CBR -Just Booked and Hope I like it..

[js]

Hi. I just booked CBR for March 22-28, 2013 for my ds's baseball trip (his HS is doing Spring Training in Disney).
I saved over $400 booking on my own since I do not need the 3 day park passes and I have old plusses that can be used to get into WWoS.
The team is staying at CBR and although I've been to Disney many, many times, have never stayed here and do hope I am not disaapointed.
I guess I just hope to get some reassurance. I won't be home and at work so I guess right off the bat it is looking good LOL
Thanks for giving me any tips you can. I just got standard room with 2 beds (haven't told dh that yet though ).

 

[Julie711]

You'll really enjoy this resort! We have stayed here 4x and love the Caribbean feel , music, landscaping, beaches, pool area , food court & gift shop! We love how spread out it is because even when it is full it doesn't feel like anyone else is there!!

 

[twinboysmom]

We stayed here in April. I went in with very low expectations because I had read a lot of negative on these boards. We loved it! The pool area is beautiful and the resort is calm and tranquil. We were at capacity during our stay and it never seemed crowded. We would stay here again for sure.

 

[cori1124]

I stayed there once in April 2006 and to be honest, I felt is was so-so. First off...the place is HUGE, with multiple bus stops within the resort which can get pretty annoying when you just want to get to where you're going. I cheaped out & rolled the dice hoping to get a room relatively close to the main building...no such luck; but after all the food I ate that week, I needed the exercise...& boy, I got a lot of it going to & fro the main building! Check-in was in an entirely different building from the main one...I found this to be pretty odd & a pain in the butt given I stayed there pre-Magical Express days so I had to drag my own luggage to my room. I will say the atmosphere was great, had my room not been so far from the main area & the place wasn't so big, I probably would have enjoyed it more. If you're anything like me, then you may want to consider saving a few bucks & staying at Pop Century which is literally next to CBR or if you still want to stay in a moderate tiered resort, switch to the smaller POFQ. Have a blast!

 

[nherbert]

You will have a fantastic time!

We did much the same as you and read all the negative reviews before we did our first family trip to WDW. But we loved it! We also stayed at the wilderness lodge and animal kingdom lodge in that trip and the CBR is the only resort we are returning to for our second trip (only 28 more sleeps).

If you haven't got a preferred room, I suggest asking for Jamaica building, it is a relatively short but extremely pleasant walk over a bridge to the pool and restaurant, and it is also close to a bus stop that for most parks is the first pick up stop and also the first drop off spot.

Yes you have to walk a bit, it is a resort not a lodge or hotel. But WOW what a relaxing, pleasant walk that just makes you happy to be alive and helps you realise you are on holiday!

 

[dansdad]

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. CBR is our favorite Moderate. What I have found is that what most people see as a negative, we see as positives. Yes, the resort is large. But because of that, even when it's at capacity it never feels like it. We usually go in October during FW and FD and it's normally at capacity, yet we feel we are the only people staying in our building. Also we like that there is a bus stop for every village. We are never far from a bus stop so we're sitting at the covered bus stop instead of walking to one in the hot sun. Even when we are the first stop picked up, we are usually leaving CBR proper in about 7 minutes. There are plenty of non-preferred rooms that are a 5 minute walk over to OPR and the Main Pool. We like that the check-in/check-out is in a seperate location. It really keeps the hustle and bustle down when you are getting food, shopping in the gift shop or checking out the arcade.

During our longer stays we usually schedule 2 resort days to relax and enjoy CBR. It's such a nice change from the craziness of the parks. We feel we get 2 vacations in one.

 

[js]

Thank you all for your reviews. I greatly appreciate it!

Regarding that check in isn't in the same building, that won't bother me since we own a timeshare at Orange Lake Country Club and own at SSR so check in for us is NEVER in the same buidling.

For us, the bigger the better so I guess that too is a plus where some would see a negative.

Thank you for the advice on what building to request. I do appreciate knowing where I should request.

I do LOVE the caribbean feel and I think that will be nice too.

Thanks so much for all your help. I really do appreciate it!

 

[Magalex]

CBR is Lovely!!! We also request & stay in the Jamaica buildings. We have gotten very lucky at CBR with room requests I love walking across the bridge with the pretty colorful landscape & flowers. We never had issues with the bus transportation to the parks.

