I don't wantto sound bougie for us I'm gonna
say I'm gonna sound a littlebougie for a second here, okay
right we paid extra money tostay in the grand destino tower
well, we wanted to experienceright.
Yes, okay, but we did pay extramoney to stay at the
grandestino tower.
We should have been the firststop well, here's my thing and
(13:26):
this is gonna probably soundeven bougier.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
But when you have the grandestino tower and then you
have the other buildings as well, and as big of a resort as it
is, I wish they would have aseparate bus for the tower
because it was, and yeah becauseand it wasn't bad like most of
the time, it was fine.
There were a couple of days,though, where you are definitely
(13:49):
crammed in standing as the laststop.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
You are standing remotely yeah, so and I feel for
those dads with the strollersfolded up standing with them yes
, I've been there, I've beenthere.
Um so yeah, that would be myone complaint, I guess and I
know that's a bougie complaint,but if you're paying more to
stay at somewhere else, youwould expect a little.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Like you should be stop one.
We should be stop one or, likeI was saying, even a separate
bus, and maybe not all day,every day but like the peak
times, so like rope drop parkopening dinner time things like
that, because this is a largeresort with a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah, the buses when we were going to and from the
parks were always packed, andthis is unique, though I'm going
to say one more thing if you'regoing to typhoon lagoon, it is
the disney springs bus.
They stop at typhoon lagoonfirst yeah well, they or they
did that one time because 90% ofthe people on the bus were
going to Typhoon Lagoon yeah.
(14:49):
So keep that in mind as well.
If you're going to BlizzardBeach, it's literally right down
the road and you can just driveor take an Uber.
I would not waste the time ofgoing to Disney Springs and then
taking another transfer bus toBlizzard Beach.
To me, that would just be awaste of time.
(15:10):
Also, this resort, if you lookat it on the map, looks like
it's away from everything.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
That's what I was just about to say.
But it is not no, because wewere like, oh, it's going to
take a little while to get hereand there, but yeah, it is close
to everything.
But really magic kingdom.
And even then it wasn't itwasn't that bad.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Disney springs took forever.
Yeah, it seemed like yeah, butlike epcot, hollywood studios
and animal kingdom I mean veryshort drive, yeah, very, and
epcot epcot was right there too.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Yeah yeah, so, um, and even hollywood studios, like
hollywood studios, was just atad bit longer.
But I mean, I I was verypleased with you.
Know the location for sure, and, like Blizzard Beach, literally
right down the road.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Fortunately we had our car, so we drove there.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Yeah, but still I was just because I was expecting it
to take a lot longer to get toplaces, and it wasn't bad.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
I was too, except for Disney Springs.
But yeah, it's a bust going toa modern resort, it's going to
be packed.
Yeah, and I did notice at nightthey did not announce the stops
.
When they were coming up to thebus stops, they did not
announce which stop it was andwith it being late at night and
people are tired, a lot ofpeople were confused.
(16:21):
They were like oh, is this ourstop or is?
Is this?
You know?
Are you sure?
I'm sure.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Okay, but during the day they definitely do.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
During the day, but at night because I remember that
specifically people like isthis our stop, is it not?
And then looking out trying todecide if this was their stop or
not.
Maybe, I don't know I had a your youngest.
All right, so let's let's hearfrom travel planner Erica, who
booked this entire trip for us,and, uh, we really appreciate
(16:49):
you did a great job and madethis really just a stress-free
planning and vacation.
Yes, Planning a Disney vacationcan be overwhelming, but that's
where our new sponsor comes in.
You've heard us talk about herfor a long time and now she's
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(17:10):
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Speaker 1 (17:29):
We're thrilled to have Travel Planner Erica as the
official sponsor of thispodcast, and exclusively for
Circle of Parks listeners.
When you plan your next WaltDisney World or Disneyland
vacation or your next run Disneyracecation with Erica, you'll
receive a Disney gift card basedon the value of your trip on
(17:51):
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Speaker 2 (17:54):
So if you're dreaming of a magical Disney trip, she's
the expert you want, on yourside, ready to plan.
Reach out to Erica atTravelPlannerEricacom or follow
her on facebook and instagram attravel planner erica.
Yeah, again, she did such agreat job just seamless, smooth,
easy.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Thank you, erica, you made this trip so easy and and
wonderful yes, and she added youknow a notation for our stay
that it we were celebrating ouranniversary and everything too.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
It was 15 years.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Yes, all right.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
You got it right.
I did All right.
Moving on to dining, brittany,tell us about some of the places
to eat here.
Yeah, that's a lot of places toeat.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Yes, so this first one we did not go to but Toledo.
It is a tapas, steak andseafood restaurant.
Dine on tapas, seafood andsteak in style at this Spanish
haven inspired by surrealist artand the 1930s avant-garde.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Avant-garde.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Avant-garde.
Okay, sorry.
So this again we did notexperience, but it is a unique
rooftop dining experience.
Savor dishes and small platesinspired by flavors of spain
while feasting your eyes on thesweeping views from this rooftop
restaurant.
Spend the evening enjoyingdelicious tapas, sublime steaks
(19:16):
and succulent seafood under alarge pair of olive trees and
shimmering vaulted ceilings.
Our on-stage tapas kitchenserves small plates, charcuterie
and cheeses.
Enjoy entrees such as our agedhand-cut Spanish I don't know
how to say that for two.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Charcuterie.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
No, it's a chuletón, I have no idea.
For two, or any of thedelicious, sustainable seafood
offerings Charred octopus,shrimp or seafood paella for two
.
There's wines with over 50choices hand-selected by Somalia
.
Yes, thank you.
I'm like, why are you notreading this so?
Speaker 2 (19:54):
anyway, I don't know how to pull it up.
I'm looking at the menu.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
So now we did not eat here, but I have seen some like
vloggers and stuff do somevideos here and it looks like it
would be beautiful andbreathtaking up here and the
views you get inside and outside.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Honestly, this would be a date night place, something
we would not bring our twoheathens to, although they do
like fancy.
Well, they do like bougie food,and Spain is known for their
tapas.
Right yes, and so I think thiswould do.
I would hope this does a goodjob of keeping up with that.
They do have charcuterie boardsand steaks and paella and yeah,
(20:35):
it doesn't look overlyexpensive.
That 115 for two looks like agood, you know a good deal.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
So, yeah, maybe if we had a date night just me and
you, this would be a good placewe would go oh for sure, because
that, like when I've seenvideos on it, I'm like, oh yeah,
that would be date night place,but you know, at Disney with
the kids it didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Maybe we take an adults only trip again next year
.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Zach, I know.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yes.
We will see.
I would like to, but yeah, allright Got to have coverage for
kids.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
All right, next up is Three Bridges Bar and Grill at
Villa Del Lago.
All right, next up is ThreeBridges Bar and Grill at Villa
del Lago.
What does Disney say about thisplace?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
So, yes, three Bridges Unwind and dine amid an
idyllic open-air setting ofSpanish-American ambiance and
cuisine.
So we're not going to go toomuch into this, because we're
doing a dining review on thisnext week.
Yeah, now this is yourlakefront restaurant, inspired
by Dreamers, adventurers andExplorers, and the name is
(21:37):
because you have three bridgesleading to it.
To get to this, it's in themiddle of the lake there.
Yeah.
And it does have beautiful viewsand it can be a romantic place
for dinner.
But I mean you can bring thekids Like.
I mean you can bring the kidsLike.
When we were there, there werepeople that looked like they
were trying to maybe have anearly date night, but then there
were families there as well.
All right, Moving on.
(21:58):
So we're not even going to talkabout the menu or anything
until we do the review.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Oh okay, all right, then caught me off guard there.
All right, rick's Sports Barand Grill.
Enjoy handcrafted cocktails,local draft beers and a unique
spin on classic sports fairwhile cheering on your favorite
team, offering 31state-of-the-art tvs to view
nightly sporting events.
It's an upscale sports lounge.
Provides the perfect spot tounwind and chat with fellow
(22:23):
sports fans.
Reservations are accepted mostnights.
Is this another one that we'regoing to do a dining review on?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I didn't need here, and you and nolan only did so.
Do y'all want to, or not?
Speaker 1 (22:33):
I personally don't really want to, so I'm going to
go ahead and talk about it, yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
I'm looking at the menu now.
It just looks like bar food.
It's like your typical sportsbar, yeah, so that's why I'm
like I don't really want to,yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So let me talk about it then.
Yeah, All right, it is what wesaid.
They do breakfast, lunch anddinner.
Nolan and I ate here for dinnerand he got the wings off the
appetizer menu and he said theywere really good.
I did have one and I mean to methey weren't the best but they
were all right.
And then I just ordered anotherappetizer as my meal as well
(23:07):
the loaded nachos, and it isdefinitely a good serving.
It was good.
Was it the best?
No, but the nachos were pricedat $16.
The wings were $20 because youget 10 of them.
Now, some other items that wedid not try, they do have, you
know, some other chicken andburgers and poke bowls and stuff
(23:28):
, and then they have grilledcheeses.
They have grilled cheeses,salads, clubs, you know chicken
sandwiches, and then you haveloaded mac and cheese as one of
your enhancements.
And then they have fried Oreosand a s'mores brownie or a
churro iced latte for dessert.
But at that point we were justtoo full to really have anything
(23:54):
that rich.
