Comfort me and tell me I booked the right place [Caribbean Beach]

[kadiehl]

We are going back to Disney on Dec 11 for just 4 nights. My husband is overseas so it is just the kids and I. Originally I was going to do a value resort to save money but once I found out that those dates coincided with Pop Warner I decided to up it to a moderate.

So I looked over the moderates and for my family I thought the theming of the Caribbean Beach resort would be best....so that is what I booked. Please tell me what you guys liked about it and offer me advice about this resort please.

Thank you:)

[Drince88]

There lots of 'green space' at this resort. They just redid/are redoing the main pool, so that should be all nice and shiny for a December trip. I don't recall how old your kids are - but they do run a Pirate adventure for kids out of this resort (if you want to take time away from Parks on a trip this short) - would make for some relaxing Mom time chilling with a good book!

It's pretty spread out, though - so you might want to consider upgrading to a preferred location (if that's an option here). If you don't use the food court, it won't be an issue - but it is a VERY spread out resort.

[Greg in TN]

We absolutely LOVE CBR. It is spread out, but oftentimes that works to your advantage. You never feel cramped, even during the most crowded times of the year.

One of my favorite parts of staying @ CBR is leaving our room early in the morning, walking around the lake to Old Port Royale, getting my coffee and sitting outside by the fountain, listening to the tropical music & watching the sun come up.

Used to, while sitting @ Old Port Royale, you could see the very tip of Mickey's wand on Spaceship Earth over the tree-tops. Now that's gone, but you can still see Spaceship Earth THRU the trees (kinda) before the sun comes up.

Another thing I like to do is sit on the Martinique beach @ night and watch the air-bursts from Illuminations over the tree-tops--if the wind's blowing right, you can even hear the music too.

You will hear complaints that the resort is TOO big, but we've stayed from one end of it to the other (Trinidad South to Barbados) and have never felt that the walk to OPR or the pool, or the food court or whatever was too far. Each "island" has it's own pool, so you don't HAVE to go to the main pool if you don't want to. And each "island" has it's own bus stop, so it's never a really long hike there, either.

We've always been very pleased @ CBR, and it's always the very first resort I ask for when making reservations.

HAVE FUN !!! :D

[kadiehl]

Thanks for all the advice and help. I did get a preferred room.

Years past I have called and booked over the phone but this time I just booked it all online. So I did get the preferred room, thank goodness.

I am actually looking forward to seeing the newly redone main pool. We figured we will be able to do enough fun stuff in the main pool to skip the waterparks since we will be just having a short quick trip anyways.

This will be a nice change for us since we have always stayed in the value resorts. I can already tell that the rooms are bigger and more spacious...which is not that much of an issue with just three of us but still. It will be a nice change.

[Clotho]

I can't speak to my experience, but my sister stayed there in 2004 and her main complaint was how spread out it was. She felt it took forever to get to and from her room, because there was always a two bus proposition (the internal bus system, and the external bus system to the parks and attractions). Like us, she likes to be able to run to the parks in the morning, run back in the afternoon to refresh, and run back out in the evenings. She said the property was absolutely beautiful, but that was a big hassle for her, and she wouldn't stay there again.

So I think it is simply a matter of your traveling style at Disney, as to whether this will be a good property for you.

[Drince88]

You do NOT have to take 2 buses to get from your 'island' bus stop to a park - you just catch the bus to the park from your island, and not the internal one. The only reason to get on the internal bus is if you want to go to Old Port Royale or the Custom House. I think when my sister and I were there, the only time we got on the internal bus was for check in/check out - we usually just walked to Old Port Royale (but we were 'training' for the 6.5K TOT run at the end of our trip).

[stan4d_steph]

You can hear Fantasmic, and also see some of the fireworks from there and MK if you stand near the Old Port Royale side of the lake.

There are hammocks at the beaches around the lake that looked nice for lounging.

[danyoung]

I've stayed many times at all of the moderates, and I have to say that the CBR is my least favorite. That said, if the theme works for you, and if you're aware of the shortcomings like how spread out everything is, then go for it without a second thought and enjoy!

[RockDoc07]

We actually stayed at the CBR on our first trip together to the World last June. DW2B had never stayed on property before and she and I both agreed we would stay there again (and hopefully will if my folks agree to give in and go in Feb 09). The bus system worked very well and early in the morning we never had to wait more than 10 minutes for the bus to the park we were heading to, and sometimes at night we were the first stop to be dropped off! We were staying at Aruba (which we had fun pronouncing every time we said it like an old car horn UH-ROOOO-BAH). The Customs House/Old Port Royale is very nice, and it's the only place on the whole WDW property where I was able to find a Doc pin! We didn't eat there at all so I can't comment on the food, but the convenient location is great. I don't think our bus rides were ever more than 10 minutes to the parks either.