 

[js]

CBR is Lovely!!! We also request & stay in the Jamaica buildings. We have gotten very lucky at CBR with room requests I love walking across the bridge with the pretty colorful landscape & flowers. We never had issues with the bus transportation to the parks.

Thanks! Most of our trip is baseball so we have the bus taking us to/from WWoS and the parks are secondary. But, it's nice to know there doesn't seem to be too many bus issues.

Thanks so much!

 

[collegeprogram01]

We love it at CBR...very quiet and very peaceful. I would suggest that you opt to get the preffered room...it is closer to the pool and the food court...being that the place it huge it makes for an early morning coffee run a bit easier!!! Hope you enjoy!

 

[js]

We love it at CBR...very quiet and very peaceful. I would suggest that you opt to get the preffered room...it is closer to the pool and the food court...being that the place it huge it makes for an early morning coffee run a bit easier!!! Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for the suggestion. I have a T/S and own DVC and it is already killing me that I'm paying to stay at a hotel when I have the points but dh wants to stay at the same hotel as the team this year....gggrrr....I told him next year, we are using our points or t/s and staying for "free".
I may change to a preferred room since I am already saving a lot by booking with Disney (not through the group) and hotels.com. I'm double checking my tickets when I get home and if I have more than 3 days on my tickets (which I belive I do) I am booking through fatwallet and then hotel.com. I know I have lots of plusses to get me into WWoS so just need to check the amount of days I have left.
THANKS SO MUCH!

 

[mickeynut1]

We loved CBR . I thought the grounds were beautiful and the transportation was great. I'm sure you'll love it. Have a great trip .

 

[LThomas]

We love CBR and stay there every time we go to Disney. We always request Jamaica. Have a great vacation!

 

[collegeprogram01]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have a T/S and own DVC and it is already killing me that I'm paying to stay at a hotel when I have the points but dh wants to stay at the same hotel as the team this year....gggrrr....I told him next year, we are using our points or t/s and staying for "free".
I may change to a preferred room since I am already saving a lot by booking with Disney (not through the group) and hotels.com. I'm double checking my tickets when I get home and if I have more than 3 days on my tickets (which I belive I do) I am booking through fatwallet and then hotel.com. I know I have lots of plusses to get me into WWoS so just need to check the amount of days I have left.
THANKS SO MUCH!

Sure thing! Hope you enjoy your trip!!!!

 

[Koda]

Thanks for the info! We will be staying at CBR in January for the first time. Can't wait!

 

[Belle83]

I really like CBR as well It's not as recently refurbished as POFQ or POR but it's still a nice resort. Love the tropical theme, it's a very relaxing resort and perfect for a Florida vacation. The food court is really cute, and the pool area is great for kids. Just be prepared for double beds, not queens.

 

[pumba21]

We stayed at CBR for the first time in September. We liked the resort and did not mind how big it was at all. We were by ourselves on our side of the building until the last 2 days. I loved that I could run around the resort without worrying about traffic. The bus system took some time as you have to make multiple stops. With that being said we didn't like it enough to stay there again. we have decided to go back to POP

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thank you all for your reviews. I greatly appreciate it!

Regarding that check in isn't in the same building, that won't bother me since we own a timeshare at Orange Lake Country Club and own at SSR so check in for us is NEVER in the same buidling.

For us, the bigger the better so I guess that too is a plus where some would see a negative.

Thank you for the advice on what building to request. I do appreciate knowing where I should request.

I do LOVE the caribbean feel and I think that will be nice too.

Thanks so much for all your help. I really do appreciate it!

I think you will love it! We used to own at SSR (love that resort) and like you we want a larger resort. CBR is spread out however for us its easily walkable. The only rooms that I find to be a bit inconvenient (maybe on par with the Carousel section of SSR) are the pirate rooms. If you didn't book one of those, you have no worries regarding that section!

We love the food court, beaches, lush tropical grounds, spacious rooms (same size as a standard AKL or WL room), central location and having views around the resort of the high up fireworks of Illuminations is a huge plus.

We have stayed in both Jamaica and Barbados and enjoyed both. We were in one of the furthest out sections of Barbados and our walk to the food court (with lots of stopping to look at bunnies with then 9 year old dd) was about 7 minutes.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[disneyfantotheend]

We haven't stayed there since 1995, but we loved it when we did. We are going to stay there again in 2013, and I am looking very forward to it. The spread out feeling didn't bother me at all. Maybe if there was only one bus stop it would.