Now, little one.
Nolan did want to go get adonut at the quick service, like
food court area, but again, itwas good.
But I've heard a lot of peoplejust like really rant and rave
about this restaurant and Idon't know.
I feel like personally, likeI'm glad that it's offered here,
(24:14):
you know, to give people thatoption to just kind of have that
sports bar atmosphere at such anice resort, but I think I've
eaten better at local ones here.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
This is not geared for families.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Right.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
This is geared for the guys that are here.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
There were families there Right.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
But I'm saying this is marketed towards the guys
that are here on conventions andbusinesses so they can watch
their sports and talk business.
Right, that's what this is andjust eat a little bit and eat
and drink and and watch the game, whatever the game is or talk
business right that this is notfor families.
I wouldn't think no familiescan eat here, but this is
marketed for right becausethere's no other place on
(24:52):
property now that the ESPN zoneis closed down to watch sports.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Yeah, so and it wasn't really that busy either.
I mean we were there earlier,so like we were able to walk
right in and get a table.
I know it mentionedreservations accepted most
nights and maybe on certainnights and certain games and
stuff going on.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
There's a big convention there.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
But, but again, like would I if I had a choice to go
back, would I no?
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Yeah, okay, next Dahlia Lounge.
Now, I did go here and this isit says Passion Reign Supreme in
a rooftop lounge inspired bySpanish surrealism.
So when you go up to to the, Ithink it's 17th floor I think so
you got Toledo's on the left,Dahlia Lounge on the right.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Okay, so you kind of See, I thought one was one floor
below the other.
I could be wrong, I could bewrong as well.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I wasn't paying that much attention, I just knew
where I was going.
Yes.
And so you can sit inside,beautifully designed, beautiful
decor.
You can sit inside or you cansit outside.
I just chose to sit outside andI caught the very end of
Fantasmic, beautiful view ofHollywood Studios and I just
(26:03):
enjoyed the ambiance of sittingoutside.
Now they have some tapas here.
I did not eat.
This is after we ate at SummerHouse on the Lake.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
So I wasn't hungry.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
No, but they do have quite a good menu A cookie
flight, charcuterie board,calamari, shrimp sliders,
chicken wings, churros, yeah.
But here's where I got myinterest peaked.
At Two things here Create yourown old fashioned for $17.50.
(26:35):
At two things here a createyour old, your own old-fashioned
for 1750, and choose from fivewhiskeys, five simple syrups and
five bitters to create your ownold-fashioned.
Or they have a Oaxacaold-fashioned for 1850 and this
is made with mezcal.
And I asked my server I waslike which one should I do?
And she goes are you a?
Do you like unique?
Which one should I do?
And she goes do you like uniqueold fashions?
And I said yes, she goes, getthe Oaxaca old fashioned.
(26:58):
I said okay, very smoky, veryunique.
I loved this old fashioned.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Yeah, did you only have one.
I only had one.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
I was just enjoying.
I know Sitting on the over thebalcony watching over, looking
over Hollywood Studios, and justenjoying this drink Very
delicious and you did send me apicture of Fantasmic and it was,
I mean, yes, you couldn't hearanything.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
You couldn't hear anything, but the view was
pretty good.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
Very beautiful view.
I just enjoyed just looking outover Galaxy's Edge and I just
love Galaxy's Edge, but at night, you know.
So I would recommend this place.
Very good view, unique drinkshere.
Yeah, I enjoyed it.
It was a nice time to wind down.
People had their kids there,you know, so it's not an
(27:46):
adult-only place and sidebar.
I ran into old friends thererandomly that we used to live
here in Nashville with us.
They live down there now but,yeah, I would recommend this bar
.
It was very good, very uniquedrink there.
If you like old fashions, trythe Oaxacan old fashioned.
If you do, go here to DahliaLounge.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yeah, and the friends that he mentioned, like they
were having just a date night,yeah, you know.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Well, they had told me they have friends that are
Club 33 members and had gone todinner at Club 33 at Animal
Kingdom Okay.
And then they wanted to endtheir night.
And then they ended their nightat Valley Lounge.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Yeah, but that tells you, like you know, people like
it, people like this place.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
People will go out of their way to come here and have
a drink, especially locals.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Right, because it's just a cool place.
Right, it was very beautiful,all right.
Next is barcelona lounge.
Feel transported to the heartof carolina's cafe society at
this day tonight.
Espresso bar in spanish stylegin tonic hub.
So I did get a coffee drinkhere one morning and this isn't
(28:52):
a lobby.
This is the lower lobby, thelower lobby bar yes, so you have
the lobby level in the towerand then you have the lower
lobby and this is in the lowerlobby.
Um, so they do have breakfast.
I did not eat here but theyhave like pastries and like
croissant sandwiches andbreakfast wraps, but then they
have um coffee, I believe, tillI want to say it was like 12
(29:15):
o'clock and then they closed fora couple hours and opened back
up later in the afternoonthrough evening, um, but I had a
.
I'm trying to find an espressoI had.
A ice cold brew with sweet creamis what I ended up having and
it was good.
Um, I I'm one like coffeedrinks and the heat and stuff.
(29:35):
I might not drink the wholething, but it was.
It was really good and I justsat in that lower lobby area
listening to the music and justkind of people watching and
looking out, because they havethese windows where you can see
out to the lake there andeverything and just really had a
little bit of me time.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
You know, yeah, you need that.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah, so, so yeah, would I recommend it For sure.
Did I get to experience itlater in the evening and have
any adult beverages?
I did not.
I had planned to but it justnever happened.
But I think it's another reallygood laid-back area, you know,
and different mornings walkingthrough there and stuff too,
(30:15):
like a lot of people would stopand get here, get coffee here
before they go into theirconventions yeah, all right.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Next is a siesta's cantina kick back and relax.
It's a poolside hideaway whereyou can grab a bite sandwiches,
burgers and nachos and sip onspecialty cocktails as you drift
off into a siesta.
It's a pool bar.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
It is.
That's what it is.
And one of the days, here,nolan and I split the chicken
tenders and it's your Disneychicken tenders.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
It's our chicken tenders, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
And you know.
But I mean it's convenientbecause it's right there.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Yeah, and I did get some drinks, you know, while I
was there at the pool, and theydo have a southern crunch
quesadilla and some more spanishtype of stuff, but it's still
it's.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
It's a pool bar.
Yeah, that's what it is.
Yeah, and you know, like he wassaying, it has like shrimp
tacos and things, but, um, yeah,me and nolan just split the
chicken tenders and we were good, so, uh, but I like that it's
open from, or the food anywayyou can get from 11 to 9 yeah so
so most of the the day, but Ithink the pool opened at like
eight o'clock it was an earlierpool pool opening time.
(31:21):
I feel interesting.
Yes, all right next is cafe.
Nope, I'm sorry, maya grill.
Our home is your home at thisgrand mexican dining room
featuring ancient, modernstyling and Nuevo Latino
cuisines.
So we did not eat here, but thepicture on the website looks
(31:41):
like it is really pretty and thepricing is anywhere from $15 to
about $35 for adult meals.
And so you are like in theMayan area.
I guess you could say, um,that's what it's themed after
and you know you have on themenu a big menu it is a really
(32:03):
big menu so we're not going todive in, but of course you're
gonna have like your chips andsalsa, guacamole, tostados,
flattas.
You're gonna have some salads,fajitas, your way.
There's going to be like shortrib and fish, tacos, chicken
enchiladas, quesadillas, chickenor steak.
You're going to have like yourrice and your beans and all of's
(32:34):
see the leches cake and andmore so.
Uh, again, we did not eat here,um, but you know, the prices
for what you're getting lookfairly reasonable.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Some are a little more on the higher end, but yeah
I'll say this I didn't evenknow this place existed until we
walked past it at the uh goingto the quick service place oh
yeah like I've never heard anyyoutubers talk about it.
Nobody's ever talked about thisplace, so either it's just
really, really bad or justnobody knows about it, right, I
don't know.
Yeah, so who knows, this could,could have been our favorite
(33:06):
one delicious, who knows?
Speaker 1 (33:07):
right, so all right.
Next is cafe rick's.
So this is your more likepastries, yogurts, fruits,
salads, coffee, smoothies allday.
Um, and so it's.
It's next to the sports bar wewere talking about earlier.
Um, we did not go here, but itseemed to be busy in the
mornings just like a grab and goplace yeah, exactly, grab and
(33:30):
go.
I mean, they do have likebreakfast burritos and stuff,
and then like later in the dayyou can get different sandwiches
and Cobb salads, buffalo,turkey, things like that.
But yeah, we didn't go here,but it is your grab and go.
So then you have the El Mercadode Coronado and this is more
like your food court dining spot.
(33:50):
This is a quick service.
Yes, quick service, wherethere's different lines you can
go to and each line, you know,offers different things, whether
it's in the morning, lunch ordinner, so you can get your
refillable mugs for breakfast.
You know they're going to haveanything from your Mickey
waffles Mexican style breakfastto your traditional breakfast
sandwiches and pastries, thebreakfast sandwiches and
(34:13):
pastries, the breakfast platesand we did eat here for
breakfast one day, it was allright, nothing special.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
It was basic breakfast and I was thinking
about this for a second.