You'll have to let us know what you thought when you get back!!!

Cool Runnings!
Doc

[arnoldvb]

While I have to admit that CBR was my family's first experience at an on-property resort, we have nothing but fond memories of our stays there (1989, 1992, 1997, 2003). As others have said, it is a very large and spread out resort, but we enjoyed our early morning walks to Old Port Royale. Bus stops were always convenient to get to and the rides to the parks were relatively short. Being able to see and sometimes hear the fireworks shows at the parks in the evening was an added bonus. Quiet pools and laundry facilities are also nearby in each village. Although we haven't stayed there since 2003 because we're now DVC members, we've talked about a paid return stay at CBR sometime in the future because we miss the place. Incidentally, we had the most amazing cuts of prime rib at the sit-down restaurant there (Shutters) in 2003. The best prime rib we've ever had. Plus, I love the freshly-baked banana nut muffins for breakfast. For some reason, banana nut muffins anywhere else just don't match those I've had at CBR.

From our point of view, you made a great choice. So, enjoy your stay and be sure to post a trip report once you're back home.

Arnold

[misdisney]

My daughter and I are also staying there in Nov... This is our first time to WDW and we chose this resort also. I'm so excited and we are "Pirate's" so the theme of the place really spoke to us! I cant wait:p! The resort looks beautiful and I really hope the hammocks on the beach are still there, thats sounds like heaven!

[tjrj]

We-Mom and teen boys loved our stay in May 2007. We also booked preferred to cut down on some of the transit as I wanted a shorter trip to the main pool and food court.

Liked getting our breakfast in the morning and eating outside by the fountain. You'll have the re-designed main pool to enjoy as well. Take the time to walk around the island in the middle of the resort-really nice "getaway" feel.

Really liked the lighter, airy feel of a corner room-it has two windows so lets in lots of light-which I like. Each village has a white sand beach-with hammocks(a joy!), sand chairs and lounge chairs-terrific for Mom or kids to take a break. Remember though that they aren't any elevators at CBR, so if that's an issue, request a ground floor room.

Village pools were consistently quiet and a pleasure to use-especially while getting in a load of laundry.

Food court was consistently clean and adequate. I would have liked to see a couple of dishes with more of a Carribean flair however.

Buses...longest we waited was for water park buses for some reason. Probably 20-30 minutes. Usually more like 10 minutes waiting time for other locations. I gotta admit-it "felt" longer in terms of transit times because of the other village stops that the buses must make. In reality, it probably wasn't any longer.

Beds-comfy-and I liked that you can store luggage under the beds and out of the way. Housekeeping was terrific and maintainance took care of a shower problem right away. Never heard our neighbors or resort noise-very quiet.

[KirstenMagicalTravel]

Have a great trip to Disney World and the Caribbean Beach Resort. I used to be a front desk agent there so I love this resort. The theming is so cute and I am sure the newly refurbished pool will be awesome.

I am glad you have a preferred room. You will be so close to everything and it's well worth the money.

The buildings here are two stories and no elevators so if you would like a first floor room, don't forget to make that request. :D

[cstephens]

Caribbean Beach is the only Disney resort we've stayed at, and that was January 2007. We loved it there. I'm a little surprised about the comments of it being too spread out, because I rather liked that it was such a big resort. Very pretty. And we loved the theme. We did end up with a room right across the bridge from the main building, and we had a car as well, so maybe that's why the size of the resort didn't bother us. If I was staying at a Moderate again, that's definitely where I'd want to be.

[Dlandmom]

I'm looking at the CB for my January visit. Is this the resort with the pool slide that comes out of the mouth of the big dragon? Generally speaking, how is the CB pool for kids 3-9? We're hoping to spend time at the pool if the weather cooperates.

[Drince88]

I think you're thinking of Port Orleans, French Quarter. It's a serpent, but it looks kind of dragon-y!

Caribbean Beach's main pool is themed like a Spanish fort, sort of (or it was - They're undergoing a big refurb right now, but I can't see that changing!)

Port Orleans Riverside is called Ole Man Island - so it's kind of like an old swimming hole.

And Coronado Springs is (I think) like an Aztec pyramid (Dan?)
________
I read elsewhere that you have 3 kids. Are you planning on getting 2 rooms? Otherwise, you'll need to do Port Orleans Riverside, as they have a small trundle bed in addition to the two fulls.

[mmcgyver]

We stayed here Jan 07 and Oct 07. Loved the place. It's big and very calming.Love hanging in the hammocks on the beach.Loved the pirate theme. I saw kids having a blast on a pirate ship.I also me children who were telling Grandma they just wanted to spend the week there.They loved the main pool slide.They were 7 and 8. I too loved a morning walk with my coffee. It was so pretty. If you don't enjoy walking this place may not be for you. The bus stops were easy. There are 7 I think. Never waited.Have great memories there!