Did you feel your Cabana Rental was worth the $$$? Reviews please!

[Jenny3]

Originally Posted by bas71873

Do you tip your cabana attendant? I'm 3 weeks out and staring my list of everything I need and cash I need to have handy.

I asked DC that and she said it's up to you. I am planning on bringing tip money for my cabana boy

[saintstickets]

Originally Posted by chimo2u

Well, despite the $248 price tag, I gave in and booked a Cabana today for our Oct 1, 2012 DC day. My 2 boys (20/16) and myself, and my BFF will be enjoying a beautiful day at DC and since my BFF is not a strong swimmer, I thought it best that she have a place she can relax and enjoy if she got tired. I heard that there aren't a lot of shady spots, so having a home base will be a good thing I think! I am having the buoy brought to her as a keepsake gift of our trip, the whole Dolphin swim/DC day is my surprise to her and this will give her a momento of the day. Also she just became a grandma, in Feb, and her grandson will be 8 moths old, so he'll be a good recipient of the Dolphin Plush

Those who've rented the Cabanas......they are pricey, have you felt you got your use out of them??? and was it a good purchase for the day???

Can't wait to try the new experiences at DC, we haven't been since 2009, so we have yet to see the new Grand Reef, and the Fresh Oasis area, as well, my 16yo isn't doing a dolphin swim this time, but he's eager to try Sea Venture!

We just returned from DC in May2012. Words cannot express how much we enjoyed our stay. We decided on splurging this day and rented a cabana. For us, it was well worth the extra $'s. It was a great place to take a few minutes to relax before going out into the sun again. It was very convenient to have a place to refresh your suntan lotion or grab a snack/drink. The DC attendant kept us supplied in fresh towels, lotion, snacks and drinks. There are no places with shade at DC except at the restaurant so the cabana was perfect. If you want to see pics of our cabana and time at DC, it starts here at post #80 in our TR
http://www.disboards.com/showthread....2939811&page=6

or you can start at the beginning of the TR here
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2939811

[pixeegrl]

There's no shade umbrellas there at all???? That's crazy. We are going towards the end of August and am sure it will be hot hot hot. We are not doing the dolphin swim but can I still rent a cabana???

[anonymouscactus]

Originally Posted by pixeegrl

There's no shade umbrellas there at all???? That's crazy.

There are umbrellas in every area. Not all seats have them, but you shouldn't have an issue finding a place to lay in some shade. Here is an arial shot I found online by the dolphin lagoon to give you an idea of the seat / umbrella ratio.



My favorite spot to set up shop is by the conservation cabana.... very little foot traffic since almost everyone walks on the path behind this area, you can overhear the live music from the dining area (and only a short walk to food whenever you get hungry!), and there are plenty of umbrellas [with little tables attached to them] -- and you get to see when they bring out all the fun little critters to pet and meet! (armadillo, owl, hornbill, etc.)

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Originally Posted by pixeegrl

We are not doing the dolphin swim but can I still rent a cabana???

Yes ma'am. We are not doing the dolphin swim but were able to reserve a cabana for our August 29th visit.

[pixeegrl]

Originally Posted by anonymouscactus

There are umbrellas in every area. Not all seats have them, but you shouldn't have an issue finding a place to lay in some shade. Here is an arial shot I found online by the dolphin lagoon to give you an idea of the seat / umbrella ratio.



My favorite spot to set up shop is by the conservation cabana.... very little foot traffic since almost everyone walks on the path behind this area, you can overhear the live music from the dining area (and only a short walk to food whenever you get hungry!), and there are plenty of umbrellas [with little tables attached to them] -- and you get to see when they bring out all the fun little critters to pet and meet! (armadillo, owl, hornbill, etc.)

Thanks! Where is the conservation cabana located? Is it in this picture over on your left? This sounds like a great spot to try and snag! Thanks!

[anonymouscactus]

Found an even better image using birds-eye-view on bing maps and just overlaid some text... an old image (shows the old reef) but same concept... spent way too much time on this


http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8087/dcmap.jpg

The red path is the main cement path that everyone walks on, the pink area I colored in is the "secret spot" that has lots of shade, gets the ambiance of the live music, and nobody ever walks through! The conservation cabana is colored in yellow, generally people will see it from the main path, stop at it, and then go on their marry way on the main path, instead of walking through the pink area highlighlighted where I like to sit. Yeah, it's sort of away from the reef and everywhere else, but, plenty of shade and no people! And like I said, if you are relaxing, you can see when they bring out the various animals (often times they don't list them on the schedule with a time and will bring them at random times).

I go to Discovery Cove way too much!! Hope that helps!

[claire_ont]

Great thread! After reading all the posts on this thread, I decided to take the plunge and booked a cabana for our Christmas day visit as a surprise for the rest of the family. I can't wait.

[pixeegrl]

Originally Posted by anonymouscactus

Found an even better image using birds-eye-view on bing maps and just overlaid some text... an old image (shows the old reef) but same concept... spent way too much time on this


http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8087/dcmap.jpg

The red path is the main cement path that everyone walks on, the pink area I colored in is the "secret spot" that has lots of shade, gets the ambiance of the live music, and nobody ever walks through! The conservation cabana is colored in yellow, generally people will see it from the main path, stop at it, and then go on their marry way on the main path, instead of walking through the pink area highlighlighted where I like to sit. Yeah, it's sort of away from the reef and everywhere else, but, plenty of shade and no people! And like I said, if you are relaxing, you can see when they bring out the various animals (often times they don't list them on the schedule with a time and will bring them at random times).

I go to Discovery Cove way too much!! Hope that helps!

Thanks! I actually printed it out for future reference during our trip! I love all the help you can get on the DISboards!!!!