We did not feel really thatgood after eating breakfast here
because it was all just likepre-made stuff, right Well, yeah
, so I wonder if that kind ofplayed into us kind of having
not the best day at Epcot.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
No, I think it was the heat.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Well, because we didn't eat.
And you say that I enjoyedEpcot.
I'm not saying we didn't have abad day, I'm just saying we
were just kind of like tired andworn down the rest of the trip.
We didn't eat breakfast beforegoing to the parks.
I think the heat did play intoit, but I think that we were
full from breakfast before weeven got to the park.
Yeah.
And I think that may havecontributed somewhat.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
It could be Just a thought.
I was fine at Epcot, really, itwas just the heat in the
afternoon.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Well, yes, I'm not saying that.
I'm just saying I think we wereso full all day from eating so
much that may have contributed alittle bit, I don't know,
because we still pigged out atlunch.
We did, I know.
Just a thought.
Okay, just a thought, just athought.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
But just a quick glance at the lunch menu, you
know they have cheeseburger,chicken tenders, sandwiches,
side salads.
They have rice bowls which therice bowls may have been good
here and nachos, subs, pizza,pastas and more.
So that's your later in the daymenu and again, this is more of
like a food court type area.
(35:34):
Yes, yes, yes.
All right, you want to do thelast one.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
All right, we're going to Laguna Bar and,
surprisingly, the smallest placehas the largest description.
Slip on a refreshing beverageat this breezy lakeside tequila
and mezcal bar, boasting animpressive menu of unique
handcrafted cocktails.
The tropical vibe makes for arelaxing atmosphere after a long
(36:08):
day visiting the parks yeah,and this is like right outside
of that area, but it's right upnext to the lake.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Ooh, they have a soup du jour.
Oh, okay, that's the soup ofthe day.
Mm-hmm, I know it's a joke,okay, okay, I'm like what, but
go ahead.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
For you dumb and dumber fans out there.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
I've watched that maybe a couple of times, but I'm
not going to make thereferences.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
So yeah, and I didn't realize that they had all this
stuff.
Looking at the menu, like Ithought it was just a drink
place.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
That's what I thought too.
I thought it was just drink.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Yeah, but apparently they have wings and tenders and
nachos.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Rick's Boneless Tenders Tossedin your choice of Signature Dry
Rub, carolina Barbecue, garlic,palm, buffalo.
Are these the Buffalo ChickenTenders?
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Yeah, it could be Like the ones that we have here
Could be.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I don't know, though, because it says Rick's, so it's
like the sports bar, is it?
Speaker 2 (37:01):
different than the disney tenders, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
So, yeah, but I I honestly thought, because the
place looks small, like we sawit outside, but we never stopped
I think we need a research tripjust for this.
Oh my goodness, anyways, um,but apparently you can.
You can eat there and then soupdu jour, but I didn't get the
reference.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Sorry, sounds good, I'll have that.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
Burgers, grilled cheese, caesar salad, chicken
sandwiches, steak sandwich,turkey club.
So yeah, I didn't know they hadall this.
I just thought it was like yourcocktails.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yeah, I just thought it was a bar.
Yeah, interesting.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
Which I had wanted to come here for a margarita, just
never made it.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
Sorry moms.
It's okay, all right, so thatwill do it for dining.
That's a lot of dining placesfor a moderate resort.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Yes, and it's because of the convention space, right,
yeah, yeah, but I mean, butit's good and I think that's why
, even though there wereconventions going on and
everything, because there's somany options it never felt like
you were overly crowded, Right.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
All right, so we're going to talk about the pools.
There are one main pool, theLost City of Cibola pool, and
then three leisure pools at thedifferent areas of the resort.
Yes, we only went to the mainpool, and it's a beautiful pool.
It's got the Mayan ruins thereand it's a 50-foot pyramid.
I thought it was a great pool.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Yeah, and it has a slide 123-foot long water slide
with a spitting jaguar while youride it, and it has a hot tub.
But the theming was very nice.
And again, you have thatsiestas pool bar.
Right next to it there is asand volleyball court.
Over there you have a kiddiepool area.
This is also the area where youhave, like, the arcade and
(38:49):
shuffleboard and stuff too, yeah, and a little playground.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
I forgot, yeah, yeah.
What other activities are therehere?
They do all the stuff at thepool and then they have campfire
activities.
They do movies on the lawn,which we did see from our room,
and for a moderate resort, thisis the only moderate resort that
has a fitness center.
Yes, because of it being theconvention area, so yeah, yeah,
(39:15):
I mean they do a lot ofactivities.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
Like one thing I would have liked to do you know,
if we'd had maybe one moreresort day and zach took the
kids, kind of thing.
Um, I would have liked to havedone the spanish mosaic art,
where you create your own disneyinspired mosaic during the
workshop in the dahlia lounge.
I would have that would havebeen something I would have paid
extra to do.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
Yeah, yeah, they do a lot of that stuff here as well.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
Yeah, that's what I just said yeah, I know.
Okay, you said they do a lot ofthat stuff here as well.
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
Sorry, I was reiterating what you said.
Oh yes, okay, all right.
So what was your initialimpression?
Speaker 1 (39:53):
So I think I enjoyed staying in the tower more than
in the casitas.
Okay, the location of thisresort.
Again, like we were sayingearlier, we were kind of worried
it was going to take a while toget everywhere, and it really
(40:15):
didn't, except for DisneySprings, because Magic Kingdom
even felt less than DisneySprings, correct, and although
we were talking about the youknow the bus stop situation and
everything, overall it wasn'tbad.
There was at dinnertime.
I feel like they need to runmore buses for Disney Springs,
though, because there were.
There was a time where wewaited quite a while, but I
thoroughly enjoyed the stay inthe resort.
(40:38):
The room was very spacious aswell.
Um, and would it be like one ofmy top choices to stay at again
?
No, maybe not my top, but ifsomeone was like hey, you know
there's a room that we're goingto get, would you like to come?
We're staying at Disney'sCoronado Springs and the
Grandestino tower, oh yeah, I'llgo.
Speaker 2 (41:06):
So we just answered every question in one right
there, huh well, I was justyapping, sorry, all right.
So my first impression it wasbeautiful, very well themed,
busy.
I did not get that moment whenwe walked into the lab, when we
walked into check-in area.
You know, you get that when youwalk in to Riverside or you
walk into any Disney resort,except for a value you walk in
(41:26):
and you get that vibe right.
I did not get that here.
It seemed very busy.
A lot of people were thereAgain, beautiful, very well
themed.
I did not get that, just relax.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
There's more people at Polynesian than here, though.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
But you still get that when you walk in, you go.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
Yeah, right at the Polynesian, like with the smells
and everything.
I did not get that here.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
And this is that's because this is not.
It says it right here in.
You know, when we talked aboutit, it's disney's first modern
resort designed for conventionsand businesses yeah, but I
didn't feel like we were stayingat a like a marriott no, I know
I didn't feel that.
So this is a mix betweengetting the Disney feel, but
(42:22):
geared towards conventions andbusinesses.
This resort is not gearedtowards families.
I don't think that's not itsfirst.
The tower or the resort itself,the resort in general, I feel
the families is secondary tocatering to the convention
(42:42):
crowds.
That is my first my thoughts onthis, and I felt that because
everywhere you looked in thelobby, in the quick service
place, in the spaces between theareas there were people on
computers, everywhere.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
I think you're exaggerating a little bit.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
They weren't everywhere they weren't
everywhere, but you did noticethem a lot more than you do like
well, yeah, you notice them,because in other places you
don't see that, but they're noteverywhere I felt it.
I don't want to say it tookaway from like the disney, but
it did give more of thatMarriott or Hilton feel because
(43:22):
there were more business peoplethere.
So my impression on this is, ifyou're wanting to go, get that
full Disney feel, this would notbe the resort for that.
Speaker 1 (43:34):
Right.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
Now a lot of families do stay here because the price
is very competitive for theamenities you get here.
You do get a lot more amenitiesfor the price because of this
being the main convention resorton property.
Speaker 1 (43:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
So you are getting almost deluxe resort amenities
for that moderate price.
Then you are still getting thatthey.
There were very beautifuldisney touches here there were.
Speaker 1 (44:05):
It was very well done in the hallways, like in the
tower and stuff.
Like you know, you had hidden,midi hidden midis, hidden midis
hidden mickeys in the carpet andlike in the room.
It was very subtle, like mickeyson the wall and things like you
know at first glance you mightnot pick up on.
It was very subtle likeMickey's on the wall and things
like you know, at first glanceyou might not pick up on it, but
then you're like, oh yeah,that's Mickey.
So I mean you are still gettingthe Disney theming.
(44:27):
It's just not in your face.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
It's not in your face and it is very subtly done and
it is very well done.
I will say I did enjoy.
They did it really well.
It really well.
Um, did I enjoy my stay here?
Yes, I really did enjoy my stayhere.
This was a great stay.
Would I want to stay here again?
Speaker 1 (44:43):
no, okay, see, I enjoyed staying in the tower
more than in the casitas becausethe casitas, you're it's.
You know, like a moderate,you're gonna hear people right
outside your doors and all that.
Here, like it was, it was a lotquieter in the rooms.
You know like, yes, if peopleare right outside your door,
you're going to hear that, butyou're not.
You weren't hearing peopleabove you and next to you like
(45:04):
you do, like you would in thecasitas and stuff yes, yeah, so
I would.
