We Tracked Walking Distances at Disney’s Coronado Springs (Here’s What We Found)

If you’re planning a stay at Disney’s Coronado Springs, you might be curious about the resort’s size and how far you’ll have to walk to and from your room. Given the resort’s significant layout, those concerns are understandable. As someone who’s stayed at Coronado Springs before and after the bridge was constructed across the lake, I can assure you that things are much more efficient. Five years or so ago, the walking distances we’re about to discuss were drastically different.

That said, you might still want to consider these walking distances around Disney’s Coronado Springs when selecting a room type, requesting a specific location, or deciding if the resort is a good fit. Below, we’ll review the distances from each village to El Centro, the resort’s lobby. We measured the distance of each of these paths over a couple of visits to the resort.

How Big Is Disney’s Coronado Springs?

Coronado Springs is one of Disney’s largest resorts. It is centered by a 22-acre lake, Lago Dorado, and covers approximately 142 acres. Between Coronado Springs and Gran Destino Tower, the resort offers 2,416 guest rooms and suites, a 3,000-square-foot meeting space in the Tower, and a whopping 220,000-square-foot convention center connected to El Centro, the resort’s lobby.

When selecting accommodations at Coronado Springs, the primary options are a tower room, a preferred location, a water view, or a standard view. Tower rooms are exclusive to Gran Destino Tower, which is adjacent to El Centro. A stay in the tower will be similar to any other interior hotel. Unless you want to explore the resort or spend a lot of time at the Dig Site (the feature pool), this room location won’t require much extra walking. For reference, here is a photo of Gran Destino Tower. This photo was taken from a bridge that leads from the tower to the Dig Site. I didn’t track that particular distance, but it would be approximately 0.15 miles if I were to guess. You can see most of the distance in the photo below.

Preferred rooms are located in the Casitas section of the resort in buildings 1, 2, and 3. These rooms are considered preferred because they are only a short walk to El Centro. Aside from the tower and preferred rooms, any other room could be spread out in one of the resort’s other villages: the Cabanas or Ranchos. These sections will have advantages and disadvantages based on their walking distances to various resort amenities.

Casitas Walking Distance to El Centro

First, we tracked the walking distance from Casitas Building 4, where the quiet pool is located, to El Centro. The total distance was 0.18 miles, which took a little less than five minutes. Below is a photo of the map from our app. You might also note on the map below that you can take two of the three bridges across the lake to get to the Dig Site from the Casitas.

If you’re staying in the preferred section of the Casitas, your room will be even closer to El Centro. I used the quiet pool as a central marker for this village. Likewise, those staying in building 5 will be a few steps further.

Distance from Casitas (4) to the Lobby: 0.18 miles

Cabanas Walking Distance to El Centro

The Cabanas are on the opposite side of the resort, between Gran Destino Tower and Ranchos. We have stayed in the Cabanas section about five times and always enjoy this location. This village is the closest to The Dig Site. If you end up in the Cabanas section, make sure you’re aware of the Dig Site’s back entrance. You won’t have to walk around to the main entrance to access it.

As for distance, the Cabanas are 0.21 miles from El Centro. I tracked this distance from the Cabanas quiet pool between buildings 8B and 8C. The shortest distance from the Cabanas is walking around the lake, past Gran Destino Tower, to El Centro. Another thing I like about this location is that you can walk inside Gran Destino Tower and take the interior hallway to El Centro. You won’t be entirely in the clear if it’s raining, but you’ll be close.

Distance from the Cabanas (8B) to the Lobby: 0.21 miles

Ranchos Walking Distance to El Centro

Lastly, we’ll discuss the Ranchos section of the resort, which is a little further out. This area sits behind the Dig Site, between the Cabanas and Casitas. It is a little more private than the rest of the resort. I tracked the distance from building 6A in Ranchos to El Centro. From Ranchos to El Centro, the distance was 0.28 miles, taking the path highlighted on the map below.

The shortest distance is to walk toward the front of the Dig Site, then take the bridge across the lake. Before the bridges were built, you would have had to walk around the entire lake. As you can see from the map, the three bridges were a game changer for the resort.

Distance from Ranchos (6A) to the Lobby: 0.28 miles

We hope these walking distances at Coronado Springs gave you a fresh perspective of the resort. It’s one of our favorite places to stay at Walt Disney World, and I don’t say that lightly. If you’re interested in how transportation works, the resort only offers bus service. We discuss the most efficient ways to get to and from the resort in our Coronado Springs Transportation Guide. You might also want a copy of our Coronado Springs transportation map. It highlights all of the bus stops at the resort.

We have a vast amount of coverage of the resort in our Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Coronado Springs. Or you might like a few of the following:

• Why We Love Coronado Springs At Night (Photos)
• The Resorts Gal Guide to Coronado Springs Pools
• Review: Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs
• Review: Club Level at Coronado Springs (Chronos Club)

In the Comments

What do you think about these walking distances at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort? Are they more reasonable than you expected? Feel free to share your thoughts, questions, or feedback below in the comments. We enjoy hearing from you. Your response provides valuable insight and helps steer us in the right direction.