Speaker 2 (45:10):
If you're wanting to get more amenities for that
moderate price level, I wouldrecommend this resort, but go
into it knowing it's not goingto have that full pollen, you
know, full disney feel to it Ithought right especially the
check-in area there was a lot ofpeople really dressed up going
to the restaurants or leaving orthey're on business.
(45:32):
It just did not have that disneyfamily feel like you get when
you go into riverside or you gointo even the caribbean beach.
Had that same had that.
I did get that feel atcaribbean beach, especially like
grand floridian or thecontemporary or you you know the
poly or the wilderness lodge.
You see nothing but familiesthere.
Speaker 1 (45:54):
That's not what you see when there are a lot of
families?
There are.
Please don't misunderstand him.
Speaker 3 (45:58):
There are a lot of families, I know, but are yes,
so please don't misunderstandhim.
Speaker 2 (46:00):
There are a lot of families here, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
I know, but I want to make sure our listeners.
Speaker 2 (46:02):
Yes, yes, there are some families here, yes, when
you walk in, but it's a lot ofbusiness people as well.
Yeah, so I would.
Yeah, I just didn't get thatdisney smack you in the face
(46:26):
feel when you walked in.
It was more of a disney kind ofmore, but more businessy feel.
I'd say it's 50 50 yeah I wouldagree 50 50.
But when you think you're goingon a disney vacation, you want
that disney, smack you in theface when you first walk into
some people do, some peopledon't but, yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:36):
So it just depends.
But yeah, if you want like allin Disney, then I would agree no
.
But if you're wanting theDisney feel, but not so much in
your face, then yes.
Because, the rest of the resortand the theming, like we were
saying earlier, is very welldone and it is a very beautiful
resort.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
The music here is very beautiful, very relaxing,
with that Spanish type of feelto it.
I do really enjoy that and I'mnot saying this is a bad resort.
If you're wanting that fullfamily Disney feel, I don't
think this is the resort forthat, right.
But the room was great,beautiful view, the restaurants,
(47:14):
their lounge was very nice, butthat would be my opinion of it.
Does that make sense?
It?
Speaker 1 (47:20):
does.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
Anything else you'd like to say?
Speaker 1 (47:23):
Well, you're kind of limiting me because we're going
to do a dining review on one ofthe restaurants.
So other things I'd like to say.
I guess I need to wait.
Speaker 2 (47:30):
Hang off for the yeah For the dining review on that.
Speaker 1 (47:35):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (47:37):
It's called a teaser.
Speaker 1 (47:38):
I know.
Speaker 2 (47:39):
So you really want to talk about three bridges.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
Yes, but it's fine.
Speaker 2 (47:42):
We'll talk about it next week.
Okay, all right With that.
Thank you everybody forlistening.
Thank you so much.
If you want to support the team, the best way to do that is to
book your next vacation withTravel Planner Erica.
She takes care of everything.
Lightning lanes takes care ofeverything.
Lightning lanes dining,reservations, changes in your
reservation.
We've done that a ton with herlately, yes, yes.
(48:03):
Go check her outwwwtravelplanetericacom.
She's on Instagram and Facebookat Travel Planet Erica.
You can email us circleofparksat gmailcom.
Our website iswwwcircleofparkscom and we're on
Facebook, instagram and X allat Circle of Parks.
Again, thank you so much forlistening and we will talk to
you next week about threebridges, bar and talk to you
(48:23):
soon.
Speaker 3 (48:33):
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,
(49:04):
hey.
Thank you.
Hello and welcome to Circle of Parks podcast episode
number 210.
Today we are talking about ourrecent seven night stay at the
Grand Destino Tower at Disney'sCoronado Springs Resort.
There is far too much to seeand do.
We are here to help guide youthrough, but before we do that
(00:43):
we must talk Disney merch.
So this week, disneystorecom,there is a new Lego set.
It is Ideas Disney, pixar, luxoJr, and we actually saw this in
person at the Lego store inDisney Springs.
So if you are familiar withPixar and like the lamp and the
(01:08):
ball, this is what that Lego setis.
And so, again, it's Luxo Jr.
It's 613 pieces.
I think it is a great lookingset.
It is $69.99.
I think if you are a disneypixar lover, like this would be
great to add to your legocollection and possibly to a
(01:31):
desk or a bookshelf.
Um, and again, for the price, Ithought it, I thought this was
a great deal.
So go check that out again.
Disneystorecom.
We again also saw it in personat the lego store when we were
in Disney Springs.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, it wasn't that big.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
It wasn't so.
That's why I'm like it would begood for, like a desk or, you
know, bookshelf.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Maybe we can move all this junk over here on the desk
and put it there.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, maybe.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
All right, thank you everybody.
Episode number 210.
We're going to talk about ourrecent stay at Coronado Springs,
at the Grand Destino Tower.
If you're new here, we have alot of new listeners.
I'm Zach.
I'm Brittany and thank you somuch for joining us.
We do this show every singleweek and we have two goals One,
just to help you get through theweek.
Talk some Disney, take you to.
(02:16):
Walt Disney World Helps us, weknow it helps you.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
And our other goal.
Well, we hope it helps you we.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
And our other goal.
We've been told by a lot oflisteners that it does help get
them through the week, so weappreciate that it helps us get
through the week as well.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And then we hope to help you have a better Walt
Disney World vacation.
We do these reviews every timewe go on a trip and we hope it
helps you make a decision basedon our opinions.
Again, these are just ouropinions.
You may have a differentexperience than us, but this is
what we think of the resorts andrestaurants we go to and maybe
(02:50):
you can help sway you either wayto go to wherever.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah, whether it's oh , okay, maybe that's not the
place we need to stay, or hey, Idon't know if we should try
that restaurant after all kindof thing.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yeah, so what does Disney say about Disney's
Coronado Springs Resort?
Yeah, so what does Disney sayabout Disney's Coronado Springs?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Resort.
So Disney says.
Celebrate the unique blend ofSpanish, mexican and Southwest
cultures at Disney's CoronadoSprings Resort.
This beautiful lakeside oasisoffers classic influences,
disney touches and moderncomforts to energize and inspire
Romance and relaxation.
From the moment you arrive atDisney's Coronado Springs Resort
(03:25):
, you'll be swept away to aromantic paradise like no other
Before you even reach the.
How do you say it?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Portico Share.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Thank you.
You'll be welcomed withmagnificent views of this resort
hotel, which is particularlycaptivating at night thanks to
its dramatic lighting.
Thanks to its dramatic lighting, Disney's Coronado Springs
Resort features a grand entrancewith three elongated archways
and a signature ribbon-patterneddesign that lends to a striking
architectural expression.
(03:53):
Upon arrival, step through anentryway featuring intricate
wooden screens and in a grandtwo-story lobby adorned with
rows of moorish hanging lanterns, all beautifully enhanced by
subtle lighting.
The rear wall of the lobbyfeatures a full height
decorative bronze screeninspired by Spanish tile
patterns.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
So when you go to check into a moderate resort,
this is not what you think.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
No, because this is it is beautiful.
It's everything it just said.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
It is like you're walking into a deluxe resort.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Yes, it's very grand.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
It is.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yes, centralized amenities, so a hub of activity.
Villa del Lago, the Lake Villa,is a mirage, a bygone age whose
passion for life is celebratedin the rich legends, lore, art
(04:51):
and cuisine represented here.
Located at the intersection ofthe three new bridges that span
the lake and link to the hotel,villa del Lago represents a
bustling crossroads for those insearch of recreation and
relaxation.
A bustling crossroads for thosein search of recreation and
relaxation.
This scenic setting is alsohome to Three Bridges.
Bar and Grill, a lakefrontrestaurant serving up tasty
cuisine.
Behind the central bar is astone hearth where you can relax
(05:14):
by a glowing fire pit in theevening as you sip in on
refreshing beverages.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
So I will say this about this resort and we're
going to get into our opinionsand everything a little bit
later, but they nailed thetheming here and the inclusion
of where you are.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Right, like you, when you're on property, you, you
are immersed in this theming.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Right.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
This is not like and I've criticized this is my
criticism for Caribbean beach.
You don't feel immersed in thecaribbean landscape because
there's, you can see roads, theroads, you can see the skyline,
you can see the riviera likeit's all there, right, not here.
You are fully immersed in thisculture, in this theme.
(05:59):
Here, when you're walkingaround the grounds at grant at
uh, coronado Springs, I thoughtyeah, yeah, no, I would agree.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I mean, you know, you can't really see, you can't I
mean often the distance andstuff you can see what you're
seeing in the tower in the toweryou yeah, you can see like
Animal Kingdom and stuff we hada great view of the backside of
Exhibition Everston yes, um, butlike when you're, yeah, but
when you're walking aroundproperty and everything, just
looking around, I mean you,you're just seeing the resort
(06:28):
itself and hearing the music andbeautiful and the way it's set
up and where you go for most ofthe restaurants and the shop and
everything like it looks likethat's.
That would be like a like a mallarea kind of thing, but in
within the city so to speak?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah, so when we review resorts, my main thing is
do I feel like I am immersed inwhat they are describing?
And here 100%.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Right, and when I say within the city, like the
resort, not like Orlando oranything, but yeah, they did an
amazing job.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Yeah, I'm really impressed with it.
All right, so let's talk abouta little history.
This is one of the newerresorts.
It opened on august 1st 1997and it is disney's first
moderate resort designed forconventions and business.
Yes, it is the only moderateresort with suites because of
the convention and businessareas that are there.
(07:24):
The moderate resort is locatedin the animal kingdom area of
walt disney world with 1915rooms.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
That's a lot yeah, but it never felt overcrowded
wherever we were at well,because we were in the tower
well, but even like when we wereat the pool and stuff, like
yeah, it was crowded andeverything but it wasn't
overwhelming.
No, I agree with that uh this.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
It is themed to colonial and ancient Mexico and
is owned and operated by DisneyParks Experiences and Products.
It underwent a major renovationstarting in 2017, when they
built the Grand Casino Tower,and it was part of the major
renovation and the Grand CasinoTower opened on July 9, 2019.
So we stayed here in October of2019, and this was brand
(08:06):
spanking new.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, and some things have changed a lot.
From what I remember, thatparticular trip was a little bit
of a blur and we did not stayin the tower, but we did check
in there.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
But even then they were still kind of completing
certain halls like the lowerlevel stuff.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
There was still some construction stuff going on,
yeah the theme and name of thenew tower drew inspiration from
the collaboration between waltdisney and salvador dali to
create the short named destino.
That was quite, if I rememberthe biographies and stories that
I've heard about this.
This was quite the endeavor toget them to work together.
(08:45):
They both wanted to worktogether but to get the short
done it took a long time, butyou can see this in the artwork
in the lobby of the GrandDestino Tower.
There's subtle nods to Walt andsubtle nods to Salvador Dali
(09:05):
and everything.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
And on one of the screens in the lobby they have
it playing as well.
They do, yes.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
The Grand Destino Tower has 545 rooms, including
50 suites.
It's the only Walt Disney Worldproperty to use a destination
dispatch elevator system.
Brittany, explain this a littlebit more.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
So once you get the hang of it, it's easy and you
love it.
But instead of pressing like upor down on the outside of the
elevator and then getting insideand pressing the floor that you
need to go to, you hit thescreen.
It's like a computer screen,like you hit the screen and if
you're on the seventh floor,it's like a computer screen.
(09:45):
You hit the screen and ifyou're on the seventh floor, you
press seven and then it tellsyou okay, go to elevator A or
elevator B or whatever, and thenthat elevator is only going to
take you to that destination.
Or if someone in those fewminutes that you're waiting for
the elevator, if someone elsepresses a button, it'll
coordinate a couple together.
But there's like six or seventotal elevators there.
(10:12):
So but you must do that aheadof time.
You can't just hop on anelevator like you're used to
doing, and once you're inside,try to go to your destination.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah, and it was fine for us, but for some older
older people, we did notice theywere having problems with it,
and so we just asked them like,hey, what, what?
Do you know what floor you'regoing to?
And then we we helped them outwith that right yeah but it can
be a little.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
If you're tired or confused, it can be a little
confusing yeah, and a lot ofthis just comes from what you're
used to.
You know, out of habit we'relike, oh, go in the elevator and
then press the floor you knowwhere.
Now you have to do it ahead oftime, but I did like it because
you weren't ever waiting superlong.
You know, it's not like just acouple elevators hitting every
floor, it's only doing like acouple at a time.
(10:51):
And you know, I don't know likeI really liked the elevator
system.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
So it wasn't like when we stayed at the Disneyland
Hotel we had to wait 30 minutesfor an elevator.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Right, yeah, exactly yes.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
So the other guest areas of Coronado Springs is the
casitas, ranchos and cabanasand those are those different
areas and they have their ownseparate bus stops which we'll
get to the bus transportationstuff in a minute.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yes, and when we had stayed here previously, did we
stay in the ranchos?
Speaker 2 (11:18):
No, we stayed in casitas.
Okay, I can't remember if itwas casitas or ranchos.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
We were able to walk pretty quickly from the lobby
area to our Because it was likeon the other side, back behind,
where the the convention sideyeah.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
The casitas are five buildings close to the
convention center.
Okay, there we go, see if youjust read a little bit further
down.
The ranchos are four Pueblostyle buildings and the cabanas
are three buildings to the rightof the ranchos.
All were renovated in 2018, andI will say they were pretty
nice.
I remember the room when westayed there in 2019.
I was impressed by it for amoderate resort.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Oh yeah, it's very nice.
It was nice and spacious, yes,very spacious.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Coronado Springs has the largest convention center in
Walt Disney World, with 220,000square feet of meeting space
Wow, that's a lot.
Yes, and the Coronado Ballroomis the largest ballroom in the
southeastern United States at60,214 square feet.
Wow, that's massive.
It is.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
And you did have some people here for conventions
when we were staying.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
There was a lot of people here for conventions, but
again.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I never felt like oh excuse me, pardon me, kind of
feeling.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
No, it wasn't crowded .
Speaker 1 (12:24):
No, yeah, like even when we went which we'll talk
about in a little bit likedifferent dining areas and stuff
I never felt like, oh my gosh,you know there's so many people?
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yeah, yeah, all right .
So let's talk abouttransportation.
You got the bus.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
You have the bus.
That's all you got, yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
So here what Okay.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
So there's four stops .
Speaker 2 (12:47):
There's four stops and the Grand Destino Tower is
the last stop.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
However, it is stop number one.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
For Disney Springs?
Yeah, which is weird.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, it's weird though, because it's called stop
one.
So you would think-.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
It would be stop one.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Everywhere, but when you're going to the parks, it's
the last stop.
Yeah stop one everywhere.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
But when you're going to the parks, it's the last
stop, yeah.
So if you're so, I don't wantto sound bougie for us I'm gonna
say I'm gonna sound a littlebougie for a second here, okay
right we paid extra money tostay in the grand destino tower
well, we wanted to experienceright.
Yes, okay, but we did pay extramoney to stay at the
grandestino tower.
We should have been the firststop well, here's my thing and
(13:26):
this is gonna probably soundeven bougier.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
But when you have the grandestino tower and then you
have the other buildings as well, and as big of a resort as it
is, I wish they would have aseparate bus for the tower
because it was, and yeah becauseand it wasn't bad like most of
the time, it was fine.
There were a couple of days,though, where you are definitely
(13:49):
crammed in standing as the laststop.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
You are standing remotely yeah, so and I feel for
those dads with the strollersfolded up standing with them yes
, I've been there, I've beenthere.
Um so yeah, that would be myone complaint, I guess and I
know that's a bougie complaint,but if you're paying more to
stay at somewhere else, youwould expect a little.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Like you should be stop one.
We should be stop one or, likeI was saying, even a separate
bus, and maybe not all day,every day but like the peak
times, so like rope drop parkopening dinner time things like
that, because this is a largeresort with a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah, the buses when we were going to and from the
parks were always packed, andthis is unique, though I'm going
to say one more thing if you'regoing to typhoon lagoon, it is
the disney springs bus.
They stop at typhoon lagoonfirst yeah well, they or they
did that one time because 90% ofthe people on the bus were
going to Typhoon Lagoon yeah.
(14:49):
So keep that in mind as well.
If you're going to BlizzardBeach, it's literally right down
the road and you can just driveor take an Uber.
I would not waste the time ofgoing to Disney Springs and then
taking another transfer bus toBlizzard Beach.
To me, that would just be awaste of time.
(15:10):
Also, this resort, if you lookat it on the map, looks like
it's away from everything.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
That's what I was just about to say.
But it is not no, because wewere like, oh, it's going to
take a little while to get hereand there, but yeah, it is close
to everything.
But really magic kingdom.
And even then it wasn't itwasn't that bad.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Disney springs took forever.
Yeah, it seemed like yeah, butlike epcot, hollywood studios
and animal kingdom I mean veryshort drive, yeah, very, and
epcot epcot was right there too.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Yeah yeah, so, um, and even hollywood studios, like
hollywood studios, was just atad bit longer.
But I mean, I I was verypleased with you.
Know the location for sure, and, like Blizzard Beach, literally
right down the road.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Fortunately we had our car, so we drove there.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Yeah, but still I was just because I was expecting it
to take a lot longer to get toplaces, and it wasn't bad.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
I was too, except for Disney Springs.
But yeah, it's a bust going toa modern resort, it's going to
be packed.
Yeah, and I did notice at nightthey did not announce the stops
.
When they were coming up to thebus stops, they did not
announce which stop it was andwith it being late at night and
people are tired, a lot ofpeople were confused.
(16:21):
They were like oh, is this ourstop or is?
Is this?
You know?
Are you sure?
I'm sure.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Okay, but during the day they definitely do.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
During the day, but at night because I remember that
specifically people like isthis our stop, is it not?
And then looking out trying todecide if this was their stop or
not.
Maybe, I don't know I had a your youngest.
All right, so let's let's hearfrom travel planner Erica, who
booked this entire trip for us,and, uh, we really appreciate
(16:49):
you did a great job and madethis really just a stress-free
planning and vacation.
Yes, Planning a Disney vacationcan be overwhelming, but that's
where our new sponsor comes in.
You've heard us talk about herfor a long time and now she's
the official sponsor of thispodcast.
Travel planner specializing inDisney destinations.
(17:10):
She takes care of every detail,from finding the best resort
options for your family booking,dining reservations to park
strategies and now offers aspecial, lightning-ling booking
service to your park days.
She truly offers top-tierservice from start to finish and
the best part is her planningservices are free when you book
your room and ticket packagewith her.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
We're thrilled to have Travel Planner Erica as the
official sponsor of thispodcast, and exclusively for
Circle of Parks listeners.
When you plan your next WaltDisney World or Disneyland
vacation or your next run Disneyracecation with Erica, you'll
receive a Disney gift card basedon the value of your trip on
(17:51):
your arrival day to put towardsyour Disney snacks.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
So if you're dreaming of a magical Disney trip, she's
the expert you want, on yourside, ready to plan.
Reach out to Erica atTravelPlannerEricacom or follow
her on facebook and instagram attravel planner erica.
Yeah, again, she did such agreat job just seamless, smooth,
easy.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Thank you, erica, you made this trip so easy and and
wonderful yes, and she added youknow a notation for our stay
that it we were celebrating ouranniversary and everything too.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
It was 15 years.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Yes, all right.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
You got it right.
I did All right.
Moving on to dining, brittany,tell us about some of the places
to eat here.
Yeah, that's a lot of places toeat.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Yes, so this first one we did not go to but Toledo.
It is a tapas, steak andseafood restaurant.
Dine on tapas, seafood andsteak in style at this Spanish
haven inspired by surrealist artand the 1930s avant-garde.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Avant-garde.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Avant-garde.
Okay, sorry.
So this again we did notexperience, but it is a unique
rooftop dining experience.
Savor dishes and small platesinspired by flavors of spain
while feasting your eyes on thesweeping views from this rooftop
restaurant.
Spend the evening enjoyingdelicious tapas, sublime steaks
(19:16):
and succulent seafood under alarge pair of olive trees and
shimmering vaulted ceilings.
Our on-stage tapas kitchenserves small plates, charcuterie
and cheeses.
Enjoy entrees such as our agedhand-cut Spanish I don't know
how to say that for two.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Charcuterie.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
No, it's a chuletón, I have no idea.
For two, or any of thedelicious, sustainable seafood
offerings Charred octopus,shrimp or seafood paella for two
.
There's wines with over 50choices hand-selected by Somalia
.
Yes, thank you.
I'm like, why are you notreading this so?
Speaker 2 (19:54):
anyway, I don't know how to pull it up.
I'm looking at the menu.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
So now we did not eat here, but I have seen some like
vloggers and stuff do somevideos here and it looks like it
would be beautiful andbreathtaking up here and the
views you get inside and outside.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Honestly, this would be a date night place, something
we would not bring our twoheathens to, although they do
like fancy.
Well, they do like bougie food,and Spain is known for their
tapas.
Right yes, and so I think thiswould do.
I would hope this does a goodjob of keeping up with that.
They do have charcuterie boardsand steaks and paella and yeah,
(20:35):
it doesn't look overlyexpensive.
That 115 for two looks like agood, you know a good deal.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
So, yeah, maybe if we had a date night just me and
you, this would be a good placewe would go oh for sure, because
that, like when I've seenvideos on it, I'm like, oh yeah,
that would be date night place,but you know, at Disney with
the kids it didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Maybe we take an adults only trip again next year
.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Zach, I know.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yes.
We will see.
I would like to, but yeah, allright Got to have coverage for
kids.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
All right, next up is Three Bridges Bar and Grill at
Villa Del Lago.
All right, next up is ThreeBridges Bar and Grill at Villa
del Lago.
What does Disney say about thisplace?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
So, yes, three Bridges Unwind and dine amid an
idyllic open-air setting ofSpanish-American ambiance and
cuisine.
So we're not going to go toomuch into this, because we're
doing a dining review on thisnext week.
Yeah, now this is yourlakefront restaurant, inspired
by Dreamers, adventurers andExplorers, and the name is
(21:37):
because you have three bridgesleading to it.
To get to this, it's in themiddle of the lake there.
Yeah.
And it does have beautiful viewsand it can be a romantic place
for dinner.
But I mean you can bring thekids Like.
I mean you can bring the kidsLike.
When we were there, there werepeople that looked like they
were trying to maybe have anearly date night, but then there
were families there as well.
All right, Moving on.
(21:58):
So we're not even going to talkabout the menu or anything
until we do the review.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Oh okay, all right, then caught me off guard there.
All right, rick's Sports Barand Grill.
Enjoy handcrafted cocktails,local draft beers and a unique
spin on classic sports fairwhile cheering on your favorite
team, offering 31state-of-the-art tvs to view
nightly sporting events.
It's an upscale sports lounge.
Provides the perfect spot tounwind and chat with fellow
(22:23):
sports fans.
Reservations are accepted mostnights.
Is this another one that we'regoing to do a dining review on?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I didn't need here, and you and nolan only did so.
Do y'all want to, or not?
Speaker 1 (22:33):
I personally don't really want to, so I'm going to
go ahead and talk about it, yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
I'm looking at the menu now.
It just looks like bar food.
It's like your typical sportsbar, yeah, so that's why I'm
like I don't really want to,yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So let me talk about it then.
Yeah, All right, it is what wesaid.
They do breakfast, lunch anddinner.
Nolan and I ate here for dinnerand he got the wings off the
appetizer menu and he said theywere really good.
I did have one and I mean to methey weren't the best but they
were all right.
And then I just ordered anotherappetizer as my meal as well
(23:07):
the loaded nachos, and it isdefinitely a good serving.
It was good.
Was it the best?
No, but the nachos were pricedat $16.
The wings were $20 because youget 10 of them.
Now, some other items that wedid not try, they do have, you
know, some other chicken andburgers and poke bowls and stuff
(23:28):
, and then they have grilledcheeses.
They have grilled cheeses,salads, clubs, you know chicken
sandwiches, and then you haveloaded mac and cheese as one of
your enhancements.
And then they have fried Oreosand a s'mores brownie or a
churro iced latte for dessert.
But at that point we were justtoo full to really have anything
(23:54):
that rich.
Now, little one.
Nolan did want to go get adonut at the quick service, like
food court area, but again, itwas good.
But I've heard a lot of peoplejust like really rant and rave
about this restaurant and Idon't know.
I feel like personally, likeI'm glad that it's offered here,
(24:14):
you know, to give people thatoption to just kind of have that
sports bar atmosphere at such anice resort, but I think I've
eaten better at local ones here.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
This is not geared for families.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Right.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
This is geared for the guys that are here.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
There were families there Right.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
But I'm saying this is marketed towards the guys
that are here on conventions andbusinesses so they can watch
their sports and talk business.
Right, that's what this is andjust eat a little bit and eat
and drink and and watch the game, whatever the game is or talk
business right that this is notfor families.
I wouldn't think no familiescan eat here, but this is
marketed for right becausethere's no other place on
(24:52):
property now that the ESPN zoneis closed down to watch sports.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Yeah, so and it wasn't really that busy either.
I mean we were there earlier,so like we were able to walk
right in and get a table.
I know it mentionedreservations accepted most
nights and maybe on certainnights and certain games and
stuff going on.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
There's a big convention there.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
But, but again, like would I if I had a choice to go
back, would I no?
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Yeah, okay, next Dahlia Lounge.
Now, I did go here and this isit says Passion Reign Supreme in
a rooftop lounge inspired bySpanish surrealism.
So when you go up to to the, Ithink it's 17th floor I think so
you got Toledo's on the left,Dahlia Lounge on the right.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Okay, so you kind of See, I thought one was one floor
below the other.
I could be wrong, I could bewrong as well.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I wasn't paying that much attention, I just knew
where I was going.
Yes.
And so you can sit inside,beautifully designed, beautiful
decor.
You can sit inside or you cansit outside.
I just chose to sit outside andI caught the very end of
Fantasmic, beautiful view ofHollywood Studios and I just
(26:03):
enjoyed the ambiance of sittingoutside.
Now they have some tapas here.
I did not eat.
This is after we ate at SummerHouse on the Lake.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
So I wasn't hungry.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
No, but they do have quite a good menu A cookie
flight, charcuterie board,calamari, shrimp sliders,
chicken wings, churros, yeah.
But here's where I got myinterest peaked.
At Two things here Create yourown old fashioned for $17.50.
(26:35):
At two things here a createyour old, your own old-fashioned
for 1750, and choose from fivewhiskeys, five simple syrups and
five bitters to create your ownold-fashioned.
Or they have a Oaxacaold-fashioned for 1850 and this
is made with mezcal.
And I asked my server I waslike which one should I do?
And she goes are you a?
Do you like unique?
Which one should I do?
And she goes do you like uniqueold fashions?
And I said yes, she goes, getthe Oaxaca old fashioned.
(26:58):
I said okay, very smoky, veryunique.
I loved this old fashioned.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Yeah, did you only have one.
I only had one.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
I was just enjoying.
I know Sitting on the over thebalcony watching over, looking
over Hollywood Studios, and justenjoying this drink Very
delicious and you did send me apicture of Fantasmic and it was,
I mean, yes, you couldn't hearanything.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
You couldn't hear anything, but the view was
pretty good.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
Very beautiful view.
I just enjoyed just looking outover Galaxy's Edge and I just
love Galaxy's Edge, but at night, you know.
So I would recommend this place.
Very good view, unique drinkshere.
Yeah, I enjoyed it.
It was a nice time to wind down.
People had their kids there,you know, so it's not an
(27:46):
adult-only place and sidebar.
I ran into old friends thererandomly that we used to live
here in Nashville with us.
They live down there now but,yeah, I would recommend this bar
.
It was very good, very uniquedrink there.
If you like old fashions, trythe Oaxacan old fashioned.
If you do, go here to DahliaLounge.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yeah, and the friends that he mentioned, like they
were having just a date night,yeah, you know.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Well, they had told me they have friends that are
Club 33 members and had gone todinner at Club 33 at Animal
Kingdom Okay.
And then they wanted to endtheir night.
And then they ended their nightat Valley Lounge.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Yeah, but that tells you, like you know, people like
it, people like this place.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
People will go out of their way to come here and have
a drink, especially locals.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Right, because it's just a cool place.
Right, it was very beautiful,all right.
Next is barcelona lounge.
Feel transported to the heartof carolina's cafe society at
this day tonight.
Espresso bar in spanish stylegin tonic hub.
So I did get a coffee drinkhere one morning and this isn't
(28:52):
a lobby.
This is the lower lobby, thelower lobby bar yes, so you have
the lobby level in the towerand then you have the lower
lobby and this is in the lowerlobby.
Um, so they do have breakfast.
I did not eat here but theyhave like pastries and like
croissant sandwiches andbreakfast wraps, but then they
have um coffee, I believe, tillI want to say it was like 12
(29:15):
o'clock and then they closed fora couple hours and opened back
up later in the afternoonthrough evening, um, but I had a
.
I'm trying to find an espressoI had.
A ice cold brew with sweet creamis what I ended up having and
it was good.
Um, I I'm one like coffeedrinks and the heat and stuff.
(29:35):
I might not drink the wholething, but it was.
It was really good and I justsat in that lower lobby area
listening to the music and justkind of people watching and
looking out, because they havethese windows where you can see
out to the lake there andeverything and just really had a
little bit of me time.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
You know, yeah, you need that.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah, so, so yeah, would I recommend it For sure.
Did I get to experience itlater in the evening and have
any adult beverages?
I did not.
I had planned to but it justnever happened.
But I think it's another reallygood laid-back area, you know,
and different mornings walkingthrough there and stuff too,
(30:15):
like a lot of people would stopand get here, get coffee here
before they go into theirconventions yeah, all right.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Next is a siesta's cantina kick back and relax.
It's a poolside hideaway whereyou can grab a bite sandwiches,
burgers and nachos and sip onspecialty cocktails as you drift
off into a siesta.
It's a pool bar.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
It is.
That's what it is.
And one of the days, here,nolan and I split the chicken
tenders and it's your Disneychicken tenders.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
It's our chicken tenders, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
And you know.
But I mean it's convenientbecause it's right there.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Yeah, and I did get some drinks, you know, while I
was there at the pool, and theydo have a southern crunch
quesadilla and some more spanishtype of stuff, but it's still
it's.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
It's a pool bar.
Yeah, that's what it is.
Yeah, and you know, like he wassaying, it has like shrimp
tacos and things, but, um, yeah,me and nolan just split the
chicken tenders and we were good, so, uh, but I like that it's
open from, or the food anywayyou can get from 11 to 9 yeah so
so most of the the day, but Ithink the pool opened at like
eight o'clock it was an earlierpool pool opening time.
(31:21):
I feel interesting.
Yes, all right next is cafe.
Nope, I'm sorry, maya grill.
Our home is your home at thisgrand mexican dining room
featuring ancient, modernstyling and Nuevo Latino
cuisines.
So we did not eat here, but thepicture on the website looks
(31:41):
like it is really pretty and thepricing is anywhere from $15 to
about $35 for adult meals.
And so you are like in theMayan area.
I guess you could say, um,that's what it's themed after
and you know you have on themenu a big menu it is a really
(32:03):
big menu so we're not going todive in, but of course you're
gonna have like your chips andsalsa, guacamole, tostados,
flattas.
You're gonna have some salads,fajitas, your way.
There's going to be like shortrib and fish, tacos, chicken
enchiladas, quesadillas, chickenor steak.
You're going to have like yourrice and your beans and all of's
(32:34):
see the leches cake and andmore so.
Uh, again, we did not eat here,um, but you know, the prices
for what you're getting lookfairly reasonable.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Some are a little more on the higher end, but yeah
I'll say this I didn't evenknow this place existed until we
walked past it at the uh goingto the quick service place oh
yeah like I've never heard anyyoutubers talk about it.
Nobody's ever talked about thisplace, so either it's just
really, really bad or justnobody knows about it, right, I
don't know.
Yeah, so who knows, this could,could have been our favorite
(33:06):
one delicious, who knows?
Speaker 1 (33:07):
right, so all right.
Next is cafe rick's.
So this is your more likepastries, yogurts, fruits,
salads, coffee, smoothies allday.
Um, and so it's.
It's next to the sports bar wewere talking about earlier.
Um, we did not go here, but itseemed to be busy in the
mornings just like a grab and goplace yeah, exactly, grab and
(33:30):
go.
I mean, they do have likebreakfast burritos and stuff,
and then like later in the dayyou can get different sandwiches
and Cobb salads, buffalo,turkey, things like that.
But yeah, we didn't go here,but it is your grab and go.
So then you have the El Mercadode Coronado and this is more
like your food court dining spot.
(33:50):
This is a quick service.
Yes, quick service, wherethere's different lines you can
go to and each line, you know,offers different things, whether
it's in the morning, lunch ordinner, so you can get your
refillable mugs for breakfast.
You know they're going to haveanything from your Mickey
waffles Mexican style breakfastto your traditional breakfast
sandwiches and pastries, thebreakfast sandwiches and
(34:13):
pastries, the breakfast platesand we did eat here for
breakfast one day, it was allright, nothing special.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
It was basic breakfast and I was thinking
about this for a second.
We did not feel really thatgood after eating breakfast here
because it was all just likepre-made stuff, right Well, yeah
, so I wonder if that kind ofplayed into us kind of having
not the best day at Epcot.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
No, I think it was the heat.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Well, because we didn't eat.
And you say that I enjoyedEpcot.
I'm not saying we didn't have abad day, I'm just saying we
were just kind of like tired andworn down the rest of the trip.
We didn't eat breakfast beforegoing to the parks.
I think the heat did play intoit, but I think that we were
full from breakfast before weeven got to the park.
Yeah.
And I think that may havecontributed somewhat.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
It could be Just a thought.
I was fine at Epcot, really, itwas just the heat in the
afternoon.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Well, yes, I'm not saying that.
I'm just saying I think we wereso full all day from eating so
much that may have contributed alittle bit, I don't know,
because we still pigged out atlunch.
We did, I know.
Just a thought.
Okay, just a thought, just athought.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
But just a quick glance at the lunch menu, you
know they have cheeseburger,chicken tenders, sandwiches,
side salads.
They have rice bowls which therice bowls may have been good
here and nachos, subs, pizza,pastas and more.
So that's your later in the daymenu and again, this is more of
like a food court type area.
(35:34):
Yes, yes, yes.
All right, you want to do thelast one.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
All right, we're going to Laguna Bar and,
surprisingly, the smallest placehas the largest description.
Slip on a refreshing beverageat this breezy lakeside tequila
and mezcal bar, boasting animpressive menu of unique
handcrafted cocktails.
The tropical vibe makes for arelaxing atmosphere after a long
(36:08):
day visiting the parks yeah,and this is like right outside
of that area, but it's right upnext to the lake.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Ooh, they have a soup du jour.
Oh, okay, that's the soup ofthe day.
Mm-hmm, I know it's a joke,okay, okay, I'm like what, but
go ahead.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
For you dumb and dumber fans out there.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
I've watched that maybe a couple of times, but I'm
not going to make thereferences.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
So yeah, and I didn't realize that they had all this
stuff.
Looking at the menu, like Ithought it was just a drink
place.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
That's what I thought too.
I thought it was just drink.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Yeah, but apparently they have wings and tenders and
nachos.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Rick's Boneless Tenders Tossedin your choice of Signature Dry
Rub, carolina Barbecue, garlic,palm, buffalo.
Are these the Buffalo ChickenTenders?
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Yeah, it could be Like the ones that we have here
Could be.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I don't know, though, because it says Rick's, so it's
like the sports bar, is it?
Speaker 2 (37:01):
different than the disney tenders, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
So, yeah, but I I honestly thought, because the
place looks small, like we sawit outside, but we never stopped
I think we need a research tripjust for this.
Oh my goodness, anyways, um,but apparently you can.
You can eat there and then soupdu jour, but I didn't get the
reference.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Sorry, sounds good, I'll have that.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
Burgers, grilled cheese, caesar salad, chicken
sandwiches, steak sandwich,turkey club.
So yeah, I didn't know they hadall this.
I just thought it was like yourcocktails.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yeah, I just thought it was a bar.
Yeah, interesting.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
Which I had wanted to come here for a margarita, just
never made it.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
Sorry moms.
It's okay, all right, so thatwill do it for dining.
That's a lot of dining placesfor a moderate resort.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Yes, and it's because of the convention space, right,
yeah, yeah, but I mean, butit's good and I think that's why
, even though there wereconventions going on and
everything, because there's somany options it never felt like
you were overly crowded, Right.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
All right, so we're going to talk about the pools.
There are one main pool, theLost City of Cibola pool, and
then three leisure pools at thedifferent areas of the resort.
Yes, we only went to the mainpool, and it's a beautiful pool.
It's got the Mayan ruins thereand it's a 50-foot pyramid.
I thought it was a great pool.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Yeah, and it has a slide 123-foot long water slide
with a spitting jaguar while youride it, and it has a hot tub.
But the theming was very nice.
And again, you have thatsiestas pool bar.
Right next to it there is asand volleyball court.
Over there you have a kiddiepool area.
This is also the area where youhave, like, the arcade and
(38:49):
shuffleboard and stuff too, yeah, and a little playground.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
I forgot, yeah, yeah.
What other activities are therehere?
They do all the stuff at thepool and then they have campfire
activities.
They do movies on the lawn,which we did see from our room,
and for a moderate resort, thisis the only moderate resort that
has a fitness center.
Yes, because of it being theconvention area, so yeah, yeah,
(39:15):
I mean they do a lot ofactivities.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
Like one thing I would have liked to do you know,
if we'd had maybe one moreresort day and zach took the
kids, kind of thing.
Um, I would have liked to havedone the spanish mosaic art,
where you create your own disneyinspired mosaic during the
workshop in the dahlia lounge.
I would have that would havebeen something I would have paid
extra to do.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
Yeah, yeah, they do a lot of that stuff here as well.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
Yeah, that's what I just said yeah, I know.
Okay, you said they do a lot ofthat stuff here as well.
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
Sorry, I was reiterating what you said.
Oh yes, okay, all right.
So what was your initialimpression?
Speaker 1 (39:53):
So I think I enjoyed staying in the tower more than
in the casitas.
Okay, the location of thisresort.
Again, like we were sayingearlier, we were kind of worried
it was going to take a while toget everywhere, and it really
(40:15):
didn't, except for DisneySprings, because Magic Kingdom
even felt less than DisneySprings, correct, and although
we were talking about the youknow the bus stop situation and
everything, overall it wasn'tbad.
There was at dinnertime.
I feel like they need to runmore buses for Disney Springs,
though, because there were.
There was a time where wewaited quite a while, but I
thoroughly enjoyed the stay inthe resort.
(40:38):
The room was very spacious aswell.
Um, and would it be like one ofmy top choices to stay at again
?
No, maybe not my top, but ifsomeone was like hey, you know
there's a room that we're goingto get, would you like to come?
We're staying at Disney'sCoronado Springs and the
Grandestino tower, oh yeah, I'llgo.
Speaker 2 (41:06):
So we just answered every question in one right
there, huh well, I was justyapping, sorry, all right.
So my first impression it wasbeautiful, very well themed,
busy.
I did not get that moment whenwe walked into the lab, when we
walked into check-in area.
You know, you get that when youwalk in to Riverside or you
walk into any Disney resort,except for a value you walk in
(41:26):
and you get that vibe right.
I did not get that here.
It seemed very busy.
A lot of people were thereAgain, beautiful, very well
themed.
I did not get that, just relax.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
There's more people at Polynesian than here, though.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
But you still get that when you walk in, you go.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
Yeah, right at the Polynesian, like with the smells
and everything.
I did not get that here.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
And this is that's because this is not.
It says it right here in.
You know, when we talked aboutit, it's disney's first modern
resort designed for conventionsand businesses yeah, but I
didn't feel like we were stayingat a like a marriott no, I know
I didn't feel that.
So this is a mix betweengetting the Disney feel, but
(42:22):
geared towards conventions andbusinesses.
This resort is not gearedtowards families.
I don't think that's not itsfirst.
The tower or the resort itself,the resort in general, I feel
the families is secondary tocatering to the convention
(42:42):
crowds.
That is my first my thoughts onthis, and I felt that because
everywhere you looked in thelobby, in the quick service
place, in the spaces between theareas there were people on
computers, everywhere.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
I think you're exaggerating a little bit.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
They weren't everywhere they weren't
everywhere, but you did noticethem a lot more than you do like
well, yeah, you notice them,because in other places you
don't see that, but they're noteverywhere I felt it.
I don't want to say it tookaway from like the disney, but
it did give more of thatMarriott or Hilton feel because
(43:22):
there were more business peoplethere.
So my impression on this is, ifyou're wanting to go, get that
full Disney feel, this would notbe the resort for that.
Speaker 1 (43:34):
Right.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
Now a lot of families do stay here because the price
is very competitive for theamenities you get here.
You do get a lot more amenitiesfor the price because of this
being the main convention resorton property.
Speaker 1 (43:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
So you are getting almost deluxe resort amenities
for that moderate price.
Then you are still getting thatthey.
There were very beautifuldisney touches here there were.
Speaker 1 (44:05):
It was very well done in the hallways, like in the
tower and stuff.
Like you know, you had hidden,midi hidden midis, hidden midis
hidden mickeys in the carpet andlike in the room.
It was very subtle, like mickeyson the wall and things like you
know at first glance you mightnot pick up on.
It was very subtle likeMickey's on the wall and things
like you know, at first glanceyou might not pick up on it, but
then you're like, oh yeah,that's Mickey.
So I mean you are still gettingthe Disney theming.
(44:27):
It's just not in your face.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
It's not in your face and it is very subtly done and
it is very well done.
I will say I did enjoy.
They did it really well.
It really well.
Um, did I enjoy my stay here?
Yes, I really did enjoy my stayhere.
This was a great stay.
Would I want to stay here again?
Speaker 1 (44:43):
no, okay, see, I enjoyed staying in the tower
more than in the casitas becausethe casitas, you're it's.
You know, like a moderate,you're gonna hear people right
outside your doors and all that.
Here, like it was, it was a lotquieter in the rooms.
You know like, yes, if peopleare right outside your door,
you're going to hear that, butyou're not.
You weren't hearing peopleabove you and next to you like
(45:04):
you do, like you would in thecasitas and stuff yes, yeah, so
I would.
Speaker 2 (45:10):
If you're wanting to get more amenities for that
moderate price level, I wouldrecommend this resort, but go
into it knowing it's not goingto have that full pollen, you
know, full disney feel to it Ithought right especially the
check-in area there was a lot ofpeople really dressed up going
to the restaurants or leaving orthey're on business.
(45:32):
It just did not have that disneyfamily feel like you get when
you go into riverside or you gointo even the caribbean beach.
Had that same had that.
I did get that feel atcaribbean beach, especially like
grand floridian or thecontemporary or you you know the
poly or the wilderness lodge.
You see nothing but familiesthere.
Speaker 1 (45:54):
That's not what you see when there are a lot of
families?
There are.
Please don't misunderstand him.
Speaker 3 (45:58):
There are a lot of families, I know, but are yes,
so please don't misunderstandhim.
Speaker 2 (46:00):
There are a lot of families here, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
I know, but I want to make sure our listeners.
Speaker 2 (46:02):
Yes, yes, there are some families here, yes, when
you walk in, but it's a lot ofbusiness people as well.
Yeah, so I would.
Yeah, I just didn't get thatdisney smack you in the face
(46:26):
feel when you walked in.
It was more of a disney kind ofmore, but more businessy feel.
I'd say it's 50 50 yeah I wouldagree 50 50.
But when you think you're goingon a disney vacation, you want
that disney, smack you in theface when you first walk into
some people do, some peopledon't but, yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:36):
So it just depends.
But yeah, if you want like allin Disney, then I would agree no
.
But if you're wanting theDisney feel, but not so much in
your face, then yes.
Because, the rest of the resortand the theming, like we were
saying earlier, is very welldone and it is a very beautiful
resort.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
The music here is very beautiful, very relaxing,
with that Spanish type of feelto it.
I do really enjoy that and I'mnot saying this is a bad resort.
If you're wanting that fullfamily Disney feel, I don't
think this is the resort forthat, right.
But the room was great,beautiful view, the restaurants,
(47:14):
their lounge was very nice, butthat would be my opinion of it.
Does that make sense?
It?
Speaker 1 (47:20):
does.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
Anything else you'd like to say?
Speaker 1 (47:23):
Well, you're kind of limiting me because we're going
to do a dining review on one ofthe restaurants.
So other things I'd like to say.
I guess I need to wait.
Speaker 2 (47:30):
Hang off for the yeah For the dining review on that.
Speaker 1 (47:35):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (47:37):
It's called a teaser.
Speaker 1 (47:38):
I know.
Speaker 2 (47:39):
So you really want to talk about three bridges.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
Yes, but it's fine.
Speaker 2 (47:42):
We'll talk about it next week.
Okay, all right With that.
Thank you everybody forlistening.
Thank you so much.
If you want to support the team, the best way to do that is to
book your next vacation withTravel Planner Erica.
She takes care of everything.
Lightning lanes takes care ofeverything.
Lightning lanes dining,reservations, changes in your
reservation.
We've done that a ton with herlately, yes, yes.
(48:03):
Go check her outwwwtravelplanetericacom.
She's on Instagram and Facebookat Travel Planet Erica.
You can email us circleofparksat gmailcom.
Our website iswwwcircleofparkscom and we're on
Facebook, instagram and X allat Circle of Parks.
Again, thank you so much forlistening and we will talk to
you next week about threebridges, bar and talk to you
(48:23):
soon.
Speaker 3 (48:33):
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,
(49:04):
hey.
Thank you.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.